Improving immersion

Hello simracers! I bought AC the day it came out, the game have been improved a lot but I still feel that something's missing. This sim is praised mostly for it's looks... but that's something that's off for me. I've tried the game with and without HDR, 8x AA, max track details, with lots of profiles, lots of tracks, times of days but something is missing on the graphics department. And I'm not comparing it to P.Cars, but to rF2, GSC, RRRE. The graphics are... hard to explain... maybe not sharp enough. The interiors are the best of the bunch, but the tracks lack details. Comparing AC's Silverstone to rF2's, the latter wins easily, the only tracks that look great are maybe Spa and Monza, Nurburgring is the worst by far, trackside objects are almost nonexistent. Are there any mods that really improve something? The HDRs I've tried are either too dark or too saturated. Maybe the game looks better without Post Processing (my fav. profile is S1-Evolution btw). The problem is I'm not sure what's wrong. Maybe you guys experienced this and found a solution. I really want to like it more, my favourite car (look at avatar :)) is coming out soon. :)
 
The track environment in AC is very bland and boring, especially compared to other sims. I play R3E a lot and it's such a visceral experience, AC doesn't even come close. So far as I know, there's no remedy.
That's what I was afraid of... I've pretty much moved to R3E as well in the last months. But I want to like AC so much :D

have you checked the anisotropic filtering? It's very important for seeing distant objects like offtrack objects.
Yep I got these things maxed, I even forced 8xAA via the config files...
 
Make sure you have disabled FXAA and try adding negative LOD bias, I suggest to try between -0.50 to -0.25. For example -1.0 over sharpened picture too much for me when not using sparse grid antialiasing.
 
The game looks much better with post processing on, not that it looks bad otherwise, but the game has more life with ppfx. I like dynamic and vignette, but I play mostly on dynamic, and with normal or high. With ultra the rev leds are too shiny. With high it looks more like in real life, and the sun rays are also good on high.

About sharpness, -0.5 mip lod bias does the trick. It's in steam directory of the game... system/cfg/graphics You can also use sweetfx (http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/official-sweetfx-bundle-for-assetto-corsa.2748/). Install the pp on package, looks better, even if you don't use pp effects. PP off package the sharpness is over-done.

AF and AA on 8. (use af 16 if pc is good enough). World detail max, this helps with environment and has moving clouds.

Personally, yes, I find ac tracks not so dynamic. But I like it so far, it is vibrant enough, when I focus on the racing and just look ahead, I don't notice the farther objects, only stuff closer to the road. And I understand they want to make fps economy without over doing things that would get too heavy for the system. But all those games, except pcars and assetto, use Directx9. Is softer to use more dynamic things. When I tried Pcars on my pc, I run around 40fps when raining and already on minimum settings, and only 1 car on the track, my car. I can run much better and higher fps assetto corsa. Pcars will be too heavy for the consoles, but somehow driveclub looks stunning, though 30fps. Will see, forza 5 runs at 60, perhaps pcars manages too.


That's about it I guess.. although when I occasionally play raceroom and then come back to assetto, I don't necessarily miss the more dynamic track objects.
 
That Mip LOD bias tweak helped a bit I think. I hope modders will do something with original tracks especially nurburgring (or maybe Kunos improves the GP circuit with the release of Nordschleife).
I'v tried P.Cars, if I want acceptable frames the game looks worse that rFactor :D But, and this is important, RRRE tracks have much more objects, and with a 24 AI Grid I run it at 60fps (or at least I dont feel any loss in fps). In AC with a 15 AI grid on the Nurburgring I got 40 fps without post processing. And dx11 is said to be more optimized than dx9...
 
I've found if I use a motion blur setting above 5 everything outside of the car windows turns into a blurry, shaky mess.

I find Kunos tracks look pretty decent, Spa looks very good.
 
I've found if I use a motion blur setting above 5 everything outside of the car windows turns into a blurry, shaky mess.

