Automobilista 2 V1.4.8.1 & Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya Officially RELEASED!

Tried the beta formula junior again
Think it has the making to be a super sim car brill for leagues too

it seems quite zig saggy almost impossible to spin the back out during reckless driving & over speed cor ing even whilst bumping over crumbs during the high g corner point

the engine sounds are brill but there’s a high level of reverb / continuous echo for some reason , not a straight raw sound (understandable when close to walls although he wall reverb seems broken and has vanished now)

Apart from that great addition and super excited about possible updates

 

P1 baby

 

It's gonna be a pretty good race if the Ferraris have good reliability, shame about the red Flag, think Kamui might have gotten the pole, I believe he was faster in the first sector.

 

Just to add that the Metalmoro Judd ffb also suffers from shaking and extreme vibration at high speed corners, like the fusa23.

Junior has some ffb spykes at sudlife nords. The wheel won't stop rattling at the pits there.

 

If reducing FX doesn't solve it, a custom file may be more effective. There's only so much that can be accomplished with Damping alone, which is more about steering response than controlling vibrations. The WIP nature of AMS2 means some aspects of some cars ffb may not be fully optimized (yet).

 

You make a great point as I have not used a Logitech wheel in a very long time. Still, zero damping seems off to me given how the ffb in AMS2 works. Starting with Reiza's recommended settings seems quite appropriate, though.

 

After being unable to sit in the simulator (because reasons) for weeks, I was obviously eager to get my hands on the latest RC, not least because of the two new cars and physics improvements.

Today was the day I could make it happen, and so I sat down the better part of this afternoon driving at least some cars each of all the classes that are supposed to be complete with regards to their 1.5 physics updates.

The first car I tried was the one that has no doubt received the highest praise out of them all: The Formula Junior. And I think it is safe to say that this should be the gold standard by which AMS2 cars are measured: It is communicative, well-balanced, forgiving and last but certainly not least - TONS OF FUN!

Its FFB is good even on my aging G25, though I noticed a somewhat higher turning resistance compared to other cars (on Default+). But that doesn't detract from the improved road connection feel.

The other new arrival, the F-USA 2023, is almost as impressive. Based on my practice laps on Brands Hatch (still my go-to test track) it has to be the best high-downforce open wheeler in AMS2 right now. At one point I caught myself shouting out loud "THIS IS AWESOME!".
The car feels very planted and accurate, is super fast and doesn't have any annoying handling properties. But get one of the rear wheels on the green and it's bye-bye - just as it should be. Oh, and it also helps that it has such a killer design. Other than the slightly odd nose angle it's by far the coolest looking modern Formula car.

Afterwards I took the F-Ultimate Gen 2 to Barcelona (no chicane). Funny thing is, this use to be one of my favorite tracks in all sims for a long time... But I didn't find it as enjoyable, which came to me as a surprise. That being said, I originally felt similar about Laguna Seca when it was added, but it has since grown to be one of my favorites (again).

Anyhow, the F-Ultimate Gen 2 doesn't feel as good as the F-USA 2023. You can tell it wasn't developed from scratch with the new physics, so it does not feel quite as refined yet. For one thing, the handling is oddly understeery with the default setup (and I didn't have time to modify the setup due to the large number of cars I wanted to try). Also, as opposed to the F-Junior and F-USA 2023, the rear tires don't want to heat up as well (the two new cars actually seem to generate heat much more easily in all of their tires, which is a welcome improvement - as I have said before, similar to PCARS2, many cars in AMS2 often don't generate or keep enough temperature in their tires compared to real life, even when considering the track and air temps); if I had to guess, this is probably partly because of the more rear-heavy aero that the car is running now, but I haven't had a chance to check.

Either way, the F-Ultimate 2 still feels a little odd in some respects... A few more tweaks are needed before it's ready for prime time, IMHO. But even so, it's still loads of fun.


Next up were the F-Retros and Classics. I worked through the classes in chronological order. The first car I tried (on Brands Hatch once again) was the Lotus in Retro Gen 1, I believe it is the 72E.
And I have to admit, I was not impressed; the car has a very odd and sudden progression between understeer and oversteer. My guess is that this happens at least in part because the downforce kicks in very suddenly, and it's probably oddly balanced as well. The generic F-Retro Gen 1 V8 feels much better and more predictable in comparison.

Out of the F-Retro Gen 2 I tried the Generic car as well as the Brabham BT46B. The Generic car is LIGHTYEARS ahead of the previous generation - it feels balanced, relatively planted and has decent cornering ability. That's what a couple of years of technological development can do, I guess.

Now the BT46B... How shall I put it? That thing is a damned spaceship. It's never felt this good before. The improved physics provide me with enough confidence to push it properly, always shifting down as far as possible when entering a turn to maximize the downforce. As a result, that monster of a car is easily several seconds quicker per lap on an average track than the generic car! No wonder it didn't run more than a single race... Would have made for a boring championship, I guess.

