Assetto Corsa Developer Aris Vasilakos Resigns From Kunos Simulazioni

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Assetto Corsa 2 is set to see the light of day in 2024 – but not with Aristotelis Vasilakos on board with Kunos Simulazioni: The Head of Vehicle & Handling R&D has resigned from the studio.

Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni

Many sim racers, particularly fans of Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione, know Aristotelis Vasilakos as Kunos Simulazioni’s guru for car physics, setups and more. As the studio’s Head of Vehicle & Handling R&D for the Assetto Corsa titles, Aris, as he is known, frequently provided deep-dive insight into the finer details of ACC in particular.

It is on his Aris.Drives YouTube channel that the developer now announced a big change for 2024. With his most recent video having been uploaded in October of 2022, Aris took to his channel again with a video titled “So long and thanks for all the sims!” to shed some light on his radio silence.


After 15 amazing and incredible years, I have resigned from my position at Kunos Simulazioni. I will never be able to express my feelings and gratitude towards this company. [It] made my dreams come true and helped me to become the professional figure that I believe I am“, states Aris in his video. “Most importantly, I will never be able to thank the sim racing community enough.

Aris Resigns From Kunos: Gaps Will Be Filled​

Aris did work on Assetto Corsa 2 content until recently, however, and offers a very broad teaser for the title. “The company is very, very healthy. It’s working on the most amazing sim racing content that you’ve ever seen. Believe me when I say that 2024 is going to be incredible. You guys are going to be blown away by what is being released.”

Additionally, Aris and Kunos worked together to create guidelines and templates “to fill any kind of gap that I may leave.” Where does this leave Vasilakos, though? Well, he provided an answer to this question as well, stating that he would not join a direct competitor. After having worked in sim racing for 20 years, it was time to move on.

That means that the developer is taking up another role as part of a “much bigger project, which will hopefully make me grow professionally.” While he will supposedly stay connected with car culture, Aris will not be involved in a sim racing title, instead focusing on a “very big and ambitious metaverse project.


Big Task For Kunos​

Aris resigns from Kunos – a sentence that seemed unthinkable. Vasilakos leaves behind an enormous legacy, which will surely shape Assetto Corsa 2 as well. However, as sim racing titles are subject to constant improvement even after release, filling Aris’s shoes for those developments is going to be a difficult task.

Still, the studio has shown that it can and will commit to a title long-term, probably more so in ACC than in the original Assetto Corsa. Not much is known about Assetto Corsa 2 yet, but the title is intended to see the light of day in Summer of 2024. Before that, the Nürburgring-Nordschleife should make many sim racers’ hearts jump with joy.

What do you make of Aris’ departure from Kunos Simulazioni? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

D
"a “very big and ambitious metaverse project.

So we'll see you back at Kunos within 3 years after you realize what a terrible mistake you've made?
With Stefano tagging along. :roflmao:
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There's nothing else to say except for thanks to Aris for all the great experiences he helped create, the best of luck in the projects ahead. And that I hope this doesn't affect AC2 is a bad way. What he created is not lost, and I am certain the "successor" is well trained for the job.

Goodbye and thanks for all the physics ;)
 
Premium
I enjoyed his videos, they got me into ACC. 15 years is a long time, so hats off to him for taking a leap towards something new.
 
I see that we have sim cycles, first big one was rf1, then AC and we still on it… the next big one could be beam ng if dev gear up with community efforts like the one in AC… or could be something in the further down the road when Reiza builds AMS3 using last garage engine and makes it an open sim again.
Reiza? Devs needs a brake in their career to enjoy their earnings; and come back with ideas on how to evolve our hobby
 
Sorry to see him go, seems like a really nice guy, offered to help out when I broke down near his home town while on an AC inspired euro roadtrip, met him the following year where he gave me a sneak preview of AC on console in his man cave - felt like he has time for the little people (me)
 
Premium
So much speculation and prognosticating from people who have no information. Doing anything with a single focus for 15 years is tough and eventually boring. Career wise, this is when tech based talent is worth the most and they have a life beside virtually driving in squiggly circles. Like it or not, we have passed peak sim racing so there will be business decisions we don't like to hear.
 
You only need to hear what RL racers say.
It is always like " Yeah at the end of the day there is only so much you can do in a simulator "
or words to that affect.

Thing is they have access to cutting edge simulator technology as reference.
Not G27 with loadcell kit, no offence meant.
I'm curious, is there any account out there of some RL racer who evaluated/compared/rated popular sim racing games like ACC, RF2, etc? I'd value their opinion rather than some random rants on the interwebz.
 
I wish him the best of luck, but I can't say I'm happy he's leaving. Hopefully he is though, and AC2 isn't a disaster. The original Assetto Corsa is still probably my favorite sim of all time. They really have the chance to become THE racing sim on PC (that doesn't require a second job to afford all the content). I really hope the FFB/handling is far more like AC1 than ACC. Way easier to judge the front end grip accurately. At least it's not being built in Unreal Engine again. But yeah, the departure of such senior staff isn't promising, and makes me think the project is in development hell or they don't like the direction it's heading.

I'm concerned that they will try to make it into a live service and pull some ridiculous progression system, add in a bunch of cosmeitics, and ruin their excellent VR mode and support from AC1 by adding in a bunch of new post-processing effects and making the game use only TAA instead of MSAA or SMAA. The VR mode in ACC is awful and runs poorly but that was in Unreal Engine not on the engine they developed for AC1. As long as AC2 feels as good to drive in as AC1 and doesn't ruin the VR experience I'll probably be happy. But tbh,

All I think they really need to do for AC2 is modernize AC1 & add a multiplayer system:
yes I understand this is like saying "all you need to do is not get hit", to someone who's being shot at by an MP7 or Vector.
  • improved graphics (no raytracing needed), better post-processing and lighiting system
  • dynamic weather maybe, rain simulation
  • tire physics for wet tarmac and potentially dirt & snow
  • improved model quality and PBR materials
  • new cars (McMurtry Speirling + AMG One + Ferrari F1-75/SF-23/KC-23/Daytona SP3/Purosangue + Corvette C8 [all variants] + Lamborghini Revuelto+T50+Gemera+CC850...a lot more)
  • new singleplayer challenges (hotlaps, races, time attack)
  • more cohesive and developed singleplayer career (like the old Gran Turismo games)
  • updated/improved/new tracks (new completely rescanned Nordschleife)
  • improved car telemetry tracking and UI for analyzing the information
  • integrate features/improments from Content Manager and CSP
  • improved VR quality/support (don't use TAA)
  • DLSS and FSR 2 implementation
  • retain the ability to easily mod the game, don't lock it down in the name of making more on car DLC
  • improved AI for CPU drivers
  • properly multi-threaded CPU performance/no CPU bottleneck

Multiplayer mode with:
  • detailed driver stat tracking+skill and safety rating
  • improved penalty system
  • fully featured spectator mode, camera mode, and recording capabilities which are conducive to eSports racing broadcasts and regular players
  • matchmaking/LFM or iRacing style races at set times
  • leaderboard integration with systems to prevent cheaters
  • livery creation and sharing tools
  • setup market and rating system for the setups
  • maybe some sort of in-game social system
  • no battlepass needed
  • different in-game series and championships
 
Premium
I know he's probably under an NDA but I wish there were more details from him on AC2. Glad he seems to be leaving on good terms and a good attitude towards it all.

The trailer has me a bit irked because it also says Xbox and PS. I don't have an issue with that per say but hope their focus is first and foremost PC. When developers focus on multi-system, titles tend to suffer in one area or another.
 
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Oh noes! The few times i spent with Aris during testing he was always a gentleman, a great teacher and a funny guy. Godspeed Aris! :cool:
 
Could it be Stefano, Aris & Crammond planning a new game...

IDK who is Crammond. But it could be so, since AC and Kunos has become such a hit at such a perfect pin point of averageness (which is not at all at a bad level - very enjoyable and peak of what is needed for 80% of simracers). So it would make sense to do an experimental project separately from main brand if they are absolutely obsessed with idea of getting to much higher levels of realism, which most people won't even perceive and won't appreciate. But they won't, I don't think that they care that much.
 

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