Automobilista development is in its final stages, which makes it not any way near less important. As a result, version 1.4.5 of Automobilista is quite significant. A new track, a new series and many improvements to the AI and existing content have been added – it is a big one.
New cars
Every Automobilista owner will receive the Stock Car Brasil 2017 series free of charge. Whilst it may be rather unknown around the world, the Campeonato Brasileiro de Stock Car is one of South America’s biggest touring car series and is part of what makes Automobilista so special. Even a trailer for the series was provided and you can view it above.
Tracks
Two layouts of the Curvelo circuit have made their way into Automobilista as well. A 4.4 km long road course located in Brazil, Reiza Studios’ home country. The track is also part of the Stock Car Brasil series’ schedule and yes, it is free too!
But there is more. Older tracks’ road and terrain textures have been update and now meet Reiza’s current standards. Affected tracks are Cadwell Park, Brands Hatch, Imola, VIR, Curitiba, Cascavel, Kansai, Velocittá, Taruma, Goiania, Spielberg, Santa Cruz, Guaporé, Londrina and Interlagos.
Here are some impressions:
AI
Reiza already talked about improving the AI in past Development Updates. It seems that its work has now paid off. Version 1.4.5 adds very dramatic improvements to its artificial intelligence. For example, AI is now always looking for a way to pass, no more backing off. It will also carefully calculate the risks of a overtake and will consider different lines in a turn. Furthermore, it is now also affected by dirt on its tyres and will react accordingly.
Changelog
Here is the full changelog for version 1.4.5 of Automobilista:
CONTENT
- Added Curvelo circuit (“A” & “B” layouts)
- Added Stock Car Brasil 2017 series
UPDATES & FIXES
- Revised AI overtaking risk calculations – AI now constantly looks for a way past a slower car ahead (no longer backs off overtakes) *
- Revised & Expanded Push-to-Pass functionality, simulating Stock Car 2017 season (including windshield lights indicating activation / availability)
- AI now also uses P2P to overtake / defend from opponents
- Added new car-specific AI risk calculation parameters for overtaking – AI now factors corner radius ahead to decide whether to try switch lines to overtake
- Added new AI function to prevent AI car from trying to rejoin the track after a spin until there is no oncoming traffic
- AI now affected by grass / gravel grip levels & dirt on tires (it will lift a bit until tires are clean again)
- Added new controller damping sliders & presets for better keyboard & gamepad control **
- Moved camera settings to DISPLAY UI screen, & added a “Lock to Horizon” slider (where 0% is pre-v1.4 setting, and 100% is latest setting)
- Added Garage UI warning message for series in which race refuelling is not allowed, & disabled HUD pit menu fuel adjustment for those series ***
- Several minor UI fixes & adjustments
- Adjusted audio occlusion, low pass & wind filters
- Adjusted AI drafting, slip reaction, aggression levels
- Changed default cockpit FOV from 50 to 45 degrees
- Adjusted traction control functionality (as a driving aid)
- Added PLR file setting to disable track scoreboards (known to cause some issues in live streaming)
- Track state regression between sessions & overnight reduced from 2% & 10% respectively to 1% & 5%
- Corrected excessive fuel consumption in Caterhams, MCR, Marcas, Lancers
- Updated sunrise/sunset lighting values for all tracks
- Updated Cadwell, Brands, Imola, VIR, Curitiba. Cascavel, Kansai, Velocittá, Taruma, Goiania, Spielberg, Santa Cruz, Guaporé, Londrina, Interlagos terrain & road textures to latest quality standard
- Minor road & curb updates at Curitiba, Tarumã, Goiania, Santa Cruz, Londrina, Interlagos to match their 2017 layouts
- Fixed F-Ultimate tire options for Interlagos, Kansai
- Karts: Fixed handling-breaking suspension bug from last hotfix
- MCR: Fixed RPM LEDs not working in left-hand driver side
- Camaro: Added 2017 Stock Car Safety Car skin
* For this build Medium aggression is generally recommended for best AI racing; higher settings may be suitable for tin tops in which more bumping & rubbing is acceptable; Low aggression disables all new risk bypassing functions and effectively reverts to their pre v1.4.5 behavior with regards to overtaking.
** Users of digital inputs should review their settings for steering, throttle and brake rates.
*** All cars / tracks still allows race refuelling for all classes, so users looking to get around series refuelling rules should use that for both single & multiplayer races (be advised that AI fuel strategy for longer races may not be ideal).
Important note for Logitech G29 / G920 users: Support for auto rotation is still on a dedicated Beta Branch labeled v1.4.5_G29. Further instructions as to how to switch to a beta branch here.
GENERAL NOTES:
If you have an online race tonight, you may stick to or revert to the previous v1.4.32 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.