I tryd so hard to like it.

I bought AMS2 the second it came in to early access, and since then, I tryd so much to like the sim.

But no matter how hard I try, it always disappoints me again.

From the vague front end feel, to the very understeery base setups. I just does not suit my driving style whatever I do or change in the setups. I miss the sharp feel of ACC, especially at turn-in in mid and high speed corners, the overal intuitive car feeling of AC, the clear communication of RF2 FFB, and the lack of ranking and career mode.

But worst, by far, by a long way, is the ai. It just does not see the player, has no racing etiquette and in large is just a bumercar simulation.

Almost every start, rolling or standing, ends in carnage. The faster the cars, the worse it gets.
The ai cuts corners, drives trough grass and sandtraps and switches lanes when driving next to them and in the braking zones. And ai is on a complete different physics rules system as the player. And in changing weather conditions, it gets way worse.

I have spend more then 100 hours in the sim, tryd every setting and setup. But I am at the point of giving up.

 

ACC feels like driving a card box... AC suspension is terrible most of time and when it's fine, the tire physics got lame or the Kunos interpretation for one or another car is laughable (as every Italian car is amazing, and the Porsche 918, as an example, drives as a wheeled brick). rF2 is one of the most videogamish physics there unless you take car configurations out of the table (as a league driving only standard settings or people that don't know yet how to exploit this game). Will not talk about Raceroom nor iRacing because you leave them out, but these things are not better.

Yes... AMS2 is a faulty simulation. I disagree about the AI, because only iR has an AI that is better all the time and all the other supraquoted games had issues. AC AI is a complete manure... I don't know how a AC player can complain about AMS2's AI... specially that ACC's AI, even that is good, is no better than AMS2's.

IMNHO, AMS2 content still is uneven... there are cars that drives amazingly and others that would be better to be not released. I, personally, prefer simulations that focuses on quality over quantity (as FALCON 4.0 did and, because of that, still the best modern combat flight sim)... the problem with that is that the focused content may not be of taste, as ACC isn't for me (and not that I consider it the best GT3/4 sim out there... I still feel it as a card box simulator, but majority of players says that it is the best GT3/4 sim... and probably it's because it's focused on a specific content). Even if I discard all the bad AMS2 content, it still the race sim with most variation, so I'm not complaining about it, just telling a preference of mine, as if you people really cares about it lol.

Anyway... I disagree with your arguments, but understand how AMS2 can be not of your taste. Personally, I already gave up about finding a flawless simulator... it would be the physics of Beam.NG with the online of iRacing, without subscription, the offline of Dirt to Daytona, content made by Reiza, license money of Polyphony and the graphics of the latest Forza MS/H, but playing fine on an old GTX950. This will never happen, so we have what we have.

Cheers!

 

You've given it a fair shake, and not every sim is for everybody. I myself have similar struggles with rF2 and ACC, I have ~150 hours in both, I try them from time to time, but they don't stick.

Both car physics/tires and AI in AMS2 are constantly revised, so if you don't enjoy it now, I'd recommend taking a break but checking back ever so ofter to see if there are changes that make the game better for you, but there's no use playing someting you don't enjoy.

 

Spot on, can't please everybody. Best case is, you have a variety of Sims and you play each for their strengths and rotate. Obviously not everyone can afford each Sim (though look for sales) and you need to be more diligent. But yea, if you "can't get on" with a Sim, just move on.

Saying that, I assume you've dialled in your FFB (tried custom FFB's, adjusted settings both in game and on the wheel?)

I do specifically disagree with your A.i. comments, sometimes they are not the most 'human realistic' and their strength settings often vary between car/track (need constant adjustment, adjust strength/aggression) but I find them most fun to race against than nearly every other Sim. Ultimately if you want human realistic competition, you're best looking at MP, either in AMS2 or elsewhere.

 

Some interesting points in this thread.

