Charlie's Car Mat Brings Sim Racers' Childhood Dreams Into Reality

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Aerial shot of Charlie's Car Mat and accompanying slot car track
If you love motorsport, or even just cars in general, you more than likely had a toy car mat when you were a child. You can now relive those childhood memories with Charlie's Car Mat for Assetto Corsa.

The talented mod creator, FrostyBerry, created and uploaded this mod to OverTake.gg for us all to enjoy. You might recognise that name from another circuit called Black Rock Motor Resort that is currently being built in New South Wales, Australia.

Ferrari 458.jpg

A classic matchbox toy car, the Ferrari 458, takes to the carpeted streets

This idea of a circuit like this being brought to Assetto Corsa comes from a dad watching his young son playing with his toy cars on his car mat. Whilst not the most complex map FrostyBerry has ever created, it is a perfect recreation of the low-resolution car mats so many of us remember from many years ago.

Charlie was playing cars the other night and I had a thought go through my mind when watching him. Why not put it into Assetto Corsa. I would of LOVED this as a kid! Charlie has grown up with this game (Assetto Corsa) so it goes hand in hand! To keep true to the kids mind, everything is low poly (except for the police car) - FrostyBerry

Police cars and fire trucks.jpg

High-resolution Police cars to represent Charlie's toy cars.

What is the map like to drive?​

The map, or mat, is great fun to drive with any vehicle in Assetto Corsa. It is perfectly set up for interesting drift runs or small tight and twisty time trial circuits. Rule-obeying sim racers can also recreate learning the rules of the road on the multiple roundabouts and junctions that are present.

The kerbs are brutal and will send you into a spin if you so much as touch them, so be warned when you start pushing the limits of the not-so-grippy carpet underneath your tyres. The slot car track is a safer bet for your racing kick.

Silvia S13 drift.jpg

Nissan Silvia S13 drifting one of the many roundabouts on the mat. Image: FrostyBerry

One specific vehicle that was especially fun to race around the carpeted streets is the Go-Kart mod from creator Cercata. The buildings look like skyscrapers and the roads become your very own tight and twisty race track.

Slot Car Circuit​

The mat is not the only point of interest on this map. There is a built-in slot car-style circuit that feels like you are driving on a roller coaster. This appears to be a re-creation of what Charlie has added to his real-life car mat, and we have to say that it is a fantastic idea and it adds an entirely new level to this already nostalgic map.

Slot Car Track 1.jpg

The slot car track towering above the city below.

In the description of the mod, there is a link to an online server for this map. Charlie loves to drive around the map and go through the car wash and the petrol station especially. If reliving your childhood sounds like fun you can join the discord, also linked in the description of the mod, and enjoy the map in an online lobby.

Overall, this map is a fantastic recreation of a little boy's journey into the world of cars and motorsport. These memories are incredibly important to many sim racers across the globe. From everyone here at OverTake, Charlie; we wish you the very best and hope to see you tearing up the Assetto Corsa online lobbies very soon!

Do you remember what got you into the world of cars and motorsport? Let us know on X @OverTake_gg or down in the comments below!
About author
Connor Minniss
Website Content Editor & Motorsport Photographer aiming to bring you the best of the best within the world of sim racing.

Comments

This gave me an idea to recreate my room I had as a child, with this mat being the entire room’s carpet. The room still exists and is not too different from what it used to be. This might be just what I’ll need when I’ll grow old.
 
My first car sim
Sometime around 1980

There was also an arcade cabinet that looked like it had a rolling painted drum for the road, and the car held on it with a magnet. Basically a stand-up version of the 'brick game' traffic-evading game. Maybe the CRT curve was just that bad, I still don't know. 'The Overtake' cabinet seems like it may actually be that game, and there's one in the arcade museum in SPb. Gotta go there sometime.
 
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Shifting method

  • I use whatever the car has in real life*

  • I always use paddleshift

  • I always use sequential

  • I always use H-shifter

  • Something else, please explain


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