Automobilista 2 V1.2.4.1 & Monza DLC RELEASED - Now updated to V1.2.5.1

I'm not a streamer or anything but I guess like him I've been a vocal critic in the past and no doubt will be again in the future, but credit where it's due. I've also recently picked up AMS2 again and been very pleasantly surprised by how it feels and looks these days. A lot has changed and clearly there has been a lot of work and effort put into it. I'm sure others who have spent time away will either agree or find the same.
Criticism is helpful if it results in positive change, but critically that positive change has to be lauded just as vocally otherwise the improvement circle won't sustain itself. I hope that the environment for negative feedback is kept open and not closed down by backers or real enthusiasts (who mean well almost universally) in order that change can continue.

 

Yes, criticism is vital. I'm not so sure whether (often superfluously hard-fought) debates about criticism really change anything about how the criticism is received. After all, the only perspective that directly matters for the game is Reiza's, and whether they see something as "unfinished" or "imperfect".

I'd actually enjoy it if the development updates focused more closely on the cars that they still think should be better in terms of physics/AI, and where they think they've already achieved satisfactory, stable results.

 

TBH I think some of his criticism was a bit superficial early on. I saw his stream yesterday and now he is fiddling with setups, thing that earlier he strongly refused to do for instance. That really prevented him from taking the best out of it and noticing things he wanted and that were already there since long time.
So I bet circumstances like Reiza making their continued host of improvements and maybe GM being a tad less "superficial" in his approach may have combined to finally click.
What I still believe is toxic (by looking at his stream on Twitch yesterday) is the way some guys in his chat keep attacking those who could see through the fog something positive in AMS2 and a way to extract it early on despite the undeniable things that needed improvement. I think those should be regarded as people who could see far down the road rather than fanboys "who thought everything was alright" and "who probably hate AMS2 now" to use their words.
I don't think the community of simracing benefits from this toxicity although it's true that GM did not fed those guys (yesterday at least).
Anyway, glad GM is enjoying AMS2 more. Positive criticism and added exposure will only help the sim

 

I was taught to consider peoples opinions this way: Take the best & worst feedback out of the equation. The real and true value exists somewhere between what remains. There are always outliers at the extremes that need not be taken too seriously.

This simple concept may have value in many aspects of our social interaction.

 

One of the writers at RD has just echoed GM’s words over on the RD forums.

I wonder if something in the recent update fixed an issue that was affecting only some users? The latest patch was great, but for me, it hasn’t totally transformed AMS2.

 

I think it's more a case of them picking it up again after being away from it for a few months. In those instances the difference probably feels quite substantial. I know if I could play build from 3+ months ago it would very different and 6+ months would be night and day.

Still lots to do obviously in terms of structure and features, but it's really good to hear positive feedback on the handling and physics front.

 

I tend to agree.. There was no revolution for me. The real revolution was 1.2 many months ago now.. When GM kept trashing AMS2... I think a big contributing factor is him finally getting to terms with the fact that setups need adjustments to fit a track and his very peculiar driving habits

 

Yes but truth to be told GM has played (and streamed) occasionally AMS2 all along in the past months

 

Yes, and the guy at RD said he came back to it after a week.

 

Having seen so many people have the game ‘fixed’ by deleting their AMS2 folder, I can’t help but think GM’s turnaround might be linked to him using a new PC.

…OR (tin foil hat time), it’s to do with the fact that he seems to be moving from YT to Twitch and maybe wants to take as many viewers as possible with him…!!

Anyway, here’s what Damien (writer at RD) said

“Just jumped on to make some content this morning, after not playing for over a week and I'm blown away by the differences of a simple update. Why's no one screaming about the way the cars feel??? Obviously you guys love ams2, but I've literally seen one video about the way the cars now behave.

I'm so blown away, that I've spent the last 3 hours trying different cars and not making any content at all!”

Seems a strange coincidence that 2 knowledgeable guys have both seen a drastic turnaround at the same time, whilst most of us haven’t.

 

I don't think it's that crazy often something that might be an issue for one person is something that doesn't even register with another player. So when it changes its hugely significant to the first but almost imperceptible to the second. Anyway who knows maybe GM has had the video cued up for a while or maybe it is just down to a fresh install more than anything.

Regardless though I'd just take the praise at face value and appreciate that because of it more people might give the game another go and the chance to enjoy the improvements in feel and handling that have come about as the has evolved game evolved over the past few months. Trying to pick apart a compliment is never a good idea.

