When it starts to rain, a race can change in an instant. Sim racers are often used to mostly dry conditions, but have to face the tricky task of navigating a circuit with considerably less grip once the heavens open up. The simulation of a correct wet line has been lacking in simulations thus far, however - but Automobilista 2 might change this in the future.
For most sims, rainy conditions mostly mean reduced grip and puddles in key places, which some titles generate in fixed positions while others accurately calculate them depending on the state of the track. What is not really taken into account is the behavior of cars on what would be the racing line in the dry - real-world racers would tend to avoid that when a session transitions from dry to wet.
The reason is simple: Over time, cars lay down tire rubber on the racing line in the dry, increasing its grip. Once it starts raining, this rubbered-in line starts to become more slippery, so drivers stick to a wet line until all the rubber is washed away and the previous line becomes less treacherous.
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AMS2 uses the Madness Engine and its Live Track system, meaning the state of a circuit changes accurately through calculations rather than baked-in effects. An update to the tire physics is in the works for v1.5 and due to be released in late June - so some patience is needed to find out if this feature is going to be part of this update already.
For most sims, rainy conditions mostly mean reduced grip and puddles in key places, which some titles generate in fixed positions while others accurately calculate them depending on the state of the track. What is not really taken into account is the behavior of cars on what would be the racing line in the dry - real-world racers would tend to avoid that when a session transitions from dry to wet.
The reason is simple: Over time, cars lay down tire rubber on the racing line in the dry, increasing its grip. Once it starts raining, this rubbered-in line starts to become more slippery, so drivers stick to a wet line until all the rubber is washed away and the previous line becomes less treacherous.
Simioni Teases New Feature
This is something sim racers might have to take into account in Automobilista 2 soon: A discussion on the Reiza Studios forums about this topic prompted Lead Developer Renato Simioni to answer a question regarding the lack of grip on a wet racing line as follows: "Reduced grip on racing line rubber when wt is not currently simulated in AMS2. Emphasis on "currently"".AMS2 uses the Madness Engine and its Live Track system, meaning the state of a circuit changes accurately through calculations rather than baked-in effects. An update to the tire physics is in the works for v1.5 and due to be released in late June - so some patience is needed to find out if this feature is going to be part of this update already.
