Marco Massarutto on AC Console Update

[Paul Jeffrey]

Assetto Corsa players have experienced considerable difficulties following the bold move to console back in August. With many complaints about issues and bugs within the game, Kunos Simulazioni have been hard at work on the sim, looking to address some of the more serious issues reported by users.

With development already well underway, Stefano Casillo of Kunos took to Twitter to confirm the fixes are progressing nicely. Tweeting via his @KunosStefano account, the Assetto Corsa developer noted: "Good progress on the tearning/performance on both consoles, good stuff and now off to Italy for 4 days holiday. ciao"

Adding further details a couple of days later, Marco Massarutto posted the following on Facebook about the work being undertaken at the studio:

"A short preview on [some of] the things you will find in next update for Assetto Corsa on PS4 and XB1. Tearing issues have been solved, and the graphics is much more smooth in any situation. The smoothness also gives a better perception of visuals, and allows to feel a better car handling. Definetely a great step ahead, that will allow you to enjoy AC much more. The new build will feature 2 additional difficult levels, very easy and alien, and btw, all the AI levels have been balanced, that means that also the existing AI levels have been improved.

Controllers: the issues with Thrustmaster T80, T100 and TH shifters have been fixed; gamepad speed sensitivity and steering gamma now work much better (we can't wait to receive your feedback), and a "reset to default" command has been added (where default means recommended). When you launch the game, now it recognizes and consider as default the device you use when you press X/A to start it (as it was designed, and it didn't work due to a bug of the very last minute..). This is the JUST the FIRST pass of improvements for the controller section, but not the LAST. We are already working to include new configurations and options for all the controllers and, BTW, thank you for your kind suggestions. Visual steering wheel rotation: as you might know, Assetto Corsa performs a full rotation of the steering wheel, depending by the car you choose, that actually helps to understand if you are steering too much, since the visual rotation matches the physical one. Said that, we recognize that gamepad users are not used to this kind of approach, and actually it can be weird by an aesthetical point of view. We added the option to lock the visual steering wheel, that will be setted by default at 360 degrees, and it works from 240 to 1080 degrees, so it can please any kind of user. Most important, we allow you to make your favorite choice.

As said before, this is just a quick update of SOME OF the things you will find in the next build. As you might know (but much probably not), the workflow needed to update a game on console is hugely different than on Steam with the PC version: is much more complex, slow and less dynamic. Also, it's something that - as developers - we are experimenting on console for the first time, since Assetto Corsa is our first porting, and believe me, Assetto Corsa is a very complex software. This is not meant to be a justification, but just a simple fact. Therefore I thank you in advance for your patience and passion, but you can be sure that Assetto Corsa 1.0 on PS4/XB1 is just the start. And, btw, the Japanese Pack DLC, the Black Cat County and Maserati Levante will be available very soon! Hopefully the new build will be available during this month: fingers crossed!

Thank you very much for the awesome way you are supporting us."
​

It will no doubt come as very positive news to console fans that a substantial update is in the works, hopefully solving many of the more glaring, and game breaking, issues fans are experiencing. Massarutto has also confirmed the update will include a new Easy and Alien AI mode, sitting alongside further balancing of the in game AI... another issue many players have been rather vocal about since the Assetto Corsa console launch.

Its is indeed encouraging to see Kunos reacting to community reaction of the console release of Assetto Corsa, and one hopes the development team can help bring a more satisfactory gaming experience to Xbox One and PS4 players in the very near future.

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The RaceDepartment Assetto Corsa sub forum is the place to go for news, discussions and mods in Assetto Corsa. With PC and console release already behind the studio, head on over to discuss the game and join in the fun with our superb Assetto Corsa Racing Club events and Leagues.

Do you own AC on console? How are you finding the experience? Looking forward to the update? Do you think AC can eventually become more popular than the current console racing giants? Let us know in the comments section below!

