Guys, I have a confession to make.

I have an addiction.

###

To something Captivating.

###

Something Thrilling.

###

Something....

time consuming

I regret nothing.

---

Game Review

___

Source

Assetto Corsa Competizione 👌

I've never really been into cars. I suppose I'm still not. I couldn't tell you how to take one apart. I don't know the intricacies of any of the components, save for a few.. and my knowledge of them is flawed.

Don't get me wrong, this game has helped.

For example. I kinda' know what this means now.

(source being the game)

Who am I kidding. I don't know shit.

Seriously though, I'll tell you this.

I now know the most ideal lines to take to maximize speed through various corners. I understand the intricacies of braking, weight transfer, aerodynamics, tire condition, and how they inform your ability to remain on the edge of grip as you VROOM your way to victory!

When you're drag racing a car for 1st place down a straight at 280 kph with a twin turbo V6 screaming in your ears, it does something to you. Combine that with the feeling of your wheel and pedals conveying every bump and nuance of the road, the geforces of every turn, the strain and slip angle of your tires, and even the aero wash from your opponents... Immersive becomes an understatement.

Listen to the Porsche 992 GT3 scream its song down the Döttinger Höhe (the back straight of the Nordschleife)

Source: My Youtube channel

This game grabs you in a way I never thought possible.

This game

#####

This genre

#####

This community

#####

Sim Racing?

#####

GT cars going VROOM?

This is incredible.

---

Intro

____

Source

To be more specific, ACC (Assetto Corsa Competizione) is incredible.

It's an online racing simulator that specializes in GT3 cars. The game carries the official license for the

Source

Good lord that was gigantic.

Anyway.

The SRO Motorports Group is an international racing organization that hosts competitions in countries around the world.

This global competition is known as the Fanatec GT World Challenge

The global areas represented are:

• Europe
• Australia
• Asia
• America

They race at world famous tracks such as: Circuit De Spa Francorchamps In Stavelot, Belgium. Monza Nationale Autodromo - The Temple of Speed in Monza, Italy. Mt Panorama In NSW, Australia. Watkins Glen International New York, USA. Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan.

And many others.

They host competitions in the following categories:

GT2, GT3, GT4, Touring Cars, and Toyota's GR86.. but for the most part, they specialize in GT3.

---

So... What is a GT3 Race Car?


Source

I'm glad you asked.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say.

"Group GT3 allows for a wide variety of car types with almost no limit on engine sizes and configurations or chassis construction or layout. GT3 cars must be based on mass production road car models that are being built and sold.. Performance of all the Group GT3 cars are regulated, either by the GT Bureau of the FIA or by a series' specific ruling body, through the balance of performance formulae that adjusts limits on horsepower, weight, engine management, and aerodynamics to prevent a single manufacturer from becoming dominant in the class. The cars in GT3 are designed to have a weight between 1200 kg and 1300 kg (2645 lbs and 2866 lbs) with horsepower between 500 hp and 600 hp. All cars have a very similar power to weight ratio but achieved either by high power and high weight such as the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG[2] or low power and low weight such as the Porsche 911 GT3.[3] GT3 cars also have traction control, ABS, and built-in air jacks for quick pit stops."

Source

In other words,

GT3 cars can be any homologated make and model with engines situated anywhere you like, as long as it follows those strict guidelines.

• Similar Horsepower
• Similar Weight
• Similar aero kits

If one type of car is majorly better than any other car in these areas, they will need to be modified to prevent them from having unfair advantages.

This regulation guarantees close and great racing from all manufacturers involved in the sport.

---

The Cars

_____ 

Source

Here is a list of the cars that the game has available, along with the manufacturers.

Mercedes

Source

• AMG GT3 2020 Evo (one of my favorites)
• AMG GT3
• AMG GT4
• AMG GT2

---

Ferrari

Source

• Ferrari 296 GT3
• Ferrari 488 GT3
• Ferrari Challenge

---

BMW

Source

• BMW M4 GT3
• BMW M4 GT4
• BMW M2

---

Acura

Source

• NSX GT3 Evo

---

Lamborghini

Source

• Huracan GT3 Evo 2
• Huracan GT3 Evo
• Huracan Evo 2 "Super Trofeo"

---

Porsche

Source

• Porsche 992 GT3 R
• Porsche 911(2) GT3
• Porsche 911 GT3
• Porsche 992 GT2
• Porsche Cayman GT4

---

Nissan

Source

• NISMO GT-R GT3 Evo

---

Audi

Source

• Audi LMS GT3 Evo
• Audi LMS GT3
• Audi LMS GT2

---

Maserati

Source

• Maserati Stradale GT2
• Maserati Squadre Clienti GT4

---

McLaren

Source

• McLaren 720s GT3

---

Lexus

Source

• Lexus RC F GT3

---

Ford

Source

• Mustang GT3

---

There are more, like the Bentley Continental and the Ginetta... but I think you get the point.