Personally, even though I'm more of a open-wheel guy and AMS2 has considerably more content than ACC I find myself playing ACC way more often than AMS2, the main reason being ACC has much better controller support. In ACC controls feel very responsive, I have full control of the cars and they behave in the way I expect. In AMS2 controls feel floaty & laggy, there's no vibration, and because the controls have the same issues as in PCars2 I often feel I have to fight the controls to get the cars to do what I want, and that makes playing AMS2 frustrating. The constant changes in physics and required setup resets in previous updates were also a big turnoff to me.

I'm willing to give AMS2 a try whenever there's a new update, but considering the fact that posts about controller support often get ignored I don't expect Reiza to fix the controller issues anytime soon.

 

I experience the opposite. Whatever I do no other sim seems to drive a nice as AMS2. I cannot get the sim FFB experience like AMS2. Maybe I don't get the other sims dialed in very well. But since AMS2 came out in EA it's my goto sim. If I feel that the car is understeery, I just change the setup with 1 or 2 clicks of ARB. oh... I just spend about 2200 hours in AMS2.
I cannot say anything about the AI. I didn't get to racing against AI in other sims. I just notice that the AI is getting better, like following you in the draft if you want to break the slipstream.
I think that a preference has to do with which sim somebody started simracing. If a car doesn't behave like you expect it's not nice to drive this car. Anyway, I hope you encounter the right settings so you can enjoy AMS2 too.

 

Are you writing about AMS2? It seems ACC to me.

 

I agree with the OP about the AI. Very often it breaks the realism with it's antics. They will cut corners consistently. Ram the same walls consistently. Pit maneuver your azz if you dare to outrace them (not consistent, but often enough) better traction in the wet, etc. Having said that, I totally disagree with vehicle handling. It is absolutely nothing like PC2. On my wheel (MOZA R9) the feel is very intuitive and alive. Custom FFB files for me. The default ones feel like rubber bands to me. Still, even though the AI is wonky (IMO) it's the only sim I play. Has been for a hot minute.

 

You dont agree with me that AMS2 AI is on different physics model then the player? ANd you do not agree with me it lacks a career mode? You dont agree with me that front-end feel is very vague?

Yes, other sims have problems too, but I was talking about AMS2, and the reason I cant get it so I like it. Automobilista 1 felt way better for me. The madness engine has some limitations that I hoped Reiza was able to iron out. But so far, only a few cars feel really right.

And no, ACC does not feel like a cardboxsimulator, thats a bit fanboyish to say.

I want AMS2 to be good, and I know Reiza is committed to make it good. But for me, it isnt yet, and the goes most of all for the singleplayer experience.

 

Yeah, tryd lots of custom ffb's, and tryd a lot of settings in fanalab. FFB is really not bad in AMS2, just vague front axle feeling.

The case you make for the AI is true, but the consistency between cars and tracks, as you also state, leaves to be desired. After a few labs, the AI definatly gets better, but the starts really need work.

The aggression is also very inconsistent, and when to low, the dont overtake lapped cars, but a bit higher and the dive in every gap.

I hope Reiza keeps improving the sim, and I hope (for me) improve the front end feeling.

 

It does matter, I want it to be good. Coming from automobilista 1 I bought automobilista the second it appeared on steam, and bought every DLC. Because I want to like it.

 

You explain it better then me, I feel exactly the same

 

Fortunenatly it is very subjective and I am very happy to hear you have so much pleasure in driving AMS2! One thing I really, really like in AMS2 is the smoothness of the graphics engine. And I like the track list, wich is very different from other sims. I still hope it will click with me one day. I thinks it also has to do with driving style. Mine works better in ACC and RF2, but I really loved the feeling in AMS1.

 

Listen, this is not a fanboy debate, it is how I experience AMS2. ACC has other shortcomings, but for me it feels better, more natural.

 

1) Don't matter because full physics for AI also have it's issues, so it's dependable on how the developers tune this AI physics. 2) Yes, a career mode would be nice... however, if Reiza is working in something like usually is done (that is a compilate of quick races instead of full events), it will not be a miss to me 3) The front wheels, as I said, are spot on with some cars and a mess with others. It's not as other sims were doing any better and Reiza is always working over it (with success).

