Assetto Corsa Official Release Thread.

Nice! Now we need some [H]ard reviews to let us know if it's worth the $40 price tag.
 
It just looks awesome. I'm in.

I'm a die-hard race guy, I love the track in real life, and in games. Nothing better. :)!

Haven't been following this one too much other than screenshots and such, how is the handling?
 
I bit. Downloading now, I'll report back after I get some time in with my G27.

Edit: I'm not sure what's going on. I have it set to 900 degree rotation (and I've tried others) but it locks after a quarter turn in either direction. I had to manually edit the config file to turn down the steering scale to 0.25 to get the animation to be 1:1 with my movements. Aside from that the physics are pretty nice from the couple of laps I tried. The cars react much better compared to something like Project Cars (as was expected). Drove the E30 and 458, both sound and look great. The game could definitely use some polishing in all departments but I'm enjoying it so far.
 
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I've bought in and everything, just haven;t had time to play. I'll be putting in some hours this weekend, taking videos and such. Will post my impressions in comparison to iRacing, rFactor 2 and Forza/GT after, if I can wrangle it all into coherence.

Keep in mind people, it's early access! Things are subject to change.
 
piratepress said:
Nice! Now we need some [H]ard reviews to let us know if it's worth the $40 price tag.
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If you're looking for a fully complete and polished game, you should wait for the final release. Anyone who is just looking at the screenshots and videos for the first time and expecting a full game with career, AI and multiplayer is going to be disappointed at the moment. This is not even at the beta stage yet.

If you're a serious sim racer and you already own everything else out there, you'll probably be picking it up anyway, so you might as well check out the early access. I've been waiting over a year for it, ever since I missed out on pCARS membership and started looking around for other next-gen sim racers on the horizon.

I'm having a ball with it, just doing practice laps and time trials. I'm not a physics expert (nor a driving expert), but it feels really good to me. Not exactly similar, but near the same level of quality as the Game Stock Car demo I tried, but with a much more modern presentation. Some of the cars have tire options and that will also change the feel, along with the usual settings. One thing that's lacking for me is the curb ffb feel. Even when I turn up ffb, it doesn't seem right, even though the rest of the ffb is good.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the game completed with more cars, tracks, multiplayer, AI and all the other upcoming features.
 
Well, it's definitely early days. I am going to reserve judgement, but, honestly at this point I would steer people away until a more substantial build is available. I'm not going to go into detail like I said I would earlier, it's just not at a point of comparison. I think it's not even as polished as the Tech Demo, graphically or physics wise.

First take aways:
- Quite grippy
- Heavy steering and FFB.
- Not very detailed FFB
- Anti-Aliasing is not doing its job. There is bad aliasing everywhere. When using nvidia control panel AA (which puts a MASSIVE hit on FPS) things don't get any better.
- HDR on or Off, there is way too much brightness. The scene often looks completely blown out to me.
- Framerates are way below where they should be for the visual quality present. Maxed out I stay around 60fps, with dips to the 40s. From what I see on screen though, it should be much higher.
- External Replays look better than driving in cockpit. This is further querulous as framerates seem to improve in replay mode.
- No visual damage

I drove two cars (M3 GT2 and 458 Italia) on two tracks (imola and silverstone). Both tracks seemed lacklustre to me in visual representation, perhaps it was all of the aliasing bringing it down. It looked worse than the Tech Demo to me, though. Neither track had feel worth noting. The BMW M3 GT2 looks unfinished on the interior. Lots of flat textures, very simple graphically. The Ferrari 458 Italia was much nicer graphically on the interior, seemed close to being finished, if not done. Both cars had unique feel, but FFB was dull and heavy.

I am looking forward to the many updates to come.

-edit-

Some more time behind the wheel and my opinion is becoming more favourable. I drove the X-Bow and I love it. It feels lively and detailed. Also, my Aliasing issue has gone away. I dunno what was causing it, I wish I took a screenshot, but I fiddled with setting shadows and reflections to different settings, and BAM, it was gone. Weird. Now, don't get my wrong, the aliasing could still be better, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. Screenshot comparisons of shadow and reflection settings can be seen here.
 
