Automobilista 2 News

Automobilista 2 V1.0.5.0 is now available, featuring the much awaited GT3 / GT4 car pack and the Nurburgring Circuit.

[h2]Release Promo - Temporary free access to the Nurburgring track![/h2]

With the Nordschleife and 24h layouts not quite ready for this release, we have elected to temporarily offer the other modern Nurburgring layouts FREE to all users until the long layouts are added to the package at some point next week.

Please be advised that upon the addition of the Nordschleife & 24h layouts, all Nurburgring versions will revert to being available only for owners of the DLC or packages that include it.

[h2]Updated Force Feedback[/h2]

This update adds fresh Force Feedback developments, the most significant being:

- Damping now adjustable via in-game FFB menu *
- Enhanced tyre flatspots **
- Enhanced feedback during braking
- Enhanced road feel (adjustable via FX slider) ***
- Improved scrub effect (adjustable via FX slider)
- Effectively eliminated FFB "deadzone" around center in some cars
- Improved gyro moment accuracy
- Now using SETA patch offset/deformation for mechanical trail (much more "organic" feel on edge of grip)
- Tyre temperature and pressure will affect feedback
- More distinctive oversteer / understeer feedback

* We recommend using damping in game vs on wheel setting. Damping in game scales with vehicle, so roughly same level for all cars. On wheel / driver damping doesn't scale with wheel gain, so if you have gain too low, damping will overwhelm FFB signal.

** flatspots are currently presented in "raw" form. Given tire is split into many small patches, you will receive "impulses" as there are "flat patches" on tire. It depends on amount of wear on individual patch. Hence the note "raw signal".

*** Road feel is based on physical surface mesh roughness / bumps - which on real vehicles would be "fed back" to the driver via vibration "travelling" thru chassis and as a result will be felt on steering rim especially cars and race cars that have racks bolted directly to chassis, without any sort of insulating "rubber mounts" - take note this would only "vibrate", not "move" wheel rim left-right. Given our gaming controllers are effectievly "1DOF" device - ie. able to move only left or right, we are shaping this vibration such that it can be felt on them too.

IMPORTANT: Custom Force Feedback profiles may be affected by code changes to the FFB system and not work as before the update. If you find that is the case consider sticking to the default profile until the author of the custom alternative updates his version.

[h2]V1.0.4.1 -> V1.0.5.0 CHANGELOG:[/h2]

CONTENT

• Added GT3 series (currently featuring 2015 Mercedes-AMG GT3 & 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 R & 2019 Mclaren 720S GT3)
  
• Added GT4 series (currently featuring 2018 Mclaren 570S GT4, 2017 Camaro GT4-R & 2016 Porsche GT4 Cayman Clubsport)
  
• Added 2020 Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil (featuring Porsche GT3 Cup 3.8 & 4.0)
  
• Added Nurburgring Track (GP, Veedol & Sprint layouts - DLC TRACK, FREE TO ALL USERS FOR A LIMITED TIME
  

GENERAL

• Added support for overriding default liveries with user liveries (more info for this soon)
  
• Updated Force Feedback system & Added Damping slider to FFB menu
  
• Championship mode: Adjusted Stock Car championship rules to better match real regulations ( refuelling permitted in pitstops; use formation+rolling start; added mandatory pitstop; increased minimum race to to 15 mins to allow AI sensible pitting options
  

UI & HUD

• Added support for additional UI track filters
  
• Fixed incorrect label on FOV options tab when in unselected state
  
• Disabled 'Reset to defaults' button in main setup screen when fixed setups are used
  
• Fixed RR compound decrease button altering wrong value
  
• Further reduced opacity of disabled menu options on in-game screens
  
• Fixed incorrect current lap in displayed on HUD when rolling start used
  
• Gaps now shown in laps rather than time for lapped vehicles on weekend results
  
• Added lobby detail page to multiplayer browser
  
• Extended MP player interaction dialog to include Vote To Kick
  
• Allowed Player interaction dialog acces to all users (previously host only)
  
• Updated all in-game leaderboards to allow access to Player interaction dialog (left click / Joypad X)
  
