Automobilista 2 and Steam Sale DLC Questions

[FriendOfJah]

Hi Folks,

I'm new to this program and see that its on sale at Steam for 50% off at $19.99. I mainly interested in getting it to run the new Racin USA Pack for the GTE cars as reviewed by Mike at Simracing604.
I had some newbie questions about their many DLCs.

Here's the current DLC listing on Steam:
Automobilista 2 2020-2022 Season Pass - 20% off at $79.99
Automobilista 2 - Hockenheimring Pack - 75% off at $2.49
Automobilista 2 - Silverstone Pack - 50% off at $4.99
Automobilista 2 - Nurburgring Pack - 50% off at $4.99
Automobilista 2 - Spa Pack - 50% off at $4.99
Automobilista 2 Premium Track Pack - 50% off at $19.99
Automobilista 2 - Racin´ USA Pack Pt1 - $14.99
Automobilista 2 - Racin´ USA Full Expansion Pack - $39.99
Automobilista 2 Premium Expansion Packs - $69.99

Here's my questions:
1. After I get the base game, what do I need for racing the GTE cars at Daytona? The Automobilista 2 - Racin´ USA Pack Pt1 or the Automobilista 2 - Racin´ USA Full Expansion Pack? What's the difference between the two?

2. What's the difference between the Automobilista 2 2020-2022 Season Pass and purchasing all of the 4 seperate track packs on sale?

3. Does the Automobilista 2 Premium Expansion Packs include all of the other DLCs combined?

Thanks in advance for any and all help and assistance provided. May the force be with you.

Cheers!

Roger

 

[rmagid1010]

1.) Racin' USA has three parts;

1. Part 1 (the sportscar pack, which has GTE/DPI)
2. Part 2 (American open wheelers, which may include indy/CART content)
3. Part 3 (Oval racing)

Part 1 is what you need to drive the GTE, but purchasing only part 1 will not give you future American content. Buying the full Racin' USA pack will give you all three parts.

2.) The Season pass includes;

​

1. The European 'Premium Track Pack' (which features the 6 European track DLC). You dont need this DLC to race these tracks online, but you do if you want to race Hockenheim, Silverstone, Spa, Nurburgring or Monza offline. I wouldn't purchase these tracks individually as its poor value for money relative to the complete pack.
2. The full Racin' USA pack including all 3 parts
3. All future DLC, which includes a historic track pack, the 'Brazilian Grand Prix Legends' pack, the street supercars DLC and the Adrenaline off-road DLC.

This is the best value for money for DLC content, but is a steep initial price.

3.) The premium expansion pack is meant for people who purchased the Premium Track Pack but didnt purchase the season pass.

One other note is that the GTE are only one class upon many classes in this game. Many of the classes and series that you may not have heard of will be deserving of your attention. There is a much fun to driving GTE at Daytona as driving Brazilian Stock Cars at Velo Citta, copa classics at Londrina or the multitude of historic F1 cars of every era (and historic f1 tracks for them to be driven at).

 

[FriendOfJah]

1.) Racin' USA has three parts;

1. Part 1 (the sportscar pack, which has GTE/DPI)
2. Part 2 (American open wheelers, which may include indy/CART content)
3. Part 3 (Oval racing)

Part 1 is what you need to drive the GTE, but purchasing only part 1 will not give you future American content. Buying the full Racin' USA pack will give you all three parts.

2.) The Season pass includes;

​

1. The European 'Premium Track Pack' (which features the 6 European track DLC). You dont need this DLC to race these tracks online, but you do if you want to race Hockenheim, Silverstone, Spa, Nurburgring or Monza offline. I wouldn't purchase these tracks individually as its poor value for money relative to the complete pack.
2. The full Racin' USA pack including all 3 parts
3. All future DLC, which includes a historic track pack, the 'Brazilian Grand Prix Legends' pack, the street supercars DLC and the Adrenaline off-road DLC.

This is the best value for money for DLC content, but is a steep initial price.

3.) The premium expansion pack is meant for people who purchased the Premium Track Pack but didnt purchase the season pass.

