Your Assetto Corsa Reviews.
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Scaff
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My ramblings following a few days with the PS4 version of Assetto Corsa with the day 1 patch in place.
Reviewed using my rig, which at the time of writing is a Playseat Challenge, Thrustmaster T150, TP3A and TH8A.
It doesn't cover the on-line, which I will write up separately.
UI and Navigation.
On firing up AC for the first time you are greeted with an excellent intro video that sets the scene nicely and gets you fired up for what's to come (or reaching for the volume control if its midnight as it was for me - best not wake the family).
The main menu and interface is nice and clean, easy to navigate and user friendly. All the usual suspects are in place, with Special Events, Drive and Career taking up the bulk of the screen; below that three smaller sections for News, Replays and Options.
Special Events consist of a massive variety of different Time Attack, Drift and Races that mix and match the car and track combinations up nicely. It’s a great idea for when you can't make up your mind what to do. A special mention for me goes to one event in particular, the very last Special Event is Brands Hatch Indy and a full grip of old school Abarth 500's, it's simultaneously hilarious fun, a real challenge and a great demonstration of the depth of the physics engine. What makes it special is that it does so using arguably the simplest track layout in the title and the least powerful car.
Drive is your sandpit, allowing you to pick from a vast array of event types, from Free Run to Race Weekend, via the likes of Drift, On-Line and Time Attack. Long term this is likely to eat up the bulk of your time, so fittingly it’s the default selection when you fire up AC. Nothing is locked away in Drive either, you have access to the entire car roster and track list, no need to unlock anything.
Career takes you through a series of themed Time Attacks and Races, starting with lower powered front wheel drive cars and building up as it goes. It’s a nice idea that introduces you the different challenges faced with the different drivetrains and just how different road and race cars are on track. As with the Special Events this throws up some nice combinations of cars and tracks at you, I in particular loved a Time Attack at Imola with the KTM X-bow, the car and track suiting each other excellently.
All is however not a bed of roses within the Career mode, or for that matter any 'race' based mode, AC gives you four AI levels, from Easy to Alien. Now I'm not the quickest driver around, but I'm certainly not the slowest and yet the pace the AI has even on Easy is at time absurd. This has the potential effect of seriously putting off a lot of players new to racing titles, and given that another three difficultly levels exist, it's also un-needed. Add in that some of the career events seem designed to be overly difficult even at the Easy level and you have some quite serious balancing issues to content with.
The News section only currently contains some very basic information on how to get started, it's not massively helpful and only time will tell how much love it will get and consequently how much use it will be to us.
Next up we have the Reply tool, which I was pleased to see was nice and easy to find, not hidden away behind some odd part of career as other titles have done. So I was particularly annoyed to find that a limit is set on the size of the replay! I do also mean size, as its not number of lap or time dependent, as it varies depending on track size and number of cars on track. This makes it almost impossible to judge what you will end up with on a replay and as a result very disappointing. I put a lot of videos together across all the titles I run, and this is the first on the current generation that I have found to have a cap on the length of the recording. Given that with PS4 Firmware 4.0 (I'm running it as a Beta right now) you can record up to 60 minutes of gameplay, limiting a reply to circa 6 minutes is absurd.
The last bit is the options side of things, which in all honesty for a title that migrated from PC are very, very basic. Units can be converted, but only for speed, what about every other unit used in set-up screens! Regardless of if you are using a controller or a wheel you can't re-assign a single button, which makes button box support for wheel users a non-starter and is simply unacceptable for pad users. To effectively use a pad with a sim you need to be able to set it up for your personal preference, this is simply not good enough and needs to be patched quickly.
Wheel users will find a surprising lack of options, with no wheel or pedal calibration and minimal Force Feedback Options. The lack of calibration will mainly affect the brake pedal, and by default is very sensitive, with many cars locking up at half travel on my TP3A's. I was able to fix that by adjusting the brake mod on the actual pedal, but this will not be an option for many. The limited Force Feedback options are a welcome sight for many (based on the 'other' sim release on PS4), but once again are not explained to those who are unfamiliar with them. Out of the box they work well, however I would recommend dialling down the Main Force Feedback (first option) and switching on the Understeer Effect, as without doing so the wheel may end up clipping and you will not have the loss of Self Aligning Torque when understeering that you should have (if I'm being picky Understeer Effect should also be a slider, not just an on/off option).
One thing that currently is a real pain for user of the Thrustmaster T8SA H pattern shifter is that currently it will not work if its plugged into the wheel base (as it does with every other PS4 racing title), but rather has to be plugged into the second USB port. This is something that appears to be a carryover from the PC version and is the only PS4 title that I am aware of that forces you down this route. Its quite annoying given that I now have to mess around with cables when moving between titles just to get my shifter working.
Graphics and Sound (OK so how pretty is it on the eyes and ears)
The car models are well done, nicely detailed both inside and outside with full working instrument clusters and the drivers movements well animated (however the speed of gear change is bizarrely quick when using a stick), based on the cars I've sampled to date they are also very accurate models
The tracks however are a very mixed bunch, the immediate track you are on is OK, but as you get further away from the track the trackside furniture and landscape get more and more basic. It's been a while since I've seen 2D static crowds in a racing title, but here they are. It's not a big deal for me personally (hell I love Seb Loeb Rally and that's one of the worse looking sims around) as its consistent and the bits immediately in front of you are fine. They do however as a result seriously lack atmosphere, the focus in getting the laser scanned detail has clearly taken precedent over every other aspect of the track build.
What is not quite so fine it that you get a bit of pop-up in the distance, which is a pain when attempting to read the track ahead, and a fair degree of screen tearing as well. Now both of these can be quite distracting, the degree to which will vary from person to person and it does need to be resolved.
It also falls foul of some very odd design choices, with you just being dropped into the car on the grid as soon as you hit the race start button, most titles attempt to build some atmosphere at this point, but with AC is clinically straight into the race. The end of the race is no different, with no clear indication the race has even finished bar the chequered flag in the top left corner of the screen. You carry on driving for a few hundred meters and then get teleported back to the pits, at this point it's not clear what is happening and easy to leave the screen. Doing so will however lose all progress and the hard work you have put in will be forgotten. You have to wait for however long it takes for an unknown percentage of the rest of the field to finish and teleport back into the pits before you get the results screen and can safely leave the race!
