Assetto Corsa vs. PCars 2 vs GTS: Physics, FFB

[Blood*Specter]

The UI is light years ahead of Assetto Corsa. As well as what PCars 1 offered. It feels very smooth and easy to navigate.

It "seems" Slightly Mad has done a much better job of taming the FFB. And clearly a better job of explaining the adjustments that can be made.
It appears you will have to put in serious work to find the FFB adjustments that work best for you. And I think they might be different for each car.
I find nothing wrong with that. Especially if you have a few cars that your are drawn to and run all the time. That work is a labor of love.
What I think is key in the FFB area is that PCars 2 give you a better than even chance of actually finding a FFB sweet spot. And you may be able to do it without adding on user developed software.

I feel the range of chassis adjustments has been handled in an excellent manner. And when you make adjustments and take the car to the track you do feel the difference through your wheel., Makes me think a "butt kicker" setup would be worth the money.

It seems the ability to start up a weekend or track day has been pulled. I thought those features were valuable in learning how to deal with race traffic. And to keep me occupied because there was a dearth of on-line racing options. It seems you have to dither around with the career mode to actually have practice session with other cars running with you.

The career mode subjectively feels better put together. The entire execution of the modes has a spit n polish vibe, This is the game they wanted to release the first time in terms of quality fit n finish. Setup and button option are handled well. I'm trying to use CrewChief app and not sure if the shared memory feature is working or not.

It's still early. And folks with more detail will surely find some missing items. And of course the better drivers will report on the handling aspect.

But at first blush SMS has done an excellent job.
And seemingly without release day drama. I say that without having attempted to race or go to a lobby on-line.
Finally, I am using the PC version. I will not buy the PS4/PRO version until I hear some feedback.

 

[RacingManiac]

T

It "seems" Slightly Mad has done a much better job of taming the FFB. And clearly a better job of explaining the adjustments that can be made.
It appears you will have to put in serious work to find the FFB adjustments that work best for you. And I think they might be different for each car.
I find nothing wrong with that. Especially if you have a few cars that your are drawn to and run all the time. That work is a labor of love.
What I think is key in the FFB area is that PCars 2 give you a better than even chance of actually finding a FFB sweet spot. And you may be able to do it without adding on user developed software.
.....


It seems the ability to start up a weekend or track day has been pulled. I thought those features were valuable in learning how to deal with race traffic. And to keep me occupied because there was a dearth of on-line racing options. It seems you have to dither around with the career mode to actually have practice session with other cars running with you.

.......

A few questions I guess regarding those...

Are all the FFB settings(and I guess setups too) still completely track to track dependent and you need to setup a car from scratch every time? PCars had no real access to the file structure unless you copied all the settings from one track to another in the option menu(away from the race weekends). Out side of the playabilty gripes from the 1st game that was I think the dumbest thing about the first game on PC. Made worse when sometimes it would just randomly borked the existing profiles...

No track day? So you HAVE to race all the time? That seems extreme stupid...

 

[Blood*Specter]

There is

A few questions I guess regarding those...

Are all the FFB settings(and I guess setups too) still completely track to track dependent and you need to setup a car from scratch every time? PCars had no real access to the file structure unless you copied all the settings from one track to another in the option menu(away from the race weekends). Out side of the playabilty gripes from the 1st game that was I think the dumbest thing about the first game on PC. Made worse when sometimes it would just randomly borked the existing profiles...

No track day? So you HAVE to race all the time? That seems extreme stupid...

There is practice session. I was just too rapped up in career to notice.
My bad totally.

It looks like you can adjust FFB to each course or the car you choose.
I'm really going to dive into it tonight. Too much yard work today.

 

[RacingManiac]

It looks like you can adjust FFB to each course or the car you choose.
I'm really going to dive into it tonight. Too much yard work today.

It was like that the first one. But you can't load the setting from another track into it. Also it always starts from default, even FFB setting, unless you saved something else in the main setting menu to universally applied. I think have FFB follow a car is fine, but specific tracks is pretty dumb

 

[Pallie]

The ffb fidelity in AC is so far ahead of PC2 they're not even in the same league. And there's rim vibration, removed on purpose I'm told from PC2 that makes my wheel feel deadened. Removed I'm told because they didn't want it to interfere with the rest of the feedback. Which wouldn't be so bad, except the low end of the sound design is so weak it hardly moves my two buttkickers to compensate. I'll wait for the inevitable Steam winter sale and catch it then. Maybe.

