WOSSOM PRE-RELEASE VIDEO - SHHHH, DON'T TELL ANYONE YET

Alright, gearheads, listen up—this is not the big public release just yet. The secret pre-release video of WOSSOM is ready, but it’s staying under wraps for now. Why? Because we need to finish a proper tutorial video for newcomers who have never heard of Automation. Most of you reading this already know your way around the game, but when WOSSOM gets introduced to the wider sim racing community, a guide will be crucial to get them up to speed. Until then, the pre-release video remains a little secret between us.

Some of the topics covered in this post were already mentioned in the last forum update, but we wanted to bring everything together here for clarity and to keep everyone up to speed.

GRAVEL RALLY COMPETITION

Submissions to the Gravel Rally are now closed! Mr. Franco is doing his best to get the pre-race posts back, but with so much going on, he really needs to focus on one thing at a time. Thanks to everyone who submitted their cars—we’ll be hitting the dirt soon!

SEASON 2 CALENDAR

We know you're eager to plan ahead, and so are we! Work is already underway on the Season 2 calendar, and we’ll be sharing the details as soon as they’re finalized. Stay tuned!

CHANGES TO COMPETITION BROADCASTS

Competition broadcasts are getting a bit of a revamp! The live events will still be streamed on YouTube, but without commentaries. Why? Because each competition has been getting long. The last one nearly hit four hours, and we don’t want to bore you to death. Instead, after the event, we’ll compile the best run of each car with TV cameras and create a separate video featuring live reactions. This will take more work, but it should be a lot more fun, engaging, and hopefully let Mr. Franco actually pay attention to the chat for once!

GONE, BUT NOT GONE

If we’ve been gone too long, it only means one thing: Mr. Franco has been locked away in his mad scientist laboratory, tinkering with WOSSOM like a lunatic with a wrench and a caffeine addiction. This time, he’s been deep in the guts of the system, trying to automate as much as possible so fewer errors creep in when handling data, imports, and exports. The less time he spends wrestling spreadsheets, the more time he has for the fun stuff—like making cinematic videos, snapping stunning pictures, and, of course, writing our scripts so we can actually tell you what’s going on.

Speaking of the fun stuff, Mr. Franco spent a fair bit of time re-learning video editing. Apparently, back when he got his audiovisual degree, things were a bit... different. But after some trial, error, and probably a few choice words directed at his PC, he managed to get BeamNG looking as good as possible without melting his rig. The result? A secret pre-release video for the beta version of WOSSOM!

This video features at least one car from each player (unless he missed someone—sorry!). The original plan was to showcase the transformation of his own car into its modern iterations, but since that was taking too long, it had to be put on hold—perhaps for the official pre-release video.

WOSSOM IS, AND WILL ALWAYS BE, FREE

Let’s get this out of the way: WOSSOM has never been about making money. Mr. Franco has always shared the project openly, even making the core spreadsheet public (though good luck deciphering that mess). There’s no paywall, no secret VIP section—just cars, competition, and chaos.

A PERSONAL, AMATEUR, AND GLORIOUSLY BETA PROJECT

Of course, free doesn’t mean flawless. WOSSOM is a work in progress, and with every improvement, things get more complex. The biggest source of errors? Manually handling data. That’s why automation is now a top priority—less time spent on number crunching means more time spent making WOSSOM even better.

EVOLVING INTO A GAME WITHIN TWO GAMES

The WOSSOM website is shaping up to be the heart of the whole operation. It’ll have a custom member area where players can step into different roles—whether as car company managers, designers, drivers, or a mix of everything. Essentially, WOSSOM is becoming a game within Automation and BeamNG, an experience where every role adds to the madness.

MR. FRANCO: THE MAN BEHIND THE MADNESS

For those who don’t know, Mr. Franco—Rafael, Rafles, or whatever you want to call him—is the mastermind behind WOSSOM. He’s 44, hails from Monte Alto near Rio de Janeiro, and has lived a life full of high-speed thrills, world travel, and extreme sports. He also ran a restaurant for a decade, employing over 300 people. But life threw some brutal curveballs his way, and after multiple major surgeries and an ongoing battle with chronic pain, he had to step away from that world.

Nowadays, he balances his time between working as an Uber driver, managing his pain, and, of course, working on WOSSOM whenever he can. Despite everything, he’s determined to keep WOSSOM moving forward.

SUPPORT & DONATIONS

Because time is now split between developing WOSSOM and making ends meet, donations will soon be an option for those who want to see more of WOSSOM and less of Mr. Franco driving his Virtus around town. No pressure—WOSSOM will remain free no matter what—but if you feel like pitching in, it’ll help keep things rolling.

BLOG POSTS: PAUSED, BUT NOT GONE

We love writing these, and you love reading them, but for now, blog posts are on hold so we can focus on the next beta release. But don’t worry—once the next big update is ready, Tati, Benny, and Rusty will be back with their usual mix of chaos and car talk.

Thanks for sticking with us through all of this. WOSSOM is growing, evolving, and, somehow, still staying gloriously ridiculous. See you on the track!