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Thought the update I got this morning was breaking the game. Turns out the game doesn't like Fraps running in the background during course loading. Loads fine when Fraps isn't running, crashes when it is so you may have to start Fraps after the course/car has loaded.

Performance wise the game is pretty easy to run. Using my sig rig with all stock clocks, I averaged ~98fps on this lap that I just ran. Minimum 76, max 111. 16x aniso, 2x aa, fast approximate aa off, medium shadow, motion blur off, hdr on, reflections are on low. Not really any other options for visuals but the game still looks pretty nice. Fully maxed out I got 40/45/50fps for min/avg/max, but the visual improvement was tiny.. Screenshots with these settings:
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Maplehamwich said:
Well, it's definitely early days. I am going to reserve judgement, but, honestly at this point I would steer people away until a more substantial build is available.
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I have to agree there, especially for newcomers, because it could leave the wrong impression in it's current state. Some people have trouble reading and understanding what "early access" with missing features means. Better for most to wait for a polished final product.

Maplehamwich said:
The Ferrari 458 Italia was much nicer graphically on the interior, seemed close to being finished, if not done. Both cars had unique feel, but FFB was dull and heavy.
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I'm not sure if you tried it, but the 458 has 4 traction control modes that you can cycle through with CTRL T. Also tires can be changed on some cars and it sounds like some people are adjusting the handling to their tastes with tire pressure adjustments.

I haven't gotten deeply into wheel settings and ffb tweaking yet, because I don't have very refined tastes in that department yet and it feels ok to me with minimal adjustment (except the curbs I mentioned).
 
Maplehamwich said:
-edit-

Some more time behind the wheel and my opinion is becoming more favourable. I drove the X-Bow and I love it. It feels lively and detailed. Also, my Aliasing issue has gone away. I dunno what was causing it, I wish I took a screenshot, but I fiddled with setting shadows and reflections to different settings, and BAM, it was gone. Weird. Now, don't get my wrong, the aliasing could still be better, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. Screenshot comparisons of shadow and reflection settings can be seen here.
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I'll add to this, I'm loving it now. I've spent significantly more time with it, and any issues I had regarding visuals and ffb are gone now. Sure, a sim like rFactor 2 gives more road feel, but AC actually is quite deep in that regard as well. There are some missing things, like kerbs, but I have no doubt they'll be implemented. My issue with dull ffb was primarily the BMW M3 GT2, which kind of makes sense, given its high downforce.

After driving the XBow, Formula Abarth, Lotus 49 and several more tracks I can confidently say all the FFB seems to be there, and what isn't I have no doubt will be implemented (like kerbs). I'm enjoying the hell out of this sim now, it's my primary driver.

berzerker said:
I'm not sure if you tried it, but the 458 has 4 traction control modes that you can cycle through with CTRL T. Also tires can be changed on some cars and it sounds like some people are adjusting the handling to their tastes with tire pressure adjustments.

I haven't gotten deeply into wheel settings and ffb tweaking yet, because I don't have very refined tastes in that department yet and it feels ok to me with minimal adjustment (except the curbs I mentioned).
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Hmm, interesting, seems have even more to discover!

PS
I'll be compiling videos after all. It'll take time though, issues with Action! and Shadowplay not playing nice with AC.
 
I haven't tested it yet with my wheel, I probably do that tomorrow, but I did a few laps with keyboard, and noticed that even with all assists turned off, it still feels like they're not completely off. Brakes don't lock, and I can't hold a drift because as soon as I start one, the throttle automatically gets lowered as if traction control was on. I hope that's a "feature" for keyboards only and that I won't see the same tomorrow when I plug in my wheel... Other than that both graphics and sound effects are very good, and it doesn''t seem like the physics are bad either. It definitely has potential. Though, the way it is now, I wouldn't choose it over rFactor, it doesn't even have multiplayer :D
 
Anyone else's framerate stuck <50? Running an fx6300 at 4.8ghz and 7950 at 1.1ghz.