 

[PzR Slim]

The ffb fidelity in AC is so far ahead of PC2 they're not even in the same league. And there's rim vibration, removed on purpose I'm told from PC2 that makes my wheel feel deadened. Removed I'm told because they didn't want it to interfere with the rest of the feedback. Which wouldn't be so bad, except the low end of the sound design is so weak it hardly moves my two buttkickers to compensate. I'll wait for the inevitable Steam winter sale and catch it then. Maybe.

I completely disagree with this. I've got my CSW V2 setup in PCars 2 to feel very similar to how it does in AC. The wheel feels anything but deadened. It's absolutely alive. On a wet track you can feel every single piece of standing water and it is extremely realistic. I'm almost certain I can even feel the painted grid spaces on the tarmac in PCars 2.

 

[Blood*Specter]

The ffb fidelity in AC is so far ahead of PC2 they're not even in the same league. And there's rim vibration, removed on purpose I'm told from PC2 that makes my wheel feel deadened. Removed I'm told because they didn't want it to interfere with the rest of the feedback. Which wouldn't be so bad, except the low end of the sound design is so weak it hardly moves my two buttkickers to compensate. I'll wait for the inevitable Steam winter sale and catch it then. Maybe.

I completely disagree with this. I've got my CSW V2 setup in PCars 2 to feel very similar to how it does in AC. The wheel feels anything but deadened. It's absolutely alive. On a wet track you can feel every single piece of standing water and it is extremely realistic. I'm almost certain I can even feel the painted grid spaces on the tarmac in PCars 2.

I seems to me if you put trial and error work into the FEB settings you will find a suitable setting. Starting point would be RAW with everything else maxed.
Adjust from there.

 

[PzR Slim]

I seems to me if you put trial and error work into the FEB settings you will find a suitable setting. Starting point would be RAW with everything else maxed.
Adjust from there.

No don't go everything maxed! If you max Tone you will get rid of all road feel. Decreasing Tone and increasing FX will increase the road feel. So I'd start Raw flavour, max Gain, Tone and FX at 50. If overall ffb is too strong reduce Gain. Once you have overall ffb at required level slowly increase FX and reduce Tone until you get the required road feel you require.

 

[TT92]

Seems as though there is some (quite a lot actually) of disagreement over whether or not PCARS 2 FF is up to AC's level. I am one of those that says it most definitely is not.

Some others will say it is better, and that is fine *BUT* the main difference is AC's worked straight out of the box with a little tweaking on just the actual strength for personal choice and wheel type. PCARS 2 you have to tinker with several different settings that do not intuitively make any sense what so ever and it is purely by trial and error.

This is the difference! Some seem to have jagged it straight up while others (me for sure) am still putting time and effort into it as it is still not right. I have tried some settings suggested by other members here and they are just so far off what I consider right it is just ridiculous to think how anyone could drive with those settings.

I use a Thrustmaster T300 RS standard wheel and it has worked great in GT6, Dirt Rally and AC. PCARS 1 i never got it to where I thought it was great only OK and that took nearly 12 months. Same with PCARS 2 after about 6 hours I am still fiddling with it to try and get it where I think it is just OK. I even load AC back up just to make sure I have not forgotten how good it was in that game.

So I challenge all those that say PCARS 2 has the best FF to give me some settings that will work on my wheel that will match AC. You never know I might just have to change my opinion ;-)

 

[Fredzy]

The only FFB option should be strength. AC’s artificial effects always bugged me a little because I liked them. I use a smidge of curb and road feel but that’s it. Each car has its own FFB behavior, all you really have to do is set the strength to your liking.

PCars seems like they allow you to design your own FFB feel. Does each individual cars’ settings include FFB? Sometimes more is not better.

 

[Punknoodle]

I had fairly low expectations for Pcars 2 based on Pcars which I couldn't get to work right at all. AC and iRacing have always been the benchmark for FFB for me.

Pcars 2 is night and day to Pcars. With the informative present on my CSWv2 the wheel feels responsive and weighted and I have good road feedback. I'm very impressed, and I'll get a lot of enjoyment out of this title.

