Early Access First Impressions & Feedback

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I was just watching Gamer Muscle's first impressions, and he said his SimUCube wheel feels dampened as well.



I only referred to his look, not as the basis of my opinion, but as someone who mentioned that the FFB feels dampened.

I'm downloading it, but I am probably not going to have the time to really dive in. Not like I am the most articulate person when describing what I feel in a racing sim. And I know I far from an authoritative voice when I do speak my mind. So, I'll add my perspective, but that may end up being a view through a pair of beer goggles, to most.
 
Gain/Minimum for now. Up minimum 2% gradually you'll feel a difference.

What wheel are you using?
I've tested Fanatec, Thrustmaster, and an OSW have about 5 hours in game.
The ffb is good but does feel dampened especially with belt drive. I assume there will be settings to fine tune in future builds.

In the mean time, go into your control panel set dampening and spring to 0.
T500rs. Do you mean the thrust master control panel, or in game files? And too much damping is a very good description to describe what I was trying to say.
 
To be honest, one of the first things was "frustration". This because of setting everything on "PRO" difficulty, but then later notice still there isn't a button configuration for the ignition and starter, and being on "PRO" those are manual. I was like "ok, this is dumb".

Enjoyed so far the few laps I've done on dry conditions, but wait 'till new PC build (already have parts) before getting into it for real.
 
T500rs. Do you mean the thrust master control panel, or in game files? And too much damping is a very good description to describe what I was trying to say.

TM control panel, it may help but not too much the only noticeable difference we've seen (my cousins OSW) was in simcube adjustments.
 
Do you have an example of a game in UE4 that does ultra realistic graphics really well?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unreal_Engine_games#Unreal_Engine_4

I'd say if anything it's the benchmark for ultra stylised graphics, particularly cartoonish type games. Fighting games and anime games all over the place, and stylised stuff like We Happy Few and Sea of Thieves seem to be UE4's forte. Frostbite and CryEngine have realism as a fairly central pillar, but honestly most ultra realistic games that I can think of are on their own engines.
I watched a few youtube clips which describe ultra realistic and photo realistic graphics.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=unreal+engine+4+photorealistic+

I hope there will be a triple monitor option.
 
So far, I feel the title is rough around the edges. It's very Forza like in it's presentation. Kunoz is doing a tile thing on the selection screen, which isn't bad; but coupled with the music, I just thought of Forza 6/7. Maybe this is a "Me" issue?

I was thrown that the game recognized my Fanatec CSR but there were no basic bindings to be found. I had to map everything. That wasn't a bad thing but it did require a few trips to and from the practice start, to get everything where I wanted. That could have been mitigated if the "Controls" option in the pause/Escape menu worked. Maybe that option will work in the future. I'm still not 100% satisfied with my bindings, but it will work for now.
The wheel only gave me steering feedback, but none of the bumps or oscillations seemed to come though the wheel. It's not terrible because I felt exactly what direction the tires were pointed and which way the inertia of the car wanted to go. And I was very comfortable and confident with the car, but the rumble strips and off road excursions gave me nothing. This is obviously a work in progress, so I am not going to have a fit about it.

I didn't play with the graphics at all. I just looked and seen that nearly everything was set to "Epic", so that was good enough not to dive into the setting for time being. I'll mess around with the settings later, when I have more time. Graphically ACC is a mixed bag. I thought the inside of the Huracan looked pretty decent, but the world outside of the car looked a little suspect. Everything had a soft edge to it, almost like nothing had crisp defined lines. I'll see what I can do to change that later.
I didn't set V-Sync, so the game was trying it's best to tear it up. That will be addressed in my next session, as well.

The FOV adjustment... I got so use to Assetto Corsa's FOV adjustment, that I almost was pissed that Kunos went with the basic setup on ACC. It works pretty much like AC except, I didn't see a left to right adjustment, and the tilt angle is gone. I have my monitor on a pedestal and the center of the screen is about 2" higher than where my eyes are. After getting the hands on screen to line up in size and position to my hands on my wheel (My ghetto way of aligning my screen), I felt as if I was always looking up hill. The tilt angle needs to return.
The other issue with FOV was that I could not get lower than 30º. Now 30º felt about right, but in Assetto Corsa I run 27º, and for the most part, it appears that ACC has kept the vertical FOV from Assetto Corsa. So why can't I take the FOV down to 27º?

The sounds weren't bad. I liked hearing the brakes, and the car didn't sound like a chainsaw on amphetamines. That's a relief.

Something I liked a lot, how dramatic the lighting change has been. I raced a few laps at the 6am -7am hour, and the sunrise was just blinding. I wanted to block the light with my hand, but that wouldn't have made a difference. The funny thing about this was, I enjoyed every blinding second of it. :lol:

But for an early access, I like it. It's going to get better, so no turning it in for a refund on my part.

