Hello everyone - as another month wraps, it´s time for our regular Development Update with all the latest news on AMS development. Here ´s what we´ve got to share with you from this past month :)
V1.3.5 Release
Just yesterday we´ve deployed our latest v1.3.5 update, packing several fixes and general improvements to the sim.
On the graphics front, @Alex Sawczuk has developed a series of all new SweetFX profiles, including a new default setting - these can be previewed and set from AMS Config. These new profiles have been overhauled and use a much better tone mapping layout, a nice improvement over the previous offerings.
We have two categories of profiles. The 'A*' category offers a progression in terms of amount of saturation, the digit in the identifier indicates how much saturation there is. Vivid profiles have roughly same lighting as none vivid profiles. but with extra contrast in them. There is then a 'B*' category. These offer a variety of fun post-FX settings for you to try out, the higher the number the generally the more strange the effect.
The new default profile is 'A3 Natural Vivid'. Older profiles remains available in the "Legacy" category.
We expect different monitors to show up the differences in different amounts - hopefully from one of these new configurations you can find one that you like best.
Another important new feature in v1.3.5 is the option to fetch setups from other users as ran in their fastest lap in Time Trial mode. To do that, click on the name of the driver you wish to fetch the setup from, and click the "Fetch Setup" button:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/rZKPQZf.png
The setup will then be available for you to load from the Garage Files menu, in the respective track folder:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/YQrwzuU.png]
Keep in mind only laps set from this release onwards will have a setup available for fetching.
Virtual Xperience TT Rank & Official TT Challenge
We have recently introduced a new TT Rank via VX for users participating in the TT leaderboards. This is basically how that works:
Rank Points are calculated using the position of each driver´s best lap in every series irrespective of track user - the important thing is to register at least one lap with each individual series in the sim.
If driver has not registered a lap in any one given vehicle, they are attributed a penalty position (one place higher than the current largest leaderboard in VX)
The higher the driver´s points tally, the better his ranking.
Full details of laps counted towards a drivers ranking (and penalties applied) are listed on the driver´s profiles.
We strongly recommend users to work on putting together their complete TT Rank - we´ll be offering a few things in the coming months which will surely make it worth your while, and not only for the top guys!
Further news on the VX front is that our regular "Time Trial of the Week" fun challenge will be evolving into a full-blown official prize-awarding competition covering 12 weeks, starting April 9th - keep an eye out for the official announcement sometime next week!
V1.4 Development
Work is already ongoing on v1.4 development - we´re pushing hard to release it before the end of april.
Focus currently is on concluding the much anticipated Custom Season Tool for single player championships. We are working on some interesting new options which should hopefully add some extra dimensions not only to championship mode but to the race weekend in general.
Another area receiving attention for v1.4 is AI - we have compiled a number of AI issues and general areas for improvements and have allocated a few weeks over the remaining months of AMS development to be dedicated towards addressing as many of those issues as we can. While it´s uncertain how much ground we´ll cover already for v1.4 and subsequently for v1.5, we´re hoping to see some substantial improvements before AMS development wraps.
The long overdue support for Steam Achievements is also in progress and scheduled to make it in for v1.4.
There have been many enquiries about improving support for the Fanatec CSL and Logitech G29 / G920 - we´re working on those and hope to have news in time for the next release.
Major developments also coming in the audio front for v1.4, as @Domagoj Lovric is making some great gains introducing new filters which should hopefully greatly enhance the aural experience in AMS.
One of the results from these changes is that we´ll be able to reduce audio samples from the currently huge 16bit / 96kHz WAVs to much smaller 44.1kHz rates. This yields a number of benefits, including smaller RAM usage due to audio samples being considerably smaller size, smaller game footprint on disk and potentially fixing some audio related stutters and glitches.
As a visual reference, the images below show a comparison with the introduction of the new filters. First image the filter is OFF - notice these dotted sweeping lines (almost looks like fireworks of noise) above thick line in the bottom:
Now with filter ON, there is much less dotted lines or "noise":
The real proof of course is in the pudding - below you can check a preview of how all these developments sound in-game:
v1.4 Sound Preview
New 2017-spec Formula
Work is also progressing on the yet-to-be-named 2017-spec Formula - it´s a looker!
