AMS 2 | Beta 4 and 5 Now Available + Development Roadmap

[Paul Jeffrey]

As the development ramps up ahead of a public release, Reiza Studios release beta 4 and 5 of Automobilista in quick succession - with a whole host of changes and improvements included.

Showing great signs of progress from the nearly unrecognisable initial first release back at the end of February, Reiza Studios remain hard at work bringing about the levels of polish and refinement the Brazilian development team have become known for with their racing simulations. Taking on a new game engine in the form of Slightly Mad Studios MADNESS, a departure from the traditional gMotor base that powered previous releases Game StockCar Extreme and Automobilista 1, it is perhaps inevitable that the early stages of development would be a mixed bag of the good, bad and the ugly, and that is certainly how things have been so far in the progress for this highly promising racing simulation.

With nearly a month worth of closed beta tweaks, fixes and improvements, the game at Beta 5 stage is now a significant step forward from initial release, and looks to be shaping up nicely as Reiza look to apply a further big push before moving ahead from closed beta status.

With the public release getting ever closer, two significant updates have been deployed to the sim in close succession, bringing the title to 'beta 5' status as well as a new roadmap posting from the developers - outlining the immediate future of the title. Check out the full details below.

Beta 5 Update Notes:

UI

• Implemented suspension setup screen
• Added Anti-roll bar settings to quick setup
• Fixed unselected label on advanced setup button

PHYSICS

• Further tyre model revisions
• Revised body aero drag for all cars
• Added & callibrated AI throttle delay per car
• Fixed bug in which cars with a single all-weather compound would crash loading a raining session
• Adjusted F-Ultimate throttle map & fixed balk torque
• Fixed missing curb noise on some curb types

FFB

• Revised pneumatic trail values & max steering rack force for each car (minor adjustments may still be required)

AI

• Fixed & adjusted range of AI throttle application for each car, improving performance balance vs player out of corners (function was fixed but not tuned in BETA4 causing a lot of misbehavior)
• Adjusted AI to mitigate excessive number of T1 incidents (not enough, more to come)
• Bumped up AI Aggression slightly for all cars, following further adjustments for behaviorial changes on aggression scale

AUDIO

• Sprint Race V6: fixed pops and clicks on interior sounds.

TRACKS

• Art passes for Imola & Imola 1972, Kyalami Historic, Donington, Interlagos, Montreal
• Adjusted Weather/climate values,
• Fixed start trigger at Interlagos which could first place to miss a lap on start
• Updated Donington_GP TV cams
• Added enhanced 3D road patch parameters to Donington, Kyalami Historic, Montreal

VEHICLES

• Fixed scaling error in Opala 3D model
• Kart GX390 Race - fixed steering wheel axis
• Formula V12 - fixed graphics glitch; RPM light, brakedisc glow, updated rear light

Beta 4 Update Notes:

IMPORTANT: We strongly recommend all users, specially those with DD wheels to configure their FFB strentgh to lower values before launching BETA4, and increase them as they find suitable. The new pneumatic trail formula makes self-alining torque a lot more pronounced, which can make the wheel snap if your settings for BETA3 are a bit on the heavy side.

We also fixed an issue that was causing road & curbs to be less perceptible, so FX settings no longer enhance such forces, but only add vibration for engine, transmission and scrub. If you want a more pure FFB you may want to start by zeroeing out FX and experiment with small increments

CONTENT:

• Added Imola 1972

UI

• Initial implementation of SETUP screens (just initial fast edit & initial tab for now, to be complemented in BETA5)

FFB

• Updated pneumatic trail calculation, now equal to what we had in AMS1 resulting in higher overall rack force and self aligning torque)
• Added stoplocks for Accuforce / OSW / Simucube / Bodnar and other custom wheels (needs testing)
• Adjusted "FX" FFB effects - no longer adds "fake" road noise after porting over AMS1 surface noise code - FX now adds engine vibe (modelled from crankshaft angular rotation) and tyre scrub (as an actual frequency coming from STM)
• Removed redundant "flavour" FFB profiles, renamed as "TYPE" with only two options (Default / Custom)

PHYSICS

• Doubled tyre tread & width resolution in tyre model
• Further revisions to tread & carcass load stiffnes for several tyres
• Revised F-Vintage drivetrain
• Adjusted brake torque of formula cars
• Adjusted rain tyres (to be complemented in BETA5)
• Adjusted gearbox damage & timings (to be complemented in BETA5)
• Revised driving aids functionality & gamepad sensitivity multipliers (to be complemented in BETA5)

AI

• Various AI performance adjustments
• Added AI Start variable to balance AI standing start performance vs player (only for cases where AI could launch much faster - this will be expanded in a future build to improve AI launch performance in cars that needs higher revs off the line)
• Further adjusted AI Aggression scalars for anything that isnt a F1 car

AUDIO

• Fixed some loop issues in F-Vintage V8 engines e
• Fixed FClassic V8 missing external sound in chase view
• Added ambient audio effects to all tracks
• Lowered some impact sounds volume
• Removed spotter voice when leaving pits

TRACKS

• Kyalami Historic art & physics pass
• Adjusted tarmac shader with added ambient reflections
• Adjusted crowd shader
• Small tweaks to atmosphere/sky
• Physics / track limit revisions to Cascavel, Interlagos Brands Hatch
• Adjusted night lights & added props to several tracks
• Revised Adelaide Historic AI paths

VEHICLES

• Updated Copa Uno steering wheel mesh
• Mitsubishi Lancer R: add LODs, add windscreen reflection
• Mitsubishi Lancer RS: add windscreen reflection
• More liveries added & updated for F-Classic Gen2, F-Reiza, Old Stock, Ultima Race, MRX, AJR cars

Automobilista 2 Development Roadmap

Greetings everyone! I hope everyone is doing OK and keeping safe.

What a difference a month can make right? A few weeks ago we had just deployed the first Beta build for AMS2 and were still firing on all cylinders pushing through our Beta program to get AMS2 ready for release on March 31st - a lot of work has been done in the 3 weeks we have been in Beta - we have just deployed our 5th BETA build tonight - but a lot remains to be done, and for that we relied on a strong couple of weeks in this final stint to reach a standard we´d be satisfied with for Automobilista 2 v1.0.

Unfortunately the last week has seen the World thrown into disarray, and with it the little chance we still had to get through the remaining workload in time for the 31st evaporated, as even though we already work in a fully remote operation and the Reiza team has not been directly impacted by COVID-19, things like this tend to bring indirect implications which have and will continue to inevitably slow us down a bit - as much as everyone in the team enjoys working hard, this would not a good time to be pushing developers to their limits. nor would it feel appropriate to be engaging in promotional fanfare for a game release.

Paradoxically, this also happens to be turning into a boost for sim racing as all motorsports activities have grounded to a halt, and they are all turning to what sim racing can offer to help fill the time. We have already seen some huge events being organized in a very short time as fans, drivers and real series all flock to sim racing to engage on a level they never had before, and for us it would be a thrilling opportunity to offer everyone a fresh platform to enjoy themselves during these challenging times.

Taking all this into account, we have elected to go ahead with a soft launch for Automobilista 2 on March 31st as a Steam Early Access Release, offering a 40% discount over the full price of the base game for the duration of the EA phase, which we expect to last between 4 to 8 weeks.

AMS2 Roadmap For Early Access, Release and Beyond

By the time AMS2 goes live on Steam in March 31st we will be publishing a detailed breakdown of what will be the key development goals during this period for AMS2 to reach v1.0 status sometime between April and May - the extended timeline now allows us aim for a more robust V1.0 release, going further than our plans were for v1.0 on March 31st.

Last month we had published our schedule for the first 3 months of AMS2 post-release, featuring plans for monthly game updates along with new content packs (free and DLC) and some key new features - these plans largely stand unchanged even with the Early Access phase, as the Historic GP cars, GT3/GT4 pack, Hockenheim, Bathurst, Silverstone and a few other cool, not-yet disclosed bits of content are all already well under production and will be added to that game within that proposed schedule.

AMS2 BETA - Final Week to Join!

Due to popular demand we have put the forum store live again, where you can buy a pack that grants you AMS2 + AMS2 Beta + 2020-2021 DLC Season Pass.

We emphatize however this only makes sense at this stage for those who were already entitled to a free key or a discount on the package from their participation in previous crowdfunding campaigns, and those who may be eager to participate in AMS2 Beta development process from March 31st onwards as that will no longer be available for new users after initial AMS2 release on Steam.

For those not familiar with AMS2 Beta and how it may differ from the Early Access game that will be available on Steam on March 31st, follows a brief explanation:

Similar to its predecessor (Automobilista Beta for AMS1) AMS2 Beta is a separate AMS2 install on Steam which has been available to people who bought into the AMS2 Early Backing Campaign since Feburary 28th; after the main game is released next week, AMS2 Beta will continue to receive early beta updates and new WIP content (free or DLC) before they are deployed to the main game release, during and after Early Access is over.