Its origin as a PC title also show in one other area, the set-up screens for the car while you are in the pits. Its small white text on a picture background, I sit around 1.5 metres (under six foot) from a 50" screen in my rig and I still struggle to read it.
Audio is also excellently recreated, from the engine note, timbre and 'feel' of the sound (I run a 5.1 AV system for my rig) are all right. In addition you get some nice atmospheric sounds as well, from the wind noise, to stones in the wheel arches to front splitter scraping the ground under braking. It all adds up to a package that sonically works.
Odd gripes sound wise are that the menu music randomly picks a speaker on my AV system to use every time I change screen, not too bad if it’s the centre speaker, annoying and odd if it's one of the rear speakers (and it will only be one) and when you look left or right the audio crackles and cuts out, it doesn't happen in all cars, but I found it consistent in the Alfa Romeo GTA and Ford Escort RS1600.
Driving Feel, Physics and AI (the important stuff).
Let me get this out of the way nice and quickly. The feel of the track and of driving is sublime, it really is as good as I have ever felt in a sim and its backed up with a physics engine that manages to 'do the double'. What I mean by that is when you get a title that mixes road and race cars, the feel and physics of one normally suffers (mainly down to which side of the tyre model they focus on), here they have nailed both.
The road cars feel like a road car should on track, with lots of understeer to manage, but importantly you can manage it, with lifting off the throttle a little and unwinding the steering a little taming it. Lift off heavily and if the car should you will get lift off oversteer, be in from the Yellowbird or an old school Abarth 500. They are more trickery to position on the track, dive more under braking and more likely to get unsettled if you're not smooth with all your inputs.
Race cars on the other hand give you huge amounts of grip, be it mechanical or aero and as such allow you much more freedom to attack the track, the challenge being how much of the track you can exploit. Don't get me wrong the race cars can and will still bite, and when they do they are going much faster and with much greater forces at play. As such they will do so quicker and with much more damaging results, this is particularly true for the older race cars in the roster.
A comment in an article in this month's Evo magazine sums it up well, and that is with a road car on a track you drive to the limits of the car, with a race car on the track you drive to the limits of the track. This for me sums up the difference that AC manages to capture excellently.
Overall everything about the physics engine and the force feedback is doing exactly what I would expect it to, and as a result you can fall into the wonderful cycle of just you, a car and a track; which results in hours of hot lapping for the sake of it. It's become a bit of a cliché around AC on the PC, but it is one because its the reality of it. One of the nice things about both the Special Events and Career is that it throws combinations at you that you might not pick, yet you still find this 'click' takes place and it’s a wonderful thing.
Now that's not to say that everything is perfect, with my T150 I get an insane amount of 'rumble' from the wheel when waiting in the grid for the start of the race, or waiting to leave the pits for a free run. It's not consistent, but it happens around 80% of the time and not only is it hugely distracting, but I quite certain it's not doing my wheel any good at all. The firmware on the wheel is up to date and this is the only title I own to do it. Once you start moving it then disappears.
Damage also needs to get a mention, its scalable between 0% and 100%, and has both a cosmetic and mechanical effect, at the top end clipping the barrier in an open wheel car is race ending, and missed and miss timed shifts will damage the drivetrain. Contact with other cars also feels solid and with substance, as such damage adds to the package in a meaningful way, which is good to find as it too often feels like a tacked on extra in titles.
Finally the AI, which I initially found to be a pleasant surprise, being both challenging and quick, with not a hint of rubber-banding at all. They will challenged me, they made mistakes, etc. All of it however felt organic and real, as long as you stick to smaller grids, road cars and the slower race cars. As soon as I moved to track cars or race cars the additional speed and corner speed seems to throw the AI a massive curve ball and its gets more interested in its own line and I found unneeded contact from the AI, to the point of being repeatedly driven into from behind in a GT3 race. As such the AI's situational awareness does seem to be very hit and miss, and combined with the AI's speed even at the lowest difficulty level it makes for very frustrating races.
I have however also found some odd behaviour from the AI as well, in one race I was running in forth and was gifted a second place finish when on the penultimate lap three AI cars pitted (two from ahead of me and one from behind), this phenomenon is not isolated either, as I have found it occurring in races in every mode.
Overall
It's far from perfect and has its oddities and glitches (all of which can and should be patched out), but the core of what it sets out to do, which is offer one of the best physics engines around, with the feel and detail you would expect from laser scanned tracks to provide a driving experience which is simply immersive it manages.
While it sounds easy to do, and many have claimed they have managed it in the past this is (for me) the first time it's been managed across road and race cars, of all drivetrain types in a single title.
What they have it seems totally forgotten to do is actually add a game in with it, quite simply it’s a superb physics engine in an unpolished, unfinished package that at times seems designed specifically to frustrate. I do hope that they put the work in to turn this around, as the core of it has so much potential that it does deserve it.
Personally I'm going to stick with it, as I'm happy with hop-lapping with it and am interested to see how it develops; I can get my 'racing needs' with other titles. However, and I suspect I will get a good degree of grief for this, as it stands right now as a package it would be very hard for me to recommend it to anyone looking for a racing experience.
Reviewed using my rig, which at the time of writing is a Playseat Challenge, Thrustmaster T150, TP3A and TH8A.
It doesn't cover the on-line, which I will write up separately.
UI and Navigation.
On firing up AC for the first time you are greeted with an excellent intro video that sets the scene nicely and gets you fired up for what's to come (or reaching for the volume control if its midnight as it was for me - best not wake the family).
The main menu and interface is nice and clean, easy to navigate and user friendly. All the usual suspects are in place, with Special Events, Drive and Career taking up the bulk of the screen; below that three smaller sections for News, Replays and Options.
