1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Reiza March 2020 Development Update - An Update on AMS2 Release

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by Renato Simioni, Mar 23, 2020.

  1. Renato Simioni

    Renato Simioni Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2016
    Messages:
    4,662
    Likes Received:
    42,106
    008.jpg
    Greetings everyone! I hope everyone is doing OK and keeping safe.

    What a difference a month can make right? A few weeks ago we had just deployed the first Beta build for AMS2 and were still firing on all cylinders pushing through our Beta program to get AMS2 ready for release on March 31st - a lot of work has been done in the 3 weeks we have been in Beta - we have just deployed our 5th BETA build tonight - but a lot remains to be done, and for that we relied on a strong couple of weeks in this final stint to reach a standard we´d be satisfied with for Automobilista 2 v1.0.

    Unfortunately the last week has seen the World thrown into disarray, and with it the little chance we still had to get through the remaining workload in time for the 31st evaporated, as even though we already work in a fully remote operation and the Reiza team has not been directly impacted by COVID-19, things like this tend to bring indirect implications which have and will continue to inevitably slow us down a bit - as much as everyone in the team enjoys working hard, this would not be a good time to be pushing developers to their limits. nor would it feel appropriate to be engaging in promotional fanfare for a game release.

    Paradoxically, this also happens to be turning into a boost for sim racing as all motorsports activities have grounded to a halt, and they are all turning to what sim racing can offer to help fill the time. We have already seen some huge events being organized in a very short time as fans, drivers and real series all flock to sim racing to engage on a level they never had before, and for us it would be a thrilling opportunity to offer everyone a fresh platform to enjoy themselves during these challenging times.

    Taking all this into account, we have elected to go ahead with a soft launch for Automobilista 2 on March 31st as a Steam Early Access Release, offering a 40% discount over the full price of the base game for the duration of the EA phase, which we expect to last between 4 to 8 weeks.

    AMS2 Roadmap For Early Access, Release and Beyond

    By the time AMS2 goes live on Steam in March 31st we will be publishing a detailed breakdown of what will be the key development goals during this period for AMS2 to reach v1.0 status sometime between April and May - the extended timeline now allows us aim for a more robust V1.0 release, going further than our plans were for v1.0 on March 31st.

    Last month we had published our schedule for the first 3 months of AMS2 post-release, featuring plans for monthly game updates along with new content packs (free and DLC) and some key new features - these plans largely stand unchanged even with the Early Access phase, as the Historic GP cars, GT3/GT4 pack, Hockenheim, Bathurst, Silverstone and a few other cool, not-yet disclosed bits of content are all already well under production and will be added to that game within that proposed schedule.
    roadmapV2.png

    AMS2 BETA - Final Week to Join!

    Due to popular demand we have put the forum store live again, where you can buy a pack that grants you AMS2 + AMS2 Beta + 2020-2021 DLC Season Pass.

    We emphasize however this only makes sense at this stage for those who were already entitled to a free key or a discount on the package from their participation in previous crowdfunding campaigns, and those who may be eager to participate in AMS2 Beta development process from March 31st onwards as that will no longer be available for new users after initial AMS2 release on Steam.

    For those not familiar with AMS2 Beta and how it may differ from the Early Access game that will be available on Steam on March 31st, follows a brief explanation:

    Similar to its predecessor (Automobilista Beta for AMS1) AMS2 Beta is a separate AMS2 install on Steam which has been available to people who bought into the AMS2 Early Backing Campaign since Feburary 28th; after the main game is released next week, AMS2 Beta will continue to receive early beta updates and new WIP content (free or DLC) before they are deployed to the main game release, during and after Early Access is over.

    If you are interested in AMS2 as a finished product however please hold off the impulse to buy into the Beta unless you really are convinced you want to engage with AMS2 development on the long run and want the chance to be playing already in these final days before the official release - if you want to check out AMS2 but don´t want to make a large financial commitment to it, we strongly recommend you wait 8 more days and get the base game with a 40% discount along with 2h to evaluate it from Steam.
    005.jpg

    That covers what we wanted to share with you for this pre-release dev update - obviously a bit different to what we had in mind after a gruelling 16-month production period, but we remain very excited to be sharing the results of our labour with all sim racers, and hope it can provide a bit of enjoyment over the next few months while we all take cover from this pesky bug that is doing the rounds...
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2020
    • Like x 70
    • Winner x 14
    • Friendly x 5
    • Informative x 4
    • Agree x 2
    • Optimistic x 1
  2. Viking_Magnus

    Viking_Magnus Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2020
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    56
    An excellent decision overall, and more importantly I hope you and the development team are safe and well.

    For those of us who have purchased the current pack (AMS2+DLC+Beta), is there a chance we could possibly gain some form of access to the beta forums? Even if it was only "read only".
    I am immensely enjoying the sheer progress that has been made since the start of the Beta, but since I do not have access to the beta forums I am unaware if certain bugs have been reported.

    I completely understand the Beta forums and development voting rights are reserved for the Early Backing Campaign. However since the Beta is still included in the sold package, I am sure we would love to help as much as possible and currently we are unable to do so.

    Pretty please @Renato Simioni ? :)
     
    • Like Like x 5
    • Friendly Friendly x 2
  3. Renato Simioni

    Renato Simioni Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2016
    Messages:
    4,662
    Likes Received:
    42,106
    Yep, this wasn´t originally the plan but we´ve decided to grant Reiza51 access to all who buy into AMS2 Beta before March 31st - just give us a couple of days to work it out :)
     
    • Like Like x 16
    • Winner Winner x 8
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  4. Atsuki

    Atsuki Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2017
    Messages:
    97
    Likes Received:
    71
    A wise decision, i wish the best for all Reiza team.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  5. Viking_Magnus

    Viking_Magnus Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2020
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    56
    Brilliant! Thanks so much @Renato Simioni :) Now I'm off to have a blast in Beta 5
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2020
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agree Agree x 2
  6. EmanueleMarra

    EmanueleMarra Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2019
    Messages:
    55
    Likes Received:
    16
    THANK YOU!!!!
     