One other note is that the GTE are only one class upon many classes in this game. Many of the classes and series that you may not have heard of will be deserving of your attention. There is a much fun to driving GTE at Daytona as driving Brazilian Stock Cars at Velo Citta, copa classics at Londrina or the multitude of historic F1 cars of every era (and historic f1 tracks for them to be driven at).

Hi rmagid1010,

Thanks so very much for the great reply and helpful information about these DLC's. I would really love to get the Automobilista 2 Premium Expansion Packs, but at $69.99, that's just a bit too steep for me. I currently own Assetto Corsa Ultimate Edition and Assetto Corsa Competizione with all of the DLC's and Project Cars 2 with all the DLC's. My wife wouldn't be happy with me to say the least if I got that DLC too.

I mainly want the cars in the Automobilista 2 - Racin´ USA Full Expansion Pack, so I'll probably pick that up. Does the base Automobilista 2 come with the full latest updated Nordschleife track? I would love that track too and maybe they'll get Watkins Glen and Sanoma someday.

Roger

 

[rmagid1010]

Hi rmagid1010,

Thanks so very much for the great reply and helpful information about these DLC's. I would really love to get the Automobilista 2 Premium Expansion Packs, but at $69.99, that's just a bit too steep for me. I currently own Assetto Corsa Ultimate Edition and Assetto Corsa Competizione with all of the DLC's and Project Cars 2 with all the DLC's. My wife wouldn't be happy with me to say the least if I got that DLC too.

I mainly want the cars in the Automobilista 2 - Racin´ USA Full Expansion Pack, so I'll probably pick that up. Does the base Automobilista 2 come with the full latest updated Nordschleife track? I would love that track too and maybe they'll get Watkins Glen and Sanoma someday.

Roger

I would recommend the that you purchase the Premium Track pass and Racin USA. The Base game doesnt come with Nordschleife. I'm not privy to which American tracks are coming, but personally I would put money on Watkins Glen to be one of them so get the full Racin USA pack as well

 

[FriendOfJah]

I would recommend the that you purchase the Premium Track pass and Racin USA. The Base game doesnt come with Nordschleife. I'm not privy to which American tracks are coming, but personally I would put money on Watkins Glen to be one of them so get the full Racin USA pack as well

Thanks so much for your latest reply, I appreciate it. So just so I’m not misunderstanding you, you would recommend that I purchase the following two add on’s:

Automobilista 2 Premium Track Pack - 50% off at $19.99
Automobilista 2 - Racin´ USA Full Expansion Pack - $39.99

Am I correct? Please let me know, thanks again. I do hope that they get Watkins Glen someday. I’ve been up to the track. I was watching the IMSA race there yesterday on and off. They had 5 car classes all racing at the same time! I would love to see that simulated.

Roger

 

[v4v474]

I would recommend trying to test AMS2 on someone else’s system. AMS2 is more on the arcadey side of serious simracing (if you understand what I mean), as quite a few of its cars - to me - feel like they have a lot more downforce than they should. And this is uneven within the same class, with cars feeling much better than others.
Mike is a really nice guy and I have followed him for a while, but his good heart makes him take off the “critical hat” that sometimes is needed. It’s true that AMS2 has steadily improved and that there are reasons to think it will continue to, however, it’s not guaranteed that you will like it.

 

[rmagid1010]

Thanks so much for your latest reply, I appreciate it. So just so I’m not misunderstanding you, you would recommend that I purchase the following two add on’s:

Automobilista 2 Premium Track Pack - 50% off at $19.99
Automobilista 2 - Racin´ USA Full Expansion Pack - $39.99

Am I correct? Please let me know, thanks again. I do hope that they get Watkins Glen someday. I’ve been up to the track. I was watching the IMSA race there yesterday on and off. They had 5 car classes all racing at the same time! I would love to see that simulated.

