Kunos have done amazing job with AC

[Tomi]

Just a few thoughts about AC now when Project Cars is out (cause I feel boring and have nothing better to do).

First of all, this isn't about which one is better. Everyone has their own opinions and preferences.

But Project Cars made me realize what amazing game Kunos have done. Sometimes we have been too harsh to Kunos and haven't realize what a master piece they have done with such a small team. Yes, there are things that need improvements a lot, but also those other sims need improvements as well. I just have noticed that many people have sometimes unfair expectations and demands about AC. Tiniest errors and mistakes regardin how cars behaves in real world vs game or how AC looks comparing real locations get a huge **** storm( not always but too often). I haven't noticed this kind of behaviour with other games, at least not so much.

Following comparison about these two games is only my own opinion. ( you never can't underline too much this in sim community)

After playing both of these games I realize AC has awesome Graphics and feel of reality when you drive. I really thought PC will win clearly on this aspect based on YouTube videos. But no, there is something that's not right. It looks gameish, not so clear and crisp I thought. Especially when you look in to the distance. Scaling the environment is another thing. World dimensions feels more real in AC to me. Though PC has more alive environment, with all those spectators, flags, helicopters, leafs and so on. And this is only in my Computer, I don't care if it looks different in some high end pc cause I don't have one

Comparing FFB is pointless because there is as many opinions as there is sim racers. It's propably a draw. About user interface and all the setting I say only this: Less is more

It could be that I'm just so used to AC and it need some time to feel comfortable in PC. I just really hope these both games have great future here in Racedepartment ,and not so that everybody plays only one of those.
Maybe I afraid just a little bit my competitiveness if most of the people moves to PC. I'm pretty good at the moment in AC and my fear is that in PC you can find a way to be unrealistically fast. In AC It's all about how good driver you are, not how well you can exploit game physics.

Ps. I don't know if I should have write this in a existing thread so feel free to move it if necessary.

 

[Stereo]

Tiniest errors and mistakes regardin how cars behaves in real world vs game or how AC looks comparing real locations get a huge **** storm( not always but too often). I haven't noticed this kind of behaviour with other games, at least not so much.

I think it's that, wherever you set the bar, people move their expectations a little higher. AC sets the bar at excellent, people want perfect. And not just in things the game was designed to do; in simulating all racing perfectly.

Not saying PCars doesn't have its own bar set, but it's naturally aiming for slightly different things than AC - big budget graphics for example. AC makes what it has look nice, it just has less.

 

[blackcelica]

This is only my opinion. I love AC, nearly 500 hours of it. However I couldn't play it in its raw form, far too unfinished. It takes skins, pp filters, custom apps, select mod cars, mod tracks, various tweaks etc etc to lift it from the unfinished feel for me. I spent the day yesterday getting to grips with project cars and after getting the controls set up properly I was having some amazing races. I'm lucky enough to have it above 60fps in all weather conditions at high detail levels. It looks amazing and plays amazing with good multiplayer and huge grid numbers up to 45 cars. I think it will be ages before assetto gets close to project in terms of completeness but there is still room for both on my hard drive. For now though, until Assetto gets a big overhaul, it will perform as a Ferrari hotlapper only.

 

[cthiggin]

Well folks,
For this "old senior" and getting around AC pretty good after 400+ hours, I'm finding the learning curve for PC to be a little stifling at the moment.......maybe this is a good thing, but at this point,
seems like AC was more "user friendly" from the beginning.....Time will tell........

 

[Tomi]

huge grid numbers up to 45 cars

Online 16 players on 32-bit PC and 32 players on 64-bit PC but yes offline it's 45.

 

[blackcelica]

Online 16 players on 32-bit PC and 32 players on 64-bit PC but yes offline it's 45.

Yes offline is 45. Insane. If assetto could do that it would reduce even the beefiest rig to a slide show. That shows credit to the project game engine. However it has the bigger budget and manpower. Realistically how many of us race over 16?

 

[Chris]

Bottom line is, Project CARS should never have been compared to Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2 and iRacing in the first place because it simply hasn't been made with those target audiences in mind. In terms of physics, it's Arcady when compared to AC, rF2 and iRacing, but it's fantastically realistic when it's compared to Forza and Gran Turismo.

