Automobilista 2 News

The new Automobilista 2 update brings some fantastic historical content, another batch of major FFB, physics & AI developments along with several improvements & fixes.

[h2]V1.1.1.3 -> V1.1.2.0 CHANGELOG[/h2]

[h3]CONTENT[/h3]

Tracks

• Added Spa Francorchamps 1993 layout
  

Vehicles

• Added Group C class featuring Sauber Mercedes C9 & Porsche 962C
  
• Added Stock Car 1999 Omega series
  

[h3]GENERAL[/h3]

• Implemented new LiveTrack wet weather rubber washing (rubber is now gradually washed away from track surface as it gets saturated with water)
  
• Expanded available opponent classes to 9 (10 total)
  
• Bumped headlight range from 160 to 240m for all cars
  
• Corrected number of opponents in Championship mode to match the series current total number of opponents
  
• Added function to set different presets of rubber depending on type of session (making option available to player will soon follow)
  
• Added new functions to control when vehicle headlights & tail lights should remain on and DRS rules remain disabled based on track wetness threshold (previously was solely based on environment light levels)
  
• Replaced Spa 2020 with Spa 1993 on the calendar of pre-2005 championships
  

[h3]UI & HUD[/h3]

• Re-styled event rules & regulations page
  
• Added help texts to online Opponent settings screen
  
• Fixed wrong value link on gear 7/8 assignments
  
• Fixed redundant adjustable wing setup option being available for cars without such aero components
  
• Corrected tire names for various cars using street or semi-slick compounds
  
• Fixed missing French & German localization for track limits setting
  
• Adjusted font size on track limit warnings labels for Rules & Regulations UI screen
  

[h3]FFB[/h3]

• Introduced routine to reset FFB in case of FFB loss (game detects the loss and reset FFB automatically, should be seamless for player)
  
• Adjusted default FFB profile for more accurate self-aligning torque, milder force spikes over big bumps and other such sudden tire oad.change; adjusted effect from braking torque (should provide better feedback during lockups); split FX signal from Low Force Boost setting
  

[h3]PHYSICS[/h3]

• Added slow damping function to all tires (generally improves tire damping & fixes bouncing effect at very slow speeds previously proeminent in formula cars)
  
• Added intermediate & extreme tyre compounds for modern protos, GTs & formulas
  
• Adjusted tire tread for 60s touring cars, F-V3,, Opalas, Copas Fusca, Uno, Truck, Caterham Academy & F-Trainer
  
• Adjusted semi-slick tire tread (F-Trainer Advanced, Caterhams, ARC Camaro)
  
• Increased RPM threshold for reduced engine life in 2-stroke karts
  
• Moved Metalmoro AJR diffuser center of pressure rearwards by 2cm (slightly rebalancing overall aero distribution)
  
• Slightly falloff rates in rain for all slick tires (addressing issues with tires losing all adherence beyond a certain saturation point)
  
• Minor stifness adjustment to GT / Proto / StockCar tire carcasses
  
• Added minor preload resistance to open diffs in cars with more powerful engines
  
• Adjusted Porsche 911 GT1 engine compression curve
  
• Adjusted default gear ratios for Mclaren F1 GTR & Mercedes CLK in GT1 class
  
• Minor crankshaft mass adjustments to F1 cars
  
• Corrected 720S GT3 negative rear toe setting (setup reset recommended)
  
• Moved default brake bias slightly rearwards for Copa Truck, F-Trainers (requires setup reset recommended)
  

[h3]AI[/h3]

• Various AI behavior improvements, adding car-specific parameters to improve their overtaking assesments both against human player and AI vs AI
  
• Added car-specific overrides for previously global parameters controlling the amount of lifting off the throttle AI would do while running over puddles, & introduced new car-specific parameter controlling the amount of lifting while on wet tires (generally less than on dry tires, improves their straightline performance when going through large amounts of standing water)
  
• Added several car-specific overrides for previously global AI parameters such as brake and reaccelaration distance thresholds, start reaction times, distance triggers for defending position
  
• Reduced likelihood of AI crashing into wall when side by side with human
  
• Increased AI drivers performance range
  
• Minor AI callibration pass for performance dropoff with tire wear
  
• Azure: Smoothed corridors in several locations
  
• Slightly adjusted AI grip @ Bathurst, Nurburgring GP & Velocitta
  

[h3]TRACKS[/h3]

