Assetto Corsa Competizione | Update 1.9 and 2023 GT World Challenge DLC Out Now

Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2 joins Assetto Corsa Competizione in Update.png
After months of hype, the wait is finally over. Assetto Corsa Competizione is now at version 1.9 and with it comes the 2023 GT World Challenge Pack. Here's all you need to know.

Image Credit: Kunos Simulazioni

Ever since the previous update that gave fans the American Tracks Pack, Assetto Corsa Competizione developers Kunos have been rather quiet. But the wait is finally over as the official game for all things SRO Motorsports Group received its latest update today.

Revolutionising the game's physics, force feedback and tyre model, the update addresses numerous community concerns from previous versions. The game update is joined by a major content drop bringing the game up to date for the 2023 GT World Challenge season. With so much going on, it's worth diving into everything new in the game. Here's all you need to know.

Transformed driving physics​

Earlier in the week, fans got to learn about all the work that has gone into making version 1.9 the "biggest ACC update ever." With major changes to suspension geometry and more flexibility to the tyre model, the game should drive very differently to older versions.


In fact, the tyre model will no longer feature pinhead accuracy when it comes to tyre temperatures and pressure. Instead, drivers will have to make a trade off on tyre pressures between grip and longevity. Whereas the previous tyres had to run at 27.5 psi for optimum grip, the new model will offer a larger window between 26 psi and 27 psi.

As for suspension changes, Kunos developer Aristotelis Vasilakos detailed the bump stop modifications in version 1.9 on-stream. Gone is the near-infinite bump stop compression which resulted in unrealistic bouncing, cars should now ride kerbs and bumps better.

2023 GT World Challenge Pack​

The 2023 GT World Challenge Pack brings Assetto Corsa Competizione up to spec for this year's running in SRO Motorsport Group championships. Mostly focusing on the European calendar, the pack includes one track and three cars.

Valencia joins ACC in next update.png


Adding another venue to the slim track list, Circuit Ricardo Tormo is located near Valencia, Spain. Following a successful first visit in 2022, GT World Challenge Europe will return to the circuit later on in the year. When that event takes place in the real world, fans will already be acquainted with the circuit thanks to it joining ACC.

Elsewhere, 2023 is a big year for GT3 racing. Not one, not two, but three new models hit racing tracks around the world this year and Kunos has managed to reflect the additions in its game. The Ferrari 296 GT3 and Porsche 992-generation 911 GT3 R are brand new models making their first steps in the category this year. The Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2 is a refined version of the Huracan already present in GT3 races around the world.

All three of these racing cars are included in the 2023 GT World Challenge Pack, available now on Steam for €12.99. The physics updates come for free. A simple download that most ACC players are anxiously waiting for as I write this will provide you with all the physics, BOP and updates.


This latest update certainly changes Assetto Corsa Competizione for the better. But is it enough to give a new lease of life to the game? Our friends at Overtake have put together a video review on the content and new game version. Here's what Champion Joe thinks.

What are you most excited to try out in this new version of ACC?
About author
Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

i7 12700k/rtx 4090 but you dont need this kind of gpu because i turn dlss on and its basically locked at 4k max settings 160hz (my monitor max refresh rate) and the gpu sits only at 65% load, so you can get with dlss max settings in 4k 100fps with lower class gpus too.
i also recommend using dlss over standard-taa in this game, it just looks crisper and the reduction in image quality is to me at least non-existent.
I found (2.0) DLSS to gave quite some artifacts in fast moving scenery (next to some lag).
Turned the spectators in the strange shaped blobs.
 
I found (2.0) DLSS to gave quite some artifacts in fast moving scenery (next to some lag).
Turned the spectators in the strange shaped blobs.
during normal driving i honestly don't notice any of these things you mention. maybe they are there, maybe not, at least to me they are not perceptible.
i know of artifacts but only in some replay mode angles and tbh that does not bother me one bit for the performance gains i get. Also with TAA and no DLSS you still have ghosting, so its basically choose your poison kinda stuff.
 
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Funny how different impressions are.... from "awesome" to "undriveable". This just reflects the inconsistency in this community, also reflecting the boring discussions/comparison of different sims. Many forget or are too lazy to put effort into adjusting their wheel settings to fit their driving styles. Yes, it takes time to tune them in.

Personally I didn't like the new driving physics in the beginning but after fiddling with Truedrive it feels a lot better than 1.8. I think it is big step into the right direction. I guess kunos will fine tune everything with upcoming updates to make it even better.
Same goes with e.g. iRacing: If you work on your settings it fells really, really good to drive. There is so much room for adjustments, that you can make almost every sim from "awesome" to "undriveable" with wheel settings only. I mainly race in iRacing but ACC is my second most used sim as the graphics are stunning and the handling feels really close after setting it up to my liking.

Maybe some people should start working on their side too (wheel and ingame settings for ffb) before just hopping into the sim, driving a few laps and blaming the developpers.
The fact that, according to the feedback here, a lot of people like the update as well, should make you rethink your fast conclusion it being bad.
 
