Dec 31, 2021

Automobilista 2 - Reiza Studios

Automobilista 2 has now been updated to V1.3.2.0 - this update is largely focused on bug fixing & bringing further quality-of-life improvements to the game to wrap up the development in 2021. More to come soon in 2022 - look forward to the upcoming Dev Update for further info!

IMPORTANT: As previously announced, following the extensive physics and setup revisions from recent months the Time Trial boards and its setup database have been reset and are starting fresh as of this update.

V1.3.1.1 -> V1.3.2.0 CHANGELOG

GENERAL

Added Fanatec CLS DD control sets
Fixed view changing to default attached camera instead of last driving view after switching camera on session live timing boards
Fixed MP Opponent type spinner allowing wrap and causing class list display issues
Fixed missing player avatar image on profile affinity tab
Fixed incorrect wheel range for some controllers
Rate limited Fanatec rumble motor updates

UI & HUD

Fixed an issue that would prevent driver profile details being saved in some instances.
Added user option to configure ICM auto-close time (options > gameplay > display > ICM Auto-Close)
Replay screen: Allowed info elements to remain visible when controls are hidden and added watched driver overview.
Added "Favourite Content" info to Profile screen.
Added "Outlap" status to session overview screen.
Fixed main menu replays button not opening correct profile tab
Fixed incorrect environment info on advanced setup screen
Adjusted scaling of weight distribution values
Added option to "unready" in pre-race screen
Fixed Online Opponent Settings page not showing all set classes
Fixed track map overlap on lobby details page

PHYSICS

Revised ideal temperature & range for all tires (generally slightly lower ideal temps and wider operating windows for road, vintage & harder semi-pro level slicks & semislicks, higher and narrower on higher top level compounds)
Slightly reduced road & vintage tire tread velocity sensitivity
Revised tire carcass of F-Classic (all gens), Group C, F-Ultimate
Minor tire tread adjustments to Group C cars, F-Classic Gen 1 & 2, Street & Vintage tires
Further driveline flex adjustments & added flex to remaining driveline models that still didn´t feature it
Revised aero drop-off with yaw angle for all formulas, GTs & Prototypes
Minor default setup adjustments to Stock Car 2019, Stock Car 2020/2021, Camaro GT4-R, BMW 2002, Porsche GT1, F-Ultimate, Super V8, Porsche RSR 1974, BMW M4, GTE, GT3, GT4 & Group A cars (setup reset recommended)
Porsche Cayman GT4: Corrected weight distribution & adjusted default setup (setup reset recommended)
Super V8: adjusted gear ratios
Reduced FFB parking force (correcting error that increased the parking forces in a previous build)
Fixed incorrectly pre-warmed tires for Stock Car 2019, Copa Montana, Stock Car 2020 & 2021

Fixed AI issue that would result in pit entry/exit overshoots/slides
AI in process of retiring before making it to main racing line merge will now do so immediately instead of waiting some time and risking tangling with other AI cars
Adjusted AI behaviour if encountering understeer on pit entry
Fixed AI sometimes getting stuck on track in reverse gear
Revised AI pit entrance speed tweakers

