(MST/Speedmaniacs.de) - Etwas mehr als zwei Wochen befindet sich Automobilista 2 nun in der Early-Access-Phase die den Weg zur Releaseversion 1.0 bereiten soll. Ursprünglich geplant war, dass AMS2 "zwischen April und Mai" den V1.0-Status erreicht.

Inzwischen spricht Renato Simioni von Reiza Studios von mindestens 8 Wochen Feinschliffphase und behält der Rennsimulation eine Extrarunde vor, "um sicherzustellen, dass Automobilista 2 V1.0 so ausgewogen und vollständig ist, wie es in diesem Zeitfenster machbar ist".

Das bedeutet, dass sich der Release auch noch einmal nach hinten verschieben könnte. Für AMS2 Beta-Teilnehmer und alle Simracer die sich die Early-Access-Version zugelegt haben, stellt dies aber kein Problem dar. In den kommenden Wochen soll es "von jetzt an bis zum Ende der Early Access jede Woche Updates" geben.

Dabei wird man zuerst die AMS2 Beta "am Mittwoch- oder Donnerstagabend" mit der neuesten Version und den damit verbundenen Verbesserungen, Neuerungen und Änderungen bedienen. Voraugesetzt, dass das neue Build keine schwerwiegenden Probleme bereitet, soll dann der Early Access-Kanal "spätestens am Freitag- oder Samstagmorgen" mit der aktuellen Version versorgt werden.

 

Zum offiziellen Release soll die Rennsimulation auch in lokalisierter Form in den Sprachen Deutsch, Französisch, Spanisch und Portugiesisch vorliegen. Bis dahin dürfen sich die Simracer auf eine ganze Reihe an Erweiterungen einstellen die in der nachstehenden Übersicht aufgeführt sind.

Darüber hinaus sollen andere das Spiel und die Simulation betreffende Features und Bereiche, explizit genannt werden das Wettersystem, Livetrack-Voreinstellungen, Replaysystem, Multiplayerressourcen, hinzugefügt und ausgebaut werden. Dies ist aber erst nach Version 1.0 realistisch betrachtet zu erwarten.

"Wir hoffen, dass wir ein klareres Bild von den kurzfristigen Entwicklungszielen für AMS2 innerhalb der Early-Access-Phase vermitteln konnten und halten euch dazu auf dem Laufenden", schließt Simioni in der Hoffnung, dass die Unklarheiten, die es offensichtlich gegeben hat, nun ausgeräumt sind.

Automobilista 2 - aktualisierter Early Access-Plan:
GAME MODES
The two currently disabled game modes will become available over the course of Early Access. TIME TRIAL will be the first to come, hopefully before the end of the month.

 
-CHAMPIONSHIP mode will be limited to official series featuring in the game, such as Stock Car Brasil, Copa Truck, Formula Vee and Sprint Race.

While it is unlikely we will also manage to complete the Custom Championship System over the course of Early Access, this remains an important feature which should hopefully follow not too far beyond v1.0.

A career mode is also planned but as a longer term project.

MULTIPLAYER FEATURES
Two common requested features for multiplayer should be integrated during Early Access:
-Multiplayer Rating System
-Dedicated Server Tool

SIMULATION FEATURES
These are the features that have a substantial role in the simulated series currently in the game which we plan to add support for over the course of Early Access:
-DRS
-KERS
-Push-to-Pass
-Copa Truck Speed Trap

CONTENT
The following SERIES are already confirmed to be added over the course Early Access:
-Opala Stock Cars 1979 and 1986 (Classic Stock Car Brazil series)
-Omega Stock Car 1999 (Classic Stock Car Brazil series)
-Copa Montana

-Besides these, there are at least 4 MORE UNIQUE CLASSES adding a minimal of 10 NEW CAR MODELS in the works to be added to the Game over Early Access or shortly after - these are mostly content that have not yet been officially announced yet so can´t expand on the details just yet, but you may look forward to a fairly packed Dev Update later this month :)

The following brand new RACE TRACKS will be added over the course of Early Access:
-Kyalami 2020
-Estoril 2020

The following KART TRACKS from AMS1 are being revamped and are also expected to be added to AMS2 over the course of Early Access:
-Interlagos 2020
-Granja Viana 2020

A few more of the remaining AMS1 favorites will be upgraded and added to AMS2 over its shelf-life, but these will have to wait for after v1.0 release.

UI and HUD
-Both UI and HUD will be actively developed over the course of EA, with new resources and options being added as well as fine tuning and expanding what is already there.

For the UI, the main additions planned for EA are:
-Saved Replay page
-Driver Profile page
-FFB multiplier per car in Set-up page

On the HUD front you may expect the following developments to hit the game soon:
-Customizable HUD
-Telemetry HUD page
-Input and FFB meters

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS and FIXES
Every front of the game will remain under active development and receive substantial upgrades over the course of Early Acccess. Below is a breakdown with a few highlights you may reliably expect to see in this period:
-General art standards are still under constant development and you may expect UPDATED SHADERS and TEXTURES for cars and tracks to gradually make its way in over the weekly builds, adding that little bit extra to the visual experience;
-3D ANIMATIONS are obviously still very limited in AMS2 as we have continued to struggle with the exporting process for these assets in the new engine, and as consequence driver animations are still adapted SMS assets used as placeholders, and cars generally miss their animated wipers, suspension, animated damaged parts as well as vibrating parts, while trackside environment generally are still missing life - all of these will be addressed over the course of Early Acess;
-CAMERA CINEMATICS, specially for trackside cameras are mostly baseline conversions from the original AMS1 sets, and will be gradually revised to make best of use of the extra resources of the new engine;
-The Reiza / Automobilista 2 logos that populate the TRACKSIDE ADS are placeholders which will be replaced by both actual and accurate advertising;
-The generic DRIVER NAMES / SUITS / HELMETS will be fully customized per series, including series with real drivers;
-The fictional CAR LIVERIES, many of which are still basic 4k upscales of their AMS1 counterparts are in process of being revised and upgraded to be more life-like - all fictional series that haven´t already received this upgrade will be revised in time for v1.0, and we will also be adding Community Liveries selected from applications of Early Backers over this period.
-On a similar topic, ability to fully CUSTOMIZE CAR LIVERIES AND CREATE CUSTOM CARSETS is high on our priority list - no definitive timeline for this yet but we hope to manage it while still in Early Access.
-On the AUDIO front, there will be refinements and updates to engine sounds, and further developments to the audio engine, aiming mainly to maximise the racing environment outside the cockpit.
-PHYSICS and FFB are in constant process of evolution, and FFB in particular will receive some further developments and customization options in upcoming builds.
-AI DEVELOPMENT is one of our core priorities for AMS2 - besides the ongoing work to improve their behavior and consistency, we will also be working on their performance issues over the 1st lap and improve their strategical decision making.
-The various COLLISION ISSUES with open wheelers and with Trucks spawning on pit garages they don´t fit in are in process of being resolved; we are also investigating reports of car-to-car collisions in Multiplayer and ways to mitigate the excessive friction riding along walls and armco;
-Finally User Interface LOCALIZATION for FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH and PORTUGUESE languages will be added in time for v1.0 release, with Italian and Chinese to follow next.