Special Events consist of a massive variety of different Time Attack, Drift and Races that mix and match the car and track combinations up nicely. It’s a great idea for when you can't make up your mind what to do. A special mention for me goes to one event in particular, the very last Special Event is Brands Hatch Indy and a full grip of old school Abarth 500's, it's simultaneously hilarious fun, a real challenge and a great demonstration of the depth of the physics engine. What makes it special is that it does so using arguably the simplest track layout in the title and the least powerful car.
Drive is your sandpit, allowing you to pick from a vast array of event types, from Free Run to Race Weekend, via the likes of Drift, On-Line and Time Attack. Long term this is likely to eat up the bulk of your time, so fittingly it’s the default selection when you fire up AC. Nothing is locked away in Drive either, you have access to the entire car roster and track list, no need to unlock anything.
Career takes you through a series of themed Time Attacks and Races, starting with lower powered front wheel drive cars and building up as it goes. It’s a nice idea that introduces you the different challenges faced with the different drivetrains and just how different road and race cars are on track. As with the Special Events this throws up some nice combinations of cars and tracks at you, I in particular loved a Time Attack at Imola with the KTM X-bow, the car and track suiting each other excellently.
All is however not a bed of roses within the Career mode, or for that matter any 'race' based mode, AC gives you four AI levels, from Easy to Alien. Now I'm not the quickest driver around, but I'm certainly not the slowest and yet the pace the AI has even on Easy is at time absurd. This has the potential effect of seriously putting off a lot of players new to racing titles, and given that another three difficultly levels exist, it's also un-needed. Add in that some of the career events seem designed to be overly difficult even at the Easy level and you have some quite serious balancing issues to content with.
The News section only currently contains some very basic information on how to get started, it's not massively helpful and only time will tell how much love it will get and consequently how much use it will be to us.
Next up we have the Reply tool, which I was pleased to see was nice and easy to find, not hidden away behind some odd part of career as other titles have done. So I was particularly annoyed to find that a limit is set on the size of the replay! I do also mean size, as its not number of lap or time dependent, as it varies depending on track size and number of cars on track. This makes it almost impossible to judge what you will end up with on a replay and as a result very disappointing. I put a lot of videos together across all the titles I run, and this is the first on the current generation that I have found to have a cap on the length of the recording. Given that with PS4 Firmware 4.0 (I'm running it as a Beta right now) you can record up to 60 minutes of gameplay, limiting a reply to circa 6 minutes is absurd.
The last bit is the options side of things, which in all honesty for a title that migrated from PC are very, very basic. Units can be converted, but only for speed, what about every other unit used in set-up screens! Regardless of if you are using a controller or a wheel you can't re-assign a single button, which makes button box support for wheel users a non-starter and is simply unacceptable for pad users. To effectively use a pad with a sim you need to be able to set it up for your personal preference, this is simply not good enough and needs to be patched quickly.
Wheel users will find a surprising lack of options, with no wheel or pedal calibration and minimal Force Feedback Options. The lack of calibration will mainly affect the brake pedal, and by default is very sensitive, with many cars locking up at half travel on my TP3A's. I was able to fix that by adjusting the brake mod on the actual pedal, but this will not be an option for many. The limited Force Feedback options are a welcome sight for many (based on the 'other' sim release on PS4), but once again are not explained to those who are unfamiliar with them. Out of the box they work well, however I would recommend dialling down the Main Force Feedback (first option) and switching on the Understeer Effect, as without doing so the wheel may end up clipping and you will not have the loss of Self Aligning Torque when understeering that you should have (if I'm being picky Understeer Effect should also be a slider, not just an on/off option).
One thing that currently is a real pain for user of the Thrustmaster T8SA H pattern shifter is that currently it will not work if its plugged into the wheel base (as it does with every other PS4 racing title), but rather has to be plugged into the second USB port. This is something that appears to be a carryover from the PC version and is the only PS4 title that I am aware of that forces you down this route. Its quite annoying given that I now have to mess around with cables when moving between titles just to get my shifter working.
Graphics and Sound (OK so how pretty is it on the eyes and ears)
The car models are well done, nicely detailed both inside and outside with full working instrument clusters and the drivers movements well animated (however the speed of gear change is bizarrely quick when using a stick), based on the cars I've sampled to date they are also very accurate models
The tracks however are a very mixed bunch, the immediate track you are on is OK, but as you get further away from the track the trackside furniture and landscape get more and more basic. It's been a while since I've seen 2D static crowds in a racing title, but here they are. It's not a big deal for me personally (hell I love Seb Loeb Rally and that's one of the worse looking sims around) as its consistent and the bits immediately in front of you are fine. They do however as a result seriously lack atmosphere, the focus in getting the laser scanned detail has clearly taken precedent over every other aspect of the track build.
What is not quite so fine it that you get a bit of pop-up in the distance, which is a pain when attempting to read the track ahead, and a fair degree of screen tearing as well. Now both of these can be quite distracting, the degree to which will vary from person to person and it does need to be resolved.
It also falls foul of some very odd design choices, with you just being dropped into the car on the grid as soon as you hit the race start button, most titles attempt to build some atmosphere at this point, but with AC is clinically straight into the race. The end of the race is no different, with no clear indication the race has even finished bar the chequered flag in the top left corner of the screen. You carry on driving for a few hundred meters and then get teleported back to the pits, at this point it's not clear what is happening and easy to leave the screen. Doing so will however lose all progress and the hard work you have put in will be forgotten. You have to wait for however long it takes for an unknown percentage of the rest of the field to finish and teleport back into the pits before you get the results screen and can safely leave the race!
Its origin as a PC title also show in one other area, the set-up screens for the car while you are in the pits. Its small white text on a picture background, I sit around 1.5 metres (under six foot) from a 50" screen in my rig and I still struggle to read it.
Audio is also excellently recreated, from the engine note, timbre and 'feel' of the sound (I run a 5.1 AV system for my rig) are all right. In addition you get some nice atmospheric sounds as well, from the wind noise, to stones in the wheel arches to front splitter scraping the ground under braking. It all adds up to a package that sonically works.
