With just a few days to go until the general public can get a first try of Assetto Corsa EVO in Early Access, Kunos Simulazioni has officially revealed what will be available in this initial build.
We have, of course, already learned a lot from the bizarrely timed Christmas Day announcement regarding Early Access. This revealed some of the game modes that would be available as well as the five circuits.
However, KS has been drawing out a long tease over the weekend to show off more of what players will be getting to grips with when Early Access begins on January 16.
Starting with what we already knew, there’ll be five circuits in the first version — and it’s perhaps a little surprising that the Nurburgring isn’t among them given the focus on the circuit and its environs over the past several months.
We are though getting a selection of tracks from four different continents, each featuring animated crowds and “race elements” — including marshals — and the new track technology:
- Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola)
- Brands Hatch
- Laguna Seca
- Mount Panorama
- Suzuka
The track list is planned to expand to 15 by the time the first full version of the game launches — hopefully before the summer — and will include that much-heralded open-world map too.
We’ve also had the car count previously confirmed, and a couple of them were specifically named previously, but only now do we know the identities of all 20 vehicles coming later this week. They are as follows:
- Abarth 695 Biposto
- Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm
- Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce
- Alpine A110 S
- Alpine A290β Concept
- Audi RS3 Sportback
- BMW M2 CS Racing
- BMW M4 CSL
- Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Ferrari 296 GTB
- Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo
- Ford Escort RS Cosworth
- Honda S2000
- Hyundai i30 N Hatchback
- Lotus Emira
- Mazda MX-5 (ND) Cup
- Mercedes-AMG GT2
- Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup
- Toyota GR86
- Volkswagen Golf Mk 8 GTI Clubsport
As you can see, it’s quite the mix from desired classic to modern day accessible machinery, European and American performance cars, electric vehicles to V8s, and a range of race cars from the entry level to the latest GT3s and GT2s.
We did note in the previous announcement that 22 manufacturers had been shown, making us wonder who’d be missed out. The above list accounts for just 16, so perhaps there’s some clues as to the cars in the first expansion in the Early Access title…
The final, launch-day list should comprise around 100 vehicles, so there’s plenty more to come too.
We’d heard a little about the modes that would be available previously too, with the five tracks each featuring a “Driving Academy” mode. By the looks of it, you’ll be able to take on short sections of a course at a time in this “new, A-to-B time attack game mode”, which seems similar to the Circuit Experiences of Gran Turismo.
As well as the Driving Academy, the Early Access release will feature what KS is calling “Game Economy Step 1”. That looks set to comprise the beginning steps of a career mode — renting and buying cars, gaining experience points and rewards, driving licences and the above academy — as you build your driver profile.
We already know that multiplayer isn’t in this initial build, but it will include practice and quick race in single players, as well as the car showroom and some car customization, though we don’t know how much yet.
Players with more extensive driving rigs will be pleased to know that this week’s release supports both triple screens and VR too.
Pretty much the only piece of information missing as far as we can tell right now is the pricing of the Early Access. That’s still not displayed on the Steam page, but KS co-founder Marco Massarutto has promised it will be “aggressive, in a good way”. The pricing may increase throughout the Early Access period too, as more content is added, though players who’ve already bought in will receive the content for no additional fee.
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