Seeing incredibly low CPU usage.. like total usage never goes over 20%, acs.exe stays around 14%. Haven't monitor GPU usage but it's not getting near as hot as normal even with pushing the OC more and bumping voltage a bit.
 
Loser_guy said:
Anyone else's framerate stuck <50? Running an fx6300 at 4.8ghz and 7950 at 1.1ghz.

Seeing incredibly low CPU usage.. like total usage never goes over 20%, acs.exe stays around 14%. Haven't monitor GPU usage but it's not getting near as hot as normal even with pushing the OC more and bumping voltage a bit.
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Turning down reflections to medium cube map and 3 faces double my framerates, and had little visual impact.
 
Decided to just throw everything down to low and it stays pegged at 50, until I alt-tab out of the game and come back then it bumps up to 60 where it will stay.

Oh well, I'm fine with 50 fps.. I care more about getting AA to work than fps.
 
GodOfGaming said:
I did a few laps with keyboard, and noticed that even with all assists turned off, it still feels like they're not completely off. Brakes don't lock, and I can't hold a drift because as soon as I start one, the throttle automatically gets lowered as if traction control was on. I hope that's a "feature" for keyboards only and that I won't see the same tomorrow when I plug in my wheel...
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I think there may be some default extra assists on for keyboard and gamepad. I can easily lockup brakes with my pedals. Also some cars that have TC and ABS in real life may have it on. Toggle through modes ith CTRL T for TC and CTRL A for ABS.

Here are some gamepad settings (haven't tried them myself):

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=89102773&postcount=45
 
I always wondered:

Have any developers REALLY sat in a car (for example the BMW above) with or without a helmet on and looked through the front windshield? Look at the pictures.

When i sit in my car and look out front, i see the WHOLE EFFING WINDSHIELD and not just half. A Helmet doesn't change that. It always bugged the hell out of me. Looking in my left rear mirror on the outside is when i have to move my eyes or my head. It should be like this in every driving game. See more of the front windshield and WAY less to the left side. No sane person focuses straight over the steering wheel, but everyone focuses slightly to the right (unless you are in the UK).

I WANT TO SEE MORE. In real life, i see more as well. Why would i artificially make myself see less in a simulation?
 
ScYcS said:
I always wondered:

Have any developers REALLY sat in a car (for example the BMW above) with or without a helmet on and looked through the front windshield? Look at the pictures.

When i sit in my car and look out front, i see the WHOLE EFFING WINDSHIELD and not just half. A Helmet doesn't change that. It always bugged the hell out of me. Looking in my left rear mirror on the outside is when i have to move my eyes or my head. It should be like this in every driving game. See more of the front windshield and WAY less to the left side. No sane person focuses straight over the steering wheel, but everyone focuses slightly to the right (unless you are in the UK).

I WANT TO SEE MORE. In real life, i see more as well. Why would i artificially make myself see less in a simulation?
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Does Assetto Corsa have a helmet view that's more limiting that normal? Or are you just talking about racing games in general?

If you're talking about racing games in general, the reason for it is that you have to have a compromise between a realistic FOV for a monitor, seeing enough of the cockpit and seeing enough of the track.

If you look at the size of your monitor, go sit in your car and imagine looking through a window that size but 3ft away from your face, you would only see a fraction of the windscreen. Probably not the rear vision mirror (maybe in some cars which have small cabins with the windscreen close to the driver, but probably not in most).

So the most technically accurate FOV you'd see sweet fuck all. Rather, developers actually bump this up so you can see around half the windscreen by forcing some fisheye (or whatever you call it), but if they add too much it'll add it's own problems.

In racing sims, I typically end up moving my seat as far forward as possible and widening the FOV to around 100, I find that's the best compromise for me.