    • Like Like x 2
  7. liojac

    liojac New Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2020
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    2
    Bravo à toute l'équipe REIZA :hurrayreiza:
     
    • Like Like x 2
  8. Marquise Schumacher

    Marquise Schumacher Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2020
    Messages:
    38
    Likes Received:
    30
    GT3 cars are saturating the Sim racing Market. early to mid 2000 GT cars would be Amazing. Example: Aston Martin DBR9 or C5 or C6 Vette. Those years of GT cars would be reallllll nice
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2020
    • Like Like x 5
    • Agree Agree x 1
  9. Alex Couri

    Alex Couri Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2016
    Messages:
    72
    Likes Received:
    79

    That's what I'll do! Thanks.

    :hurrayreiza:
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  10. Ettore

    Ettore Well-Known Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2020
    Messages:
    2,476
    Likes Received:
    1,537
    Excellent decision indeed! Looking forward to test drive Beta5 :)

    :hurrayreiza:
     
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Philip Antonia

    Philip Antonia New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2016
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    6
    I'll give it a go for 2 hours on the 31st,to see if this is for me. I enjoyed AMS1, but as I rarely race without VR, I never really played it much. Unfortunately I've heard worrying comments about the negative parts of pCars2 showing through in AMS2, but I'll still give it a shot to decide for myself.

    Anyway, this change to the release plan, seems very sensible and I hope this all pans out for the Reiza team as they hope
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 7
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Like Like x 1
  12. Stickdeath1980

    Stickdeath1980 Active Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2019
    Messages:
    291
    Likes Received:
    160
    Knew they should of started testing earlyer..keep safe guy's and Gal's hope to see you guys having a race with us if you ever have time :D
     
    • Dislike Dislike x 1
  13. CrimsonEminence

    CrimsonEminence Administrator Staff Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2018
    Messages:
    9,131
    Likes Received:
    8,191
    Good decision! Thanks for all your hard work and enthusiasm!
     
    • Like Like x 1
  14. Joe Leone

    Joe Leone Active Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2020
    Messages:
    123
    Likes Received:
    60
    Wow, I did the early backing because I figured it wouldn't be until Christmas before the base game would be 40% off and I didn't want to miss out until then. I never pay full price for my games, except this one. I would have sat on the base game at 40% off for a while and eventually gotten the DLCs on sale later on down the road. Kind of regretting paying $99 up front. Wish us backers could have gotten the game for at least $69 or $79.
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 10
    • Like Like x 3
    • Dislike Dislike x 3
    • Agree Agree x 1
  15. CrimsonEminence

    CrimsonEminence Administrator Staff Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2018
    Messages:
    9,131
    Likes Received:
    8,191
    M8 are you serious? :(
    When you were just interested in a discount, then waiting is the way to go.
    A crowdfunding campaign is not about getting the game more cheap.
     
    • Agree Agree x 14
    • Like Like x 3
  16. TekNeil

    TekNeil Take me back to the 2.4l, twin 50 weber days...

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2020
    Messages:
    412
    Likes Received:
    229
    Edited for simplicity and clarity. Posted below.
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2020
  17. Renato Simioni

    Renato Simioni Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2016
    Messages:
    4,662
    Likes Received:
    42,106
    So you paid $99 for something that will cost $150 at full price ($50 for base game + $100 for Season Pass) - that´s a 34% discount over the full package, and with that came AMS2 Beta which has allowed you to play it for a month :) same deal with the DLCs as they will become available to you via AMS2 Beta during development and not just on official release.

    If you still find it regretful, you may PM me for a refund - please be aware this will revoke your AMS2 key and Reiza51 access.
     
    • Like Like x 39
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Winner Winner x 1
  18. mister dog

    mister dog Well-Known Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2016
    Messages:
    661
    Likes Received:
    308
    I'm with the rest here, excellent decision and you will probably fare extremely well giving out that 40% EA discount when everyone is sitting quarantined at home + avoid criticism for bugs, issues and missing features in a potentially rushed 1.0 release.
    :hurrayreiza:
     
    • Agree Agree x 5
  19. PastelDiogo

    PastelDiogo New Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2019
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    @Renato Simioni Thanks for the news!
    This is definitely the best approach and we'll still all be here on the 31st for Early Access!
    The Beta has been a blast so far and has worked very well with my quite old T100 using the Ferrari F340 FF preset.

    Also, off-topic: Unfortunately the e-mail that you guys sent me with the keys after I became a backer went to the junk files on my email, although I did redeemed the AMS2 Beta key, I never redeemed the AMS and the Season Pass and Outlook automatically deletes junk emails after 30 days, meaning I have no access to it. Could you guys resend me the email or something similar?
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2020
    • Informative Informative x 1
  20. TekNeil

    TekNeil Take me back to the 2.4l, twin 50 weber days...

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2020
    Messages:
    412
    Likes Received:
    229
    @Renato Simioni Will the full game plus season pass be available from March 31st, and at what price?
     
    • Like Like x 1
  21. Stickdeath1980

    Stickdeath1980 Active Member AMS2 Club Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2019
    Messages:
    291
    Likes Received:
    160
    Been saying that for the last couple weeks glad there doing it.If they did push v1.0 would of been abit of a SH$% show TBH
     
    • Like Like x 1

Share This Page