The new 2017 car will be added as a free base content to AMS. Along with bundles of extra grip, the big news with this car will be the introduction of new physics models as Turbo & ERS are being developed and will be added not only to this car but to others in the sim which feature either or both. This however is unlikely to be completed in time for v1.4 release - we´ll expand on the topic of these new features in our next Dev Update.
Legendary Tracks Pt 3 - Hockenheimring
Development of our next DLC is also coming together nicely as the legendary Hockenheim circuit is taking shape, with meshes for both modern 2016 & 2001 versions pretty far along. Here are some early previews:
These 2 versions are expected to be ready in time for release of v1.4 towards the end of april, with 1972 & 1988 version to be added soon after.
We are looking to confirm the full release schedule for the remaining DLCs as well as some new free base content in the works for Automobilista in time for our next Dev Update, so stay tuned!
Worth reminding that the AMS Season Pass which secure all currently available DLCs along with the ones still to be released is currently on sale with 35% off - if you haven´t grabbed that yet make sure to do it now :)
That covers it for our March update - look forward to catching up with you all again around this time next month!
Automobilista v1.3.5 RELEASED!
Automobilista v1.3.5 is now out!
Here is the main changelog:
Added feature to automatically export setups from player´s fastest lap in Time Trial Mode - other users can then fetch this setup by clicking the time on the timing stands and clicking the button to download it
Refactored SweetFX profiles & split them into categories, including new default
Fixed Config tool bug that would allow native anti-aliasing setting to remain on even when SweetFX is enabled (user should set AA via graphics card control panel when a SFX preset enabled)
Added function to automatically disable mid-race full course yellow in tracks that don´t have a Safety Car (such as historical tracks)
Fixed bug that would limit opponents to a single car in championship mode irrespective of the actual setting if "randomize" function was on
Added UI tooltip to all screens (WIP, not all options have tips and it´s not localized)
Added UI option to switch off big screen movies (may help some users´ stuttering issues)
Vehicle configuration & install buttons are now hidden when car does not feature configuration options
Slightly relaxed track violation detection (except for Time Trial mode)
Added volume multiplier to swingman cameras in all cars
Adjusted fuel consumption / estimates in various cars
Fixed dark mirrors in shadows in some Caterham models, Metalmoro, F309, Ultima GTR Race
Adjusted AI corner reduction base for all cars
Changed TimedRaceNonLeaderLaps value from 1 to 2 for all series (should address some inconsistencies as to when checkered flag is displayed at the end of timed races)
Reduced AI minimum passes per tick (fixing issue that could cause AI to bounce when running over sawtooth curbs)
Adjusted Min / Mid / Max AI performance range for several tracks
Adjusted default engine rev limit in F-V10, F-Reiza, added F-V12 adjustable rev limit range for a safer default setup on these cars to help prevent engine failures
Corrected error from previous build adjusting downshift protection for modern formula cars (increasing rather than decreasing to avoid overreving)
Sta Cruz: Improved AI line through chicane
F-Truck: Improved diesel smoke logic
ARC Camaro: Rim LODs distance correction; Fixed tires UV mapping; Tire now is skinnable; Adjusted engine heating equations
SuperV8: Further adjusted AI performance
Marcas: Slightly adjusted tire load stiffness & center of gravity height; Adjusted AI weight distribution for better stability & callibrated AI performance; Reduced default rear anti-roll bar stiffness
Montana: Minor tire model adjustments; Adjusted chassis yaw inertia (should improve handling over curbs)
Mini: Minor tire model adjustments; Adjusted AI weight distribution for better stability
Lancer: Minor tire model adjustments; Adjusted AI weight distribution for better stability
Ultima: Adjusted weight distribution in all models; Adjusted race tire grip on race tires and load sensitivity on road models; Adjusted engine heating equations
Supertruck: Slightly increased tire grip
Metalmoro MR18: Reduced default tire pressures; calibrated AI
F-Vintage: Adjusted default diff setup; Slightly reduced tires LOD A for better performance; calibrated AI; Corrected right rear wheel LOD error in HIGH detal setting
Boxer: Fixed bug with brake lights causing performance loss when clsoe to another car
If you are interested in other current & upcoming Automobilista DLCs you may want to check out the AMS "Season Pass" for all upcoming DLCs , currently on sale with 35% off!
