I bought AMS2 a while back but never got into it. I think the feel of the cars was too vague so it sat on my virtual shelf. With the latest update to 1.3 i decided to install it again, and i decided to also purchase the Racin’ USA DLC. I have been playing around with it for a few days, so i thought i would share some feedback. For reference, i mostly race F1 2021 atm, although i have had stints with pretty much every sim, from NASCAR to iRacing, rFactor, GTR2, etc. Before getting started, I installed the Crew Chief plugin and the 1998 CART skins/ai mod. Since i know Watkins Glen pretty well i decided to give it a go. I set the AI on 90, with aggression varying from 1 to 70 during testing. The first thing that struck me was the sound. The CART cars sound amazing, and it is an aspect that really ramps up the feeling of racing. The wheel to wheel racing with the ai was also intense. So i think the fun factor was solid. The graphics are decent, but the poor quality shadows let things down a bit. The feel of the cars is now serviceable. Not super detailed, like fFactor 2, but good enough imo. The side mirror angles were also off on some cars, so it was a bummer not to be able to edit and save those changes. That is pretty much driving 101. Get in car. Adjust seat and mirrors. But at this point the only thing i see really letting this title down is the AI. At least during my testing at Watkins Glen, i saw so many pile ups and crashes, usually in turn 1. It is a real immersion killer when the entire field is dead stopped at turn 1 of the race. Also I noticed cars flying in the air, flipping, etc. These massive incidents are completely opposite of the way the AI races me around the track. They seem to know i am there, and they battle pretty hard, all while doing a decent job of not being stupid too often. By comparison, F1 2021’s AI is much, much better. Is there a way i can edit this behavior? These demolition derby starts are really the only thing i can see letting this title down. Thanks.
Hey Robmypro and welcome. There's loads of people on here with loads more knowledge than me so Im sure youll find an answer to your question. There is a thread on editing the ai which is a relatively recent development and I havent started messing around with that aspect yet, but its very possible that might be an avenue to explore. I will say that the ai, while still having faults, is leaps and bounds better than what it was even just a few months ago, so I would also expect to see ongoing improvements in that area. I also took a break from AMS2 some time ago for quite a while but have returned and now will probably stay with it. Ive seen first hand how the studio has gotten a handle on an unfamiliar engine and have begun realising its potential. There's been some bumps in the road but the overall direction has been very firmly forwards and Ive got every confidence that as the layers peel off they will continue to dial the things that need the dialling. As a starter, I hope that gives a bit of an overview of where I think the sim sits currently. Big caveat, its one persons view and not based on any data or anything.
Just like two posts above I too took a break from AMS2 some time ago. Since I've been back I play it way more than other sims. AMS2 isn't perfect I agree. No sim really is. I do think it is very good though and development is continous which is a big deal for me. You make some valid points but for me - no way would I choose F1 2021 over AMS2. I would like mirror adjustment though. Good call. The mirrors are off in many cars. In VR at least. I have some other questions on that but don't want to hijack your topic Maybe I'll start one on that.
Karts and The Glen are the latest content released. (In fact really only half-released as there are still parts of the pack in development.) My experience with AMS2 is the AI is usually least competent with the most recent tracks and cars. Later AI calibration passes (probably incorporating insight from user timetrial data and simulation runs) tend to iron out most of the problems. Try some older combos. As long as it's a mainstream track/car combination and the eras match (eg don't race 60s formula cars on modern chicane heavy circuits) you will find for most racing the ai is pretty solid. They will race each other and the player pretty cleanly and convincingly… or wait a month till they've shaken the bugs out of the new content ai tuning. I really wish Reiza would slap an “early access” label on new content they release for the first month. People usually go straight for the latest and greatest stuff for a first impression, and before a few post-release tuning passes it gives a bad impression. Give some older content a try and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks for the info. What track/open wheel car do you think would be a good example of how good AI can be with AMS2?
So I have done 18 rounds in F1 2021 with two buddies of mine and a full field of AI. Although the content is obviously limited to F1, the AI are really good. They fight fair, and intelligently. They also don't just punt you off the track. There are times where you get contact, but if you watch the replays you can see why it happened. Overall the AI in F1 2021 is the best we have experienced, and this is all online multiplayer. It's not a sim but with my T300 RS i can feel what the car is doing totally fine. We had a lot of fun in the Champ cars in rFactor a while ago, so that was what really peaked our interest in AMS2. Hopefully they improve the AI because everything else is pretty good.
I don't race openwheel enough to think of any great combos offhand, but check the available championship seasons. Those are composed of car/track combos that have likely had more attention payed to refining AI.
Agreed. I mean, I don't have Glen, but the AI is now pretty stable in the tracks that are available. Sometimes even too much, a crash here and there would make things more realistic.