Now where do I go to complain... I mean offer criticisms to Kunos? (Rhetorical question, by the way. ;) )
 
I do see a lot of complaints about how they "should have just called this pcars3" and I'm thinking, why? Because they tried to present something with a bit of character?
 
tnn
Triple screen is supported through nVidia surround display.
Thanks. Does this mean it works like it did in AC with the ability to move the HUD anywhere and proper aspect ratios (5760x1080) or are there some limitations?
 
Bought it late last night, even though I knew I only had time for a couple hotlaps. Same i7 laptop that I ran AC on - where I ran with Low-to-Mid graphics settings and saw 60-70fps during solo hotlaps, and 30fps during the rare race I'd try with the AI... I pretty much just hotlapped on AC.

On ACC I set everything to Low to start with, and saw 33fps on the Special Event #1 hotlap, with some noticeable pauses, but it was usable. This is running at 13xx/768 resolution, since the laptop is hdmi'd to a cheap 720p TV.

I hadn't tried dropping the Steering Gain down yet from the default 100, sounds like I should, because I'm using a T500.

More experiments tonight! :dopey:
 
Thanks. Does this mean it works like it did in AC with the ability to move the HUD anywhere and proper aspect ratios (5760x1080) or are there some limitations?

Hi Johnnypenso. when you enable nVidia surround display, ACC will detected and show 5760x1080 as the resolution.
 
Gravaitron; your steering gain was defaulted to 100? Mine was defaulted to 0. LOL. I turned it up to 75. I haven't experienced any major clipping yet, so I think I will stay there.
 
You might regret it down the road when it's fixed and then you'll have to pay full price for the game.
I have no problem paying a full price for something I like(I paid 50 euros for LFS which is more than ACC full price for a game with much less cars and tracks) but after two days of play, I remain pretty skeptical about the final version of ACC.
 
Gravaitron; your steering gain was defaulted to 100? Mine was defaulted to 0. LOL. I turned it up to 75. I haven't experienced any major clipping yet, so I think I will stay there.
My default was also 100 (version 0.1.0) - too much FFB, can't turn wheel easily - feels like driving a truck with no power steering. Still trying out settings and have mine set at 30 for now.

The graphics are great on replay but when driving, everything looks soft and unsharp - like looking thru a soft focus lens.
 
You know, I seemed pretty impressed with Assetto Corsa Competizione based on streams I've seen on YouTube and Twitch. Graphics and audio detail are quite nice. I did kind of note there was some pop-in polygons or something when I was watching Sim Racing Paddock (or whatever that channel is) on YouTube last night when this game was streamed. Pretty good from what I've seen in streams.
 
Something that fixed the graphics for me, Motion Blur off. Holy crap! What a difference!

Yes blur off, textures on epic.
Set it for the middle of the night, in a storm drive very slowly coming through the start finish line turn your lights off and sit there.
It is incredibly life like, the lighting and detail on the grandstand I'm beyond impressed with build one.
 
First Day impressions:

Sounds: Car sounds are spectacular. There are so many sound events being triggered while driving a lap and hitting full throttle and braking hard and pushing tires to the edge..I'm loving it. Obviously, i hope all cars are like this and I can't see why they wouldn't be.

Graphics: No real complaints, but I'm not super picky to begin with. Even with AC I would read certain complaints and think, "wow..how do you even notice that while driving?" So, I'll defer to the eagle-eyed early access participants. I would say that it does look better than AC - last night I flipped back and forth for a while driving the same car & track combo in each sim to compare.

FFB: This is the most controversial issue, it seems. FFB is such a subjective thing which is why you can read one post of someone praising ACC's FFB as the second coming while the very next post is a profanity laced meltdown ripping FFB apart. I wasn't very impressed right away. But, I have 1800 hours in AC driving with a FFB setup that took months to tweak and I'm so used to it....of course, anything is going to feel off or strange. There are so many freakin' options to tweak FFB if you run Content Manager and they really do affect FFB, so it's not a surprise we all had FFB dialed in perfectly for the way each of us wanted it. ACC has what? Two adjustable values, Minimum Force and Gain...? I really hope that we get the road/kerb adjustments back at a minimum. Frankly, I would love ALL of the FFB adjustments from AC to transfer to ACC but I won't hold my breath.

UI: I may be 100% off with this, but the UI makes me believe they're really trying to make the UI so it works for PC players but will also be Console friendly...which would imply ACC will be appearing on consoles at some point. Kunos needs to fix some inconsistencies and hopefully they'll iron out some hiccups.

