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Assetto Corsa (Console) |OT| Kunos tries to console us.

16716005_10208245385246267_6237806198653144972_o.jpg

So where was the licensing problem the Codies had with this car exactly??
It can't have been the money, because "too high licensing costs" were the reasons for no Aston and no Suzuka (though Marco reaally wants a laserscanned Suzuka in AC).
 

Mascot

Member
What were those pics? More DLC?

BTW, if anyone sees the Season Pass go on sale again on the PS Store, please PM me or shout it from the rooftops. Ta muchly.
 
The Mazda 787 and MX-5 were community mods, I think?!??

Kunos has done that before, rework parts of the community mod's 3D-model, acquire the license from the manufacturer, completely re-model the physics to include all manufacturer data and release it as official content.

Examples so far were the Cobra, Miura, R34 Skyline and Supra.


Hopefully the excellent NSX-R community mod still gets the same treatment, it's broken as of the current PC version.
 

Mascot

Member
My PS4 copy of AC finally arrived this morning, a couple of days late, so I've been having a little play.

First off: the CronusMAX Plus is totally legit. It's giving me full Logitech G29 emulation on my Fanatec CSR Elite, and feels totally lag-free with full FFB support and working Clubsport pedals. It takes a minute or so to set up but is very straightforward. Chuffed to bits with it. I know it does a lot more than just wheel emulation but if you're in the Fanatec ecosystem and want to continue using your kit on PS4 - get one.

As for the Assetto Corsa itself, it's fantastic. After playing it quite a lot a couple of years ago on weaksauce hardware it's great to finally play it again with decent visuals, and the setup, handling and FFB presets felt superb straight out of the box with absolutely zero fettling required.

I went straight into Beast Mode on the PS4 Pro and was shocked at how shoddy it looked after the DF analysis: massive frame drops, rarely hitting 60fps and with screen tearing galore. WTF is this shit? Of course, the patch was still downloading so I was still on the release version. Phew. Crisis averted. With the latest patch it now runs like a dream, at a nigh-perfectly locked 60fps with zero tearing. I *think* I might have detected a couple of very minor blips (I only played Spa, Monza, Mugello and Black Cat Gulch, or whatever it's called), but it was nothing at all to worry about.

Some quick early impressions coming straight from playing pCARS (GT3 cars only, so far):

  • Feels great to play with a wheel. Just natural, progressive, predictable and intuitive.
  • Graphics, menus, GUI etc are all absolutely fine, but lack of dynamic ToD and dynamic weather is a sorry loss
  • Love the dirty windscreen
  • Love the cockpit driving position, but am missing look-to-apex
  • Love the menu music
  • The AI seems fine, but only three settings is inadequate after pCARS' 1-100%
  • The audio is fantastically brutal, and loses nothing in replays
  • I miss my Crew Chief spotter and pCARS Dash telemetry apps
  • Replay camera angles and options are superb, replays in general are good but of limited length
  • The range of GT cars is heavenly
  • AC is slightly bare bones but it does the most important things very well indeed
  • The Huracan GT3 is God's own daily driver.

I'm very happy indeed with it so far, and looking forward to peeling back its layers.
 

amar212

Member
Mascot, please give some more indepth overview of Chronus and Fanatec.

Do you have a separate shifter? What is the process for calibration? What are the buttons config? What happens when you use Fanatecs changes on wheel for FFB etc?
 

Mascot

Member
Mascot, please give some more indepth overview of Chronus and Fanatec.

Do you have a separate shifter? What is the process for calibration? What are the buttons config? What happens when you use Fanatecs changes on wheel for FFB etc?

Will do Amar, once I've had some decent time with it. Button configs were natural, coming from pCARS - I certainly wasn't searching for buttons, the ones II pressed did what I was expecting. The hardest thing was remembering how to put my CSR-E into PS3 mode..!

Not sure about the Fanatec on-wheel settings, but I'm guessing these are supported - they were on my GT2 on PS3.

I use my paddles exclusively now (due to ligament damage in my left ankle that makes the clutch difficult) but there are videos on YouTube of Fanatec/PS4 setups with h-gate shifters. No reported problems from what I saw.
 
My PS4 copy of AC finally arrived this morning, a couple of days late, so I've been having a little play.

