AMS 2 Mod Support?

Hello all, I am curious if there has been any talk about mod support for AMS 2? I am worried because I love Assetto Corsa and AMS 1 mods and the support of mods greatly increases the lifespan of any game and keeps player interest fresh. Another worry I have is because the engine used in AMS2 is the same as PC 2 and their were no mods for that and I am wondering if that is just because this engine is hard to mod for so it might lead to issues with AMS 2. Anyway has anyone heard if this will be an option?

 

No

 

To expand slightly on Juan's answer, AMS 2 will not be a modding platform. They are planning to add a way of making custom skins, but that's it.

 

Since PC2 and PC were designed without mods in mind, that carries over to AMS2 as well. I think since the engine isn't designed for it, they couldn't make it moddable even if they wanted to.

BTW there are some car mods for PC2, don't know how they work though; if they're just model replacements or full physics mods. VRC made one here: VRC Modding Team They have hinted that they might develop mods for AMS2 as well.

 

Skins for AI to use as well? From memory in PC2 it was only for the player.

 

No idea. It was mentioned in one of the dev blogs, and I think there might even be an early version available in the beta, but not for us EA users yet.

 

After digging through the games data, AMS2 is now actively blocking modding work to most files by CRC check. Not even PCARS2 did it to this extend. RIP

 

If this is really true I'd like to hear a reply from the devs about this (unless, of course, it is part of an NDA regarding the contract they made with SMS).

 

What do you expect the devs to tell you that you haven't already read here? I can confirm that AMS 2 now does CRC checks on it's archives before they are loaded, and crashes if that check fails. It no longer has anything to do with file size or the correct importing process. If the data is changed at all, the CRC check fails. That means no modding is possible at all.

So far the only files that seem to be unaffected are the livery archives, presumably because Reiza are adding their own livery editor in the future. Everything else I've looked at recently is now locked and non-modifiable. It's crap but it's the way it is.

 

So basicly in theory, If APIs are/can open (may require a lot of work to let CRC check adapt to modding), modding is actually possible, and CRC check can also be used on mod version check.

Right now I think the best way is to wait.

 

They added the CRC check which suggests to me that they have no intention of ever supporting any kind of modding outside of their own livery editor. It may be possible for someone with a lot more knowledge than me to bypass the check, but given that anyone wanting to use mods would need this hack too, I think the idea of AMS 2 being an accessible modding platform is all but dead at this point.

 

The crc check you speak of: has it been added to the Early Access version 0.9.1 or to the Beta?

 

Yes

 

It's in the EA version, so I can only assume it also in the Beta.

 

OK, if the crc check is present in the current EA version then it does not disable modding.
I"ve read that the devs promised they'd not go out of their way to stop modding, and it should be on a par with what can be done in Project Cars games.
Don't get your hopes up, though: you will be limited to adding liveries and cars. The latter can have discrete physics, however they are dependent on tires and sounds present in the game.
Say, you want to add a Mazda RX7. You will be stuck with the tires of the only street car in the game unless you want to pretend it's a track day, with all cars somehow having access to slicks (you're in luck if you're into race cars, though). And then you will have to compromise on the engine sound of one of the cars present in the game as well (this might be hard to swallow for many of you, I am guessing).
That's what it looks like in PC2 and PC.
Forget tracks: it's never been possible without access to SMS tools.
Lastly, I think modding should wait until the game is well into the release cycle of dlc. Who knows how it might affect sales, and it'd be a shame to get on the wrong side of the developers.

 

Have you checked to see if cars can be modded in AMS 2, or are you just basing this solely on what was possible in PCars 2?

Either way, it seems to me that modding with such limitations is a complete waste of time. It's brand new cars that top the bill in moddable sims, not tacked-on hybrids reliant on existing assets. That's the reason there are virtually no car mods for the aforementioned sim.

 

1. I've checked.
2. Are you referring to virtually no car mods in PC2? They may be a bit harder to find (they occupy the grey area due to not being scratch-made, but conversions), but there are actually quite a few. JDougNY and I have been modding both PC games, there are other modders, and there's a lively discord group dedicated to PC modding. If there are no drastic steps taken by the devs then mod cars will come to this game too. People will have to accept the two limitations I mentioned earlier, but it's either that or nothing. In this respect PC2 had a huge range of tire sizes and types and engine sounds to choose from.

 

Ok, I guess I'll be one of those who settles for nothing then. The limitations make mods pointless in my opinion, unless you're just producing a variation of a car already in the game. Also, the whole "grey area" thing means releases will be limited which, again, doesn't interest me.

It's a real shame, but I can't say I'm overly disappointed because we knew AMS 2 wasn't going to be an open platform right from the start.

 

Too bad i've passed the refund trial time on steam...

 

Someone's done some skins