AMS: Final Update Deployed - Donington and Snetterton Available Now

[Paul Jeffrey]

The final update for Automobilista is now live - includes two iconic British racing venues.

It's been a long time in the making, but we can now finally say that development for the exceptional Automobilista Racing Simulator (AMS) has reached its final conclusion - with Reiza Studios having just deployed what they consider to be the very last update for the still outstanding racing simulation - including the addition of two bonus British racing tracks in the form of (my personal favourite track) Donington Park, and the recently revamped Snetterton circuit.

Reiza AMS V1.5.24 Update Notes:

While a hotfix for eventual minor glitches from this release is possible, v1.5.24 is the last major update and marks the conclusion for Automobilista development. To celebrate the occasion we have launched the Automobilista Ultimate Edition, which bundles the base game with the Automobilista Season Pass, granting you all that AMS has to offer in a single purchase, 50% off the full price!

Below is the changelog for v1.5.16 -> v1.5.24:

• Added Donington Park DLC (GP and National layouts)
• Added Snetterton DLC (300 and 200 layouts)
• Updated to latest Fanatec SDK, adding: support for Podium DD; rumble support on wheels and pedals; configurable flag LEDs (when applicable); improved 3-digit display and shift LEDs turned off if ignition is off, blinking if pit limiter is on; LED brightness configurable (when applicable) - all configurable from in game menu. Wheel rotation on game exit is now reset to maximum of wheelbase (can be configured to different value from controller.ini).
• Updated to latest Logitech SDK - no more need for separate branch for Logitech G29 / G920 on Steam; Logitech G29 / G920 now resets to 900° on game exit (can be configured to different value from controller.ini)
• Fixed a bug with Thrustmaster rotation detection, now game won´t change Profiler rotation from what it was before launching game
• AMS Config now defaults to Windowed mode on Windows 10 systems due to Antialiasing failing to apply on NVIDIA cards in full screen mode (in case of problems run AMS Config and disable)
• AMS Config app no longer crashes on exit
• Multiplayer: Halved empty autochat message send time (to 15s) to keep connection alive and increased message priority to aid inactivity disconnects
• Fixed occasional audio artifacts
  
• Drift mode CTD possibly fixed
• Slightly reduced default steering ratio for all vehicles
• Several skin updates for various series

GENERAL NOTES:

This release includes several controller support updates for all 3 major manufacturers so please check the changelog for expected changes.

One such change means Logitech G29 / G920 users no longer have to use separate branches from main release for automatically configuring rotation lock per vehicle.

If you experience any issues running the game following the update, it´s worth running a Steam Integrity Check to make sure all files have been added / updated correctly.

The previous v1.5.16 release remains available as a Beta branch in case you experience any issues with this new build or have an upcoming league race with the old version. Further instructions as to how to switch to a beta branch here.

Automobilista is available exclusively on PC.

Don't forget to check out the Automobilista sub forum here at RaceDepartment to keep abreast of the latest news and discussions with regards to the simulation. We have a massive mod database where you can check out and download a selection of cars, tracks, skins, apps and other such third party content, plus of course we host some incredible club racing events on a regular weekly basis. If you want to become involved in the action yourself, check out the Automobilista Racing Clubs and Leagues sub forum and sign yourself up to a race today!

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[saxxon66]

30€ for the whole game? I might buy it for that price, is the online better than Rf2/ACC?

Not for online racing, BUT ...
If you do have a motion rig, I say this is a must buy.
Nothing feels more satisfying than a up shift in this game.
Thank you AMS Team for this great peace of software, we are all looking forward to AMS2 now.

 

[xxxxVMANxxxx]

Tbh this is my current favourite racing sim atm. Even surpassed my go to sim AC. Just love setting up a offline championship with a nice variety of tracks on on I go. Great FFB, some great original content plus all them mods. Can't believe I'm putting much for time into this rather than ACC, RRE, iracing, etc. Safe to say I cannot wait for Automobilista 2

 

[Case_]

BTW, it's very easy to find a good community for AMS online racing, at least around the European timezone. I'm racing 3-4 nights a week, sometimes even 5.

 

[SamuelSouza]

Bit sad that it ends now. What a great simulation.

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

― Dr. Seuss

 

[dreamer al]

What just happened!!! Game now comes up as a window (yes, I have windows 10). How do i get it back to full screen again???

This is a game changer for me. No way will I bother playing in a windowed (small) screen.

Not happy Reiza

Edit: Yes, I have now read to use Config to turn off Windowed mode. So, I have learned something; how to run Config. I will now play around with Anti- Aliasing to get my "best picture"

A further note. I purchased Donington Track and it is well worth the money. Thank you Reiza !!!

 

[Case_]

@dreamer al Simply run the config utility and change your config back to fullscreen. It's mentioned in the changelog, BTW.

 

[Beef36]

.

 

[BP]

BTW, it's very easy to find a good community for AMS online racing, at least around the European timezone. I'm racing 3-4 nights a week, sometimes even 5.

