Paul Jeffrey
Premium
With Early Access about to start this September 12th, Kunos head man Marco Massarutto has released a sizeable statement about what players can initially expect...
Not long to go now, just 4 more days until Assetto Corsa Competizione will be available to the gaming public as part of a 6 month Steam Early Access development programme. As is usually the case with these sorts of development cycles, not everything you see as part of the current version of the game will be the same as a fully finished version 1 release, something that Marco Massarutto of Kunos Simulazioni looks to explain in a statement released earlier today:
So, the wait is almost over, by Wednesday 12 you can finally have a first taste of what you can expect from Assetto Corsa Competizione. So, what you can expect?
In terms of content, as you might know, the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and the Nurburgring GP Circuit. As we have done with Ferrari and Porsche before, by 2017 we established a very good partnership also with Automobili Lamborghini and Lamborghini Squadra Corse, and since they won the last Blancpain GT Series Championship, we have been glad to pay them a tribute, allowing our user base to have the Huracan GT3 as first driveable car in the game.
The Nurburgring GP has been choiced as first track for more than one reason: we are going to release the game in the same week of the Blancpain GT Weekend at the Nurburging, so you will have the chance to enjoy the next race even more; also, next week we'll join the Simracing Expo that is organized by ADAC right at Nurburgring circuit, so all the guests will have the chance to play the game at the Expo on the same track. Last but not least, the Nurburgring GP is one of the oldest 3D assets produced for Assetto Corsa 1 in 2012: through the years we improved our modeling and graphics tecniques, and in AC1 some difference in terms of details and visuals between the Nurburgring and the latest tracks like Redbull Ring and Laguna Seca was quite visible. Most of parts and details of the Nurburgring in Assetto Corsa Competizione have been re-made from scratch, so, selecting this circuit for the first release of the new game, you will have the chance to see that that Assetto Corsa Competizione isn't a sort of "copy&paste" operation from AC1, but a completely new game.
In general, except for Nurburgring GP, Monza and the Ferrari 488 GT3, for the Early Access program we wanted to offer to our user base the chance to enjoy the game with cars and tracks not available before, like Misano, Paul Ricard, BMW GT3, Bentley GT3, and so on, and we hope you will like this choice.
Coming back to the first EA build, as opponents for quick races and special events you will not be forced to race only against other Lamborghinis: so you will find also some Ferrari, and Audi cars on the grid. These GT3 have not been completely finalized yet in terms of handling&physics, so you will not able to drive them, but they will add variety and variability to your races, to grant you a lot of fun. The reason is that 1) even if this is a beta, we don't want to make any confusion about what you can expect from AC Competizione in terms of handling, allowing you to drive cars that have been finalized in all its details, and 2) the goal of the Early Access program is not just releasing content, but testing and improving the final version of the game, and proceeding step by step is definetely the best strategy a little team like Kunos (that today employes 22 people) can have. So, the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 is the first one, and I'm sure you will enjoy it.
The first EA Release gives you access to practice, hotlap, hotstint (that, once will be finalized, I believe it will keep you on the seat for long time) and quick races. About weather and track conditions, you will be able to drive at your favourite time on the overall night&day cycle, and different weather conditions (from sunny to storm) will be available as well, except for the dynamic weather (variable conditions) that is still under development. Also, some online special events will be available as well, giving to you the chance to take your place on the online, worldwide, leaderboard (that you asked for years), and to us the chance to start a massive test for the new rating system (that you asked for years too), with the aim to improve and finalize it within the end of the EA Program. At this URL:
https://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php…
you can find what the guy behind it, Kevin Stuck, is doing for you.
At this stage, the game is localized in English and Italian [BUT] we'll add more languages during the EA phase OR, at the worse, in time for 1.0 version of the game. We are creating lot of texts for explanations, helps and descriptions to allow you to enjoy the game at the very best, and the translation process isn't easy as you could imagine.
Options, controls and assists
The first EA build includes support for keyboard, gamepad and steering wheels. You can navigate the user interface using mouse and keyboard, but (finally) also using the gamepad or the steering wheel. We'll provide some presets for the most popular steering wheel, and we'll add more profiles during the process. However, if you don't find your steering wheel in the list, don't worry, you just need to configure it manually, since most of the DirectInput controllers detected by Windows are detected by AC Competizione as well.
About the gamepad car control, we worked to provide an improved experience, working on automatic gear algorithms, stability settings and steer assists (if you want to keep the assists on, of course), so that if you don't care / can't purchase / don't have space for a steering wheel, you can enjoy AC Competizione using your gamepad anyway and having fun. In next builds, we'll provide you also more options to customize your gamepad controls at the best, so thank you in advance for your patience.
In terms of options, you will be able to change your system configuration (video, sounds, etc) even during a session, without the need to quit to main menu and load the session again, allowing you to setup your AC Competizione settings at the best.
Let me remind you again, that this version of AC Competizione is just the first one of a 6-month dev program, so if you don't find there what you are looking for in terms of functionalities, content, options, don't worry, we are working on it, and the Early Access Program has been designed also to hear from you, getting your feedback and suggestions.
This is just a little preview of what you can expect to find in the first beta. Let me thank you again for the amazing support you gave us through the years, helping us to improve our simulation more and more. With AC Competizione, we are working really hard to provide you the best racing experience we can achieve, and we hope you will like it. See you on track by Sept. 12!
Assetto Corsa Competizione will be available to purchase on Steam Early Access from September 12th 2018.
Check out the Assetto Corsa Competizione here at RaceDepartment for the latest news and discussions regarding this exciting upcoming sim. We intend to host some quality League and Club Racing events as well as hosting some great community created mods (we hope!). Join in the discussion today.
Like what you see here at RaceDepartment? Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow us on social media!
Will you be buying into the day 1 EA release of ACC? Looking forward to giving the new title a try? What weather setting / track action do you plan on trying first? Let us know in the comments section below!
Check out the Assetto Corsa Competizione here at RaceDepartment for the latest news and discussions regarding this exciting upcoming sim. We intend to host some quality League and Club Racing events as well as hosting some great community created mods (we hope!). Join in the discussion today.
Like what you see here at RaceDepartment? Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow us on social media!
Will you be buying into the day 1 EA release of ACC? Looking forward to giving the new title a try? What weather setting / track action do you plan on trying first? Let us know in the comments section below!
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