Assetto Corsa thread

[Skybird]

Beside X Rebirth, AC is the one of only two titles I am waiting for this christmas season.

It seems we are close to release of the beta, which will be available form Steam for 35 Euros, I forgot. That is a 20 or 25% money saving compared to the final price. You have access to all later updates and the final version.

This will be an early access beta, featuring the main architecture of the program and including 8 of the planned 16 vehicle classes and 11 of the planned 35 cars, so far there are 11 tracks, but I do not know if they will all be featured in the beta already. Damage model, multiplayer and AI as well as other content will be added in updates that they plan to release every two weeks. Also, once the game has been released in full 1.0, there will be (payware) expansion packs.

Beside that, community mods can be expected - AC has been designed with heavy modding friendliness in mind.

Car brands incldued are BMW, Ferrari, Abarth, Lotus, McLaren, KTM, Pagan i and Tatuu . Among the so far confirmed tracks are Imola, Monza, Silverstone, Nurburg GP and Nurburg Nordschleife (!), Magione, Mugello, Spa Francorchamps (DLC), Vallelunga.

The sim comes with nVidia 3D vision support. It is optimised for multicore-processing. It has DirX12.

video:




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(they do a n outstanding job in recreating the looks ands views of the cars they include).

More videos to be found at Youtube.

Steam. I hate it. The dfownload will kill me, no doubt, blockig my computer for 20 hours or so. But AC probably becomes the second exception from my rule, after Skyrim. I played the technical demo earlier this year, and imediately realised that the driving sensation here is different to other racing games I have played. It has that special something, convincing you of being subjected to correct physical handling, while featuring a tremendously joyful experience to drive. Plus: it looks gorgeous!

So, high expectations. The only thing that I am concerned about is how they do with their AI. netKart was a simulation with superior physics, but no AI, that's why it never became really widespread and well-known. Implementing an AI that convinces and does not look like pearls lined up of a rubber-line, is a first for them, and one can only hope that they are doing a good job there.

[Skybird]

Ha...! Is my timing perfect or not? When I started typing the above, their homepage was still offline for maintenance since two days, saying they will be back soon. When I posted the above and went there, it was online, saying that the game is available now via Steam Early Access. they swiched while I typed.



Just four tracks included in the first go: Imola, Monza 60's style, Magione, Silverstone.

Cars:

PRODUCTION
- ABARTH 500 ESSEESSE
- LOTUS ELISE SC
- LOTUS EXIGE SCURA

GT
- BMW M3 E30 EVOLUZIONE
- BMW M3 E92
- BMW Z4 E89

GTR
- BMW M3 GT2

CLASSIC GP
- CLASSIC TEAM LOTUS TYPE 49

SUPERCAR
- FERRARI 458 ITALIA

TRACKDAY
- KTM X-BOW R

OPEN WHEEL
- TATUUS FA01

Specs say the installation needs 15 Gb minimum on the HD, 30 Gb recommended, that gives you an idea of how long the download will be.

30...? I am swallowing.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Firstly that 15 gig may be compressed files needing the 30 gig space. Secondly - get a wheel - during the build up to Grid 2 a group of us were playing the original, two guys got wheels and their driving improved in-game instantly.

[Skybird]

Of course a wheel - am I missing a point here?

The specs do not correspond with reality, my download just finished, 3.10 GB. Maybe the specs mentioned already represent the expected specs of the full game, once it is completed.

And now to Imola.

[Herr-Berbunch]

My point was that using a wheel is better, I didn't know if you already had one.

[Skybird]

I think a racing simulation without wheel is like a flight simulation without flying things.

Okay, first impression.

Fiurst impression is: very impressive, very good.

Five tracks are included. Monza 60s is a simple highspeed track, and the viosual presentation is indeed somehow sending you back in time a bit, you really get transported into a different racing culture and surrounding. Doiung that track in the open-cockpit Lotus 49 is - stylish.

Silverstone also is not the F1 GP version, but another track setting, more simple than the GP version. I never liked Silverstone in sims, not by the flow of the track, and not by the location which is flat and make sit very difficult to see the corners. However, whiloe this difficulty in seeing the track is present - it is one of the best representations of a racing location I have seen, meaning that the surrounding, the perimeter with all the buildings and objects beside the track, the feeling of actually being part of all what is going on there, is very convincing. The track itself I still do not like, nevertheless I at least now like the location.

Then there is Imola, the one track in this beginning of the AC saga that without doubt I will drive most. I simply have a soft spot for Imola, it has been the first place I have ever driven a computer race in - on the Amiga, with grand Prix 1 by Geoff Crammond, must have been 1990... The track and location again are very well done. The visuals are nice, and very convincing to the eyes - something that is true for colour palette and the light conditions in general. Very well done place.

Magione is the track I already knew from the tech demo. The tarmac's layout imo is nothing special, imo, but the hwol location again is given a treatment with great love to detail and general atmosphere of the place. I also have th impression that it has been visually upgraded, compared to the tech demo.

Vallelunga is another nice track that swings and sways and allows for surprisingly high speeds nevertheless. Driven in a fluid, soft line, it is great pleasure.

The cars - well, seeing AND HEARING is believing. Lovely, simply lovely! The models are superb, the best in car modelling I have seen so far, and that means both the exterior and interior. The sound inside and outside the cockpit is splendid, the visual realism of the cockpits unbelievable. The cars handle differently from each other, and the handling in general is very believable, very convincing when considering each car's class and size. I cannot compare to reality, I never have driven any of these cars, I do not even own a car - but to me the driving physics just feel so very damn right. No comparison to GTR-2, the last driving sim I have used - it feels like a Matchbox toy-car, compared to AC. The great thing with the handling is that you are being given the impression of handling something of size and mass and weight indeed. Also, acceleration and deceleration feel very realistic. I like the fact that most of the cars so far are more like touring cars and none of these super-agile formula types - the latter is to hectic for my taste, where as these cars feel more like what you are used to from real street life, and gives you some more mental freedom regarding your timing and reactions. To me, that adds to the enjoyment I get from the sim.

The engine sounds as well as the muffling of sounds inside cockpits also was worth to write down some exclamation marks. Sitting in the BMW 3M was a revelation, sitting in the Ferrari and hearing the gear bttons clicking, was almost extacy. Fantastic acoustic ambience, imo. Very well done.

Mind you, this is an early-access beta. some functions are not implemented, the full content is not there, no AI racing possible currently, and still - in GTR-2 I already ended up just hotlapping on the Nordschleife, I did nothing else. With my most liked racing track Spa coming as DLC next year and in this to be expected quality, AND the Nordschleife announced as well, I am already booked for a trip to heaven. With these two things added, I already got my money'S worth.

I faced no technical issues and no stability issues. Frames always were above 60.

I give it an B+ right now, due to the lacking AI being the biggest argument against an A. I expect to correct that to an A ore A+, once they are finished with the full regular version 1.0. Is it worth the 35 bucks, considering th state it is in? To me, it is, but people may have different tastes. If you just wait for a nice racing game,l then you better wait. If you have already waited for AC since long and cry every week of more delay, you cannot go wrong in spending your money now. In the end, you save money that way. All others buying later, the version 1.0, will pay 25% more.

Outlook: extremely promising.