Automobilista 2 V1.4.1 has finally arrived - the new update packs a mega list of game-changing improvements, new features, cars and a great surprise - the 2022 reform of Spa-Francorchamps as a free addition to the existing Spa-Francorchamps DLC!

The official release of Racin´ USA Pt3 has been delayed while we work out some new items for the pack, but you won´t have to wait longer to do some oval racing - the two ovals already confirmed as part of Racin´ USA Pt3 along with all oval variants of F-USA Gen1-3 from Pt2 as well as Daytona from Pt1 will all be available with V1.4 tomorrow, the Pt 3 content as a free trial for all owners of the base game until they become part of the official Racin´ USA Pt3 release!

Introducing Advanced Mechanical Damage Modeling: AMDM is currently featuring with most open wheelers, GTs and faster prototypes. To make use of it, make sure to enable MECHANICAL FAILURES in GAMEPLAY UI. Try a race any of the historic open wheelers against AI (especially F-Vintage) with random failures enabled. to more readily experience the new feature. Custom AI creators may want to look into the new reliability parameter we added. We will extend this feature to more classes in the near future, but the most notoriously unreliable race cars already are supported

We have more relevant info about this update and how to get the best of the new features incoming - for now, here is the complete changelog since the last official release.




CONTENT

Cars
Added F-USA Gen1-3 Short Oval, Speedway & Superspeedway configurations (part of Racin´USA Pt2)
Added Ginetta G55 GT3 to GT Open Class
Added Mini Cooper 1965 to Copa Classic B class
Added Vulkan Truck to Copa Truck class
Added Mercedes AMG GT4 to GT4 class

Tracks
Added WWT Raceway Speedway and road course configurations (part of Racin´ USA Pt3)
Added Autoclub Speedway (speedway & road course part of Racin´ USA Pt3)
Added Daytona Tri-Oval layout (part of Racin´ USA Pt3)

GENERAL

• Added support for Full Course Yellow
  
• Added support for cars to use different aero packages depending on track
  
• Fixed bug allowing player livery to be selected by AI in championships
  
• Added low downforce aero packages for F-V12, F-V10 Gen1 & F-V10 Gen2 classes (affects physics & default setup for both player and AI)
  
• LiveTrack developments: Added support for custom min-max grip ranges per track to account for tarmac quality / dirtiness / maintenance and other such variables from track-to-track; Adjusted baseline minimal grip and range (generally lower mininum grip, higher peak, slightly slower buildup, offline isn´t as globally poor grip as it was before); Adjusted Livetrack presets for better scaling & set light rubber as baseline starting point instead of Green in Default progressing configuration)
  
• Fixed potential freeze when a new participant joins Multiplayer session while session is alredy in progress
  
• Added some mitigation to help reduce extreme wheel movement of remote clients in Multiplayer

UI & HUD

• Extended Opponent Settings to allow user to set the number of AI vehicles per class in single player
  
• Opponent Aggression setting now uses 5 predefined levels rather than 0-100% slider.
  
• Enabled seat/mirror adjustment for non VR users accessed via in-game Cockpit Configuration options
  
• Updated various vehicle specifications to recent revisions & added specs for new cars & associated aero packages
  
• Fixed livery limit warning not displaying on Opponent Settings screen
  
• Prevented livery name from expanding beyond container bounds on livery selection screen
  
• Revised vehicle information according to latest physics adjustments

PHYSICS

• Fully revised physics for Caterhams, ARC Camaro, GT Classics, Vintage TCs, Street Cars
  
• Revised tire thermodynamics covering ideal temperature ranges, heating & cooling rates and fallout rates when outside ideal operating window
  
• Added Qual / Soft / Medium / Hard compounds to F-Classics (all); medium & hard compound records for F-Reiza; Hard compounds for F-V12, F-V10 (both gens)
  
• Added bespoke wet compound records for Formula Classic, Formula V10, Formula Reiza, F-USA, Formula 3, Proto2-4, GT4, GT5, Sprint Race
  
• Added bespoke intermediate records for Formula Ultimate (both gens)
  
• Further development to F-Vee, Vintages, Copa Fusca, Copa Uno, Opala 79, Old Stock, TSI Cup, Street Cars
  
• Revised various existing compounds for GTE, GT1, F-Ultimate (both gens), Super V8, Stock Car 2019; Revised wet & intermediate compounds (WIP)
  
• Extensive engine revisions (torque & compression curves, inertia, turbo models, fuel consumption, heating & cooling rates & associated wear) to GTE, GT3, GT4, GT1 (all), Porsche Cup, F-Classic Gen3 (all), Cadillac DPi, Sprint Race, P1-P4 prototypes, ARC Camaro, Stock Car 2019-2022, Group C, Vintage TCs, F-USA (all) Mini JCW, Corvette C3, TSI Cup, Ginetta G40 GT5 & G40 Cup, Copa Classics, Hot Cars, Copa Uno & Copa Fusca
  
• Fixed bug leading to extreme engine cooling
  
• Revised clutch LSD models for F-Vintages (both gens) F-Retro (all gens) Cadillac DPI, P1 , P2, P3, P4 (MRX), BMW 2002 Turbo, F-V10 (both gens), F-V12, F-Ultimate (both gens), Corvette C Caterham Supersport, Superlight, 620R, F-Classic G1-3, F-USA G1-3 Stock Car 2019-2022, Copa Montana, Ultima GTR Race & revised default setups to suit (setup reset recommended)
  
• Changed radiator & brake duct ranges to 5% increments for cars that have it adjustable
  
• Added throttle maps for cars that still missed it: BMW 2002, F301 & F309, Caterham Superlight & Supersport , F-Classic Gen2M1&2, G3M3, F-V10 Gen2
  
• GTE, GT3 & GT4 BoP revision complete, including various adjustments to turbo downscaling depending on environment pressure (so turbo cars no longer have substantial advantage on tracks at higher altitude)
  
• Copa Truck now features more detailed modelling of each truck´s engine with performance differences
  
• Adjusted CoG height for F-Trainers, Ginetta G40s2
  
• Various fuel tank size corrections & corrections to discrepancies between fuel tank pistop ranges; corrected tank ranges that didn´t factor initial minimal 1L in tank
  
• Adjusted center of fuel tank height for various cars to rectify minor inconsistencies
  
• Added custom draft production scale per car, accounting for variations in drag & dimensions
  
• Slightly increased lift & drag increment per radiator & brake duct setting for cars that still had that specially low
  
• Disabled lingering redundant one-step setup ranges that made options appear adjustable in setup screen even though they weren´t
  
• Further adjustments to FFB Max force in various cars
  
• Fixed diff ramp angles in GTE / GT3 to current defaults / disabled redundant range in Mclaren 570 & Ginetta G55
  
• Further adjustments to slick behavior on a wet track
  
• Ginetta G40 Cup: Correted mass (925kg with driver)
  
• Reduced rate of artificial pre-race tire heating without formation lap
  
• Minor moment of inertia corrections for Stock Omega, Opala (all models), Lancer Cup (both models) GTE / GT3 / GT4, GT1, Street Cars
  
• Ultima GTR Race: Revised specifications to suit new GT Open class it now belongs to, with adjusted tire dimensions & weight; Disabled onboard adjustable ARB
  
• Mercedes AMG GT3: Minor adjustments to default setup (slightly lower rear slow rebound, increased diff preload to 110 Nm)
  
• Adjusted fuel tank positions for Porsche RSR, Corvette C3.R
  
• F-Classic G2M3: Added boost function going to full boost pressure setting (100%) temporarily while boost button is is held; Slight adjustment to turbo efficiency; adjusted boost map for improved driveability
  
• F-Ultimate Gen2: Adjusted mass (798kg as per latest regulation update)
  
• F-3: Fixed syntax error causing its tires to use the wrong components as of V1.3.8.3
  
• F-Ultimate (both gens): Reduced front & rear wing drag-to-lift efficiency

AI

• AI can use more then one tire compound
  
• Addec custom AI driver names & personalities for Vintage Touring Cars 1/2, Copa Classic B & FL, GT Classics, HotCas, Opala Stock, Formula Vee, Copa Uno, Copa Fusca and Lancer Cup
  
• Further adjustments to AI movement when pulling out from behind another car to overtake
  
• Revised AI performance for Adelaide Modern
  
• Generally raised AI overtaking parameters & reduced gaps between minimum and max aggression for AI rates
  
• Dsabled function that was added to prevent AI from cutting corners but was actually making the issue worse
  
• AI calibration pass for all cars
  
• Adjusted AI performance for Nurburgring Nordschleife layouts, Adelaide
  
• Adjusted performance levels for all classes with custom AI driver
  
• Restored AI aggression for practice and qualifying when dealing with other AI cars
  
• Slightly improved AI overtakes of slow/lapped cars.
  