Assetto Corsa Competizione, much like the real life GT World Challenge, allows the use of many different cars and manufacturers.

My personal favorites are the AMG GT3 Evo and the Ferrari 296 GT3, that thing absolutely flies.

Each of these cars boast their own strengths and weaknesses. Some perform better in corners than others... some have garbage brakes, others have amazing top end speed but can't corner at all.

If you're new to the game, my advice is to feel them out, drive a few different cars and see which one best suits your driving style.

---

What do you need to get started?

_____

Sim Racing is one of those hobbies where you can spend very little, or an absolute butt load of money.

The game itself is pretty cheap.

When not on sale, the core game can be bought on Steam for around $39 USD. Subsequent DLCs will run you around $15-$17 each, which after you've gone shopping, the game with DLC tends to cost the same as a regular priced $65-$70 game.

So, not that bad.

It's the accessories that get you, if you let them.. that is.

Some more good news: the system requirements are actually quite forgiving, especially considering how good the game looks.

System Requirements

____ Windows 10 x64 - 21H2 STO: 50 GB available space Sound: Integrated

Source

____

Wheel & Pedals / Controller

_____

OK. So this is where Sim Racing can begin to get expensive. Just keep in mind that there are ways of reducing cost, along with the fact that you don't need to drop $40,000 on a fully gyroscopic motion sim with VR and / or panoramic screens to go fast.

Like this guy.

In Sim Racing you're going to see a lot of crazy rigs and setups, but just keep this in mind.

To play the game, all you need is a seat, a computer, wheel & pedals or a console controller.

This is what I race with.

Source

This is what I'd consider a middle-of-the-road setup. It's above beginner level, but definitely below the top of the line equipment out there. But even so, the power of this unit is quite substantial. The R5 Wheel Base (big blocky that the wheel is attached to)

My brother bought this for me as a bundle. It cost around $399 USD.

It contains:

• An ES Steering Wheel, which is rather basic. It has some buttons you can map commands to. Pretty good though.
• SR-P Lite Pedals, which consists of brake and throttle pedals. These are pretty good, not gonna' lie. The brake pedal has something called a 'load cell' which just means it has a spring that resists your foot as you press down, allowing for more controlled brake application. Load cell pedals are amazing.
• A DD-R5 wheel base.. the thing which costs the most money, and for good reason. It provides high fidelity haptic feedback from the game itself, translating all game-data from curb feel, bumps, dips, grip level, slip angle and so on. You can literally feel when the car is on the edge of grip from what the wheel base communicates through the wheel. This unit maxes out at 5 newton-meters of torque, which after a 2 hour endurance race will have your arms feeling exhausted.

If you're not looking to dump $400 straight away, like I said before, there are other options.

When I started out, all I had was an Xbox One Elite controller to race with, and I did that for seven months.

This one cost me around $100 from Gamestop.

It doesn't transmit much in the way of force feedback, but you can still put down some fast laps with enough practice. It's rare to see an amazing controller player who smashes the nerds on sim rigs, but it does happen.

I was able to smash out a 2:00 lap at Silverstone on this bad boy, and that's pretty good even for most wheel users.

All of the equipment is very easy to setup and quite user friendly.

Honestly, the equipment is the largest hurdle and a big deterrent for a lot of new sim racers. However it isn't essential to have the highest most expensive equipment on the market. I've been running the Moza R5 for years now, and it's great for me.

---

The Thrill of Racing

There's just so much to enjoy.

Here's an overtake I made on the outside of an opponent at Circuit of the Americas turn 1

I can't begin to describe how satisfying this move was to make.

Or even when you accidentally crash your team-mate into oblivion at the top of Mt Panorama

Or when you're throwing down the qualifying lap of your life. (I've beaten this by 2 seconds now by the way.)

The feeling is unmatched in any other game I've played.

I'm going to begin saving some of my races and offer commentary. I'll start showing #hive my battles, my highlights and lowlights (of which there are many).

---

The Pros and Cons of ACC

Overall this is a magnificent game. The physics are incredible, the racing is just as good as the top running simulators on the market.