TRACKS

Cleveland: More details to the airport buildings, few material fixes for other buildings, added collisions for planes, trackside vehicles and structures that are visible through all the sessions; the cement wall on the exit of T8 has got some rubber battle scars; Adjusted brightness of night lighting
Watkins Glen: Added crowds at Turn 10; Terrace, restaurant, few more outside buildings More AIW tweaks (short layout); Rolling start P1 is now on the right hand side added small grandstand before T1, slightly corrected marshall huts; rubber marks on the tirewall at the exit of T9; updated trackside cameras
Salvador: Added wall at the monument chicane to avoid AI cars getting stranded on the grass island
Distance from start-line from which a track limit infraction would invalidate the following lap is now customized per track
Daytona: Moved rolling start location to exit of bus stop chicane, increase gap between grid rows
Monza (All layouts): Revised rolling start location; Fixed graphical issue on the tunnel
Long Beach: Revised rolling start location and rolling start velocity; Switch P1 to left-hand side
Azure 2021: Add some missing flower boxes to runoff at the chicane; Remove some out of place 2d ivy and cleanup the foliage clipping the walls at the hairpin
Interlagos Historic: Adjusted AI path for better pit-in behavior; Moved pit guy to minimise clipping into garage wall; Adjusted AI line to reduce corner cuts at Descida do Lago; Smoothed out an abnormal dip on the outer loop junction
Interlagos: Adjusted pit lane entrance path
Curitiba: Adjusted fastline at Entrada do Miolo / Esse de Baixa; Adjusted corridors; Move rolling start location 250m back before last corner
Campo Grande: Fixed garage depth causing AI to hit wall on pit exit; Adjusted AI fast line through S1,S2; Improved pit entry path
Kyalami: Fixed gap between grass and road ; Fix gravel traps resistance (switch sand to gravel); Corrected 3d crowd LODs
Speedland: Added rain blockers to indoor segment
Spa-Francorchamps 2020: Added rain blockers to garage building
Spielberg: Fix gap in pitlane mesh; Minor LOD fixes & optimization pass
Brasilia: Fixed garage depth causing AI to hit wall on pit exit
Added VR cams to Brasilia, Spielberg Vintage
Jacarepagua: Adjusted rolling start locations and speed
Jerez: Adjusted AI fat path & Fixed garage depth causing AI to hit wall on pit exit

VEHICLES

F-USA: Revised & fixed driver animation issues (all models)
Swift 009C: Fixed cockpit windows issue
Reynard 98i: Fixed steering rack default position (animation). Fixed tire glitch
Formula Classic G3M2: Revised the driver animation, fixed driver head position
McLaren 720S GT3 Material: update for liveries #27 #90; New sponsors added for liveries #11 #22 #87
Stock Car Omega: Updated windshield textures
VW Polo/Virtus: Updated custom materials
Formula V10 Gen1: Updated driver animations.
Roco: Fixed left tires sidewall issue

Nov 27, 2021

Automobilista 2 V1.3.0.0 RELEASED!

Automobilista 2 - Reiza Studios

Automobilista 2 V1.3.0.0 is now live! The first of several updates on this dev cycle is heavily focused on physics and FFB - extensive revisions to driveline and tires of all cars and addition of a new FFB profile as elaborated in our November Development Update Pt2 makes this our biggest physics overhaul yet.

The extent of the physics updates have required default setups & AI performance to be adjusted accordingly, a process that remains ongoing for the next few days so you may expect some small hotfixes to be deployed before the release of Racin´ USA Pt2 next week.

AMS2 V1.3 introduces new FFB profile (Default+) in parallel to the old "Default" profile which remains available for users who may prefer it. Information on these FFB updates along with an updated tutorial to best set it up will be posted on a dedicated thread soon.

The update also introduces the beta version of our Multiplayer Rating System - information on the mechanisms of the system as well as other relevant information for AMS multiplayer and its ongoing development will also be coming in its own dedicated thread soon.

Finally, AMS2 V1.3 also brings some new & updated content - the TSI Cup class featuring the VW Polo & Virtus from the Acelerados Demo released last week is now included in the main game. On the track front, the Azure street circuit has been completely overhauled with the aid of laser scan data.

IMPORTANT: You must delete your Automobilista 2\savegame\[User Profile Number]\automobilista 2\tuningsetups to reset your car setups to their original settings - failure to do so may result in a broken driving experience (it is not necessary to delete your other game settings).

IMPORTANT: The extent of the physics changes means that a reset of Time Trial leaderboards will finally taking place in the coming days, so don´t bother much with previous lap times & setups.