• Added table of contents and sub headings for each class in AI driver list to facilitate editing by end users
  
• Globally reduced rolling resistance for AI on most cars to compensate error in benchmarking AI straightline speed (further per car fine tuning still pending)
  
• Added automatic radiator adjustment (for F-USA Gen1-3 oval variants only for now)
  
• Added functional differential for all AI physics according to car spec to improve their ability to negotiate corners
  
• Implemented AI mistakes for oval tracks (AI spins)
  
• Added new AI personality parameter 'fuel_management' that works in oval tracks and is customizable by end user as explained here

AUDIO

• AI / Remote / replay cars now have same drivetrain sounds & surface sounds as player car
  
• Grinding gears sound effect should now play continuously on H-Shifters instead of infinite restarting
  
• Added ambient reverb for Buenos Aires and Galeao
  
• Removed artificial reverb parameters from Adelaide, Imola, Interlagos and Montreal tracks.
  
• Adjusted F-Classic V6 Turbo internal sounds, adjusted external volume.
  
• Increased volume of audio effect from running off the ideal racing line
  
• Added crowd sounds (Auto Club only for now)

TRACKS

• Interlagos: Restricted track cut limits at pit entrance

VEHICLES

• Restricted available car liveries to a limit of 40 total for all classes in the game
  
• Added actual driver helmet designs and outfits to Stock Car Pro Series 2019-2022
  
• Updated F-USA driver helmet model
  
• Puma P052: Added damage/dangling parts; Fixed the reverse lights (wasn't working before); Adjusted lights glow texture, lights uv map (ch5) and adjusted the material; Revised collision.
  
• Caterham SuperSport: Fixed the H-pattern movement to reflect the correct gear sequence
  
• Opala 1979: Fixed the cockpit shift light
  
• McLaren F1 GTR: Fixed windscreen issue
  
• Ginetta G40 Cup/GT5: Fixed gauges lights
  
• F-USA Gen1: Added magnesium wheels for cars that should have them
  
• Montana: Adjusted onboard cameras
  
• Camaro GT4R: Updated position of look back camera so as rear wing doesnt obscure
  
• Various onboard camera corrections for Copa Classic models & Copa Fusca
  
• Updated F-USA G3 LCD steering wheel to include water temp in Fahrenheit
  
• Fixed inaccurate RPM bar calibrations on F-USA G1 and G2 cockpit displays
  
• Switched water temperature on F-USA G1 and G2 displays to fahrenheit
  
• Added custom driver outfits & helmets to Stock Car 2019 + new entries to 2020-22..
  
• Updated driver outfits for Stock Car drivers that participate outside series that use the Modern GT driver outfits
  
• Updated liveries for Copa Uno, Copa Classics

CONTENT

• Added Spa-Francorchamps 2022 layout (part of Spa-Francorchamps DLC)

GENERAL

• Added new exhaust smoke type for diesel vehicles
  
• Added visibile undertray sparks from bottoming for F-Ultimate & F-Classic (all gens)
  
• Fixed Green LiveTrack preset not being fully green & revised grip levels for other presets
  
• Reduced FFB fade in timer from 5 to 3s

UI & HUD

• Added Official Events page and menu entry
  
• Updated Main Menu art panels
  
• Added Manual Grid and Full course Yellow options to championship editor
  
• Added Single Player Gameplay option to enable/disable random failures
  
• Changed Damage Scale option to use predefined levels instead of percentages
  
• Fixed ICM being unable to choose 'auto' ERS mode
  
• Altered vehicle/livery selection, showroom, and lobby to display appropriate downforce variant for current circuit
  
• Changed vehicle reliability to be based on mean time to failure directly
  
• Disabled redundant turbo setting from showing in Copa Uno & Mini 1965 setup screen

PHYSICS

• Completely revised thermodynamics for all tires
  
• Added Advanced Mechanical Damage Modelling for: F-Vintage (both gens), F-Retro (all gens), F-Classic (all gens), F-V12, F-V10 (both gens), F-Reiza, F-Ultimate (both gens)
  
• Updated traction control functionality for all cars that feature the device
  
• Fixed autolift value keeping throttle @ 100% during autoclutch upshifts with F-Vintage (all), F-Retro (all but G3 TE), F-Vee & corrected various semi-automatics that were blipping to 100% in downshifts
  
• Added new tire model parameters to more accurate modelling of slick behavior & performance in a wet surface
  
• Adjusted FFB for F-Classics, F-V10 Gen1, F-V12, F-3
  
• FFB adjustments for F-Ultimate Gen2, F-V10 Gen2
  
• Adjusted brakeduct cooling rates for BMW M6 & M8
  
• Camaro SS: Revised body inertia
  
• Mclaren 720S GT3: Slightly raised front splitter height sensitivity
  
• ARC Camaro:Adjusted CoG height
  
• Ginetta G55 GT3: further adjustments to aero balance and suspension Adjusted brake heating & cooling rates
  
• F-Ultimate Gen2: Fixed asymetrical front brake cooling rate
  
• Sigma P1: Fixed TC & ABS not being enabled
  
• Added LD variants for F-Classic Gen3, F-Reiza & F-Ultimate Gen1
  
• Ginetta G55 GT3: Suspension geometry update & suspension and ride height adjustments
  
• GT1: Corrected engine output of Porsche and Mclaren F1 GTR
  
• BMW M4 GT4: Minor power multi & rear ARB adjustment; Reduced default steering lock
  
• Completed tire revisions for Street Cars, F-Vintage Gen1&2
  
• Adjusted FFB max force & pneumatic trail on F-Vintages, Super V8, Stock Cars and BMW M6
  
• Corvette C3-R: Reduced brake torque & heating
  
• Mclaren F1: Reduced diffuser baseline downforce & adjusted center of pressure
  
• BMW M6: Default setup refinements
  
• Lancer Cup: revised fuel consumption, engine heating and wear

AI

• Prevented AI taking damage from small contacts in the wall or in other AIs (could lead to AIs coming to the pits too frequently)
  
• Fixed AI not pitting for engine repairs if they have an engine related failure
  
• Improved the way that the AI retires to off track due to terminal damage
  
• Added initial extra compounds for AI on F-Classic, F-Reiza & F-Ultimate Gen2 (WIP)
  
• F3, Copa Truck, Group C AI calibration pass
  
• F-USA (all gens): Added automatic radiator settings for AI for short oval and speedway variants
  
• Slightly increased AI draft scaling
  
• Revised F-V10 Gen1 & F-Classic Gen1 AI names and performance
  
• Revised AI paths & performance for Adelaide Historic, Nurburgring (GP & Veedol layouts) & Hockenheim (GP & National layouts), Spieberg
  
• Prevented AI vehicles from speeding up when they are trying to retire
  
• Fixed some issues with AI behaviour during full course yellow
  
• Implemented AI differentials
  
• Improved AI response to overheating due to damage

AUDIO

• Wall reflections: increased in volume, altered profile.
  
• Enabled new high speed passby wind "woosh" sound
  
• Decreased-distant live-play opponent sound attenuation max parameter, increased close distance parameter.
  
• Ginetta G55 GT4 & Supercup: Adjusted on-power volume for trackside & opponent view
  
• Fusca Classic FL: adjusted internior engine sound transition from idle to 3000 RPM
  
• Adjusted engine samples mixing on idle to mid-rpms for Copa Fusca, HotCars Fusca M1 & M2 and Puma GTE.
  
• Copa Truck: adjusted tire skid parameters, increased base pitch.
  
• Mercedes AMG GT4: increased interior engine volume, adjusted mixing in lower rpm band (cockpit sound)
  
• Adjusted trackside camera and opponent volume for BMW M8 & Corvette C8.R
  
• Turned off doppler on environment aerial animations

TRACKS

• Livetrack Updates: Added more visible rubbering effect, more prominent dirt buildup & cleaning off on track with car interaction
  
• Added custom LT grip ranges for Adelaide Historic, Bathurst, Brands Hatch, Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Daytona, Donington, Fontana, Galeao, Granja, Ibarra, Interlagos Historic, Interlagos Kart, Jaca Oval, Kansai, Londrina Kart, Long Beach, Montreal, Monza, Nurburgring, Ortona, Oulton Park, Road America, Silverstone, Spa 93, Speedland, Spielberg
  
• Nurburgring: Fixed floating flags in test day session for Nords 24h layout
  
• Road America: Adjusted curb physics for improved FFB feeling; LOD adjustments
  
• Bathurst: Fixed a hole in csm wall (T1 exit on left)

VEHICLES

• All Cars: Corrected Fresnel Power & adjusted liveries to suit
  
• Corvette C3 RC: Fixed trunk UV mapping issue
  
• Corrected cockpit mirrors position for Porsche RSR 1974, Mclaren 720S GT3, BMW M6 GT3
  
• Puma GTB: Corrected oil pressure gauge; 5 liveries revised
  
• Puma GTE: 5 liveries revised
  
• Onboard camera adjustments for Corvette C3, Copa Fusca, Copa Uno, Roco 001, Lotus 23, Mini Cooper S 1965, Metalmoro MRX, Camaro GT4, Mclaren 570S, Mercedes AMG GT4, Ginetta G55 GT4, Porsche Cayman GT4, Mclaren 720S GT3, Mercedes AMG GT3, BMW M6 GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R
  
• Copa Classic: Further livery revisions
  
• Vulkan Copa Truck: Added dirt/damage texture
  
• Metalmoro AJR (all models): Adjusted the driver's animation head tilt
  
• Adjusted suspension animation to rectify issue with wheels appearing to have positive camber on F-Retro V12 Gen 1, F-Trainer (both), F-V12, F-V10 Gen 2
  
• Mini Cooper S 1965: Fixed speedomer being set as MPH instead of KPH
  
• StockCar Corolla 2020-2022: Fixed steering wheel LOD issue
  
• F-USA Gen1-3: Added custom helmets
  
• Ultima GTR Race: Fixed LOD issue that was causing graphical artifacts; Revised collision mesh parameters; Adjusted rim textures to work better with LODC; Redone the LODC rims; Adjusted LODD; Added damage to LODD
  
• Corvette C3: Corrected engine heat and blown smoke emission point
  
• Opala 79, Opala 86: Changed the driver type to use the 80's helmet style

Automobilista 2 V1.4 is coming out this Saturday 27th around 15h GMT - the new update packs a mega list of game-changing improvements, new features, cars and a great surprise - the 2022 reform of Spa-Francorchamps will available with V1.4 as a free addition to the existing Spa-Francorchamps DLC!