A triple screen setup works best and can get rid of some of those problems, as you can have an FOV on each monitor but still maintain a wide FOV overall. Personally I can't justify the cost of a triple screen setup though and I have gripes with the implementation of it (for most setups, it's optically wrong and it bugs the hell out of me).
 
Just racing games in general. But not all of them are equally limiting. If i remember correctly, for example NFS:Shift had a decent cockpit view.
 
I think NFS shift did it by warping the cockpit. So the actual "world" FOV was reasonably low, but the "car" FOV was wider, so you see more of the windscreen relative to the amount of road you see. Most racing sims I think tend to just keep one FOV for both and then have a given seating position. Though I could be wrong about shift, it's been a while since I've played it (wasn't overly impressed with it to be honest!), I'm just going off screen shots.
 
Lith1um said:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1776085
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FOV is such a poorly understood topic regardless of genre. The idea that there's a correct FOV is a fallacy in itself, as any comfortable FOV is always going to be a distortion of a realistic FOV, so it mostly comes down to getting the highest FOV that gives the maximum level of distortion you are comfortable with, which varies from person to person. If games give the option, I almost always tweak the FOV to what I personally like.

However most people don't think terribly deeply about it so just roll with whatever they have or at best set it to something they were told by someone else who (usually incorrectly) calculated as the "proper" FOV .
 
berzerker said:
. Not exactly similar, but near the same level of quality as the Game Stock Car demo I tried, but with a much more modern presentation..
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Game Stock Car's been updated to 2013 at a $25 cost, but it's a new game with additional content and physics/FFB modifications, IOW, it's a standalone product that no longer relates to 2012, so both 2012 and 2013 can be installed on the same PC if you wish.

GSC 2013 is the best sim I've ever driven and the presentation has also been improved+ you can goto Racedepartment and dl 4096 quality Mini skins, ie, it has the senna malboro colours, modern Red Bull colours etc, 24 skins in total.

I don't love the FFB of AC, nor do I like how much rear grip some of the cars have, but it has huge potential as a racing game, but for me, it doesn't measure up to GSC 2013 as a "killer sim".
 
Tudz said:
FOV is such a poorly understood topic regardless of genre. The idea that there's a correct FOV is a fallacy in itself, as any comfortable FOV is always going to be a distortion of a realistic FOV, so it mostly comes down to getting the highest FOV that gives the maximum level of distortion you are comfortable with, which varies from person to person. If games give the option, I almost always tweak the FOV to what I personally like.

However most people don't think terribly deeply about it so just roll with whatever they have or at best set it to something they were told by someone else who (usually incorrectly) calculated as the "proper" FOV .
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I disagree. There is only one FOV that is truly correct and it depends on the geometry of your displays and the position of your eyes. Run what you prefer, but the correct FOV will make the average human faster in racing sims. I'd go as far as saying it has an impact in shooters as well.

iRacing goes as far as having a FOV calculator in video options which references display size, bezel size, side monitor angles, and viewing distance to calculate the correct fov.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rri19PqJ3qU
 
Lith1um said:
I disagree. There is only one FOV that is truly correct and it depends on the geometry of your displays and the position of your eyes. Run what you prefer, but the correct FOV will make the average human faster in racing sims. I'd go as far as saying it has an impact in shooters as well.

iRacing goes as far as having a FOV calculator in video options which references display size, bezel size, side monitor angles, and viewing distance to calculate the correct fov.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rri19PqJ3qU
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The "correct" field of view as defined mathematically is too low, gives you tunnel vision. You can't drive a real car looking through a 24" window unless you are sitting absurdly close to it (something stupid like 3 or 4").

If you want the mathematically "correct" FOV, it's trivial to calculate. It's simple 2*atan(a/b) where b is how far you sit from the screen and a is the half-width of the screen, plug it in to google and viola, your mathematically correct FOV.

