What can I say? I just can't go back to any other sim lol.

So while waiting around for Road America, I thought tonight, "let's re-install Assetto Corsa".. I know I have lots of tracks, a really good Road America track.. lots of cool car/track mods.
So... I install from Steam, run, set it up..get the game going.. some things you have to do but not bad..
then install CSP.. takes a small amount of time, but some time going through all the settings.
version 1.6.x doesn't work.. ok try the next one.., and the next one.. what I'm changing I have no idea.
Some tracks don't work.. create a line.. or whatever it says.
Click many boxes which have no explanation ..I guess they affect the patch. What the heck is a Shader patch and why is an entire program dedicated to that? oops.. many more settings.. boxes all over the place to check.. yaaaayy. I'll just guess.
launch , black sky.
go back try different settings, different versions of patches..
Oops install SOL.. nice I'll have evening weather.
Messages about some LOD not fitting I have no frickn idea
Try more boxes, uncheck others.. many graphic settings with weird sentences to explain what they do but they make no sense..
Finally, about 3 hours later, I get some combination to work.. fire up a GT3 car , race..
try to figure out the timing/weather thing.. get into my car,
get on the track.. seems ok, start driving..
waaaay to much understeer..
expecting AI to behave like I was used to in AMS2..
..uhm nope.. slow down on the track (just because).. boom!.. AI doesn't bother to go around..
Then I try Monaco.. well, one of many free mods of Monaco.. no matter which car series I pick or which track version I pick.. crash, AI piles up at the exit of the pits.
Oh you have to make this change and that change and this track doesn't work with that car etc..
etc..
etc..
But.. I can drive my Jeep Wrangler up Transfagarasan, so there's that ...
Anyway...almost 5 hours into it, I un-install AC.

Then..
I open up AMS2... it just works out of the box.. load up a multi-class GTE/GT2/DPi race.. go to Monaco
Track is beautiful
Car feels wonderful.. it FEELS like it should when going around corners
Sounds are incredible.
Nothing extra to install or change..
No mysterious boxes to check,
Just get in and drive...
AI drives the Monaco circuit.. all cars actually make it lap after lap without ramming.. they LOOK real.
If I stop on the track.. they slow down, pass me.. lol.
The sun begins to set.. simply elegant..

What can I say?
I'm stuck with you, AMS2!

 

I for myself grew fond of Forza Horizon 5 while waiting for the Nissan and Aston Martin. FH5 is the only Sim that contains all the cars I once owned or drove regularly. Road tuned only they come damned close to the real thing, including tyre pressure management and engine stress. FH5 is extremely underrated for what it has under the hood.

 

Even when I know how to make AC playable I can't be bothered to reinstall it. All there is to do is hotlap or cruise around random maps with random mod cars, and the FFB is so poor compared to AMS2 it just doesn't give me any joy to drive any of the cars.

Same with PC2, lots of fun cars but the physics are just so off that it's useless trying to find the gems under the pile of manure.

I tried rF2 after the UI update and it certainly loads faster and is easier to get into sessions, but the graphics are even more dated by comparison and the physics and FFB are still inconsistent and no better than AMS1 in my estimation.

R3E is fine but lacks that exciting feel of rubber sliding on tarmac and fighting to keep the car from over-rotating, it's all grip or no grip and screeching tyres, with nothing in between. Good for GT3 open lobbies, not particularly exciting for anything else.

 

Devil's advocate: everything you described is down to poor quality mods of your own doing. Not representative of AC as a whole.

Sure the AI isn't as 'advanced' as AMS2's and it's possible to overtake half the grid before turn 1, but on the other hand the AI in AC uses the player's physics which means you get a more consistent experience on all temperatures/track conditions, which is still a weak spot in AMS2 with AIs randomly slowing down in track sections where they really shouldn't or can accelerate out of/take corners faster than physically possible.