I find Kunos tracks look pretty decent, Spa looks very good.
If I use motion blur my fps drops to 40 in practice mode :D

It's up to Kunos to add some life to their tracks. Spa was a step in the good direction with no loss in performance. Let's hope they will keep it up and maybe improve some of the older tracks :)
 
In my opinion, the lack of immersion is not strickly graphical elements, sounds are 30% of the equation and that is where R3E excels. The sense of motion is also a contributor, as is AI. To each their own, I'm not suggesting my opinion indicates superiority but I hope AC can rival R3E for immersion eventually.
 
In my opinion, the lack of immersion is not strickly graphical elements, sounds are 30% of the equation and that is where R3E excels. The sense of motion is also a contributor, as is AI. To each their own, I'm not suggesting my opinion indicates superiority but I hope AC can rival R3E for immersion eventually.

My thoughts exactly. If AC could match R3E in sounds, AI, and sense of speed it would be more immersive and I'd enjoy it a lot more. Right now, if I want to be serious I go to AC but if I want a thrill I go to R3E.
 
Sorry for the OT, but where can I get R3E (as it doesn't seem to be available in steam)? Also, can it be played offline only (bandwidth is quite low to enjoy most online)? Thanks.
There is a bug or something so R3E disappeared from Steam but Sector 3 is investigating and trying to solve it, so R3E is unavailible for new players at the moment...
The sim is always online and the menu, loading is connected to their server. If I'm downloading from MEGA for example, I can't play R3E. So a slower internet could result some slowness in the menus, but it doesn't lower your frames. I suggest you to try it after the game is availible again. And don't judge the game by the free content, bu sure to test drive some of the GT3 cars :)
 
That's what I was afraid of... I've pretty much moved to R3E as well in the last months. But I want to like AC so much :D


Yep I got these things maxed, I even forced 8xAA via the config files...
Have you ever raced/driven at a real track? They usually are not much to look at. Forcing AA in AC isn't going to improve anything, as Kunos optimizes their filtering to actually give a lot higher AA than what the numbers in the tuning menu say. The point about AC has never been the graphics in the first place, either; the PP effects introduced almost half a year ago were never planned, but done to increase visual immersion. AC actually was aimed strictly at the driving model, much like iRacing without a focus on track sharpness, detail, etc.Driving experience was their only concern, and the team ignored graphical complaints for a long time until they got so many forum posts that they did something about it. The game actually could give many hundreds of fps on medium hardware, the team intended this, but decided to take on performance hits for more graphical beauty. At this point, expecting more detail probably isn't going to happen, as the team has indicated they are optimizing a lot of things...a sign they want to get back a lot of the performance they lost with graphics updates.

I've explained this all with a point in mind: the biggest problem facing a sim racer is the comparison game, i.e., having the opportunity to drive many simulators. Comparison is inevitable, and should be expected, but in measure with an understanding of the purpose of each game. Mind, I don't grudge anyone the desire for a game to look better; graphical advancements push visual realism and the world of gaming into the future--good things! However, try to understand that AC was never planned to be next-gen gorgeous. It should not be a mystery concerning AC's statement of purpose, and I find hoping for the game to look like xyz is just pointless. So you enjoy racing games that are graphically more complex, good! Then go race them and don't level criticisms/concerns against another game. Few go on pC forums and complain about their physics model, that it be more like game so-and-so. They accept that pC is a different game with its own special aspects. Treat games separately, and you'll probably have more fun :)
 
Have you ever raced/driven at a real track? They usually are not much to look at. Forcing AA in AC isn't going to improve anything, as Kunos optimizes their filtering to actually give a lot higher AA than what the numbers in the tuning menu say. The point about AC has never been the graphics in the first place, either; the PP effects introduced almost half a year ago were never planned, but done to increase visual immersion. AC actually was aimed strictly at the driving model, much like iRacing without a focus on track sharpness, detail, etc.Driving experience was their only concern, and the team ignored graphical complaints for a long time until they got so many forum posts that they did something about it. The game actually could give many hundreds of fps on medium hardware, the team intended this, but decided to take on performance hits for more graphical beauty. At this point, expecting more detail probably isn't going to happen, as the team has indicated they are optimizing a lot of things...a sign they want to get back a lot of the performance they lost with graphics updates.