I really like the UI. It is easy to understand. Easy to navigate.

It offers a really enjoyable career mode with full driver assists for new drivers. It scores you on your cornering, consistency, pace, and generally all the things you need in order to actually complete a race.

I would say ACC is VERY beginner friendly.

That's a major upside.

The career mode gives you a really nice intro from the 2017 Blancpan champion and Lamborghini factory driver Mirko Bortolotti. Afterwards you're greeted to an introduction to a Lamborghini junior driver program.

From then on you're put through the ringer. The higher these stats look, the better driver you are and the more competitive you'll be.

The game does a very good job of tracking your development and letting you know how far you've come.

Again, a MAJOR win for ACC. Being beginner friendly is something a lot of racing sims ARE NOT. (looking at you, Iracing)

But I digress.

How's the multiplayer?

Both good and terrible, at times. Mostly good. Again the UI is amazing. Easy to understand. The game hosts its own set of ranked competition races where it'll throw you into a server with a bunch of randoms which are mostly around your skill level. You can also quick join into a lobby where you'll be skidding out and crashing into a fiery wreck in no time.

Most sims have these types of features. What sets ACC apart however, is its hosted server feature. This is an incredible feature where individuals can host their own servers and lobbies free of charge. Iracing and Le Mans Ultimate charge you money to do this, but Kunos decided that money isn't really a thing they want, so they decided to just give it up to the community.

And we thank them eternally for it.

Another thing they gave to the community, is the ability for the user to apply custom BOPs to cars themselves. So if a particular car seems to be dominating on a particular track, the community can collectively come together and even out the field without the need for the developers to weigh in.

In fact, the ACC community over at Low Fuel Motorport have dedicated themselves to this exact thing. Their staff of pro e-sports drivers work together make sure the cars are each competitive against each other, and their BOP is also published on their website for everyone to see and use.

source

I really cannot stress how incredibly generous it is for the devs to have given the community these features, and for those reasons ACC will always have a spot on my favorite games of all time list.

So. Let's summarize the pros so far.

• The sim bones are great. Good graphics. Good force feedback. Good immersion. Great physics.
• It's beginner friendly.
• It doesn't nickle and dime you. You can host your own servers free of charge, which allows communities to form and congregate.

I forgot to mention that you can create your own liveries, which is an amazing feature. Le Mans Ultimate requires you to subscribe to their race control service to allow you to make custom liveries. Again, Kunos blesses us with the ability for free.

I mean, look at how good this is. This was made by a racing community that I love and have spent years being a part of.

Shoutout to Noobs R Us Here's their Simgrid link. https://www.thesimgrid.com/communities/noobs-r-us

Here's their Twitch. https://www.twitch.tv/noobsrus_official

Check them out, they're a great bunch of people.

---

Now let's discuss some downsides to ACC

The game has been abandoned by the developers.

Yep.

Remember how they left a bunch of money on the table? Well, you kinda' need that in order for a business to be able to business. Businesses need to business in order to be businesses.

They've since moved on to their next project and supposed magnum opus, Assetto Corsa Evo Which I will be showcasing at some point after I truly get my feet wet with this whole game review venture I seem to be doing now.

This means:

• No more cars.
• No more tracks.
• As the servers are user operated, stability can be an issue. There are bugs on certain tracks that can in some circumstances be race braking. These will not be fixed.
• No more significant updates.
• NO CORVETTE. NO DAGNAM CORVETTE

When the announcement came that Kunos were moving on from ACC it broke my heart. However, with how they have left the game, and with the community's freedom of setting its own BOP and managing its own servers and communities... the game has a lot of life in it. The community runs the game now. The community democratically judges how it will be balanced.

It's just. The lack of future content is just... heartbreeaking.

Even so, I would still recommend anyone new to Sim Racing to buy ACC.

The game has too many positives to ignore. Too many well crafted features to be left on the table. It's level of polish truly is unmatched in the space, which gives me strong hope for the future of Assetto Corsa Evo.

---

MY Rating

-----

An easy 9/10

______

My advice:

Buy it when it goes on sale. Shop locally for sim equipment, you can usually pick up some good kit at a decent discount on places like Facebook Marketplace.

If you're new, which, if you're reading this you likely are - You don't have to start out with the best gear, start at your own pace... and if you find yourself getting obsessed like me? Well, then you'll make your own way.

---

Thank you for reading my review of Assetto Corsa: Competizione

I will be posting videos and content relating to my races, I can't wait to share this with you.

Be well.