First off: the CronusMAX Plus is totally legit. It's giving me full Logitech G29 emulation on my Fanatec CSR Elite, and feels totally lag-free with full FFB support and working Clubsport pedals. It takes a minute or so to set up but is very straightforward. Chuffed to bits with it. I know it does a lot more than just wheel emulation but if you're in the Fanatec ecosystem and want to continue using your kit on PS4 - get one.

As for the Assetto Corsa itself, it's fantastic. After playing it quite a lot a couple of years ago on weaksauce hardware it's great to finally play it again with decent visuals, and the setup, handling and FFB presets felt superb straight out of the box with absolutely zero fettling required.

I went straight into Beast Mode on the PS4 Pro and was shocked at how shoddy it looked after the DF analysis: massive frame drops, rarely hitting 60fps and with screen tearing galore. WTF is this shit? Of course, the patch was still downloading so I was still on the release version. Phew. Crisis averted. With the latest patch it now runs like a dream, at a nigh-perfectly locked 60fps with zero tearing. I *think* I might have detected a couple of very minor blips (I only played Spa, Monza, Mugello and Black Cat Gulch, or whatever it's called), but it was nothing at all to worry about.

Some quick early impressions coming straight from playing pCARS (GT3 cars only, so far):

  • Feels great to play with a wheel. Just natural, progressive, predictable and intuitive.
  • Graphics, menus, GUI etc are all absolutely fine, but lack of dynamic ToD and dynamic weather is a sorry loss
  • Love the dirty windscreen
  • Love the cockpit driving position, but am missing look-to-apex
  • Love the menu music
  • The AI seems fine, but only three settings is inadequate after pCARS' 1-100%
  • The audio is fantastically brutal, and loses nothing in replays
  • I miss my Crew Chief spotter and pCARS Dash telemetry apps
  • Replay camera angles and options are superb, replays in general are good but of limited length
  • The range of GT cars is heavenly
  • AC is slightly bare bones but it does the most important things very well indeed
  • The Huracan GT3 is God's own daily driver.

I'm very happy indeed with it so far, and looking forward to peeling back its layers.

Thanks for the impressions!

How playable is this with a gamepad btw?
 
Mascot, please give some more indepth overview of Chronus and Fanatec.

Do you have a separate shifter? What is the process for calibration? What are the buttons config? What happens when you use Fanatecs changes on wheel for FFB etc?
I can bring mine to you house and you can try it :p
 

Mascot

Member
Man, I'd forgotten just how much I love the AC driving model. It's an absolute pleasure to operate; so natural, progressive and intuitive.

The FFB's superb too, even with default settings. It's got verbal diarrhea and won't shut up for a second, and communication between the road, tyres and steering wheel is wonderfully articulate.

I'm loving this game once again.
 

danowat

Banned
Man, I'd forgotten just how much I love the AC driving model. It's an absolute pleasure to operate; so natural, progressive and intuitive.

The FFB's superb too, even with default settings. It's got verbal diarrhea and won't shut up for a second, and communication between the road, tyres and steering wheel is wonderfully articulate.

I'm loving this game once again.

Glad you're having fun with it.

FWIW, PP3 and patch 1.12 hit this morning.
 

Mascot

Member
Glad you're having fun with it.

FWIW, PP3 and patch 1.12 hit this morning.

The Sony/Fanatec wheel fuckery was stopping me jumping in, but now that's fixed via CronusMax and with Pro beta enhancements to the framerate, it'd be rude not to. :p

Any patch notes?
 

danowat

Banned
Added support for DLC: Porsche pack 3.
FREE bonus car! – Porsche Macan Turbo
* The damage and repair system has been improved. As a result, collisions will now appear more realistic
* Various 3D models have been tweaked and improved, including that of the cockpit instrumentation
* All-new special events
* 15 events for The Red Pack DLC
* 13 events for Porsche Pack Vol. 2 DLC
* 12 events for Porsche Pack Vol. 3 DLC

Plus

Fixed wing damage model on Nissan GTR.
Fixed Graphical kersCharge and kersInput for ERS system.
Fixed wrong online pit crew locations
Improved AI cut detection.
Fixed Ferrari FXX K fins.
 

