Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Build 1.4.3 of the outstanding Automobilista racing simulation has been released today by Reiza Studios, adding some new content, plenty of fixes and... Steam Achievements!
Honestly Steam Achievements don't appeal to me personally, however it seems like this seemingly low profile element of the game has been widely craved by a large proportion of the sim racing community for several months now, and after a couple of unexpected delays the Brazilian development team have finally included the finished feature in Automobilista.
Other highlights to the build include a brand new rallycross layout for the DLC Hockenheim track, promised at the time of the Legendary Tracks DLC release but having needed a little more time until it could be added to the public build version of the title.
Of particular note should be the improvements made to the AI during qualification situations. Now Reiza have updated the game to ensure AI opponents take the appropriate amount of fuel during qualifying sessions offline, hopefully adding a more competitive experience when racing against the game in-between enjoying multiplayer racing events (sorry for the shameful plug..
).The AI improvements don't end with just qualifying fuel loads either. The developers appear to have spent considerable time working on making improvements to the way the artificial intelligence reacts when racing each other and the player in offline mode within Automobilista. Several areas of the AI have been addressed in this build and it will be interesting to see how this changes the dynamic between player and computer in racing situations.
The full build 1.4.3 change log can be seen below:
- Added Hockenheim RX layout (not compatible with DynHUD at the moment)
- Integrated initial batch of Steam Achievements (more info & related discussions here)
- Season Tool: Improved handling of errors related to reading of series/track images; All series vehicle filters are now added to seasons (these can be further limited/customised when starting the season in game)
- Radio Spotter: Audio files now cached in memory to try prevent stutters loading the files during gameplay on some systems
- Expanded track GDB tire compound parameters to set different compound restrictions for different series, and define which of the allowed compounds AI qualifies & start race on *
- Added AIRaceCompoundSwitch parameter to series files - if set to 1 AI is forced to switch to the next tire compound allowed in a tire stop (if set to 0 or not present AI will continue on the same default compound) **
- Made softest compound default for F-Extreme. F-Reiza, F-Ultimate
- DynHUD: Added option to switch Track Map state from stactic, rotating & off (CTRL + M switches between the states)
- Replaced tacho texture in native HUD
- Revised & expanded default championship calendars for several series
- Reduced pitlane speed limit in races from 100 km/h to 80 km/h in all GP layouts to match real rules
- Fine tuned drag effects for each car, correcting some previous exaggerated values
- Fixed F-Truck & ARC Camaro wrong ID for TT leaderboards
- Fixed bug that would cause excessive AI tire wear when TireManagement parameter wasn´t present in driver RCD file (now defaults to 80, 100 being default tire compound wear)
- Fixed bug in AI tire pitstop thresholds not working causing the AI to run tires to canvas
- Fixed bug that could cause AI to slow down too much in cool down lap after checkered flag
- Global AI adjustments: Slightly reduced qualifying performance gap vs race / slightly increased AI tendency to move out of the draft from car ahead; Adjusted AI reaction to be more combative when another is close by or side by side
- Fixed AI fuel slightly over fueling in qualifying (now AI does 3-4 lap runs and takes just enough fuel in between for the next run)
- Changed AI strategy for fixing damage in pits - now AI only fixes damage when wings are missing (no longer doing long pit stops for minor bodywork fixes)
- Further fine tuning of fuel consumption & estimates for several cars
- Reduced AI performance variation in Supertruck layouts
- Adjusted tire wear & degradation rates for all compounds in F-Ultimate, F-Extreme & F-Reiza
- Brands Hatch: Fixed safety car position in pit lane; Updated AI paths; updated curb textures
- Hockenheim: Disabled Safety Car for 77 & 88 layouts
- Karts: Adjusted POV to avoid clipping with driver model
- Caterham: Fixed missing driver arms in external view for 360R models
- Montana: Fixes to pitgroups & talent files
- Mini: Fixed Celtic teams missing vehicle IDs for Time Trial
- LancerX: Moved default brake bias forward; Fixed bug with driver arms in external cameras
- F-Ultimate: Adjusted steering wheel height; Increased DRS drag reduction; Increased tires´ pneumatic trail (should make FFB slightly stronger)
- F-Truck: Updated driver suits & Gloves
- F-V10: Updated driver suits & Gloves
- F-V12: fixed sound going mute between 4-5k RPM
- Ultima: Fixed graphics glitch in headlights from external cameras
- Superkart: corrected moving arms lodout distance
- F3: fixed steering wheels LODs of F301
- MCR: fixed rpm lights and LCD glass
- Marcas: Added missing talent files; Reduced AI skill range for more consistent performance
** In case of modern Formula series in default tracks, AI will start on softest compound available and switch to the next in range in a tire stop
Further info regarding above changes: for ex. F-Ultimate @ Montreal, AI will now qualify and start race in UltraSoft compound; since series has AIRaceCompoundSwitch=1, AI will then switch to SuperSoft if / when it stops for tires as per 2017 compound options & strategy; If it´s a F-Extreme race @ Montreal, AI will start on SuperSoft and switch to Softs as per 2015 compound options & strategy. If it´s tracks with no compound restrictions, AI will always run the softest compound and switch to the next up in tire stop. F-Classic will qualify on qualifying tires but will always race on C race compound; if it does a tire stop it will just switch to a new C set.
Series that don´t have multiple tire compounds and / or don´t feature in the track GDB will continue using the default compound as before. Mod tracks should be updated to use this latest syntax in order to feature compound restrictions.
Important note for Logitech G29 / G920 users: Support for auto rotation has been initially implemented on a dedicated Beta Branch labeled v1.4.3_G29. Further instructions as to how to switch to a beta branch here.
For the next release we hope to have it fully integrated into the main branch.
GENERAL NOTES:
If you have an online race tonight, you may stick to or revert to the previous v1.4.05 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 in the troubleshooting topic or email Steam Summer sale with great discounts - if you´re missing anything make sure to check them out!
Automobilista is a PC exclusive racing simulation from Reiza Studios, available to purchase from Steam.
Don't forget to check out the Automobilista sub forum here at RaceDepartment to keep abreast of the latest news and discussions with regards to the simulation. We have a massive mod database where you can check out and download a selection of cars, tracks, skins, apps and other such third party content, plus of course we host some incredible club racing events on a regular weekly basis. If you want to become involved in the action yourself, check out the Automobilista Racing Clubs and Leagues sub forum and sign yourself up to a race today!
Have you had the chance to try out the new update yet? What do you think of the sim post 1.4.3 update? Let us know in the comments section below!
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