AMS2 V1.6.8.5 Coming Tomorrow Oct 31! Pre-Release Info, Previews & Discussions

Automobilista 2 V1.6.8.5 is due to be released tomorrow October 31st! This is the biggest update of the year so far for AMS2 and not just because of all the exciting content - and there is a lot of it, with two new DLC packs of historical Endurance cars and tracks and one free-for-all 2005 GT2 - but all the major game developments that are coming along with them.

In this thread we will be bringing you all the information you need to have to be ready for the time the update hits; you may also check the cool previews for the new cars and tracks we and others will be sharing and discuss your expectations as we make the final preparations on the run-up to release.

NEW 2005 ENDURANCE DLCs

With v1.6.8.5 we will be launching two new DLCs, one featuring three 2005-era Endurance tracks and another featuring no less than eleven 2005 Endurance machines in between LMP and GT cars - check out the full breakdown with the previews below!

HISTORICAL TRACK PACK PT3 DLC - US$ 9.99 (or equivalent Steam currency conversion)

• Circuit Du Mans 2005
• Road Atlanta 2005 (Full & Short layouts)
• Spa Francorchamps 2005 (GP & Endurance courses)

HISTORICAL ENDURANCE PACK PT1 DLC - US$ 9.99 (or equivalent Steam currency conversion)

2005 LMP1 Class

• Audi R8 LMP1
• Courage C60
• Dallara SP1

2005 LMP2 Class

• Lola B0540 V8
• Lola B0540 Turbo

2005 GT1 Class

• Aston Martin DBR9 GT1
• Corvette C5.R
• Dodge Viper GTS-R
• Maserati MC12 GT1

2005 GT2 Class

• Porsche 996 RSR

2004 GTR Class

• BMW M3 GTR

FREE BASE GAME CONTENT

• Milano GT36 GT2

As usual the new DLCs will have a free trial period for all AMS2 users over the weekend.

V1.6.8.5 RELEASE NOTES

GENERAL

V1.6.8.5 introduces Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TAA) as a new anti aliasing option; TAA smoothes jagged edges caused by geometry, textures and shadows by combining previous video frames with the current frame, providing better results and in some cases improved performance over MSAA. You can enable TAA in the Graphics and Performance settings, a new TAA sharpening option is also included.

There has been further progress on the issue of autosaving / autoloading setups to further mitigate (if not outright eliminate) chances of saved setups being incorrectly restored.

Endurance headlights have been updated to feature a slightly stronger glare effect at night; so far the current era GTP, LMP2s, GTE, GT3 as well as the new 2005 cars have received the updates.

Finally, new presets have been added for the new 2005 Endurance content emulating FIA GT seasons from 2004 & 2005, ALMS & ELMS 2005 seasons

PHYSICS

A new round of physics refinements for many of the existing classes, most notable of which being once again GT3 (both gens), GT1, Group C, BMW M1 Procar & LMDh / GTP, all of which also having default setup and / or setup ranges revised which should mean old setups will probably not work for these classes without significant adjustments and it´s better to start them afresh; many others have received further minor tire adjustments as per the changelog below but those should not impact their performance or existing setups to a significant extent.

AI

All classes have received extensive AI behavior & performance calibrations revisions, focused primairly on traction & braking performance, elaborating their throttle application to logic to factor several specific circumstance into how fast or slowly they apply the throttle; this in turn has allowed for less compromising on the baseline rate of AI throttle application in each class and as a result their performance out of corners should be more balanced against what

AI racecraft & behavior adjustmewnts should generally result in reduced twitchness & more natural / flowing behavior from AI drivers when changing lines (be it for passing / defending or just positioning relative to traffic ahead); less aggressive throttle stomping in mid / high speed corners (which for GT cars could lead to them understeering offline or even off track altogether in some corners); traction / braking more balanced with thats viable for humans; less AI "rubber banding" effect (AI overtaking then getting overtaken back); more balanced AI drafting relative to player and each other; fractionally less risk of being pit manouvered or getting stuck glued with an AI car hanging around the outside of the player especially at lower Aggression settings.

