A second major update has arrived with month, with Le Mans Ultimate Patch 2 released. Marking around a month since the WEC sim racing title launched in Steam Early Access, it updates car models and the balance of performance, weight penalties if you’re using ABS assistance, and how the AI handles situations including lift and coast fuel and energy saving.
While the BoP varies between cars, the hypercars now get a 15kg weight penalty if you’re using Low level ABS assistance, and 25kg for the High level, the Oreca 07 LMP2 gets 14kg and 23kg, and the GTE cars get 18kg and 30kg, which should reduce any advantage you could gain in online multiplayer.
And when you’re racing against the AI, there should be a bit less contact at turn 1 and lower levels of aggression during overtakes, including by lapped cars. And the lift and brake logic has been improved to avoid AI drivers getting too close, or when it needs to carry momentum to lap a car on corner exit.
Other changes include the ability to finally set any session length correctly, various bug fixes and sim stability improvements, UI tweaks and more. Circuits getting updated include Sebring, which now has the pit entry used for the 2023 race.
Le Mans Ultimate Patch 2 Release Notes:
General and Code Updates
- Integrate crash reporting software to automatically collect crash reports
- Fix crashes when no sound devices is available
- Fixed an issue that would cause cars to collide if one of them teleported close to the other in an online session – disabled collision for teleporting cars if they end up in other cars
- Fix for FFB oscillating during game freezes or change state
- Fixed a bug to ensure the game is running at normal speed when exiting the pause menu
- Quality of life changes for virtual fuel information display in the MFD and speedometer overlays (See UI for more details)
- Fixed issues around fuel estimates at the start of a fast rolling race
- Various fixes to AI fuel consumption
- Fixed virtual energy usage – MGU deployment and higher gears will no longer drain energy faster
- Fix for virtual fuel reporting as 100x the actual value when measured in KW in the pit menu.
- AI toggle removed as not performing as this is not currently supported
- Fixed some talent files failing to load
- Reviewed Driving Aid Penalties implementation
- Fixed Blue Flag in cockpit stating LMP incorrectly
- Removed some unused cockpit LED options which were causing some crashes
AI
- Improved AI ability to avoid other cars by both braking and turn in
- AI are more careful in unclear situations (slow, unpredictable cars ahead)
- Fixed an error in strategy causing fuel logging to fail along with wrong conditions being used for strategy calculations. This fixes various situations in which AI would behave incorrectly.
- Improved AI full grid turn 1 situations – less contact, cars no longer occasionally come to a full stop
- AI can predict better whether it is safe to lift before corners in order to carry more momentum for lapping another car on exit
- AI can now pick closing gaps on flat out sections of the circuit and predicts whether the car ahead leaves space or not – should help in not-quite-straight situations that otherwise never have enough space in one go to overtake around a specific side
- Lapped cars no longer immediately attempt to re-overtake when they get the chance
- Much less aggressive overtaking attempts, so AI don’t get out of shape as much anymore
- AI no longer brake at the last possible moment when there is a car ahead, instead in situations that require it they’ll be more careful
- AI now try to carry a little bit more speed into braking zones when overtaking and lapping
- Improved lift and brake logic to avoid getting too close to other cars
- AI tyre wear is now hidden from player on HUD
UI
- Boot sequence and registration
- Video is now skippable
- First time user difficulty select now better matches in-game settings
- Email validation is now less strict allowing “+” and other similar valid email characters
- Temporarily removed names being registered with symbols as it was causing backend issues. This will be returned when we have made the required changed
- Race weekend
- Any session length can now be set
- Updated available class UI to be more clear
- Changing grid position option now loops from max to low again.
- Virtual Energy and Fuel
- Garage
- Fuel capacity changed to fuel ratio
- Fuel carried shows the amount of fuel you will have when leaving the pit
- HUD
- Virtual energy shows the number of laps you will have with it
- Replaced Fuel Capacity with Fuel Ratio for Hypercars
- The strategy section now shows the amount of fuel you will have after the next pit stop
- Speedo shows Fuel and NRG more clearly
- Updated fuel and energy usage on HUD to show to two decimal points.