If you have an online race tonight, you may stick to or revert to the previous v1.3.1 by selecting that branch from the Steam Beta tab.
If you experience any issues running the game following the update, it´s worth running a Steam Integrity Check to make sure all files have been added / updated correctly.
For further difficulties related to installing, running or setting up the game, please refer to USER MANUAL present as a launch option from Steam If you need further assistance please post it inV1.0 troubleshooting topic or email support@reizastudios.com (please allow for up to 1 business day for a reply).
Automobilista v1.3.1 hotfix is out
Added v1.3.1 hotfix - changelog:
VX: Added function to feed main leaderboard & split TToW leaderboards, along with an in-game tab in TT mode to see both timing screens
Fixed max number of opponents on various series to the correct total
Switched back incorrect "Ethanol" references in UI to "Fuel"
Further global improvements to AI brake usage & re-callibrated AI performance for SuperV8, F-V10, F-Reiza, Boxer Cup, ARC Camaro, Mini, Ultima Race
Updated engine wear parameters in several cars, addressing some reported issues
Slightly adjusted default brake bias in several cars (won´t affect saved
Adelaide: Added remaining trackside buildings; Generally improved AI paths in all versions; Corrected speed limits; Corrected AI entering Pitlane; Improved cut detection on 1st chicane
Oulton: Updated terrain textures, using new method
Brands: Updated terrain textures, using new method
Caruaru: Fixed invisble wall on infield
F-Vintage: Adjusted wheel LODs for better performance
Mini: Fixed sound issue with reverb from previous version
Boxer Cup: Adjusted default tire pressures
ARC Camaro: Fixed body lighting issue at night; improved cockpit textures; improved sounds
Caterham: Updated 620R suspension rates
Opalas: Corrected small sound errors in 86 version; Corrected fuel consumption & estimate; Small tire revision in 86 version
Automobilista v1.30 is released, along with a new DLC: Adelaide is also available now!
If you are interested in other current & upcoming Automobilista DLCs however it is strongly recommended you check the AMS "Season Pass" for all upcoming DLCs (for those that already have the base game) and the bundle of AMS Base + Season Pass (which includes the base game).
Pricings for Automobilista & Season Pass have been adjusted - Automobilista base has dropped to US$ 29.99 (or respective currency conversion) while the Season Pass price has risen to US$ 39.99 or your respective currency conversion. Individual DLC packages remain priced the same way, including Adelaide which now sells for the standard US$ 5.99.
For a limited amount of time you may still get the Membership upgrade which includes the Season Pass with the old pricing of US$ 29.99 from our forum store, and that will also grant you Reiza 51 access.
