Automobilista 2 | New Update And Historic Spa Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Reiza Studios have recently dropped another new build of their Automobilista 2 racing simulation to Steam, adding a wealth of new fixes and the 1993 variant of the stunning Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

• New update 1.1.2.0 released.
• Spa 1993 added as free content for owners of the original track.
• Many fixes, tweaks and improvements deployed.

The new build dropped right at the very close of February, and with it a very nice collection of further tweaks, updates and improvements have been deployed to the simulation on Steam - with plenty of tasty changes that are sure to excite both offline and online players of the title.

In terms of content, the new build includes both the 1993 Spa Francorchamps circuit layout, and the 1999 Stock Car Brazil Opel Omega Series and Sauber C9 and Porsche 962 cars of the Group C variety.

Game wise, the latest build also addresses some further force feedback and AI improvements, tweaks to the UI interface and various physics improvements, as detailed below.

CONTENT

Tracks

• Added Spa Francorchamps 1993 layout

Vehicles

• Added Group C class featuring Sauber Mercedes C9 & Porsche 962C
• Added Stock Car 1999 Omega series

GENERAL

• Implemented new LiveTrack wet weather rubber washing (rubber is now gradually washed away from track surface as it gets saturated with water)
• Expanded available opponent classes to 9 (10 total)
• Bumped headlight range from 160 to 240m for all cars
• Corrected number of opponents in Championship mode to match the series current total number of opponents
• Added function to set different presets of rubber depending on type of session (making option available to player will soon follow)
• Added new functions to control when vehicle headlights & tail lights should remain on and DRS rules remain disabled based on track wetness threshold (previously was solely based on environment light levels)
• Replaced Spa 2020 with Spa 1993 on the calendar of pre-2005 championships

UI & HUD

• Re-styled event rules & regulations page
• Re-styled single player opponent settings page
• Added help texts to online Opponent settings screen
• Fixed wrong value link on gear 7/8 assignments
• Fixed redundant adjustable wing setup option being available for cars without such aero components
• Corrected tire names for various cars using street or semi-slick compounds
• Fixed missing French & German localization for track limits setting
• Adjusted font size on track limit warnings labels for Rules & Regulations UI screen

FFB

• Introduced routine to reset FFB in case of FFB loss (game detects the loss and reset FFB automatically, should be seamless for player)
• Adjusted default FFB profile for more accurate self-aligning torque, milder force spikes over big bumps and other such sudden tire oad.change; adjusted effect from braking torque (should provide better feedback during lockups); split FX signal from Low Force Boost setting

PHYSICS

• Added slow damping function to all tires (generally improves tire damping & fixes bouncing effect at very slow speeds previously proeminent in formula cars)
• Added intermediate & extreme tyre compounds for modern protos, GTs & formulas
• Adjusted tire tread for 60s touring cars, Opalas, Copas Fusca, Uno, Truck, Caterham Academy & F-Trainer
• Adjusted semi-slick tire tread (F-Trainer Advanced, Caterhams, ARC Camaro)
• Adjusted F-Vee, Opala 1979 & Old Stock tire treads
• Increased RPM threshold for reduced engine life in 2-stroke karts
• Moved Metalmoro AJR diffuser center of pressure rearwards by 2cm (slightly rebalancing overall aero distribution)
• Slightly falloff rates in rain for all slick tires (addressing issues with tires losing all adherence beyond a certain saturation point)
• Minor stifness adjustment to GT / Proto / StockCar tire carcasses
• Added minor preload resistance to open diffs in cars with more powerful engines
• Adjusted Porsche 911 GT1 engine compression curve
• Adjusted default gear ratios for Mclaren F1 GTR & Mercedes CLK in GT1 class
• Minor crankshaft mass adjustments to F1 cars
• Corrected 720S GT3 negative rear toe setting (setup reset recommended)
• Moved default brake bias slightly rearwards for Copa Truck, F-Trainers (requires setup reset recommended)

AI

• Various AI behavior improvements, adding car-specific parameters to improve their overtaking assesments both against human player and AI vs AI
• Added car-specific overrides for previously global parameters controlling the amount of lifting off the throttle AI would do while running over puddles, & introduced new car-specific parameter controlling the amount of lifting while on wet tires (generally less than on dry tires, improves their straightline performance when going through large amounts of standing water)
• Added several car-specific overrides for previously global AI parameters such as brake and reaccelaration distance thresholds, start reaction times, distance triggers for defending position
• Reduced likelihood of AI crashing into wall when side by side with human
• Increased AI drivers performance range
• Minor AI callibration pass for performance dropoff with tire wear
• Azure: Smoothed corridors in several locations
• Slightly increased AI grip @ Bathurst, Nurburgring GP & Velocitta

TRACKS

• Adelaide: reduced road mesh noise; smooth curb at entrance to T13
• Imola: Fixed camera man pop up
• Kyalami: removed glitchy helicopter animation
• Silverstone: trimmed 3D grass clipping walls in some places; fixed a few object pop ups; consolidated some grand stands into larger objects (same materials); optimized shadows
• Revised "Max AI participants" for various tracks, correcting when this differed from available garage slots
• Disabled DOF blur in all trackside VR cams for tracks that have them (currently only Grade A tracks)