Driving: Superb. Once I really started to be okay with the FFB of ACC there were no distractions so I could focus on driving. I don't think anyone is surprised that Driving physics appear to be wonderful. I hope we can move HUD elements by GOLD CODE. I became so familiar with the right edge of the main window popping out the Apps available to us, I hope we will still be able to customize things...I don't expect AC levels of Apps or customizations, but we need SOME.

Final Thoughts: Even with a ton of problems & complaints I feel like ACC is headed in the right direction. If they continue listening to our complaints and recommendations ACC should be an awesome GT3 racing simulator. Unfortunately, that's also the achilles heel of ACC. When you load ACC on Day One of the retail version you'll be able to race GT3 cars and that's it. Now, for console players I don't think it's going to make that much of a difference. But, for PC players who've installed a gazillion cars & tracks in AC and like to race lawn mowers on Pike's Peak, ACC is going to feel awful empty. I'm still going to be glad I own ACC once we hit GOLD CODE - afterall, GT3 racing is 99% of the racing I did on AC if I used real race cars. Unfortunately, I am a HUGE fan of street & track-day cars. Both which will not appear in ACC.

EDIT: I should add that there actually will be more to just racing GT3 cars with the Special Events & Career Mode and Multiplayer...but, it's still only GT3 cars that can be used.
 
Any feedback on framerates? No triple screen yet?

tnn
Triple screen is supported through nVidia surround display.
Triple screen is supported, but unfortunately it's not "proper" triple screen yet. You can't specify angle for the side monitors. So the image on those will be stretched. In other words, there is one image (or viewport) projected across all 3 screens. Not 3 separately rendered screens like in AC.


Regarding sound; AC Support (Luca) posted this. Well worth a read. :)
Time to talk about audio in Assetto Corsa Competizione!

Before the development of ACC started, we scratched our heads about which audio middleware would fit our needs with UE4. After some experiments and internal testing, we confirmed FMod because it has been improved over time and we can count on a quite fast support.

Me and my mate Alvio Costantini (the KS coder that is taking care of the FMod implementation in our code, among other stuff like replay and highlights system) rewrote the FMod project structure from scratch and believe me, it was (and it is) a big challenge. Just an example: in Assetto Corsa, the engine sound event used to run just two parameters (rpm and throttle). The lack of time prevented us to make further big changes to the existing audio structure. In Assetto Corsa Competizione there are HUGE changes to that. For example, the same engine sound event relates to over 10 unique parameters. This puts the immersion bar at a new level but making so many things work together as expected requires almost double the working time than AC1.

That said, I want to point out some of the main aspects involved in the audio development for ACC:


CARS - ONBOARD
I could write for hours here... where to start? Well, the car is much more alive than before, with new features, better sound spatialization and overall brightness. Down-mixing from surround systems to stereo configurations works now as expected, keeping levels coherent in the mix. Just this is already a big leap ahead compared to AC1.

The new audio design allowed me to implement many details that were missing in AC1. The transmission behaviour is directly driven by physics. Some wobbling that in real life is produced by the dog-leg transmission is still WIP here, but as said we'll try to improve that together to the physics guys.

Gear shifting is now more rewarding for your ears... personally I totally love downshifting with the Huracan. :D Also backfires are not simply a random thing, but there are different "types" of them that are related to the engine specs (N/A or turbo), rpm, throttle position and fuel flow.

The traction control, another great improvement physics-wise in ACC, is also clearly noticeable sound-wise when it kicks in, bringing an important information regarding your driving style and efficiency.

There are some very new sounds like the gearbox compressor and the ABS. The first one (a sort of buzz you will hear after some downshift) happens because of the hydraulic actuators of the gearbox work at a certain pressure. When this goes down under a certain value, it gets recharged by an electric pump that makes this distinctive sound. In ACC, its behaviour is exactly like in real-life: it calculates the amount of lost pressure and recharges it when needed.

Talking about ABS, well, imagine to engage it in your stock car. Done? Scratch it. Think about a race-car as a big resonance chamber (no soundproofing, stiff setup, pillow ball bushings and so on). The amount of noise and vibration that the ABS can make is really REALLY high. Again, this is very informative about your driving style and any change you need to bring to your driving style and/or setup.

As for the ABS and TC systems, now you can understand if your brakes are in the optimal range just by hearing them. After a certain temperature, you will hear a kind of squeal, that will turn in a more subtle whistle when they get hot but watch out and don't go too high with the temps, otherwise you will face (and hear) the fading effect.

Scratches produced by the car bottoming out is another important aspect you have to keep in mind working on the setup or driving style. Climbing over a curb or bump sometimes is simply not technically feasible because of the car height and suspension travel, but if your car is scratching your bottom all over the place, probably you're driving too low.

Another new feature is the engine startup/shutdown procedure! From a "cold and dark" situation (i.e. everything off), remember to enable the ignition first (Shift - I by default at the moment of this post) and when you hear the fuel pump, you can engage the starter by pressing S. If you engage it without ignition on, you will only hear the starter motor running. This will provide great action during pitstops, where shutting down the engine is mandatory.

Last but not least: driving along a wall/barrier (if you are not in a reverb zone like the main straight), casts now reflections of your exterior engine sound.


CARS - EXTERIOR SOUNDS AND TRACK CAMERAS
Exterior sounds have also been improved. Now there are dynamic reverbs and other filters that are related to the distance and position of the car(s). The aim is to achieve a coherent behaviour when many cars are involved without hitting the headroom barrier but providing at the same time a clear sound experience watching a race as a spectator or just enjoying a replay from the track cameras.

Watching a replay of your car alone on the track is now more enjoyable because there are many more sounds involved besides the car itself: crowd from the standings, track speakers, weather, soundscape, rumble passing over the curbs (if the camera is close enough) and so on.


TIRES
This is another big change. As for the engine, the tires event sound includes many parameters like slip ratio, tyre load, wet level, marbles, puddles, surfaces, brake temp, ABS status and some other things that I can't even remember now! If you are an AC1 user, you will immediately spot the differences in sound and behaviour.

Remember: marbles are the evil (and believe me, they make a REALLY loud noise in a real race car) if you are driving on dry conditions, but could somehow help you on wet because they work like a sort of basic "tread" for your tires. Please read Aris' posts here on the forum for more information about that.

A note about the level of dirtiness of the tires: in future releases, if a car ahead you collects dirt on its tires, you might hear some chirps hitting your windshield or body. This is not a fake effect, but it's indeed based on the amount of dirtiness gathered by the car ahead.


WEATHER
Talking about new features, the changeable weather is for sure one of the most requested news in ACC. It was not easy, audio-wise, to work on the different weather conditions without risking to "distract" the driver with too many effects. Our aim (and hope you enjoy it) is to provide to the user the same kind of "awe" that a real driver experience in unusual conditions. Personally, driving and hearing the drops on the car body and the tyre noise intensify, lapping faster and faster under a heavy rain or during a race on a wet track, makes me goosebumps. We hope that the whole "package" (graphics, audio, physics and FFB) can bring to you the same experience.

Funny hint: the wiper sound is related to the rain level, try to turn it on when the windshield is dry. :)


TRACK LIFE
As said before, the crowd is audible and their loudness is related to their number. Sound speakers along the track also work, as well as pit alarm sirens when you cross the pit lane entry line. Barriers and walls make basic reflections of your exterior engine when you drive in cockpit/onboard cameras. In future, you will hear authentic pit stop sounds, different for interior and exterior cameras.


WHAT'S NEXT
I can't talk about all the aspects that are involved in the audio making, also because some of them are still on paper or just WIP, but we are doing (and will do) our best to provide the best experience possible. Hope you are enjoying and will enjoy our work. Furthermore, don't be afraid about reporting issues or constructive (aka doable/realistic) critiques.

Thanks in advance for your feedback! Now, let's go back to work on the next car on the list. :)

EDIT: BIG THANKS to the real Blancpain drivers and SRO for their precious help, support and availability. Much appreciated!
 
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What I really liked was the price, I paid just $11.37, that's a bargain for this game !!!!!

How did you managed to get such a cheap price??

What is included? Which Tracks, Cars... competitions??
 
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UI makes me believe they're really trying to make the UI so it works for PC players but will also be Console friendly...

If there was ever any doubt about this coming to console a quick scroll through the UI quickly eliminates it.
The UI was built for console, it's similar to Forza 7 in it's box design.

Agree on the FFB no doubt future builds have to have fine tuning adjustment there.
 
This game looks promising, though it's a shame it's only about GT3. I wish they had also included LMP and GTE. LMP is my favorite class but unfortunately there's never been a sim or even "simcade" that focuses on it.
 
Roadmap here: https://www.assettocorsa.net/competizione/roadmap/

The track is actually the GT layout (not GP)
In addition there are different wet weather types (not dynamic though) and 24 h day/night cycle.

Thanks!

Aditional question:

If you buy Early Access 1, when you reach for EA 3... you pay only 10 bucks more... or the full 35??? And for the final one ... you pay only the difference (10 bucks more) or again more 45 of them???
Were talking about a total price of 25+35+45 bucks... or just 45... for being able to play the game since the very start of it?

Or may we pay right now the full 45.xx bucks abd receive all EAs 1..2..3.. etc.. and final full game??
 
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This game looks promising, though it's a shame it's only about GT3. I wish they had also included LMP and GTE. LMP is my favorite class but unfortunately there's never been a sim or even "simcade" that focuses on it.

LMP is my favorite class as well. I'm optimistic sometime next year we may have a mod to do some multiclass racing.
 
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