Private Lobbies are Coming to Assetto Corsa Console Versions This April

[BrandonW77]

At least players should be able to avoid using the Porsche 935/78 when running odd "same class" cars like the F40 and Yellowbird. Contrary, you cannot force a large grid of AI opponents to avoid some specific car in a class. Maybe the private lobbies will still use that system where a number of cars from each class have been allocated for players to choose between, which would cause problems for those wanting to run a full grid of just two or three cars in a class. One can hope that classes have been revised for some common sense, or that the car allocation system has been scrapped.

Yeah, from what I've seen some of the classes on consoles are rather screwy. GT2/GTLM/GT3 all grouped together and I believe the Praga either is or was in there too. All the other cars are pretty random and most don't balance with any other cars so it doesn't make sense to group them into classes.

As for the allocations, that's how it works on the PC unfortunately. When I setup a server for GT3 for example I have to pick each car and then pick each livery I want to include and if there are 24 pit stalls I have to have 24 total liveries in there. So that's a minimum of 25 clicks, even more if you're picking multiple cars, it's a bit of a pain in the ass and very clunky.

Expectations better stay low.

Wise man.

 

[Schmiggz]

Well,Schmiggz looks pretty good to me. I'll be getting the League set up after work tonight.
Any thoughts on first car/track?

Well, this brings a lot of good vibrations now.

 

[Orayani]

 

[ALB123]

Yeah, from what I've seen some of the classes on consoles are rather screwy. GT2/GTLM/GT3 all grouped together and I believe the Praga either is or was in there too. All the other cars are pretty random and most don't balance with any other cars so it doesn't make sense to group them into classes.

As for the allocations, that's how it works on the PC unfortunately. When I setup a server for GT3 for example I have to pick each car and then pick each livery I want to include and if there are 24 pit stalls I have to have 24 total liveries in there. So that's a minimum of 25 clicks, even more if you're picking multiple cars, it's a bit of a pain in the ass and very clunky.

I've never understood why they made groups like that. There has got to be a reason...if it were an oversight it would have been fixed in an instant. Hopefully there will be a rules page presented to everyone who joins. So, if the race lobby owner wants it to be GT3 only, you make it clear - "Pick only a GT3 car or it's adios muchachos!" - you give 'em the ole boot.

I'm curious to see this thing in action. What's going to happen if I don't have that special pre-order pack of cars, or a DLC pack and the room host does? Do those cars become invalid by the software because one dude didn't get the Japanese Pack? Or will a black hole be created in the players living room? Obviously we could speculate all night long. It's nice that there is some specific information released by Kunos. I noticed Stefano didn't specifically mention "choose any track", but I'm sure that would be included as well. I still expect a whole lotta hatin' going on if the lobby isn't 'perfect' in that person's eyes. We shall see.

 

[Schmiggz]

The problem is that game developers want to add the most cars possible in the field, specially in the super popular GT3 class but unfortunately they struggle with licensing and it's prices making the available choices very limited so the only chance is merging all the GT3 classes in one.
For some weird reason that I don't understand, every race league organizer decides to develop they're own specs for this class creating several sub-classes that differ in really small details and that's why we have Blancpain, super troffeo, GTLM, GTD and God knows how many more.
Now, game developers either cheat car specs to level the bop or just throw it to their gamers and... enjoy it.

 

[Nielsen]

I've never understood why they made groups like that. There has got to be a reason...if it were an oversight it would have been fixed in an instant.

I hope it's to compensate for lack of variety in some classes. Hoping because the problem could then get sorted over time as Kunos includes more different cars within the different classes. To bring up the Porsche 935/78 again, it's currently the only Group 5 class car in the game. Therefore Kunos might not want a car like this to face identical competition between the single make and same class filters. I'm just guessing.

The ideal solution would be if Kunos gave console players the tools to customize the grid down to every car, as possible on PC.

 

[Grippy]

Still cannot believe it took Kunos this long to implement such a fundamental feature to online. Don't know how many people they've disappointed on console, but at least they haven't totally abandoned the scene. Just painfully slow progress, kinda understandable when you see the size of the team but then again I've seen small teams work almost twice as fast, given enough motive to do so.

 

[ALB123]

Still cannot believe it took Kunos this long to implement such a fundamental feature to online. Don't know how many people they've disappointed on console, but at least they haven't totally abandoned the scene. Just painfully slow progress, kinda understandable when you see the size of the team but then again I've seen small teams work almost twice as fast, given enough motive to do so.

I can't believe the guy in your avatar has 4 arms! That's twice as many chances for a handball.

Seriously...I agree with you. Okay, Kunos had no experience with building console games. That's fine. Well, if they're going to commit to porting their highly successful PC racing sim to two different consoles, wouldn't it be a good idea to really get all of your ducks in a row before major announcements and taking pre-orders and such. If I'm not mistaken, I think Kunos employees even used the word "experiment" when talking about porting the game to console, as if they weren't so sure themselves. I know they were also implying they weren't so sure the console crowd would be receptive to the idea of a "bare bones sim", which is what AC is. The first time I heard about it I thought it was a bad idea. My biggest fear was that it would detract from the PC version progressing. At least that fear ended up being unwarranted.

In the long run it might be a great thing, it brought them into the spotlight of a bigger company and now they have more financial backing...that's great. But, at what cost? I think they're safe on the PC side of the fence, but have they sullied their reputation among the console crowd? Time will tell...if Kunos Simulazioni decides to produce a followup to Assetto Corsa. A followup is almost a certainty - I don't think Digital Bros would have bought them out after the console launch and majority of sales already occurred just to own that single title. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that Kunos Simulazioni is already contractually obligated to produce a followup.

My biggest concern at this point is on the day that update goes live, they better have done a satisfactory job, or a lot of console players are going to walk, in my opinion. There will probably be some bugs. Random disconnects or other annoying glitches, but if the framework is there. If the new console online lobbies/private rooms are satisfactory in scope, they'll survive some bugs and probably pull back a good deal of people who have already abandoned the game because they needed private lobbies for a league or such.

 

[Grippy]

I can't believe the guy in your avatar has 4 arms! That's twice as many chances for a handball.

Haha I believe it's actually another person behind him feeling his pain, but a perfect photo op!

I agree though, you make some good points. For me and some others the fact that they made a console version without fully(or even 80%) completing the sim on PC was kind of telling. They want to grow their audience and make more money but at the same time, they're putting themselves under workloads that are pretty demanding for a small company.

I actually have a bit of evidence to suggest that physics after xx.xx update way back on PC was actually downgraded. Why you might ask? Simply because of console hardware resource limitations and both console and PC are supposed to be the same game. It would be literally impossible to run the fidelity of what Kunos initially had in mind, ported directly to PS4 without massive frame drops. They must work around this.

What this means is there's now a lack of resolution in the physics code and they have to fudge some values to give the cars that extra % of realistic behaviours where previously they could do say 100 different calculations at 200hz now they have like 5 calculations running at 200hz and 5 fudged values to make up the difference. Fudging values means they can put less stress on the hardware and get relatively similar results in physics engines, without the calculations as now the calculations aren't so in-depth but work on much simpler laws, aided by the special fudged values.

However the bigger downfall of fudged values is you have to extensively rework these values if you notice a big discrepancy/slip-up somewhere or add something new, you realize these values aren't accurate enough because else ware the laws of physics/ what is believeable may be broken so you have to collect more data for accuracy so you can recalculate these numbers and obviously this takes even more time just so they can have a 1:1 game between platforms.

Basically Kunos is in it for the money, naturally, and we may see the initial "unlocked/fully simulated/unfudged" build of the physics code, added with a bit of detail and shipped in a likely Assetto Corsa 2 on PC/PS5/Scorpio(?) when hardware improves a few leaps. But for now we have to live with a bit of fudging, and that's ok so long as they don't stop improving the code and fixing issues in AC any time soon. Of course allot of this is speculation but it can be proven. But it does in part explain why there is those delays, even for a small team, constant optimization/downgrading of physics can be tiresome and time-consuming, especially for something touted as "Your Racing Simulator"Hope the player base doesn't get too small on PC, it's already lacking these past months.

