Automobilista 2 (2020) - Every PC F1 Game
7Automobilista 2 by Reiza Studios, 2020.
When Reiza announced they were switching from the rFactor-based engine of Automobilista to Slightly Mad Studios Madness Engine, many were sceptical. For certain it allowed many new features like improved rain/weather, time-of-day and rather tasty looking graphics, but the Project CARS games were, how shall we put it, not quite as high end simulation as they were said to be!
Over the years since it's release, Reiza have constantly been tinkering, adding amazing new content and trying to smooth over the rough edges of the engine. But I still feel driving it, that it's not quite on par with their first game, as the engine can just do things a bit weirdly sometimes.
However, it looks great, sounds good, and their licensing was able to dip into the content of the Project CARS games it seems, with many circuits not present in the first Automobilista game. Car-wise it's still a mixed bag, with a heavy focus on their native Brazilian championships, but an equally heavy leaning towards classic F1 content, with real and generic cars spanning years of F1 seasons. There's something for everyone, as long as you don't mind stand-in liveries (or modding the game!).
Let's see how my captures went, anyway...
1. Race Start (Monza): 0:00 The car always seems a bit tricky to get off the line, this is their semi-fictional Formula Ultimate car. Computer controlled cars are good, but the bouncing over the kerbs seems a bit overstated! They'f have broken suspension from that sort of ride!
2. Spray Effects (Silverstone): 0:35 Rain is as good as the Project CARS games, with heavy spray you can barely see through! The lightning effect is a bit muted though, coming across as a flash that only affects the drivers' helmets. I'm not sure if spray only activates close to the camera, or if on Silverstone this part of the track nearest the camera was a lot wetter... this car is the Formula Reiza one, styled before the "halo" was added.
3. Tunnel & View (Monaco): 0:53 A real-life McLaren! And, unlike the Codemasters' F1 games, the fake sky/water boarding is present, before the tunnel (I think they're doing work on a man-made island that they wanted to hide!).
4. Wet Track (Spa-Francorchamps): 1:10 Formula Reiza car again here; at slow speed, driving in the rain is tricky, but when you're up-to-speed, even Eau Rouge/Raidillon is a bit too easy!
5. Pitstop (Interlagos): 1:31 Pitstops don't have many people! They also seem to take quite a long time for a missing front wing (and possibly suspension damage) so I sped it up (as 2 minutes 48 is a long time to sit waiting!). This car is the Formula V12 car, as it has a color scheme quite like the 1991 Jordan :-)
6. Huge Crash (Montreal): 1:55 Crashes are where it feels most like the Project CARS games... the cars flip and roll spectacularly, but damage seems a bit hit-and-miss, and the car can often "stick" to the ground, as though it's dug in (even on tarmac) and stop rolling suddenly. Physics can be a bit wonky; check out the car mating season at the end!
This is part of the Every PC F1 Game playlist, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYDobL0b26uiiYP8KdN3AwQmsu7ilzpxL