We first heard about Assetto Corsa Competizione earlier this year, and the PC-based sim racer looked quite promising based on the photos we received. It was slated for a launch this summer, and that time has finally come. Sort-of at least; a pre-beta version of the game is available online starting today through Steam’s Early Access programme, giving eager players a taste of what’s to come while also giving them the opportunity to help fine-tune the game through its final development stages. We had the opportunity to try out the new sim, and even at this early point, it seems quite promising.

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Since it is such an early version there’s not much for sim racers to enjoy just yet – you can only drive a race-spec Lamborghini Huracán GT3 on the Nürburgring’s shorter GP circuit. It will be the official game for the Blancpain GT Series Championship when the full version arrives, but this early model is still enough for us to taste some of the realism baked into the gameplay. And it is indeed all-new – Assetto Corsa has been around for a few years now both in the PC world and on consoles, but developing firm Kunos Simulazioni tells us Competizione is a complete rebuild from the ground up, using the Unreal Engine 4 platform.

Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Sim Beta Test
Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Sim Beta Test
Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Sim Beta Test
Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Sim Beta Test

To that end, it does look good. In fact, it looks very good, even on an older PC where we couldn’t quite max out all the graphics settings. Lapping the GP course from one of three in-car perspectives we could almost smell the Alcantara on the Lambo’s dash, and glare from the track when racing in rain is downright epic.

Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Sim Beta Test
Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Sim Beta Test

As far as gameplay, we were very happy when this pre-beta release recognised a Logitech G920 steering wheel without any issue. Sure, you can play this with a gamepad or even the computer keyboard if you must, but we’re talking about a racing sim here – invest in a wheel and tackle these digital tracks like a boss. That said, we would like to see considerably more wheel customization options and better feedback – the wheel was basically dead weight save for some slight tugging through corners.

Hopefully, that will be something addressed in later releases because the platform’s physics seem pretty well dialed in. The Lamborghini was a proper handful to control with traction and stability control turned down, requiring a careful touch to navigate the track. Off-track excursions have a realistic feel in that you’re pretty much a passenger while the Lambo slides and spins, and we especially like the car’s reaction to curbs. Some can be taken with care, but others are best left alone. And the sounds are some of the best we’ve heard in a sim racer.

Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Sim Beta Test
Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Sim Beta Test

Aside from better feedback for the steering wheel, we’d like to see some physics adjustment for wet-weather racing. The wet-track visuals are amazing, but grip seemed almost identical to a dry track and that’s most decidedly not an ode to real-life racing. The menus are easy to navigate, and for those who love to tinker with vehicle settings there are all kinds of customisation features to set up the race car however you like.

Kunos Simulazioni and game publisher 505 Games have six beta-test updates planned through February 2019 that will add more cars, tracks, and VR support. The final version of Assetto Corsa Competizione is slated to launch for PC only later in the first quarter of next year for $44.99 (approximately 34.4 GBP), but Steam members can purchase the title right now for $24.99 (19.1 GBP), which will include all the beta updates as well as the final release when it’s available.

Source: Kunos Simulazioni, 505 Games

Gallery: Assetto Corsa Competizione Sim Racer Beta Test

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POPULAR RACING SIM ASSETTO CORSA COMPETIZIONE DRIFTS INTO EARLY ACCESS SPINNING OUT AN INCREDIBLE LOW-PRICE INVESTMENT PROGRAM

 

The Official Game of the Blancpain GT Series Rewards Early Access Players with Loads of Monthly Free Content Leading into Launch

 

Calabasas, California – September 12, 2018 –  Assetto Corsa Competizione, the official game of the Blancpain GT Series, developed by KUNOS Simulazioni and published by 505 Games, is now available on Steam Early Access. Available for a limited-time low price of $24.99 USD, Assetto Corsa Competizione offers an incredible ‘buy-now, save-later’ incentive to players, with new monthly free content released to buyers leading toward full launch in Q1 2019.

 

After the groundbreaking worldwide success of Assetto Corsa, which redefined the standards of the Sim racing genre, the Italian development team KUNOS Simulazioni is ready to deliver to its amazing community the first Early Access version of their latest game.

Assetto Corsa Competizione is born from KUNOS Simulazioni’s long-term experience, and it takes full advantage of Unreal Engine 4, ensuring photorealistic weather conditions and graphics, night races, motion capture animations, reaching a new standard in terms of driving realism and immersion, thanks to its further improved aerodynamic models.

