Should I buy Assetto Corsa?

"lonestranger" (lonestranger)
04/21/2014 at 20:27 • Filed to: assetto corsa, video games

I've been thinking of maybe picking it up, but I'd like to hear Oppo's thoughts on its pros & cons. If you own it, I'd appreciate your input.

I don't have a wheel, nor am I planning on getting one. For PC gaming, I use an Xbox 360 controller. It seemed to work well for the last PC driving game that I played: GTR 2.

Nearly all of my racing for the past few years has been on Gran Turismo, so that's the level of sim I'm used to.

Project CARS looked neat at first, but I'm picky about realistic detail, and all of the fictional brands & liveries turned me off. And if it bears any resemblance to how Shift 2: Unleashed drives, I'll definitely stay away.

iRacing seems too hardcore for my more casual style. I'm not overly interested in organized races versus other living players.

So, does Assetto Corsa seem like a good fit for me so far?

How well does it play with a controller?

How strenuous is it on hardware? I have a Core 17-4770, 8GB DDR3 SDRAM, & a GeForce GTX560.

Since it's an early-access beta, how is the overall quality? Are there many bugs, and if so, how well & how often is it patched?

In the same vein, what sort of new content gets added & how often?

How much did you pay? It's $39.99 on Steam right now, but I've found higher prices elsewhere. Does it get even cheaper, or is that a good price?

How moddable is it? i.e. are there plenty of well-made add-on liveries, cars, sounds, tracks, etc., and are they easily installed? Are the default cars & tracks able to be modded? I create texture mods myself, so I might venture into making race liveries.

Thanks for your input. I wish I could think of something nice to give you in return, but ask and ye may receive :)

DISCUSSION (10)

jkm7680 > lonestranger
04/21/2014 at 20:31

I'd also like to know more about the game.

I'll probably get some other game in the meantime, and wait for Asetto Corsa to get slightly less beta.

twinturbobmw > lonestranger
04/21/2014 at 20:33

I've been looking at it too. Seems like a great game but I just got rFactor and it's pretty similar. I think I might wait until (if) mods come out for it.

avens > lonestranger
04/21/2014 at 20:34

Sorry for not answering your question directly, but buy a ffb wheel then buy AC. For racing games/sims, for a car enthusiast and for someone that likes games a good wheel is very, very much worth the steep price for an accessory; no question about it.

All well made games of the past decade support wheels flawlessly and are made to work their best when using one instead of a controller, considerably so. For example GTR2 and GT6 are night and day from controller to wheel, because hidden assists are turned off by games.

Furthermore, since the logitech g27 that the good force feedback wheels are no longer a toy. Hardware has progressed immensely.

For persuading you further into buying a wheel, consider there's dozens of games out there for "free" (downloadable) and that PS2 and PS3 games support practically all of them as well (the PS4 is a mystery still but most probably will). That means if you want to try more cars and tracks than what AC offers then there's thousands out there, making the peripheral purchase a no brainer.

And now answering your question (lol), right now AC is most probably the sim that has the very best physics out there. Certainly won't have more content than other games or won't have the competitiveness of iRacing, but for driving a couple of cars and tracks then it's noticeably better than Gran Turismo because all cars and tracks are made to perfection, attention to detail instead of to quantity. Also your PC is enough and choosing when to buy it is up to you really, such as waiting for updates or for discounts.

No Prius Needed > lonestranger
04/21/2014 at 20:52

Your PC has better specs than mine so yes it will run assetto corsa. The overall quality of it is good but as of now there aren't too many tracks to try out. The price will probably drop soon and I think the lowest it went was $23.

avens > avens
04/21/2014 at 20:59

Oh yeah, what can you play for free?

Among many, many others.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > lonestranger
04/21/2014 at 21:47

Two words: GET IT. I have similar specs as you, but I have an AMD eight core processor instead. It works alright with the X360 controller, although it was a bit twitchy last time I tried. if you get a wheel, like the g25 or g27, the driving experience is unbeatable, as I have one for the past 5 years. Fanatec and Thrustmaster also have great choices, but I've been seeing people having firmware issues with them.

lonestranger > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
04/21/2014 at 21:52

Cool, thanks. I might just grab it.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > lonestranger
04/21/2014 at 22:07

To answer your other questions;

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Updates are rolled out in a biweekly basis, updates and new content come on that interval, there are some minor bugs here and there, nothing gamebreaking, they're quickly fixed.

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The price was about $30 when I got it on sale, and it will stay at $39.99 in early access, until it nears completion.

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Extremely moddable, even though there aren't any mod tools yet. Liveries are easy to make, due to templates being included in the game directory. As long as you have Photoshop, or any equivalent programs, you should be all set for making liveries. There is a track that was converted from RBR, Joux Plane, and was imported into the game without mod tools.

lonestranger > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
04/21/2014 at 22:11

templates being included in the game directory

Sold!

DoctorDick > lonestranger
04/22/2014 at 00:00

I paid $39.99 for the game and I have to say its worth it. Now I do have a wheel, but I'm sure its like playing GT or Forza with a gamepad. So you might be fine in that department, it has decent support for a controller from what I've seen in the settings menu.

The game isn't very modable at the moment but will be in the future. Actually, when you first log onto the game the first thing you see is the option to go to a future modding mode (its blanked out). At the moment you can skin cars (you'll need photoshop or gimp).

By coincedence here's a video I just posted on Kinja of me doing a lap around Nurburgring GP course in a z4. http://doctordick.kinja.com/assetto-corsa-… My specs aren't that amazing so it may give you an idea how well it runs.