 

[OooAhh Cantona]

Some of my Project CARS 2 worries include:

• Steering doesn't look progressive. I see many gameplay videos where wheel users constantly make inputs reminiscent of unskilled controller pad users.
• Tires scream terribly under braking in many of the videos I've seen, which suggests constant lockups. Maybe user error, but braking should be intuitive.
• Kerbs look bad. Let's be honest, our eyes point towards these all the time.
• No chassis rumble audio effects when cars bounce on and off bumps and elevated surfaces.
• Overall graphics on standard PS4 remind of the PS2 era. Perhaps the same can be said for AC environments, but dashboard and road details as well as sunlight reflections make up for it.

Right now I'm not prepared to throw a single penny at Project CARS 2, and the unfolding day one bug fest surely doesn't help. I just want to know whether the driving experience of AC has received a worthy competitor on consoles.

In a word: yes. (IMO of course.) If "driving experience" is not just physics/FFB. pCARS2 has the physics/FFB (I still rate AC better, but not by a lot) and so much more - tracks, car class competitors, cars (and more Porsches and Ferraris to come), customizable HUD (not sure I will need 3rd party app as I did for pCARS1).

• Steering is progressive for me. It did take me 2 days to find good FFB setting for my T300. I guess that's better the than 2 weeks setting up controller setting in pCARS1. And 2 years and counting for pCARS1 FFB.
• Yes, tire screech is like nails on chalkboard. I had to lower tire volume. Braking is fine.
• Are you referring to graphics quality of kerbs? I have not noticed. Yes... looking to apex and all that, but I'm not staring at it. Got a race to win!
• I did not notice any chassis rumble. Not a game breaker for me. If AC has that, it definitely wasn't a game attraction for me to buy AC.
• I think only GT Sport can be "throwing stones" about graphics. PS2 comparison is quite a stretch.

I own both AC and pCARS2. I enjoy both for respective reasons. Although AC may be collecting dust for a bit because of the newness of pCARS2.

 

[llNovall]

Ok, here's my take. I went Apple's to Apple's on this one using the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport on Racing Hard Slicks using a G29 on PS4. To start, I was within one tenth in lap times between AC and PCARS2, so the ability to find adequate settings for PCars2 is available. It took 2 days of tinkering, but I was able to very closely replicate the feel for my G29 of AC. Closely being the key word. AC's physics are much more defined and progressive through a corner and to me feels more natural and what you would expect a car to behave like. The fine fine road details, the subtle dancing of the suspension diving into a downhill corners, and most notably; the loss and gain of grip at all levels. Not to say you cannot get these feelings from pcars2, it just seems like there is always a trade off....want more side load and slip feel, sacrifice kerb and road feel....want more ffb all together, lose some or all of those wanted details that is expected. Also, almost every car in AC handles as you would expect it to irl, and the ffb for each car is tailored specifically to what that car should feel like. Problem that I have seen so far with Pcars2 is, just when you dial in a car to "feel" great or like AC, as in the example stated above, you go to another car to realize that it's ffb features and handling are numb. Those settings may work for a variety of cars, but then not for others....very frustrating. That's the physics side of things.
For more opinion and comparison, read within the spoiler.

Spoiler: More opinion

Now for some other notes.
Sound! Some cars in PCars2 sound good and have a nice overall note. Then there are others, that with the volume on my headset all the way up seem muffled or toned down. PCars1 had it down, and AC has it hands down. Again, use the example above. In Pcars2, the Clubsport sounds like AC's standard 718 Cayman S, whereas in AC, it has that ringy, high revving visceral sound we all expect to hear from a racing Porsche boxer engine....at a lower headset volume. What happened Pcars?
Lastly, graphics. (I'm on Standard PS4, so take this into consideration)
I was expecting Pcars1 quality and sharpness.....just not there. Alot of jagged edges, and off textures, etc. Was not impressed.
As a final note, I was really hoping for Pcars2 to be the AC with a better online and a ton of career content. Imo, it falls well short. Here's to wishing for a collaboration between PD's visuals/online community, Pcars2 track list and career, and AC's physics and sounds. The merged studio could be called "Slightly Mad PolyKunos Digital"

 

[MightyL]

Here's to wishing for a collaboration between PD's visuals/online community, Pcars2 track list and career, and AC's physics and sounds. The merged studio could be called "Slightly Mad PolyKunos Digital"[/SPOILER]

You forgot former PD's and current Turn 10s car count.
We need communism back for that. Government should force the one company thing to happen. Angela Merkel showed some interest in racing games. . Not fast money should be the drive (are you listening turn10?) but the higher goal of a really simtastic game that delivers in all segments. I have always thought PD had the right mentality to one day delivering a deep game that has all the sectors right. but I've lost hope.

 

[Pallie]

I completely disagree with this. I've got my CSW V2 setup in PCars 2 to feel very similar to how it does in AC. The wheel feels anything but deadened. It's absolutely alive. On a wet track you can feel every single piece of standing water and it is extremely realistic. I'm almost certain I can even feel the painted grid spaces on the tarmac in PCars 2.

The CSW and the CSR are different wheels. Maybe your wheel felt similar, but mine felt completely different even after nearly two hours of tinkering with the settings. If a fundamental feature such as rim vibration is missing, it's obviously not going to feel the same. Being on different wheels, we have different expectations on how they should feel. Yours were met, mine weren't. Life goes on, enjoy your game.

 

[PzR Slim]

Seems as though there is some (quite a lot actually) of disagreement over whether or not PCARS 2 FF is up to AC's level. I am one of those that says it most definitely is not.

Some others will say it is better, and that is fine *BUT* the main difference is AC's worked straight out of the box with a little tweaking on just the actual strength for personal choice and wheel type. PCARS 2 you have to tinker with several different settings that do not intuitively make any sense what so ever and it is purely by trial and error.

This is the difference! Some seem to have jagged it straight up while others (me for sure) am still putting time and effort into it as it is still not right. I have tried some settings suggested by other members here and they are just so far off what I consider right it is just ridiculous to think how anyone could drive with those settings.

I use a Thrustmaster T300 RS standard wheel and it has worked great in GT6, Dirt Rally and AC. PCARS 1 i never got it to where I thought it was great only OK and that took nearly 12 months. Same with PCARS 2 after about 6 hours I am still fiddling with it to try and get it where I think it is just OK. I even load AC back up just to make sure I have not forgotten how good it was in that game.

So I challenge all those that say PCARS 2 has the best FF to give me some settings that will work on my wheel that will match AC. You never know I might just have to change my opinion ;-)

I haven't said it's got the best ffb just that I have managed to get it feeling to how I like it in AC. This is what I am currently using in both the PC and XBox version. Fanatec CSW V2. I use the raw preset, Gain 100, Volume 50, Tone 40, FX 60.

 

[BrainsBush]

I haven't said it's got the best ffb just that I have managed to get it feeling to how I like it in AC. This is what I am currently using in both the PC and XBox version. Fanatec CSW V2. I use the raw preset, Gain 100, Volume 50, Tone 40, FX 60.

I have more or less the same ffb settings, only increased FX to 75. Then try e.g the Aston Martin DBR1 on Road America. Car/track rumble, feeling, response from track and steering behavior etc is great!!

 

[unv412]

thanks for all the comments guys, its saved me paying for something (PC2) that in my perspective, isn't better than what i have already (AC).

I like to race predominately road cars (90% of the time) ........I blame Best Motoring videos for that lol..........and PC2 is a little lite on that at the moment and i can't see it surpassing AC on that front either.

I think i shall thro down on FM7 (finally on PC) instead of PC2......even tho the demo physics/ffb was utter ****!!!!!.......700 predominately road cars will make for some very fun Best Motoring battles, if only in the drag races LOL

 

[super_gt]

I was able to test today the BMW 1 Series M coupè on the Nordschleife in Project CARS/Assetto Corsa and I like the BMW 1M in Project CARS more.The car is just more agile mid corner off throttle in Project CARS compared to Assetto Corsa BMW 1M which has huge understeer mid corner even off throttle.But the wheel spin on throttle(drift) is felt a bit more realistic and easy to control in Assetto Corsa BMW 1M.The Nordschleife in Assetto Corsa is better.

 

[TT92]

I haven't said it's got the best ffb just that I have managed to get it feeling to how I like it in AC. This is what I am currently using in both the PC and XBox version. Fanatec CSW V2. I use the raw preset, Gain 100, Volume 50, Tone 40, FX 60.

I have just had a conversation with a very good friend of mine who had the same issues as me and he gave me his settings for my T300. Although still not as good as AC it has vastly improved what I was using.

Flavour = Informative Gain = 69 Volume = 60 Tone & FX standard at 50. with this I can now actually feel ripple strips on the curbs and have a much better sense of what the front end is doing BUT still not as good as AC.

This is the main point AC worked straight out of the box, adjust FFB strength to your liking and just enjoy. PCARS 1& 2 weeks later and you are still tinkering with settings to try and get something that you can just live with and like. PCARS 1 I just gave up in the end.

 

[Blood*Specter]

Seems as though there is some (quite a lot actually) of disagreement over whether or not PCARS 2 FF is up to AC's level. I am one of those that says it most definitely is not.

Some others will say it is better, and that is fine *BUT* the main difference is AC's worked straight out of the box with a little tweaking on just the actual strength for personal choice and wheel type. PCARS 2 you have to tinker with several different settings that do not intuitively make any sense what so ever and it is purely by trial and error.

This is the difference! Some seem to have jagged it straight up while others (me for sure) am still putting time and effort into it as it is still not right. I have tried some settings suggested by other members here and they are just so far off what I consider right it is just ridiculous to think how anyone could drive with those settings.

I use a Thrustmaster T300 RS standard wheel and it has worked great in GT6, Dirt Rally and AC. PCARS 1 i never got it to where I thought it was great only OK and that took nearly 12 months. Same with PCARS 2 after about 6 hours I am still fiddling with it to try and get it where I think it is just OK. I even load AC back up just to make sure I have not forgotten how good it was in that game.

So I challenge all those that say PCARS 2 has the best FF to give me some settings that will work on my wheel that will match AC. You never know I might just have to change my opinion ;-)

TT, I agree with you sort of. In fact I don't feel that PC2 FFB is better than Assetto Corsa. However, I do think putting time into the FFB settings will get results far better than what was available in PC1. I use the same wheel you do. So I will take the advise of PzR Slim and adjust the tone < and the FX > and see how that feels. And because everyone is different, I will have to walk through each flavor. This could take some time.

I will send some of my findings. But not to prove you wrong, but to share and maybe learn something.👍

 

[Georgeagea]

I have both.
Been playing PC2 for days now.

Handling and physics is fine i suppose in PC2 but not to AC level.
Graphics on PS4 are BAD! I dunno how people are crazy about them!
Tracks look much natural and better feeling in AC.
Car models are better in AC.
Sound of cars is mucccchhh better in AC. I had to double the volume I use on AC, and still didn't get there! Much less sound details too!
The inconsistency in cars is scary! Some cars feel dead! A live car like the KTM feels amazing in AC and feels dead in PC2!

FFB is weird! I dunno why they chose to adopt those settings! Why not be more explicit and simple! AC did it awesomely!
I use FFB at 90 and everything else at 0 in AC. It gives the RAW feedback and nothing artificial in there!
Hence, I am against many of you saying that we should increase FX to get more feel for the road! I Don't care much about that! I care more about what the car is doing!
So i used, on my G29:
Flavour Informative
Gain 90
Volume 67
Tone 75
FX 0
This gives me some kind of an AC feel to it! Just not there yet!

I'll keep the game and enjoy it for what it is because all my friends have gotten it!
But in my opinion, I still rate AC as much better!

 

[35mm]

@Fredzy

First things first.
If you try a direct comparison between the two games (same car and same track) you will most likely end up disappointed.
At least that was my case, when I deliberately drove the KTM X-BOW around Brands Hatch on Assetto Corsa for one hour before PCars 2 unlocked, and decided this would be the first combo I would try on it.
Seriously, all that information being sent to you through the wheel in AC, where you can feel everything that's going on with the car and allows you to take it around the corners like if it's on its tiptoes; that does not exist in PC2. It's much improved from PC1, but it's not as detailed as AC.

Now, this is different than saying that PC2 isn't enjoyable. Quite the contrary.
Pick a new car (one that isn't taken over from PCars 1), set the values right for your FFB (no, it's still not "out-of-the-box" for the T300/PS4) and you'll soon forget about AC.
This is the most important part: PC2 is good in its own way. It doesn't need to be like AC to be enjoyable and lots of fun.
In its own way, it offers good feedback and it's very rewarding to drive.
Hell, pick the Caterham around Knockhill and you'll see what I mean. This combo alone makes PC2 worth buying. And, most importantly, you'll be too busy enjoying the driving to even remember AC.


And then there's all. That. Content.
It's overwhelming. Just choosing a track is so difficult (especially coming from AC), with all the quantity and variety.
I have only 4 hours of play in the game and haven't even touched things like snow, night driving, the career and online. Hell, I haven't even experienced RX yet, which is said to be one the highlights.

And yes, you'll find lots of bugs and very annoying things. But then, being AC fans, we are used to dealing with those, aren't we?



TL;DR: In my opinion, just go and get PC2.

 

[RacingManiac]

I probably will buy PC2, just probably not until its on sale...

 

[TT92]

I probably will buy PC2, just probably not until its on sale...

Very wise indeed ;-)

 

[35mm]

I was just watching this video and thought it would be pertinent to this thread:

 

[super_gt]

I was just watching this video and thought it would be pertinent to this thread:

I had the same experience in both games with BMW 1M Coupe.Nice neutral balanced BMW 1M in Project CARS 2 and BMW 1M with big understeer in mid corner in Assetto Corsa.Then I changed the front tyres with rear tyres from the same car which are 2cm. wider than front tyres,and the BMW 1M in Assetto Corsa has become much more fun to drive.The cars in Assetto Corsa need more grip in the front.

 

[jaynnc]

I would have to say Assetto Corsa....Assetto just feels beautiful and natural....I actually have a sweat and increased heart rate after driving assetto...Like the pagani on the highland with headphones is amazing...I actually like that assetto corsa doesnt have some many things to mess with BUT at the same time assetto corsa is missing some many other features like weather, dynamic environment, more cars and tracks....Overall, both games are great it you love racing games....I cant complain

 

[ALB123]

The only FFB option should be strength. AC’s artificial effects always bugged me a little because I liked them. I use a smidge of curb and road feel but that’s it. Each car has its own FFB behavior, all you really have to do is set the strength to your liking.

PCars seems like they allow you to design your own FFB feel. Does each individual cars’ settings include FFB? Sometimes more is not better.

Me too. Just a dab of each gives me a considerably more connected feeling with my car & the road I'm driving on.

I can't comment on PCars 2 - since I don't own a copy or have several hours experience with PC2, forming an opinion based on what people tell me would just make me look like a jackass. It's surprising how many people do it anyway. I'd like to just comment on an observation. It really surprises me that more people aren't absolutely blown away by PCars 2. Before launch I kept hearing game-changing this and first-of-its-kind that from Ian Bell - while it appears PCars 2 is a fine product...certainly nothing to be ashamed of...I really am surprised that PCars 2 couldn't blow Assetto Corsa out of the water. Brand new sim versus 3+ year old sim. The hype sure was there, but when all is said and done, the biggest take away for me is PCars 2 has a ton more tracks & maybe cars than Assetto Corsa. Heck, PCars 1 was more of a "racing game" than Assetto Corsa, so I don't even consider that a plus of PCars 2 - how could it not be better than AC in that regard when even it's troubled first incarnation was better as a "racing game" with Career.

Then again, opinions are just that...they're personal opinions. I know quite a few people who's opinions I respect that are loving PCars 2 and probably won't go back to AC and then I know quite a few people who's opinions I respect that have already gone back to Assetto Corsa. It's like, we can both look at the same painting but see different things. Person X loves the FFB & Physics while Person Y hates the physics & FFB.

The one thing that I don't like to see, and I'll never understand why people do this, but they take it so freakin' personally. If they like AC then they want to see PCars 2 burn...and vice versa. You don't have to pick a side. It's okay to love both!! Nope. You're a PC2 or AC guy. You're a GT or Forza guy. Can't be both. Hurry! Pick a team and let's go make fun of the other people who like that other game! It's like that with everything these days and it drives me nuts (Android vs. iPhone is one of the big ones that comes to mind. They're just overpriced smartphones. That's all they are. Now, having said all of that everyone knows AC rules and PC2 drools! AC forever!!!! Just kidding.

 

[Pallie]

I probably will buy PC2, just probably not until its on sale...

I'm in the same boat. It'll be better because of patches and no doubt cheaper soon. I'll pass on being a full price beta tester.