VEHICLES

• F-V10 Gen2: fixed visual tire tread not corresponding the actual tire when switching from wet to dry
• F-Classic (all gens): added Dirt/Scratch map + New UV channel 3 mapping for carbon fiber cockpit material
• Copa Montana: added Dirt/Scratch map
• BMW M6 GT3: Fixed red carpaint issue in cockpit view (car #91)
• F-V10: Fixed visual glitch with windscreen in rain
• Gol Classic B: Fixed front splitter glitch
• Ultima GTR: Fixed oil pressure needle
• F3 F309: corrected RPM bars range
• Lancer R & RS: Livery override entry added for windscreen and wing
• Corrected cockpit POV in Metalmoro AJR, Mclaren 570S, Ultima GTR
• Corrected rain tire tread for F-Retros

Original Source: Reiza Studios

AMS 2 - available now exclusively to PC.

Want to know more about the sim? Got a trick or tip to share with the community? Fire up a thread in the AMS 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment and share that knowledge!

 

[banfy211]

I was not really impressed by ams2 in 2020 but i have to say since the last 2 updates you can definitely count me in. It is becoming really, really good.

Hopefully more people will join, i see the multiplayer is very empty unfortunately.
A Nordschleife pemanent track day server would be great and attract more players.

Keep up the good job Reiza, AMS2 has become my go to sim for offline racing now.

 

[Stephen O'Sullivan]

Hopefully more people will join, i see the multiplayer is very empty unfortunately.
A Nordschleife pemanent track day server would be great and attract more players.

@banfy211

Touristenfahrten Server

 

[Rusty911]

All 3 cars need some more work, specially the Omega (the real stuff has more grip, but it's rear is really hard to bring back once it slip away).

What, did you race them all three in real life?! You lucky basterd!

 

[Peter Koslowski]

Everything turned out very well: Physics, FFB, graphics and also the spherical background music!
However, there is one thing that definitely needs to be done:
The engine sounds are very bad! Compared to the other simulations, Reiza has a lot of catching up to do!

 

[Bert Austen]

Thanks Reiza , great update , Love the Spa 1993 One wrong thing there in 93 , Opposite the eau rouge bend, there was no hotel in 1993 (fix for later) Hoping for more brands are added on Group C like , Mazda & Jaguar and Peugeot

 

[tomythto]

Group C cars are very satisfying to drive. Oldies should see new cars as barbie dolls because of them
The sensible thing IMO to do is adding more cars to current popular ones instead increasing class types. Ok omegas were good but majority would not even realize if they didn’t exist. So more gt cars in all levels would be the right thing again IMO.

 

[IceColdBeard_24]

SPA 1993 YES YES AND YES

Only true racing fans money and modders could bring back Spa 1993

 

[Turbokk]

 

[RichardHessels]

How is the online action with this by now?
Last time I checked some months ago there where hardly any players online.

 

[sunnysunday]

How is the online action with this by now?
Last time I checked some months ago there where hardly any players online.

at peak hours it's racable at least but not exactly crowded. Hopefully with some third party tools like simracing.gp or similar you can start enjoying the MP. For now I'd say this a single player experience for the most part

 

[Cheesenium]

The 1993 Spa is amazing. Really enjoyed racing on it.

 

[F_B]

You really notice how the new chicane destroys the flow of the track when you compare it to the old bus stop chicane.

 

[stenovitz]

I've been away from AMS2 in about a couple of months and just had a go few minutes with
- the Porsche 962C @ 1993 Spa-Franchorchamps
- the Sauber C9 @ 1988 Hockenheim.

I think those updates are fine alternatives as 'updated interpretations to modern sim standards' of my identical combos in rF(1) mods .

My impression is that the FFB generally has improved a bit in latest builds, however I sometimes miss the real feeling of old bumpy surface, like I feel in AC. However, must admit I in the meantime changed from G27-hear to T300RS-GT + T8HA, but think I should order an adaptor for my G27 pedals to my T300RS-GT wheel.

But speaking Group C stuff and classics I again have to state my bit of dissapointment, as I've awaited for +20 years as 'official pack':

Where's the Rothmans Porsche 956 Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6?
For me the P956 will always be - aside from the Sauber C9 - my personal pinnacle of Group C-cars.
Why?
Because of the 1983 1000-Kilometer-Rennen af dem Nürburgring-track, as a part of the 1983 WSC.

Since the first days of Youtube and SoMe, the interest for - and awareness of Stefan Bellof's 6:11,13 has exploded - so everyone go out in their sim in the wrong cars and wrong track version/year??

The hunt for the record in sims should ofcourse rightly be in Bellof's extreme P956, ofcourse no aids and on the dusty and extremely bumpy 1983 track-layout with even more non-forgiving curbs, as youngsters have discovered the 1993 Spa-Franchorchamp curbs to be as modelled in this new AMS2 update. Then you can speak of some sort of a hunt for the mythical Nordschleife record - not the other combos with P962C at modern track versions.