We´d like to take this time to present a video overview of the game as of this release and go over some of the game-changing improvements being brought to the sim and demonstrate how AMS 2 V1.4 is an experience not to be missed by any sim racer - check it out!

Greetings everyone!

As you all probably have noticed, late July has come and gone and with it the not-so-great news of v1.4 and Racin´ USA Pt3 being postponed to the end of this month - there has been some very good reasons for this decision however, and in this Dev Update we´re going to cover that and also expand on some of the key features we have coming up.

Since our last catch-up in late June, we have merged features and content into the game that had been in gestation for months - the extent of these developments are actually beyond our original plans, which will make v1.4 an even bigger milestone than we had originally antecipated.

Some of these new features did still need further troubleshooting in order to be release-ready however, so taking it all into account we decided to keep working on it for a few more weeks and effectively merge July and August into a single cycle for an update later this month, with no public releases in between.

Normally we would have been happy to deploy what we had then and continue working and expanding on these new developments in subsequent weeks just as we have been doing every month up to this point - this update however is so much bigger than what we´ve managed in any other period during AMS2 development, that we felt not going the distance before official release or even letting it out as a public Beta at this point would be a disservice to AMS2 and our users on the long run.

So let´s take the time now to go over some of the key features that make AMS2 V1.4 such a literal game-changer - hop in and hold tight!

Racin´ USA Part 3 will be released for Automobilista 2 with the deployment of V1.4, introducing oval racing to the sim in a Pack featuring two new speedways and one new car in three different configurations.

As mentioned in the previous dev update, the two ovals will be Auto Club Speedway in Fontana California, a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway that have produced the fastest average speeds every produced in open wheel racing in America; and the WWT Raceway in Madison Illinois, a 1.25-mile short oval with uniquely asymmetrical corner angles and banking. Both tracks will feature their respective road course layouts too.


Racin´ USA Pt1 & 2 also receive a boost with this new release - the famous Daytona 2,5-mile tri-oval will be added to Racin´ USA Part 1, while F-USA Gen1-3 from Racin´ USA Part 2 will now also feature short oval & speedway configurations and in the case of Gens 2 & 3 also the Superspeedway configuration in which cars ran the infamous Hanford device - the barn-door, massive drag-inducing rear wing which produced huge drafting and some epic slipstreaming battles in the late 1990s.

It´s worth pointing out that the game will automatically handle selecting the correct configuration for each track type in every game mode.


With the introduction of oval racing, inevitably comes the need to add full course yellow support to the sim - AMS2 v1.4 introduces this essential feature with appropriate oval racing regulations.

The system was still proving somewhat glitchy in Multiplayer during our tests late last month, which ended up being the leading factor in the decision to postpone v1.4 as naturally you can’t successfully bring oval racing to the game without proper full course yellow support - luckily good progress has already been made since, with our more recent tests already going quite smoothly.

The system will receive further developments in the near future, with additions of a visible pace car, flag waving marshals and integration with the track’s lighting system; it will also offer components and regulation variables from the road racing side of things, such as virtual safety cars.

Racin´ USA Pt3 price is still TBD, but it will come a little under the prices of both Pt1 & Pt2 as it features less content. This DLC is already included for owners of the 2020-2022 Season Pass, the Premium Expansion Packs or Racin´ USA Expansion Pack bundle.

And for those who might have been eager for other North American content to make it into AMS2, there´s no reason to despair - we have already decided to expand our USA trip with plans for further components comprising both road and oval racing to go a fourth Racin´ USA pack further down the line.



AMS2 has seen a lot of progress since its original release and a couple of major milestone updates, but no single update so far packs a list as long or as significant as v1.4 - while Racin´ USA Pt3 alone introduce a whole new type of racing to the sim with dedicated features, cars and tracks, the update is huge in scope even beyond that - several free new cars, a number of substantial simulation developments and major improvements to literally every area of the game - it´s not an overstatement to say there has been new franchise game releases over the years that packed far less progress relative to the previous iteration than AMS2 V1.4 brings relative to V1.3.8 just over a month ago.

Content-wise, there are free new additions such as the Mercedes AMG GT4 pictured which arrives to become the 6th competing car in GT4 class.

We also have the Ginetta G55 GT3 added to the new GT Open class, where it will share the grid with the Ultima GTR - the GT Open class in AMS2 has been loosely based on British GT regulations where both models raced at one point, running slightly smaller tires and less restrictive BoP regulations than usually seen in GT3 classes.


There are other existing classes receiving additional contenders (a trend you may expect to continue for the next few updates) - a slick-shod 1965 Mini Cooper is the new competitor in Copa Classic, while the fictional Vulkan Truck will join the Copa Truck grid.



Copa Truck incidentally is one of the series receiving most attention for V1.4, with revised tire, engine, turbo and suspension physics.


Physics are still one of the areas receiving some of the most significant updates for v1.4 - the tire carcass revisions and other associated developments that have been ongoing in recent months have now been completed for all cars in the sim; parallel to that and of equivalent magnitude is the ongoing tire thermodynamics revisions, which will correct various inconsistencies with tire behavior into and out of its ideal operating windows.

Still on the topic of tires, several series have received additional medium and / or hard tire compounds to better represent the series they´re modelled after. Wear and performance for all compounds as well as intermediate, full wet and extreme tires have also been revised and inconsistencies ironed out.

Moving on to engine & drivetrain physics development, a lot of time has been spent revising engines, covering torque & compression curves, inertia, turbo models, fuel consumption, heating & cooling rates & associated wear rates. We have also fixed a bug in restrictor code which caused naturally aspirated and turbocharged cars to be too wide apart in some classes, which along with barometric pressure dependent turbo pressure downscaling in heavily BoPed classes like GT3 & GT4, has resulted in BoP being retained in high altitude tracks, so turbo-powered cars no longer having substantial advantages in tracks like Kyalami or Ibarra.

On track physics, there are some substantial revisions to LiveTrack presets, covering the level of existing rubber within each LT preset and the way the track progresses over time both on and off the racing line. We have also added support for custom LT parameters per individual tracks, which allows to simulate specific-track properties such as quality of tarmac, maintenance regularity and dirtiness levels.

All of these physics’ updates add up to a driving experience that´s considerably more refined & cohesive even relative to the current public V1.3.8.3 - they have all been massive undertakings under a relatively short window of time (Afterall V1.3.8.3 just turned one-month-old as of this Dev Update posting) but they do require careful fine-tuning and testing to ensure everything is working as intended - further reason for deciding to keep working on it for a few more weeks.

A big part of the reason why we have managed all these revisions in such short time is due to our physics team having evolveed from as few as one at one point to as many five devs who now are involved with physics development over various fronts - there is even more fertile ground being dug for further substantial, longer term physics development in the future as we speak, so you may expect things to continue to progress even further on the longer term.

The big revisions packed into this update along with the ones preceding it however do move things along enough to bring AMS2 physics to a state of sufficient maturity, from which point no further significant physics changes will be needed in the regular monthly updates - from now on every other physics development that may have a significant impact on handling, performance or setup of the cars will be constrained to the big milestone updates, which means you don´t have to worry about your Time Trial times or setups being affected until v1.5 sometime between late 2022 and early 2023.

We do need to clean up the slate again with setups and Time Trial board upon v1.4 release unfortunately as the changes are just too deep in too many fronts - you won´t need to worry about manually deleting your setup folder this time though, or wonder whether someone´s issues with a given car may be down to legacy setups messing things up somewhere, as with V1.4 and other such milestone updates in the future will automatically ensure legacy setups (including autosaves) no longer apply and that everyone is rest to the appropriate baseline defaults.


Another cool new physics developments for AMS2 come in the shape of our Advanced Mechanical Damage Modelling (AMDM for short) – with v1.3.8.3 AMDM had already covered clutches and gearboxes, both of which have since been further refined. With V1.4 engines and tires are also part of AMDM, and the way you treat them will matter more than they ever had before in a sim.