• Adelaide: reduced road mesh noise; smooth curb at entrance to T13
  
• Imola: Fixed camera man pop up
  
• Kyalami: removed glitchy helicopter animation
  
• Silverstone: trimmed 3D grass clipping walls in some places; fixed a few object pop ups; consolidated some grand stands into larger objects (same materials); optimized shadows
  
• Revised "Max AI participants" for various tracks, correcting when this differed from available garage slots
  
• Disabled DOF blur in all trackside VR cams for tracks that have them (currently only Grade A tracks)
  

[h3]VEHICLES[/h3]

• F-V10 Gen2: fixed visual tire tread not corresponding the actual tire when switching from wet to dry
  
• F-Classic (all gens): added Dirt/Scratch map + New UV channel 3 mapping for carbon fiber cockpit material
  
• Copa Montana: added Dirt/Scratch map
  
• BMW M6 GT3: Fixed red carpaint issue in cockpit view (car #91)
  
• F-V10: Fixed visual glitch with windscreen in rain
  
• Gol Classic B: Fixed front splitter glitch
  
• Ultima GTR: Fixed oil pressure needle
  
• F3 F309: corrected RPM bars range
  
• Lancer R & RS: Livery override entry added for windscreen and wing
  
• Corrected cockpit POV in Metalmoro AJR, Mclaren 570S, Ultima GTR
  
• Corrected rain tire tread for F-Retros
  

Automobilista 2 has now been updated to V1.1.1.3 - this is another complementary update to our latest release, adding some further improvements and corrections.

The most significant development involves physics & AI under wet weather, correcting various performance inconsistencies accross all cars under the various combinations of tires and wetness saturation levels.

[h3]V1.1.1.1 -> V1.1.1.3 CHANGELOG[/h3]

UI & HUD

• Fixed Time Trial info incorrectly hiding current lap time in live sessions
  
• Adjusted element/text size of audio device and controller model selection inputs to better suit long names
  
• Exposing assignments for Gear 7 & 8 and Telemetry HUD mode switching
  
• Added GT1 and G40C to vehicle filter definitions
  
• 
  

PHYSICS

• Further substantial reduction of slick adhesion on a wet track
  
• Further adjustments to wet tires for various cars
  
• Disabled legacy manifold pressure function (now solely using our own AMS1-based throttle mapping to adjust throttle response for each engine)
  
• Disabled redundant legacy function applying aero torque to the frontend when car was airborne (could cause cars to nosedive after getting airborne)
  
• Further adjusted aero draft effects
  
• Corrected tire tread dimensions for Copa Classic, F-Trainer
  
• Fixed error in Group A / Procar front tire tread
  
• Fixed error in F-Ultimate tires speed effect
  
• Adjusted tire tread optimal temperature range for Caterhams, ARC Camaro, Copa Truck
  
• Further adjustments to dry tire falloff rates on wet surface (including grooved / road tires)
  
• Minor default setup adjustments for Metalmoro AJR, Sigma P1, Metalmoro MRX, Roco 001, Mclaren 570S, Mclaren 720S GT3, Mercedes AMG GT3, Porsche GT3-R, Porsche Cup & all Copa Classic cars (setup reset recommended)
  
• Metalmoro AJR: Small aero revisions; adjusted engine compression curves for Nissan V6 & Honda Turbo variants; Disabled redundant DRS icon for Nissan V6 & Honda turbo variants
  
• Slightly reduced crankshaft mass for F-Trainers, MCR, ARC Camaro (less engine inertia)
  
• F-Retro: Small aero revisions to all cars
  
• Disabled AJR DRS icon for V6, Honda variants
  
• Reduced F1 pitstop tire change timings
  

AI

• Added car-specific overrides for AI performance on a wet track (on slicks & wet tires) & added new parameter to callibrate AI performance with wet tires on a drying track
  
• Further AI callibration passes
  
• Further slightly reduced AI CoG height scale to minimise chances of AI cars rolling over high curbs
  
• Slightly raised AI lateral movement rate for overtaking & passing boosts (to mitigate getting stuck on straights)
  