V1.3.0.0 CHANGELOG

CONTENT

Added Volkswagen Polo & Virtus to TSI Cup class
Added updated Azure 2021 (replacing old Azure)

GENERAL

Added support for customizing AI driver names & personalities (See Information for Customizing AI drivers in AMS2 V1.3 for details)
Minor revisions to shadow cascading parameters, slightly improving shadow quality especially for HIGH and lower settings

UI & HUD

Added driver profile statistics page
Added minimum rating information to server browser
Lobby Page: Condensed mutually exclusive icons to one field; Switched to short vehicle names; Added player rank information.
Extended player interaction pop-up to include remote player profile information; Added Steam profile link and friend request button.
Added Full variant tachometer (default option for new profiles)
Reordered vehicles by names/numbers in the vehicle selection screen
Revised & corrected all UI vehicle information, addressing several innacuracies
Updated label of Exit to Main Menu button on multiplayer session results screen
Fixed session overview and pre-event menu alignment
Fixed race session settings being incorrectly displayed on test day session overview

FFB

Added DEFAULT+ profile
Exposed FFB gain per vehicle to FFB script files.
Adjusted base gyro/damping FFB calculations
Reduced FFB parking force multiplier to minimise rattling when standing still

PHYSICS

Extensive revisions to all tires & driveline models, with several corrections & improvements; the driveline updates include addition of elasticity moelling & fixing a bug clutch LSD preload calculation
Revised ABS & Traction Control slip ranges & scaling
Adjusted camber & toe step increments (now all camber & toe adjustments are +/- 0.1 degrees in cars that weren´t already set to that standard
Revised default setups of all cars to a more suitable baseline
Revised body drag coefficients of Sprint Race, Caterhams (all models) Caterhams, F-Classics, BMW M6 & M8
Revised Ginetta G55 setup & aero distribution
R-Retro Gen1: Moved diffuser center of pressure slightly forward
Sprint Race: Slightly reduced brake torque, increased body drag coefficient, minor CoG height adjustment
F-Vee: Reduced baseline steering lock by 1.5 deg
Adjusted Super V8 FFB smoothing, wheel rates, raised default tire pressure
Revised drag coefficients for
GT3: Revised baseline rear downforce for all models for more accurate aero balance
Ginetta G55: Revised default setup & aero distribution; Slightly reduced brake torque & default bias
Sprint Race: Minor CoG height, diffuser adjustments Slightly reduced brake torque & adjusted default brake bias
BMW M4: Minor default setup adjustments & aero revision, slightly reduced pneumatic trail
Corvette C3: Revised driveline & suspension geometry
Montana: Minor aero revisions
Porsche Cup: Minor rear wing & default setup revisions
Porsche Cayman GT4: Corrected error switching damper rates to non-existent fast dampers
Revised BMW M6 / M8 body drag coefficent (contributes to BoP)

General AI calibration for all cars (further fine-tuning still in order)
Bathurst: Revised AI performance
Adjusted AI Grip multipliers for Kansai, Oulton, Nurburgring, Donington, Santa Cruz, Spa 1993 to minimise gaps to player performance based on spreadsheet results
Adjusted AI corner cut scale to reduce corner cutting by the AI
Adjusted F1 AI field spread
Adjusted GT AI brake distance offset

AUDIO

Updated tires´ road rolling sounds (slightly "drier" with less "windy" artifacts in it.
Updated samples for external camera instead of filtered sample for dry / wet road sounds.
Revised AJR Nissan V6 engine
Porsche GT3-R: Fixed issue where transmission became inaudible off throttle
Porsche Cup: Corrected surface sounds
Mclaren 720S: Fixed missing traction control sound
Adjusted traction control sounds

TRACKS

Virginia: Several graphical and physical corrections; Minor AI tweaks (North pit layouts); Adjusted brake marker positioning
VeloCitta: Further track adjustments according to latest reference material
Bathurst: Fixed hotel railing transparency in fog conditions.
Kyalami Historic: Fixed red building zfight, Crowds LODs, some minor static object LOD pops; minor Z-Fight in treeline
Campo Grande, Ibarra, Imola, Imola 1972, Imola 1988, Imola 2001: 3d crowd LOD fixes
Goiania: Minor LOD fixes
Monza 1991: Fix hole in grass at Della Roggia Chicane