The immersive sim game will allow players to experience the real atmosphere of the FIA GT3 homologated championship, competing with official drivers, teams, cars and circuits, reproduced in-game with the highest level of accuracy ever achieved. Sprint, Endurance and Spa 24 Hours races will come to life with an incredible level of realism, in both single and multiplayer modes.

Players opting in at the low early access price will receive a series of free monthly game updates, delivering new cars, tracks, features and gameplay enhancements to players as the game progresses towards official launch in Q1 2019. The early access price on Steam will periodically increase as new features and game enhancements are added with each update. The final Assetto Corsa Competizione game will feature all cars and tracks of the ongoing Blancpain GT Season and will also introduce career and championship modes, progressively providing early access players with a complete game for a fraction of the launch price.

The early access content roadmap was unveiled by the developer and is also available on the official game website:

  • September 2018:
    • New Car: Lambourghini Huracan GT3
    • New Track: Nurburgring Grand Prix
    • New Features: Special Evenets, Hotlap and Quick Races
  • October 2018:
    • New Car: Bently Continental GT3
    • New Track: Misano World Circuit
    • New Features: Super Pole, Virtual Reality Support and Basic Pit-Stops
  • November 2018:
    • New Car: BMW M6 GT3
    • New Track: Circuit de Paul Ricard
    • New Features: Endurance 3/6h, Basic Multiplayer and Full Pit-Stop
  • December 2018:
    • New Car: Ferrari 488 GT3’
    • New Track: Hungaroing
    • New Features: Spectator Mode Introduced
  • January 2019:
    • New Car: Emil Frey Jaguar G3
    • New Track: Zolder
    • New Features: Enhanced Multiplayer Launches
  • February 2019:
    • New Car: Honda Acura NSX GT3
    • New Track: Monza Eni Circuit
    • New Features: Live Special Events
  • TBD Q1 2019: All the Officially Licensed 2018 and 2019** Blancpain GT Series cars, teams and circuits, career mode, championship mode, single player and multiplayer, complete rating and matchmaking systems

 

“Behind Assetto Corsa’s success there is also the contribution given by the community, which with its suggestions and constructive criticism has allowed us to refine both the product and the simulation experience", commented Marco Massarutto, Brand & Product Manager and co-founder of KUNOS Simulazioni. "Thanks to the Steam Early Access program we can further strengthen this synergy with our fans: offering them the opportunity to actively participate in the Assetto Corsa Competizione testing. In this way we will not only optimize the game itself, but also work on its functionalities in order to arrive at the launch of final version exploiting in the best way all potentialities that our driving simulation will offer. We consider precious the support of our community and we intend to reward it concretely ".

Racing enthusiasts and players in Germany can get their hands-on Assetto Corsa Competizione at Nürburgring this weekend (September 14 – 16, 2018) for the next round of the Blancpain Championship and at the Sim Racing Expo 2018 with Fanatec, a leading provider of gaming steering wheels, pedals and peripherals specifically designed for sim racers.

For additional information and latest details about Assetto Corsa Competizione, check the official Assetto Corsa website, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

 

STEAM EARLY ACCESS PROGRAM


On behalf of KUNOS Simulazioni’s team I want to personally thank you for the interest shown so far
for Assetto Corsa Competizione, product of two years of development and of the experience made
in over 15 years in the professional automotive simulation field.


With “Competizione”, our Studio confirms its simulative approach to the racing game genre, already
globally appreciated in our previous title “Assetto Corsa” - which reached over 2,5 million copies
sold – but we have also been working, taking advantage of valuable feedback from the community,
towards granting more accessibility, thanks to a totally revamped UI, a more advanced support for
the game’s peripherals, visual enhancements and new multiplayer functionalities that will allow
Assetto Corsa Competizione to deal with the latest and most advanced innovations in the field of
virtual racing.


The currently available version is a pre-beta build that has the main objective of offering a small
taste of the game’s potential and some of its features, with particular attention to the graphics, the
audio and the general car handling, which have all been deeply renovated and improved.


For a more detailed and full product evaluation it is advised to wait for the complete game: however,
we still hope that this first version will satisfy your curiosity, as well as that of those who will buy it.
In this regard, we wish to highlight the effort made by our studio and our publisher, 505 Games, to
offer to the public a highly affordable purchase price and an innovative campaign, which takes into
account the valuable support that the community of players has given to Assetto Corsa to this day.
In this PDF you can also take a look at the early access roadmap that shows the game’s build release
program, with its main contents and more.



Below we have answered the most common questions you may have about this production and
about the "Early Access" program.


