Well to bring the discussion full circle then I´d point out that GTR2 actually got quite a bit of criticism at good old RSC on its release for having "dumbed down" physics I agree though that it was one of the all-time great racing games. It also earned the title of "best game that no-one played" by Gamespot that year - a somewhat questionable award given it sold quite well for a racing sim, but still. That dev team is still around today and largely the same - recently they delivered the best-selling PCars. See what I mean? Right now it is flashy graphics, big licenses and compelling marketing campaigns that earn the lion´s share of the goods, not finely-crafted gameplay, or complex, in-depth simulation features. As an user I´d try to help change that mentality not by lambasting the devs whose titles I didn´t enjoy, nor nitpicking those that at least offer something good, but by celebrating the stuff that I find good about them so more people would be compelled to join in, as that is what ultimately will drive their direction and move the genre forward. With regards to Reiza - I´m assuming that those of you engaging the discussion here own & enjoy AMS to one degree or another; have you all bought into our membership pack, specially those who already had SCE and thus got AMS for free? It´s a legitimate question as if any of you have not, I´d like to understand why. This also drives my point though that it is crucial users put their money where their mouth is, as the "dream sim" we all strive for will not materialise out of thin air
And this is why I think a Steam of simracing would be even better so there could be a focus on all the parts rather than only "this or that".
Its great to have you here in full discussion with us Renato, don't see that so much these days. When we do we see the tragedy that befell poor Stefano at kunos. Things like what happened should NOT happen in our small niche of a community, and without mentioning blog names, which are just doing nothing but hurting our already small grid of racers and their devs But you know I have AMS Renato and am fully enjoying it. I do mention about issues with the AI, but only in the regard of trying to help build the AI. But as far as everything else goes, its possibly the best In the business. RF2 for me is great at what it does but it feels dead sort of to me. Yes it when its good, it sims the best of them - but it feels inconsistent and fragmented.... but you put along AMS and what has it really achieved?! Its a personal battle I have every day with sims. What does it the best? I cant honestly say they all do a certain thing great, and I doo find myself moving from AC, RRE, AMS and rf2. A mish mash of these great bits would certainly be the ultimate sim ,but then its nice to have options.
There's this really nice thread where you can vote what you would like to improve on AMS, today. If you could improve ONE thing in AMS what would it be? When Renato refers to graphic, he's totally right. Just take a look on where the votes are going, and we're talking only about this title. Graphics, improved AI and a online ranking system are the most wanted features that part of this community aims to have here on Automobilista. Although the graphics part won't change much for Automobilista, this team works hard to deliver a rock solid AI capacity and VX portal is already here. As a simracer (not as old as Renato ) and also a racing driver, i want to have a great time on a racing sim. There's good stuff on different titles, but i think that we all agree that the competition is the soul of racing. Some prefer to race against AI, some prefer to race against real people. Would you guys love simracing if there's no AI or no multiplayer? Probably not as much as you do now. For sure, one of the great things of being a simracer is to be able to drive something that you probably wouldn't be able to in a track that you can only dream of. But to be able to compete in a virtual racing car, that's the greatest part of simracing. My point here is: we are currently delivering what you guys want. Despite some content wishes that everybody have, everything is coming in a near future. Features like graphics, rain and things that adds to a more dynamic, immersive atmosphere to the competition, can be part of everything - it's just a question of priority, time and budget to allow the development.
Just messing with you Renato One of the reasons I backed Reiza, you guys always willing to engage with us. Unlike some in the business the guys over at Bugear (Wreckfest) post about once a month if your lucky , thoes Finns kinda say " we make the game you play it " they drive fast say a little just like Kimi
I think the perfect sim is an utopia, both due to the scale and cost of such an 'all round' operation, and also because there will always be criticism of some aspects which people deem not to be 100%. AMS does get pretty close though, and in my opinion you guys are definitely on the right path with your business model catering to what the hardcore audience desires, bringing us all the features we love dearly but that aren't really necessary for the casuals. There's enough pretty racers around (that do have the big manufacturer licenses and eye candy), but that ultimately end up feeling a bit more shallow or compromising gameplay wise, whilst AMS ticks of a lot more boxes and does so with a very high quality standard.
Renato - as per your post above "specially those who already had SCE and thus got AMS for free" How do i claim this free? Thanks
I'm a little late into the discussion here, but anyways, here it goes. Although I have loved racing sims, I never had the proper equipment. When Assetto came along I loved it and got a wheel and pedals and wanted to take things seriously. Loved the cars, looks, and for the most part, the racing. Got involved in the Race Department community and enjoyed the online aspect. But after a while (it took 2 or so years!), the luster wore off. Mainly because the online aspect of AC has just stagnated for a heck of a long time. Netcode and hitbox improvements are were still needed, along with other online options that basically took a backseat while they tried to develop for the console. Although I was involved in online races at RD, I never really felt I was racing Sometime at the end of last year, RD was going to do a league for SCE. SCE was on sale during the Steam sale and I purchased it. I did some laps with the V8 Stock Car and I knew I wouldn't have done well in the league so I set the game aside. When I heard AMS was going to be free to owners of SCE I thought "cool". That is some serious good will! When AMS finally came out and I first tried a race with the Minis, I was hooked! I love the feel of the cars, and the FF. I kinda liked the feel of the FF in AC, but I never felt as connected to the car as I do in AMS. Most importantly, when in online races with AMS, I DO feel like I am *racing*. Close action, good netcode....good damage models, and the ability to actually touch another driver without having the cars totally wasted. With the detailed pits, flag rules, and different online racing options, it was a more complete experience when online racing than with AC. I've never really cared about OMG pretty graphics because I am concentrating to get around the next corner and not looking at the paint job on the car next to me! I signed up for one of the packages mainly because I liked what Reiza is doing and I will support outfits that know what they are doing and care about those who bought their product. It was funny looking at the poll linked earlier, I looked at the choices, and I don't think any of the options fit. I like the way the game is heading, and would like some bug fixes on things and some refinements here or there. I picked graphics, but not because I want OMG PRETTY CARS! just things that make it play better and look a little bit better (stuff like smoother LOD transitions, and fixing DynHud ). One of the big drawbacks right now for me in the game is being in online races and having some drivers that have their game crash...but I now that AMS is still in development and those things will get fixed eventually Licenses and a huge variety of RL cars are nice, but sometimes you got lost in the minutiae of just how those cars perform (OMG The Mclaren is too fast compared to some random lap times that was ran on this or that track!) Give me a sim that can give me a really good racing experience and I will be happy as heck. So far, AMS has done that for me and I can only hope it gets better!
I swear its like I actually wrote this myself line for line, it is exactly how I feel. Right now the games is the best sim for me by a mile, but my concern is if they don't sort out the random crashing and game freezes first then we are going to lose some guys to multiplayer. The biggest gripe is that you cannot set the server to allow people to come back into the race after a crash, if you have a quail time then you should be allowed back into game if you have crashed, grrrrr