VEHICLES

Mercedes E190 DTM: Fixed windscreen issue
Caterhams: Fixed right front cockpit tire spinning the wrong way
Copa Montana: Fixed sticker LOD issue
Chevette: Textures updates & fixed light issue
Puma GTB: Fixed cockpit external mirror flickering
Porsche 911 RSR: Corrected cockpit camera position
Corvette C3: Corrected cockpit camera position
F-Classic G3M1: Fixed RPM display bar
Passat HC: Fixed bonnet camera position
Sprintrace: Corrected RPM lights
Kart Shifter: Corrected RPM lights
Corrected look back camera for: ARC Camaro, F-Classics (all models), F-Retro V12, Lotus72E, Metalmoro MRX P4, McLaren F1 LM
BMW M6 GT3: Fixed display lap time issue
F-Trainer Advenced: Fixed cockpit dashboard issue

Nov 22, 2021

Automobilista 2 November Development Update Part 2

Automobilista 2 - Reiza Studios

Greetings everyone!

Part 2 of our November Development Update has finally arrived with some fresh good news for Automobilista 2 in our final development sprint of 2021!

And what a run of weeks it has been so far - not only have we managed to hit some of the important developments we had planned for the month, we also managed to find and are in process of resolving some other significant issues along the way - in fact our plan had been to publish this article already with our first big game update of November, however spotting a rather sizeable physics issue just a few hours before the update was meant to be deployed has forced us back to the drawing board for a few more days - the new Automobilista V1.3 update is expected to arrive towards the end of this week.

On the plus side, V1.3 will now pack even further value to what is already a landmark update for AMS2 - so let´s get into some of what we have been working on these past few weeks!

AMS2 Demo With VW TSI Cup by Acelerados Now Available

Our collaboration with Volkswagen Brasil and the Acelerados Channel has come to fruition this past week with the release of the AMS2 Demo featuring the new VW TSI Cup, bringing the VW Polo & Virtus production cars to AMS2 - more details on this release here.

The delay on our new game update unfortunately has meant the addition of these cars to the main game have also been slightly held back - do look forward to their arrival later this week however with the release of V1.3!

The Big Physics Overhaul of AMS2 V1.3

As touched upon in Pt1 of the November Dev Update, physics & FFB are receiving a pretty substantial overhaul this month similarly to what happened earlier in the year in the V1.2 dev cycle, maximizing further knowledge of the Madness tire & driveline models we have gathered in recent months.

Beginning with the latest finding - the issue spotted just this weekend forcing the delay of the update is nothing more than a simple syntax error that resulted in some of the tire models in AMS2 using components that didn´t belong to them. This error - the type you hope not to spot years into the development of the sim - is nevertheless the type of thing that can happen when you are working on someone else´s technology, and part of a learning curve that sometimes can stretch longer than one would have preferred. The silver lining here of course is that spotting and correcting this error will lead to even further progress to what was already proving a very extensive revision of all tire models in AMS2, which combined with the driveline developments have already led to all cars driving substantially better than the current release to one degree or another.

On to the driveline developments: as with tires, we have been constantly learning more details about the complex driveline system in the Madness Engine - a physical model based on masses, friction coefficients, stiffnesses and pairings, which if not configured correctly for each car can easily result in various handling issues.

The first major development here is fine tuning clutch LSD disc friction coefficients to eliminate the infamous "sticky" behavior of the differential on some cars, which could lead to the car balance suddenly changing mid-corner; the differential operation is much smoother now, remaining closed when it should, and opening immediately and yet gradually based on your effective locking amount from preload, ramp angles and amount of clutches.

The second important improvement was made to the clutch engagement formula itself - thus far, preload setting in LSD diffs had far too much importance and ramp angles relatively very little. Reason for this laid in a bug in the underlying mathematical formula combining forces from these two setup factors. With that legacy bug corrected, it´s been possible and in fact necessary to update all default differential setups to more sensible ones.

One neat example is the Caterham clutch LSD that could now get inspiration from a real-life Titan LSD designed for Caterhams: a 30/90 ramp configuration with preload adjusted for each driver's needs. This maintains the Caterham's trademark throttle steer character, while users will remain able to fine tune preload to suit their lift-off behavior tastes.