• Fixed player name clipping on in-game MP leaderboards
  

PHYSICS

• Revised tyre treads in GT, Prototypes, Stock Cars, Super V8 for more longitudinal slip & improved force combining
  
• Slight reduction to parking force FFB (all cars)
  
• Fixed missing autolift function in Mini gearbox
  
• Adjusted Max force for MRX (all variants)
  
• Reduced default viscous lock & preload baseline in cars in LSD diffs
  
• Slightly increased speed sensitivity in road tyre tread (60s Classics, F-Vee, Copa Fusca & Uno)
  
• Slightly further reducing lock per clutch in LSD differentials
  
• Corrected rev range error in Group A engines
  
• Adjusted default gear ratios for Group A
  
• Adjusted F-Ultimate sidewall stiffness
  

AI

• Revised AI code for various behavioral improvements
  
• AI callibration pass to Group A, Procar, kart series & wet performance on GT & Prototype series
  
• Scaled the pit exit speed by the outlap slowdown factor
  
• Adjusted AI calculations for enforced pitstops in timed races
  

TRACKS

• Added animated helicopter & drones to Adelaide, Brasilia, Brands Hatch, Cadwell Park. Campo Grande, Cascavel, Curitiba, Imola, Jerez, Silverstone, Montreal, Silverstone 2001,
  
• Hockenheim (all versions): Minor art & performance pass
  
• Montreal: Object LOD fixes & Minor art & performance pass
  
• Londrina: Adjusted triggers & start location
  
• Donington: Object LOD fixes; Minor art & performance pass
  
• Added VR cams for Adelaide, Kansai & Montreal
  
• Goiania: Fixed marbles
  
• Taruma: Minor art & performance pass
  
• Oulton Park: Fixed broken pitcrew/pitbox marker animations in Oulton / Fosters layouts
  
• Added helicopter & drone animations to Granja, Londrina, Hockenheim, Ibarra
  

VEHICLES

• F3 (F301) - Revised and updated liveries including new community skin; Updated leather textures on head rests.
  
• Metalmoro MRX: Added dirt / damage effects + Dangling damaged parts + new colliders (all variants)
  
• Camaro SS - Corrected LOD D glitch
  
• Added Gol) Dirt/Damage effects + Detachable boot lid (all variants)
  

Greetings everyone!

It´s great to be back with another Development Update after missing out on our usual catch-up last month, for which I´d like to apologise to anyone who was disappointed by it - a combination of circumstances meant there was neither time nor material to post a substantial update then.

We´re gonna try make up for that now with a slightly early October Development update, to present you all with some very exciting news about what we have been putting together for our next Automobilista 2 update :)

[h3]THE ARC OF PROGRESS[/h3]

This month marks the completion of two years since Automobilista 2 went into production with the new Madness engine, and a mere 8 months since the very first Beta was release to backers. A lot of ground has been covered in this time, and we´re very proud of what we have managed to achieve in what is by all measures a relatively short window of time in game development.

Although we take pride on the work done so far, we remain aware that we really must continue to push hard in order for AMS2 to keep evolving to fulfill its potential - one that gets closer to being realized with every monthly update.

To this end we have obviously been commited to a very aggressive development schedule, and when you´re moving that fast to try make big strides towards releases on a monthly schedule, occasionally some rough edges will slip into public releases. This is deliberate and we do find this to be the way we can make the game grow better, faster - which ultimately is what we all want. We do aknowledge that approach has on occasion lead to a stumble here and there that has disappointed some users.

We´re also adamant that not all users are aware of this methodology or find it to be the right way to go, and conscious about the fact releases need to grow tidier and more reliable as we tick off the boxes in our dev plan. As always we emphasize that AMS2 was designed to evolve over time - the first version of anything will always be the least developed version, but that won´t stop us from continuing to push to make it better.

With this said, we have been working specially hard in the last couple of weeks to ensure a tidier release for what we believe will be a landmark update for Automobilista 2, with plenty of exciting new content combined with some major core improvements along with the usual round of polish to the existing cars and tracks. Here are some of the highlights:

[h3]PREMIUM GT3 & GT4 CARS ARRIVE FOR AMS2[/h3]

There is no doubt GT3 racing has grown to become one of the most popular in motorsports, be it real or simulated - and there are good reasons for it: a perfectly balanced power-to-weight ratio packaged with sublimely optimized 21st century aerodynamics and technology, wrapped under virtuoso designs produced by the most prestigious brands in the world make them both uniquely attractive, and despite their impressive performances incredibly accessible for drivers of varying skill levels.

