Support for modding in Assetto Corsa 2

[Matthew327]

I think we can all agree that the biggest and most important quality of Assetto Corsa is the community content that has extended the game's lifespan waaaaay beyond initial expectations. If Assetto Corsa 2 is going to be a success, mod support will be crucial to that.

Edit: If you're in support of this, please don't forget to upvote using the button on the right hand side ------------------------------------------>

 

[Ghoults]

I think Assetto Corsa 2 has to be moddable for it to be called assetto corsa 2 (the sequel to ac1). If the next game is going to be assetto corsa: evoluzione or assetto corsa: pineapple pizza then whatever but ac2 should be a modding platform. Ac2 not being moddable is a bit like doom game that is about solving jigsaw puzzles.

 

[Snailer]

Absolutely. Modding is what makes AC THE best sim for me. Hell, if the mod support is just as good (or better) as it is in AC, they can ship the game with no cars or tracks at all as far as I'm concerned. I'd gladly pay full price for it, too. I don't drive Kunos' cars anymore, anyway.

 

[ZeldaACFan17]

Make it a bit like the original rFactor; give us a few basic cars and tracks to start with but be fully open to mods

 

[BP]

Make it a bit like the original rFactor; give us a few basic cars and tracks to start with but be fully open to mods

I don't agree (with the "few" part)...running things like it's the early 2000's isn't the way; many sim-racers aren't the dedicated "will do what it takes to mod stuff to suit their needs" type (FYI I'm not one of those; I'll add mods and edit files if needed)...with even less people now than before, since the genre has seen an explosion in popularity in the last 2 years.

There needs to be quality 1st party content and lots of it, or this will not end well. Not to mention they're gonna make console versions most likely, so with modding not an option for them, the core sim has to have tons of content.

 

[ZeldaACFan17]

I was just meaning make the game fully open to mods on PC

 

[McGherkin]

I think absolutely this is what worked so well for AC1. Reasonably open architecture, better support for things like multithreading etc, better graphics engine and watch it moon.

I think it's also very very important to provide backwards compatibility. So many cars and tracks are available for AC1, that it would make very little sense to move to AC2 for a lot of people as it won't have their favourite tracks. Having access to that huge back catalogue, with a better physics/graphics engine, would make AC2 much more attractive, whilst creators shift to modelling for AC2 with even better quality mods going forward.

 

[Shovas]

+1 Open moddable platform is the most important thing

We've had a long period of getting away from moddability and it has had its pros and cons.

It's time to get back to our roots before it's too late and we lose what made our hobby so special

I've posted before about how we could retain moddability while still allowing profitability:

https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/sims-%E2%80%93-a-mod-erate-proposal.181517/

 

[Garamond247]

I’d love to see AC2 support mods, as they are something that keeps simracing fresh and interesting as the official content is always quite limited, but what I don’t care to see is the endless amounts of low quality mods that are somewhat useless. So to assure the mod quality I’d like to see they would have to go through some quality control by Kunos. Also some centralized mod portal would be nice as current random chaos-like situation keeps driving less technical people to iracing.

 

[Botmeister]

I think AC2 needs to have modding enabled because that is exactly the reason why we are having this conversation. We are the customers and without mods a lot of people will stick to AC. So this a great oppurtunity to share out thoughts. I assume Kunos is reading along.

My suggestion, and hope, would be to keep updating ACC as a 'per car and class' optimized competition sim. And to make AC2 the 'all you want to drive' sim with optional mods.

 

[gamma123152]

I don't agree with mod support, I'm an exception in this I think. It's a lot of hassle with constant updates and the quality is 90% of the time not good (how many good looking trackmods are there for AC? That look and play as good as the original AC tracks? IMO not many)

I prefer great content with the same consistency as AMS2 has. That is way better then AC1 has IMO. Let's hope that they won't depend for their content on free content makers but that they put their own effort in like Reiza does.

