Sim Discussion Monday - Assetto Corsa

[Paul Jeffrey]

In today’s edition of ‘Sim Discussion Monday’ we talk about all things Assetto Corsa!

Love it or loathe it Assetto Corsa has quickly become one of the most popular racing simulations of the modern sim racing landscape. Bathed in exotic licences the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini all pitched together on laserscanned tracks, with high quality graphics and physics and a vibrant modding scene, Assetto Corsa from Kunos Simulazioni has very quickly picked up the mantle once held so tightly by Image Space Incorporated and the venerable rFactor platform.

However despite the popularity of the software Assetto Corsa still lacks many of the features considered essential in a modern racing title (think day / night transition, weather and driver swops), leaving many to feel the sim is so close to the top of the mountain, yet just falling short as it scales the summit.

Now in its third year of development, let’s use this article as an opportunity to discuss the game, share tips on optimising the experience on screen and through the wheel, highlight some great content and basically just talk about anything and everything Assetto Corsa!

Mondays be like...

 

[David Dominguez]

I think what they have achieved is massive, taking in consideration where do they come from, and the budget they had. I can only laugh when people talks about Gran Turismo and Forza, both with studios with over 500 employees, and yet releasing products that in many aspects are way, way below AC standards (and below other sim standards as well).

2 years ago I probably had a different opinion about them, probably for not having enough knowledge about how software development works, but they have been adding features/improvements non stop, and it's very appreciated. On top of this they nailed the modding scene, making it very easy for anyone to make mods for AC. Big big win over titles like rFactor 2.

 

[Jempy]

Ability to swap front tyres to rear, and visa versa in a pitstop

I'd never have thought about this in a sim .... but why not also a restricted number of tyres for a full session ( qualif + race ) or endurance race ... with the possibility of choice for already used tyres ?

Going too far also, I assume !?

 

[St3fan]

I'd never have thought about this in a sim .... but why not also a restricted number of tyres for a full session ( qualif + race ) or endurance race ... with the possibility of choice for already used tyres ?

Going too far also, I assume !?

In the RD interview with ISI on RF2 last year a question was asked about implementing realistic tire management, so I don't think such request is going too far - people have thoughts about that for quite a while.
However I do think such addition is way too series dependent and not a cost-effective way to increase the simulation value. I would only vision games with full official licenses to implement such systems.

 

[Shaun Clarke]

I'd never have thought about this in a sim .... but why not also a restricted number of tyres for a full session ( qualif + race ) or endurance race ... with the possibility of choice for already used tyres ?

Going too far also, I assume !?

Restricting tyres that would be a head ache and no possible, but swapping fronts to rear. I only mentioned it, as the BTCC and Ginetta and Clio Cup do it, only in Quali, but then real tyre temps come in to play.

I.e They go out for one lap, warming up, and then swap them around, so the heated tyres are then on the non driven wheels, giving them grip all around

 

[frankis]

So you're increasing the ffb strength past 100% gain? At this point you might be clipping hard and you lose all the information. Open the pedals app and see if the ffb bar gets to red often, then it means you're clipping and losing the ffb information. On the other hand rf2 starts with a low amount of ffb, so of course if you increase it still won't clip. But in AC you already start with the right amount of ffb, so if you go past 100% most likely the ffb is clipping hard when steering, just use the pedals app and check it during your driving.

In fact in AC I usually set the ffb under 50% with most of the cars. The problem is not the clipping. The clipping bar rarely reaches the middle. I have the new fanatec CSL PS4, but I had the csw1.5 two months ago and it was alike. The thing is that when you increase the ffb in AC the force to the center increases a lot, no matter if the car is moving or stopped the wheel tends to autocenter with the same force. And the stronger the wheel is the lower you have to set the ffb. With the CSW 1.5 I set it at around 70%. If I set the ffb at 100% with the new CSL I can hardly move the wheel even though it still dosen't clipp. In RF2 you can increase the ffb until it starts clipping, and when the car is stopped or goes at low speed it feels smooth like in a real car, but when you are taking a high speed turn, for example, it gets tight like it has to be.

 

[ShredatorFIN]

Why would anyone loathe it. Great sim, over 1000 hours driven on it.

Also, they've never just "pushed out DLC instead of fixing the game", every DLC came with substantial update. Maybe it may feel like that on consoles, which is different story.

The 1.14 AI solved one of my only big issues with the sim. Now tbh I think AI is better than AMS, even with latest updates by Reiza. AMS is great sim too, though. They are my 2 big favourites.