I've explained this all with a point in mind: the biggest problem facing a sim racer is the comparison game, i.e., having the opportunity to drive many simulators. Comparison is inevitable, and should be expected, but in measure with an understanding of the purpose of each game. Mind, I don't grudge anyone the desire for a game to look better; graphical advancements push visual realism and the world of gaming into the future--good things! However, try to understand that AC was never planned to be next-gen gorgeous. It should not be a mystery concerning AC's statement of purpose, and I find hoping for the game to look like xyz is just pointless. So you enjoy racing games that are graphically more complex, good! Then go race them and don't level criticisms/concerns against another game. Few go on pC forums and complain about their physics model, that it be more like game so-and-so. They accept that pC is a different game with its own special aspects. Treat games separately, and you'll probably have more fun :)
It's not only about graphics, it's about immersion. I don't really care for those PP effects. I want details. Without those effects the game looks mostly the same as before. But even without comparing, the Nurburging looks awful. I didn't even play R3E when I first tried it in AC. The thing is I like is clean, sharp, detailed graphics. AC seems to be kind of blurry. However if I put aside graphics, AC really lacks the immersion factor, it's sterile at the moment. It doesn't have the sounds, the great races (offline), and I'm not that impressed of the physics either. But I have my hopes in Kunos to give it some life :)

P.S: I don't know much about the goal and purpose of AC, but it was always advertised as a next gen sim with dx11 and pp effects and dof and so on...
 
Have you ever raced/driven at a real track? They usually are not much to look at. Forcing AA in AC isn't going to improve anything, as Kunos optimizes their filtering to actually give a lot higher AA than what the numbers in the tuning menu say. The point about AC has never been the graphics in the first place, either; the PP effects introduced almost half a year ago were never planned, but done to increase visual immersion. AC actually was aimed strictly at the driving model, much like iRacing without a focus on track sharpness, detail, etc.Driving experience was their only concern, and the team ignored graphical complaints for a long time until they got so many forum posts that they did something about it. The game actually could give many hundreds of fps on medium hardware, the team intended this, but decided to take on performance hits for more graphical beauty. At this point, expecting more detail probably isn't going to happen, as the team has indicated they are optimizing a lot of things...a sign they want to get back a lot of the performance they lost with graphics updates.

It's not only about graphics, it's about immersion. I don't really care for those PP effects. I want details. Without those effects the game looks mostly the same as before. But even without comparing, the Nurburging looks awful. I didn't even play R3E when I first tried it in AC. The thing is I like is clean, sharp, detailed graphics. AC seems to be kind of blurry. However if I put aside graphics, AC really lacks the immersion factor, it's sterile at the moment. It doesn't have the sounds, the great races (offline), and I'm not that impressed of the physics either. But I have my hopes in Kunos to give it some life :)

P.S: I don't know much about the goal and purpose of AC, but it was always advertised as a next gen sim with dx11 and pp effects and dof and so on...

There is nothing wrong with AC graphics engine, it's very well optimized and I haven't seen much complaining abou this aspect. Lack of immersion is because some tracks are simply modelled a bit poor, especially old ones as Nurburgring, which is basically port from Ferrari Virtual Academy game. There is no easy fix to this, requires artist to re-make entire track to improve on this aspect. Newer tracks such as Spa and Nordschleife will look better.
 
If we are talking about immersion while racing not graphics my view is to added a loading screen for the track , animated marshals with flags, working pit & start lights, pitstops in single player, have the car start in the garage with a live timing monitor like gtr2.
Yep, how cool is that when you cross the finish line in rFactor 2 and you see the guy waving the chequered flag. Little details like this add lots if immersion :) Or in R3E the fans around the track :) In AC the tribunes are empty, trackside objects are lifeless and static...
 

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