Odd gripes sound wise are that the menu music randomly picks a speaker on my AV system to use every time I change screen, not too bad if it’s the centre speaker, annoying and odd if it's one of the rear speakers (and it will only be one) and when you look left or right the audio crackles and cuts out, it doesn't happen in all cars, but I found it consistent in the Alfa Romeo GTA and Ford Escort RS1600.
Driving Feel, Physics and AI (the important stuff).
Let me get this out of the way nice and quickly. The feel of the track and of driving is sublime, it really is as good as I have ever felt in a sim and its backed up with a physics engine that manages to 'do the double'. What I mean by that is when you get a title that mixes road and race cars, the feel and physics of one normally suffers (mainly down to which side of the tyre model they focus on), here they have nailed both.
The road cars feel like a road car should on track, with lots of understeer to manage, but importantly you can manage it, with lifting off the throttle a little and unwinding the steering a little taming it. Lift off heavily and if the car should you will get lift off oversteer, be in from the Yellowbird or an old school Abarth 500. They are more trickery to position on the track, dive more under braking and more likely to get unsettled if you're not smooth with all your inputs.
Race cars on the other hand give you huge amounts of grip, be it mechanical or aero and as such allow you much more freedom to attack the track, the challenge being how much of the track you can exploit. Don't get me wrong the race cars can and will still bite, and when they do they are going much faster and with much greater forces at play. As such they will do so quicker and with much more damaging results, this is particularly true for the older race cars in the roster.
A comment in an article in this month's Evo magazine sums it up well, and that is with a road car on a track you drive to the limits of the car, with a race car on the track you drive to the limits of the track. This for me sums up the difference that AC manages to capture excellently.
Overall everything about the physics engine and the force feedback is doing exactly what I would expect it to, and as a result you can fall into the wonderful cycle of just you, a car and a track; which results in hours of hot lapping for the sake of it. It's become a bit of a cliché around AC on the PC, but it is one because its the reality of it. One of the nice things about both the Special Events and Career is that it throws combinations at you that you might not pick, yet you still find this 'click' takes place and it’s a wonderful thing.
Now that's not to say that everything is perfect, with my T150 I get an insane amount of 'rumble' from the wheel when waiting in the grid for the start of the race, or waiting to leave the pits for a free run. It's not consistent, but it happens around 80% of the time and not only is it hugely distracting, but I quite certain it's not doing my wheel any good at all. The firmware on the wheel is up to date and this is the only title I own to do it. Once you start moving it then disappears.
Damage also needs to get a mention, its scalable between 0% and 100%, and has both a cosmetic and mechanical effect, at the top end clipping the barrier in an open wheel car is race ending, and missed and miss timed shifts will damage the drivetrain. Contact with other cars also feels solid and with substance, as such damage adds to the package in a meaningful way, which is good to find as it too often feels like a tacked on extra in titles.
Finally the AI, which I initially found to be a pleasant surprise, being both challenging and quick, with not a hint of rubber-banding at all. They will challenged me, they made mistakes, etc. All of it however felt organic and real, as long as you stick to smaller grids, road cars and the slower race cars. As soon as I moved to track cars or race cars the additional speed and corner speed seems to throw the AI a massive curve ball and its gets more interested in its own line and I found unneeded contact from the AI, to the point of being repeatedly driven into from behind in a GT3 race. As such the AI's situational awareness does seem to be very hit and miss, and combined with the AI's speed even at the lowest difficulty level it makes for very frustrating races.
I have however also found some odd behaviour from the AI as well, in one race I was running in forth and was gifted a second place finish when on the penultimate lap three AI cars pitted (two from ahead of me and one from behind), this phenomenon is not isolated either, as I have found it occurring in races in every mode.
Overall
It's far from perfect and has its oddities and glitches (all of which can and should be patched out), but the core of what it sets out to do, which is offer one of the best physics engines around, with the feel and detail you would expect from laser scanned tracks to provide a driving experience which is simply immersive it manages.
While it sounds easy to do, and many have claimed they have managed it in the past this is (for me) the first time it's been managed across road and race cars, of all drivetrain types in a single title.
What they have it seems totally forgotten to do is actually add a game in with it, quite simply it’s a superb physics engine in an unpolished, unfinished package that at times seems designed specifically to frustrate. I do hope that they put the work in to turn this around, as the core of it has so much potential that it does deserve it.
Personally I'm going to stick with it, as I'm happy with hop-lapping with it and am interested to see how it develops; I can get my 'racing needs' with other titles. However, and I suspect I will get a good degree of grief for this, as it stands right now as a package it would be very hard for me to recommend it to anyone looking for a racing experience.
Last edited:
- 6,344
- Nantes
- P308R
👍 Great review Scaff. It pretty much sums up what I have been experiencing as well.
The AI when using the old DTM cars is excellent (Zandvoort and Vallelunga are to only ones I tried) however the AI behaves in the same manner all the time. If you get close behind on a straight you can almost be certain that at the next corner they run wide. Very obvious at the last corner at Vallelunga before going onto the straight. AI doesn't close the door on you but chooses everytime to run wide instead. It depends on the distance. If you back off a bit before the corner entry you will see they run wide and then decide to go back to their line.
A 3 lap race can't even make it from start to finish for a replay. This is an issue that they really need to fix. Also the car sound seems very muffled when watching the replay from tv-camera's. You can hear the great sounds underneed but it doesn't come out that well in the replay.
The AI when using the old DTM cars is excellent (Zandvoort and Vallelunga are to only ones I tried) however the AI behaves in the same manner all the time. If you get close behind on a straight you can almost be certain that at the next corner they run wide. Very obvious at the last corner at Vallelunga before going onto the straight. AI doesn't close the door on you but chooses everytime to run wide instead. It depends on the distance. If you back off a bit before the corner entry you will see they run wide and then decide to go back to their line.
A 3 lap race can't even make it from start to finish for a replay. This is an issue that they really need to fix. Also the car sound seems very muffled when watching the replay from tv-camera's. You can hear the great sounds underneed but it doesn't come out that well in the replay.
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,026
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
Thanks.