Below is the Changelog for v1.3.0:
Content
Cars
Added ARC Camaro Series
Tracks
Added Adelaide street circuit (historic 1988, modern & Supertruck layouts) (AVAILABLE ONLY FOR ADELAIDE OR SEASON PASS OWNERS)
Features & Fixes
Added option to customize number of AI opponents per class in race weekend
Implemented audio reverb (static for now) & added option to customize reverb level from audio menu
Added new sound effect filters & altered doppler effect
Added diesel exhaust smoke emission to Formula Trucks
Added F-Truck mid-race full course yellow option to RULES menu (may be used for other series as well)
Race menu tweaks & other minor UI adjustments
DynHUD: Fixed Delta widget functionality occasionally not resetting when switching to another track in TT mode
Added function for track state deterioration while track is not used from one day to another and from one session to another (may vary from track to track)
Fixed bug with DRS counter causing DRS to be available before lap 3; Fixed DRS being available during and after safety car period; DRS can now also be deactivated by pressing DRS button
Added (AI) label to AI cars in multiplayer
Cars now default to ideal tire pressure & temperature, warmed up brakes at the start of Time Trial mode
updated engine wear / reliability values in various cars
Adjusted yellow flag / parc ferme / start procedure rules for several series
Raised AI speed behind safety car
Fixed bug with track state not resetting correctly when race or weekend is restarted
Added new engine wear / blow-up functions
*
Adjusted marbles spacing offline to reduce FFB rattling
Added dynamic road shader for road surface dust (currently implemented at Adelaide, Oulton, Caldwell, Brands, Jacarepagua Historic and Montreal Historic, VIR, Kansai, Imola)
Interlagos: Eased off cut detection at T11 exit and inside S/F straight
Slightly increased downshift protection in cars with semi-automatic boxes
Adjusted AI brake power / grip usage for all cars
Removed incorrectly enabled launch control from engines in several series
Fixed overdone dynamic tire wear texture
Supertruck: Raised camber and suspension damping for default setup; Adjusted tire textures
Boxer Cup: Completely revised physics with addition of helper springs
SuperV8: fixed uv mapping issue on carbody
F-Trainer: Minor tire model adjustments
F-Vintage: Minor tire model adjustments; Adjusted tire LOD settings
F-Retro: Minor tire model adjustments; Fixed black polys on one of the LODs of the Copersucar model
F-Classic: Minor tire model adjustments; Fixed textures error on low player and opponent settings
F-V12: Minor tire model adjustments; Softened front suspension range & default settings
F-V10: Minor tire model adjustments; Fixed black polys on one of the LODs; Fine tuned external sound samples overlap
Superkart: Minor tire model adjustments; Reduced aero yaw sensitivity
SuperV8: Minor tire model adjustments; reduced default roll bar setting a click on both ends
Karts: Further AI performance tuning
* The mid-race full course yellow is a rule from F-Truck - it triggers a 2-lap safety car period after the leader completes half race distance (provided the total distance is equal or more than 10 laps / 15 minutes).
** The new engine reliability functions will demand extra care during gear shifts, specially for older engines. Upshifting without lifting in cars without powershift and bouncing off the rev limiter will accelerate engine wear and may eventually lead to failures if practiced over a longer race distance; a very aggressive downshift may lead to an instant blow-up.
If you have an online race tonight, you may stick to or revert to the previous v1.1.1 by selecting that branch from the Steam Beta tab. Further instructions as to how to do that here.
If you have a bug to report please use the new bug report thread (make sure to check the opening post first).
If you experience any issues running the game following the update, it´s worth running a Steam Integrity Check to make sure all files have been added / updated correctly.
For further difficulties related to installing, running or setting up the game, please refer to USER MANUAL present as a launch option from Steam If you need further assistance please post it inV1.0 troubleshooting topic or email support@reizastudios.com (please allow for up to 1 business day for a reply).
Automobilista - Early 2017 Development Update
Hello everyone - happy to be back with our first Development Update of 2017!
We hope you all had a good time over the holidays - on our side I´m happy to say the whole team enjoyed some much needed rest over the holiday season, but we have been hard at work and firing on all cylinder again since early january. As usual it´s my pleasure to share with you some of the results, info and previews of the work we´ve been doing since then.
Automobilista going up to v1.5
We´re approaching the final stretch of Automobilista development, with only a few more months now planned until AMS reaches its definitive state, at which point we´ll switch focus 100% to the future.
The pace of development however is not slowing down - quite the contrary in fact. There are a number of nice improvements, big and small which we´ve been laying down the foundation for and will be pushing to deliver over these remaining months. Such is the extent of these developments, that the full sum of them is going to add up to what we´re calling Automobilista v1.5
We´ll be pushing to provide a full overview of these developments along with confirmation of remaining DLCs by our next development update. For now, here´s the stuff in the immediate horizon.