Furthermore on the driveline topic, we have been literally "flexing the muscles" of the engine by introducing driveline elasticity - with multiple moving parts between the engine and driven wheels (each with its own finite stiffness) the forces applied on these parts can be immense, as gearboxes multiply engine torque - one can often hear these dynamics at play on real onboard videos as engine noise and transmission whine oscillating as the whole driveline acts like a giant spring under changing loads.

We have revised stiffnesses and driveshaft weights in multiple classes, and in multiple points in their drivelines. This creates an immersive and organic effect that fully depends on what is going on in the physical simulation. If you stomp on the throttle in 1st gear, you will hear revs jump up as the driveline tenses up. Lift suddenly, and the driveline releases its tension audibly. Driving over bumps the engine and transmission noises will oscillate smoother than before as the connection between tires, gearbox and engine isn’t as direct.

This isn’t purely for immersion purposes either, as a slight delay in response between driven wheels and engine can have subtle effects on handling - it means for example that tire slip and engine RPM aren’t the only buffers for sudden forces, which can also dampen some sharp jolts in bumpy braking zones.

In the video below comparing a lap with the Mercedes AMG GT3 around Nürburgring in V1.2.5.1 (left) vs the current AMS2 Beta (right) overlayed with wheel speed telemetry, you can see and hear the subtle but noticeable results of the developments described above:

All of these substantial physics developments along with some adjustments in setup options have also led to a big revision of default setups on all cars - so further good news is default setups being as reasonably well adjusted as they can possibly be as universal baselines for all tracks and controller types.

It does also mean however it will be critical to reset all your setups one more time upon deployment of the next update - failure to do could result in some very odd setups that will most definitely spoil the cars´ handling.

A small price to pay hopefully for what is all around a really big step in the AMS2 driving experience - while physics development remains always an ongoing process for anyone serious about simulation, in V1.3 the physics will have reached a level of maturity that we are confident represents our very best work in this area to date.

Force Feedback Developments in AMS2 V1.3

AMS2 V1.3 will also introduce developments in the game Force Feedback, with the addition of a new "Default+" profile, parallel to the existing "Default".

FFB can be a somewhat subjective matter - while generally steering FFB in-game should resemble certain traits from real world vehicles - self-centering steering wheel, resistance buildup with more steering angle & ramp up of forces with tire load - in race sims that is somewhat restrictive and often leaves us missing the actual feedback we get in our bodies on a real car through its lateral and longitudinal acceleration. Through FFB one hopes to convey some of that mixed in with the usual steering forces, and the way to do that is where things get subjective.

With the new "Default+" profile we have what we believe to be a good compromise, adding further useful information to what you get on the Default profile.

Aside from additional info provided in Default+ , we also did a lot of work on damping, which is inherent to any steering system and something we strongly advise to be used to some degree as it doesn´t take anything away from the feedback, instead working in sync with the vehicle you drive - it depends not just on steering velocity, but vehicle velocity, lateral acceleration, tires slip, oversteer. All of that is taken into account on damping, making it usable and helpful instead of simply providing viscous-like resistance to wheel turning.

While the Default+ expands on the level of information being provided to the wheel, more in tune with the preference of some users, given FFB´s subjectvity to taste the usage of custom FFB profiles will remain an option - some interesting and popular work is being developed by @Karsten Hvidberg and company you may also want to check out. We had in fact planned to add one of these profiles as a third default option in the game, however we found out that the memory load from FFB system is raised considerably by its presence if there is another complex profile present in the "custom" slot, which could lead to various glitches.

We do encourage our users who may still be looking for something beyond what our default profiles are offering to give these a try checking out the Automobilista 2 Custom Force Feedback - Overview & Recommendations thread.

AI Development in AMS2 V1.3

AMS2 V1.3 will bring yet another big step for the AI, with an extensive calibration pass to not only match recent player physics development, but also solving several track and car specific performance discrepancies from the current release.

Driver personalities have been extended with some initial parameters defining an AI driver´s ability in managing tire wear, racing in wet weather & cooperating with blue flags.