 

For a while it's been clear to me that there seem to exist two versions of AMS2:

1. The one that most people on this forum know.

2. The bizarro version of complaints found on Reddit/RaceDepartment/YouTube, where every car is floaty and suffers from constant oversteer, people can't drive a lap without spinning etc.

Most of the time my guess is that it's a combination of a poorly configured default FFB or a messed up My Documents -profile that causes these problems. But GM has a point that the latest drivetrain inertia changes have made a lot of cars looser and less prone to corner entry understeer.

 

I think a lot of reviewers were too dismissive and superficial early on (in a sort of endless loop where the judgment was pre-made ore pre-influenced based on the general community mood on AMS2, so often they clearly did not bother to do a properly prepared review eventually leading to substandard feelings confirming their initial prejudice). I have seen in the communities were I am a significant increase in people joining (and on FB as well) and I believe word on the street has been changing quite a bit lately, which may have pushed some of the streamers who earlier were immediately dismissive to actually put a decent effort in setting up the sim, their hardware, the garage setup and also in trying to understand the mechanics of the sim (especially wrt to the importance of tires temps) ultimately yielding much better results. Which by the way is what the AMS2 most eminent and knowledgeable community members always tried to push them to do.
Together with Reiza's continued improvement and some good fixes I think this is slightly turning the tides.

 

At the moment I don't have a chance to go back into cockpit, but when I drove at VeloCita on Sunday I saw the new run off at T2 but I can't remember that there was an asphalted run off at Curva da Mata as seen below or in that nice video

Great cars, great track

 

The main thing missing from the sim that you can see very well in this video... Camber!

 

Finally got round to trying the BMW again, it seems like theres slightly less locking under power now on default setup, seems to get out of tight corners better, or am i imagining this? Whatever I like it, and i can always add more slutch plates if i want more lock again

 

Yea I left a comment on GM video yesterday. Basically along the lines of just stop over analysing the game and just enjoy it for what it is. He's literally the only sim YouTuber left that actually analyses all this **** anymore. Jimmer doesn't Billy doesn't simpit doesn't. They just enjoy the games sims for what they do well and do a video if they've enjoyed something. All this whining and yea I've done it is all getting old life's too ****ing short. Sorry for the expletive.

 

and engine smoke

 

I haven't watched any of those Youtubers for a couple years now, as I would rather try the game myself and quite honestly I find them annoying. Having said that, I have read (on this forum) some of the criticisms they have spoken about and I agree with some of them. The power delivery/ rotation still feels wrong to me in certain instances and it is immersion breaking to say the least. I don't think all of the criticism is coming from Ian Bell haters that are desperate to see this title fail, and I certainly don't feel the main complaints are asking too much.
What's funny to me is that the minute one of these Youtubers comes out with a praise video, suddenly their opinions matter again and you see it referenced in posts.
When you look at the player count, it is pretty telling as well. AMS2 numbers are abysmal. It is still dwarfed by Project Cars 2 in active players and if you look at recent charts, Pcars 2 numbers are declining... but these players aren't flocking to AMS2, they are going elsewhere. Part of it is the multiplayer which desperately needs attention, but the main criticism is the handling. Ams2 is leaps and bounds a better experience from Pcars 2 imo, but the acceleration/rotation issue many people reference is a deal breaker.
You look at a game like RF2 for which is praised for it's physics... yet it is also a dud playercount wise. The most glaring feedback is that the game is a disaster just to get to load and on track. Very seldom do you hear complaints about how it drives. It is a nightmare to get to track most times and I get why people don't drive it more. With AMS2, the glaring complaint is the handling, which I think is sortable and after which the game would be amazing, but it seems some think it isn't an issue. There is still so much to love about the game, but when those moments happen that I describe, it is offputting.

 

The last month has transformed things for me, so something Reiza did has made a very noticeable change (in my case). I have played every couple of days since launch but around the time Monza and the BMW came out is when i think something significant happened. I have not deleted any files nor verified my install, have just taken updates as they come. Even gone back to default FFB now and reset all cars to default (was using Steels setups before). The rear sliding/spinning when overcooking entry to a corner has been replaced with a grip/skip/grip feel and the cars dont just slide with no hope of catching. Low end wheel user in my case and now loving the Ultima race and GT4 Ginetta ...happy camper