Keeping our options open – Assetto Corsa

Those of us who’ve been around from the start have experienced 4 incarnations of Codemasters’ F1 games. We can all agree that they’ve each failed to deliver on some level. Whether it be poor car handling, crazy physics, glitches or disconnections there have always been problems obstructing our ability to go racing.

The fact is that as long as Codemasters push out re-skinned versions of Dirt with no dedicated server support and little multiplayer focus we’ll always have a compromised online experience.

That’s not to say the F1 games haven’t given us fun, close racing, but those of us who prefer a more realistic and rewarding racing experience have been driven away in recent seasons, with the likes of Mikey, Victor, Include and Rhobium moving to other games because of the arcadey feel of F1 201x.

A few of us have been taking an interest in the F1 developments of a game called Assetto Corsa which already ticks a number of boxes that Codemasters never could.

So far we’ve been impressed with:

1. The dedicated server platform, allowing us to provide a more reliable online racing experience.
2. Fantastic vehicle handling and force-feedback. Assetto Corsa has a proper physics engine and provides an incredibly rewarding and connected experience to the car you’re driving.
3. An ample array of great content. The game brings a variety of cars and stunning laser-scanned tracks, and these are augmented by its modding support, providing most of the F1 circuits we know so well.
4. Infinitely tunable car dynamics. We can adjust everything from tyre behaviour to turbo lag to produce an F1 race car that best suits our drivers.

We’ll certainly continue to run a Codemasters-based F25 league, but we’d also love to bring back more serious no-assists racing. If F1 2015 excels we may stick with the series, but Assetto Corsa looks like it has a huge amount of potential should Codemasters disappoint again. With many regular drivers already showing an interest we could be in for some amazing racing.

Over the coming months you’ll likely see increased activity around Assetto Corsa as we evaluate it as a platform for an F50-style league. We’ll be publishing more information to help you get started with the game, but if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

In the mean time, here’s a hotlap video of our ACF1 2015 car at Spa to whet your appetite.

– SirRob & Rhobium