Assetto Corsa (ex-NetKar)

[chunder]

I do know what you mean Bert.

But some of the best races I have ever had have been on open servers, you just have to find the right sort of ones. I have never had that experience with AI and you never will. Leagues are often stuffy and very rule orientated.

AC is actually pretty good in terms of no morons, I have only experienced a few since playing it.

But games like Rfactor and Race07 were riddled with them sadly. Bizarrely though I found the Codies F1 game I played quite reasonable, especially as they had the great idea of using ghost cars online so you couldn't actually drive into each other though you could obviously see the graphical idea of the car.

Hilarious when people didn't know and tried to take you out, then sped through your ghost car into the wall!

[Akrapovic]

Finding a good server is easier on a PC, tbh. I've moved from PC to console racing because I don't have the time to commit to PCs anymore. But my GPL and NR2003 days had far better races than pCARS on a console. iRacing obviously was the best, but that's setup differently.

Pickup racing on the X1 in pCARS isn't worth it. At least half the races are ruined by morons. And since the game advertises a working career mode, I expect it to work - which most of the features don't.

Chunder, how bad is the PC version of pCARS? X1 version is easy enough to drive, but almost all the offline features are completely broken. AC from the sound of it is in a bad state as well.

[Aysedasi]

Which offline features of PCars on the PC are supposed to be broken? I still drive it occasionally, always offline, and I've had no problems apart from having to reset my antique Momo Force from time to time....

[chunder]

I tried the PC version with the Zonda stuff the other week and it felt awful on a decent spec PC even.

However I did try it on a PS4 and it felt fine.

Nothing more needs to be said really!

[leonidas]

Well three years on from the original post, I've now tried the 'complete' AC on the PS4. My impression is of a really good sim that could have been absolutely great with a bit more thought.

Some car handling models are absolutely brilliant - the 65 Lotus F1 and classic touring cars seem really alive. Others provide little feedback and questionable physics at the limit. A case of trying to do too many cars for marketing reasons?

Then there is the game structure. Why can't I decide which AI I race against or organise a custom championship? What year is this again?

The tracks are probably the best modelled of any sim but there are some odd choices, probably influenced by licensing issues. Sports car classics like Donington, Le Mans, Sebring and Laguna Seca are notable by their absence. And their is still only one historic track, which is shame when one considers how brilliant the classic Lotus cars really are.

Anyone know if there will be an AC2? There is massive potential here that is not quite fulfilled...

[chunder]

I doubt it fella

AC is a bit like RF1, in that is was a development of a sort of BETA game NetKar, and this is also a more open access game in comparison to Iracing, RF2 (whish it seems is still hard work to mod in) PCARS and Dirt Rally, the latter two being utterly devoid of mods and modding really.

AC is open to it, so I think will thrive for a decent time. If it is supported.

As they seem keen on trying to release new cars and the like I think it will be supported I hope for a few years.

Only problem is, with such modding support there is likely to be less interest in them doing tracks.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by leonidas

Then there is the game structure. Why can't I decide which AI I race against or organise a custom championship? What year is this again?

You can on the PC version. Unfortunately the console version is a bit of a mess and several versions behind. On the assumption that PC fixes/changes come to consoles, this option is coming. You can choose which cars you race against in single races, and you can choose cars and liveries in custom championships.

The tracks are probably the best modelled of any sim but there are some odd choices, probably influenced by licensing issues. Sports car classics like Donington, Le Mans, Sebring and Laguna Seca are notable by their absence. And their is still only one historic track, which is shame when one considers how brilliant the classic Lotus cars really are.

Laguna Seca is confirmed as coming soon (soon is a relative term - we don't know when!). Donington, unfortunately for console users, exists as a good version on the PC as a mod.

[leonidas]

That's frustrating. I assumed PC sims were dying rapidly so I don't really bother with PC sims now - mainly because you need a £800+ gaming rig to do what a £200 ps4 will already do, plus everyone is now on laptops.

I also got frustrated with PC simming. Trying to get RF2 to run properly on a PC seemed to need a PhD in computing - with AC you just stick your CD into the PS4 and it works first time, every time.

But maybe I'm wrong and missing out?

[Akrapovic]

You're partly right. I agree the price difference is often a deal breaker. I'd say you can build a PC for less than £800, but you'd maybe need to build it yourself, which for a lot of people isn't possible. We can't all be PC experts. So the price difference is huge.