Our goal for Automobilista 2 is to provide the most diverse sim racing buffet we can put together, and that would never be complete without these mighty machines. We are thus delighted to confirm our initial batch of GT3 & GT4 cars will finally come for Automobilista 2 in our upcomign update.

This release will be boosted by the addition of two major licensing agreements - we are very proud to announce two new licensing partnerships with Porsche and Mclaren Automotive, which will see a number of their cars added to the game in the next few releases, adding to the growing list of premium brands and models officially represented in Automobilista 2.

The recent licensing agreements with these prestigious motorsports icons have been a long time coming in what has been a difficult year for businesses all over the world - that only adds to our gratitude for getting these over the finish line.

The deals will see a long catalogue of very exciting cars making their way to Automobilista 2 in the coming months - the vast majority of which will be added to the game as free additional content.

The initial batch in the upcoming release should include the following models:

GT3:

• 2015 Mercedes AMG GT3
  
• 2016 Porsche 911 GT3-R
  
• 2019 Mclaren 720S GT3
  
• 2019 BMW M6 GT3
  

GT4:

• 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport
  
• 2017 Camaro GT4-R
  
• 2018 Mclaren 570S GT4
  

This release will also feature the Porsche Carrera Cup cars as raced in the Brazilian series in 2020.


[h3]ENTER THE GREEN HELL[/h3]


Another major milestone in our upcoming update is the release of the most challenging race track in the World - the Nurburgring , featuring both the modern GP layout as well as the infamous Nordschleife, both developed with the aid of laser scan data.

The track will be available as a standalone DLC, and also as part of both the Season Pass and Premium Track Pack.

This initial release will not however be the extensions of our plans for the "Green Hell" - we will continue to develop new layouts of the track including a Historical version, with a release targetted at some point next year, as a free addition to this DLC package.

[h3]CORE GAME DEVELOPMENT[/h3]

The new content is obviously great additions to AMS2, and we hope they will prove a popular boost to the game, but these also call for the game to evolve with it - to that end, we have continued to hard both in developing new features to the core game, as well as fixing issues with existing functionalities and content. Here are some of the highlights to feature in the upcoming release:

Livery custmization will now be possible and template for all models release with the next update, so users will be able to paint their own liveries to replace (but not yet add to) the original ones without needing to fudge with external tools.

We have a substantial Force Feedback upgrade, providing enhanced feedback during braking, enhanced road feel, improved scrub effect, effectively eliminating the FFB "deadzone" around center in some cars, and generally adding a more distinctive oversteer / understeer feedback


Physics revisions of the engine at large as well as specific car models continue to take place, with fuel and tyre wear specially expected to have a full pass in time for release.

We are also continuing our intense AI development program, further cleaning up some poor behavior and doing further performance callibration passes which should see a more consistent and reliable racing jumping from class to class.

Further work on 3D Animations is also ongoing, on the car front with more cars receiving the complete damage model with deformable mesh, flapping & detachable parts, dirt & scratch maps, and tracks beginning to get a bit more life with helicopters, drones and other objects


On the Audio front, and have added a capable extra set of hands to the team to help us get the best of the FMOD engine - that should earn valuable improvements on the longer run, with some already be noticeable on the upcoming new cars.

Championship mode has also received some updates, with further support for official Stock Car rules and the addition of a few new championships due for this update and the next.


[h3]PRICING RETAINED[/h3]

Despite the growing list of premium licensed content to be added to the base game over the coming weeks and months and the game itself distinctively maturing into a very competitive package, we have elected to further postpone our planned price bump and stick with the current pricing for the time being, with the goal of boosting the influx of new players and stimulating the growth the active community around it. With seasonal Steam sales incoming you may expect some good deals also for DLC packs.

That covers it for this month and hopefully also for the last one - we look forward to sharing the latest results of our work with you all this weekend!