 

[ALB123]

Of course I knew there was a 2nd person standing behind him! I might be stupid, but I'm not THAT stupid.

Everything you said about Kunos "fudging" physics is solely your opinion. There hasn't been a single legitimate piece of proof that anything was done to downgrade the physics of Assetto Corsa. And are you suggesting that they downgraded the PC version's physics because they wanted to make it match the console version?! Come on now...

There are a couple of parameters in the Tire Model that are "made up", but that is because it's pretty much impossible to measure them. Kunos has freely admitted it since the day they added those particular parameters. If what you are suggesting is true there would have been widespread condemnation of Kunos from PC players and console players alike. Until you can show me actual proof - not just opinions, I can't take those statements seriously.

There are many, many very knowledgeable physics gurus in the sim world who don't really care for Assetto Corsa that much and they personally can't stand Stefano Casillo. Not one of them has ever even made the statements you made in your post much less shown an inkling of proof.

 

[Orayani]

There are many, many very knowledgeable physics gurus in the sim world who don't really care for Assetto Corsa that much and they personally can't stand Stefano Casillo.

Why is that? I really know very little of the man.

 

[Grippy]

There are many, many very knowledgeable physics gurus in the sim world who don't really care for Assetto Corsa that much and they personally can't stand Stefano Casillo. Not one of them has ever even made the statements you made in your post much less shown an inkling of proof.

I like to think about things, I also do a significant amount of research and reading on the topic, of course it makes sense to not believe what isn't official. I'm simply discussing possibilities for those who may like to know why it's taken so long for certain features to reach console and the like. Sometimes a semi-reasonable, even plausible explanation is all that's needed to put one to rest about the confusion.

Yeah, Stefano isn't exactly a role model when he lacks a certain human deceny towards other, well respected people in related businesses from time to time.

 

[Orayani]

I like to think about things, I also do a significant amount of research and reading on the topic, of course it makes sense to not believe what isn't official. I'm simply discussing possibilities for those who may like to know why it's taken so long for certain features to reach console and the like. Sometimes a semi-reasonable, even plausible explanation is all that's needed to put one to rest about the confusion.

Yeah, Stefano isn't exactly a role model when he lacks a certain human deceny towards other, well respected people in related businesses from time to time.

Emotion isn't something you can always make out from text. Then there are those that read into things that really aren't there but they jump on the bandwagon with it.

 

[Grippy]

Emotion isn't something you can always make out from text. Then there are those that read into things that really aren't there but they jump on the bandwagon with it.

I don't follow you. Could you elaborate?

 

[mister dog]

Emotion isn't something you can always make out from text. Then there are those that read into things that really aren't there but they jump on the bandwagon with it.

To be fair, Stefano went into a fit quite often when he read into things that weren't there. Remember the tantrum with the Finish professional driver over on the AC forum for example.

Dark side of genius I suppose .

 

[Grippy]

To be fair, Stefano went into a fit quite often when he read into things that weren't there. Remember the tantrum with the Finish professional driver over on the AC forum for example.

Dark side of genius I suppose .

That's precisely the case I was on about. Lol I don't think the internet is ever going to forget that one haha. Stefano has left a huge negative mark and made some bad PR with his insults towards a very humble, experienced race driver who was simply getting touch with his game and offering some polite constructive criticism. It almist seems like Stefabo acts like his work is discended from god himself and cant take any criticism, even from a figurative angel. Also why many people get banned on AC forumns. The place is a bit weird if you ask me.

 

[ALB123]

That's precisely the case I was on about. Lol I don't think the internet is ever going to forget that one haha. Stefano has left a huge negative mark and made some bad PR with his insults towards a very humble, experienced race driver who was simply getting touch with his game and offering some polite constructive criticism. It almist seems like Stefabo acts like his work is discended from god himself and cant take any criticism, even from a figurative angel. Also why many people get banned on AC forumns. The place is a bit weird if you ask me.