Some thing of course that I hope will be improved, race starts with AI, more realistic racing rules (cutting the track especially), brake temps for all cars. Sound could be better, while great in some cars very bad in some others. And needs more LS tracks, car roster is way ahead, tracks are getting the blue flag for being lapped by car roster. Luckily there's some great mod tracks to patch this issue

A bit skeptical of pCars 2 being any "AC killer", comments by GamerMuscle about physics/ffb at least didn't convince me it's on same level of realism as AC. We will see, AC is hard to top

Hopefully AC2 happens some day. Obvious things are dynamic weather, 24h cycle, better damage model, better/ more physics based & detailed sound. Better career too, but current AI code is great foundation to create that

 

[rw3]

For some reason in AC the sound and FFB feel so dead to me. I just can't get it feeling nice. Also not enough quality tracks.

 

[M-Bimmer]

Having mods is great but not all of them are great and that's a shame. Besides Not all mods get updated when the game is patched/updated. Would be nice having a workshop on steam because it makes life a lot easier for some of us.
Having said that it would also be nice to have more tracks right out of the box and do not mind getting more through DLCs. This is probably the number one reason why i started playing more R3E.
Would i like to have more features? Yeah why not

Still i would rather have more tracks, cars and good physics then day night or weather transition.

Project cars2 will have it all i guess but time will tell if it will be remembered or further developed 3 years after release...

 

[Patrik Marek]

@Patrik Marek you liked my post, but did you spot one line I put it there, that should of raised an eyebrow or two

which line? the one about more FWD tintops ??
the more Kunos can make, the less work for us! ..everyone wins!

 

[Shaun Clarke]

which line? the one about more FWD tintops ??
the more Kunos can make, the less work for us! ..everyone wins!

I thought this one would of raised a few eyebrows / questions

Ability to put duck tape over your air vent if you are not getting enough heat in your engine.

 

[Patrik Marek]

duct tapes in general would be nice, even nicer if they would actually show up on car

 

[ronniej]

Numero uno fantastico bellissimo

This^^

 

[Patrik Marek]

I think what they have achieved is massive, taking in consideration where do they come from, and the budget they had. I can only laugh when people talks about Gran Turismo and Forza, both with studios with over 500 employees, and yet releasing products that in many aspects are way, way below AC standards (and below other sim standards as well).

2 years ago I probably had a different opinion about them, probably for not having enough knowledge about how software development works, but they have been adding features/improvements non stop, and it's very appreciated. On top of this they nailed the modding scene, making it very easy for anyone to make mods for AC. Big big win over titles like rFactor 2.

well fair enough, but then the amount of content also makes a difference, making 50-60 cars is one thing, but making 600 is quite another

 

[Patrik Marek]

Having mods is great but not all of them are great and that's a shame. Besides Not all mods get updated when the game is patched/updated. Would be nice having a workshop on steam because it makes life a lot easier for some of us.

steamworks would only help , if the modders are still working on their content, but yeah it will be easier to distribute/update mods

 

[Frietpan]

People that don't trust AC physics should investigate better on how the game was developed.

Its not that i dont trust it, It feels diffrent from other Sims.. Since they all call themselves simulators... wich is the real one?

and why should it matter how it was developed as things get added as they go... (liveaxles for example)
so it wasnt "done" and what else is missing?

 

[rallysmo]

For me one of the best sims of this decade with awesome graphics tons of mods and a good amount of licensed cars and tracks. the devs keep working to add more content, features patches so i will say awesome.

 

[elbo]

Lol I do that all the time too. The problem I have sometimes is the seating position. My rig consists of a car seat hauled from a Toyota Prius so it feels very real driving a Cayenne, but when I drive a formula car I have to pull the handle to lie down a bit. I could spend 10 minutes before I set off driving, just to get things feel real XD

LOL...my rig seat comes from a seat I ripped out of my old Honda Insight...we are strangely connected somehow...

 

[HypoToad]

People that don't trust AC physics should investigate better on how the game was developed.

Physics, smysics, it's a game after all, if people want the real experience they can go and drive the real car, it's fun and you can pretend to be a race driver, that's what its all about IMO.

2 years ago I probably had a different opinion about them, probably for not having enough knowledge about how software development works, but they have been adding features/improvements non stop, and it's very appreciated. On top of this they nailed the modding scene, making it very easy for anyone to make mods for AC.

I agree entirely, when I first played AC I wasn't that impressed, but their progress in making this game better has been stunning, and I love the way you can mod everything in the game so easily. I loved GTR2 for that reason also but AC is now GTR2 on steroids well done!

 

[Nico_Sause]

What should i say play around 2100 hours and it will be more and more, I love this game and its moding szene, that give AC the crown!
- rain would of course nice maybe day/ night also..... Much more important are small things like race rules and
Racing accidents / Mechanical failures
- AI .. This is a part for the console department - for me AC is a pure online racer
- A bit more LS tracks needed

 

[snozbaries]

AC is the sim I drive most because it just works. I have been trying Automobilista for a week or so and I really like the FFB but I hate the menus and setup. AC is really a charm to use compared. Kunos I've heard is working on an update to address the lack of race setup (rules). When this happens I think it will be hard to beat for a pick up and drive sim.