You're also right about rFactor 2. They recently migrated to Steam, and I took that opportunity to reinstall it and was REALLY unimpressed. I'm sure you can do a lot of nice things you can do with it and run loads of mods etc, but the default game looked and sounded terrible and generally it felt 10 years out of date already.

But I also played pCARS on the X1, and I've never had so many problems with a PC game as I did pCARS on the X1. Sound problems, stuttering, FPS drops, timing issues, crashing. These are issues which are usually exclusive to PC gaming, and yet pCARS introduced them all to a console, which was remarkable. The initial release didn't even work with a joypad. You know, the default controller!

Assetto Corsa on the PC for me runs smooth as silk. Default settings worked too, which was nice. I had to mess with controller settings to get my X1 joypad on my PC Feeling good, but not half as much as pCARs on the X1. So in that regard, AC on the PC is brilliant.

I think AC on a console is just a bit behind the PC version. It's a different development studio, so maybe they're still getting to grips with it. I'm sure you'll get the content and features eventually.

[chunder]

Akra

Believe me buddy you can run a decent PC for far less than that if you have a keyboard, mouse and monitor already.

I bought mine tail end of last year for 450, and spent 100 quid on a half decent monitor and it runs the game fine.

Am going to start getting into installing some mods I think tonight, see how easy it is.

As the base content, though good gets a little tiresome after a while. And I am intrigued to see how the modders are getting on.

Agree with you about RF2, I found it a fair mess last time I tried it, so poorly done considering how great RF1 was. They seem tog et all stacked up with some things and ignore the obvious stuff.

[Akrapovic]

Yeah, you can certainly get a good PC for cheaper, without a doubt. £450 is pretty good, you spotted a good deal their man. But to an outsider, that's double a console, for no extra performance. In all honesty, the Xbox One graphics have been pretty great, so I can see why someone wouldn't spend double to get not much more.

If you're open to suggestions, I've went through a lot of mods and found some good ones. They may not be your style, but you might enjoy these -

Apps

Helicorsa. Aids seeing cars around you, for safer racing
http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/helicorsa.5199/

Pitconfig. Allows you to select pit options before getting to the pits
http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/pitconfig.8032/

Sidekick. Well laid out dashboard, with customisable options
http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/sidekick.11007/

Setupmarket. Download setups in game
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...-market.10149/

Tracks

Donington Park. Very very nice build.
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...ton-park.3031/

Le Mans. Not great, but the best version currently
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...a-sarthe.2482/

Bridgehampton. Old American circuit. Amazing in 70s and 80s cars
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...-circuit.6604/

Paul Ricard. It's stripey.
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...l-ricard.6115/

Riverside. Same author as Bridgehamton. Very good build.
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...-raceway.9492/

Longford 1967. Updated GPL track, but updated a lot.
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...ord-1967.2741/

60s Hockenheim. It's fast.
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...-tracks.13105/

Misc

Better damage display
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...uc1gnol0.4736/

Skins/Skin Packs

Black Falcon AMG GT3 Collection
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...kin-pack.8471/

HTP AMG GT3 Collection
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...kin-pack.9870/

Nismo 370z mega pack - great if you want a one make series
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...ga-pack.10522/

917K Martini Pack
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...ni-pack.13165/

Porsche GT3 Supercup Skins
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...in-pack.13140/

Porsche 962C Pack
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...erypack.12781/

AAI Corvette
http://www.racedepartment.com/downlo...ns-2016.10945/



There's a ridiculous amount of mods, but those are the best tracks I've found so far.

[leonidas]

Thanks for the links. I'm just getting my (real) rally car back on the road at the moment and that's not leaving me with much cash to eat let alone buy a new PC but I'll keep an eye out for updates.

I suppose we are spoilt for choice at the moment. I do quite like PCars too - the more you get into it the more sophisticated it seems. Finally finding a setup that works with the Lotus 72D was something of a Eureka moment.

I just wish there was something like GPL where there was a full season of historic tracks - I still keep GPL on my laptop for this reason. It is now 19 years old - it must be the video game with the most longevity ever and the best £25 I ever spent.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by leonidas

I just wish there was something like GPL where there was a full season of historic tracks - I still keep GPL on my laptop for this reason. It is now 19 years old - it must be the video game with the most longevity ever and the best £25 I ever spent.

Broken record time for me. I spent years, literally, on GPL, even bought a new computer and wheel solely for GPL. I took part in league racing (Tenths had one once - the Ten Tenths Friendly Racing League - and I won it the first season!), and for me, it still remains the best experience I've ever had with sim racing. Massively modded and improved over the years. Inevitably graphics are very dated now, but it remains a brilliant challenge.