- Removed option for relative refuelling and added fuel units (l or gal) to Pit Menu
- Garage
- Online
- “Special Event” cards show correct countdowns
- Added a notification for when your race results are ready
- Added a notification for when there is a server problem and the event is canceled
- Weather forecast should now be correct
- Updated available class UI to be clearer
- Loading into the race no longer has the standings on the screen until everything is loaded
- Race
- AI-only cars now show their manufacturer logo in standing
- General
- Added localisation and descriptions to more setting options
- Changing difficulty settings no longer changes your preset name in graphics preset name to custom
Circuits
- Bahrain International Circuit
- Fixed fast rolling starts reporting left lane as right and vice versa
- Minor adjustments to road surface grip properties
- Updated rolex gantry fixing some minor issues
- Updated camera files fixing some switch issues over the start finish and other updates
- Fuji Raceway
- Minor adjustments to road surface grip properties
- Updated rolex gantry fixing some minor issues
- Minor ambient occlusion fixes on some assets
- Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans)
- Minor adjustments to road surface grip properties
- Adjusted AI block path into turn 1
- Autodromo Nazionale Monza
- Minor adjustments to road surface grip properties
- AI adjustments to improve multi class racing
- Track limits – minor fix on main straight
- Algarve International Circuit (Portimāo)
- Minor adjustments to road surface grip properties
- Minor grandstand fix
- Updated rolex gantry fixing some minor issues
- Fixed floating pit props
- Sebring International Raceway
- Improved paddock area night lighting
- Updated paddock tents and pit props
- Updated pit lane entry with entry used in 2023 race
- Fixed timing to work on first lap out of the pitlane
- Tweaked grip levels, including increased grip at Sunset Bend
- Spa Francorchamps
- Updated camera file
- Improved fix for AI avoiding clipping wall on pit entry
- Increased separation for left and right AI paths so cars are less close together on fast rolling starts
Vehicles
GTE
- General
- Updated weight penalties for using ABS assist: 18kg for Low level and 30kg for High level
- Changed pitstop restrictions, so that driver change and refuelling are concurrent, tyre change, repairs and brakes are not
- Minor correction to fuel density
- Updated LODs
- Fixed some cameras
- Set view pitch to 0.0
- Changed setup default engine mixture to Race (was Race lean before)
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE
- BoP: 10kg reduction in weight penalty to both Le Mans and non-LM specification
- Added emissive on the wheel
- Added LEDs to cockpit
- Added rain light
- Small tweak to random delay for tyre change
- Corvette C8R GTE
- BoP: 7.5kg increase in weight penalty to non-Le Mans and 20kg for Le Mans specification
- Added rain light
- Fixed windows so they clear water
- Headlights now reflect in puddles
- Fixed hole around rear wing
- Fixed issues with seat belt
- Ferrari 488 GTE
- Fixes to stop AI from track cutting
- BoP: 7.5kg increase in weight penalty to non-Le Mans and 20kg to Le Mans specification.
- Porsche 911 RSR GTE
- Headlights now reflect in puddles
LMP2
- Oreca 07 LMP2
- Added weight penalties for using ABS assist: 14kg for Low level and 23kg for High level
- Changed pitstop restrictions, so that driver change and refuelling are concurrent, tyre change, repairs and brakes are not. Small tweak to random delay for tyre change
- Tweak to how much time it takes to adjust/replace front splitter body part
- Minor correction to fuel density
- Fixed some cameras
- Updated rim textures
- Updated LODs
- Fixed issues with LOD textures
- Increased wiper effect texture resolution
- Lowered AI grip on wet tires by ~4%
Hypercar
- General
- Added weight penalties for using ABS assist: 15kg for Low level and 25kg for High level
- Tweaked wet tires to give more cooling on damp tracks, and made them degrade more when they’re overheated
- Changed pitstop restrictions, so that driver change and refuelling are concurrent, tyre change, repairs and brakes are not. Small tweak to random delay for tyre change
- Tweak to how much time it takes to adjust/replace front splitter body part
- Corrections to virtual energy estimates
- Minor correction to fuel density
- Fixed some cameras
- Updated LODs
- Cadillac V.Series R LMDh
- Set view pitch to 0.0
- Reduced AI cutting
- Minor correction to fuel density
- Ferrari 499P LMH
- BoP: 40kg increase in weight penalty
- Fixed window distortion in rain
- Fixed gaps in cockpit when using onboard cameras
- Fixed available range of settings for rear differential preload
- Fixed available range of settings for rear differential preload
- Reduced AI cutting
- Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH
- Set view pitch to 0.0
- Reduced AI cutting
- Fixed available range of settings for rear differential preload
- Peugeot 9X8 LMH
- BoP: 10kg increase in weight penalty
- Fixed missing LEDs in cockpit
- Fixed available range of settings for rear differential preload
- Porsche 963 LMDh
- Made #75 pit light a bit darker
- Fixed windscreen static wear texture
- Toyota GR010 LMH
- BoP: 30kg increase in weight penalty
- Fixed rain drops on body and windows
- Fixed available range of settings for rear differential preload
- Vanwall Vandervell 680 LMH
- Fixed smoothing issues on body
- Fixed mirrors in cockpit view
- Removed wing adjust from pit menu
- Added replace brakes to pit menu
- Removed brake map from pit menu
- Fixed error in talent file
Le Mans Ultimate is available for the PC via Steam Early Access. You can keep up with the latest Le Mans Ultimate news, updates and DLC, here. Or check out everything that’s available in the WEC racing sim with our Le Mans Ultimate Car List, and Le Mans Ultimate Track List.
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