I wish you a good reading, and above all, have fun with Assetto Corsa Competizione!
Cordially,
Marco Massarutto
Brand, Product Manager 6 Co-Founder
KUNOS Simulazioni


FAQs
What is Assetto Corsa Competizione?
Assetto Corsa Competizione is the all-new racing simulator developed by KUNOS Simulazioni and the
official game of the Blancpain GT Series Championship (www.blancpain-gt-series.com )
Is it an add-on or an evolution of the previous “Assetto Corsa” title?


Absolutely not! We are developing AC Competizione from scratch, to confirm our objective of delivering
the ultimate driving simulation. Compared to our previous game, it features a totally new and advanced
graphics engine (based on Unreal Engine 4 technology) and completely renewed physics and audio
systems, in order to offer a more refined driving experience and a more immersive and evolved gameplay


When will Assetto Corsa be released on Steam Early Access?
On September 12th, from that date at 6PM CEST, the game can will be available at this link: https://store.-
steampowered.com/app/805550/Assetto_Corsa_Competizione/


What is the Steam Early Access program about?
It’s the opportunity for a videogame developer to make a game available in advance, ahead of its final release,
giving the gamers the opportunity to play a version with limited content and functionalities, granting
a more accessible price. This allow the developer to take advantage of the beta period and users’
feedback to optimize, refine and enhance the features of the game, before its final release on the market,
granting to early adopters the access to the complete product without having to pay any additional supplement.


How much does the Assetto Corsa Competizione cost?
We thought about an innovative solution which will reward all of those who will decide to buy the game as
soon as it’s available in Early Access: at Early Access launch on September 12th the game will be available
at an incredible price of € 24.99 and it will grant access to all contents of the final version, as soon as this
will be available, without any further price supplement. The later you decide to buy the game, the higher
the price, which for the final version will be € 44.99. Therefore, those who buy the game at Early Access
launch will pay almost half of its final price and will have access to the 2019 season update and all its contents,
as those who decide to wait for the full version at full price.


When the full version (1.0) is scheduled to launch?
The final game launch is planned within the Q1 2019, on the eve of the Blancpain GT Series Championship.

Which contents will be included in the Early Access version?
Starting from September 12th, a series of game updates will be delivered on a monthly basis, introducing
new cars and tracks, covering 60% of the total content of the final version (1.0). The endurance races, the
driver’s rating system, the multiplayer mode will be progressively introduced. The career & championship
modes and the rest of the circuits and cars will be available in the full version of the game.


Which are the main differences compared with Assetto Corsa “1”?
Assetto Corsa Competizione is not an Assetto Corsa “1” evolution but a totally new game. Just to summarize
most evident aspects:


•Graphics: Assetto Corsa Competizione exploits the Unreal Engine 4, a graphic (and not only) engine
that allows development studios with limited budgets to produce a Triple A production visual impact.
Compared with Assetto Corsa differences are many, and the most obvious are without any doubt those
related to night races and variable weather conditions, elements not included in the previous title.
•Physics: The chance to concentrate our focus on on a specific typology of cars and rules has allowed
to raise even more the accuracy of the physical model of the suspensions, tires, aerodynamics, to mention
the most important ones. This has made driving these cars more effective and intuitive than ever
before, making the cars easier to handle. Differently of what you might think, more the simulation is
closer to reality, the easier it is to understand the car's reactions and act accordingly. Direct support of
the Blancpain GT Series team and drivers has enabled the development team to further improve the
realism and behavior of the cars.
•Sound: The approach to the car engine reproduction and all the sound information that allows a player
to "dive" into the cockpit has changed, to ensure a more faithful sound, with particular attention to all
the "secondary" effects that make racing cars unique.
•Driving assists: The automatic transmission, the ideal trajectory, the stability control and the assist for
driving through the gamepad have been redesigned to guarantee a more progressive and linear learning
curve for the less expert players, without sacrificing the realism and the effectiveness of the
driving model.
•Multiplayer: As per our community request, Assetto Corsa Competizione includes an advanced rating
system that not only allows drivers to analyze their performance, but thanks to a "matchmaking"
system, allows to find drivers with similar performance and "reputation" in order to guarantee compelling,
stable online competitions with a well-balanced level of professionalism, so to reward the most
virtuous players and avoid those race situations due to incorrect behavior that can be particularly
frustrating.
•Career: Assetto Corsa Competizione is the official game of the Blancpain GT Series, so changes on this
aspect of the game will be huge. We will release more information about it later in 2019.
•Championship: The Blancpain GT Series Championship will be entirely playable through a dedicated
game mode that will take into account the Official Calendar and Rules of the Blancpain GT Series.


