Developer KUNOS Simulazioni has released what it is referring to as “the richest content” update so far for its racing sim Assetto Corsa EVO. The update, numbered at 0.4, brings with it new daily racing events that players can partake in through the Daily Racing Portal. The schedule for these races can also be checked out through the game’s website, and players can join a race directly through their web browser.
Along with this, the update has brought in loads of new content in the form of 10 new cars and their different variants, 5 new tracks with multiple layouts, as well as general gameplay refinements to a host of different aspects of the title. These include updates to tyre and drivetrain physics, improved audio, an updated UI and HUD, and improvements to the game’s visuals. For a full list of changes, check out the patch notes below.
Assetto Corsa EVO was released in Early Access on PC back in January this year. For more details about the title, check out our review of its state in launch. Since then, the studio has also confirmed that future updates will bring even more content to the title, including a full-fledged career mode, an open mode, and modding support.
Assetto Corsa EVO Update 0.4 patch notes:
New Cars:
- BMW M8 Competition Coupe (F92)
- BMW M3 CSL (E46)
- Ferrari Daytona SP3
- Ferrari F40 LM
- Ferrari SF-25
- Peugeot 205 T16
- Renault 5 GT Turbo
- Toyota Supra Turbo RZ (MK IV) + tuned variant
- Mini Cooper S (MK VI) + tuned variant
- Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS
New Tracks:
- Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
- Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
- Nordschleife – 3 layouts (including Touristenfahrten)
- Nürburgring GP – 2 layouts
- Oulton Park – 2 layouts
Multiplayer:
- support for chat widget and server commands
- additions and fixes in MP functions (autorestart, BOP, server list filter)
- fixed servers ending up in zombie state after long-term idling
- large number of fixes and additions to support the Daily Racing portal
Graphics:
- carpaint material revision across the board
- improved post-processing
- fix for dash display texture colour space errors
- fix for certain material types
- reduced menu thumbnails memory footprint
- Mazda MX5 Cup visual updates to properly represent ND1 and ND2 variants
- Porsche GT4 Clubsport MR minor visual updates
- Lamborghini Huracán ST EVO2 minor visual updates
- BMW M3 E30 minor visual updates
- added more OEM accessories for the Honda S2000
- updated dash displays for the Audi RS 3 and RS 6 and Lamborghini Huracán STO
- fixed steering wheel visibility in external driving cams
- improved tyre shading: sheen layer that fades off after a couple of corners, improved tyre wear texture
- added support for flexing and vibrating vehicle parts, such as wings, safety nets – initial implementation on racing cars
- added moving damaged parts on all content
- added visual backfires
- added unique driver assets for F1 cars, for all liveries
Audio:
- improved throttle timing and auto cutoff to enhance V-Tec kick effects
- audio: new scraping sounds and raindrop sounds (when the car is stationary)
- improved turbo hiss sound in general
- audio: turbo pitch is now related to boost and rpm
- developed new drivetrain model to improve the feeling of the simulation of the transmission wobbling
- improved management of backfires
- improved generic turbo hiss sounds, removed high pitched sounds
- new transmission soundsets management, depending on the car drivetrain scheme
- Honda NSX: improved V-Tec crossover sound with pure samples
- Honda S2000: improved quality of engine interior sound samples and new engine exterior sounds
Physics:
- developed new tire damping method increasing compliance and drivability in all situations and all cars, but race cars in particular
- adjusted tire inertia to better match each car’s individual tire dimensions helping with more realistic tire lockups and less drastic loss of traction
- improved tire slip ratio calculation leading to more natural behavior particularly on corner exits in locked differential scenarios
- adjusted grip levels for all tires: Higher baseline grip, yet less combined grip leading to more natural, controllable and rewarding car behavior
- adjusted thermal behavior for tires alongside adjusted rolling resistance
- adjusted tyre rolling resistance to achieve more realistic top speeds
- implemented new drive train wobble method respecting non linear stiffness
- adjusted tire wear across all compounds (generally, the more performance oriented a tire is, the faster tire wear will noticably impact laptime)
- sanitized and unified tire and controller library, solving potential inconsistencies in tire model across cars
- improved consistency in available compound range for early-modern cars: Removed pseudo-vintage tyres for 90s-00s models, they are now fitted with a range of modern tyres suiting their performance, vintage reserved for crossply tyres
- improved hybrid powertrains
- implemented and unified KERS/ERS behaviour
- improved Dual Clutch Transmission behavior to be more seamless
- implemented electronic brake bias (dubbed as EBB or Brake Migration)
- revision of battery features and data entry specifications
- improved physics model for cars with solid axles
- made several car systems available for in-cockpit adjustment (among others: turbo, dampers, differentials)
- Ferrari 296 GTB: numerous fixes and adjustments to suspension, drivetrain, downforce, airbrake and dedicated performance modes with more realistic ERS deployment
- implemented soft lock feature for steering wheels