• Slightly reduced AI braking point offset
  
• Reduced AI lifting off throttle over puddles to 50%
  
• Slightly increased range of performance from AI drivers
  
• 
  

TRACKS

• Nurburgring: Minor art pass & fixes
  
• Revised VR trackside cams at Silverstone & Spa-Francorchamps to disable DOF blur (ongoing process to be applied to all tracks)
  
• Further weather probability adjustments (slightly less rain in rainy locations)
  

VEHICLES

• Fixed missing wiper animations on Ginetta G40 Cup & Ginetta G55 GT4
  
• Added Dirt/Scratch map for F-Retros, Lotus 72E, Mclaren M23 & Brabham BT44
  
• Analogue gauges now light up when lights are on
  

Automobilista 2 V1.1.1.1 is now live - this is a hotfix to complement our latest release with some further improvements & corrections.

[h3]V1.1.1.1 CHANGELOG[/h3]

GENERAL

• Reverted track base grip & range to pre v1.1.1.0 values (corrects Time Trial grip levels being slightly lower in the last release)
  
• Track rubber state is now reset if session starts wet
  
• Fixed race length being overwritten by active session length when sending MP Lobby data
  
• Removed redundant / pre-release folders for livery overries
  
• Fixed AI being limited to host´s car class in servers with high player:ai ratios.
  

UI & HUD

• Fixed incorrect drive axle data on session on loading screen
  
• Minor German localization adjustments
  

PHYSICS & FFB

• Various minor default differential & suspension adjustments for all cars (setup reset recommended)
  
• Slightly raised brake cooling rates
  
• Reduced slick water dissipation further reduces slick efficiency on a wet track)
  
• Increased drafting air scale (slightly increases drafting effects for all cars)
  
• Raised F-Reiza FFB max force scale
  

AI

• Fixed bug causing AI to be excessively slow in first session of a race weekend
  
• Further fine tuning of aggression scalars per car
  
• Further AI performance callibration passes
  
• Further AI rain performance callibration with both wet & slicks
  
• Reduced ARC Camaro AI CoG height to minimise chances of it rolling over high curbs
  
• Added corner-specific AI performance adjustments: +10% exit of T8 @ Adelaide Modern; +5% exit of second last & last corners @ Spielberg GP; +10% Exit of Stowe @ Silverstone 91 +10% Entry of Luffield1 @Silverstone 91 +10% Exit of chicane @ Silvestone 75; -10% Exit of Luffield @ Silverstone Modern; +10% Exit of Oak Tree hairpin & exit of final corner at VIR Full / Grand +10% Radillon & -5% Exit of Stavelot @ Spa
  

AUDIO

• Fixed missing gearbox grinding sound for some manual cars that were missing it
  

TRACKS

• Nurburgring: Minor art & functionality pass
  
• Imola: Minor art & functionality pass; revised AI paths & trackside cameras
  
• Goiania: Updated AI paths
  
• Spa-Francorchamps: Added DRS boards at detection & activation points
  
• More drones moves/removed at various tracks
  

VEHICLES

• F-Vintage Gen 1&2: Added dirt / scratch map
  
• Brabham BT26: Added dirt / scratch map; fixed rear wing livery overlap
  
• Puma GTE: Added 3 new liveries
  
• Ginetta G40 Cup: Updated liveries #10 #20
  
• ARC Camaro: adjusted driver position, edited the cockpit to have more room for the driver feet, detached cockpit gear shifter
  

Greetings Everyone! Here we are for the first dev update of what promises to be a very exciting year for Automobilista 2.

We have started the year as we left off 2020, with foot hard on the gas and already deploying a couple of substantial updates to bring some important core developments to physics & AI. Along with another batch of general developments, the latest v1.1.1.0 release has also introduced a couple of neat Ginetta G40 variants nicely filling that tin top club racing niche that was still under represented in AMS2.


Even before the update went out, we were already pushing towards some of the steps that will follow in the coming months - let´s take a closer look into those...



As suggested in the last two dev updates, we have been opting to slightly throttle back on our release schedule for new content relative to our original roadmap in these recent updates. We will continue to put more focus towards developing existing content and other core game developments, with new content progressing in parallel and at a more steady but still quite productive pace - current plans forecast a ratio of about 2-3 new cars / 1 track per month for the remainder of 2021 (not to be confused with an equivalent release ratio as some of that content will be part of the larger expansion packs).