Upcoming V1.3.0 Release
Our next major milestone is v1.3.0 which we´re pushing to release before the end of this month, packing a lot of good stuff. Here´s a breakdown of the most substantial improvements:
On the audio front, having decided he wasn´t happy being just an ace audio engineer, @Domagoj Lovric began exploring the codebase for possible short-term improvements to add some extra depth to the audio experience in AMS. One of these improvements will be the implementation of reverb audio, the initial version of which will already be present in v1.3.0, with much more to come.
@Alex Sawczuk has also somehow managed to find a window in his fairly hectic track production schedule to squeeze some fresh shader improvements and adding support for visible & dynamic track dust. Although the effects of which already present in AMS along with offline marbles, there wasn´t yet a visible dust layer over the track surface. This has now been implemented.
Here is a comparison from v1.3.0 in various track states and also one from the current v1.2.1:
The difference looks subtle on screenshots but it adds some noticeable extra depth and life to the track surface while driving in-game. Some of the tracks have already been updated to use these developments so Season Pass owners will be able to check them out in the upcoming beta release expected for tomorrow morning, with most of the other tracks expected to be updated as we progress.
Several car physics have also received some updates for v1.30 as both @Niels Heusinkveld and myself continue to chase for improvements. One car in particular has received special attention as Niels has given the Boxer Cup physics a complete overhaul, with revised aerodynamics, chassis, and the addition of helper springs to the suspension, which substantially improves handling over curbs. The initial version of these revised physics is also coming up with the next Beta update.
One major new feature previously confirmed in our end of the year Dev Update was the Custom Season Tool - unfortunately it´s looking unlikely we´ll manage to complete the full feature in time for v1.3.0, but a number of associated new options & features should hopefully already be in, such as the option to enable a mid-race full course yellow as per the rules in the Formula Truck series, and ability to customize the number of opponent cars from each class in a multiclass event.
You may check a complete list of all the additions, improvements & fixes since the last v1.2.1 release up to the latest Beta in the changelog attatched.
We also have a new car coming up in the next release with the frisky Aussie Racing Car Camaro - further good news is that unlike originally predicted, this will be released as a free car to the base game and not as a DLC.
Here´s a preview of the 3D model which @Sandro Kholodkevich is exporting to the game as we speak:
Work on physics and audio has also been going on in parallell - count on this little motorcycle engine-powered bugger to be a big bucket of fun to drive :)
Legendary Tracks Pt2 - ADELAIDE
V1.30 will also see the release of part 2 of our "Legendary Tracks" DLC series - the famous Adelaide street circuit is coming up in two versions: the longer historical layout of 1988 which hosted the Australian GP from 1985 to 1995, the new modern version along with its Supertruck variant.
Below you can check some WIP previews of this great track:
I mentioned in the previous update how demanding street tracks are for the track team, with all the buildings and surroundings which have to be modelled in minute detail as you can see here:
The more advanced modern version should be hitting AMS Beta tomorrow, with the historical version is not far behind and expected to be available in the Beta at some point next week:
Both versions are extremely fun, flowing drives which will serve well pretty much any car in Automobilista, while also providing plenty of opportunity for close racing. We´ve been enjoying some great battles during our internal tests as can be seen in this short video showing a couple of laps of myself hunting down @Alex Sawczuk with F-Retros around the modern track:
https://youtu.be/kYvwH-s5HOQ
Virtual Xperience developments
@Dave Stephenson has also been hard at work developing our Virtual Xperience portal, and we´ve got a substantial update coming up along with the release of AMS v1.3.0.
Users will be able to login into VX using their Steam Account - this opens up opportunities to give a more personalised experience in the various areas of VX. In the first instance the settings page accessible from the top naviagation bar provides the much requested ability to override your display name and country flag, overriding the settings collected from Steam.
From this customizable user profile, other users will be able to check out your leaderboard results. Expect this profile to be beefed up with some more interesting info in the future :)
The new Community section will also be available in the next update, providing a one-stop-shop to find communities and leagues serving users of Automobilista and other Reiza titles based on regions served, languages used or days they host races. The league finder in this section will also provide a similar service for leagues so users may find leagues that based on race days, event frequency, or your favourite series.