With engines, we are working on a variety of different failure modes ranging from misfires to coolant leaks and outright sudden engine failures, which will be impact both player and AI alike. It doesn't stop at just random failures related to general reliability – with AMDM there´s an element of uncertainty that always exist in the reliability of real-life materials and components. For example: right now, engine wear and temperature are live variables that can be gamed to certain extent, you could for example calculate that 50% engine wear from running it too hot in a 30-minute race still offers plenty of headroom – but what if by pushing these limits you also raise the probability of something going wrong like a leaking coolant that doesn´t cool your engine enough? AMDM may force you to decide between playing a little safer, or take the extra risk for that extra little bit of performance.

On the tire front, limited tire sets are currently being worked on and also planned to arrive with v1.4 – with the option to restrict the number of tire sets you can use over a race weekend to a predefined amount, drivers will be forced to manage their tires without the assurance of unlimited fresh tire sets every time they escape back to the pits.

We do understand that players won´t always want to deal with these extra variables, so users will still have the option to restrict or disable them altogether via gameplay options.


With AMS2 hitting this new stage of physics maturity and the resulting stability in gameplay you can now expect, as of V1.4 we are bringing our classic AMS1 Time Trial of the Week challenge to AMS2 - TTofW basically proposes a given car/track combo with a dedicated leaderboard (which is also merged to the main leaderboard of said content) for users to compete over the course of the week - often purely for bragging rights, but on special occasions also for some real-life prize awards.

The events will be announced and run from Wednesday to Wednesday, with combos being announced in the forum and through social media; users will be able to set their times & then try to improve it over the week until Wednesday 23:59 GMT.


With the game now supporting alternative configurations of the same cars to be used in different types of tracks, we have also been able to add various low aero packages for cars from F-Classic and up to the F-Ultimate Gen2 - this not only allows the cars to have more appropriate-looking wing configurations in tracks like Monza or the Old Hockenheim, but also offers a more suitable default setup for these types of tracks for player and AI cars. Like the oval configurations, these will be automatically selected by the game for the appropriate tracks in all game modes.

A much-requested development is the addition of real-life, driver specific outfit and helmet liveries - AMS2 V1.4 introduces this, which will in turn lead to the opportunity for users to also customize these liveries to go along with their custom car liveries & AI driver names.

Audio is another area with major developments for v1.4, with external sounds updated to use more FMOD resources and better reverb effects; sounds from opponents and on replay now offer full effects as that of player´s, and there is a variety of new environment sounds added for a deeper sense of atmosphere both when out on track as well as when sitting in pits.

Multiplayer has also received some valuable improvements following a period dedicated to multiplayer testing & development over the course of July, some of which will significantly reduce chances for users getting discoed or sessions getting stuck during transitions; some updates to opponent smoothing also bring improvements to how other cars will appear in Multiplayer sessions - more is to come in this area beyond v1.4.

AI is one area we didn´t manage as much progress as we hoped over the course of July but it´s at the center of attention as we speak, with substantial improvements to AI performance calibration, racing and blue flag behavior as well as better & more elaborate logic for pitstop strategies very much still planned for v1.4.

Finally, some long-requested Quality-of-Life developments have been added to AMS2 as of V1.4, some notable examples being the option to adjust rear view mirror position (as VR users already can), and customizing your multiclass races with a specific number of opponents per class.

There is indeed a sizeable list of other minor fixes & general QA work to be delivered in V1.4, which contributes to AMS2 feeling delivering a much more polished user experience.

All of this and much more not covered in this Dev Update (including at least one exciting surprise) are incoming with our next public release of Automobilista 2 later this month. It has been a long journey in more ways than one to get here, but we are really satisfied with the progress we´ve already managed to deliver which really brings the sim to a new level - we hope that upon its arrival you´ll come to agree, and find that the extra waiting time has been worthwhile!

In the meantime, we´ll remain working hard at it, and anxiously looking forward to sharing the results with you all later this month!

V1.3.8.3 is now live - this is another complementary update to wrap last week´s release.

Please note that the revised F-3 physics have some issues still in this latest update, which will be rectified by V1.4.


GENERAL

• Fixed championship editor not respecting max opponents and max rounds in some cases
  
• Fixed crash trying to start Stock Car Pro 2022 championship
  
• Revised livery name alterations for Porsche Cup & VW TSI Cup, adding more distinctions to help prevent duplicated liveries with custom AI files

PHYSICS

• Fully revised Lancer Cup, TSI Cup, Opala 79, Copa Fusca, Copa Uno physics
  
• Further tire tread revisions to F-Trainer (both), F-Vee, F3, F-Vintage (both); F-Retro Gen3, F-Classic (all gens), F-V12, F-V10 (both gens), F-Reiza, F-Ultimate (both gens), GTE, GT3, Group C, BMW Procar; Ginetta G40 (both), P1, Vintage Touring Cars
  
• FFB Max force & smoothing adjustments for F-Vee, F-Trainer, Lancer Cup, Opala 1979, Opala 1986, Sprint Race, Copa Fusca, Copa Uno, VW Polo & VW Virtus
  
• Ginetta G40 (both) Slightly adjusted CoG height, frontend aero
  
• Further revisions to tire tread of all radial slicks & wet compounds when running on a wet surface (revisions in progress, to be completed by V1.4)
  
• F-Ultimate (both gens): Adjusted ERS mapping for Silverstone

AI

• Minor adjustments to AI racing behavior: Reduced range at which AI car ahead will try defend from car behind; Increased range AI behind will try pass car ahead; Slightly reduced speed differential needed to attempt overtake; Slightly decreased avoid ratio at max aggression; Minor increase of care factor against human; Minor decrease of lateral range while defending
  
• Slightly increased AI hotlap pace push for pratice / quali
  
• Added Porsche Cup, GT4, GT5, G40 Cup custom AI driver names + Ai entries for the 5 new DPi liveries
  
• AI calibration pass for Copa Fusca, Copa Uno, Opala 1979, Lancer Cup, F-3, TSI Cup
  
• Adjusted AI grip for Spielberg (both layouts)

AUDIO

• F-Reiza: Increased DRS beep volume increase
  
• Added & adjusted several soud effects from trackside objects - helicopter, 747 jet and turboprop animation sound effects

TRACKS

• Added real weather data for Buenos_Aires, Cordoba and Termas Rio Hondo
  
• Buenos Aires: Added VR trackside cameras
  
• Cordoba: Static object LOD corrections
  
• Termas Rio Hondo: Additional static object, crowds, and marshals; Change Default race date to May 29 2022
  
• Minor adjustment to grass friction coefficient

VEHICLES

• Corrected driver gear shift animation of Lancer RS, Caterham SuperLight & SuperSport to match the actual car gearbox (sequential or H-shifter)
  
• Reduced frequency of exhaust backfires in vehicles in which that is not common

This is a complementary update to hotfix some issues from the latest release and add a few further improvements.


CONTENT

• Added Buenos Aires alternative layout 6 with "tobogan" chicane

GENERAL

• Fixed Championship editor allowing too many opponents
  
• Fixed ABS driving aid not working in vehicles without factory ABS

PHYSICS

• Minor tire tread refinements BMW Procar, Copa Classic, Lancer Cup
  
• F-Ultimate Gen2: Minor aero adjustments; Increased spring adjustment range & generally stiffened default to better optimize undertray aero (setup reset recommended)
  
• Revised ABS strength as a gameplay driving aid for cars that don´t feature the system built-in
  
• Procar: Adjusted default roll bar (slightly softer front, stiffer rear)
  
• Group A: slightly stiffer default front roll bar
  
• Revised aero dropoff rates for all cars with significant downforce, reducing minor inconsistencies

AI

• Further reduced high aggression AI lateral rate of movement for slightly less twitches
  
• AI calibration pass for Copa Classic, F-Ultimate Gen2
  
• Reduced AI CoG multiplier to attempt minimise chances of cars rolling over sausage curbs
  
• Brands Hatch GP: Further AI performance adjustments
  
• Buenos Aires:Adjusted AI line & performance at T4,T5,T6,T7 of layout 6

AUDIO

• Fixed missing Azure tunnel & bridge reflections

TRACKS

• Buenos Aires: Adjusted razor curbs on selected runoff areas ("Curvon 8, "Viborita" and "Cajon") ; Added missing winter trees for No.12
  
• Cordoba: added new race control, 2nd garage building, adjusted seasonal foliage, tweaked crowds, roadlines, few small tweaks to curb heights for TC layout section, added tents, vehicles and other details around the track; Added animated marshals; Added night lighting

VEHICLES

• F-Ultimate Gen2: Added cockpit vibration effect to the front fender winglets; revised collision.