Funny how different impressions are.... from "awesome" to "undriveable". This just reflects the inconsistency in this community,
Yes but the fact that the driving feel changes significantly between versions 1.8 and 1.9 of a sim in a way also reflects the inconsistency of the developers. Also the fact that Evo versions of the same car drive significantly different from the previous model is a bit inconsistent in my opinion. I think the inconsistency of the developers between different versions of a sim and obviously between different developers of different sims leads to inconsistency in the community. Its just hard because the physics dont seem to be fully understood and are hard to validate. Thats why we can happily argue forever on racedepartment.
 
Why the cars only appear under Open Series, but is marketed as 2023 GT World Challenge? This is very confusing. I checked my files at first thinking the update didn't install correctly, since I saw not 2023 series tab...Does this mean they released a work in progress update or this is how it will stay?
further up in this thread it was speculated that not all skins for the season are available atm so that we will get a second or third helping later this year. Folks also surmised, a Season 2023 button might then be added. But it's all a guess.
 
Testing with this new 1.9 version, with more extreme and "absurd" configuration options, the lap gains appear minimal compared to more conservative configurations. It is clear that Kunos has worked hard to update his tire model to ensure more realism than before. The way tires can now undergo a warm-up cycle, for example after a spin, and gradually return to a constant internal temperature is impressive.

The most noticeable element of v1.9 are the improvements to the suspension and bump stops, which make cars like the McLaren 720S GT3 and Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo - normally almost impossible on kerbs like the Variante Alta at Imola - much more flexible. In previous versions of ACC, hard hits to the suspension often caused the car to bounce out of control, now the situation has radically improved.

Kunos has already confirmed a revised performance balance for the upcoming SRO Esports season, aiming for near-perfect parity between all competing cars.
 
Same here with SC2 Pro - If I was a conspiracy theorist I'd say Kunos have nerfed Simucube wheelbases in favour of their, and the GTWC, sponsor Fanatec.
Thrustmaster is also ruined, can't feel the tyres and I now have about 20-30% deadzone when changing direction like a chichane,it seems like they added a lot of tyre sound to give the impression you can feel your tyres but really cant
 
Thrustmaster is also ruined, can't feel the tyres and I now have about 20-30% deadzone when changing direction like a chichane,it seems like they added a lot of tyre sound to give the impression you can feel your tyres but really cant
I don't play this title often but
I'm using a Thrustmaster TX with coach Dave academy settings and Havner soft lock plugin for simhub.

Edit: also make sure your Thrustmaster firmware and drivers are upto date.


I use 100% ffb and 20% damper in TM profile..... setting I use in iracing.
And 5-10% less gain ingame

Personally, it feels much better than before.
I can feel the cold tire phase, grip building, over heating, lateral grip, load, slip, lose of grip, etc.

No deadzone while driving, tho it is very light when turning out of my pit stall than it kicks in once I'm straight...power steering?
 
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just had a couple of minutes to do some laps with AI at the new track in each of the new cars. I set the road vibrations (or whatever it's called) from 15% to 30% for my t500 and left all other settings the way they were after some fiddling that led nowhere. Feels a bit more like the iRacing GT3s now but I seem to be able to feel more different states in the tire, however this might just be an illusion. The track is great, I especially like how you can put 45 AI on it, fancy how noone mentioned it so far, very important if you want to do a nice big mixed grid for offline fun. Of the three new cars I like the Porsche the best and I finally figured what I don't like about the new Ferrari: I miss the round taillights, such a bland back now.
 
just had a couple of minutes to do some laps with AI at the new track in each of the new cars. I set the road vibrations (or whatever it's called) from 15% to 30% for my t500 and left all other settings the way they were after some fiddling that led nowhere. Feels a bit more like the iRacing GT3s now but I seem to be able to feel more different states in the tire, however this might just be an illusion. The track is great, I especially like how you can put 45 AI on it, fancy how noone mentioned it so far, very important if you want to do a nice big mixed grid for offline fun. Of the three new cars I like the Porsche the best and I finally figured what I don't like about the new Ferrari: I miss the round taillights, such a bland back now.
Curious about your experience with the AI. I didn't see any updates for the AI in the release notes so I'm assuming there were none, which is disappointing personally. Did you notice any differences in how they behave compared to 1.8?
 
Of course the updated physics are awesome and another step closer to RL. Sure it will take some adjustment to our driving style to maximize. Thank you KS for the love you've always put into this amazing game, for 3 new cars and an awesome new track. But the "biggest update ever" with zero graphical updates to the base game? We still have a laughable PS2-era rearview mirror. Still have rain rooster tails that look like a series of wet farts. Still have wheels that rotate completely out of sync with car movement at slower speeds. Still have horrific shadows. Still have those annoying guys waving random colored flags. :cautious: And don't @ me with iT's nOt pRioRiTy :p It was priority enough to put these bad visual effects into the game in the first place, I wouldn't exactly call fixing them 4 years later making it a priority. Not like I'm NOT going to keep playing ACC for way too many hours every night, just a tad disappointed at the hype generated for this update...