I'm not in Europe but on the weekends I'm free...can you name some servers where you've found good races and around what time? (don't forget to say your timezone)

 

[dreamer al]

@dreamer al Simply run the config utility and change your config back to fullscreen. It's mentioned in the changelog, BTW.

Martin, I value your expertise. Could you advise me on the following:

Which is the "best" (in theory) for Anti-Aliasing setting - Med 8xQ FPS x1.1 (my current setting) or High 8xQ FPS x0.06?
I have the Texture Filter as - X16 Anisotropic.
Both settings give me 150 FPS. To be honest I can not tell any difference between the two. So I guess its academic which I finally choose, but I am curios to know if there is a "difference".

Edit: I have switched back to "Window" mode and simply changed resolution to match my Windows 10 resolution (full screen) and I "think" (or maybe just fooling myself) I do see a difference; ie. High gives me a better picture although I may loose a few fps in the process. The Sim graphics really have improved (I think..lol) now that I have tweaked settings.

 

[Marc Collins]

Fun fact: there is always vsync on in windowed mode. You can turn off vsync in the game, which makes the game seemingly run as if vsync was turned off, but the rendered frames then go through the Windows Desktop Manager, which has vsync always forced on, so the final output you see has no tearing and is framerate limited to your refresh rate.

Is that the frame rate as reported by AMS (Ctrl-F)? Because I use windowed mode (just to simplify all the AA hassles) and get FPS above my refresh rate with Vsync off.

 

[BP]

Martin, I value your expertise. Could you advise me on the following:

Which is the "best" (in theory) for Anti-Aliasing setting - Med 8xQ FPS x1.1 (my current setting) or High 8xQ FPS x0.06?
I have the Texture Filter as - X16 Anisotropic.
Both settings give me 150 FPS. To be honest I can not tell any difference between the two. So I guess its academic which I finally choose, but I am curios to know if there is a "difference".

If you can't tell the difference then use the medium setting, but you could try taking a screenshot so you can see the difference. However I think the real issue might be that it's not working. You have to use Nvidia Inspector to put in the antialiasing fix code. I can let you know more if you're not sure how. Unless you have a fairly beefy PC, you should see a noticable difference in performance between the two.

The high setting is the best in theory because of an extra part you forgot to mention: 4xSGSS (Sparse Grid Super Sampling). That provides the strongest Anti-Aliasing available, but is equally the most taxing on your GPU. It really smooths out any jagged edges to the point where some might think it's blurry (I personally love it). The better setting would actually be the "High" setting (4xMS + 4xSGSS) and not the "High+" setting you described (8xQ + 4xSGSS), because it's usually better to have the same multipler (4x, 8x, etc) when mixing AA methods.

Using Nvidia Inspector you can get custom settings not available in the AMS config menu...I don't have screenshots of the exact AA settings you listed but this should give a clear example of the difference between SGSS off and on. There should be a "softer" appearance to everything on the 2nd image (make sure you click on the image to see it at full size).

8xQ (no SGSS)

4xMS + 4xSGSS:

 

[dreamer al]

If you can't tell the difference then use the medium setting, but you could try taking a screenshot so you can see the difference. However I think the real issue might be that it's not working. You have to use Nvidia Inspector to put in the antialiasing fix code. I can let you know more if you're not sure how.

The high setting is the best in theory because of an extra part you forgot to mention: 4xSGSS (Sparse Grid Super Sampling). That provides the strongest Anti-Aliasing available, but is equally the most taxing on your GPU. It really smooths out any jagged edges to the point where some might think it's blurry (I personally love it).

Using Nvidia Inspector you can get custom settings not available in the AMS config menu...I don't have screenshots of the exact AA settings you listed but this should give a clear example of the difference between SGSS off and on. There should be a "softer" appearance to everything on the 2nd image (make sure you click on the image to see it at full size).

8xQ (no SGSS)
View attachment 323588

4xQ + 4xSGSS:
View attachment 323589

Many thanks BP. I have edited my previous post and am quite happy with the "high" settings. I am a non techie but mainly go on instincts, so now, I think the Sim looks much improved. However I am curious on how to use Nvidia Inspector.

 

[Case_]

Which is the "best" (in theory) for Anti-Aliasing setting - Med 8xQ FPS x1.1 (my current setting) or High 8xQ FPS x0.06?

I assume that by the High 8xQ x0.6 FPS, you actually mean the "High+ 8xQ 4xSGSS x0.6FPS" setting, as in the highest available in the dropdown. In that case, that one should definitely be better looking as it includes the 4xSGSS antialiasing, which is pretty much the best you can get, but also quite GPU-heavy. See above in BP's comparison for example the electric wires in the distance, the railings on the grandstands or the white track lines in the rearview mirror.
It also can have a side-effect of sometimes making things appear a bit too soft.

BTW, if you don't see a difference and you're on Win 10, make sure the AA is actually working for you It's an easy mistake to make. If you haven't adjusted the antialiasing compatibility bits for AMS through nVidia inspector manually, then the nVidia enhanced AA will only work in windowed mode, not in fullscreen.

Is that the frame rate as reported by AMS (Ctrl-F)? Because I use windowed mode (just to simplify all the AA hassles) and get FPS above my refresh rate with Vsync off.

Yeah, that's the problem. As far as the game itself is concerned, turning off vsync works exactly as it should. But in windowed mode, the game's output isn't sent to the screen directly, but instead it is handed over to Desktop Window Manager so it can composite it into a window and show it to you...and the Desktop Window Manager always runs with vsync on. So the game will (for example) claim it's rendering at 180 fps, because as far as it is concerned, it is, but DWM still runs at (again, for example) 60 fps on a 60 Hz monitor and with vsync on, so basically only a third of the frames the game rendered is shown to you, the rest is basically discarded by the DWM.

It's a bit of a mess, really. It was possible to disable vsync for DWM in Windows 7 (by turning off Aero), but from Windows 8 forward, it is no longer possible to disable it. MS is trying to solve these issues by constantly tweaking the way fullscreen, windowed and borderless windowed mode works with pretty much every major Win 10 update (which is also why one of the updates "broke" the antialiasing for certain games, including AMS, and nVidia never bothered to update their profiles for those games accordingly), and I believe there is now even a way for an application to run with vsync truly off in at least borderless window, but the application has to support that, and most games don't AFAIK.

 

[BP]

Many thanks BP. I have edited my previous post and am quite happy with the "high" settings. I am a non techie but mainly go on instincts, so now, I think the Sim looks much improved. However I am curious on how to use Nvidia Inspector.

This is a beginner's guide to using it: https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/nvidia-inspector-introduction-and-guide.403676/

1) Before using it, use the AMS config first and set Anti-aliasing to the High setting. This should remove half the work.
2) When you get into Inspector, you want to choose the profile for Automobilista. If there isn't one, you'll have to create a profile for that game, but I believe AMS adds one automatically when you pick one of those AA options. This profile tells the GPU what settings to apply for this game only. The guide I linked explains how to create a profile. Make sure that inside that long green bar, ams.exe is listed. Those first two icons they highlight in the image below are what you need to create a profile for AMS.

3) Most important bit: When you're on the AMS profile (don't do this on the Global/Base Profile!), make the following changes (WARNING: make sure you don't do this on the Global/Base Profile!):

• on the 2nd line where it says "Antialiasing compatibility", set it to 0x004412C1 (just use the drop down menu, it should be there with "Diablo III" in brackets)
• on the 4th line where it says "Antialiasing Fix", set that to On.

4) Hit apply changes and then exit inspector. That's it! Run AMS and it should look noticably better.

 

[Case_]

AMS does indeed add the profile when you select the enhanced AA options, but you do have to edit the antialiasing fixes manually as described, the profile does not include those.

 

[jeroenalmere]

i love this game, still one of the best...physics are just great....did i say i love it...

 

[jeroenalmere]

PS: what mod do i need to change the main screen where you can choose cars etc, i know you can change this but i cant find it in download, any idead or a link thanks

 

[dreamer al]

This is a beginner's guide to using it: https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/nvidia-inspector-introduction-and-guide.403676/

1) Before using it, use the AMS config first and set Anti-aliasing to the High setting. This should remove half the work.
2) When you get into Inspector, you want to choose the profile for Automobilista. If there isn't one, you'll have to create a profile for that game, but I believe AMS adds one automatically when you pick one of those AA options. This profile tells the GPU what settings to apply for this game only. The guide I linked explains how to create a profile. Make sure that inside that long green bar, ams.exe is listed. Those first two icons they highlight in the image below are what you need to create a profile for AMS.

3) Most important bit: When you're on the AMS profile (don't do this on the Global/Base Profile!), make the following changes (WARNING: make sure you don't do this on the Global/Base Profile!):

• on the 2nd line where it says "Antialiasing compatibility", set it to 0x004412C1 (just use the drop down menu, it should be there with "Diablo III" in brackets)
• on the 4th line where it says "Antialiasing Fix", set that to On.

4) Hit apply changes and then exit inspector. That's it! Run AMS and it should look noticably better.

Many thanks for this, but I am very, very nervous (and have little faith in my abilities, ie. I tend to stuff things up ) in changing any settings. I have however changed back to Windows Mode for AMS (full screen). It seems that the Anti_Aliasing does in fact work. I have changed it to "High+ 8xQ 4xSGSS x0.6FPS" and am happy to stay with that.

Again, thank you, I really appreciate your detailed explanations.

 

[giga1tr]

the two new tracks are nicely done and really wonderful to drive.
AMS is still great.

 

[b)b]

Yes!



Well, anyone running Win10 should just be aware of the fact windowed mode often results in increased input lag (the new nVidia ultra-low latency mode seems to help a bit here) and/or microstutter (due to how windowed mode works).
I would've thought a better solution would be to simply set the appropriate nVidia antialiasing compatibility setting that fixes the fullscreen antialiasing issue, but I guess they thought using windowed mode as default is better...

It's not possible for the game to set exclusive fullscreen NVIDIA antialising setting as it requires setting AA compat flags to 0x40 in "NVIDIA Profile inspector" for AMS.exe and this cannot be done by code. And it must be manually redone on every NVIDIA driver update...