Automobilista 2 V1.3.8.1 is now available -the new update brings the Argentinean Track Pack featuring 3 free new tracks to AMS2, along with further bug fixing, maintaince of older content & extending recent physics developments to a wider range of cars - Group A, BMW M1 Procar, Sprint Race, F-Retro Gen3, Metalmoro MRX (all models), Roco 001, MCR Sports 2000 Opala 1986, Omega 1999, Copa Classic B & FL, Mini JCW UK, Caterham Academy, F-3, F-Trainer (both models), F-Vee now join the list of cars to have received extensive physics revisions, with several previously revised cars also receiving further updates.


CONTENT

• Added Argentinean track pack - Buenos Aires (6 layouts), Cordoba (3 layouts), Termas Rio Rondo

GENERAL

• Fixed pit limiter state not resetting on return to garage
  
• Fixed phantom 6th controller profile being available on the first load of a brand new profile
  
• Extended FFB fade in after pause
  
• Revised various terrain material properties, fixing long-standing issue with slippery astroturf & minor inconsistencies with various curb & concrete types
  
• Adjusted AI suspension rate multipliers (also used in Multiplayer code) for GTE cars to minimise vibrations from opponents in Multiplayer

UI & HUD

• MPRS message position is now adjustable in HUD editor

PHYSICS

• Fully revised physics for Group A, BMW M1 Procar, Sprint Race, F-Retro Gen3, Metalmoro MRX (all models), Roco 001, MCR Sports 2000 Opala 1986, Omega 1999, Copa Classic B & FL, Mini JCW UK, Caterham Academy, F-3, F-Trainer (both models), F-Vee (setup reset recommended)
  
• Minor tire tread adjustments to Porsche Cup, F-Classic (all), F-USA (all), GT1, GTE, GT3, GT4, GT5, P1, Cadillac DPi, Stock Car 2019, Stock Car 2020-2022, Super V8 BMW Procar M1, Group A, Group C, Vintage TCs, F-Vintages, F-Trainers, F-3, F-V12, F-USA, Copa Truck, Street carscars
  
• Revised tread/carcass heat conductivity and ideal temperature ranges
  
• Revised clutch LSD model for Porsche Cup, GT Classic, Group A, M1 Procar, F-Retro Gen3 & SprintRace, F3s and F-Reiza & updated their respective default differential setup (setup reset recommended)
  
• Improved ABS system logic for all cars that feature the device
  
• Updated pit limiter logic to help prevent overshoot when leaving the garage
  
• General FFB: Added new LowPassFilter to be used in FFB scripts (Butterworth, 2nd order)
  
• FFB max force adjustments for F-V10 Gen2, Porsche Cup Group A, Procar, Sprint Race, Omega Stock, Opala 1986, BMW M4 GT4, Ginetta G55, Ginetta G40, Gol, Passat, F309, Sigma P1, Metalmoro MRX, Roco, Corvette C8.R, F-Vee, Caterhams, F-Trainer, F-Ultimate Gen2, F-USA (all models). Porsche 962c, Mini JCW
  
• Porsche Cup (both models): Minor adjustments to CoG height & weight distribution; Adjusted front splitter & rear wing to move overall center of pressure forward & other minor aero adjustments; slightly softened default front roll bar; slightly increased brake torque
  
• Stock Car 2020-22 (both models): Adjusted tire dimensions to 305/660 as per real Pirelli Cinturato model introduced during 2020 season
  
• Super V8: Minor adjustments to front & rear track width for improved stability; Slightly adjusted FFB parameters; reduced default steering lock
  
• Metalmoro AJR: Adjusted diffuser center of pressure slightly foward
  
• Group C: Minor adjustment to diffuser center of pressure and front splitter height sensitivity to both cars
  
• F-USA (all gens): Minor adjustment to front wing height sensitivity & venturi center of pressure
  
• F-Classic (all gens): Minor adjustment to front wing height sensitivity
  
• F-V10 Gen1: Minor diffuser & front wing adjustments
  
• F-V10 Gen2: Minor adjustment to diffuser center of pressure; Minor FFB adjustment (reduces grainy / high frequency noise)
  
• F-Retro Gen3: Adjusted diffuser center of pressure; Decreased heating and increased cooling, slightly slower oil to water heat exchange for F-Retro G3 TE
  
• F-Ultimate (both gens): Minor rear wing lift/drag effiency adjustment; Increased brake disc thickness & reduced wear rate
  
• F-Ultimate Gen2: Adjusted FFB max force, moved undertray center of pressure slightly rearwards
  
• Corvette C3-R: Adjusted engine torque curve
  
• Revised and added thermostatic engine cooling to Lotus 23 and Mini 65
  
• F-Retro Gen1: Fixed tire linking to incorrect carcass model
  
• Caterham: Minor adjustments to body aero (more drag, less propensity to lift); Reduced brake heating rate for all models; increased brake duct cooling for 620R
  
• BMW M4: Minor aero & engine adjustments for performance balancing (more to come); FFB Max force adjustment Adjusted brake torque; minor rear roll bar rate adjustment; reduced default steering lock
  
• GT1:Disabled tire warmers as per real regulations of the era; Revised turbo model for Porsche 911 GT1
  
• Ginetta G55 (both models): Slightly decreased rear wing efficiency

AI

• Fixed AI not repairing damage or changing tires when refuelling during Q/P sessions
  
• Fixed AI programmed mistakes that weren´t triggered when they should in some cases and vice versa
  
• Fixed some cases where AI would incorrectly estimate starting fuel and/or required fuel to add at pitstop
  
• Added shared engine lifetime simulation for player and AI vehicles
  
• AI performance calibration pass to all classes with revised physics
  
• Revised AI personality parameters, adding more distinct characteristics for series with custom AI drivers
  
• Adjusted AI overtaking parameters for all cars (less hesitation to overtake, less prone to aggressive twitches)
  
• AI cars now start with 25% of fuel tank in practice sessions like the default player setup (rather than qualifying loads as before).
  
• Further calibration to AI wet performance when on slicks
  
• Added custom AI driver names to F-Vintage (both gens), F-Retro (all gens), F-Classic (all gens), M1 Procar, Group C, Group A, GT1, GTE, GT3, P1, P2, P3, P4 & DPi classes
  
• Adjusted AI performance for Bathurst, Brands Hatch, Hockenheim, Laguna Seca, Monza, Montreal, Adelaide (both versions), Kansai (all layouts), Nordschleife (both layouts) Silverstone 1991, Silverstone 2001, Spa (both versions)

AUDIO

• Adjusted onboard sounds to not overload output compressor potentially leading to minor distortion
  
• Revised wall reflections DSP & improved low pass filter
  
• Fixed inaccuracy with audio wall reflections distance calculation, now reflections are audible (WIP - most noticeable on surround sound systems)
  
• Increased highpass cutoff frequency on audio reflections

VEHICLES

• BMW E30 Group A, Mercedes 190E Evo2: Added dangling parts; Adjusted collision and damage models
  
• Mclaren F1 GTR: Added Damage/Dangling parts; Fixed the wiper sound trigger; Revised collisions; Adjusted lights glows texture
  
• Opala(all models): Added broken light textures; Adjusted light materials
  
• Uno(both models): Added broken light textures; Adjusted light materials.
  
• Sprintrace: Added damage models
  
• Stock Car 2020-2022: Fixed damage on some parts and LODs
  
• Caddilac DPi: Added 5 new liveries
  
• F-Classic (all gens): Revised all liveries
  
• Mini JCW UK: Revised liveries
  
• Mercedes E190: Fixed winscreen dirt buildup rate

Greetings everyone!

It is quite late in the month already for a Dev Update, but I know many of you have been anxious for some fresh news - we do have a new V1.3.8 Release Candidate build just deployed, and as you´ll hopefully be able to tell from recent changelogs, we´ve been pushing hard to improve the sim in some key areas before moving on to some exciting new content over the second half of 2022 - starting already next month with the release of the new milestone v1.4

Let´s get on it then and go over some of the things we have been and will be working on for the upcoming updates!



While the ongoing revisions & maintenance of existing content along with the pursuit of general improvements to the game has remained the focus for V1.3.8, the new update does feature some great new content - the Argentinean Track Pack is a free pack featuring three Argentinean tracks (Buenos Aires, Córdoba & Termas Río Hondo).


Argentina has an extremely rich motorsports culture, with several distinctive circuits spread across the country to host their incredibly popular and unique series. The tracks were originally part of a bigger project for AMS2 featuring one of these series, but sadly that got put on hold due to some licensing complications.

At that point we already had three tracks in fairly advanced state, so we figured we might as well begin our tour through Tierra Argentina with this neat track pack celebrating our hermanos and their fantastic motorsports history, while remaining hopeful we will be in position to go further in our exploration in the future.




Termas is a brand-new track for AMS2, while Buenos Aires and Córdoba had already been present in AMS1 - originally our plan was to just upgrade these models for AMS2, but with our track team recently running into fresh LIDAR data and being unable to settle for doing things halfway, they have once again gone beyond the call of duty by fully reforming both tracks, with Córdoba being essentially a new track modelled in record time - at the expense of many sleepless nights!