I've seen that as well when I have re-run the same race, with AI behavior at times seeming scripted rather than reacting to the situation around it.
I had a two lap race at the Monza '66 Road Course yesterday with 16 cars in total (all Alfa GTA's), which is around 2 minutes 15 seconds a lap and it couldn't even record both laps of that, which is utterly ridiculous and I agree needs fixing.
Replay sounds could certainly be better, but I'd settle for getting the whole race first, as the camera options, slow-motion mode and filters (which you should be able to change within the replay) are all great but totally wasted as you can't record the whole race.
dopedog
(Banned)
- 880
- United Kingdom
Spot on review Scaff, nice to read a review where you know the person is playing exactly the same copy of the game as me! I echo everything you've put.
Aside from my face when i first got the E30 out on track was a grin from ear to ear! Even if all i do with AC is drive the E30 on Nurb GP i'd say its worth the money IMO.
Aside from my face when i first got the E30 out on track was a grin from ear to ear! Even if all i do with AC is drive the E30 on Nurb GP i'd say its worth the money IMO.
- 6,344
- Nantes
- P308R
The race I had at Vallelunga Classic was under 6 minutes, 15 cars in total and 3 laps long. The replay started end the end of the first lap
.There are also to options within replay which I can't figure out and that are those two at the left of the rewind options. If I click one of those two I am unable to continue the replay.
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,026
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
You're not the only one, I have no idea what they do and until I can work them out I'm leaving them alone.The race I had at Vallelunga Classic was under 6 minutes, 15 cars in total and 3 laps long. The replay started end the end of the first lap
There are also to options within replay which I can't figure out and that are those two at the left of the rewind options. If I click one of those two I am unable to continue the replay.
- 14
- Italy
Hi guys,
my review is pretty simple.
Don't buy this game! It's pure ****.
Played mostly with G29 and Patch 1.01
Full of serious (crash) and annoying bug, extremely weak or bad design choices in both game and UI (the game doesn't explain the meaning of an option or the choices available for it and what happens if you choose a value or another one), insufficient features, trophies which pop-up without satisfy the required condition, stupid AI (in comparison Driveclub AI was devastated but this is worse) scam advertising (where are the cars showed in every youtube preview video released in august just before the release?), bug, bug, and bug again.
The career mode is NOT fun. Repetitive and lacks of progression. It's too difficult and it penalizes the player when he tries to achieve a better results even if the most difficult goal is yet achieved. Bug are frequently and annoying.
Graphics (overall) is quite good and better than my expectations. Cockpit view as FOV regulation
Very good sounds effects/engine.
Replay is acceptable but with tearing.
Wheel is strongly recommended. PAD is acceptable with most of the cars.
Conceptually this is a bad game from the 90' (In 2016 I cannot see the entire replay of my single lap race on the Nurburgring and it started from the middle race. Are you kidding me???) with a very good and fun simulation.
The developers don't have the required game design, technical knowledge and experience to develop a PC simulator into a full game and then port it to the console.
Console market is extremely different and they haven't understood this foundation.
The only thing that works is the accurate simulation. But it is not enough to justify all the previous lacks and sell it as a fully functional game (and almost at full price).
Quality (not quantity) is light years far away from other titles (Forza/GT/Project Cars/Dirt Rally/Driveclub) which are the actual reference in the market.
last but not least I wonder to know how it had passed the sony and MS certifications before the release. This is something not good for the market health.
PS:
- I strictly recommend the destructoid review https://www.destructoid.com/review-assetto-corsa-383268.phtml which I can confirm word by word.
- sorry for bad English.
my review is pretty simple.
Don't buy this game! It's pure ****.
Played mostly with G29 and Patch 1.01
Full of serious (crash) and annoying bug, extremely weak or bad design choices in both game and UI (the game doesn't explain the meaning of an option or the choices available for it and what happens if you choose a value or another one), insufficient features, trophies which pop-up without satisfy the required condition, stupid AI (in comparison Driveclub AI was devastated but this is worse) scam advertising (where are the cars showed in every youtube preview video released in august just before the release?), bug, bug, and bug again.
The career mode is NOT fun. Repetitive and lacks of progression. It's too difficult and it penalizes the player when he tries to achieve a better results even if the most difficult goal is yet achieved. Bug are frequently and annoying.
Graphics (overall) is quite good and better than my expectations. Cockpit view as FOV regulation
Very good sounds effects/engine.
Replay is acceptable but with tearing.
Wheel is strongly recommended. PAD is acceptable with most of the cars.
Conceptually this is a bad game from the 90' (In 2016 I cannot see the entire replay of my single lap race on the Nurburgring and it started from the middle race. Are you kidding me???) with a very good and fun simulation.
The developers don't have the required game design, technical knowledge and experience to develop a PC simulator into a full game and then port it to the console.
Console market is extremely different and they haven't understood this foundation.
The only thing that works is the accurate simulation. But it is not enough to justify all the previous lacks and sell it as a fully functional game (and almost at full price).
Quality (not quantity) is light years far away from other titles (Forza/GT/Project Cars/Dirt Rally/Driveclub) which are the actual reference in the market.
last but not least I wonder to know how it had passed the sony and MS certifications before the release. This is something not good for the market health.
PS:
- I strictly recommend the destructoid review https://www.destructoid.com/review-assetto-corsa-383268.phtml which I can confirm word by word.
- sorry for bad English.
Last edited:
zzz_pt
Premium
- 8,188
- Porto living in Hamburg
- zzz_pt
Really good review @Scaff.
On the topic of UI though I would add at least 2 points (from the top of my head):
- After a Race finished I'd like to have the option (Button) to change a few settings like: Car, AI difficulty, ABS, Traction Control, Number of Laps, Time of the day and click "update" or "race". I'm tired of going to the initial screen just to change the number of laps or turn off the traction control (for example).
- While in the advanced settings, there's no information as to what each option really means/changes. Only the sliders with really awkward names that I have no idea what they do.
----
- Connected to the previous one (and more of a UX point than a UI), I wasn't able to select which language I wanted to play the game in. By default it started in portuguese (from brazil) and I hate the localization. I would like to have the option to choose the language of my game.