Edit: ok the tire & physics updates are so brilliant tho, feels fantastic. And apologies KS vis artists, the game always has been gorgeous, the cars, tracks, lighting, and especially weather. Just a few visual nitpicks to perfection :D
 
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Of course the updated physics are awesome and another step closer to RL. Sure it will take some adjustment to our driving style to maximize. Thank you KS for the love you've always put into this amazing game, for 3 new cars and an awesome new track. But the "biggest update ever" with zero graphical updates to the base game? We still have a laughable PS2-era rearview mirror. Still have rain rooster tails that look like a series of wet farts. Still have wheels that rotate completely out of sync with car movement at slower speeds. Still have horrific shadows. Still have those annoying guys waving random colored flags. Is this really the best the KS VFX team can do? :cautious: And don't @ me with iT's nOt pRioRiTy :p It was priority enough to put these bad visual effects into the game in the first place, I wouldn't exactly call fixing them 4 years later making it a priority. Not like I'm NOT going to keep playing ACC for way too many hours every night, just a tad disappointed at the hype generated for this update...
Yeah, those mirrors hurt after the CSP mirrors in AC. At least with smaller mirrors you can make them pretty sharp. And the detailed shadows, detailed tree models popping up like 10 m ahead of you. That you see every time.

I don't think that will change in ACC. But I hope it's going be much better in AC2 and that all this wonderful content finds its way into that hopefully better graphics engine.
 
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Finallly had a chance to put some decent laps in. Here's my review (sorry quite elaborate).

Context:
I've spent some time away from ACC recently focussing back to AC as I believe the single player experience and possibilities in AC are almost infinite and fun. More good tracks, more good cars (I only race Sportscars as a sim racer mind you) better AI. So I came into the update with mostly AC laps in my muscles for the last couple of months. My 'main' car in ACC is the Mercedes-AMG GT3, I haven't driven this car in ACC after the update yet, mainly focussing on the Three new cars. I use practice at Zolder (my home track in Belgium and the track I'm personally most familiar with).

DLC Content (cars, track): 8/10
3 New cars are always great and an additional laser scanned track included as well.
With this price tag I would say it is competitive enough within the genre. The cars look great obviously. They handle uniquely different from their non evo versions (and of course the Ferrari is an entirely new car).

Best time set with the Lamborghini Huracan EVO II - it feels a lot more stable than the other Lambo's before it, quite a radical change imho. It is not that much fun to drive compared to the previous Lambo's but I find it to be very competitive in terms of lap times on Zolder. I was very near to my PB after about 30 laps on the track to my astonishment.
Worst time set with the Ferrari 296 but I find it to be the most compelling and fun car to drive in the new package. Will be putting more time into the sim with this car for sure.
Average time set with the Porsche 992 but it is my least favourite car in the new package. Challenging but I always found the Porsche challenging. I think this car needs a bit more work or maybe it is just not my thing.
Valencia: I have only raced the track on AC modded version but enjoyed that quite a bit. It is a decent sprint race type track. I would rate it above the likes of Zandvoort, Snetterton and others but obviously doesn't come near the quality of some of the IGTC pack tracks. Middle ground but well done track.

Update 1.9 (physics, tyres, liveries): 7.5/10
Coming back after extended period away from ACC my judgement is impaired on this front. At first I didn't like the new tyre model. But after a couple dozens of laps it really grew on me (which makes sense I think with a radical update). I'm not a pro gamer so I'm not looking for hyper realism, it should still be fun to drive. I think this tyre model accomplishes that.
The behaviour over cerbs seems like a definitive improvement either way (do I did manage to spin the Audi R8 LMS Evo II on a cerb I've never really spun on before? Let's call it an anomaly).

The Liveries is my only main point of criticisim: Some of them look rushed. There is no consitency into why some were added and why others weren't at this point. This is a detail of course and only detracts .5 points for me I would expect the complete livery set to be added after Spa 24h as usual. We are still waiting on the ability to do stand-alone GTWC America races mind you.

All in all I find it interesting physics and tyre update and different is always good - the long run I think this are positive changes to the sim. My first impressions are very positive.

General observations

Now what is ACC Problem: I think it is trying to be both a competitive and (semi) professional online racing game and at the same time is stuck being Licensed game to GT World Challenge. And by trying to be both at the same time with the resources available has proven to be implossible coming up short probably on both fronts - but especially sp as a Licensed SRO content game title. Therefore it is a great game, but not the game it could/should have been.

Covid was a factor and track operators and licensing models can be complex. But here is now a game that is incomplete even as a basic GT World Challenge Europe game missing tracks and content.
At the same time it promised GTWC America content but also left that incomplete.
And it dipped its toes into IGTC and British GT but also never followed up on those extensions.

So maybe they never promised it to us to customer as such, but it created a feeling of wanton for me anyway. This and the lack of a full scale enjoyable and customiseable single player experience still leave me with a feeling of "what could have been" even if it is for me probaly still one of the best driving experiences out there.
 
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