KUNOS Simulazioni co-founder and executive manager Marco Massarutto was kind enough to have a conversation about the latest sim racing game Assetto Corsa EVO. Massarutto answered quite a few of our questions about various aspects of the game, including new features like traffic, the Early Access launch, and VR support.
This game has been long in the coming – five years in development. What all can players expect from the title after this long of a wait?
Through the years we analyzed what our community appreciated so much in the Assetto Corsa franchise and where to improve. Definitely, the driving feeling, the authenticity of cars and tracks, and the variety of content are just some of the keys of the success of the franchise, while we recognize that in terms of pure gameplay, there was a good margin for improvements. We worked on any single aspect with the goal to improve both in the areas where AC is considered a benchmark providing a gameplay structure as well that will allow players to enjoy EVO in any aspect: on track, on roads, when they spend time in the garage or at the dealership, and so on.
We developed a brand new engine specifically focused for simracing, improving physics (aerodynamic, tyre model, electronics), visuals, sounds, handling, UI ex, netcode. along with brand new features like dynamic track and weather, a structured driving academy, free roaming, a more structured multiplayer experience, with the goal to provide a great level of immersion when you sit behind the steering wheel.
"We developed a brand new engine specifically focused for simracing"
A lot of players have caught on to this already and are speculating based on what they have seen in the trailers, but will there be courses with traffic in the game as well?
As recently confirmed at ADAC Simracing Expo earlier in October, yes!
Assetto Corsa EVO will introduce for the first time a free-roaming mode to include road driving on traffic.
As you’ve seen in the trailer, we decided to tease this, through a Morgan Super 3-Wheeler: this is a beautiful car to drive but is not maybe the first choice you will pick to face a race… We want players to enjoy every single car to its fullest, whether on the track or on the road, even just to experience the pure “driving pleasure” without giving up anyway on realism and accuracy, which remain the key pillars of our AC franchise, letting EVO express all its potential at 360 degrees, also involving a different kind (and a broader) audience. It is too early to go into details, but it will also be possible to interact with the location in ways related to the life of the “petrol heads”: visiting gas stations, tuning workshops, car rentals and much more. For further info, it will be necessary to wait a while, but we are sure of one thing: fans will not be disappointed
What prompted the decision to launch the game in Early Access?
Because AC EVO is an extremely complex product, based on a different software architecture from the previous ones: so, we bring with us a significant wealth of experience, but not the same technology as 12 (AC1) or 6 (ACC) years ago. Behind titles like Assetto Corsa generally no less than 60-80 people work, at KUNOS there are 35 of us to keep the focus on the kind of experience we want to offer, and the early access program allows us to continue to improve the product and test it in a way that would not otherwise be possible by actively involving our community in the process.
"Assetto Corsa EVO will introduce for the first time a free-roaming mode to include road driving on traffic."
What are the biggest benefits that you have enjoyed with Kunos Simulazioni’s new development engine?
KUNOS has been founded to be a technology provider for racing simulations, therefore working on our own engine is part of our DNA and keeps us even more focused, motivated and satisfied, which is quite beneficial for the health of the dev team, and this can reflect also on the quality of the final product.
The engine supports a 24H full cycle, different lighting, dynamic weather & track conditions, and photorealistic car shading/rendering/materials and more.
Also, a racing simulation like AC asks for a proper support for triple screen and VR and this requires a dedicated approach and specific technology with no workarounds.
Last but not least, EVO has been designed to be supported for years, so we decided to handle the technology behind it, also due to the presence of a game environment that required something unique.
One of the things you are marketing are the courses being brought over into the game with Laserscan. Were any changes made to any of the courses as concessions to playability? Or are they brought over exactly as is, in the spirit of authenticity?
The best way to make a simulation like AC “more playable” is to provide the most faithful track reproduction, including even the smaller details of the real-life counterparts; we are also working to update, with the recent modifications applied in Monza, Spa-Francorchamps and other circuits with the objective to synch them as much as possibile with the real-life counterparts, for the sake of authenticity.
Laserscan data will allow us to ensure the highest accuracy on this aspect. We are doing the best efforts to include circuits from many different Countries in all the continents. We may include a fictional proving ground to let our users enjoying handling testing, but we’ll stay focused on real assets as much as possible.
"Laserscan data will allow us to ensure the highest accuracy on this aspect."
Was VR support a development goal for this project all along? What were the biggest reasons for deciding to support VR with this game?
Racing simulations, as well as flight simulations, is the very best application for VR, because any other game can offer the same level of immersion, especially using a steering wheel, because it’s the perfect match to feel sitting into the cockpit.
We support VR since more than 10 years now, so the compatibility in EVO doesn’t come as a surprise. Taking advantage of our own technology, we don’t have to work around technical limitations due to 3rd party engines. So, fans can expect an even better VR support they got in the first Assetto Corsa, and Competizione.
The original Assetto Corsa eventually saw its way to consoles; do you think there is similar scope for this one to eventually come over to consoles as well?
Console users represent an important part of our audience so there are certainly plans on this sense. However, we are now fully focused on the Steam Early Access release on PC so further plans for the release of the console versions will be discussed at a later stage.
