I've had enough
Today is the day I am uninstalling F1 24 (and its predecessors).
Why? If you look at the mood in this forum, it quickly becomes clear why. EA has disappointed us once again for many years. Their glossy pre-release videos promise the blue sky. But when the game arrives, everything disappears into thin air. Even worse: attempts to save what can still be saved with patches make the situation even worse in many areas. EA/CM seem unable or unwilling to deliver even a halfway decent product. They are simply not interested. For years! You all know the annoying bugs that have plagued the series for several versions. Some of them would be so easy to solve - but nobody does. But still the price is in the highest category. EA/CM has no passion for F1 and for this game. It's just one of the money making things in their portfolio. If they could make more money with a balloon figure simulator they would do that instead.
In the last few weeks I've found an alternative: Automobilista 2. I was skeptical at first, as there are divided opinions here and it's not a pure F1 simulator (and I'm really only interested in F1 Sim). The first few hours with it were correspondingly sobering. I had the feeling that I couldn't place the car on the track the way I was used to. Before every corner I would get a wheel in the grass and crash out. I had the feeling that the steering was less precise than in the F1 series. The FFB was also strange. Oh, how wrong I was! The F1 series has good settings right from the start, but there's not much to change here. AMS2 is different. After adjusting my FFB and other settings based on tips from the Reiza forum, it was a revelation. This is exactly how it should feel! It was almost as if I had only just experienced FFB (I haven't, I have a history with iRacing/rFactor from many years ago and even Crammonds GP 1/2/3/4 back in the days without FFB)! And suddenly I could control the car much better than I ever could in the F1 series. I am MUCH more consistent. The car is more difficult to drive but it is more predictable. In the F1 Series I could hardly drive a 35% race without using a falshback at least 5 times. Here I race 50% from the start without needing to (there are no flashbacks, which actually helps the racing experience) But that's not all: all the single-player races I've done so far have been more entertaining than any in F1. The AI is more believable, they make mistakes, the results from quali and race match up.
AMS2 has just announced version 1.6, which seems to take the sim to a new level. The previously neglected multiplayer code has also been completely revised and AMS2 will soon be available in LFM.
Of course, there are also disadvantages: it is not F1 licensed. The current F1 car models are very good and very believable with the 2024 livery mods, but the models are not the originals. That doesn't bother me, because most of the time I only see the rear of the cars. And even in the replays I don't care, if I want to see F1 cars driving around the tracks I watch the real races.
It's the same with the tracks. I don't care if the track advertising is exactly the same as the real thing. Or whether the curbs have a new color or are a bit flatter than last year. I want to have a good racing experience. Unfortunately, not all of the newer tracks on the F1 calendar are available, which really hurts. But I'd rather drive on the 10 current tracks available and supplement them with some from the past and have fun doing it than to have the complete tracks available and to be constantly annoyed. And yes, the rules don't correspond to the current season. So what? I'm also not sitting in a real F1 car but on the chair!
There are also plenty of other car classes and tracks to explore. And lots of mods (for careers/liveries/FFB/etc.).Oh and I can fight Sennas MP 4/4 around historic Interlagos. Or many other historic F1 cars form the 60s until today.
And the most important thing: Reiza is motivated! These are racing enthusiasts! They don't have to release a new game every year and therefore don't have time to ignore bugs. They have taken a ridiculed game out of its niche and improved it step by step over the years. Version 1.6 will be a major milestone here concerning the physics, weather, and with lots of new IMSA content. And there are already plans beyond that. The mood in the Reiza forum is much better than here. Here the basic tenor is: “We were cheated and betrayed”. People there are grateful for everything Reiza makes possible. Yes, even AMS2 is not without its bugs, but at least they will be fixed over time.
Why do I think anyone is interested in what I do? I don't think so, but maybe someone here will think similarly and is inspired to find a better alternative. Even if it's not AMS2.
EA/CM had it in their own hands. They started well but the game became more and more what it is now: Scam.
Bye!