What is the Rating System?
It is a system, implemented for the first time in Assetto Corsa Competizione, which allows the game to
observe numerous parameters while the player is driving: from the use of the steering wheel and pedals,
to the way he brakes, to his driving lines, to the " consistency” amongst different laps up to the behavior
in the race during overtaking maneuvers. This system will not only help the Assetto Corsa Competizione
players improve their lap times, but it will be used to evaluate the player's online behavior and implement
appropriate matchmaking.


Do you plan to release the game on console as well?
A possible console release will be taken into consideration once the PC version is completed.


Will Assetto Corsa Competizione support VR technology?
It will, compatibly with the features supported by Unreal Engine 4


Did the real drivers work with you on the production of the game? How?
When we unveiled the game at the Paul Ricard circuit press conference last winter, we were surprised to
see a lot of enthusiasm from the drivers: when you know that your car, your colors, your performances
will be reproduced in a video game that will come in the homes of many fans, you want every detail to be
reproduced to the best, and above all that your car is the same as the real one, because in this way the
"game" becomes a powerful tool for training during winter breaks or between a race and the other one.
During the 2018 season we put the simulators available to the drivers, taking note of their suggestions
and feedback, and this has contributed a lot to create an even more accurate simulation than our
previous productions.


Will ACC support e-Sports?
We’re currently investigating how to best support e-Sports events through in-game features and functionalities.


Are future DLC planned?
Assetto Corsa Competizione will include both the 2018 and the 2019 seasons of the Blancpain GT Series
Championship. Any possible expansion or DLC package will be considered only after the release of the
game.

Will the game feature car damage? If so, how?
Assetto Corsa Competizione will reproduce the mechanical and aesthetic damages due to impacts, collisions
or excessive stress on the curbs, off-tracks, etc., as well as it will be possible to puncture or ruin the
tires. Obviously damage to cars and tires can be deactivated.


Is a steering wheel required to play with Assetto Corsa Competizione?
The use of a steering wheel is ideal for a driving game as a cloche is for a flight game. However, Assetto
Corsa Competizione is also playable through the keyboard and gamepad, and for this last solution we
worked hard listening to the suggestions of the players to ensure greater maneuverability of the controller.

INSTALLATION HINTS


This version of the game allows you to drive in the following ways:
• Practice
A free practice session, where the player can get comfortable with the car, experiment with changes to the
setup, different weather conditions and learn how to manage the tires, thanks to a complete temperatures
HUD, progressive grip of the asphalt, correct use of the brakes according to the optimal operating temperatures.
• Hotlap
The classic "fast lap" mode, which guarantees optimal temperatures of tyres and brakes, the perfect rubberizing
of the track and mechanical and temperature conditions that are reset at every lap. The ideal to test
yourself on the dry lap without worries.
• Hotstint
A novelty of Assetto Corsa Competizione: in motorist jargon, a stint is the fraction of a race in which a driver
starts from the pit and runs on the track until the time to return for refueling. It goes without saying that the
goal of a stint is not so much the speed on the dry lap, but the consistency and speed lap by lap, driving so
as not to tire the tyres too much. In this mode there are no opponents, to allow the driver to concentrate on
the consistency of performance, and on his ability to keep the tires until the end of the stint.
• Quick Race
This mode allows you to experience the excitement of a race on the track without having to make the qualifications,
but simply choose the strength of the opponents and the starting position.
• Online Special Events
Another news is the Online Special Events, which allow the player to compete in the online rankings, with the
same cars and conditions with the times and scores scored by other players. These events will be constantly
updated in order to guarantee over time new and updated challenges, to which everyone can access
and compete with opponents of equal skill.


Assetto Corsa Competizione - EARLY ACCESS
At the address https://www.assettocorsa.net/competizione/roadmap/ you can find the complete roadmap
of updates and releases that will lead to version 1.0 of the game, whose launch is scheduled for Q1 2019.
If you use a gamepad, it is recommended to use the "auto steer" function (enabled by default) and the stability
control, which guarantee an enjoyable driving experience.
In the "Realism" menu you can enable a variety of functions that regulate Race Competitiveness to easier
levels of difficulty (ideal line, automatic transmission, stability control) and, alternatively, to a higher level of
difficulty.


Minimum Requirements


• Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 or AMD FX-8120
• GPU: GeForce GTX 460 2GB, Radeon HD 7770
• RAM: 4 GB
• OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Recommended Requirements
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
• GPU: GeForce GTX 1070 8GB, Radeon RX 580 8GB
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit