Assetto Corsa Competizione

[Darren S]

That's epic!

I'll have a dabble tomorrow lunch time (who needs food ) and see how I get on.

@SharkyUK @BIFCAIDS @McGherkin

FFS - didn't even get the chance to get on today - will be trying tomorrow for sure.

 

[SharkyUK]

Likewise... too busy at the moment! Maybe at the weekend...

 

[McGherkin]

I had 10 minutes before work, loaded it up, realised I don't have Laguna Seca, went to Silverstone, realised I couldn't remember the 27493 button combination to start the car and gave up.

 

[Darren S]

I had 10 minutes before work, loaded it up, realised I don't have Laguna Seca, went to Silverstone, realised I couldn't remember the 27493 button combination to start the car and gave up.

Haha! Lol - I had that when I connected the wheel via SteamLink to the TV on Friday. How the hell do you start the car?!

Worked out that it was one of the left buttons near the D-pad on the G920 that brought up a sub menu. Scrolled down with the D-pad to put the ignition on and then held down Right above where it said Starter. That kicked the engine into life.

 

[Darren S]

Got a bobby-basic server rented through GTXGaming for this for one month.

The password for access to get on is currently September2020 - just a passive level of security to stop it being hammered/ruined by randomers.

 

[boultonn]

Posted some benchmarks times to get the ball rolling.
See what improvements I can make through the week.
Short-link to bookmark: http://n44b.uk/CSACtimes

 

[Darren S]

Uploaded some lap times that I managed last night - interesting behaviour with the cars. When I tried the Maserati on Monza, I couldn't keep the rear-end in check - especially if I drifted out slightly onto the rubble strips. All good fun, but hardly useful in trying to set at least an average lap time.

Went back to the setup menu and loaded the pre-made Aggressive setup - supposedly puts the car more on 'edge' but potentially allows for a better lap time. It felt a lot more controllable to me in that mode. I did fully lose it on one corner and the margin between making progress and spinning around to see where you came from was much narrower. But now you had to get it really wrong for the car to let go.

One bit of attention to detail that I thought was superb was reflected in my poor braking at Monza. I was often braking way too early - even when reading the distance markers to the corner. The one I struggled with the most was entering Varianti Ascari at the end of the straight. I either approached it at about 20mph or overshot and locked the front end up. As you're turning slightly to the left anyway, my club-footed braking was putting a lot of load on the front right wheel. After several lock-ups, the wheel was wobbling - a lot more under braking too and clearly I'd flat-spotted the tyre. Tried to cruise around to the pits and with about a third of a lap to go - BANG, the tyre went and I could see tyre smoke belching out in the mirror and a rubbing/grinding noise as I coasted to the pits. All great detail and great fun.

However...... the same cannot be said for the server & multiplayer setup. Jesus, it's a pain - just some of the issues I came across last night:-

• Setting the track in the JSON track list doesn't seem to have any relevance. The server still picks what it wants.
• Setting the entry requirement for the safety rating to be zero - still rejects players who don't have a 'Sufficient safety rating'.
• ACC server list doesn't maintain connection. Worked for a while and then on the main screen it was Connected/Disconnected several times over.
• Checking with the ACC website if there was any planned maintenance at that time saw the requirement to create an account and login - just tell me if the multiplayer is down FFS on your website!
• Fired up ACC this morning and couldn't see the server. Went onto the portal to be shown "an Error"... No doubt one of my zero settings to just get the thing running properly has killed it.

For a standalone experience, this game is truly superb. But the multiplayer aspect is as flakey as can be. How they can't support a simple multiplayer lobby environment is weird - requiring players to either have some IT knowledge, or else blindly join someone else's server - assuming that your safety rating is high enough in the first place.

What's wrong with a group of players simply creating a private lobby, passwording it, picking Monza, set it to 15 laps and specify GT4 cars only being eligible? It's basic MP requirements these days and given the nature of the game, it really does need those groups of people racing against each other to keep the game alive.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

I've just started playing this again, only stopped due to being busy and getting sucked back into smashing cars up on Wreckfest ha ha ha.

Downloaded the extortionate GT4 pack, they are taking the piss 15 pounds quid for extra cars and no tracks.... I still paid it mind but its not the point.

 

[Darren S]

Got the server running again and removed the password for now, so it SHOULD just let you join. Still the same server name - Red Shirted Fools

There might be some randomers in there, but we'll see.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

Nothing...

 

[Darren S]

View attachment 1498732

Nothing...

Did it say 'Connected' in the lower right corner of the screen?

 

[Darren S]

Yep - looks to be up...

 

[BIFCAIDS]

Did it say 'Connected' in the lower right corner of the screen?

It did, however Ill try again today at some point.

 

[SharkyUK]

I managed to connect to the server yesterday for about a half-hour without any issues - just spent time lapping Spa. Badly.

 

[Darren S]

I need to read online as to why the track selection isn’t kicking in? There’s a pre-made list of circuits that you add to the event file - yet it flatly ignores whatever I copy and paste in there.

Must be something really obvious and me being a numbnuts.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

Hold up... this isn't cross platform is it? Im on PS4.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

Here ya go

 

[BIFCAIDS]

Had my first online race tonight, 30mins around Suzuka in GT3 cars.

Qualified 6th, 2.6 behind the fastest car (yikes). Decent start until the 2nd lap, where through the S curves I put two wheels on the grass and gingerly came back on the track in 16th from 5th, to then be yeet off the track by a Lambo. Got going again, Degner curve same Lambo, Merc and a Ferrari collide and I end up collecting one whilst slowing down. Catalogue of cluster f***s on lap 2. Thought f**k it, Im not bailing and got going again car understeered like I dont know what but I could manage. Slowly but surely I caught a German guy up in a Porsche and we proceeded to pick people off, he would pull on me down the straights but in to T1 Id gain on him and through all of sector 2. I would only gain on him braking into "Casio". We had a 15minute long battle for 10th, at one point I nudged him into T1 but I just misjudged how much quicker I was into it, slowed and let him gather himself. Then with 8 mins to go, half way round Dunlop curve he got two wheels on the gravel and that was the end of our battle. I managed to finish 9th after another Porsche explored the back end of the gravel at Degner curve.

I had been struggling to up my SR until that race and I really enjoyed myself, despite the poor start.

 

[Darren S]

Had my first online race tonight, 30mins around Suzuka in GT3 cars.

Qualified 6th, 2.6 behind the fastest car (yikes). Decent start until the 2nd lap, where through the S curves I put two wheels on the grass and gingerly came back on the track in 16th from 5th, to then be yeet off the track by a Lambo. Got going again, Degner curve same Lambo, Merc and a Ferrari collide and I end up collecting one whilst slowing down. Catalogue of cluster f***s on lap 2. Thought f**k it, Im not bailing and got going again car understeered like I dont know what but I could manage. Slowly but surely I caught a German guy up in a Porsche and we proceeded to pick people off, he would pull on me down the straights but in to T1 Id gain on him and through all of sector 2. I would only gain on him braking into "Casio". We had a 15minute long battle for 10th, at one point I nudged him into T1 but I just misjudged how much quicker I was into it, slowed and let him gather himself. Then with 8 mins to go, half way round Dunlop curve he got two wheels on the gravel and that was the end of our battle. I managed to finish 9th after another Porsche explored the back end of the gravel at Degner curve.

I had been struggling to up my SR until that race and I really enjoyed myself, despite the poor start.

Yep - it's not cross-platform..... yet. Hopefully that might be something that they release in the near future?

Had nearly an hour's worth of faffing about trying to get a multiplayer session setup with my mate yesterday afternoon. It really tested my patience! He's new to ACC (only got it last week) and regardless of what settings I put the server onto, he couldn't join due to his safety rating being too low. FFS guys - surely I can allow a one-armed chimp to join my server if I so wish? The professional competition servers (which are on a different section) - I understand the entry requirements all day long. But for casual players like myself, why can't we just pickup & go?

Anyways - we finally got onto a server after he's 'proven' himself and even then has zero entry requirements??? It too was at Suzuka which I hardly knew at all well. Set to expert mode, both of us were in GT4 cars (me an M4 and him the Aston) and the other two racers were in the GT3 class. The M4 I was struggling with - especially on the turn in where it seemed to understeer badly. More so, the quick S-section of the circuit where I was losing a ton of speed and really found it hard in making any headway. The culmination of this was a decidedly lacklustre lap-time of 02.24.969 and little surprise that I came fourth out of four! Still - I didn't bin it once - though I explored the leading edges of the kitty-litter a few times and made way for the faster GT3 class cars when they came up behind me.

One thing that occured (and if this was a failure actually programmed into the game, then I have massive respect!) - was that halfway through the race, my gearbox had an issue in selecting 2nd. At first, I thought it was me in not clicking the left downshifter hard enough - so I made a conscious effort to hear the click of the switch each time I went down a gear. Sure enough, it was there every time, yet I'd say once a lap, it struggled in engaging 2nd gear and I had to click again. I know that there's mechanical faults that are available in the game - but if they've added the potential of flakey gearchanges, then that's an awesome addition and fully approve - even if does affect your lap times!

 

[BIFCAIDS]

Yep - it's not cross-platform..... yet. Hopefully that might be something that they release in the near future?

Had nearly an hour's worth of faffing about trying to get a multiplayer session setup with my mate yesterday afternoon. It really tested my patience! He's new to ACC (only got it last week) and regardless of what settings I put the server onto, he couldn't join due to his safety rating being too low. FFS guys - surely I can allow a one-armed chimp to join my server if I so wish? The professional competition servers (which are on a different section) - I understand the entry requirements all day long. But for casual players like myself, why can't we just pickup & go?

Anyways - we finally got onto a server after he's 'proven' himself and even then has zero entry requirements??? It too was at Suzuka which I hardly knew at all well. Set to expert mode, both of us were in GT4 cars (me an M4 and him the Aston) and the other two racers were in the GT3 class. The M4 I was struggling with - especially on the turn in where it seemed to understeer badly. More so, the quick S-section of the circuit where I was losing a ton of speed and really found it hard in making any headway. The culmination of this was a decidedly lacklustre lap-time of 02.24.969 and little surprise that I came fourth out of four! Still - I didn't bin it once - though I explored the leading edges of the kitty-litter a few times and made way for the faster GT3 class cars when they came up behind me.

One thing that occured (and if this was a failure actually programmed into the game, then I have massive respect!) - was that halfway through the race, my gearbox had an issue in selecting 2nd. At first, I thought it was me in not clicking the left downshifter hard enough - so I made a conscious effort to hear the click of the switch each time I went down a gear. Sure enough, it was there every time, yet I'd say once a lap, it struggled in engaging 2nd gear and I had to click again. I know that there's mechanical faults that are available in the game - but if they've added the potential of flakey gearchanges, then that's an awesome addition and fully approve - even if does affect your lap times!

Well funnily enough, I have the same issue with gears going down the box. I have a theory though... I think its the G29 personally. So if you're doing too many things at once (pedal input or turning) it wont do both, but it will always sacrifice the gear change.

If I go into the same corner without the inputs it changes. I actually think its an issue with the game. Maybe Im wrong, but Id expect some SFX if it was the gearbox in-game.

Also, no bloody wonder I couldnt find your server. I thought with you tagging me in, the other day it was a PlayStation set up server ha ha ha.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

@Darren S Also, with regards to the M4. I love driving that car offline, tried to use it yesterday online and it was dog shite. Not only that but theres no way of changing your car once in a lobby in quick race or whatever its called.

 

[Darren S]

@Darren S Also, with regards to the M4. I love driving that car offline, tried to use it yesterday online and it was dog shite. Not only that but theres no way of changing your car once in a lobby in quick race or whatever its called.

Yep - they've got a lot to update and change to the lobby front-end. It's not all new ideas either - I mean a lot of the accepted stuff like car choice and basic setups have been online mainstays for years.

To me, they've focused more on allowing racing/focusing on track limit violations, etc - rather than just allowing the majority to jump online and race. They should even create a sandbox section of tracks where no rules and permissions exist. Granted, that would attract a lot of knobheads, but you could at least get to check out the cars and the tracks with other players present.

It's almost like you can pootle around in offline to your heart's content. But then the step to playing online with other racers is such a monumental climb to take. There should definitely be more middle-ground.

 

[nebraska182]

I picked this up for £17 off the PS store - the game is running much smoother now at 60 fps locked on PS5. The engine sounds are amazing in this,the sound of the Porsche when it hits 6th gear on the Spa straight - wow!!

I havnt started career yet so not sure how good it is - the wealth of race options is impressive though.

 

[Darren S]

I picked this up for £17 off the PS store - the game is running much smoother now at 60 fps locked on PS5. The engine sounds are amazing in this,the sound of the Porsche when it hits 6th gear on the Spa straight - wow!!

I havnt started career yet so not sure how good it is - the wealth of race options is impressive though.

ACC is a great game all round - but the audio really is what excels in this game. I don't know how they have quite made it sound intimidating, if that's the right word?

But flat out and with decent headphones on, you feel the urge to back off because something's going to blow!

 

[Jason_E]

I've had a mixed bag of experience with GT4, Project Cars 2 and iRacing.

I got bored of iRacing within a month or two due to the cost, and the fact you'd spend hours waiting/qualifiying/getting into a race to be punted off on T1.

How does this compare? I've been tempted for a while. For me, rFactor 2 is the nicest sim to use but f**k all online!

 

[Darren S]

I've had a mixed bag of experience with GT4, Project Cars 2 and iRacing.

I got bored of iRacing within a month or two due to the cost, and the fact you'd spend hours waiting/qualifiying/getting into a race to be punted off on T1.

How does this compare? I've been tempted for a while. For me, rFactor 2 is the nicest sim to use but f**k all online!

I’ve not tried either iRacing or Rfactor - so I couldn’t really comment.

However, if you’re after a decent racing sim with very good visuals and even better audio, this is the pick for me - especially if you have access to a wheel and pedals setup.

It seems to balance the difficulty of remaining smooth and quick without being too punishing for it. As a challenge, it’s good to try and keep up with a novice GT3 car when you’re in the GT4 class. The DLCs are small but very well researched - forget the likes of adding 120 cars where 95 of them share the same code setup. These are distinct cars in their own right - complete with unique views, cockpits and of course, backing tracks. They also feature heavily with their own specific setups - some of which feel massively unwieldy and others that you’re right at home with.

 

[nebraska182]

If they could mix this game with an F1 style career mode,Project Cars track selection and updated PS5 visuals on the tracks...that would be a near perfect all round racing game! Every racing game just has something 'missing' imo - they excel at certain things but then are bad at others. F12020 is still the best racing game by far for career mode imo - but not everyone likes F1.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

If they could mix this game with an F1 style career mode,Project Cars track selection and updated PS5 visuals on the tracks...that would be a near perfect all round racing game! Every racing game just has something 'missing' imo - they excel at certain things but then are bad at others. F12020 is still the best racing game by far for career mode imo - but not everyone likes F1.

It needs more than 30fps for me and nothing else ha ha ha.

 

[Jason_E]

Decided to go in at the deepend, and drive for the first time... online.

Managed to get 4th in my first race on a n00b server, which I was more than happy with. Qualified 5th, got punted off twice in the first 3 corners, drove my way back to 4th, and the guy in 3rd punted me off twice when I tried to make a move.

Even so, the standards on the first race (only being punted off 4 times) are still better than some of the higher license level races on iRacing! And Im not paying through the teeth for the privilege either.

So far, so good really!

 

[Darren S]

I’ve a spare Steam key for this, if anyone is interested?

 

[andybond]

Anyone still playing this?

 

[Darren S]

Anyone still playing this?

Not as much as the original AC - but in a lot of ways I prefer ACC.

 

[andybond]

Not as much as the original AC - but in a lot of ways I prefer ACC.

I am properly into ACC at the minute. Love the sim nature of it.

 

[Darren S]

Managed to dip into the 1.48's with the 296 earlier at Kyalami - but it appears not to 'save' the time unless you get back to the pits. If you just quit, it doesn't save it.

So, in terms of evidence - 1.49.950 will have to do. For now.

Didn't adjust the car from standard and have no driving line on.

 

[Darren S]

Tried to follow the ideal racing line on Kyalami and it's interesting to see how on two corners, it's a bit alien to how I would have approached them.

It clearly works - but feel like I'm fighting the car more to get it to stick to those lines.

In the real world, I wonder if stepping off the ideal line at times would be more beneficial to not overload the tyres between stops?

 

[Darren S]

So, with regards to setting up a server for this - I had a random Xeon box lying about, doing nothing.

Formatted with Windows 10 Pro and loaded it with the Assetto Corsa Competizione server software - I've managed to get it working fine and without paying a penny for the service.

Happy to setup a couple of quick races - say 20mins for people who would be interested, most likely at the weekends?

If anyone has a preference such as GT3 or GT4 class and/or their circuit preference - I'll be happy to set it up. I'm no circuit pro by any stretch, so it would just all be for a bit of fun.

 

[andybond]

Sounds like fun to me!

 

[Darren S]

Sounds like fun to me!

Sunday afternoon is most likely for me in-between the rounds of BTCC at Croft.

The server name will be Rossendale Racers and the password Clio2004 - if you fancied joining?

Make sure you search for all servers or else it will likely miss it. It did that to a mate of mine before he cleared out all the preset search filters

 

[andybond]

Sunday afternoon is most likely for me in-between the rounds of BTCC at Croft.

The server name will be Rossendale Racers and the password Clio2004 - if you fancied joining?

Make sure you search for all servers or else it will likely miss it. It did that to a mate of mine before he cleared out all the preset search filters

I may struggle this weekend - Sunday specifically.

I also note with that server name you are from wrong side of hills ..

 

[Darren S]

I may struggle this weekend - Sunday specifically.

I also note with that server name you are from wrong side of hills ..

I might rename it to ClioSport.net to make it a bit easier