Automobilista 2 V1.5 Officially RELEASED - Now updated to V1.5.0.5

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about AC; for a very, very long time, it was my first choice among racing sims. Today, however, AMS2 holds that distinction. Each of us could go on and on and on listing various pros and cons of every sim ever made ... AMS2 is no different in that regard from any of the others--AMS2, too, has its own unique set of issues. Overall, for my money, Reiza delivers tremendous value ... and my latest, last-lap race win in the E30 M3 at Galaeo (against the AI in the Beta, FWIW) just sets the hook deeper.

 

The big question mark for me, is how Kunos will monetise AC2.

AC's explosion in popularity came later in it's life and was a combination of it being priced at less than a glass of beer, and having a plethora of free mods available to it.
Great for the customer but not much money in it for the devs.

I'd say they've been pondering for years to figure out how to transfer AC's popularity across to it's sequel, but maximise revenue for their efforts.

Be prepared for some surprises, I'd say,

 

250 Kunos Kredits for a tank of fuel.

249 KK = £20
499 KK = £39

 

The same way they monetized AC1 and ACC, most likely. Singleplayer(ish) sims like AC/ACC, RF2, AMS1/AMS2, etc. have gotten on fine for ages using DLC models of various forms to keep themselves afloat long term, and AC2 will most likely get a decent portion of even the less hardcore crowd that AC cultivated to follow over as time goes on, even if it takes some time for mods etc. to be created and ported.

If AC2 successfully builds on what AC did then it'll probably have no problem sustaining itself, even if it takes time to fully be refined. Remember that AMS2 is only just now beginning to reach AMS1's level in terms of driving feel in many people's eyes (mine included), and sims like iRacing, R3E, ACC, etc. took a lot of time to build themselves up to the standards we now compare new, immature releases to.

 

Actually, given how much Ilja Jusupov earns for creating Content Manager (about $45,000 a month via Patreon, and many of those are probably $1/month contributions), one could argue that Kunos (literally) missed a golden opportunity by not realizing the full potential of AC themselves over the past decade. Kunos' decision has proven far more costly than Reiza's efforts to resurrect AMS2 from the ashes of the Project Cars franchise.

 

If that´s true then I can imagine a whole new wave of AC modders moving over from OnlyFans!

 

Are we nearly there yet?

 

I hope so

 

Maybe they are waiting for us to get to page 120

 

IMHO the Nordschleife + 2024 GT World Challenge update may be a sign that AC2 won't be out anytime soon. But that's just speculation. Maybe Kunos wants to keep both titles running

 

Well, honestly, it seems that this game is a little abandoned...

 

I can tell you very sure that AMS2 is not abandoned at all

 

Way too many beers and this is what happens!

 

I understand it seems that way, with public dev communication all but shut down currently (I myself don't really understand why, a dev update is really long overdue in order to explain all that's happening), but they are still working quite hard, with the beta receiving at least weekly noticeable upgrades.

Maybe a bit more than a week until you guys profit from it, too. Beta is currently on 1.5.2.9., but there's still several car classes not upgraded, and a couple not quite there driving-wise.

 

It´s been delayed to the second half of 2024 and will launch as some sort of open beta or early access WIP.

 

Reiza have announced heavy tire model revisions, work on AI, new content like Le Mans, GT3 cars, prototypes, historic sports cars. We know that Racin USA bonus pack is coming as well as second Adrenaline DLC. Reiza had a campaign a few months ago for new paddock club membership.

Now tell me, are you really being honest in saying that this game seems a little abandoned?

 

Just a little bit... It's been exactly 54 days since Reiza's last post on social networks: "Action is about to resume in AMS2 - get ready!" I'm not afraid that will deliver, but my optimism is only alive thanks to the beta testers leaking information here and there. For those who don't visit this forum, AMS2 might seem "just a little bit" abandoned.

 

Great intuition Pista. Excellent, agree with everything you say. Reducing the sensitivity of the gas and brake brings significant advantages. The sensitivity is set to 50% by default, which is too fast. I tested it and it gives a lot more feeling when accelerating and braking. If you can adjust the linearity of the pedals in the software it might look a little different. I have to test it a little more on mine (heusinkveld sprint with smart control). But I can already say that I will significantly reduce the sensitivity of the gas and brake (gas more than brake). Great job Pista

 

I would have thought that a public announcement on social network of an eminent update would convey the exact opposite message to abandonment. Are you saying if nobody "leaked" you any information, you would honestly think the game is abandoned?

This all sounds more and more like people just wishing for information rather than anybody actually thinking the game is abandoned.

 

Probably yes, after two months. If Reiza had launched the update as planned days or weeks after such an announcement, we wouldn't be having this discussion, and there would be nobody in sim racing communities over the internet asking what happened to the leaderboards. I am not criticizing or expecting anything from . I am very happy with AMS2 in its current state. I'm just saying that their PR could be improved. PS: I work in marketing, so maybe I observe these things from a closer perspective.