If you are interested in AMS2 as a finished product however please hold off the impulse to buy into the Beta unless you really are convinced you want to engage with AMS2 development on the long run and want the chance to be playing already in these final days before the official release - if you want to check out AMS2 but don´t want to make a large financial commitment to it, we strongly recommend you wait 8 more days and get the base game with a 40% discount along with 2h to evaluate it from Steam.

That covers what we wanted to share with you for this pre-release dev update - obviously a bit different to what we had in mind after a gruelling 16-month production period, but we remain very excited to be sharing the results of our labour with all sim racers, and hope it can provide a bit of enjoyment over the next few months while we all take cover from this pesky bug that is doing the rounds...



Original Source: Reiza Studios

Automobilista 2 is set to be made available exclusively for PC later this month.

Got questions or comments about the sim? Head over to the AMS 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment and start a thread to engage with our awesome community!

 

[UMC 22]

A healthy principle is that all "types of persons" should be allowed a voice. If they're factually wrong you can correct them. If you think they are wrong then you can counter with your own opinion.

If someone goes out of their way to present fake info and behave like douchebags I'm sure mods will ban them.

(emphasis mine)

I have it on good authority that they will in fact do so, but only if users report the posts in question.

Not strictly true. Reports are obviously acted on as soon as a moderator such as myself sees them. However, I am also reading every thread on the boards I moderate and actively dealing with issues whether they are reported or not. Proactive is better than reactive, in my view.

That aside, this is my last word on the matter. RD believe in free speech. Every member has a right to express their views and opinions, positive or negative, popular or unpopular, critical or non-critical, praise or complaint, majority or minority. They also have the right not to be belittled or forced to keep quiet by people who do not agree with them. People are free to discuss, debate, and disagree to their heart's content, as long as they do not resort to behaviour which breaches our rules.

For those who aren't sure what constitutes that behaviour, think of it this way. Imagine you were having this discussion face-to-face and someone says something you really don't like and totally disagree with. Would you storm up to that person, get in their face, angrily call them names, question their intelligence, and belittle them into silence? Of course you wouldn't. So why do it on an internet forum? The social rules should be exactly the same.

Now, any further debate about what should and should not be allowed will be removed. It's completely off-topic for this thread and will have no affect on RD's policy or the work of it's staff. So lets all just settle down and discuss things with maturity and respect. Thank you!

 

[Spinelli]

That is most definitely not what it is - we increased tick rates for physics and audio, rewrote the FFB code, reworked large chunks of FMOD integration, are reestructuring large parts of the AI code and implementing several custom features such DRS and Copa Truck speed trap - and that´s just for a conservative start, plenty more to come on the long term. If that´s a mod to PC2 so is AMS1 a mod to rF1 and GTR2 a mod to F1C... I mean some of this information is right on the opening post folks The fact that we are content creators first and foremost doesn´t mean we don´t do any coding...

I'm glad to hear but upping tick rates isn't going to do much other than make the existing behaviour / physics more accurate for the given physics engine it's running on. Upping the tick rate of Mario Kart will make the physics more accurate for the Mario Kart physics engine / tyre model but the fundamental vehicle/phsyics behaviour is still Mario Kart but just at higher resolution / tick rate. I remember I think it was Dirt Rally 1.0 5 or 6 years ago using their 500 or 1000 Hz physics "tick rate" as part of their attempt at advertising great physics, well, that game could have 10000000 Hz tick rate and it would still drive fundamentally the same but just with more resolution / tick-rate - it's still the same physics engine, tyre model, etc. Like 2 identical pictures but different resolution. The pictures are still identical but the higher resolution pic will retain more detail as you zoom-in the picture but, nevertheless, the 2 pictures are still the same. Don't get me wrong though, increased update / tick rate is always welcome, of course

Same with damage. I read a recent quote saying there won't be updates (ie. coding changes) to the PC2 damage model/engine but rather just "tuning." I remember some modders did some cool damage "tuning" in RFactor 1 and F1 CH 99-02 with more detachable body parts and more sensitivity but after 15 minutes, once you get past the first few cool crashes, you realize it's still fundamentally the same as before there's just an increase in car parts to break off and more easily. It's nothing compared to what actual coding changes can achieve like what iRacing is doing with their damage along with other games like Wreckfest, BeamNG, etc.