When I got to the F-Retros Gen 3, I tried both the Generic Turbo car as well as the "Mad Arrow" Brabham. Truth be told, the Brabham still feels awfull, even compared to the generic car. It has horrible understeer and turbo lag followed by a nasty tendency to light up the rears. Definitely needs a delicate right foot, but probably more than just a few setup tweaks as well. Now I'm not an expert, but unless something was seriously wrong with the basic design of the real car, I think some more tweaks are in order here. And it would be a shame if no one wanted to race this beast because of some setup issues.

Now I may have this mixed up with another car, but I think the generic Retro Gen 2 Turbo car still exhibits the old cornering behavior, where the car would overreact on throttle changes among other things. My first thought after driving a couple of laps was that this car hadn't received the proper physics updates yet... Either that, or some kind of mistake crept in.
That being said, I may have to verify what I said, as there is chance I am getting this mixed up with one of the other formulas. Sorry! I didn't write down any notes, so this is coming straight out of my memory.

Moving on to the F-Classics! Only had time to test drive a single Gen 1 model, which was the 1300 HP one - model 2, I think. The good thing: It still feels super powerful (rightfully so!), but it's not as nervous anymore and a little more forgiving on braking and under acceleration. This actually feels much more believable now; still a beast, but providing you with enough confidence to push.

The McLaren MP4/4 and one of the generic Generation 2 cars were next. The McLaren still feels great - but even better than before - and the generic one I tried was slightly more stable and prone to understeer, but overall just as good. Not much else to say.

Formula Classic Generation 3 seems good as well. The generic V8 car and McLaren MP4/5 that I tried felt really enjoyable, and heavy on downforce similar to much more modern cars.

The same could be said about F-Classic Generation 4. The Generic car that I drove as well as the MP4/6 are just great. But I would have to drive these more if I wanted to provide more detailed feedback; didn't have time for more than 2-4 laps each.

P1 Prototypes: Here I had a closer look at the Chevy V8-powered MetalMoro AJR and the Ginetta. The MetalMoro feels fantastic, at least as good as it has ever felt if not better. The car is still very nimble, but probably more planted now.

The Ginetta also feels very good, but appears to suffer from a bit of understeer compared to the AJR. Then again, there was mention of bringing the P1 prototypes up to speed with regards to their BOP and performance, so I guess we'll see how these perform once the Sigma P1 arrives in this class.

Last but not least the F-Inter: Aside from the gearing (which I find incredibly odd) and low power output this car is great fun! Really seems like a car that is meant to punish bad habits and teach you proper technique (similar to F-Trainer and similar cars), while also having enough performance for proper racing, in no small part thanks to its downforce.


So what's my verdict on the 1.5 physics? After just a couple of hours I think the potential for subtle, but much-needed improvement is there. If the potential is realized properly - which means further meticulous fine-tuning even of already "finished" cars - then this could be enough to bring back all but the most hardcore critics. The Formula Junior and USA 2023 feel fantastic during all cornering phases - organic and pretty much rid of all previous oddities - and the overall improved FFB plays an important part in this as well. If it was up to me, I'd say some of the supposedly updated cars need some more love before this update leaves the RC. But that's just my two cents, so...


tl;dr version:
The potential for even more greatness is clearly there. Some additional polish is needed, but F-Junior and F-USA 2023 are proof of the level of fidelity the improved physics can deliver.

 

That's the biggest post-size to TLDR-size ratio I've ever seen...

 

Totally agree; damping is an integral part of the EPAS model—but you can’t miss what you can’t feel in the first place! Besides, the gears in a G25 make their own, proprietary “road noise”.

 

Well, gotta make sure the text is long enough, otherwise why bother adding a tl;dr?

 

"Until 1990 the straight remained unchanged, but new speed limitations imposed the addition of two chicanes, currently known as Forza and Michelin. Consequently, cars now reach their highest speeds just before Indianapolis corner and the 1988 record speed of 405 kph (251.7 mph) set by Roger Dorchy in a WM P88 has little chance of ever being broken."

Source: 24 Hours of Le Mans - The legendary spots on the circuit: The Mulsanne Straight | 24h-lemans.com

 

Don't think that is a correct statement. Last year the TV telemetry showed the opposite. Tertre Rouge is pretty fast nowadays so the cars start the 2km first section of Hunaudieres already well over 200 kph
Quick examples

 

think I've found a bug when setting up multi-class races

I tried setting up an 1 hr enduro race around Spa-Francorchamps 2022 with the P1 class, GTE, GT3, and GT4 cars. Only GT4 cars spawn. I've tried this with just GT3, GT4,GT5 and FL Hot Cars at Nurburgring 24 hr but again only GT4 cars spawn. I have custom liveries on the GT3 AMG and all of the GT4 cars.

 

You cannot use hybrids as samples, because they cut deployment at strategic points due to energy allocation. And yes, top speed before braking for Indianapolis can match or surpass the one before braking into first chicane of Hunaudieres, wind decides which one wins.

 

Okay, that could be my issue then, will try that out, cheers.

 

Okay thanks, will try that.

 

I must be very talented then as I was able to spin it under brakes while trail braking, only once so far but I bet I could do it again if I tried.

 

What is TLDR?