A few weeks ago, the SRO announced that the Nurburgring 24 Hours would fall into the IGTC. So does this mean ACC will get the Nordschleife? I for one hope not, and here’s why.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:
During the pre-Spa 24 Hour press conference, the SRO Motorsports Group President announced that the Nurburgring 24 Hours would become part of the organisation’s Intercontinental GT Challenge. In 2024, the series will feature the Bathurst 12 Hours, the N24, Spa 24 and 8 Hours of Indianapolis.
Assetto Corsa Competizione, being the official SRO game, often features events such as these in its roster. In fact, the 2019 IGTC pack brings Bathurst whilst the American Track Pack released last year gives players the Indianapolis road course.
But one circuit that fans have cried out for since the game’s release is the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
Since the real-world SRO announcement, the sim racing community has connected the dots and is hoping for the Green Hell to release for Assetto Corsa Competizione. Whilst I am a proud member of the sim racing family, this is one request I don’t agree with. In fact, I don’t want ACC to feature the Nordschleife in any way. Before picking up your pitchfork, hear me out.
Lots of Work
At over 20km – 25km in N24 trim – the Nurburgring Nordschleife is a massive track. In order to implement such a large venue into a game, it requires thousands upon thousands of work hours. Merging scan data, completing the road mesh, going around the track taking pictures, placing countless trees, buildings and objects around the circuit, making an AI line. Making a virtual track takes a long time at the best of times, but a 25km circuit is unimaginable.
Sure, Kunos has already worked on the Green Hell with its brilliant Assetto Corsa rendition. However, the circuit has changed so much since 2015 when the first Dream Pack released for the game. The laser scan data is out of date given the many sections that have been resurfaced. New photos will need to be taken following many track-side changes. Finally, ACC uses a totally different engine to the original Assetto Corsa. Track building processes may be crucially different in Unreal compared to the original project.
With all this in mind, I feel like Kunos would make better use of their time by putting together a collection of smaller circuits rather than one large one. After all, there’s nothing sim racers love more than new content.
The American Track Pack’s lowly number of venues, three, was a major disappointment to fans. So I can only imagine Kunos releasing the Nordschleife as a DLC track to a barrage of distress.
Magny Cours and Hockenheim are still missing from previous GT World Challenge Europe seasons, the Italian dev team would do well to get those out. Elsewhere, many Asian, Australian and American tracks are used by SRO championships and yet don’t feature in the simulator. Completing the game’s collection of what one may think of as more standard tracks is more important than the team launching on a lengthy expedition, in my opinion.
The Nordschleife doesn’t fit ACC
Not only would a long-term project setting out to create the Nordschleife hamper the team’s ability to put out other content, the end result would be a circuit no-one uses and that doesn’t fit the ACC bill.
If you ask yourself what the main reason anyone plays Assetto Corsa Competizione is, the answer will most likely be the online competition and tight racing. An alternative answer would be the simulation of GT3 cars on a long stint and the need for consistent pace. Neither of these reasons to launch the game would lead to players running on the Nordschleife.
It is far too tricky a track to truly fight competitively online. One can only imagine the Low Fuel Motorsport servers on a Green Hell week; barrier thumps, race-ending collisions, spread-out fields and a time trial spirit. That certainly isn’t what ACC is all about in my opinion as you might as well race the same thing in AC, iRacing or rFactor 2.
Furthermore, the Assetto Corsa Competizione version of GT3 cars feel extremely stiff. In fact, the physics model is made for smooth FIA Grade 1 circuits, not tracks designed before the Great War. Sometimes, racing on bumpy tracks like Oulton Park and Brands Hatch can be a challenge. But racing on the edge at the Green Hell can only be thought of as mind-bending. Whilst a thrill, it wouldn’t be popular for long in the game.
Do you think ACC should get the Nordschleife or do you agree with me? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