P.S. I'm not saying we should have soft body physics (tons of work), I'm just making a point about how essentially being a content creator / "tuner" / "modder" severely limits the freedom, development, improvements, and "expression" that can be achieved compared to making truly fundamental improvements from the ground-up (ie. coding).

Another good example is the great audio improvements you guys (Reiza) brought to AMS and the real nice A.I. updates Reiza brought to AMS and ISI brought to RF2. You could have a modder / "tuner" mess around with vanilla RF1 for 100 years and they would never be able to achieve close to those improvements/changes; those audio & A.I. changes require fundamental coding changes.

I really hope Reiza don't shy away from tackling the ISI/PC2 physics engine & tyre model head-on to slowly evolve it and really make it their own over the years. I'm not expecting anything now as you guys are busy with so much but I really hope there's evolution in this area as time goes on so we're not essentially playing a very good version of PC2 but truley a driving experience that is Reiza's own vision and expression

 

[KittX]

Got it from yt video (30sec). Show me yours.

YT compression plays big part in it. All textures on this pic seem low res and no 3d grass visible.

"Simplified" or not, that's the questions about priorities though. I wanted to make more dedicated technical post, but i can try to sum it up here:

For the terrain/grass we've migrated our system from AMS1, but updated it to newer spec (and there is a huge room for further updating) - 4 detai textures (including spec/normal maps) blended by RGBA blending map based on aerial map + 2 levels of more detail textures just for blending - so the 4 diffuses blend between eachother not just via linear interpolation, but with some detail pattern, i.e. for example, grass with dry ground blends not via just linear opacity, but you have small patches of grass on dry ground, then they got bigger and bigger, until it's fully grass. And it's only example of 2 diffuses. Also we can assign uv channels to the any of diffuse, so we can seamlessly blend as much materials as you want. Plus there is additional aerial/colormap texture that covers entire ground, can be enabled if needed.

Tarmac also a combination of pCars2 tarmac and our tarmac system, where all the groove/skids/marbles are part of tarmac shader, not the overlaying models. One of the benefits of that - is this allows to make them dynamic, and have seamless transitions between all road materials.
Also think of this this way:
In AMS1 we were very limited by "instructions" (simply put - free slots) in the shader, and still had similar techniques that had variety of texs and colors prioritized. Now the amount of free instructions is so big, it's only the beginning. We can add a lot to it during the game's lifespan.

 

[DaVeX↯]

Amen to that!

 

[ermo]

I really hope there's evolution in this area as time goes on so we're not essentially playing a very good version of PC2 but truley a driving experience that is Reiza's own vision and expression

I think creating a very good version of PC2 which is also carefully tweaked (engine input side) and delicately improved (code side) to express a certain vision is what Reiza are aiming for.

Will it contain recognisable elements of MADNESS? Sure, in the same way that AMS1 contains recognisable elements of rF1, but is still different and improved enough that everyone will immediately be able to tell the difference and appreciate the experience as "standing on its own" as it were.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

YT compression plays big part in it. All textures on this pic seem low res and no 3d grass visible.

"Simplified" or not, that's the questions about priorities though. I wanted to make more dedicated technical post, but i can try to sum it up here:

For the terrain/grass we've migrated our system from AMS1, but updated it to newer spec (and there is a huge room for further updating) - 4 detai textures (including spec/normal maps) blended by RGBA blending map based on aerial map + 2 levels of more detail textures just for blending - so the 4 diffuses blend between eachother not just via linear interpolation, but with some detail pattern, i.e. for example, grass with dry ground blends not via just linear opacity, but you have small patches of grass on dry ground, then they got bigger and bigger, until it's fully grass. And it's only example of 2 diffuses. Also we can assign uv channels to the any of diffuse, so we can seamlessly blend as much materials as you want. Plus there is additional aerial/colormap texture that covers entire ground, can be enabled if needed.

Tarmac also a combination of pCars2 tarmac and our tarmac system, where all the groove/skids/marbles are part of tarmac shader, not the overlaying models. One of the benefits of that - is this allows to make them dynamic, and have seamless transitions between all road materials.
Also think of this this way:
In AMS1 we were very limited by "instructions" (simply put - free slots) in the shader, and still had similar techniques that had variety of texs and colors prioritized. Now the amount of free instructions is so big, it's only the beginning. We can add a lot to it during the game's lifespan.