I'm sure there are more, but these ones are really annoying.
---
edit: One more: No private online rooms. What a killer...
On the topic of UI though I would add at least 2 points (from the top of my head):
- After a Race finished I'd like to have the option (Button) to change a few settings like: Car, AI difficulty, ABS, Traction Control, Number of Laps, Time of the day and click "update" or "race". I'm tired of going to the initial screen just to change the number of laps or turn off the traction control (for example).
- While in the advanced settings, there's no information as to what each option really means/changes. Only the sliders with really awkward names that I have no idea what they do.
----
- Connected to the previous one (and more of a UX point than a UI), I wasn't able to select which language I wanted to play the game in. By default it started in portuguese (from brazil) and I hate the localization. I would like to have the option to choose the language of my game.
I'm sure there are more, but these ones are really annoying.
---
edit: One more: No private online rooms. What a killer...
Last edited:
Roostaboosta
(Banned)
- 262
- United Kingdom
- hooliogtgtgt
You pretty much sum up what is wrong with some of the console crowd. Go back to Forza.
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,026
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
I'm confused? How are the bugs and issues with AC the fault of the 'console crowd'?
Oh and watch the tone, you either discuss things politely or you leave.
Roostaboosta
(Banned)
- 262
- United Kingdom
- hooliogtgtgt
- 8,381
- The Black Lodge
There are no issues with AC, it's complete perfection. And if there are, they're certainly not Kunos' fault, it's the general public that doesn't 'get it'. Nevermind other games: those are not sims as there is only one true simulator and that's AC. Any negative review is 'biased' and the reviewer is 'not worthy' of judging it.
Just repeating what I've read over the past few days in here...
- 3,422
- Connecticut
- SPhilli
- SPhilli911
I'm going to be so upset later if I play this game and find out that it's not the perfect sim I was expecting. When I play with a controller on my PS4, I expect nothing less than to feel like I am actually racing a car. Nothing less.
But really, thanks for the reviews, I am looking forward to this tonight. I really do need to get a wheel though, for this and Dirt Rally.
But really, thanks for the reviews, I am looking forward to this tonight. I really do need to get a wheel though, for this and Dirt Rally.
- 3,792
Good review. The things that bug me the most, steering animation with a ds4, though I am use to it, it still needs to be fixed. End of race as you pointed out, feels like I've just been thrown out of a club at the height of the night. Online qualifying is confusing, time ran out in a game last night yet I was still doing laps 15 minutes later, I think everyone has to be in the pits or vote skip session. That needs sorting. Regarding AI, i have been rammed many times, frustrating, after a while I decided to check the replay and it was almost always my fault for cutting in front of AI. You should check to see if this is the case for yourself. I'm loving the AI tbh,, they actually race me. I was overtaking an AI in the middle of the track and as I did that I was getting overtaken on the outdide too. Also worth point in out in your review that we are getting the updated AI. Stefano also said he's going to program them to make mistakes and also choose wether smashing you in the back is safer than swerving on to the grass. GGetting dumped straight into the race doesn't bother me much, less loading time and I usually skip all of that. Driveclub has all the bells and whistles but doesn't ever make me want to load it up because of the driving aspec. It's all about the time on track for me and AC hits the spot.
Too late, already bought it. Love it. This game also isn't a smash and grab. They're gonna support it for a good while. Ask people who bought Ride how they feel about that.
Last edited:
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,026
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
And your reply was unacceptable, his post was not. It may be harsh but it doesn't break the AUP. You however chose to respond with a personal attack, that's not acceptable.
I've not give you any points, but I can let you know that you have two choices, either follow the AUP or leave, the choice is yours, but this is not up for debate.
In regard to the AI, I've accounted for the fact that I can on occasion cut in front of them, however that is not the case the majority of the time, the AI needs a significant amount of work and combined with the pit bug and daft difficulty level is not (in my opinion) in a fit state at all.
I'm aware that they have said they will update it, but I can't review an intention, only what I experience when I sit down and race.
- 14
- Italy
@NLxAROSA
Have you read my review? I told that the simulation is the only thing that is working and can be enjoyable in AC. All the other are garbage. There is no quality.
I paid to have a fully working software. Here we have a simulator sold as a game.
I bought it thinking "finally a game and a simulator packed together" but the results is far away from expectations and, due to quality issues, for me is a scam.
Your opinions about crowd doesn't make any sense. Also if I am labeled as part of a crowd (who told you that i'm part of the general pubblic?) you are automatically part of the AC crowd which gives you poor crediblity to your opinions.
Have you read my review? I told that the simulation is the only thing that is working and can be enjoyable in AC. All the other are garbage. There is no quality.
I paid to have a fully working software. Here we have a simulator sold as a game.
I bought it thinking "finally a game and a simulator packed together" but the results is far away from expectations and, due to quality issues, for me is a scam.
Your opinions about crowd doesn't make any sense. Also if I am labeled as part of a crowd (who told you that i'm part of the general pubblic?) you are automatically part of the AC crowd which gives you poor crediblity to your opinions.
- 3,600
- Middelburg
Great review ScaffUK. We just returned from a 2,5 week vacation in SUNNY Scotland/England (NO RAIN!!!). With this review I am even more looking forward to finally start up Assetto Corsa this evening. Thx!
One bummer for me....I ordered the AC PS4 with Prestige pack but find out the retailer delivered the standard edition, because they were not allowed to sell the prestige edition. Luckily enough good cars and tracks already.
One bummer for me....I ordered the AC PS4 with Prestige pack but find out the retailer delivered the standard edition, because they were not allowed to sell the prestige edition. Luckily enough good cars and tracks already.
- 14
- Italy
- 1,467
- Gent Ghent Gand
- svenvangent968
IAN Bell Please ............ Don't do that
- 8,381
- The Black Lodge
No offence taken. 👍
Anyway, I think your review has valid points. If someone disagrees, they should address those points and state why they are invalid/do not apply. But the fact that they can't is the reason they resort to a personal attack instead.