While I can't say that I've been privy to every ban handed out on the forums, I am aware of quite a few where the people were just asking for it. You can tell who the assholes are because they hang out on Race Department in the Assetto Corsa forum all day long talking about how much AC sucks, how lame Stefano is, etc... Frankly, if you don't like or hate a video game, that's cool. That's your right...but you look quite pathetic when you can't find something else better to do with your time than hang out in those games forums waiting to add your two cents. Heck, I'm sure we all know of a few idiots like that here on GTPlanet. They infest forums of all types.

Stefano definitely brings on a lot of it himself. Someone in his position should be able to control themselves regardless if they think the person is insulting his work, making a ludicrous claim, etc... That racer/stuntman dude he battled with over the tire model. That dude threw a jab in his post and he knows it. Still, that doesn't mean a developer should blow up, freak out, ban, etc... Usually in cases like those he will just terminate his involvement in the conversation, possibly with a snide remark.

I think it looks a lot worse when he does it on Race Department. It's one thing to blow up in your own backyard. I'm not saying it's right or should be acceptable, but it's his website he can do whatever he wants there. On Race Department he is a visitor just like you or me. Heck, the Assetto Corsa forum on RD is filled with losers and idiots who do nothing but stir the pot every chance they get. They are often people who were rightly banned from the official forums. Not all, but I know for a fact some are because I've been involved with the thread that got them banned in the first place.

 

[lancia delta hf]

To be fair, Stefano went into a fit quite often when he read into things that weren't there. Remember the tantrum with the Finish professional driver over on the AC forum for example.

Dark side of genius I suppose .

That's precisely the case I was on about. Lol I don't think the internet is ever going to forget that one haha. Stefano has left a huge negative mark and made some bad PR with his insults towards a very humble, experienced race driver who was simply getting touch with his game and offering some polite constructive criticism. It almist seems like Stefabo acts like his work is discended from god himself and cant take any criticism, even from a figurative angel. Also why many people get banned on AC forumns. The place is a bit weird if you ask me.

I Wouldn't particularly call him a humble racing driver. After their back and fourth he PM'D Stefano asking why he was mad or whatever then proceeded to tell him about his own career and carry on his ideas about the tyres, he basically antagonized him and then only posted the private message discussion in sim communities so it looked like Stefano went off on him at a simpe PM. Stefano shouldn't have reacted that way but that guy was far from innocent.

 

[mister dog]

The Finnish dude was not the only one though. But anyhow let's get back OT .

 

[Schmiggz]

Honestly I don't dig forums and don't do a lot of research out there because Sim racing is just one of the several things I love to do so my opinion on this is merely trying to get some common sense out of what I've been able to observe.
As far as I know, Kunos or 505 or both are really small companies, short handed and not swimming in a large budget but, perfectly set for they're main activity, a computer based racing simulator, and a really good one.
So far so good and business are on cruise control so they decided to move to the next platform because let's not forget, this is a business, a company that offers a product and makes money out of it and here is where the machine kinda cranked because, apparently, getting into the console world was a little bigger step that they were set for and the whole thing had to move a little slower, which, for me, makes sense if you don't plan on giving up the idea, so, let's throw out the bare bone version of our amazing product, let's get some financial feed back from it and slowly but surely build it up because people will complaint, people will say stupid sheeet but in the end people will love it because, yeah... it's really good and you know it.

 

[Grippy]

Honestly I don't dig forums and don't do a lot of research out there because Sim racing is just one of the sit goes veral things I love to do so my opinion on this is merely trying to get some common sense out of what I've been able to observe.
As far as I know, Kunos or 505 or both are really small companies, short handed and not swimming in a large budget but, perfectly set for they're main activity, a computer based racing simulator, and a really good one.
So far so good and business are on cruise control so they decided to move to the next platform because let's not forget, this is a business, a company that offers a product and makes money out of it and here is where the machine kinda cranked because, apparently, getting into the console world was a little bigger step that they were set for and the whole thing had to move a little slower, which, for me, makes sense if you don't plan on giving up the idea, so, let's throw out the bare bone version of our amazing product, let's get some financial feed back from it and slowly but surely build it up because people will complaint, people will say stupid sheeet but in the end people will love it because, yeah... it's really good and you know it.