Sooooo... it's all about preference. IMNHO, AMS1 was acceptable, but outdated physics wise. There is not a single car in AMS1 that drives better than it's AMS2's version.

You say that ME is "limited", but it's basically the SAME engine as rFactor 2 (that you praised) with some more advanced stuff.

"fanboyish" is this stuttering cat's MIMIMI of yours.

We all want AMS2 to be the best game possible. If you want to help, try to be more consistent and grounded on your complies, because your complies are way too much subjective. Start don't praising AC before criticizing AMS2's AI, or don't say that rF2 is good and after that "ME has some limitations".

Cheers!

 

What custom FFB do you use? I am trying everything to get it to feel right.

But I think I explained my problem you referring too not clear enough. I dont think for me the problem lies in the FFB, I think it is pretty good. Its is more how the frontend of the car reacts to steering inputs. For me, specially at initial turn-in, it feels, by lack of a better word, sluggish. And that makes
it feel understeery for me. I wish I knew how to counter that, but I have not been able to do that by changing setups, or wheelsetting in and out of the game.

So any help or tips are very welcome. As I said before, I really want to like AMS2!

 

I never praised AC's ai, because it is horrible.

RF2 engine and ME are NOT the same engine, they are very, very different. I think you are confused. AMS1 engine was based on RF1 engine.

Reiza IS improving the sim, I never said they did not.

I dont like the sluggish feel in the front end, never said you should not like it either.

I, and many other sim racers do NOT think ACC feels like a cardboard box sim, saying that is...yes, really, fanboyish.

I am not a fanboy, I am just looking to find a way to like AMS2, as I like ACC, and AC, and AMS1, and AC, and RF2. All have flaws, and all have strong points.

You might not like ACC, but it has one thing dialed in very, very well. It is very consistent in quality. I rather had they did not use UE4, because it also has limitations. AMS2 runs way more fluid and has both better framerate and the image is clearer.

I YOU might not think it constructive critisism, but all point in my OP are valid points I experience in AMS2, wether you agree or not.

 

I think we as simracers need to adapt to the nuances of each of the several titles we play. Saying that certain title doesn't feel like I'm used to, or I like it to be, because some other title does it like I want, doesn't help IMHO.

I say it doesn't help because it's too vague. If you really want to like AMS2 be better, more precise information has to be given to the devs about why you think AMS2 is doing certain things the other way. Until now I read subjective things for you, which doesn't correlate with what I feel driving AMS2 and the other sims you are comparing to. I'm speaking strictly about the driving experience here btw.

Seems like you had tried a lot of FFB settings and lots of car setup changes to try to make the game cater to your particular driving style and feeling of the cars. It may be you are lost after those many changes, so you can try to reset all to defaults, dial the Default/Default+ FFB as described here: Automobilista 2 V1.4 Force Feedback Overview & Recommendations and then start again driving your favourite car/track with an open mind. Please, don't start using a custom FFB file right from the start, because you will be lost right away.

About the AI, game modes, career, etc, there are pros and cons as any other game. I agree with you the AI is inconsistent between cars and tracks, I enjoy some combos against the AI, but I hate others as well. It don't have to do about how the physics of the AI are programmed tough. AC and ACC have same physics as player based AI and they are worse and boring than a well AI tweaked combo for AMS2. I recently has been driving in RF2 and the AI there is not better than AMS2 in any way too. AC AI is the worst of the bunch, by far, even being same physics as the player is based on.

What I constructively am trying to tell you is to try to approach the game again from a reset point of view, both from the game settings, and your mindset, trying to adapt to the nuances of the car handling (and front and foremost, the AMS2 tyre model, it's simply different than other sims). May be you can "click" with the game once and for all

 

@Renato Simioni already told that both engines are basically the same... but ME have more resources. There is some history involved... just get yourself informed!

If you can call me "fanboy" because disagree with my saying, can I do the same with you by the same reason.