Automobilista 2 is getting the long-awaited v1.5 update very soon, promising to take another big step forward - "possibly the biggest we have taken so far", says Renato Simioni, the founder of developer Reiza Studios. RaceDepartment has sat down with the AMS2 Lead Developer to chat about the new update, the past and what is still to come. Read Renato's thoughts on...
Image credit: Reiza Studios
We have made some adjustments to the netcode prediction, and it is looking better during our tests. We can confidently say that it is a good improvement. I would not go as far as saying that we have everything at the level of the best sims in terms of multiplayer, but it’s a good step up.
We have some more options as well, such as the one to auto advance the session, which was a common complaint – people would often get stuck as the server was not advancing the session. Now, there is a mechanism that will automatically do that.
The chatbox will now be present in the results screen – this and other such quality-of-life improvements are part of the update. There is more we were working on for this release, like the extension of voting options, but they will not make it in time for v1.5. They are expected for the next update in a month or two.”
Installing and maintaining mods in Automobilista 2 will be less cumbersome once update v1.5 is released - and even more possibilities are on the horizon.
The Multiplayer, modding support, physics – I think we have a really big step up, I am really happy with what we have got now – and the fourth factor is AI.
The AI still has some issues, even with the updates we’re making now, but it’s another big improvement in terms of AI calibration both in dry and we weather, so you can keep things more consistent going from class to class and from track to track.
Up until recently, we were always chasing moving goal posts, because the physics were changing all the time. We didn’t have a consistent base to calibrate against, because you would change things, then the physics would change, and everything would be out of whack again with the AI.
We are in the process of redoing the AI lines for about 30 track layouts. There is more consistency for most classes, also with weather. Some series were good when it was dry, then it started to rain and they were too fast or too slow relative to the player. It ensures you get a quality race with every combination of car and track you pick, and whatever your skill level is.
More are to come, as we are talking about over 200 layouts and over 70 classes of cars in dry and wet weather, so the number of combinations is high. It is going to be a much higher standard of consistency, also for pit stops and tire strategy.
We also have spotter support. It is using the native assistant from Project CARS 2, but with our own voice material. It is not a full engineer, just a spotter, but it is already good value for having a native spotter system for oval racing, and even for Rallycross, it is important."
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Image credit: Reiza Studios
...Multiplayer Improvements
"We have had some progress with multiplayer elements. We do regular multiplayer tests, but they are always in a controlled environment, with mostly the same people and on a server we know is reliable, so they tend to be better than what they average experience can be for other users. So we will not know how much of an impact they have until the update is out.We have made some adjustments to the netcode prediction, and it is looking better during our tests. We can confidently say that it is a good improvement. I would not go as far as saying that we have everything at the level of the best sims in terms of multiplayer, but it’s a good step up.
We have some more options as well, such as the one to auto advance the session, which was a common complaint – people would often get stuck as the server was not advancing the session. Now, there is a mechanism that will automatically do that.
The chatbox will now be present in the results screen – this and other such quality-of-life improvements are part of the update. There is more we were working on for this release, like the extension of voting options, but they will not make it in time for v1.5. They are expected for the next update in a month or two.”
Installing and maintaining mods in Automobilista 2 will be less cumbersome once update v1.5 is released - and even more possibilities are on the horizon.
...Improved Modding Support
"It used to be really cumbersome as the engine was not really designed for modding. We are working on lifting some restrictions and limitations. The most important one was that you don’t have to install everything again with every update nor mess with bootfiles as there are dedicated user vehicle lists and driveline records – that’s already taken care of for 1.5, with some more resources planned for making car modding easier. Unfortunately for tracks we don’t foresee support being possible anytime soon.”...Community Requests
"There were four fronts people have been pointing out as the main areas in need of an upgrade, and these are the ones that we ended up focusing on for 1.5.The Multiplayer, modding support, physics – I think we have a really big step up, I am really happy with what we have got now – and the fourth factor is AI.
The AI still has some issues, even with the updates we’re making now, but it’s another big improvement in terms of AI calibration both in dry and we weather, so you can keep things more consistent going from class to class and from track to track.
Up until recently, we were always chasing moving goal posts, because the physics were changing all the time. We didn’t have a consistent base to calibrate against, because you would change things, then the physics would change, and everything would be out of whack again with the AI.
We are in the process of redoing the AI lines for about 30 track layouts. There is more consistency for most classes, also with weather. Some series were good when it was dry, then it started to rain and they were too fast or too slow relative to the player. It ensures you get a quality race with every combination of car and track you pick, and whatever your skill level is.
More are to come, as we are talking about over 200 layouts and over 70 classes of cars in dry and wet weather, so the number of combinations is high. It is going to be a much higher standard of consistency, also for pit stops and tire strategy.
We also have spotter support. It is using the native assistant from Project CARS 2, but with our own voice material. It is not a full engineer, just a spotter, but it is already good value for having a native spotter system for oval racing, and even for Rallycross, it is important."
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Physics and the Development of v1.5Full Article
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