Furthermore, V1.3 will introduce the option to mod AI driver names, livery assignments & personalities - you can read more about this new feature on this thread moved from the beta subforum for those looking to get an early understanding of how to go about it.

Multiplayer Rating System Hitting Public Beta in V1.3

Last but not least in our big list of V1.3 features is the introduction of the driver profile page alongside the long-awaited Multiplayer Rating System - albeit in Beta stage in this initial release.

The system is heavily based on the legacy system featured in Project Cars 2 with several adjustments - more details about it to be shared in a dedicated thread shortly before release.

We are also working with third party Multiplayer services to best integrate our system with theirs, which should hopefully see the arrival or organized scheduled races in AMS2 in the not-so distant future.

Furthermore, we have also been collecting some valuable feedback from the community for further Multiplayer development, some of which we are pushing to deliver as we progress through the public beta of the MRS - not everything will arrive in a matter of weeks, but we do hope to be fulfilling at least some common requests in the near future.

Racin´ USA Pt2 Arriving Soon!

As previously announced, the second part of the Racin´ USA Expansion Pack is due to be released shortly after V1.3 and before the end of this month.

This time, we will explore what many consider to be the golden years of American single seater racing, as Racin´ USA Pt2 will feature a number of Reynards, Swifts and Lola Indycars & Champ Cars from the 1990s, along with three iconic road courses.

The cars will make up what we will call the "Formula USA" class in the game, in three generations - Gen1 will feature models from the 1995 Indycar season (the last before the series infamously split), Gen2 will have models from the 1998 season when Alex Zanardi reigned supreme, with Gen3 featuring models from 2000 - the performance peak of the Champcar era, enabling historical feats such as Gil de Ferran´s closed course record average speed.

The 3 tracks to feature in the pack will be Watkins Glen (which even though was not raced by these cars during the 1990s, is still one the greatest road courses in the USA fully warranting its place on the pack); the unique Cleveland temporary road course, set on the Burke Lake Front Airport with a fast, flowing and very bumpy layout serving as stage for some memorable wheel-to-wheel battles; and the third one remaining under wraps for a few more days as we finalize some licensing requirements.

Racin´ USA Pt2 itself will be a slightly staggered release - the Gen2 cars along with Cleveland & Watkins Glen will be released at the end of this month, with the remaining models and the third track arriving just before our Christmas wrap-up; there will be further additions to this pack later on in 2022, as the arrival of Racin´ USA Pt3 will introduce oval tracks to Automobilista 2, which will see all Formula USA models in Pt2 receiving their oval spec variants.

While Pt3 of Racin´ USA will take a bit longer than originally planned into 2022, the delay will see more tracks being added to the package than originally planned - at no extra expense for those who already bought the full Racin´ USA Expansion Pack!

Price for Racin´ USA Pt2 will be the same as Pt1 in your local currency.

New Manufacturers Joining the Party!

We are happy to confirm we´re in the final stages of licensing arrangements with Nissan, which should see several models from the brand coming to Automobilista 2 if not already on v1.3, very soon after.

There are at least two more major manufacturer deals we are looking to wrap before the end of the year, all of which leading to various existing classes in the game being expanded with new competitors over the course of 2022 - watch this space!

This covers the main topics we had to bring you on this Dev Update, even if not quite all we have in store for the remainder of the year - we will cover these remaining goodies in our final Dev Update of the year early on December, by which time you will all hopefully already be enjoying AMS2 V1.3 & Racin´ USA Pt2!

Nov 5, 2021

Automobilista 2 November 2021 Development Update

Automobilista 2 - Reiza Studios

Greetings everyone - we´re in November now, and into what promises to be a very exciting month for Automobilista 2!

First things first - considering we ended up skipping the October Development Update and the fact there´s just way too much to cover this month in a single article , we´re going to do things slightly different this month by breaking down this November Update into two parts - this is part one, part two should be published on November 19th.

Let´s get on it:

Volkswagen TSI Cup by Acelerados coming to Automobilista 2! 038.jpg

By now most of you will have heard the big news about a project we alluded to a couple of months ago, and we couldn´t be happier to be finally announcing our collaboration with Volkswagen Brasil alongside the good people from Acelerados to bring you the VW TSI Cup by Acelerados to Automobilista 2.

