Automobilista 2 V1.2.3.0 RELEASED - Now updated to V1.2.3.1

OK, fair enough, but I am following exactly the bots, they can do it obviously then....

 

Long Beach is an exception given it's right on the racing line at the fastest part of the track. IRL they are doing 175mph. This would just be a horrible crash waiting to happen, so the rule IRL is crossing the line is an immediate warning/penalty. Watch footage of any recent race there and every driver gives it a little space.

Pre-track limits patch, that turn was about 0.5 faster, but quali laps don't get ruined by pit traffic now.

 

Suddenly I get why @oez has their Uno fixation after giving them a bash around Salvador, I'm surprised about how much I slept on these little things in AMS1/2

 

I hold the opinion that if cars like the Stock Car 2019 were to be released in the exact state they're in in AMS2 for say, AC by some esteemed modding team that it would be considered one of the must-have sim cars of all time, and yet people ignore this high quality content in favour of seeing AMS2 as a whole new way to drive GT3s at Spa

 

GT3 at Spa is also one of the shining sides of AMS2, why hide it? In general, race classes that only feature two cars, or mostly generic (alternative) ones might simply lack appeal.

 

GT3 are the most bland and generic sim racing experience I've ever had across all the sims I've played, including AMS1 mods.

I sincerely cannot understand how people enjoy it at all. The only thing I find appealing with the GT3 and GTE are the looks and the sound.

Yet, at this very second, I would guess there are probably 100 servers loaded with full grids of GT3 across all the sims. Go figure

 

Does my head in too.

In music terms, you could go and listen to a busker playing a triangle made of cardboard. Or a (insert your favourite music here, unless it is cardboard triangles!) concert.

 

Mmmm yes. Let the GT3 hate flow through you. Now try liftoff oversteering the Uno down Brazilian corkscrew at Velo Citta.

To be fair and honest I do enjoy the AMG in AMS2. Maybe it has too much grip (time trial time at Spa is actually very close to IRL world record) and this and that. It is an interesting car to drive and I wouldn't mind it always having a bit more flavor than one might expect coming from those cardboard triangles. After all it is a gray area where setup, tires and (lack of) BoP affects things.

 

The attraction is clear. They're kind of nice and easy to drive and half the field doesn't spin on lap 1, so anyone can get some good racing done. And with a good skin pack they are some of the best looking and sounding cars in AMS2.

What I don't get is why 90% of AMS2 YouTube content is just "random GTE race against AI without commentary"? You actually go through the trouble of creating content and can't think of anything more interesting? zzz...

 

I believe it has something to do with group mentality. Or following the trend. People want to like it because everyone else is doing it, so they force them selves to get with the trend. And because it's the trend now, people can compete with each other because it's the kind of default go to series.

 

Lap 4 though after tires have worn out the initial syrup phase and - if we're lucky - rears are on the verge of overheating .

I guess GT cars are the next best thing after supercars? They are familiar cars and look cool. I can kind of see why a 720S has more sex appeal than an Uno. If I really try...

 

Is obvious why they are popular not only in simracing but also in real life:

1. Good looking cars. They look decent, no denying that.
2. Great sound. SamSame goes for GTE.
3. Variety within the class. Want an engine at the front? There you go. Boxer? No problem. Something understeery? Here it is... Oh, oversteer - at your service.
4. Predictable to drive. From first few laps you can get closer and closer to the limit, they are allowing pushing in a very natural way. So you can feel quite good and fast straight away.
5. Decent racing. Fast, but not affected by driving in dirty air too much. Plus their predictable nature making close combat fun rather than resembling a Wreckfest lobby.

The question shouldn't be why GT3 are so popular, but why other series are so neglected online. I suppose they don't fit into the points above. Does it make them terrible though? Of course not - they are just different kind of fun, less mainstream. That's all.

 

The average sim racer doesn't like FWD or open differentials, so out goes 30% of all cars.

Most formula cars are too fast for reasonable open lobby racing without constant crash fests, so out goes another 25% of all cars.

People online seem to hate slow club-level cars (and they're paradoxically some of the hardest cars to drive fast in AMS2), so out goes another 15%.

And then historical cars "drive weird", so out goes another 10%.

What remains is the 20% of the AMS2 roster consisting mostly of GT cars.

 

Long story short: tired simracers after a long day work prefer a car easy to drive reasonably fast, glued to the road, that does not require a ton of effort...

 

exactly!

 

I will admit, I am, and always will be, a GT3 defender. It's simple, easy to learn but competitive and close racing with fancy supercars that most people would sacrifice an arm and a leg to drive in street spec in real life, letalone GT trim
I personally prefer GT4 myself but I do find GT3s fun every now and again as a car to just switch off my brain and run some laps in, even if most other content is more challenging and engaging
If I had to use a food metaphor, cars like the historics and the Stock Cars are like fancy resturants, while the GT3s are like your local fast food place: sure, you get food no matter what, but sometimes you fancy going out and eating gourmet and having the quality that comes with it, but yet sometimes you just want to shove some quick, easy calories down your throat and have the satisfaction without the extras that come with it

 

We are only missing one.

 

To add to your points, also, GT3/GT4 is the closest we have in the modern day of "win on Sunday, buy on Monday." Think back to classic GT racing, classic DTM, early NASCAR, "homologation special" WRC, and the cars at least resembled something you could buy at the time. Even if you didn't have any way of affording such a car, watching those cars was somewhat aspirational. The possibility "in the future" of owning/driving one was there. GT3 lets you race McLaren's, Ferrari's, Merc's, Lambo's, Porsche's, etc. on the same circuit with your friends in something somewhat resembling the road version. As fun as Brazilian Stock, World Rallycross, and NASCAR can be, those cars resemble their road counterparts in name alone (maybe chassis in WRX's case).

Even with classic "historic" cars, it's easy to get excited about the Porsche RSR, 60's C3, and Mini than say the Lotus 23, or a race-only prototype. There is a sense of familiarity with those cars.

With that said, the cars I enjoy the most are the low-power Copa Classics, historics, and various F1 eras.