Roostaboosta
(Banned)
- 262
- United Kingdom
- hooliogtgtgt
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,026
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
It's already been explained to you, one is an opinion on a game and is acceptable. The other is a personal attack on another member, which is an AUP violation.
As you saw fit to ignore what I have said you have just earned yourself a two day ban.
- 3,824
- Philippines
- GBalao888
- GBalao888
My review:
Thanks to some good people in GT Planet and its related thread, I then discovered about Assetto Corsa sometime before the start of 2015, especially when I heard of the first "Dream Car Pack", which eventually made it to console at launch.
I never actually played the PC version, but eventually got curious about the game just because I knew the great potential of the game, considering that the game really is an "Italian Gran Turismo" due to the fact that it was made by professional racing enthusiasts (around less than 20 people) in a garage located in the Vallelunga Circuit, which meant that they could make the game as authentic as they could possibly be in terms of car handling and physics as well as track accuracy after finding out it was made using laser scanners for real-life tracks.
And so finally, when I heard that Assetto Corsa was coming to consoles, and noticed the rapidly-growing car list (right now, the game probably has around exactly 100 cars), this made me really really excited and even wanted to see the official list of car liveries. It was then that a day after my birthday, I decided to pre-order the game on PS4 and wait until today where I finally experienced the game, and here are my impressions:
UI:
The UI really looks great, with transitioning images of some racing action and some tracks (especially the outline of some Ferrari in the game, photos of the Nurburgring and some track in the sunset as well as the Abarth 500 esseesse S1 in there as well). It looks modern, easy to access and is quite more interactive than the PC version from videos that I saw. One minor issue is that even with the L1 or R1 buttons or the D-pad to cycle across through the car select menu, its too sensitive in which you may actually find a little bit of confusion in order to get back through.
Overall, the UI gets a 9/10.
Cars:
Assetto Corsa at launch, has around 100 cars, the brand with the most number of cars has to be Lotus, with some Elise, Evora and Exige duplicates (which are actually some road versions), but the rest of the car list is quite good, with a lot of GT3 racers on the way and potential for other cars such as modern LMP's and some other Group C favorites (we have the Mercedes Sauber C9, and there's a possibility for the Mazda 787B to arrive), and some cars I've never heard of before such as the Praga R1 (the Slovakian lightweight race car shaped like a Radical RXC Turbo) as well as the cars from Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (the P/45 Competizione and the SCG003), both of which are based off of unique Ferrari/Pininfarina designs and prototype racing technology from possibly Honda and/or Ferrari and may actually deceive you with its LMP-like looks, but are actually GT racers that are not officially homologated. What's cool is that Assetto Corsa gets Porsches, modern Formula One as well as JDM favorites such as the R34, Supra, FD RX-7, MX-5 as well as the Maserati Levante SUV in later DLC. Post-launch, the game could get around 150+ cars in total. Tuning set-ups for them, as long as you understand them actually works, I've gotten a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 to reach around 285+km/h when adjusting the gears, but the car seems to be willing to take a handful at the first gear.
*Added bonus: If you notice on two liveries of the SLS AMG GT3, you can actually see a Gran Turismo logo on their front windshield somehow. This may not surprise you, but if you look really closely, they really do.
The car selection gets a 10/10 for its diversity.
Physics:
I believe in my honest opinion that Assetto Corsa's physics are actually pretty good, (unlike Project CARS, which has fake physics and a lot of "in-game insects"), but can take some getting used to. It's a nightmare without stability control, but I seem to be fine without traction control (as that actually slows your car down on corners). Where the physics would take some getting used to is the braking of most cars and fighting with wheelspin in the early gears. I had a lot of fun with the Huracan GT3 at Spa, especially when I lost the rear, experienced a little lift-off oversteer and almost felt like I was in control of a really smooth drift before actually starting to begin my race session, which really made me feel like I'm more prepared to race. The amount of grip on the cars is just perfect, really. I also had a lot of fun with the BMW M3 GT2 in Circuit de Catalunya as well. Unlike Gran Turismo and Forza, the game also seems to represent a neutral transmission on the game's gearbox model. I could be wrong, though, but somehow, I quite don't sense any form of visual damage and cars flipping over, and that's still important on the side of the game's physics. I actually play the game on a controller as I have no plans whatsoever on buying a wheel and everything.
Physics gets an 8/10.
Sounds/Music:
The car sounds are somewhat sub-par, but actually better-sounding than Project CARS and the fact that both the LaFerrari and the FXX-K sound exactly the same like in Driveclub. Overall the main menu music and pre-loading music is also pretty good as well and they don't put you to sleep unlike Forza's main menu music.
The sounds well, deserves an 8.5/10.
Track selection:
Assetto Corsa only has a few tracks, and the first game where I got to try the Vallelunga Circuit was in "V8 Superstars Racing", but I found that the Assetto Corsa version was way more fun. It's even got every racers' favorite place in the world (the Nurburgring and the Nordschleife) as well as some favorites such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Monza, Circuit de Catalunya and Imola, all of which are said to be laser-scanned so it's like the real track. The game has potential for more tracks (real and fictional) and thus, I'm happy to be enjoying such tracks in a game. The freestyle drift track also looks promising too.
The tracks get an 8/10.
Replayability:
The career mode is just there to prove your skill, not to actually progress with a story or with unlockables, but I recommend you should play it to further enhance your skills by experimenting with other cars and driving assists and features. Furthermore, you've got the Practice mode, the Hot Lap mode (which is essentially similar to WipEout's Speed Lap mode), Time Trial (where you have to race against the clock like Checkpoint mode in the NFS games) and a full race weekend where you have full practice and qualifying sessions plus the whole race itself. For the brave and those who could handle it, Drift mode is for you. Besides the career mode, the Special Events are also a big bonus. Online reminds me of COD 4: Modern Warfare's online lobby system, but lacks private lobbies. What the game really needs though is a drag racing mode and split-screen multiplayer.
Replayability gets a 9/10.