For a 24" 16:9 monitor that you sit 3 feet away from... your mathematically correct FOV is a whopping 32 degrees! (unless I buggered up my math somewhere)

That's stupidly low, you'd make yourself sick. FPS gamers bitch if their FOV is much less than 90 degrees.

There is a compromise, an optically correct FOV for a given monitor has to be balanced against what is a more natural real life FOV. So the compromise becomes pushing the FOV up to the highest value where you can live with the distortion. If you are extremely tolerant of fisheye, maybe you'll go a bit less than that, lol.
 
Which is why triple (or more) displays are awesome, and why I have my eye on the retail Oculus Rift.

In iRacing I'm running a mathematically correct 143 degree fov with 3 x 27's. Distances, and therefore cordinates and rates of travel, are portrayed accurately. Even minor elevation differences are easier to notice with the correct fov. If you're gonna drive laser scanned track surfaces, make the most of it.

The setup is awesome in BF4 as well, where I can run a correct view and still have great situational awareness. It's a nice advantage being able to see everything in your fov large and life sized, while still having enough screen real estate for good peripheral vision.
 
Here's a video (track cams) of Assetto Corsa for those interested. The Lotus 49 and KTM XBow are my two favorites to drive at the moment.

I'm having issues with loading replays, and recording software compatibility; when/if those get sorted I'll post more.
 
I ran 2 laps in each car at the same track over the weekend and I like what I feel!

Can't wait for some AI & online racing.

Is there a ghost car mode yet?
I forgot to look for that...
 
talk2troy said:
I ran 2 laps in each car at the same track over the weekend and I like what I feel!

Can't wait for some AI & online racing.

Is there a ghost car mode yet?
I forgot to look for that...
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Yeah, if you enter a hotlap mode it will default to a ghost car setup. You can choose to turn that on or off in the settings in a hotlap mode though. I think it's in the same page as you set day time and such.

Here's a few more videos I took over the weekend (still sorting out replay and recording software issues):
- Lotus 49 @ Imola
- KTM Xbow @ Imola
- KTM Xbow @ Vellelunga

I plan on eventually having a lap around each track, with each car, up on my youtube page. And I'll continue that as they release new content. I will keep with the cinematic track cams, as I'm not really holtlapping and the goal is to show the visuals of the game and how the physics look (I think seeing the exterior of the car and how it reacts to the inputs and environments demonstrates that better than seeing the wheel etc). Eventually I'll put up some hotlap videos with multi-cam integration and such..
 
Lith1um said:
Which is why triple (or more) displays are awesome, and why I have my eye on the retail Oculus Rift.

In iRacing I'm running a mathematically correct 143 degree fov with 3 x 27's. Distances, and therefore cordinates and rates of travel, are portrayed accurately. Even minor elevation differences are easier to notice with the correct fov. If you're gonna drive laser scanned track surfaces, make the most of it.
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If you have a triple screen set up that's a different animal, because you can actually get close to a real FOV and not have tunnel vision. For a single screen setup, a mathematically correct FOV is less important than having a FOV that's more natural and actually allows you to see more of the track. Setting a FOV 30-50 degrees (mathematically accurate for a single screen) will just mean going around a corner you are blind for much of it, which makes it harder to hit the correct turn in and apex.

Having the correct FOV doesn't make you faster, it just means you have to get used to it and if you play a game where it's different, you have to get used to that.

Having triple screens doesn't make you faster either IMO, it just means it takes less practice to get to a good time because you can see the track better.
 
Double post... but news!

From Facebook:
Assetto Corsa on Steam Early Access - A successful launch!