You´ll be able to get a sense for the results in these screenies, and they are also already available for all AMS2 users in the latest release candidate - some bits and bobs and a few more layouts still to come in time for official release, but already some great racing to be had.
[[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35138208/de3df1cb0a017336be15cead2f93ae357dde2b19.jpg[/img]



Long time users will know that physics development has remained one of our core priorities, with regular extensive update changelogs reflecting the constant ongoing work towards developing the physics in AMS2.

As we have mentioned to in the past, the switch to Madness for AMS2 introduced us to a physics engine that combined components of the old familiar pMotor engine we had used up to AMS1, with the new quite sophisticated tire and driveline models from the Madness engine - with AMS2 featuring the largest and most diverse range of motorsports classes of any sim, delivering them while going through the learning curve of these new models presented a formidable challenge - one which ultimate potential lured us into tackling it, but that was always going to take time to be fully overcome.

While the physics of AMS2 always relied on the solid baseline of chassis, aero, suspension models which had been developed for well over a decade from GSC to AMS1 and are still largely in use in AMS2, our inexperience with the new models meant the overall result remained inconsistent and often compromised by fundamentals not quite working as well as they should.

Over time however we continued to make progress in unleashing the potential we always knew was there - boosted by new people joining the team and helping not only with identifying but fixing some of these core issues, we delivered two milestone updates over the course of 2021 (v1.2 and v1.3) rectifying some of these core issues with the driveline model in particular.

The most consequential component of a racing simulator still is the tire model, and while improvements have been made in this area throughout, a substantial flaw continued to exist - basically our tire carcass models have remained generally too soft, which in turn created a variety of side effects from poor compliance, excessive oscillations resulting in general lack of precision and inconsistent handling, as their intrinsic relation with the rest of the car meant that the everything else riding on those tires were affected - if for instance a tire has carcass compressing even a couple centimeters too much, there are considerable repercussions to the suspension and aerodynamics of the car running it, so essentially fixing this problem meant the whole physics of the car had to be revised - a big project with the sim already featuring almost 70 different classes of cars.

The development of the F-Ultimate Gen2 with its reliance on underfloor aerodynamics kickstarted that project, and revisions of all existing content have already been in progress since - with the release of V1.3.8, all cars with radial slicks will already have been fully revised, and by the end of July every car in the sim will have received the same treatment.

Once we are through this process, we can confidently claim to have delivered on the potential of the engine, and that the physics of AMS2 and the resulting driving experience are at the level we had hoped to achieve. No need to take our word for it - as of V1.3.8 you already can experience the evolution yourselves. And if you haven´t checked AMS2 in a while, this would be a good time to revisit it!


Naturally that does not mean the work is done and AMS2 physics is good as can possibly be - models can always be improved, and with the game being as huge in scope as it is, there will always be car-specific details to further develop, dynamics to refine in order to make every aspect of the car even closer to reality, so we´ll continue to push to make the physics in AMS2 ever richer and more detailed.

The release of V1.4 later next month will however mark the point at which we´ll consider AMS2 physics to have finally reached a state of maturity that allows further developments to flow in more gradual manner, especially those that impact the handling and performance of the car and thus can affect existing setups, AI performance balance vs player or TT records will be fewer and further apart - from August onwards, further major physics developments will be concentrated to the larger milestone updates every 6 months or so, keeping gameplay largely consistent during the months in between.

For those wishing to hear more about AMS2 physics development in past, present and future, you may want to check out this podcast I recently recorded with the two other physics devs who were essential to these recent breakthroughs:




Still within the realms of physics developments, another area we´ve been doing extensive work is on advanced damage modelling, covering driveline, tires, suspension, and bodywork - to finish first, first you must finish as the old saying goes, and the ability to care after the machinery is an essential component of real-world racing that we are in process of more faithfully representing in AMS2.

On the driveline side, previous builds have already enhanced gearbox and clutch damage modelling, so that long term poorly timed gearshifts and bad use of the clutch can lead to broken individual gears and/or outright gearbox / clutch failure - a especially pertinent concern in older cars. Related to that, there has also been revisions to heating, cooling and wear on most engines in the game to make sure there is sufficient penalty from undercooling or otherwise pushing the engine too far.

In preparation for oval racing, we have developed shared heating / cooling / wear system for both player and AI, so that AI cars will suffer the same wear player car already did, including wear from high boost pressure, overheating and overrevving. Moreover, we have introduced decreased cooling while in dirty air, which will lead to AI and player having to think strategically to get to the finish line in a high-draft, high-boost, high-RPM filled race, with incoming improvements to AI logic will ensure they make a better job of trying to maximize their resources to remain competitive against the player.

Parallel to mechanical damage development, bodywork damage modelling has been further enhanced, with AMS2 now featuring a fairly detailed damage modelling for all cars - everything from scratches to broken headlights, to bent suspension and dangling bodywork parts, all of which with their appropriate effect on the car performance.


Finally on the tire front, revisions to tire wear rates, flatpots as well as introduction of graining will force drivers to be more mindful how they treat their tires over the race weekend.

Along with these damage modelling enhancements, further gameplay options such as limited tire sets (forcing drivers to manage a specific number of tire sets over the race weekend rather than the usual unlimited supply) and delays caused by crashing or damaging your car potentially leading to missing out in qualifying or a race heat will also be introduced in the sim, giving drivers consequences to deal with for going over the limit.

AI development has a direct correlation with physics, and with the game featuring a total of 155 car models and 146 track layouts, with reasonable unique combinations well into the thousands, getting the AI right all around has been a struggle as the constant physics development makes balancing of AI performance an ever-moving target - now with physics for various cars reaching their maturity, we have been dedicating a lot of time to calibrating AI performance so that they can provide a consistent challenge from corner to corner, lap to lap, session to session, come rain or shine, from one car-track combo to the next.

Beyond their performance, we have continued to push towards developments to make the AI more challenging to race against, but also more reliable and less predictable. While racing the AI can already be quite challenging, the AI still has some quirks and flawed decision-making in AI vs AI scenarios especially while running in a pack, which we will be pushing to minimize for V1.4 and beyond.

Still on that front, further improvements to AI strategy in managing pitstops as well as reacting to blue flags should make longer races against the AI a much more viable prospect.

Finally, we are soon to complete the task of setting up dedicated AI drivers for each series in the game so the cars are driven always by the same driver with unique characteristics pertinent to the class and era they were racing with, instead of being randomly assigned to a dev or community driver (this will be restricted to karts and club series).

We already have some good progress in the upcoming V1.3.8, and for V1.4 we are going even further - this in turn will open up the game for more features that rely on great AI to work, from single player championships, option for Multiplayer championships, and eventually a comprehensive career mode that will tie the whole game into a cohesive whole further down the line.

Vehicle Liveries for existing cars have also been a focus of attention, with the vehicle team going over several classes to give them new liveries or updates to existing ones.


There are also several exciting audio developments incoming, with improvements to reverb effects and external sounds currently in the pipeline.

Multiplayer is another area users have been eager to see improvements on - while there has not been a lot of progress in this area recently as focus has been on delivering the developments that were already in reach, we have nevertheless continued to catalogue reports from the community alongside our own findings from the regular multi tests we run in Beta, and during the rundown to V1.4 there will be more time dedicated to pursuing core Multiplayer improvements - whether that will lead to substantial breakthroughs or just minor improvements we can´t really say at this point, but at the very least there will be more regular progress in this are in the foreseeable future.



A reminder to all that the Steam Summer Sale has been on since last week and will run until July 7th - if you still have DLCs missing from your collection or haven´t taken the plunge on AMS2 itself, this is a great time to get it and enjoy all the latest improvements - the base game is 60% off, with DLCs up to 75% off.



With all this groundwork on the fundamentals properly laid down, it will once again be time to open the floodgates for new content & major new features - this is to begin with our first milestone update of the year, as V1.4 is expected to be released towards the end of July featuring several such features, some long awaited new cars as well as Racin´ USA Pt3, which will introduce oval racing to Automobilista 2.

It will not stop there - most updates in the remaining months of the year will in fact include batches of exciting & long-awaited new content, both free and DLC.

V1.4 and its features however are the topics for our next Dev Update - to arrive sooner than you may expect!

V1.3.8 will be officially released towards the end of this week - we hope you enjoy it, and look forward to catching up with you again sometime next month!

Automobilista 2 V1.3.7.1 is now available - the new update is once again largely focused on bug fixing, maintaince of older content & extending recent physics developments to a wider range of cars - F-USA, F-V12, F-V10 G1, F-V10 G2, F-Reiza, Group C, GT5 & G40 Cup now join the list of cars to have received extensive physics updates, with another substantial update also included for the Super V8. The update also features extensive AI calibration to all classes which have already received the latest physics updates.