Mascot

Member
Thanks. Couple of quick questions:

Is there visual damage modelling? I can't remember seeing any.
Where can I view my lap times?
 

danowat

Banned
Thanks. Couple of quick questions:

Is there visual damage modelling? I can't remember seeing any.
Where can I view my lap times?

Yes, there is, do you have damage enabled?

Do you mean outside of a race?, you can't, it doesn't store them anywhere.
 

Hakkelus

Member
Man, I'd forgotten just how much I love the AC driving model. It's an absolute pleasure to operate; so natural, progressive and intuitive.

The FFB's superb too, even with default settings. It's got verbal diarrhea and won't shut up for a second, and communication between the road, tyres and steering wheel is wonderfully articulate.

I'm loving this game once again.

Yes, out of all the driving sims I think AC has the most natural handling. I don't know if it is the most realistic but in my hands it "feels" right.
 

danowat

Banned
That's a shame for such a great hot-lapping game. No lap times at all? Not even saved locally?

Nope, not that you can see anyway (ghost data is stored, so you can see your best lap ghost), it's a very big issue for me, but it's not unique to AC, if I remember right, neither does Pcars or FM6?
 
Is there a delta timer in the console version that indicates if you are currently gaining on your best lap?

The PC version saves the best time per track and car, but you can only look them up in some weird table in the menus with gigant table cells, never bothered to check for filter options or anything. It should be visible from the car and the track menus... Also I think that it's useless if you don't know what tire you were one, what track surface condition you picked, how much fuel was in the car, what the track temperature was etc.
And having a hotlap setting where all of that is fixed doesn't make much sense without leaderboards either (which you could cheat super easily on the PC in a thousand ways because the game is so very moddable).

But what is great, are the apps that let me see delta times in green for gaining or red for losing time against either personal best or best in session, is there something like that in the console version?
 

Mascot

Member
The 911 race car is amazing!

I've come close to getting the season pass a few times over the past couple of days, but I just can't bring myself to spunk £25 for additional content when the full game cost me less than £18. Maybe if there was more than one track in there? Hoping for another flash sale soon. I have to stand by my principles.
 
Played some Gran Turismo 6 recently again and... I had seen that option before, but seeing it again now "MoTec telemetry data export" for GT6 replays, made me want to compare it AC's telemetry that can be exported in a MoTec compatible format with a an AC PC app that I have used before.

I chose the BMW M6(edit: M4, no idea how I messed that up), because it was added to GT6 after launch and should have the newest data and highest premium car model standards.

Did 10 laps at Brands Hatch in each game and was surprised by how much faster GT6 is than Assetto Corsa. 1:37.xx vs 1:43.xx ...just how much more insane are those tires in GT6??

Turns out, the secret is not in the tires, it's the rev limiter. In AC the rev limiter hits at ~7510rpm(can overshoot to 7524) and in GT6 it's exactly at 8000rpm. More power means I reach higher speeds on every straight in GT6.

AC values are in green.
motecdatagt6vsac2fwkcf.png





Now to the tires (assuming suspension, ride height and aero aren't too different between cars and games) - I left the GT6 at the "Sports Hard" compound which is the standard tire for production cars over $40,000. In AC I tried the "Street" compound first, but was 1:45 slow, so I put the "semi-slick" tire on which then led to my 1:43 later.
motecdatagt6vsac1u0bmz.png

Longitudinally, there isn't too much difference. GT6 brakes a little better 1.55g compared to AC's 1.43. A very quick peak (but no tire lock) in GT was 1.66, weirdly enough that was going into the Clark Curve (last corner) and not uphill into the Druid's Bend.
Anyway, having more power at higher RPMs meant that I was faster, but also had to brake earlier due to higher speed, because the longitudinal tire grip wasn't that different on average.


Here is a Histogram of Longitudinal Gs (GT6 in Orange, AC in blue):
longitudinalg-forcesg9tsr3.png

You can see, GT6 can take higher Gs under braking, but AC is more constant and can reach similar braking distances this way. On the left of the graph, it becomes clear, how much more acceleration the 8000rpm can pull versus the 7500 in AC.