In the launch weekend, the new PC racing game "Assetto Corsa", produced by KUNOS Simulazioni and distribuited on Steam Early Access has reached the top seller rankings on Steam, just behind Call of Duty Ghosts, keeping the top five position for all the weekend, and it conquered the first position in the racing genre. This first beta version has been very well welcomed by gamers and simracers, who have shared great feedback, very positive comments and suggestions. A result that exceeded the best expectations of the Assetto Corsa dev team, that is already working on the next release, ready to be launched on November 22th, and that will include updates, new features, 3 new cars and 2 new tracks. Meanwhile, a new Early Access teaser has been released. Don't lose this chance, get it now on http://store.steampowered.com/app/244210
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Additional thoughts post this most recent patch? I'm thinking of picking this up, though I only have my 360 pad. Used to have a wheel, but it was too bulky to keep near my full setup.
 
Lith1um said:
We will continue to disagree on that point, to each his own.
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It might make you reach the same fast lap with less practice, but actually "faster", nah, faster mostly just comes from practice with a given setup... actually, even then I think that's only true if you have a triple screen setup because going to a realistic FOV just makes it even harder to see the correct line.

I definitely found it easier to learn tracks when I was using a triple screen setup, but I have no doubt with practice I could churn out the same laps without it.
 
quadnad said:
Additional thoughts post this most recent patch? I'm thinking of picking this up, though I only have my 360 pad. Used to have a wheel, but it was too bulky to keep near my full setup.
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Thoughts on the game and the most recent patch:

  • Amazing additions in this patch!
  • The Pagani Zonda R is such a beast! It's a complete blast to drive
  • They've implemented their changes in FFB to include the road/chassis feel. Its a significant change and one that many were wanting. I expect it to stay and improve as the game gets more patches. I actually quite like this FFB change, even though I still liked their earlier approach.
  • Performance gains are pretty big in terms of AA application, both visually and speed wise.
  • New drift mode is neat, but drifting isn't really my thing.
  • I'm very excited for the progression of this game, given how huge this patch day was. Awesome!

Thoughts on the game in the scope of all sim racing:
  • I'd previously been having issues with my wheel. I was mostly unaware of what was happening, but knew something didn't feel right. I tried various driver/firmware implementations and things didn't work out. One day last week, my wheel randomly started working perfectly in rFactor 2. The game felt completely different compared to my experiences with it previously. I was no longer driving on ice! It was and is amazing how the game plays since the wheel started behaving properly. The same is true of iRacing as well.
  • Given the above change, I've come to realise that I actually prefer the feel/handling present in rFactor 2 and iRacing compared to Assetto Corsa. This is a bit disappointing to me, as previously, Assetto Corsa was clearly the winner. That being said, AC is still great, it just feels much more Sim-Cade-y to me now than before. rFactor 2 feels the best, followed by iRacing, and Assetto Corsa.
  • Assetto Corsa feeling like a Sim-Cade isn't a bad thing though, this is Exactly what they are and were aiming for. See this presentation from last winter. Make sure to turn on captions! At 7:15 the presenter specifically lists Assetto Corsa in the Simcade - SimRacer - Professional racing genres. So it makes sense that at least part of Assetto Corsa will feel like a simcade game. I imagine work will be done to satisfy the simracers as well. (They've already contracted out the base software to the ferrari and other academies for them to build their own software ontop of).

With all of that said, I'm very satisfied with Assetto Corsa. My excitement for it has dwindled slightly, as my wheel suddenly working has changed the feel a bit for me. But that being said, it still handles fantastically, even if I personally prefer others.

Should you get it if you have a controller?
I don't know. I would say, obviously, you are far better off driving with a wheel. However, if that is not in your purview, I think you'll still be happy driving this game with a controller. Controller support is integrated in the game, and they are planning on fully supporting that side of things. I just, personally, can't stand driving with a controller in simulations. I find you overheat the tires too easily, and over drive in general too easily. Perhaps Assetto Corsa will be implementing features to counter act these things, maybe they already have.

Final Note
Check out this video I made of the Pagani Zonda R at Magione of build 0.2 (latest patch). I chose a 6:00pm time to show a different side of Assetto Corsa than most videos (broad daylight).
 
When you say "simcade", do you mean it feels like the NFS SHIFT series or some such?
 
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