GENERAL

• Fixed issue that could lead to vehicle being stuck in pits when Manual Pitstops option was set to NO
  
• Fixed incorrect +1 lap duration string on session overview in first session of an event
  
• Fixed TT ghost submission failing for vehicles with 8 gears
  
• Fixed pit strategy repair option not correctly updating in ICM when changing/saving strategies in session
  
• Added engine vibration depending on engine layout and firing order output to FFB wheels

UI & HUD

• Added Static Personal Best element to Time Trial screen
  
• Fixed stray text on championship End of Weekend leaderboard
  
• Fixed missing localisation of camera g-force effect options
  
• Fixed lobby detail page join button inaccessible by controllers
  
• Adjusted number of gears for Copa Uno B for the vehicle selection info
  
• Updated Puma P052 & Super V8 vehicle selection info as per latest physics updatea

PHYSICS

• Extensive tire, suspension & aero revisions for F-Classic (all gens), F-V12, F-V10 G1 & Mclaren MP4/12, F-V10 G2, F-Reiza, Group C, GT5 & G40 Cup (setup reset recommended)
  
• Revised flexible axles, driveline elasticity for F-Vintages, F-Retros, F-Classics, F-V12, F-V10, F-Reiza, F-Ultimates
  
• Added flexible axles to Opalas and Puma GTB Camaro SS and Group C
  
• Revised driveline elasticity and inertia for Camaro SS, Group A, 2002 Turbo, Omega Stock, Group C F-Trainer, Caterhams, ARC Camaro, P3, P4, F3, Sprint Race, Puma P052
  
• Revised driveline inertia for Corvette C3, C3R, Omega Stock, F-Vee, Copa Classics, Copa Uno, Copa Fusca, Hot Cars, 60s Mini, Street Cars, Group A, 2002 Turbo, RSR 74, M1 Procar, Opalas
  
• Added engine torque effect on chassis and live rear axle (if car has one)
  
• Added new "FiringDistance" override (intended mostly for flatplane crankshaft V8's - directly overrides calculated firing pulse distances)
  
• Fixed differential reaction to torque orientation on some driveline layouts
  
• Super V8: Further revisions following 3D model scale correction: corrected wheelbase & track width; adjusted front splitter pitch sensitivity; corrected engine orientation; adjusted weight distribution, caster range & default setting (setup reset recommended)
  
• Group A: Increased clutch torque capacity slightly, increased cooling rate slightly, better resistance to wear before torque capacity degradation starts
  
• Cadillac DPi: Minor tire tread adjustment
  
• F-Ultimate (both gens): Slightly reduced undertray downforce
  
• Uno (both models) corrected engine orientation
  
• Caterham (all models) Revised engine inertia, heating, cooling, fuel consumption f
  
• ARC Camaro: Added clutch damage
  
• Ginetta G40 (both models) Revised engine inertia and compression
  
• Puma P052: Revised turbo & engine base power delivery and fuel consumption; Adjusted engine inertia; Revised open diff
  
• Ginetta G55 (both models): Fixed error with front toe, changed default setting to -0.2 (setup reset recommended)

AI

• AI calibration pass for Cadillac DPi, F-V12, F-V10 (both gens), F-Reiza, F-Ultimates, Super V8, Porsche GT3 Cup, GT5 & G40 Cup
  
• Kansai GP: Fix AI cutting the pit exit line when pit out
  
• Daytona: AI corner speed tweaks

TRACKS

• Daytona: Corrected pit cam excessive shaking

VEHICLES

• Super V8: Revised 3D model to correct dimension errors (see Physics log)
  
• Caterhams (all models): Added damage/dangling parts; Added vibrating cockpit bits; FFixed reverse lights; Adjusted lights glow texture, UV map (ch5); Revised collision
  
• Chevette: Added damage/dangling parts; Fixed reverse lights; Adjusted lights glow texture, UV map (ch5), diffuse alpha channel and material; Revised collision
  
• Passat (all models): Added damage/dangling parts; Fixed reverse lights; Adjusted lights glow texture, UV map (ch5); Revised collision.
  
• Uno (both models): Added damage/dangling parts; Fixed reverse lights; Adjusted lights glow texture, UV map (ch5), added normal map and adjusted the material; Fixed LodA mirrors; Revised collision
  
• Revised functionality of analogue gauges for Opalas (all models), Lotus 49C, F-Retro Gen3 (both models) & Mclaren MP4/1C
  
• Mercedes AMG GT3: 5 liveries updated to include sponsors
  
• Porsche Cup: Added 2 new liveries
  
• Ginetta G40 Cup: Fixed car red material issue

UI & HUD

• Fixed wrong initial active tab in Single Player session overview

PHYSICS

• Further tire revisions to F-Classic G1 & G2, F-V12, F-V10 G1 & G2, F-Reiza, F-Ultimate G2 Hard, Group C, Super V8 soft & hard
  
• F-USA (all gens) fully revised, added Hard compound to F-USA Gen1(setup reset recommended for revision setup changes to take effect)
  
• Revised ride height ranges & default settings for all GTEs, GT3s, F-Classics, F-V12, F-V10 G1, F-V10 G2, F-Reiza (setup reset recommended for changes to take effect)
  
• Revised front wing height sensitivity for F-Classics, F-V12, F-V10 G1, F-V10 G2, F-Reiza
  
• Adjusted diffuser baseline downforce from F-V10s, F-Reiza & F-Ultimate Gen1
  
• Revised front wing dirty air sensitivity for F-Classics, F-V12. F-V10s, F-Reiza & F-Ultimate Gen1
  
• Revised FWD open differential for Passats, Gols, Unos and Mini 1965
  
• Fixed F-Retro tire carcass being incorrectly linked to updated F-Classics
  
• Fixed F-V12 & F-V10 missing tire names
  
• Ginetta G40 (both models): Adjused geared differential coast bias; Reduced brake torque; minor default setup adjustments (setup reset recommended for changes to take effect)
  
• Puma P052: Reduced brake torque; minor default setup adjustments (setup reset recommended for changes to take effect)

AI

• AI calibration pass to F-USA (all gens), F-Classic (all gens), F-V12, F-V10 G1 & G2, F-Reiza, F-Ultimate G1 & G2, Super V8, GT3 & Stock Car 2019
  
• Generally reduced AI performance when running slicks on a wet track to better match player´s performance

TRACKS

• Silverstone 1991: Fixed hole in the terrain mesh

VEHICLES

• Copa Montana: Added Damage models; Restored Wipers and cockpit animations
  
• Opala (all models): Added Damage/Dangling parts; Fixed some lod issues; Revised collions
  
• Puma GTE: Added damage/dangling parts; Fixed the reverse lights (wasn't working before); Adjusted lights diffuse texture, glow texture, UV Map and adjusted the material; Revised collision
  
• Puma GTB: Added damage models; Fixed cockpit hood skin
  
• BMW 2002: Full grid livery update
  
• Corvette C3:Full grid livery update+ 3 new liveries

this is a complementary update to latest release with some further fixes & improvements.


PHYSICS

• Ginetta G55 (both models): Adjusted front splitter height sensitivity & reduced rear wing efficiency (both models)
  
• McLaren 720S GT3: further adjustments to default setup to reduce low speed cornering instability, particularly when tires are overheating; increased 6th gear length; adjusted default traction control & engine braking (setup reset required)
  
• Porsche Cup (both models): Revised tire model to more closely simulate Michelin N2 Hard slicks; Slightly raised rear roll center by adjusting rear upper suspension arm angle; minor adjustments to stiffness distribution and low speed damping; minor differential adjustment (setup reset required)
  
• Ultima GTR Race: Minor FFB adjustments

AI

• Improved AI paths for Oulton Park (all layouts)
  
• Cadillac DPi: Adjusted AI suspension rate multipliers causing poor AI performance on updated physics

AUDIO

• Porsche 911 Cup (both models): Fixed engine pitch discrepancy between external / chase cam view sound and cockpit audio

TRACKS

• Oulton Park: Minor optimization to garage building interior; Minor track cut limit adjustments
  
• Rebuilt bollard physics export to fix excessive damage to player car at Oulton & Cadwell Park

VEHICLES

• Metalmoro MRX P3 / P4: New & updated liveries
  
• Stock Car Pro 2022: Updated Bruno Baptista Toyota Corolla livery
  
• Added dirt maps to F-V10 Gen2, F-V12, Ginetta G40 (both models), Sigma P1 & Opala (all models)
  
• Revised functionality of analogue gauges in F-Vintage, F-Retro Gen1 & Lotus 23
  
• F-Retro V8, V12, Lotus 72, McLaren M23: Updated gauges texture F-Retro V8, V12, Lotus 72, McLaren M23: Corrected oil and water gauges
  
• Brabham BT26: Fixed gauges issue F-Vintage G1/2 M1/2: Fixed gauges issue Lotus 23: Fixed oil and water gauge issue
  
• Ultima GTR Street: fixed graphical height offset causing car body to sit high over the wheels

A new update Automobilista 2 is now officially released, bringing the sim up to V1.3.6.1.