For those not familiar with the show, Acelerados is an internet-born TV show dedicated to cars and driving them fast, in a similar mould to the classic Top Gear - the essence of the show is taking a bunch of cars to the Velo Città track in Brazil where they have a pro driver (usually Rubens Barrichello who is also one of the presenters) to drive the wheels off of it and discuss its qualities (or lack thereof).

Acelerados and Volkswagen came up with the idea for a game that realistically reproduced the experience the presenters have on the show to give people the chance to perform hot laps with some of the VW models currently available in the Brazilian market and eventually use that base to promote an official E-Sports competition.

We were approached to develop the sim but since all our focus and resources currently dedicated to developing Automobilista 2, the only way we could take on that challenge was if we could somehow find a way for the VW-Acelerados project to merge and complement AMS2.

That we did, so effectively what you will be getting to begin with is a free Automobilista 2 demo including the VW Polo & its sedan variant Virtus in two specifications each (1.0 TSI & 1.4 GTS), along with Autódromo Velo Città, featuring mostly the same game modes except Championship and Multiplayer - that´s where it begins, what comes next and what it leads to is not to be spoiled in this Dev Update :)

The cars naturally will also be added to the full game as free additional content, albeit there will most likely be a few days in between the release of the Acelerados demo and the main game update that will include these cars.

Both of which will certainly take place this month however and we´re very excited for it, as not only the cars will help fill the still-unexplored niche of regular road cars in the game but also for the potential it has for promoting the game and sim racing in general to a wider audience in Brazil.

Developing the cars for AMS2 with the collaboration and input from Volkswagen engineers along with the Acelerados guys has likewise being a fantastic experience, with no shortage of access to data as well as the cars themselves.

I even got to put one of them through its paces for a few laps at the Velo Città, and such direct experience is always worth some insights! The car is impressively stable on a race track for a popular road car and a peach to drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRtw2KsAQkY

In fact getting some real experience jumping into some of the cars reproduced in AMS2 (including a few of the more racey ones ) and collect more such insights is certainly something I intend to do more of in 2022 as opportunities arise - watch this space, and watch out for the VW TSI Cup!

Big Update Incoming!

You´ll probably also have already heard mentions of our plans for a major Automobilista 2 update later this month - and it is indeed a big one!

There is a lot we are currently working to cover in one go, and with many new features still in development or going through its final licensing hurdles the definitive list of incoming goodies for this release is still fairly fluid, to the extent we can´t get into too many specifics just yet - in fact given the dimensions of the changes and the amount of new content it´s fair to expect the big November update to get split into several updates wrapping up our 2021 progress for AMS2, to be delivered in parts through November and into the early weeks of December as we finalize these new features and finalise pending licensing arrangements.

Let´s start with some early wins already in the bag - one of which is another comprehensive physics update covering all areas that should at least match the step we made earlier this year with the v1.2 update - a progress that we have since gradually complemented by various incremental developments leading up to this new leap.

We have discussed before how even though the Madness physics models of aerodynamics, suspension and chassis used in AMS2 pretty much match 1:1 with pMotor engine of AMS1 with which it shares some common DNA, the tire and driveline models in the Madness physics engine were a complete departure from what we had been using in AMS1, substantially more complex and thus challenging to get a full grasp on - but that in turn also ultimately provides us with bigger potential for a more realistic & engaging driving experience.

These two components of the physics engine have been the focus of most of our attention on the physics side of things and also the sources of most of our headaches - and with so much to learn in these fairly intrinsic models, we have since the beginning of AMS2 development been opting to focus on the essentials elements of those models in order to deliver a satisfactory driving experience which related to what we had delivered before in AMS1.