- created multiple physics events to allow for more nuanced car audio
- fixed a potential crash scenario caused by collisions
- various steer ratio adjustments on a number of existing car content
- created more true-to-life vintage compound for the Alfa GTA Sprint
- various adjustments to engines, turbos, drag and downforce across cars to better match real life acceleration, top and corner speeds
- various adjustments and fixes to car default setups and differentials
- fixed F2004 rear wing not responding to changes in setup and modified setup limits for the car
- added stiffer springs for the Porsche Cayman GT4 CS MR and Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
- adjusted torque curve for the Porsche Cayman GT4 CS MR
- fixed Audi RS 6 bump stops to prevent tyre hitting and clipping through the bodywork
- fixed Dallara louvers (front fender air vents) downforce impact
- corrected Mazda MX5 Cup weight and differential
- corrected differential of the Caterham Academy
- improved various cars’ rpm limiters to behave more realistically
- corrected gear ratios for the Ferrari 296 GTB
- corrected gear ratios for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and 1LE variant
- corrected Mazda MX5 Cup Sadev sequential gear ratios
- corrected Alpine A110 and VW Golf GTI Clubsport gear ratios
- updated operating aero and ride height ranges on the BMW M4 GT3 Evo and enabled bump stop adjustments
- updated operating aero and ride height ranges on Lamborghini ST EVO II
- updated BMW M2 CS Racing setup limits according to BMW specifications, updated spring ratios
- updated and unified all car names in setup folder
- car colliders can now be angled when necessary to represent built-in rake of cars
- reduced clutch sensitivity
- fixed unwanted vibration on torque vectoring differentials
- sanitized and updated TC & ABS behaviour on all cars: Fixed engine-crippling behaviour of earlier iterations of traction control, so higher levels might work better on some cars, and lower levels allow for more playful driving. The new Porsche Cayman GT4 RS is a good showcase.
- Likewise ABS is not as efficient as before, more modulation might be required.
- revised electronic brake controllers
- added automatic brake differential to the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS and Alpine A110
- fixed BB adjustments only taking effect after every 5th click
- fixed setup limit units missing from certain items
- improved AWD clutches on Audi RS 3 Sportback in Performance Modes 1 and 2 (Torque Rear)
Gameplay:
- some new implementations and fixes on penalty manager
- moved Imola finish line further back per GTWC sessions
- tweaked logic for automatic grid population -> now adds up to 2+2 car models from below and above the selected car’s PI instead
- large update to replay code, this will probably break compatibility with older replays but files should now take up significantly less space
- fixed electronics states in the replay
- selected tyre compounds now correctly show up in the replay
- AI: fixes to opponents swinging around wildly, potentially removing a few accident types
- AI: better braking-behind cars approximation
- AI cars should no longer get confused by pitlane or offtrack cars
- new autoshifter logic
- academy events rebalanced based on new laptimes
- fix for occasional hang/crash in the car selection menu caused by the thumbnail texture blocking the game thread
- replay now shows optional animation states (e.g. sunroofs)
- halo visibility toggle added in view settings
- added DRS zones on F1 tracks
- fixed forced pitstop not applying if you teleport before the pit exit line after a race start
- fixed reset position for various physics functions (lap estimates, ERS limits etc) on a number of tracks
- fixed a potential crash caused by out of bounds tyre compound indices
- updated AI data for the Alfa GTA, Mini and Abarth
- reworked track limit safezones
- AI cars no longer get warnings and penalties
- changing Audio FFB effects now takes effect inside the session
- new autogear logic (both player shift assist and AI upshift triggers)
- inputs for adjusting mirror pitch and yaw now functional
- race cars will now have both front and rear compounds changing at the same time via setup
UI:
- implementation of general HUD notifications
- reviewed input filtering for UI widget manipulation
- serverlist – relocated server count, added player count
- reworked client-side leaderboard
- pitlane leaderboard now displays car model name
- new car selection flow for Multiplayer: Now the player can directly click on eligible cars and join without having to visit the car selection menu. The list is flat and includes all relevant “owned”/”favourite” cars on the top marked with a star.
- a certain (large) number of server-defined cars, the old car selection page is used for ease of browsing.
- updated localization
- added missing car localization strings
- implemented track maps on the HUD and pitlane page
- chat widget implementation in Multiplayer
- implemented setup, UI and MFD items to support the new electronics systems
- reworked HUD gear widget to support new electronics systems
- expanded car controls MFD to support new electronics systems, such as ERS, EBB, differentials, dampers
- explicit indication of performance modes on the HUD gear widget with more friendly names
- odometer values for owned cars added in the model selection and SP hub
- added reset button in the manual grid mixer
- all previous cars’ VR mirror offsets revised with the new default cockpit camera positions
- unified setup units for all cars
- fixed certain setup units being defined in groups instead of per item