On the topic of AI Aggression, we have further adjusted the different options to further distinguish behavior in each level; it is now generally recommended to gravitate around Medium or High Aggression settings in most cases for more realistic racecraft from the AI, with Medium being more suitable for longer distance races, endurance and / or heavier cars, and High more appropriate for sprint races, formulas & club level racing.

Low should only be mainly used by novices and / or those using controllers that offer more limited precision, as it will lead to AI being very careful especially around the player; Max Aggression on the other hand raises the general aggression for the whole field which increases risks of pile-ups and general erratic behavior; Medium & High will still feature some individual AI drivers with higher aggression personalities and the higher diversity provided by those settings will generally make for more dynamic races; please note this still largely dependent on individual driver AI personality variables so things may change or not work the same when running modded AI files.

We have improved sorting of AI drivers based on their qualifying skill when a qualifying session is not run or skipped mid-way, removing a randomizing function that could bring slower drivers up the grid and contribute to the formation of clusters of AI cars when qualifying sessions aren´t run in real time.

AI in Multiplayer has also been substantially improved both in terms of behavior as well as visual fidelity.
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V1.6.8.1 -> V1.6.8.5 CHANGELOG

GENERAL

• Added option for Temporal Anti-Aliasing
• Fixed several small issues and inconsistencies with the logic of the vehicle setup names
• Prevented deleting the currently active vehicle setup (resolves setup loading issues that could occur when active setup had been previously deleted)
• Fixed LOD fade setting causing flickering shadows in VR and Triples setups
• Added controller profiles for Logitech RS50
• Fixed issue where real weather wouldn't be found on the first try if the machine clock was ahead of time
• Fixed dialogs staying open when in-game menu closes automatically such as when the last player hits ready in MP
• Adjusted LiveTrack mud dirt properties

UI & HUD

• Added Euro Enduro GT 2004 & 2005, Euro Enduro LM 2005 & ALMS 2005 presets
• Updated vehicle logo graphics
• Reinstated missing real weather status feedback text on race and session settings dialogs
• Blanked default setup description
• Disabled the track tabs on the setup load/save menus

PHYSICS

• Minor tread adjustments for LMDh / GTP, GTE, GT3 (both gens), GT4, G55 Supercup, Ligier JS2-R, GT Open, Lamborghini Huracán ST, Lamborghini Diablo ST, GT1, Group C, Group A, M1 Procar, F-USAs (all), F-Retros (all), F-Classics (all), F-HiTechs (both gens), F-V12, F-V10 (both gens), F-Reiza, F-Ultimate (both gens), Vintage Cars
• Minor tire thermodynamics adjustments to the Lamborghini Miura, Ginetta G55 Supercup, Ligier JS2-R and Ligier JS P4
• Revised default setups for F-Ultimate Gen2, GT3 (both gens), GT1, Group C, BMW M1 Procar & LMDh / GTP (setup ranges are updates so older setups should not work correctly - please start fresh)
• Revised dirty air effects for modern formulas, GTs & Prototypes
• Ligier JS2-R: Minor frontend aero adjustment; Adjusted ARB & front brake torque
• Lotus 23: Corrected tread width; revised chassis polar moment of inertia
• Group A: Adjusted chassis polar moment of inertia
• Adjusted crankshaft mass for Diablo & Miura SV V12 engine
• Lamborghini Revuelto: improved active aero behavior; adjusted peak torque from hybrid system; Added ERS-EV Launch (ICE starts at 60 Km/h)
• Lamborghini Miura: Adjusted pushrod geometries; Adjusted bumpstop spring & damper rates; Adjusted brake torque & bias; Adjusted crankshaft mass
• Revised FFB for GT1 cars