 

[Kingkoenig]

I'm pretty sure most of us will hope the game is moddable. However, I wonder if it will be possible in the future, as it seems to me like it's getting more and more complex to create a quality mod. Most modders do it as a hobby, how long will it take to create a really good mod?

Also, more and more studios rely on DLCs to ensure they can stay in business and work on fine tuning the sim. Mods may be seen as "unwelcome" competition...

 

[Vipla_Dare]

I don't agree with mod support, I'm an exception in this I think. It's a lot of hassle with constant updates and the quality is 90% of the time not good (how many good looking trackmods are there for AC? That look and play as good as the original AC tracks? IMO not many)

I prefer great content with the same consistency as AMS2 has. That is way better then AC1 has IMO. Let's hope that they won't depend for their content on free content makers but that they put their own effort in like Reiza does.

But modding is optional, nobody forces anyone to use a certain mod. And do you really think that without modding AC1 would have got more 1st party content, more dlc than it did? I don't think so. Factors like budget, time and licensing decide this and not modability. For me, as it is for you, is very important to have great base content and then dlc, and I'm pretty sure Kunos doesn't expect modders to do their work for them for any of their future titles. Modding is just an icing on the cake, even if there is only one mod for a game it's still a positive result as it doesn't take time and resources from the devs but it's done by 3rd party. There's a big difference between RFactor (an empty shell without mods) and a good solid base game that is moddable. Having options is better than not, and modding gives you options.
And I don't understand how can you say that Kunos didn't put their effort like Reiza does when they've supported AC for like 4 years with additional cars/tracks/game updates and then they've moved on to ACC

 

[ScrewCaptain27]

Mods are a "must have" IMO. Professional developers like RSS have shown just how high-quality third party content can be these days, and I see no reason why that should change other than a developer being greedy and forcing customers to buy their DLC instead.

 

[NeoGrotesk]

I think mods are my biggest problem with AC. I've not played it for a couple of years and I wouldn't know where to start now. There are some truly fantastic mods out there, but also a lot of junk. Whenever I used to load it up I could guarantee that something was broken so I never bother now.

So I would suggest an 'approved mod' system. A bit like the MSFS in game marketplace, where the mods can be downloaded and installed in-game, and have a rating and review system. That way hopefully the crap mods can easily be ignored or removed.

It's also more welcoming for people who haven't used mods before since they don't need to mess with any files, and it gives a good marketplace for the premium paid mods. You could see if any updates are needed for mods in-game without having to check the original source.

(Downside: might reduce traffic to RD )

 

[mesa]

No modding capable, no buy.
Simple Clear AF

 

[Chugster2204]

Would it be too much to ask for backwards compatibility for mods? Alot of us pay for the better mods and I personally would love to bring my RSS 360 GT car into the new game.

 

[ACFAN]

Would it be too much to ask for backwards compatibility for mods? Alot of us pay for the better mods and I personally would love to bring my RSS 360 GT car into the new game.

Yeah was gonna say this. Redoing all my sounds or learning a new pipeline is gonna be a headache. Just copy MSFS 2020 modding methodology. They did it so right. FSX planes are compatible I hear. Certainly the sound aspect is backwards compatible with the old FSX sounds, that's as far as I delved into it. Then I ignored it all because fsx had a very limiting sound implementation. And that's why I'm saying it's gonna be a headache to learn another pipeline. FMOD (AC, AMS2) is quite simple once you get the hang of it. Wwise (FS2020) on the other hand... Don't even get me started

 

[Highbank]

I don't agree with mod support, I'm an exception in this I think. It's a lot of hassle with constant updates and the quality is 90% of the time not good (how many good looking trackmods are there for AC? That look and play as good as the original AC tracks? IMO not many)

I prefer great content with the same consistency as AMS2 has. That is way better then AC1 has IMO. Let's hope that they won't depend for their content on free content makers but that they put their own effort in like Reiza does.

You don't have to download mods, but why wouldn't you want it enabled, CM for instance, where would AC be without cm?

 

[Matt Y]

Didn't AC1 have mod support?