Community leaders and league admin are invited to submit their information to the directory following the instructions in this topic - every league admin who submits a valid entry will be gifted 2 promo Steam keys for AMS to be given away for his participants.
With these and some other substantial improvements coming up, VX will soon be playing a bigger role in fulfilling the experience with AMS, including hosting some prize awarding competitions. Watch this space!
Last but not least...
But we´ll expand more on this and other interesting topics in our next dev update towards the end of march ;)~
We have our first AMS update of the year as v1.2.1 is now out - this is a hotfix to address the main issues reported since v1.2.0 release.
Main changelog for v1.2.1:
<*>Fixed various sound effect issues introduced in last build & fine tuned volume balancing of several effects in various cars
<*>Development of fog in shaders - fog density and distance now varies based on if user is looking at the sun or not
<*>Adjusted surface properties for all dirt tracks to minimize issues with FFB rattling
<*>Goiania: Fixed Short FTruck crash; minor texture updates
<*>Cadwell Park: Fixed terrain issue in upper park
<*>Removed exhaust smoke entries from FC Truck which had been accidentaly left in (will be added back when effects are finalized)
<*>Combined all F-Truck into the same class for VX classifications & split F-Dirt from Lancer X for the same purpose
<*>Karts: Added auto-clutch for direct drive karts; Adjusted tire slip curves; Callibrated AI for all kart series for better performance & hopefully fixed issue with karts occasionally tumbling over curbs
<*>Ultima GTR: Revised undertray aero for all versions & minor tire tweaks
<*>F-3: Minor tire adjustments
<*>F-Dirt: Revised tire model; Added community drivers; Fixed TV cameras
Automobilista v1.2.0 & Formula Truck DLC RELEASED!
https://youtu.be/N-1oDPciQD0
Automobilista v1.20 is now released! As promised, we have a nice little gift with the addition of the Formula Dirt series, along with the new Ascurra dirt circuit!
With v1.20 also is our third DLC for AMS, as FORMULA TRUCK is now also available for purchase here.
If you are interested in the other upcoming Automobilista DLCs however it is strongly recommended you check the AMS "Season Pass" for all upcoming DLCs (for those that already have the base game) and the bundle of AMS Base + Season Pass (including the base game).
Below is the Changelog for v1.20:
Content
Cars
Tracks:
Features & Fixes
OBS 1: Brief explanation of Formula Truck Speed Trap rule: every Formula Truck layout has a Speed Trap in a section of the track (usually the fastest, its location being indicated by the icon on its trackmap, by the flashing icon on top left corner as you approach it while driving, and by a line of cones trackside) through which drivers are supposed to cross going no faster than 160 km/h. Exceeding 160 km/h through the Speed Trap will result in lap being invalidated in practice / qual, or an instant drive-through penalty in races. Players may opt to switch the rule off from the Rules menu.
OBS 2: Formula Trucks chop off their 1st gear so it skips straight to 2nd; if you are using an H Shifter you start from 2nd, which is also very short. Typically on track you´ll only use 3rd-6th.
OBS 3: F-Truck diesel smoke from the exhaust is still being worked on and has not been implemented in this build
OBS 4: For those who are used to running short times races, you may have to adjust your AI settings as with fuel estimation fix they will be appropriately competitive now - consistent in fact with their practice / quali performance, as they were in lap-based races.
If you have a bug to report please use the new bug report thread (make sure to check the opening post first).
For any difficulties related to installing, running or setting up the game, please refer to USER MANUAL present as a launch option from Steam If you need further assistance please post it in V1.0 troubleshooting topic or email support@reizastudios.com (please allow for up to 1 business day for a reply).
Automobilista - End of Year Development Update
This is it then - our final dev update of 2016! We promised it was going to be a good one, so hopefully it lives up to that promise :)
It has been a long, hard but very fulfilling year for everyone at Reiza - we´ve brought out Automobilista in march and have been working very hard since to keep it growing and evolving throughout. We´re happy to say we´ve reached our main goals, though work is still to continue hard into the initial months of 2017 to fulfill its potential as we envisage it, before we finally wrap it up to shift focus to the longer term.