The new update is largely focused on bug fixing, maintaining older content & extending recent physics developments to a wider range of cars - GTE, GT3, GT4, GT1, Porsche Cup, Stock Car 2019, Super V8, DPi & P1 class now join the F-Ultimates & Stock Cars from 2020 onwards in the list of series to receive the latest extensive tire carcass & driveline developments. These are significant improvements, the nature of which are expanded on three of the main physics developers in the latest Boltcast27 podcast:



GENERAL

• Fixed an issue that would lead to incorrect session times being applied to non-race session on championship load
  
• Fixed incorrect pit window opening lap in custom championships and ensured minimum session scaling accounts for mandatory pit setting
  
• Fixed number step issue when changing race 1 session start time in a custom championship
  
• Added 'Static Wheel' option to Cockpit Driver/Wheel setting and prevented wheel ever being displayed when 'Off' selected.
  
• FFB profiles slots now reset on every return to pits.
  
• Clutch damage is now repaired when engine damage is repaired
  
• Fixed some cases where clutch could incorrectly receive damaged when autoclutch is enabled
  
• Added mandatory FFB "fade-in" on session start / out of pits now applied always after unpausing the game.
  
• Fixed an issue that could leave F-Ultimates in a broken state after viewing instant replay
  
• Corrected 2022 Stock Car Pro Series Championship calendar
  
• Updated shared memory project header to V12 - Adds clutch state and ERS deployment mode info

UI & HUD

• Added Filter functionality to multiplayer browser
  
• Updated Imola & Galeao track maps to reflect latest changes
  
• Onboard TC/ABS adjustment input messages are no longer displayed when those systems are unavailable
  
• changed the text of the four options of the 'Display Cockpit Wheel/Driver' setting to less confusing names

PHYSICS

• Further tire carcass & tread adjutments for GTE / GT3 / GT4 / GT1 / DPi / P1 / F-Ultimate Gen1 / Gen2
  
• Revised all slicks tread sensitivity to wet surface
  
• Super V8: Revised tire model, suspension, inertia, included real life setup options for springs, ride height, camber, rear wing, tire pressures, engine inertia and added flexible axles; Added 3.27:1 final drive ratio for Bathurst; Slightly raised rear roll center djusted spring rate range to match RL car springs and options
  
• Adjusted heating and inertia slightly in 80s and 90s Formula clutch, and Super V8
  
• Copa Truck: Revised driveline elasticity
  
• Reduced flash heating in basic/road & carbon clutches
  
• Cadillac DPi: Removed application of slow-to-fast dampers. Remodeled 3rd element. Adjusted suspension travel to add bumpstop functionality (main and 3rd element). Balanced aero/ride height to remove squatting. Adjusted tire pressures to suit new carcass model. Remodeled damping and springs (ready for beta)
  
• Revised drafting & dirty air effect model
  
• Fixed atmospheric wind not being applied to some aerodynamic surfaces
  
• Added Non-linear clutch wear effect on performance
  
• Clutch damage is no longer scaled with the damage scale setting
  
• Added clutch damage, revised torque capacity, and revised clutch inertia to all cars (except TSI Cup, ARC Camaro)
  
• Added flexible axles and revised overall elasticity for GTE, GT3 and GT4 Stock Car Brasil 2019-2022, Copa Montana, P2, Ultima Race, F-Ultimates, Corvette C3, Corvette C3R, Stock car Omega, Group A, BMW 2002 Turbo
  
• Globally revised draft / dirt air properties for all high performance cars
  
• Added clutch damage, revised torque capacity, and revised clutch inertia to all cars (except TSI Cup, ARC Camaro)
  
• Added flexible axles and revised overall elasticity for GTE, GT3 and GT4 Stock Car Brasil 2019-2022, Copa Montana, P2, Ultima Race, F-Ultimates, Corvette C3, Corvette C3R, Stock car Omega, Group A, BMW 2002 Turbo, Porsche Cup
  
• Revised engine inertia for Porsche Cup, Cadillac DPI, Ultima Race, GT1, Stock Car Brasil 2019-2022, Copa Montana
  
• F-Ultimate (both gens) Adjusted body drag coefficients for more accurate top speeds & overall performance; Revised throttle map, fuel consumption and engine inertia; corrected fuel tank size, increased downshift blip to help drivability; Revised ERS mapping; increased contrast between attack and qual mode; Monza and Spa energy saving to stay within per lap discharge allowed; ERS torque is now applied to beginning of driveline instead of wheels
  
• Revised default setups & minor physics adjustments for Metalmoro AJR, Ginetta G58, Porsche Cup, Stock Car 2019, BMW M4, BMW M8, Corvette C8R, Cadillac DPi, Porsche Cayman GT4 Cayman to better suit latest carcass revisions (setup reset required)

AI

• Fixed an issue where Custom AI Driver track specific overrides would only apply to a single model within a class
  
• Increased likelihood of AI mistakes in qualifying hotlaps
  
• Added dedicated driver names for F-3, F-V10 Gen1, F-Retro Gen1
  
• Stock Car 2019: Corrected Diego Nunes driver name
  
• Imola: Updated AI lines & corridors
  
• Toned down AI performance with slicks in the wet to match latest physics revisions for player slicks on a wet surface
  
• Reduced AI rolling resistance in F-Ultimate (both gens), GT3

AUDIO

• Porsche Cup: Updated onboard sounds
  
• F-Retro G3 TE: Assigned proper interior AI sound; increased volume of turbo whine

TRACKS

• Galeao: Fixed lap not counted when pitting; Added dynamic brake markers, cones, pit signs; Corrected Max AI participants to 31
  
• Laguna Seca: Improved rolling starts
  
• Campo Grande: LOD fixes
  
• Oulton Park: Minor LOD fixes
  
• Jacarepagua: Adjusted garage positions for larger vehicles clipping pitwall on Oval and SCB layouts
  
• Donington: Added variable crowd attendance per session; LOD fixes in GP layout
  
• Imola: Reduced track cut limits on concrete runoffs; Minor graphical tweaks; fixed innacurate latitude and longitude of Imola (was pointing to the Imola city and not to the Imola racetrack) Updated DRS and S2 trigger points
  
• Santa Cruz: LOD fixes
  
• Spa-Francorchamps: Fixed a hole in an interior garage wall; Minor LOD fixes
  
• Updated trackside cameras for all Hockenheim Historic tracks

VEHICLES

• TC Classic / Hot Cars: Added sponsors to all Passat, Puma GTE, Puma GTB & Fusca liveries
  
• Puma GTB: Added dirt map; Adjusted lights materials and textures; Adjusted lights uv maps; Added the cockpit gauge lights; Adjusted the shift gaiter rigging; Adjusted cockpit vibrating mirrors parameters; Adjusted collision (detachable/wobbling hood)
  
• Copa Truck: Added dirt map to Mercedes, VW & MAN models
  
• Puma GTE: Added dirt map
  
• Puma P052: Added dirt map
  
• F-Classic G1M2: Added dirt map; adjusted carbon material uv maps ch3 (dirt) on LOD A and cockpit; Redone the suspension animations adding visual camber; Fixed the RR axle mesh skin

GENERAL

• Corrected Stock Car Pro 2022 championship schedule as per latest adjustments
  

UI & HUD

• Updated Steering Lock help text
  
• Cleaned up empty rows from vehicle assignments list
  
• Fixed FFB graph anchor on telemetry HUD

PHYSICS

• Adjusted GT1 soft, F-Ultimate Gen2 medium and hard tread coefficients to atone performance gains from carcass revisions
  
• Minor adjustments to Cadillac DPi, GT1, P1 driveline elasticity
  
• Revised front wing / splitter draft effects for generally higher downforce loss behind another car
  
• Further revisions to tread sensitivity to wet surface in high performance slick tires
  
• Minor adjustments to Super V8 & Ginetta G58 FFB parameters
  
• Revised engine heating, cooling & wear rates for Stock Car Opalas, Omega, Corvette C3 & C3-R, Camaro SS, F-V10 Gen1 & Gen2, F-V12, F-Classic Gen3, F-Trainer, Puma P052, Sigma P1 & Ginetta G58
  
• F-Ultimate (both gens): Slightly increased rear wing drag from incremental settings
  
• Super V8: Further revisions to engine inertia, fuel consumption and fuel mix settings
  
• F-V12: Fixed fuel tank size
  
• F-Classic Gen1: Revised fuel consumption
  
• F-Trainer: Updated clutch type
  
• Mclaren 720s: Adjusted default coast ramp diff & preload values

AUDIO

• Fixed relative sound effects volume going out of balance for low master volume settings
  
• Porsche Cup: Further adjusted interior sound, added low-RPM gearshift clunk in contrast to more agressive "at speed sound; Fixed loss of engine sound below ~1500 RPM on throttle, djusted upshift volume on higher revs, updated RPM Limiter sound, fixed missing AI sounds
  
• F-Reiza: Adjusted gearshift sound for all views
  
• Revised road noise volume for several cars

AI

• Added F-Retro Gen2 & Gen 3 custom AI driver entries
  
• Donington: Updated AI lines for both GP & National layouts

TRACKS

• Donington: Re-exported curb bollards to fix excessive damage caused to cars by hitting them
  

VEHICLES

• Porsche Cup: Updated Liveries
  
• F-3: Added dirt map to F301 & F309
  
• F-V10 Gen 1: Added dirt map
  
• Copa Montana: Fixed livery override for windscreen