With that goal if not yet achieved already well within reach, it was time to flex the muscles of the engine a bit more and begin delving into other substantial resources these physics models offer that hadn’t up to now been fully exploited: features ranging from a variety of tire damage components to transmission elasticity will feature to one degree or another in our November build, and thanks to the support and input of some intrepid internal testers we have not only been capable of making quick progress exploring these new resources but in the process also gain some valuable handling improvements, the most notable of which to the differential model on which is we have now pretty much eliminated the “sticky diff” syndrome some cars still suffered from to one degree or another.

Coupled with the improvements being gradually implemented to the various tires in recent updates which in turn will also be expanded on for the upcoming release, the internal feedback so far hints at something pretty sublime taking shape, and while further development and refinements will always continue to be in order, it´s fair to expect AMS2 to deliver a noticeable progress on this front by the end of this month.

All these changes do have some setup implications so in addition to that a revision of default setups is also in progress, and with that a fresh setup reset by deleting your local setup folder also be in order - hopefully a small price to pay and it will lead to some improved setup baselines in the process as well.

AI Development & AI modding support

AI continues to be a front in constant developments and we have made some furtber good progress in this department as well.

AI calibration has remained a moving target with so many car-track combos in the game and their ongoing physics development, but we expect to cover some good ground towards that target by the end of the month - thanks once again to the input of our internal testers who have gone beyond the call of duty assembling a comprehensive spreadsheet to catalogue AI performance discrepancies in pretty much every car / track combo offered in AMS2, which is proving invaluable in this calibration process, and will hopefully lead up to a much more consistent challenge vs the player requiring less fudging of the AI Strength setting going one combo to another.

Moreover, we are introducing support for users to mod AI driver performances and names to their taste so you´re not stuck with the usual native AI drivers, being able to actually customize drivers from each series with their own names, performance & personality parameters and assign them to specific car liveries.

To begin with, users looking to perform these modifications will have to rely on the good old process of editing text files, which they will then be able to add in combo with livery car sets and share them with other users.

Other new features include the option to limit the number of new tire sets players have available to use in each event (similar to the feature we had already developed in AMS1), the driver profile page and the Beta release of the much anticipated Multiplayer Rating System - all these however topics for Part 2 of this dev update!

Laser Scanned Azure

On the content front, we have a neat free development in the shape of a complete revamp to the Azure Circuit, with the mesh (the only one we re-used from Project Cars 2 with just a few modifications) now being completely redone with the aid of Laser Scan data. It´s a considerable upgrade which should feel very different from the original track!

Racin USA Pt2 is Coming!

Another eagerly expected release is the second part of our very popular Racin´ USA Pack, going further into the North American motorsports scene - this time focusing on faster flowint tracks and its single seater heritage.

As most of you familiar with our sims already will know, we do like to pay tribute to incredible race series, cars and tracks that perhaps haven´t been so much in evidence, either due to their local nature or because their hayday in this world having already come and gone a few decades ago, their awesomeness since fading from minds of many current race fans and sim racers. Sim racing offers an unique channel to bring these awesome machines and tracks back to life and to the awareness of racing fans and one of our goals in AMS2 is very much to deliver just that.

So with Pt2 we are taking the opportunity to mix some exciting & famous American road circuits with a fairly exotic choice that probably will surprise many, along with an ensemble of 1990s Champ Cars from various seasons in that great decade for American single seater racing.

For myself, this is again a trip down memory lane as I´ve worked on many of these cars in and out over the last 15 years for modding projects, becoming some of my personal favorites!

The specifics of the pack we will share with you in part 2 of this dev update, but we couldn´t leave you all hanging without a small teaser - a cookie for whoever can guess the car-track combo previewed below :)

We are Hiring!

We are looking for artists to join our brilliant track team and help us produce trackside buildings & objects for some very exciting circuits we will be producing in the near future.

Key requirements include low-poly modelling in 3DS Max (squeezing out the most of the most efficient poly & texture count), texturing in Photoshop/Substance. Additionally, experience with CATrig animations, procedural texturing with Substance is welcome.

If you fit the bill and are interested in joining our team, please go ahead and send us an email with your CV and portfolio @ jobs@reizastudios.com - we´d love to hear from you!

That´s it for now - let´s catch up again in two weeks for Part 2 and even more exciting news!