That sure does get me hyped up for the console version, but really I can play the console version right now and still, hits me like a bullet train and there It goes, a game I though was going to be good, turns out worse than PCARS. I'm sure allot of casuals didnt know they were paying for a half finished game, in full but lets not put the balme on them, games used to be sold as a complete package, day 1, and they bloody well should have been more complete than they are today. Customers are losing more than ever.

 

[Schmiggz]

I'm sure allot of casuals didnt know they were paying for a half finished game.

Not exactly. The game was halfway done when I bought it, it's true but I haven't pay for any update and I'm not paying for the next most expected update with the private lobbies and by that time the game will be not perfect but very complete for the 50 bucks I paid for it.
Project Cars is definitely a more complete product but has a huge handicap to Assetto Corsa. The drivebility physics and for me there's no night, no rain no private room that can come close to that.
Project Cars feels like a nice update from Granturismo while AC is a totally new galaxy.

 

[Grippy]

Not exactly. The game was halfway done when I bought it, it's true but I haven't pay for any update and I'm not paying for the next most expected update with the private lobbies and by that time the game will be not perfect but very complete for the 50 bucks I paid for it.
Project Cars is definitely a more complete product but has a huge handicap to Assetto Corsa. The drivebility physics and for me there's no night, no rain no private room that can come close to that.
Project Cars feels like a nice update from Granturismo while AC is a totally new galaxy.

Right right you say there's no night no rain, but yet there is!



^Night and rain in a single video. boom.

See most people that hate on PCARS actually haven't played the game for more than even 5 hours. If that.
Yet they talk about it like it's trash compared to x. There's no logic involved for some of these opinions. It's comical, it really isn't all that different from your beloved Assetto Corsa. As much as you'd like it to be.
And add to that, at present, moreso on consoles, AC is the worse game of the two. AC also doesn't have rain or night and I don't see it coming in updates either. Call me curious but why would you unabashedly like a game and hate it's competitor to no end when your game is technically worse than that competitor?

 

[Schmiggz]

You didn't understand my post! Read it again.

 

[Grippy]

You didn't understand my post! Read it again.

You'll need to elaborate on that!!

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

You'll need to elaborate on that!!

He was complimenting PCars as a better 'game' if you will, but stated that the features that PCars has over AC (night, rain etc) are not enough to make up for PCars' physics engine deficit compared to AC's physics engine, which he finds most important.

 

[lancia delta hf]

He was complimenting PCars as a better 'game' if you will, but stated that the features that PCars has over AC (night, rain etc) are not enough to make up for PCars' physics engine deficit compared to AC's physics engine, which he finds most important.

Same for me, and night and rain is seriously overrated ( though i welcome it ), also AC was not a full priced game.

 

[Schmiggz]

He was complimenting PCars as a better 'game' if you will, but stated that the features that PCars has over AC (night, rain etc) are not enough to make up for PCars' physics engine deficit compared to AC's physics engine, which he finds most important.

THANK YOU

 

[Nielsen]

Same for me, and night and rain is seriously overrated ( though i welcome it ), also AC was not a full priced game.

I paid €67 for AC on the PS Store. Is that less than full price?

 

[ALB123]

If AC had night and rain I would probably never turn on rain after the first few days/maybe a week of checking out how the physics react. I would very rarely ever run night races. The consumer level racing sims have a hell of a struggle making driving physics realistic on dry, heavy'ish friction surfaces. Simulating water between the tires and road? I'm just not interested in their interpretation. Yes, I'm sure pCars rain is wonderful..and blah blah blah. It just doesn't excite me whatsoever. Having said that, I know the world doesn't revolve around me, even though it should , and the masses really want rain & night driving or the sim is lame to them, so might as well include it.

I think I'm probably into Assetto Corsa for about $100, I think. I bought the game at full price and bought all the DLC (PC version), so I think it's right around $100. I've got like 1400+ hours in the game, so I feel it's been a good bargain for me. Although, I often leave my computer running AC & Content Manager for hours while I'm away or reading a book...Actual game time is probably 1000-1100.