Photo Credit: daveds3

 

[WNCmotard]

As someone who has discovered sim racing in the past few months, had AC pre-ordered, and bought a PC and AC for it in the past two weeks, here are my thoughts. The gear I'm using in an XB1, and an Asus G11 / Core i5 6400 / 8Gb DDR4 2133mhz / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 / 1Tb 7200RPM drive, along with a TX servo base, two different wheel rims, T3PA pro pedals, TH8A shifter, and a home built handbrake setup all mounted to a GT Omega Racing wheel stand.

XB1 version - I stayed up till midnight for the launch, something I haven't done in ages. I excitedly launched AC with my wheel setup connected, and was disappointed almost immediately. I didn't notice the FPS or tearing issues that some have had. Rather for me, it was the most basic of things a sim should have, no way to calibrate my wheel / pedals, or map any buttons. The biggest is pedal calibration, I simply cannot get a consistent brake feel on the console, it changes every time I launch the game. Omitting being able to calibrate my gear to your software is inexcusable on something calling itself your racing simulator. I have also had complete loss of all FFB multiple times, only fixed by exiting the game and re-launching it. I've also had a lot of odd behavior here and there, some complete crashes of the game, and the AI is very inconsistent.

PC version - Obviously it's graphically superior in every single way, doesn't even look like the same game, and I've friends who don't sim race verify this for me. But the big thing is being able to calibrate my wheel / pedals, and more importantly the fine tuning of the FFB and pedals, as well as button mapping. The AI seems consistent, no software crashes, and all the but the odd behavior of dropping your car on the starting from about five feet off the ground when restaring are gone. The graphics and mods are just icing on the cake. I have zero desire to return to the console version.

Just my worthless $.02

 

[Peter Hooper]

Strange because I've had zero issues withheld Xbox version. FFB was the nuts after a few adjustments as it was set to high at default and as for calibration it was spot on out if the box. Agreed those are things you expect to be there as standard but it's just odd why on the same console and wheel we've had such opposite experiences.

 

[WNCmotard]

I turned my FFB way down also, on both versions. I have the console master at 40, and the PC at 50 though will be turning that down to 40 as well. From my reading over at the AC forum, lots of things are inconsistent between users on the console version. Some people have FPS and tearing issues, some don't. Some have wheel / pedal issues, and some don't. It is very strange for sure.

 

[flavio_joshua]

Coming from an Xbox user I absolutely love AC, fantastic effort from the devs and despite the lack of certain things that I expected would be included as standard its so good that I am more than happy to support them as they strive to bring us more and more improvements over the months and years. I'll be playing it in its current form for as long as it takes to bring the next improvements to console. There are many console users like me who have the patience to wait and don't expect everything perfect from the get-go. AC has been a work in progress for pc users since it started so why should it be any different for us on console. We benefit from the ground work put in on pc so I am just grateful for that and realise that it's a great time for virtual racers to own a console.

for you for live video of gaming of AC is better Twich or live video gaming of Steam ? which have less impact on perfomance

 

[Visocane]

Are you Serious? What kind of Rip off is this? It's no Surprise the Game is Buggy as hell. Noone expected something else.

1. How does this not affect the PC version?

2. Why the hell do Console Player's get the Game with 90 Car's for 56 Swiss Franks and i Payed like 90 Swiss Frank's with all the DLC's? Usualy the Consolegame's are more expensive then the PC Game's. This Greedy Company it's unbelivable. That's how you kick ass the PC-Community. How do they even dare? First and last Game i purchased from those backstabber's.

<Snip>

 

[Blimey]

for you for live video of gaming of AC is better Twich or live video gaming of Steam ? which have less impact on perfomance

twitch.

 

[Peter Hooper]

for you for live video of gaming of AC is better Twich or live video gaming of Steam ? which have less impact on perfomance

I can only comment on the Twitch use as I do not have a PC and Twitch has no impact on performance on my Xbox.