Cannot fathom modern tier 1 sim games haven't included this car+track combo as #1 on their to-do list.

And speaking of older-but-not-antique circuit versions - I badly miss the Interlagos before the very rough surface was replaced with perfect asphalt, flat curbs and other kind of boring stuff, i.e. modern layout before everything was flattened out in start of this millenium.
I want to feel at least a glimse of the exhaustion Senna described just past a full Brasillian Grand Prix race, close to collapse. You don't even feel that rough surface in AMS2's version of the 8K 70ies layout (or maybe it's just because I still misses to connect my G27 pedals to my T300RS-GT?)

 

[GagarynGaribaldi]

I've been away from AMS2 in about a couple of months and just had a go few minutes with
- the Porsche 962C @ 1993 Spa-Franchorchamps
- the Sauber C9 @ 1988 Hockenheim.

I think those updates are fine alternative as 'updated interpretations to modern sim standards' of my identical combos in rF(1) mods .

My impression is that the FFB generally has improved a bit in latest builds, however I sometimes miss the real feeling of old bumpy surface, like I feel in AC. However, must admit I in the meantime changed from G27-hear to T300RS-GT + T8HA, but think I should order an adaptor for my G27 pedals to my T300RS-GT wheel.

But speaking Group C stuff and classics I again have to state my bit of dissapointment, as I've awaited for +20 years as 'official pack':

Where's the Rothmans Porsche 956 Type-935 2.6L Turbo Flat-6?
For me the P956 will always be - aside from the Sauber C9 - my personal pinnacle of Group C-cars.
Why?
Because of the 1983 1000-Kilometer-Rennen af dem Nürburgring-track, as a part of the 1983 WSC.

Sine the first days of Youtube and SoMe, the interest for - and awareness of Stefan Bellof's 6:11,13 has exploded - so everyone go out in their sim in the wrong cars and wrong track version/year??

The hunt for the record in sims should ofcourse rightly be in Bellof's extreme P956, ofcourse no aids and on the dusty and extremely bumpy 1983 track-layout with even more non-forgiving curbs, as youngsters have discovered the 1993 Spa-Franchorchamp curbs to be as modelled in this new AMS2 update. Then you can speak of som sort of a hunt for the mythical Nordschleife record - not the other combos with P962C at modern track versions.

Cannot fathom modern tier 1 sim games haven't included this car+track combo as #1 on their to-do list.

And speaking of older-but-not-antique circuit versions - I badly miss the Interlagos before the very rough surface was replaced with perfect asphalt, flat curbs and other kind of boring stuff, i.e. modern layout before everything was flattened out in start of this millenium.
I want to feel at least a glimse of the exhaustion Senna described just past a full Brasillian Grand Prix race, close to collapse. You don't even feel that rough surface in AMS2's version of the 8K 70ies layout (or maybe it's just because I still misses to connect my G27 pedals to my T300RS-GT?)

Something wrong with your setup if you are not feeling the roughness on AMS2 historic Interlagos, or historic Hockenheim for that matter.

 

[KittX]

Thanks Reiza , great update , Love the Spa 1993 One wrong thing there in 93 , Opposite the eau rouge bend, there was no hotel in 1993 (fix for later) Hoping for more brands are added on Group C like , Mazda & Jaguar and Peugeot

Actually just went through the references, the hotel was there. But there were some tall trees surrounding it, gotta add them.
Few other buildings are missing now, will be added in further updates

 

[stenovitz]

Something wrong with your setup if you are not feeling the roughness on AMS2 historic Interlagos, or historic Hockenheim for that matter.

Well, I feel roughness in the T300RS-GT wheel, it's just that the pedals seems 'dead' compared to my old G27 ones, but thats a general experience since my simgear switch to Thrustmaster, hence my plan to connect my G27 pedals to my Thrustmaster wheel.
But compared to AC and modelled rough track surface I have to gain FFB settings before entering AMS2, that was the same stuff with my G27 wheel before it malfunctioned.

 

[BlaKArg]

Everything turned out very well: Physics, FFB, graphics and also the spherical background music!
However, there is one thing that definitely needs to be done:
The engine sounds are very bad! Compared to the other simulations, Reiza has a lot of catching up to do!

I agree. Better sound (as in ACC/R3E) would bring this sims immersion to a WHOLE another level.

 

[stenovitz]

The engine sounds are very bad! Compared to the other simulations, Reiza has a lot of catching up to do!

Totally agree. When I started AMS2 as this year started I was dissapointed how unvarnished the engine sound was jumping around the different classes, right from modern to classic engines.
Though, speaking the Sauber C9 engine sound approach, I think Reiza has done a pretty neat job here.

 

[Squared Circle]

Eagerly waiting for "my" cars and tracks to arrive as content (GTR/LMP on LM, Sebring, Daytona...).
Those development steps sound awesome.

 

[BlaKArg]

Eagerly waiting for "my" cars and tracks to arrive as content (GTR/LMP on LM, Sebring, Daytona...).
Those development steps sound awesome.

I would love to see Sebring on AMS2.