For a similar reason we are also going to hold a bit longer on publishing our complete 2021 Roadmap until we have finalized our initial assessment of the planned features and finalized the remaining licensing deals for the content to be released this year, which we expect to take a few more weeks.

What we can advance already is that given this slightly stretched schedule, which will see the release of some content initially planned for 2021 rolling into 2022, we are also stretching the Season Pass term to cover all of our 2022 DLC releases. The Season Pass now should cover everything we have already planned to release for AMS2, not only retaining but expanding its value with some further not-yet announced items added to the overall package.

Even though part of the reason for holding on publishing the 2021 roadmap a bit longer is to ensure what we eventually come to present is a more reliable plan, we´d hope users will still keep in mind as we advance that the roadmap or even the shorter term plans usually presented in these dev updates are still targets that we can elect to flex if we find it necessary or useful to do so - neither the roadmaps nor dev updates should be taken as a commitment to a schedule but rather as a rough overview of our development plans, presented with the intent of giving our users some foresight into what they may expect going forward.

With all this said, we can also confirm we will continue our routine of major monthly updates all through 2021, and we do have some concrete milestones for the next couple of months we can already share - so let´s expand on that :)



Excepting the usual likely hotfix for the v1.1.1.0 update sometime over the next week, our next major update should arrive as usual towards the end of February. Here are some of the highlights planned for it:


Our track team is still working on Belgian territory, now taking a trip back in time to retro-reform our Spa-Francorchamps to its 1993 version.

The track was originally supposed to be based on its 1991 configuration, but we´ve opted to switch to the 1993 version thanks to higher quality reference material. Also, although the track configuration remained the same throughout the 80s and Early 90s, the 1993 revision featured some small adjustments to the curb profiles at the Bus Stop double chicane which remained largely unaltered until 2002, and contributed to a better flow of the track in that last part of the lap.


The much anticipated Group C Sauber Mercedes C9 and Porsche 962C duo will finally arrive in next month´s update, suitably in combo with its contemporary version of Spa-Francorchamps.

Similar to the GT1 cars that arrived in December, the Group C class represented another golden era in sports cars in history, and these two models were front-runners at its peak in the late 1980s, when it approached F1 in terms of both popularity and performance.

Having the series represented in Automobilista 2´s historical roster was therefore a no-brainer choice, and we are thrilled to see their arrival is finally just around the corner!


Another much anticipated historical content arriving in the next update is the 1999 GM Omega Stock Car - the last "proper' Stock Car to race in the series before the dawn of the prototype era in the 2000s, the Stock Car Omega was still largely based on its production counterpart which replaced the Opala in the Brazilian market during the 90s. It also shared a lot of its DNA with its Australian cousin, the Holden Commodore.

The introduction of the 1999 Stock Car series will complete our tribute to the prime Brazilian championship on the verge of the 10th Anniversary of our very first title, Game Stock Car released in 2011. Time does fly when you are having fun!

The February Update should also feature some further Quality of Life improvements and fixes, the biggest priorities being to rectify some persisting reliability issues with FFB and Multiplayer.



The late March 2021 update will mark the first Anniversary of AMS2 EA release, and we´re pushing to mark the occasion with an even bigger update than usual.

On the content front, the March update will be fairly packed with some very interesting new cars, but we´ll save discussing more about these for next month ;)

Besides another substantial batch of QoL developments, the March Update will finally see the arrival of the highly anticipated Custom Championship Tool - we have again elected to push its release a bit further down the line not only to ensure everything is working well, but also to make a more feature rich release, including some further customization options for weather, track conditions, opponent and class selection which are not currently in the game but that are expected to be introduced along with the tool itself.

We´ll expand more on the above in next dev update, but here´s a small WIP preview of the configuration screen where users will be able to configure their championship rounds:



The March Update will also see some more promising developments to the LiveTrack and Weather systems, aiming further fulfill the potential of the excellent technology we have in the Madness engine. Again, we´ll hold from spilling the beans too soon, but rest assured there are some exciting stuff in store here!

That covers it for January - we look forward to catching up with all again later next month!