Do you guys have any unedited 4k videos at max settings?
Thanks

 

[kimbo]

Why

Surely, ACC is years infront of AMS2. Just look at this curb in T1 @Brands for example.
And there are tones of details which are all in favour of ACC. So huge difference in hardware, dont u think?
With other words, AMS2 is more simplified then AC1. Read: less poly, less cpu&gpu usage. That I dont talk about materials (textures), which are clearly visible how simplified they look like.

View attachment 358158

I don`t know how raining conditions will look like, but I assume same way as seen from the pic above.

yup, and the earth is flat...

 

[CreamyCornCob]

Surely, ACC is years infront of AMS2. Just look at this curb in T1 @Brands for example.
And there are tones of details which are all in favour of ACC.

View attachment 358158

Good grief dude, can you be anymore obtuse and untruthful? You took a pathetic screenshot of a video with heavy compression, no word of what beta version it is, looking like on low settings.
I'll help you. Makes a big difference when you use a proper shot doesn't it? Curbs, yes, horrid....

(not even a uncompressed .png)

I don`t know how raining conditions will look like, but I assume same way as seen from the pic above.

You couldn't be any more wrong. Wanna try again there Mitja?
(again, compressed .jpg's)

 

[roadyroad]

As the game wasn't satisfying enough at the beginning, at let it a few time and yesterday tried some of the cars and I must say Reiza has made huge improvements in a few time.
The FFB is good, and the handling feels more natural to me than AMS1's one.

The wet conditions were a huge disappointment initially and yesterday I've run a few laps in rainy conditions with a classic F1 (gen1 I think), and it was much better.

In VR it was quiet nice looking and smooth, except when inserts appear (lap time...) which generate stuttering (as in the former Codemasters F1 games ; there was a fix by tweaking the nvidia control panel).

AMS2 is on the right way. I hope Reiza will bring dirt racing in it (rallycross and sprint cars).

 

[Renato Simioni]

Good grief dude, can you be anymore obtuse and untruthful? You took a pathetic screenshot of a video with heavy compression, no word of what beta version it is, looking like on low settings.
I'll help you. Makes a big difference when you use a proper shot doesn't it? Curbs, yes, horrid....

(not even a uncompressed .png)

You couldn't be any more wrong. Wanna try again there Mitja?
(again, compressed .jpg's)

Those are ancient now these however are quite fresh:

 

[Chrhun]

I'm so looking forward to the EA launch, it will be next Tuesday, right? What time?-)

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Pictures look stunning, do you have good videos, if not 4K, at least 1440p?

 

[M D Gourley]

Beta 8
The zippy Copa Uno racing with some friends at Jerez
Cropped Triple Screen images then reduced 50% for uploading

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Remember when PC was jokingly called Project Screenshot.
Nice pictures, untouched, actual resolution images could be nicer.

 

[M D Gourley]

Those are ancient now these however are quite fresh:

WOW ...I need a 4k screen

 

[Pappa_G_27]

Remember when PC was jokingly called Project Screenshot.
Nice pictures, untouched, actual resolution images could be nicer.

Get the game, do it yourself. Simple

 

[KittX]

The screenshots Renato posted are from dev branch, where we hover the free camera around scene, without any additional photomode effects. Those were 1:1 ingame shots.

 

[Shovas]

The screenshots Renato posted are from dev branch, where we hover the free camera around scene, without any additional photomode effects. Those were 1:1 ingame shots.

Would you say it takes any kind of particular setup or configuration to achieve screenshots like that? Beyond having the hardware and specs to drive it?

They're amazing screenshots though I can understand it drives people crazy that they don't know how to achieve those screenshots in real-world, at-home scenarios. It's a big issue with rF2.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Get the game, do it yourself. Simple

Why everyone (even Staff) is so aggressively defensive about this title, feels like old days when PCars2 was about to be released?
What's wrong with asking to properly show the product BEFORE opening the wallet?

 

[CreamyCornCob]

Would you say it takes any kind of particular setup or configuration to achieve screenshots like that? Beyond having the hardware and specs to drive it?

They're amazing screenshots though I can understand it drives people crazy that they don't know how to achieve those screenshots in real-world, at-home scenarios. It's a big issue with rF2.

This is in-game AC, nothing spectacular. Not sure what your saying. Are you talking about renders and not in game shots? Because looking at those shots from Renato appear in-game I'd assume, not renders.