The game overall is an 8.5/10 in my opinion, and yes, you should get the game. The only way that you can have fun is to experiment with other cars, tracks and driving assists, but if you really want to survive, well, the old saying of "practice makes perfect" could really help. If you want a racing game that is actually an accessible and somewhat fun simulator, this is for you.
Thanks to some good people in GT Planet and its related thread, I then discovered about Assetto Corsa sometime before the start of 2015, especially when I heard of the first "Dream Car Pack", which eventually made it to console at launch.
I never actually played the PC version, but eventually got curious about the game just because I knew the great potential of the game, considering that the game really is an "Italian Gran Turismo" due to the fact that it was made by professional racing enthusiasts (around less than 20 people) in a garage located in the Vallelunga Circuit, which meant that they could make the game as authentic as they could possibly be in terms of car handling and physics as well as track accuracy after finding out it was made using laser scanners for real-life tracks.
And so finally, when I heard that Assetto Corsa was coming to consoles, and noticed the rapidly-growing car list (right now, the game probably has around exactly 100 cars), this made me really really excited and even wanted to see the official list of car liveries. It was then that a day after my birthday, I decided to pre-order the game on PS4 and wait until today where I finally experienced the game, and here are my impressions:
UI:
The UI really looks great, with transitioning images of some racing action and some tracks (especially the outline of some Ferrari in the game, photos of the Nurburgring and some track in the sunset as well as the Abarth 500 esseesse S1 in there as well). It looks modern, easy to access and is quite more interactive than the PC version from videos that I saw. One minor issue is that even with the L1 or R1 buttons or the D-pad to cycle across through the car select menu, its too sensitive in which you may actually find a little bit of confusion in order to get back through.
Overall, the UI gets a 9/10.
Cars:
Assetto Corsa at launch, has around 100 cars, the brand with the most number of cars has to be Lotus, with some Elise, Evora and Exige duplicates (which are actually some road versions), but the rest of the car list is quite good, with a lot of GT3 racers on the way and potential for other cars such as modern LMP's and some other Group C favorites (we have the Mercedes Sauber C9, and there's a possibility for the Mazda 787B to arrive), and some cars I've never heard of before such as the Praga R1 (the Slovakian lightweight race car shaped like a Radical RXC Turbo) as well as the cars from Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (the P/45 Competizione and the SCG003), both of which are based off of unique Ferrari/Pininfarina designs and prototype racing technology from possibly Honda and/or Ferrari and may actually deceive you with its LMP-like looks, but are actually GT racers that are not officially homologated. What's cool is that Assetto Corsa gets Porsches, modern Formula One as well as JDM favorites such as the R34, Supra, FD RX-7, MX-5 as well as the Maserati Levante SUV in later DLC. Post-launch, the game could get around 150+ cars in total. Tuning set-ups for them, as long as you understand them actually works, I've gotten a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 to reach around 285+km/h when adjusting the gears, but the car seems to be willing to take a handful at the first gear.
*Added bonus: If you notice on two liveries of the SLS AMG GT3, you can actually see a Gran Turismo logo on their front windshield somehow. This may not surprise you, but if you look really closely, they really do.
The car selection gets a 10/10 for its diversity.
Physics:
I believe in my honest opinion that Assetto Corsa's physics are actually pretty good, (unlike Project CARS, which has fake physics and a lot of "in-game insects"), but can take some getting used to. It's a nightmare without stability control, but I seem to be fine without traction control (as that actually slows your car down on corners). Where the physics would take some getting used to is the braking of most cars and fighting with wheelspin in the early gears. I had a lot of fun with the Huracan GT3 at Spa, especially when I lost the rear, experienced a little lift-off oversteer and almost felt like I was in control of a really smooth drift before actually starting to begin my race session, which really made me feel like I'm more prepared to race. The amount of grip on the cars is just perfect, really. I also had a lot of fun with the BMW M3 GT2 in Circuit de Catalunya as well. Unlike Gran Turismo and Forza, the game also seems to represent a neutral transmission on the game's gearbox model. I could be wrong, though, but somehow, I quite don't sense any form of visual damage and cars flipping over, and that's still important on the side of the game's physics. I actually play the game on a controller as I have no plans whatsoever on buying a wheel and everything.
Physics gets an 8/10.
Sounds/Music:
The car sounds are somewhat sub-par, but actually better-sounding than Project CARS and the fact that both the LaFerrari and the FXX-K sound exactly the same like in Driveclub. Overall the main menu music and pre-loading music is also pretty good as well and they don't put you to sleep unlike Forza's main menu music.
The sounds well, deserves an 8.5/10.
Track selection:
Assetto Corsa only has a few tracks, and the first game where I got to try the Vallelunga Circuit was in "V8 Superstars Racing", but I found that the Assetto Corsa version was way more fun. It's even got every racers' favorite place in the world (the Nurburgring and the Nordschleife) as well as some favorites such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Monza, Circuit de Catalunya and Imola, all of which are said to be laser-scanned so it's like the real track. The game has potential for more tracks (real and fictional) and thus, I'm happy to be enjoying such tracks in a game. The freestyle drift track also looks promising too.
The tracks get an 8/10.
Replayability:
The career mode is just there to prove your skill, not to actually progress with a story or with unlockables, but I recommend you should play it to further enhance your skills by experimenting with other cars and driving assists and features. Furthermore, you've got the Practice mode, the Hot Lap mode (which is essentially similar to WipEout's Speed Lap mode), Time Trial (where you have to race against the clock like Checkpoint mode in the NFS games) and a full race weekend where you have full practice and qualifying sessions plus the whole race itself. For the brave and those who could handle it, Drift mode is for you. Besides the career mode, the Special Events are also a big bonus. Online reminds me of COD 4: Modern Warfare's online lobby system, but lacks private lobbies. What the game really needs though is a drag racing mode and split-screen multiplayer.
Replayability gets a 9/10.
The game overall is an 8.5/10 in my opinion, and yes, you should get the game. The only way that you can have fun is to experiment with other cars, tracks and driving assists, but if you really want to survive, well, the old saying of "practice makes perfect" could really help. If you want a racing game that is actually an accessible and somewhat fun simulator, this is for you.
- 14
- Italy
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