Laterally the difference is pretty significant. Look at the Hawthorne Bend, which doesn't have any real height differences(marked on the track map):
AC can do 1.35g, GT6 pulls 1.47g. Here GT6 just takes more Gs:
lateralg-forcesgt6vs.v4sgr.png


I wonder, how much faster GT would still be if the rev limiter would hit at ~7500 too. Right now, I'm good though. More testing if GT Sport still supports telemetry export.
[something else really cool from GT6: It also exports fake GPS data with the telemetry that you can export from the MoTec app to Google Earth and then can see your driving line on a satelite foto and even animate a tour on that path]

How do you export AC telemetry? I did a quick test with the 458 at Brands Hatch GP and comfort mediums in GT6 seem to be the street tyre equivalent. The times were very close after a 6 lap run, just 0.156 in AC's favour.
 
How do you export AC telemetry?
If you are on PC and want to use MoTec Pro, you can (probably "need", don't think there is another solution), you can use this app:
http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/acti-assetto-corsa-telemetry-interface.3948

I had trouble starting the app automatically from in-game, just to be sure, start the external part before Assetto Corsa, the rest is explained in the read me.

I did a quick test with the 458 at Brands Hatch GP and comfort mediums in GT6 seem to be the street tyre equivalent. The times were very close after a 6 lap run, just 0.156 in AC's favour.


I think it's super cool that you're testing this. When you compare AC to Top Gear lap times driven by the Stig, it's REALLY hard to get somewhere close. This might be that AC is a little slower (it is usually slower than pCARS, RaceRoom and even iRacing), but it can also be because of how manufacturer teams set up the car's suspension and pick tires that might be closer to the "Hypercar Road" tire compound in AC, when the best thing you can choose from is the slower Semi-Slick.
I also once compared the Top Gear times at Monaco (not driven by the Stig but the 3 Stooges) with the Abarth 500, the Clio and the DS3, with AC. Their best time was 2:15 (in the DS3), my best time in the Abarth was 2:10 on Semi-Slicks and 2:15 on Street tires (only did 1 full lap each to be fair and my Monaco was the 1988 version that still allows you to get closer to the guard rails).

So much for comparing AC to reality.

I'd assume that the Comfort Medium can take similar cornering forces, but won't let you brake or accelerate as well.

Could you maybe do a quick acceleration and braking test as well? Longitudinal g-forces aren't as important at Brands Hatch, but on other tracks with very tight corners it could lead to huge differences.

Would love to know what you found out.
 

Mascot

Member
Are there any side-by-side comparisons of what the various colour scheme options show? I find 'Sport' is my favoured one but everything is still a tad overexposed, especially in cockpit view. Shame there's no in-game sliders really to tone down the bleaching.
 

danowat

Banned
I think comparing (anything) AC to real life is a futile exercise, you only have to see just how wildly the performance of cars can change per patch to realise that.
 

Mascot

Member
No, not at this time, there is more DLC coming, and more free cars, but nothing has been said about another pass.

I was just wondering about what further content might have been indicated as being included in the current season pass, not if there was going to be another season pass.

Have Kunos/505 ever made a statement about the duration of the existing season pass, how many future DLC packs it'll contain (I know, I know - typical season pass faith issues)?

I'm still desperately trying to justify spunking 25 Green Queens on it.
 

danowat

Banned
Have Kunos/505 ever made a statement about the duration of the existing season pass, how many future DLC packs it'll contain (I know, I know - typical season pass faith issues)?

I'm still desperately trying to justify spunking 25 Green Queens on it.

Yes, the existing pass only includes content up to and including the Porsche pack 3, so you can consider the current pass expired in terms of new content.

You have to justify 25 soapies, yet you were saying to me "YOLO" about chucking 350 notes at a PS4 Pro!
 

Mascot

Member
Yes, the existing pass only includes content up to and including the Porsche pack 3, so you can consider the current pass expired in terms of new content.

Ah, thanks. Just what I feared. Gotta wait for the next PSN sale then, if I can.

You have to justify 25 soapies, yet you were saying to me "YOLO" about chucking 350 notes at a PS4 Pro!

Yeah, but that was your money I was spending..! :p

How's AC on your non-Beta Pro by the way? Notice any differences at all? Or did you end up inviting The Beast into your den after all?
 

danowat

Banned
It might be placebo, but AC definitely looks nicer.

I've no idea how the PS pro works with titles that don't have a pro patch on a 4k TV, but it just seems like the IQ is cleaner overall, and has a greater colour depth.

