AMS2 AI Developer Q&A - Physics & AI

A while back it was mentioned that we might be able to have the players AI co driver start the race. Is that still on the cards? Would be a nice immersion increaser for endurance racers.

To follow up on that, will it ever be possible to edit our co drivers attributes in any way?

 

Hi Renato, firstly thanks for this Q+A session, it is greatly appreciated and hopefully will prove useful to all involved and the development of the game.

I hope this counts as one question and if so a couple more will follow, but I might very well be being cheeky as it's a big question with many sub questions! Feel free to say enough.

I would like to know more about the damage model and physics, specifically relating to player to AI contact, and both player and AI contact with barriers and the ground/curbs. Which setting(s) give a level playing field between player and AI if any? Off and visual is hopefully a no brainer, then there is performance impacting and full, each with low, med and high. Experience suggests both the latter are at low. Can there ever be equality between player and AI at the highest setting?

I currently use full/low, (offline) however think that medium is a more representative level with respect to reality. I feel to go any higher (than low) gives the AI an unfair advantage, especially as they can be quite reckless in their choice of corner to make overtakes, (Bathurst for example) and the relentless attitude of the car behind. Slightly of topic, but it does play in to the subject of damage, the AI have little patience with respect to longer more endurance/grand prix style races. They more realistically represent sprint style racing. I hope in time a balance of aggression/patience can be found for longer races. Part of a winning strategy is knowing when to push and when to bide your time and be patient.

Currently (at damage setting full/low) half a dozen or so gentle taps to the rear of the players car from an AI car will completely detach the rear wing instantly with no warning of if the next hit will result in that happening. Could a warning be given on the hud with the option to replace the rear wing at a pit stop with applicable repair time?

When the AI suffer rear wing loss they aren't penalised as much as the player is. Even in low speed corners the player suffers, I would argue, too much oversteer whilst the AI, albeit slower, are not slowed enough, particularly in high speed corners. There is also no representation of oversteer in how they appear to drive, and sometimes don't even pit for repairs. Can/will this can be addressed?

Is or can floor/diffuser damage be modelled?
If I spin and hit a barrier backwards the 100% rear wing damage and detachment is believable, and depending on severity perhaps floor damage should also be incurred. Moreover, such impacts for example in formula or prototype cars, should result in floor damage and a loss of downforce. The floor/diffuser generates a large amount of the total downforce. Current generation F1 cars develop most of their downforce from the floor by ground effect, and side impacts can have a considerable effect on the downforce generated. Likewise strikes to the ground/curbs can also cause damage and resulting downforce loss.

Front wings have a more believable scale reported in the HUD, gentle impacts result in say 2-5 damage, harder 10/20 or more, with severe detaching the wing. The damage however seems to penalise top speed more than downforce generation. Can and is this possible to revise/implement?

Finally, and it's a pet peeve, can the AI be made to pit for repairs at night when an incident breaks their headlights? Currently they drive around with perfect night vision until a fuel/tyre stop, only then are the lights repaired.

A big thank you for both you and your team's dedication to the sim racing genre. Together with the community this game goes from strength to strength.

Edited for clarity and typo's.

 

Does the game simulate the effects of wind, on vehicle performance?

 

Will there be improvements in the rain physics and its force feedback? In the loss of grip when driving over the rubber line on the wheel or on the curbs?

 

Does following another car closely or not so closely for many laps have effect on engine overheating and brakes heating?

If I see engine damage at 1 or 2 - how big an effect does that have on car performance if any or it is simply signifying impending engine failure?

Is floor damage (running over kerbs) modeled in AMS2? If not, is it in the plans?

Thank you.

 

Although it's not as bad as it once was, will you be revisiting the 'magnetic' side by side (when 80%-100% car side to car side) contact that effectively 'holds' cars together after side on side contact for just a little too long (clearly just saloon cars not open wheelers)? This happens in single player and MP.

 

When it comes to programming and refining the physics of the cars in ams2 what do you use for reference? For example, how do you determine what the differences are between the LMDH cars?

Another question for you, which sim would you say has the best implementation of real life physics? Not including the AMS titles lol