The next milestone for AMS is still to come before the year ends, as v1.20 and Formula Truck are still to be released at some point next week!
Here´s the summary then of the stuff we´ve been working on.
V1.20 highlights & Formula Truck DLC
We have nice developments coming for v1.20 - you can read through it on the changelog attached for the latest Beta updates since v1.1.6 release.
For the cars, one highlight is the filling up of the Caterham series from the Brit Pack to include some new variants from their motorsport ladder.
On the audio front, @Domagoj Lovric has done an extensive revision of several sound effects both on the code as well as the samples themselves - tire rolling / scrub / skid, wind noise, chassis scraping, to improve the organic interaction of these sound effects with the physics engine and hopefully provide both better feedback from the cars as well as increased immersion from the driving experience. There is some early WIP stuff already on Beta but the full results will be in the new beta build coming out later tonight.
We´ve also done some progress with AI, with further fine tuning in various fronts.@Luis Miguel has nailed an old bug where AI would not properly estimate fuel for timed races, taking much more fuel than they needed for the distance. If you´re used to running quick timed races then you may have to do some tweaking to your usual AI Strength, overall though performance should be a lot more consistent in that type of race.
As you know v1.20 will also bring a new DLC in the shape of Formula Truck , who we are happy to confirm will be officially added to Automobilista, fully revamped from the original game, prettier and meaner!
To begin with, as renewing the Formula Truck license has been a fairly late development we will deploy the same 2013 season we had in the official Formula Truck game; chances are good though we´ll expand on that with the new season as we move through 2017.
One of the custom Formula Truck features we´ve added for this release is the Speed Trap rule - every Formula Truck layout has a Speed Trap in a section of the track (usually the fastest, indicated by icon on its trackmap, a flashing icon on top left corner as you approach it while driving, and by a line of cones trackside) through which drivers are supposed to cross going no faster than 160 km/h. Exceeding 160 km/h through the Speed Trap will result in lap being invalidated in practice / qual, or an instant drive-through penalty in races. Players however retain the option to switch the rule off from the Rules menu.
We are currently still working on getting diesel smoking blowing from the exhausts to create some proper nasty virtual pollution - it probably won´t be quite ready for initial release but it should follow in the next update.
Formula Truck for Automobilista will sell for US$ 5.99, but will be free to everyone who already owned Formula Truck 2013 on Steam.
New Game Features
Recently we´ve conducted a poll among Reiza 51 members to gather which features they would most like to see us develop for Automobilista. While not all options were realistic in the short term, the idea was to gauge what users wanted most so we could factor not only into our remaining dev plan for Automobilista, but also longer term as we shift focus to the next title.
These were the results:
A few of these options are already in the works for Automobilista as previously alluded - one we can confirm to be in the pipeline is the Custom Season Tool for Championship Mode, which will allow users to design their own seasons, mix up classes, define points system along with a few more interesting new options which will also be available in other game modes.
We´re also intent on doing more work to AI behavior, rectify a few old issues and add a few new variants to get them to behave more realistically and provide a stiffer but fair challenge.
VX development
We have a new build coming up for our Virtual Xperience portal as well - @Dave Stephenson has been pushing hard to complete the new Community section to go along with our League Finder tool, providing a searchable directory of communities and leagues serving AMS users.
Our Time Trial of the Week challenges have been gaining momentum - we invite everyone to come participate and see how you measure up against the fast guys. Better get some practice in, as for next year we may be promoting some prize awarding challenges too :)
DLC Roadmap
Work is still going at full speed to develop the upcoming DLCs. There have been a few tweaks to the release plans, one of which being the switch in order for the upcoming Legendary Track packs coming up.
This is where we are going next:
Legendary Tracks Pt 2 - Adelaide
The famous Adelaide hosted many classic season finales as the Australian GP from 1985 to 1995, and is still run today for many popular aussie racing series, having retained a lot of the charm and unique challenges from the GP days.