I can wait for the beast to be unleashed ;)
 

thelastword

Banned
AC is one of the weakest looking racers on consoles, but now that boost mode have given it the performance it should have launched with...I think a PRO patch would improve graphical settings, resolution and general IQ on top of the perf gains....Just a rez increase, 16xAF and TAA would go a long way...

I'm happy the devs are actively supporting it and providing new content, but it's a bit strange they have not done a pro patch yet..... being so active with the title as it is......
 

danowat

Banned
AC is one of the weakest looking racers on consoles, but now that boost mode have given it the performance it should have launched with...I think a PRO patch would improve graphical settings, resolution and general IQ on top of the perf gains....

I'm happy the devs are actively supporting it and providing new content, but it's a bit strange they have not done a pro patch yet..... being so active with the title as it is......

I actually think it looks pretty good personally, the cockpits and gauges are some of the best anywhere, and the models are top notch, maybe the overall IQ and scenery isn't as good as others, but I don't think it looks bad at all.

They can't keep up with the PC version on the vanilla consoles, I can't see them putting more resources into making a Pro patch.
 

Mascot

Member
I actually think it looks pretty good personally, the cockpits and gauges are some of the best anywhere, and the models are top notch, maybe the overall IQ and scenery isn't as good as others, but I don't think it looks bad at all.

They can't keep up with the PC version on the vanilla consoles, I can't see them putting more resources into making a Pro patch.

I find AC a bit of a mixed bag. It can look excellent, like in bright sun around 10am or 2pm with some length to the shadows. In other conditions (eg fog, overcast) the lighting doesn't really work well and it's a little but fugly. Cockpits are nice.

Can't fault the Pro boost performance though. Solid as a rock.
 

thelastword

Banned
I actually think it looks pretty good personally, the cockpits and gauges are some of the best anywhere, and the models are top notch, maybe the overall IQ and scenery isn't as good as others, but I don't think it looks bad at all.

They can't keep up with the PC version on the vanilla consoles, I can't see them putting more resources into making a Pro patch.
Well comparatively anyway....It just looks a bit weak compared to the others, I'm not too pertubed though..... a simple rez increase including better AA and AF would do wonders for it.....

It's already a locked 60fps, (through boost mode) so that in itself is a rarity amongst the racers on consoles, so that's a big boon to this title against other racers. Dedicating 1 week for a 1800p checkerboard patch, increasing AF and adding TAA, whilst mainitaining a locked 60fps would do more for their title than anything else they do now...I think it's in their interest to prioritize this, but I'm certainly not shooting down the support they've given the title so far on consoles.....Hope they can muster something soon,,,,
 
AC is one of the weakest looking racers on consoles, but now that boost mode have given it the performance it should have launched with...I think a PRO patch would improve graphical settings, resolution and general IQ on top of the perf gains....Just a rez increase, 16xAF and TAA would go a long way...

I'm happy the devs are actively supporting it and providing new content, but it's a bit strange they have not done a pro patch yet..... being so active with the title as it is......

You must think of Assetto Corsa as a PC sim title. Any bit that it looks better than rFactor 2 is luxury and completely unnecessary. Many PC guys have triple screen setups or ultra-wide monitors and they don't want some checkerboard BS, they want native resolution and over 100fps at (resolutions like 5760x1080), v-sync delay is the devil. Some are moving to VR, which is less resource intensive, but the background of AC's main audience in "this thing needs to run well, not look good, it's a simulator!" is still there.

If shaders and 3D optimization wouldn't be a fun puzzle and chance to learn new stuff for guys like Stefano, AC wouldn't even look as good as it does now and Kunos wouldn't care about the money they left on the table.

And about the 16x Anisotropic filtering... I run AC with 16x AF on PC and cobblestone ground like on the new Highlands track looks still ugly blurry in replays when the replay camera is rotating to follow the car and I say that as someone who usually never notices bad texture filtering in games.


If you think that's all stupid and no excuse, then AC maybe is not for you. It's not GT, Forza or Project CARS. If anything, its mindset is somewhere between pCARS and iRacing, but with an even smaller team than both of those titles (Slightly Mad is almost as big as Polyphony currently I think with over 150 employees, iRacing is 40-50 guys and Kunos was little over 30 last I heard).
 
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