Roger

This is correct. I also highly disagree with everything v4v474 has said, as there is nothing arcade about AMS2.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Not arcade per se but definitely more on simplified simcade side of the spectrum if you come after something like ACC.
Check out Ermin's video starting 16:27, while it's based on earlier version of AMS2 most of the things he mentioned are still there, and not even sure are fully fixable with this engine even that Reiza is trying its best.
Not to say it can't be fun, but that wears off pretty quickly, just like Forza Motorsport.

 

[reshaderacer]

Good post, Andrew. I totally agree. Its not very good. Oh better not use the truth-word "simcade" because steelcast 27 will turn up and get huffy at us.

Even though it is simcade. Unequivocally. And its engine limits. Why else would the studio make every title of the madness engine like a simcade? They DID try with project cars 1 and 2 to change that and the engine changes or additions during that time; so they did try but during development they knew it could not be done. Rather than throw the 'engine' simcade as it is in the bin, they decided to at least try to get some revenue from it.

Then Reiza turned up. They plodded round with it for a couple of years but were (unsurprisingly) unable to change that - but remember they did need an engine to use... walked right into it - or actually knew it - but at least they get to play with a gaming-car-engine. But the engine is still simcade. Can't escape it - you can't make those arrays, values, and a bunch of if/then's lol do something different. Hey, its a dirty word to him and others, but the reality is, its just a word.

This is an engine that was originally developed to make such titles like arcade sims. Its not a mistake. They just tried to repurpose it (twice).

It also means its not a good game as well because of these things, but hey. It could change (5%) but in all likelihood probably won't (95%). Remember that SMS has about 150 devs - engine didn't change.

I think its important to remember, at this stage, because it is like it is, and they are charging so much for it, to remember that they are trying to sell something that is not a sim, to a sim audience, just remember that, and do it without flinching, in a bald-face manner, and not even a hint of a raised eyebrow or grin. The 'sim" audience is the only one that will listen - the game couldn't compete over with all the more fun sim-arcade titles, it would never in 1 million years compete - so they must angle it toward us. A shame.

 

[FriendOfJah]

Hi Guys. Thanks so much for all of your feedback, both positive and negative for this program.

I decided that I best try this program out on the track before getting any of the DLC's.

The first thing I noticed, there's no native Track IR support. Oh that's right, this game is based on the Project Cars 2 engine. So I went online and found out how to put the game in to VR mode and switched to the Helmet cam view. This is a complete disappoinment as the view does not alow you to see the HUD fully even though the Track IR is now working. - Strike 1

I then picked a GT3 car (McLaren) and Bathhurst as the track. Within 5 laps I beat my best time in ACC with no setup changes whatsover. Really, I'm that good of a driver now? I don't think so. - Strike 2

I then watched a replay of my test session. Even with all of the graphics options on their highest Ultra settings, it isn't even in the same zip code as a program like ACC. The graphics seem to be very outdated. - Strike 3

I guess I'll keep this program for the occasional difference of cars and tracks that are not in either AC or ACC, but I won't be purchasing any of the DLC's. This is really a nice game but in my opinion it is not a true racing simulation like ACC and it also doesn't take advantage of my high end graphics card that my Gaming PC has. Oh well...Lesson learned.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Yes, TrackIR still doesn't work except launching in VR mode that automatically launches SteamVR even with HMD disconnected. I highly doubt that will be addressed as SMS themselves just let it slip and they were creators of the engine, but who knows Reiza may surprise us after all and fix what Ian and Co couldn't or didn't want to.

 

[Wolfzz]

So if I'm correct if I buy the Automobilista 2 2020-2022 Season Pass this would cover every DLC incl the USA Pack and future Updated DLC's and even Premium Expansion Packs?
Thanks

 

[v4v474]

So if I'm correct if I buy the Automobilista 2 2020-2022 Season Pass this would cover every DLC incl the USA Pack and future Updated DLC's and even Premium Expansion Packs?
Thanks

I believe so, yes.

 

[v4v474]

Hi Guys. Thanks so much for all of your feedback, both positive and negative for this program.

I decided that I best try this program out on the track before getting any of the DLC's.