AI

• Improved AI throttle application logic, adding several functions to scale rate at which AI goes full throttle according to specific circumstances
• Extensive class-specific calibration pass to AI throttle usage & braking points
• Increased overall rate of AI driving mistakes (frequency and severity of mistakes will still vary according to the series and and driver personalities, with mistakes happening less often at the upper racing classes relative to club / amateur levels)
• AI in practice / qualifying sessions now use more of the race blue flag logic allowing them to navigate slower traffic more efficiently
• AI drivers of the same vehicle grid groupings now get ordered for the grid based on their non-race skill with random factor
• Improved fidelity of remote AI vehicles in Multiplayer, fixing issues such as cars appearing to move sideways and front wheels pointing in the wrong direction
• Further adjustments to drafting & AI drag scalars during AI-on-AI battles
• Adjusted AI dynamic corridors for all tracks (slightly higher baseline values for less wheel stepping offroad at lower Aggression settings)
• Adjusted AI corridors around the apex curbs for Brands Hatch, Cadwell, Donington, Oulton Park, Silverstone 1975 & Termas Rio Hondo
• Oulton Park: Add speed boost at Clay Hill and Water Tower Removed any boost from Knickerbrook; Updated Oulton Classic AI line
• Monza GP 1971: Adjusted corridors to exclude the runoff region along S/F straight
• AI calibration pass for F-Vintage (both gens), F-Junior, GT3 (both gens), Ligier European Series
• Slightly increase AI willingness to concede when being overtaken from the inside
• Adjusted AI peak slip angles for all tintop classes
• Adjusted AI differential settings for all LSD cars (slightly more power & coast lock)
• Termas Rio Hondo: Slightly reduced AI Grip
• AI calibration pass for Vintage Cars T1, F-Ultimate Gen2, GT1, LMDh / GTP, Ligier European Series
• AI wet calibration pass for GTE / GT3 / GT4 / GT Open / Lambo ST
• Azure: Adjusted corridors at T1 and Mirabeau to mitigate chances of AI cars hitting the barrier in those corners
• Spa-Francorchamps (all layouts) : Fixed issues leading to AI drivers often turning into concrete wall near La Source during race start

TRACKS

• Azure: Fixed the geometry issue between the Cardio center and Sports institute buildings
• Bathurst Historic 1983: Adjusted trackside crowd distribution
• Le Mans: updated foliage & ground materials and textures, raised brightness a little. New curb & raceline textures.

VEHICLES

• Revised cockpit POV to correct standard for GT1, Group A, Group C, LMDh / GTP, LMP2, GTE, GT3 (both gens), GT4, Copa Truck
• Added glass cracks texture
• Adjusted cockpit gear shifting animation timing for GT1, Group C
• Lamborghini Miura SV: New paint materials with orange peel, extra dirt and metallic flakes, new popup lightglass material, new lights textures; Improved cockpit with customizable leather and stitches colors, updated gauges glow texture, smoothed gauges cluster; Added Livery Override support for custom paints and vinyls, custom interior configurations
• Lamborghini Revuelto: Fixed exhausts glowing too early
• Aston Martin Vantage GTE: adjusted RPM LEDs range
• LMDh / GTP: (all) Fixed number plates z-fighting; added extra dirt to all exterior materials; increased front lightglows size and brightness; Alpine A424: improved rear lights glow texture
• LMP2 (all) Fixed number plates z-fighting; added extra dirt to all exterior materials; increased front lightglows size and brightness; updated paint materials
• GTE (all): increased front lightglows size and brightness; fixed number plate z-fighting
• GT3 Gen2 (all models): increased front lightglows size and brightness
• BMW M8 GTE, Corvette C8.R: added extra dirt to all exterior materials, updated cockpit lights and materials, updated leaders lights color, added flashing display LEDs
• Porsche 991 RSR: added extra dirt to all exterior materials, fully updated display (new textures, new LEDs, new pit limiter container)
• Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo: updated yellow headlights textures
• Audi R8 GT3 Evo2: updated display
• BMW M4 GT3: updated steering wheel textures
• F-Reiza: Added 2 new teams to increase grid to 24

 

Your eyes work perfect

 

We tried our best to have it ready in time but it´s just not quite there yet; hopefully for the next update.

The OP will include all relevant notes and the overall changelog as they get put together.