Automobilista 2 May 2024 Development Update - The Road to V1.6 Pt1

Compared to real life, the main thing I miss from the audio is the bass and external noises. The AMS2 engine noise is a bit simple for lack of a better word. Almost as if there are a few frequencies missing in the final output. Also I severely miss external noises. Kerbstones are loud, but in AMS2 they are dead silent (on my system anyway, might be a bug on my end). The track is never clean and stuff like pieces of gravel, pieces of rubber and other rubbish hits your car all the time creating noises. Maybe also add sounds of dirt hitting your windshield or helmet when driving closely behind another car. All this would greatly increase the immersion of the game.

 

Agree

BUT there are stones hitting your windshield - I know because it scares the **** out of me when racing in VR and GT3

 

I've certainly had sound when I've had a car in front through marbles up. You also get debris sounds if you go off the racing line.

 

Never heard of Nietzschinkveld? Simcrates?!

 

Perfect summary of how I feel about the sound in AMS2 !

 

I still hold that the 911 GTE exterior sounds in this sim are some of the best exterior sounds in any sim to date.

And the BMW M3 in GTR2 has the best interior sounds ever. So raw and loud, and the gearbox WHIIIIIIIIIIIIINE... Oh so good.

 

Little disappointing the delay… However, anyone tried Pure 2.0 with Assetto Corsa? LCS with HDR is really astounding… While I wait for this update AC is getting interesting again… Looks and feels amazing. Today I did a race with all 90s GT1’s on Road America. Started 18th came in 9th. Love that era. Gotta say, AMS2’s GT1’s are even more fun. Love those! Probably my favorite era. Can’t wait to test in AMS2 1.6.

 

I am maybe biased, but m3 gtr have the greatest sound i ever heard in my life, both exterior and interior, that gearbox whine sound soo evil...Also, P60 V8 engine was developed together with F1 engines

This is just a small glimpse of it:

 

I gave it a go as I saw the hype, some parts are impressive but I didn't feel it was millions times better than AMS2. Not that I mean to be a fanboy, I just never managed to get my settings in AC right. Do you have any good tips for how to at least make them similar?

Also for driving, all I get in AC is massive understeer and really weird deadzone feedback. Any tips welcome!

 

Gearbox noise is a tough nut to crack in simulations. I feel the current level in AMS2 is much too quiet (compared to on-board recordings) but, mic setup may play a part there.

On the other hand, the gearbox noise needs to be dynamic (not linked to throttle only) and totally deserves its own dedicated slider to allow player-preferred levels. Some players may have very low tolerance for such sound frequencies, and I suspect those opinions often win out in the end. Raceroom's approach to gearbox sound is the correct one, imo.

 

I hope that whistle Sound in the AMG GT3 will be removed or fixed.It gives me headaches to drive.All other GT3 Cars are good.

 

The audio mixing in general in AMS2 is a bit hit or miss in general, tbh. Kerbs are virtually inaudible, and things like suspension bottoming out or impacts with other cars aren't loud enough.
What I don't want is the awful CRASHCRUNCHKERKLUNK noise that ACC plays every time you hit a vaguely large bump.
But the audio in AMS2 definitely needs a bit of livening up, imo.

 

a delay can only be if a date is posted.
None of the officials ever posted a date.
So there is no delay.
Just a long development phase

 

The overall audio environment is being improved significantly. There are still some cars that could use improved engine sounds and/or other details for sure but, I think those will come eventually. I'm quite excited to hear what comes next.

 

Was there talk of an options slider in the works to allow blending of cockpit and external sounds to the users preference? Or it may have been just a wishlist item!

 

Yep, there are a lot of recent upgrades, including ones that add more bass and a more "full" sound. The roll-out will be sporadic, as most things in AMS 2 are. But when you get in one of the latest, improved vehicles you realize that there is not a fundamental problem with the sound engine.

I also agree and reported internally long ago about the curbs being too quiet relative to real life. There are also different types of curbs that are varying degrees of loud from smooth painted ones that may even be a bit quieter than what is in game through to the heavily serrated ones that literally rattle your teeth and are almost deafeningly loud (even for bystanders). Those could use at least a small boost in the game

But the mixes and several other sound-related improvements are all WIP right now with what I assume will be pleasantly noticeable improvements in 1.6.

 

I think if you want to hear the exhaust of the car as the primary sound, you'll need to use a console-style chase cam. If you want more authentic cockpit sounds, which are dominated by the engine and gearbox, not the exhaust, you will find those in the cockpit view.

But as mentioned above, lots of audio-related stuff is WIP and the vehicles in AMS 2 are not all at the latest/greatest levels as the team has to work through them one by one. Since the audio department budget at Reiza is probably 1/10,000 that of a title like GT7, we have to accept some delays in the upgrading of the whole portfolio of vehicles and the usage of less sophisticated and consistent sources.

 

Tbh while I agree that AMS2 in car sounds can be a bit flat, I think it's still some of the best in class, depending on a car. And while AMS2 devs don't have the budget of GT7 devs, the sound is significantly better. For some unknown reason GT 5-7 never managed to improve on its sound design, despite not having the memory limitations which lead GT4 cars sound like slightly different models of vacuum cleaners. For some reason GT7 also has this pleasant crackling of exhaust on gear shift, which does not exist in real life whether inside or outside. The area in which AMS2 could improve is essentially making the sound layers less compressed or normalized into one, which creates this feeling of flatness.

 

What I find pretty annoying is the gear change sounds in many cars, which are far too dominant in my opinion. In PC2 I found that very annoying as well, even road legal cars had some heavy gear change sounds. If I´d bought a 200.000 € road car with a gear sound like that I would return it right away.

 

That's good to hear.
Sounds are fundamental to convey emotions.
I once thought sounds were 50% of a movie. I was wrong. It is much more.
A movie or a clip of a car (or jet fighter) is almost nothing without sound, but it's almost everything without a single image, just with sound. Anyone can test it with the video posted above by @iggymax .