 

[Radu Oros]

Are you Serious? What kind of Rip off is this? It's no Surprise the Game is Buggy as hell. Noone expected something else.

1. How does this not affect the PC version?

2. Why the hell do Console Player's get the Game with 90 Car's for 56 Swiss Franks and i Payed like 90 Swiss Frank's with all the DLC's? Usualy the Consolegame's are more expensive then the PC Game's. This Greedy Company it's unbelivable. That's how you kick ass the PC-Community. How do they even dare? First and last Game i purchased from those backstabber's.

<Snip>

You didn't check the Steam store page in a long time?
There's a bundle for Assetto + Dreampacks (1,2,3) for 49.99€. About or the same price as the game on consoles, which also includes the first three dreampacks.
And if you bought everything in separate you paid a bit more, depending how much the game and the dlcs cost when you bought.

So as you see, you are quite mistaken about the price differences between console and steam; which are pretty similar for what you get.

Ps. the consoles don't have the red pack and japanese pack included, only game and dreampacks 1,2,3.

 

[Visocane]

You didn't check the Steam store page in a long time?
There's a bundle for Assetto + Dreampacks (1,2,3) for 49.99€. About or the same price as the game on consoles, which also includes the first three dreampacks.
And if you bought everything in separate you paid a bit more, depending how much the game and the dlcs cost when you bought.

So as you see, you are quite mistaken about the price differences between console and steam; which are pretty similar for what you get.

Ps. the consoles don't have the red pack and japanese pack included, only game and dreampacks 1,2,3.

I have payed 46€ for the Game in Early Accsess. To support a new Game. There was so many Rumor's about this and that but the Dev's didnt bother to make a statment because it was good argument's to buy the Product. Ive bought all the DLC's at the Release. Wich was 10€, 8€,8€,5€, 5€(i think) and 3€. Have fun with adding. That's how you get you're ass kicked. And what is with the Argument that Console Game's are always more expensive? Like 70-100 €? Screw this Company.

 

[Majuh]

And if you bought everything in separate you paid a bit more, depending how much the game and the dlcs cost when you bought.

45€ + 15€ + 10€ + 10€ = 80€ = 87 CHF

 

[Radu Oros]

I have payed 46€ for the Game in Early Accsess. To support a new Game. There was so many Rumor's about this and that but the Dev's didnt bother to make a statment because it was good argument's to buy the Product. Ive bought all the DLC's at the Release. Wich was 10€, 8€,8€,5€, 5€(i think) and 3€. Have fun with adding. That's how you get you're ass kicked. And what is with the Argument that Console Game's are always more expensive? Like 70-100 €? Screw this Company.

First, the game was never 46€ during Early Access. The game cost 44.99€ after release (and later 39.99€, currently it costs on steam 29.99€), and during early access it was 34.99€ with sometimes being on sale for half the price.

But why are you complaining that you bought every dlc so far? You were expecting to buy 3 dlcs and get all future dlcs for free?
You forget that the game on consoles only has the game+3 dreampacks. It doesn't include japanse pack and red pack. Only base game content and the three dreampacks, the same way you can buy the same bundle from Steam.
90 cars on console includes all the drift and step versions of the base cars. Not 90 base cars, but in conjunction with step versions.

45€ + 15€ + 10€ + 10€ = 80€ = 87 CHF

Same answer to you of what I said above. He's saying that he had to pay much more than consoles, but he's not well informed because the consoles don't have the red pack and japanese pack included. So if he only bought game+3 dreampacks, he pays about or the same on Steam as the price for the game on consoles.

 

[Majuh]

Same answer to you of what I said above. He's saying that he had to pay much more than consoles, but he's not well informed because the consoles don't have the red pack and japanese pack included. So if he only bought game+3 dreampacks, he pays about or the same on Steam as the price for the game on consoles.

If he bought the game and the Dream Packs at release, he paid 80€, which is clearly more than 45€ for the console release...

 

[Radu Oros]

If he bought the game and the Dream Packs at release, he paid 80€, which is clearly more than 45€ for the console release...

No he didn't, unless he shows his Steam purchase history. The game at release in December 2014 was 44.99€ but it had a Steam sale right on the week during the release (idk if 50 or 30% off). So if he bought the game then, he bought it during a sale. Then in March 2015 it came dreampack 1 and although originally it cost 14.99€, the first week was discounted to 9.99€. Later the same year came dreampack 2 and dreampack 3, both costing 7.99€.

But as we know, he said he bought the game during early access, so he couldn't pay more than 34.99€ just for the base game. At most it cost him 60€ for game and the three dreampacks bought separately. Now rest to see if he bought any of these during sale.

So what if he paid a bit more than the price for consoles? He's been playing AC since 2014, a time where there wasn't any DLC released. Was he expecting to not pay anything for future content?

 

[Blimey]

So what if he paid a bit more than the price for consoles? He's been playing AC since 2014, a time where there wasn't any DLC released. Was he expecting to not pay anything for future content?

I bet he was expecting to pay for future content, but not such a bank breaker price. 4 DLC's cost as much as the standard shipped game, now that's a rip off.

 

[Radu Oros]

I bet he was expecting to pay for future content, but not such a bank breaker price. 4 DLC's cost as much as the standard shipped game, now that's a rip off.

Licensed cars and tracks and its simulation development are some of the most expensive parts of making a sim racing game. Or you think they could charge 3€ for 1 laserscanned track and 10 cars?
You doubt it? Then we would see automobilista, iracing, rfactor2, with tons more of (popular) licensed content. But we don't.. because after you released your game, this is the most expensive part.

 

[Visocane]

First, the game was never 46€ during Early Access. The game cost 44.99€ after release (and later 39.99€, currently it costs on steam 29.99€), and during early access it was 34.99€ with sometimes being on sale for half the price.

But why are you complaining that you bought every dlc so far? You were expecting to buy 3 dlcs and get all future dlcs for free?
You forget that the game on consoles only has the game+3 dreampacks. It doesn't include japanse pack and red pack. Only base game content and the three dreampacks, the same way you can buy the same bundle from Steam.
90 cars on console includes all the drift and step versions of the base cars. Not 90 base cars, but in conjunction with step versions.

Same answer to you of what I said above. He's saying that he had to pay much more than consoles, but he's not well informed because the consoles don't have the red pack and japanese pack included. So if he only bought game+3 dreampacks, he pays about or the same on Steam as the price for the game on consoles.

Right i've got distracted a bit with the Number's The Game was 46 Frank's at this Time. 34.99 in € i guess. Well then it's only a diffrence of 5 €. I callculated wrong. Sorry Guy's.

 

[Majuh]

Licensed cars and tracks and its simulation development are some of the most expensive parts of making a sim racing game. Or you think they could charge 3€ for 1 laserscanned track and 10 cars?

The base game contained 12 tracks and 37 cars for 45€. If we divide that by 4.5, we would end up with 3 tracks and 8 cars in a 10€ DLC. You have to keep in mind though that the base game doesn't only contain the content, but obviously also the game engine, which is by far the most expensive asset in game development requiring 100 000s of man-hours of work.

So yes, they could sell their Dream Packs for 3€, but why would they want to do that? There apparently are lots of people begging to pay these prices.

 

[Blimey]

The base game contained 12 tracks and 37 cars for 45€. If we divide that by 4.5, we would end up with 3 tracks and 8 cars in a 10€ DLC. You have to keep in mind though that the base game doesn't only contain the content, but obviously also the game engine, which is by far the most expensive asset in game development requiring 100 000s of man-hours of work.

So yes, they could sell their Dream Packs for 3€, but why would they want to do that? There apparently are lots of people begging to pay these prices.

they probably like paying 50 dollars for a white plain t-shirt, that's why.