Automobilista 2 has now been updated to V1.0.4.1 - this is a hotfix to complement last week´s release & fix various issues with the new content.

[h3]V1.0.4.1 CHANGELOG:[/h3]

GENERAL

• Fixed camera jittering when in low head movement slider values
  

UI & HUD

• Fixed hover activation states on new Championship screen
  
• Fixed incorrect vehicle information for cars added in v1.0.4.0
  

PHYSICS & AI

• Revised physics & fixed various issues in initial release of M1 Procar, Group A, Mini JCW, Mini Austin 1965 & Lotus 23
  
• Adjusted Group A & Procar tyre tread
  
• Increased engine rev band for Group A cars to avoid triggering overreving bug
  
• Fixed default tyre selection errors for Lotus 23, Mini 1965, Mini 2020
  
• Adjusted engine inertia for Group A cars, Mini JCW 2020, Lancer R & RS, Puma P052
  
• Revised Lotus 23 suspension geometry & fixed tire diameter
  
• Callibrated AI for new series
  

AUDIO

• Fixed bug with news car sounds overwhelming system and cutting off certain effects
  

TRACKS

• Imola: Fixed broken pit door collision for door 8,9,10 (garage 15-20); Max AI participants changed from 29 to 31
  
• Adelaide: Minor art & performance pass
  
• Azure: Added "cheatblock" to pit lane track cut mesh.
  
• Bathurst: Attempted fix to floating groove in the Cutting
  
• Cascavel: Minor Art Pass; Updated AI paths
  
• Added VR Cams for Cascais & Jerez
  

VEHICLES

• Lotus 23: various graphical updates & fxies
  
• Mini JCW 2020: fixed bonnet issue; updated liveries(removed plates and fixed numbers font)
  
• Ultima Race: added dirt / damage effects + Dangling damaged parts
  
• Stock Car 2020: Update Cruze liveries; added new Windshield banner
  
• Corrected onboard camera positions for Lotus 23, Mini Austin 1965 & Mini JCW 2020
  
• F3 (F309) - Revised and updated liveries for the whole grid including 4 new community skins
  
• Added MetalMoro AJR Dirt/Damage effects + Detachable parts (all versions)
  

The new update adds several Classic cars, brings the popular Mini Challenge JCW as it is in the top class of the UK Mini series, two Kart circuits, along the usual package of new features, fixes & improvements.

One of these features is the initial revision of the HEAD MOVEMENT setting for cockpit cameras (renaming what was before "WORLD MOVEMENT"), although users will still have the option to use the original legacy head movement if they so prefer - please check the descriptions in-game for more details as to how best configure this option to your preference.

V1.0.4.0 CHANGELOG

CONTENT

• Added 1960s Touring Car Series (featuring Lotus 23 & Mini Cooper S 1965)
  
• Added BMW M1 Procar Series
  
• Added German Group A Series (featuring BMW M3 E30 & Mercedes 190 Evolution
  
• Added Mini JCW UK Series
  
• Added Buskerud Kart Track (2 layouts)
  
• Added Speedland Kart track (4 layouts)
  
• Added Hockenheim 1988 Short layout (part of Hockenheimring DLC)*
  

GENERAL

• Added borderless window mode option (Perfromance Options Screen)
  
• Altered behaviour of helmet/cockpit cameras to prevent locking to world horizon and improve smoothing/damping of camera view
  
• Fixed issue where event date was not correctly set if host changed track via multiplayer lobby
  
• Added 'Start New Championship' flow; Added Select championship type, select vehicle/livery, Pre-allocate opponents Added championship specific AI Skill / Aggression settings to championship overview (can be adjusted mid season as desired
  
• Fixed clamping of range when validating Multiplayer AI difficulty setting on client.
  
• Added support to look backwards when pressing loo left / look right simultaneously
  
• Fixed "dummy" objects unintentionally appearing in reflections at higher settings.
  
• Player now retains control of steering/shifting during pitstops when 'Manual pitstops' setting is enabled.
  
• Fixed issue where sometimes player control was not restored after an AI controlled pitstop.
  

UI & HUD

• Added Help text to advanced setup screen
  
• Fixed missing center suspension setting heading localisations
  
• Added help text for all setings (subject to further review/localisation adjustments)
  
• Changed 'WORLD MOVEMENT' to 'HEAD MOVEMENT' to reflect new functionality
  
• Adjusted showroom climate brightness
  
• Added French & Spanish localization options
  
• 'Waiting for host' message now also displayed after race sessions in multiplayer when appropriate.
  
• Changed 'EXIT' button to 'RETURN TO MAIN MENU' on post session leaderboard
  
• Added confirmation step when attempting to exit while waiting for host to return to lobby at the end of multiplayer events.
  
• Fixed incorrect activation states on Broadcast Control overlay toggles.
  
• Fixed menu mouse activations and highlight state throughout on Broadcast Control
  
• Added Start New Championship screen for championship and vehicle/livery selection (additional championships to follow)
  
• Replaced "Reset Championship" button with "Start New Championship"
  
• Entering championship mode now opens new championship page if no valid save is present.
  

DEDICATED SERVER TOOL

• Limit AI Difficulty slider to 70-120%
  
• Max Grid Size and Max Human Opponents now allowed to be equal in http UI
  
• Replaced AllowableTimePenalty with AllowedCutsBeforePenalty and limit to correct range (1-50)
  

PHYSICS & AI

• Replaced open Salisbury-based open differential physics with more effective alternative;
  
• Further reduced differential lock per clutch setting
  
• Fixed CTD with Caterham Academy / Supersport
  
• Fixed F-V12, MP4-12, kart shifter & other unreleased cars missing latest minimal AI strentgh adjustment (being too slow below 100% setting as a result)
  
• M1 Procar: Revised tyre construction; Revised Suspension Geometry; Lowered engine inertia; Increased brake torque; Revised tyre constructio
  
• Adjusted AI lateral movement in initial launch off the line
  
• Reduced differential locking increment per clutch setting (all cars)
  
• Slightly adjusted kart tyre treads & FFB max force
  
• Slightly reduced F-V10 Gen2 AI tyre rolling resistance to better match player´s
  

AUDIO

• Onboard cameras now all use onboard sounds
  
• All cars revised for any persisting inacurate engine sound position (forward-rear, left-right)
  
• Added helictoper & drone sound effect (track dependent, where animation is present as sound effects are tagged to the respective objects)
  
• Puma P052: engine sound offset to side fixed, corrected small click in low-ish rpm loop.
  
• Kart 125 2T: increased internal engine volume slightly, external decreased slightly
  
• Camaro SS: increased external sound volume (both trackside and external on car views); fixed bad on-power low RPM samples overlap and general transition from idling to on-power.
  
• Ultima GTR Race: Adjusted filtering on external audio (trackside).
  
• Super V8: Adjusted SUB-frequencies over RPM range
  
• Puma P052 small adjustment to interior sound.
  

TRACKS

• Reworked treeline and grass blade shader, added few new types of grass blades & reworked existing ones.
  
• Reworked fog/haze shader with different exponent steps depending on angle you look at, so you can see the sunlit air when facing the sun
  
• Adjusted fog levels in heavy cloud/overcast setting for european tracks
  
• Added custom track animated objects (still WIP) to Spielberg, Kyalami and Buskerud
  
• Small art passes to Spielberg, Bathurst, Kansai
  
• Ortona: Fixed pit speed warning on track over 60kph; Added correct trigger for pit exit on layout 4;
  
• optimized track cut mesh
  
• Fixed VIR South hole after pit exit
  
• Silverstone 2020: Extensive performance pass
  
• Outon Park: Marbles test : less boxes (78->24), bigger boxes, 0.5-1.5 range, no brake zones
  
• Snetterton: Fixed some AI pit lane issues (hitting pitwall, driving onto grass at pitlane to main path merge)
  
• Adjusted textures; fixed some object LOD popping; Adjusted 100 layout pitlane/pitexit/trackcut to prevent a DQ in some cases
  
• Curitiba: Minor optimization & art pass; improved pit lane path merge to main path; remapped garage/pitbox locations; calibrated dynamic brake marker spacing
  
• Spielberg Historic:Restored road patch bumps; minor optimization pass; calibrated brake marker spacing
  
• Londrina: Fixed black treelines
  
• Imola 2001: Added period-accurate ad boards
  
• Silverstone 2020 Intl: Improved AI line.
  
• Added VR Spectator cams to Interlagos, Silvestone 2001, Bathurst, Hockenheimring, Imola
  
• Fixed objects popping in Spielberg, Silverstone 1975, Silverstone 2020
  
• Brasilia: Fixed several object LOD popping; Various object & texture adjustments
  
• Brands Hatch: Upgraded road seam & roadline shaders; Improved brake marker texture and spacing; Minor optimization pass
  
• Interlagos: Fixed object LOD popping; Upgraded road seam & roadline shaders;
  
• Imola: Fixed hole at Acque Minerali; closed some open edges between double sawtooth curbs; fixed some grass glitches; calibrated brake marker spacing; upgraded sign placement to latest references;
  
• Upgrade distance marker shader to rz_basic, rework sign placement based on recent reference video; moved start trigger 5m to align with pitwall starting gantry; added garage door collisions; relaxed road noise slightly; minor optimization pass
  
• Ortona; Minor Art pass; Added new AI paths for paddock area; Fixed broken UV4 groove mapping. Upgraded road seam & roadline shaders; ;New HUD track maps. Optimized track cut mesh; Added starting lights; Fixed wrong way/DQ bug from new paddock pit lane; Updated fast lines for layout 1 and 3; Minor optimization pass
  
• Guapore: Fixed various object LOD issues; Minor Optimization & art pass; Fixed some open edges; added animated drones
  
• Adjusted road noise for Guapore and Ibarra
  

VEHICLES

• SuperKart: Updated liveries
  
• Added Stock Car 2020 dangling damaged parts
  
• Added Sprintrace dirt and damage effects + dangling parts
  
• Added Super_V8 dirt and damage effects + dangling parts
  
• Fixed Caterham Academy Driver & car animations
  

Hello everyone! Happy to bring you all another round of our traditional monthly development catch-up.

The month of August has been buzzing with racing again as most series push to catch up with the time lost during the early months of the year due to the onset of the pandemic, and so it has been another productive month of catching up for ourselves as we have continued to push hard to make up some ground from our official release a couple of months back with a continuous flux of substantial core game updates - I dare say that with our latest v1.0.2.7 we have come closer to the standard we were hoping to be at when crossing that milestone.

This of course does not mean the game is already as good as it can be or that we we have run out of things to improve and fix; Automobilista 2 is afterall a long term project and there is plenty of items still on our to-do list for the coming months. There is a long road ahead still, but we hope those that have already come onboard are now properly enjoying the game, and those that haven´t yet become gradually more convinced this is not a ride they want to miss out on :)

Along with all the core game development, there has been some great content added with the Silvertone Pack DLC release earlier in the month along with the Lotus 49C, Brabham BT26A, and later on the awesome Mclaren MP4/12 with its special "brake steer" system as free additional content, rounding up a month heavily focused on classic open wheelers.

Tin top fans should not frown however, as anyone who has seen the dev roadmap in the official AMS2 website can attest, there are plenty of goodies still to come for those who like a roof over their head!



It´s not all about bringing in the new content however, as with Automobilista 2 we continue to strive to keep every car and track up to a reasonable standard, so that the package works as a whole, as this will be important for what will come later on in its development cycle.

Some of this work is already in progress - August has seen the picturesque Spielberg Historic receiving a substantial revision relative to its original release, as you can see from the comparisons below:


More of the "older" content should receive similar revisions as we continue to learn how to get the best out of the Madness engine.

Speaking of exploring the resources of the Madness engine, we have now begun the work on implementing its full damage system to all cars, with scratch & dirt maps along with deformable mesh and a bigger set of detachable parts to all cars in the game - currently only the Ginettas and more recently the Stock Cars from the 2020 are using all of these resources, but by the next update we´re hoping most if not all cars in the game will feature some proper wear & tear looks as per below:


The latest version has also seen the introduction of the Director Suite, to offer more broadcasting tools for leagues looking to stream their races.




We´re working on a new feature that should considerably enhance the experience of watching replays or spectating online with a VR headset, as the usual TV cameras (which most of the time currently aren´t best suited for VR) will be replaced by VR-dedicated cameras placed on grandstands, marshall posts and other interesting positions on the race track one could reasonably access if you were just roaming around trackside with a very special general admission ticket :) It should add a cool new dimension to spectating races in VR, allowing one to get a sense of how it is to sit on the main grandstand at Interlagos or at the top of hill in Mount Panorama, and even get to do some time travel if used with a historical car-track combo, going to sit up close to the fence at Silverstone to hear late 90s V10 cars flashing by!

Here´s a video to give an idea how it will work:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Camera positions, LOD and sharpening settings are all WIP here of course and to some extent so is the audio, for which we have some interesting developments incoming that should really boost the experience of watching a race be it in VR or not - in any case this gives an idea of how it´s going to work We will be gradually adding these VR cameras to all tracks in the game over the coming updates, with the initial batch already coming with the September update.



Since we have touched on the topic of audio development, we´d like to assure again that similar efforts are also ongoing to improve every area of the game - some on the short term, others on the longer term but generally you can expect AMS2 to play, look and sound better with every monthly update, and also become a more pleasant game to use as more quality of life improvements are integrated and further customization options added so users can tune it more to their own preferences.

To give a better clue into this ongoing process, below you have the unusual preview of what our code taskboard looks like, giving you a glimpese into the various tasks we have worked on, are currently working or will come to work in the near future - there are similar boards for every development front in the game, and they are constantly expanding not only to include the developments necessary to fulfill our own plans, but also to attend the more common requests we gather in any of the ongoing feedback topics here in the forum and in other commuinties:


So while can´t promise to deliver on everyone´s personal wishlist within a couple of updates, we can at least assure we´ll be giving our best shot to implementing any reasonable request we come accross towards making the game better.

Then there is the content - as you know from the last July Dev Update there is plenty of cool cars currently in the works, with a number of previously announced Classic Touring Cars to be added to the game in our next update towards the end of September - but we´ll share more from these along with a couple of unnanounced surprised as we progress trough the remaining weeks :)



We have commented before in one our August releases but it´s worth reminding in case you missed it that we have launched two extra Steam packages for those interested in Automobilista 2 and / or its DLC:

The Automobilista 2 Premium Track Pack includes the two Premium Track Pack DLCs already released (Hockenheim & Silverstone) as well as two other to be released before the end of 2020 (Nurburgring & Spa), along with a fifth still TBA.

This pack does NOT include the tracks featuring in the future Expansion Packs or the Historical Track Pack DLC, and it is designed for those with interest in these premium tracks but would rather commit to a smaller, shorter term investment than the 2020-2021 Season Pass.

The Automobilista Ultimate Edition + Automobilista 2 Bundle is a limited time offer for AMS1 fans looking to make the jump to AMS2, or AMS2 owners and want to check how the predecessor compares.

For those who don´t own either, this is the complete Automobilista Experience in one Single Package! Get Automobilista 1 Ultimate Edition (including all DLCs) AND Automobilista 2 with a special 25% discount on overall price! If you already have one or more items of this package, you get 25% off for the items you do not yet own.



This seems like an appropriate time to give a shout-out to Slightly Mad Studios and their considerable contribution in the making of Automobilista 2 - not just for developing a great sim racing engine and licensing it out to a small studio such as our own, giving out well over one year of continuous support to help us get the best of it, but doing all of that without taking a single penny in advance, or even for a few months into its release to ensure we were able to continue developing it to the best of our ability - all this made clear to us that more than anything they wanted us to get as much out of it as we could, and they certainly went out of their way to supply us with the means to do it.

This is most unusual in the gaming industry and for all that we owe them an immense amount of gratitude, as we did to ISI before them - anyone who already enjoys AMS2 or comes to enjoy it in the future as we continue developing it should be able to appreciate their contribution to making it a reality.

Wherever you land in the spectrum of racing game preferences, we should also all try to be happy with the range of great options currently in the market catering for the diversity of tastes that does exist, and recognize the role SMS played from GTR onwards in helping making sim racing what it is today - we are all better off for it :)

That´s all for the month of August folks - we´re back to work now and looking forward to having made further progress and having more good news to share by this time in September!