 

[William Wester]

Just a few thoughts about AC now when Project Cars is out (cause I feel boring and have nothing better to do).
...
....
It could be that I'm just so used to AC and it need some time to feel comfortable in PC. I just really hope these both games have great future here in Racedepartment ,and not so that everybody plays only one of those.
Maybe I afraid just a little bit my competitiveness if most of the people moves to PC. I'm pretty good at the moment in AC and my fear is that in PC you can find a way to be unrealistically fast. In AC It's all about how good driver you are, not how well you can exploit game physics.
...

I think you make some good points, and hit it on the head, I believe, with your comments related to "competitiveness" and "comfortable". It's very understandable that a racers "preference" in their choice of a racing game is based on their ability to compete, which takes an investment in time to achieve (well, at least for me). I myself don't spend much time with any one racing game hence why I'm not that competitive in any. It makes me somewhat "less loyal" to any one game. I like any game that focuses on the driving of a four wheel vehicle except for the very arcade racers. How much time I spend in any one racing game depends a lot on the "balance" of content, graphics, sounds, FFB, environments (immersion), features and believable physics.
Project CARS did have a larger development team and budget (I assume) than Kunos, but much less resources than the Polyphany Digital or Turn 10. SMS is "attempting" to create a wide appeal, I can't blame them for that and for the most part I think their first effort is pretty good but rough around the edges.
As for AC, I'm satisfied with my purchase and do enjoy the feel of driving but at this point in time AC doesn't' have enough to hold my attention for very long - but that's me, it has nothing to do with it being good or bad. Mainly for me, it's the lack of desirable "Kunos" tracks (mods are hit and miss, lackluster environments and questionable AI) and racing "series" focus. They add cars but not groups of IRL competition cars - R3E does a fantastic job in this area.
I sincerely hope for Kunos success, they are a talented bunch. I just worry that it will become another NetKar Pro, which I realize in the eyes of many is a good thing, but that limited focus will not have mass appeal. If Kunos can make a living creating a game that meets the requirements of a smallish group of virtual racers more power to them, I will continue to support them as I will SMS, Sector3, and Reiza.

 

[JoelGL]

Any reviews of how feel in AC compares to rF2? Just got the demo yesterday but it only has 2 cars. Played the F1 mostly but not too sure yet with my current FFB settings.

 

[Emil Praga]

Project Cars reminds me of F1 2014 handling and physics, AC is close to reality as feeling, PC is just and Arcadeish game for fun and for everyone, AC my opinion it is not for everyone, you need skill.
In PC you have a big margin of error where you can control car easily and correct it in very difficult circumstances.
As a short resume from my POV....PC= Disneyland , AC= S**t just got real

 

[William Wester]

Bottom line is, Project CARS should never have been compared to Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2 and iRacing in the first place because it simply hasn't been made with those target audiences in mind. In terms of physics, it's Arcady when compared to AC, rF2 and iRacing, but it's fantastically realistic when it's compared to Forza and Gran Turismo.

To me, there are "elements" of Project CARS that can be considered "arcade like" but others that go toe-to-toe with AC, rFactor2, and iRacing. I had a blast with the Formula A competition last night - the feel to me was every bit as good as what I get from AC, rFactor, or GSCE, and the "immersion" surpassed those. I also raced the karts which seemed more "arcade like". The "sim" foundation is there, but it's not as evident as a whole - AC, rFactor, and iRacing have a narrower focus - some by design, some by lack of development resources. That narrow focus may be "exactly" what a particular racer wants or it may be too narrow for others. Project CARS will never appeal, or perfect, the features dear to the hearts of an iRacing competitor as an example.
My $.01

 

[Stelios]

Yes offline is 45. Insane. If assetto could do that it would reduce even the beefiest rig to a slide show. That shows credit to the project game engine. However it has the bigger budget and manpower. Realistically how many of us race over 16?

No, that shows that the AI of PCars are not using any kind of physics calculations

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

But Project Cars made me realize what amazing game Kunos have done.

I realized again how much AC still has missing in fantastic features: weather effects, day night transition, LMP's , collision free racing.

Both have their pro's and their con's but I am positively surprised by the GT's and LMP's in PCARS.

 

[Radu Oros]

I realized again how much AC still has missing in fantastic features: weather effects, day night transition, LMP's , collision free racing.

Both have their pro's and their con's but I am positively surprised by the GT's and LMP's in PCARS.

weather effects? Exactly, is just weather effects that basically don't do anything to the handling. Wet track and dry track is the same stuff, only a bit less lateral grip.
Collision free racing.. you must be kidding me.

All the weather effects are just gimmicks because of consoles. Is for the wow effect. But really leaves to desire on what you'd expect from a realism driving experience.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

I am looking for an immersive driving experience and with the real settings enabled the LMPs and GTs provide just that. If you can't feel the difference between a dry or a wet surface with these cars you aren't pushing enough or you have your settings wrong

Not sure why some people get so upset on the internet with the arrival of yet another great sim racing game. It just adds to the catalogue of great games we already have.

Only problem is that I need more days in a week as I am racing AC, SCE and Pcars now. Need two extra days when R3E adds multiplayer

Collision free racing.. you must be kidding me.

With that I mean I no longer have to drive on eggs like in AC where any minor touch still damages your car or unsettles it.

 

[Cristian Haba]

For me, I prefer AC graphics as they seem "life" like to me much like Gran Turismo's. The whole handling model so far is ACs, I can understand and explain better what the car is doing and the way that translates to my G27. User friendlyness is AC as well, it was literally plug and play from what I remember however that's just me being out of the simracing scene for years and appreciating the fact that I dont have to trudge through pages of settings for my wheel to get some proper feedback <rant>.

What AC does not have, and what will appeal to the larger audience, is the full spectrum immersion of PCars, career, diff racing disciplines, weather etc. Those things add up, and as such Im willing to give PCars the benefit of the doubt even as I prefer as much realism as possible (which I feel AC delivers in regarding the tire model/physics). As soon as i get my wheel dialed in I'll be able to tell more, so far another addition to the library.

 

[Dinca Andrei]

Bottom line is, Project CARS should never have been compared to Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2 and iRacing in the first place because it simply hasn't been made with those target audiences in mind. In terms of physics, it's Arcady when compared to AC, rF2 and iRacing, but it's fantastically realistic when it's compared to Forza and Gran Turismo.

And,maybe,thats the answer for the staggering 45 AI offline...maybe not so CPU intensive as AC...that might be a hint that pCars physics calulation are not so detailed...even if it seems it has a few things that AC does not have...IMO!!

 

[Kimmo Kokkonen]

It seems that AC is DEAD, big audience will choose project CARS, just like that happens to good old Grand Prix Legends, it was too difficult to fully enjoy driving. If too difficult is the same as simulator so maybe I don't understand anything about sim racing. I'm looking forward realistic driving feel not too slippery tracks to make fast driving almost impossible.I've seen fast driving in some videos, all looks like drifting...if drifting is the same as simulate a real race car in every classes so OKE! But it's not realistic to drift with F1 car and with AC I have seen that, really....
Note that I have about 16 years experince so any new simulator should not feel too difficult for me but this AC does. First time I tried it, it felt like I had never driven any simulators, I was just like beginner, noobie????
So you HC drivers you can continue with AC, we others leave it now...project CARS is here!!! And don't ever forget Simbin, the most greatest sim maker ever...even GTL and GTR2 are so great today.

 

[Dinca Andrei]

@Kimmo Kokkonen Well i have tried to accept pCars handling but i just could not get past the fact that it feels like the car is on a ball and the grip level is to high...i dont have 16 years of experience but what can i do if my brain tells me that pCars feels wrong...but nevertheles awesome for people who is in search for fast fun online races with keyboard,controller or wheel...so i continue with AC

 

[Kimmo Kokkonen]

@Kimmo Kokkonen Well i have tried to accept pCars handling but i just could not get past the fact that it feels like the car is on a ball and the grip level is to high...i dont have 16 years of experience but what can i do if my brain tells me that pCars feels wrong...but nevertheles awesome for people who is in search for fast fun online races with keyboard,controller or wheel...so i continue with AC

I'm not yet driven project CARS LOL but I still choose it, my copy is ordered and posted, should be here next week...arrivederci AC