Thanks for the presentation
Though I think a 'top 8' will always be a personal and difficult narrow-down choice - I would have picked a completely different kind of breed
AC may have got some years on the bag, but all the incredible modders is what keeps AC very alive indeed to this day!
I think the Covid-19 depression made me convert somehow as a simracer.
First by diggin into online racing, of which I just rarely have touched since the SimRaceWay-days, now in ACC CP, rF2 and even rejoined iRacing for a short period after 9 years of hibernation.
But as before I often miss the ocean of different mods. But what has changed me in 2020 is that before I always returned to rFactor, GPL and especially GTR2. Now I completely root for AC with the possibilities Content Manager, SOL and all different tools gives me.
Three days ago I had troubles of resetting my CM, SOL and CSP values so decided to do a fresh AC install. But before even playing already installed +300 track and car mods
And after last weeks of enjoying youtuber 'GPLaps' I've rejoined an old habit of driving antique 1920's-'30ies grand prix cars at classic and antique circuits.
Speaking of antique and classics, AC and other official sim engines do have overlooked a potential and clearly untapped market here.
Tracks as Targa Florio, Brooklands, Reims-Geux, Pau, Aintree, AVUS, Solitude, classic Brno, Longford, classic Sachsenring, post-war Donnington, classic 8K Charade, classic Kyalami, classic Spa, classic Silverstone, Eläintarhärata, Montjuïc, Nürburgring Gesamtstrecke (NordSchleife + Südschleife), Bremgarten, Thomson Road, Riverside, classic Bathurst, classic Le Mans, classic Monaco, classic Fuji bankings, classic Jarama, classic no chichane Imola, classic 8K interlagos, classic Linas-Montléry, Brooklands, etc, etc. are already there delivered by fantastic modders for free most of them and most mods just misses the last 5-20% to live up to the very strict standards of simmers of modern racing in ACC, AMS2, iRacing and so on. Yes, Kunos have Monza '66, but even here modders make improvements continously.
Though I use AC for offline racing (and a bit online racing) I think Kunos intended the sim mostly for a hotlapping sim engine.
This leads me to my constant wonder, which haunts me; Why the heck has Kunos not come up with this combo -
#2 Stefan Bellof's Rothman Porsche 956 (with the Type-935 2.6L Turbo flat six'er) @ the 1983 1000 Kilometer Nürburgring Rennen
?!?
This should IMHO definately be first on the list as mandatory stuff.
Just thinking of how much hype there's been around the track and iconic track record. Especially since early sim modding in F1C99-02 in start 00's and now quite clearly after introduction of YT, SoMe and so on.
I mean, plenty of well known youtubers have tried to go under Belloff's 6:11,13 but in an imaginary setup of different P962C's and at newer track designs with perfect surface, forgiving curbes and so on, very, very far from the very bumpy and dusty surface with high non-forgiving curbs.
10 years ago I had fun in a GTR2 C-ERA mod of P956 and Lancia LC2's driving a bit harder version of the track, but I think not as bumpy as you see in different onboard videos from the 1983 WEC race (e.g. the famous 1983 Derek Bell onboard entire lap guide, which unfortunately seems to have been removed from YT now).
And thinking of the enormous effort made in fictional and semi-fictional tracks as Deutchlandring, Feldbergring, Fonteny, the mentioned LA Canyons, etc., what about modelling tracks as
- Old Watkins Glen on public roads through the town, i.e. pre 1956 before the permament track.
- Pescara OK, I know a lot of simmers already have it on their bucket list and I know there exists a very preliminary version (thanks for that!).
- CDR - a track almost forgotten by now, but by the time spoken very warmly by prominent drivers as AJ Foyt, Carroll Shelby, Gordon Johncock, Hap Sharp, Mark Donohue as 'a better version of Riverside'.
- Dieppe
- Piége de la Mort at Lyons-Givors
- Siracusa at Sicily (could be based on the rFactor mod)
- Tours Grand Prix circuit
As well as tons of long abandoned permanent road racing and oval tracks as well as public road circuits, with a valuable legacy that is just as slowly disappearing for new generations. An ocean which just continues when you first dig into it, way larger than the YT channel Circuits of the past have delivered since the channels start.
I think it was when Google Earth started their Project-feature, I tried to order tracks from my old classic racing books combined with the very rough
wiki lists and classic collection info at
RacingCircuits.info that a growing concern in my mind about the legacy that is simply disappearing.
A very valuable legacy that sim racing can to that extent help to keep artificially alive. The more years go by, I think about whether this option is in fact an obligation.
And yet this seems like a free ride to me since I am not a modder myself (except small private BTB projects for rF is all i've done, not worthy for publication).
Do not doubt, however, that I am infinitely grateful to all of you modders
Edit: don't know if I owe my alternative top 8, which I find impossible, but I remember a related topic in late spring where I stated that a track list goes with cars, i.e. to me, it's the combo that does it. I.e. Deutchlandring works much better with the classic Porsche 718 RS 60 Spyder than with a modern Lamborghini Huracan Performante, just like modern Adria suits modern GT racing cars. Speaking classic combos YT just suggested me
this one which I definately have to try out...this year