In this (very early) preview of the mesh above, you get a sense of the workload involved in creating a street track such as this to modern standards - in order to deliver the full urban feel of the venue, @Alex Sawczuk, @ilya and the rest of the track team have to model a whole segment of the city neighborhood and roads adjacent to the ones used by the actual race track. Then we´ve got to fill these surroundings up with all the buildings and other trackside objects, which demands a solid 4 months worth of man-hours from the environment artists!
We´re confident this legendary track will be worth the effort and that will make a great place to race several existing as well some of the upcoming cars.
Adelaide will come in 2 versions - the longer historic 1988 layout as well as the modern 2016 track. Both versions are expected to hit beta some time in February with release following soon after.
Legendary Tracks Pt 3 - Hockenheim confirmed!
We´re happy to finally confirm the historic german Hockenheim Ring will also be coming to Automobilista!
The old Hockenheim was almost 8 kilometers long and became iconic for combining long winded flat-out sections through the forest, before rejoining the stadium section where massive crowds gathered created a football stadium atmosphere, enhancing historical moments such as this one:
https://youtu.be/mcJYKpcN00E
The shorter modern version has retained the stadium section and remains a great venue for close wheel-to-wheel racing for many of the major international series.
As with Adelaide and Imola before, the option for Hockenheim as a subject for the Legendary Track series derives from it combining many values - great relevance both in terms of historical heritage as well as presence in the modern autoracing scene, a natural venue for several of the series present in Automobilista, and an unique experience to complement the others already offered in the sim.
Hockenheim will receive same treatment as Imola, with the pack featuring the long version in its various guises from 1972, 1988 and 2001, along with the modern 2016 version. Work on the track is also already underway, and it´s estimated initial versions will hit Beta in March, with full release towards the end of April.
With all these tracks news one would be forgiven for getting the impression the car front is being neglected, but that would be wrong :p bigger news will have to wait a bit more however, hopefully as a topic for our first dev update of 2017.
For now, here´s a sample from our reference material to another new series currently in the works:
Christmas Surprise!
We have also found a bit of time to put together a neat christmas present to go along with v1.20 release.
It´s not related to anything we´d previously discussed - a small surprise gift as a thank you to everyone who has supported us this year. It´s a semi-fictional car inspired by a local series, and also comes with a nice bit of terrain for it and others of its breed to play around. It´s simple but from the heart as a brazilian expression goes, and great fun to boot :D
Obviously we won´t say or show what it is as that would spoil the surprise, but here´s a little teaser to get you guys guessing.
If someones guesses it right, gets to become a driver for the series in-game :)
Steam Holiday Sale
The full Reiza catalogue is on sale on Steam since yesterday, with up to 75% in discounts
So lots of good deals there to secure the contents of this dev update, along with all the others that have come before :)
With that we wrap this last dev update - not quite the last you´ll hear from us this year of course as work is still ongoing to deploy v1.20 & Formula Truck next week before we can finally shut up shop for a few days, rest up to come back blazing in 2017 :)
In any case I´d like to take the opportunity in name of the whole Reiza team to wish everyone happy holidays! Hope you all have a great time and hopefully find the time in between turkey bites and champagne sips to come enjoy some sim racing :)
Automobilista EA v1.1.6 Hotfix Released
Build v1.1.6 now up - a hotfix to address the main issues since the last release. If it works well it will go out to Release version shortly.
Main changelog:
Fixed potential online mismatches with Caterhams and MCR
Imola 1972: Adjusted AI paths
Imola 2001: Fixed start light sequence
Imola 2016: Adjusted astroturf run-off at the exit of Villeneuve
Kansai West: Removed collision from garages not building in pits; Fixed DQ when in first garage slot
F-Trainer: Fixed steering wheel axis alignment
MCR: Fixed bug with auto-downshifting
Ultima GTR: Further adjusted AI in road versions
All Reiza titles on Steam Sale!
Black Friday week is now on for the Steam sale covering all Reiza products - don´t miss it!