The first thing I noticed, there's no native Track IR support. Oh that's right, this game is based on the Project Cars 2 engine. So I went online and found out how to put the game in to VR mode and switched to the Helmet cam view. This is a complete disappoinment as the view does not alow you to see the HUD fully even though the Track IR is now working. - Strike 1

I then picked a GT3 car (McLaren) and Bathhurst as the track. Within 5 laps I beat my best time in ACC with no setup changes whatsover. Really, I'm that good of a driver now? I don't think so. - Strike 2

I then watched a replay of my test session. Even with all of the graphics options on their highest Ultra settings, it isn't even in the same zip code as a program like ACC. The graphics seem to be very outdated. - Strike 3

I guess I'll keep this program for the occasional difference of cars and tracks that are not in either AC or ACC, but I won't be purchasing any of the DLC's. This is really a nice game but in my opinion it is not a true racing simulation like ACC and it also doesn't take advantage of my high end graphics card that my Gaming PC has. Oh well...Lesson learned.

Well, I am glad that you considered the negative opinions too as the simracing landscape is populated with fanboys (of all types). I, myself, am a fan of RF2, so I feel that the driving experience on AMS2 is odd and wanted to convey you a dissenting view before you committed more €€€*.

Note, as I said, the driving feel will change dramatically even within the same class. For instance on GT3 cars, from memory, the 911 GT3 R felt quite decent.

On the GTEs which come on the America pack, both the 911 RSR GTE and the BMW M8 GTE feel waaaaaaay to glued to the track, whilst the C8R Vette feels more natural and light on its feet. The DPi also feels odd, in my opinion.

So far and so forth. Within the cars which are worthwhile driving on AMS2 is, for instance, the old saloons Opala, which drive quite natural.

Finally, as for the graphics, I actually believe that in some circumstances AMS2 has great graphics, but normally not at "peak sun" hours with clear sky. This is why you see a lot of YT videos either in the early morning or late afternoon or with extremely variable weather, where AMS2 really shines.

My advice will be for you to continue to revisit AMS2 from time to time to check progress, just like I do.

Finally, you might also find useful using a Custom FFB profile (latest is called rFuktor) as that also improves the driving feel on most cars.

* Again, rF2 fan here - if you want to drive the Caddy Dpi, the Acura or Mazda Dpi (all 3 available as very good free mods - with the Caddy and all the GTEs available as DLC) in SOME of the best American tracks which can also be had for free (this does not include Long Beach as the existing mod is horrid), you could try rF2 which, on sale, is dirt cheap (€12.00).

Many will say that rF2 will have lesser impressive graphics and that can be true, but, as it also happens with AMS2, you can use Reshade to change the colour balance and quickly transform how the game looks.

 

[chas1723]

The things I find disappointing with AMS2 is the lack of cars in each class. 4 gt3 cars is a very thin lineup. Same with other classes. Limited amount of liveries per vehicle. Some only allow 3 or 4. Third is the fact tha understeer seems to be non existent. I can fling a car into a corner and hammer on the gas and power through the turn. Very simcade in my books.

 

[reshaderacer]

another month and more improvements but still a ways to go.

The things I find disappointing with AMS2 is the lack of cars in each class. 4 gt3 cars is a very thin lineup. Same with other classes. Limited amount of liveries per vehicle. Some only allow 3 or 4. Third is the fact tha understeer seems to be non existent. I can fling a car into a corner and hammer on the gas and power through the turn. Very simcade in my books.

agree. its almost too much or too little. i want the game to do well but it would seem there are many more months ahead of the title. and as became apparent recently with all the talk and boost in AC that we hear about other sims keep developing. Raceroom knocked it out the park too.

i want this game to do well but its going to be a wait, and plenty of sims exist. it is my simple guess that where before it had more nuance to the driving they had strip some of that out with the new models of driving they use. the title is very much a test bed.

this all makes it difficult to play AMS2 when race room is so good now and Assetto Corsa is so good. top 50 cars from simracer604 and top tracks. literally on this very web site one can even get the free mods, and pay for others. this makes the slog AMS2 must endure all the harder. Not impossible and it gives the guys there a job. of course I am not saying boo-hoo to it, its just an on going development or a stretched one