I once thought AMS2 was my definitive replacement for AC as well, but once the honeymoon period wore of I started noticing the rust under AMS2's paint. AMS2 has the potential to replace AC as my sandbox sim, but it will require quite a bit more polish before it can get to that part. Literally half the cars have placeholder driver models and missing/broken shifting animations for instance and a lot of the interior instrumentation doesn't work despite being modeled. I drive exclusively in VR and those are features that really break the driving immersion. Also some cars are downright uncomfortable to drive in VR due to excessive bounciness (known issue).

For now I simply drive both, some cars drive better in AC, some cars drive better in AMS2. I'm sure AMS2 will keep improving over time. More choice the better.

 

I more or less agree with you about all the unfinished irritating issues/bugs in AMS2.
And there is some of them I believe Reiza will never get rid of.
My main irritation at the moment is the laughtable amateurish file system used for the car setups.
Just wait until you have a lot of custom setups saved.
When I load/save a setup for my favorite car it takes about 30-45sec before it is completed.
The reason is that the amateur who have designed the file system has decided that ALL (ALL!) files for the used car shall be renamed before the single file used can be loaded/saved.

And eventhough I to the contrary of you love the socalled bounciness as you call it because I consider it much more realistic (and wild ) compared against ALL other sims very smoothed out driving experience - then I agree that there is a lot of the cars in AMS2 which driving feeling has no resemplance to any RL cars.

But eventhough I try to manage my irritation hanging on to see what happens with this Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hide sim - then I have resently used the silly cheap Steam sales of The Ultimate Edition of AC.
9.06$.
I first thought it was a typo.

You can find my very positive start of my AC journey here (last postings):
Excellent Deals In Lunar Sale & Support a Charity

ByTheWay: Im not driving in VR so the bounciness could (maybe IS) too much in VR.

 

AC's longevity is quite remarkable but, after recently having to reformat / reinstall everything from scratch, I opted to just leave AC in vanilla form. Keeping up with all the mod's, updating CM and related add-ons has grown really old.

I've also removed many of the mod's I had for RFactor2 (Keeping quality track-mods only). I still enjoy the handling and ffb but, hope for better progress with long-standing core issues.

RaceRoom, I haven't re-installed. I enjoy the audio immensely but, the ffb and motion is just too basic.

I think AMS2 can fill a void and on some level, set a new standard in certain aspects, all while keeping things very efficient for my limited playtime.

 

Conserning AC then beside my sexy new sim fiance the Lotus 98T I tried to download 2 mods.
1. Circuit de La Sarthe1.1
2. 1989 Sauber Mercedes C9 Sprint v1.0

Installing tracks/cars is just as easy as downloading/install an AMS2 update via Steam.
I just had to copy the downloaded folder Circuit de La Sarthe into ACs Content\tracks folder.
Thats all.
Now I have this LeMans version useable in game - looking just as good as tracks in AMS2.

But when I tried the same with the downloaded folder holding Sauber Mercedes C9 Sprint no extra C9 was to be seen inside the game.
I tried to find description of such an issue in AC but the only thing found was that if the car dont show up it was probably because the mod was too old to be compatible with the final AC version.
And when I checked the C9 Sprint mod was from 2016.

ByTheWay: I have to say that I was extremely surpriced when I saw all the free new tracks and cars I can download for AC.
And to use this possibility Its my intention to download James Deans Porsche 550 and then download some of the lovely common road "tracks" - to be able to re-drive the same route as Deans final journey from Los Angeles to Salinas.
Hehe maybe I should even buy some cigarettes to come closer simulating the original journey.

 

I can highly recommend using Content Manager in that case. Makes (un)installing mods a breeze (literally drag&drop), allows easy 1 click install of CSP which enables day&night and allows custom grids. The free version should already offer more than enough functionality.

Also the Sauber C9 is original content for AC, part of the Dream Pack 1 DLC, so you don't need a mod for that one and if you're looking for a good Le Mans version, don't look further than the Reboot version: Reboot Team tracks – Trained Monkey Modding

There's also a Spa 1966 rip from the rF2 track for AC. Can recommend that with any of the old '50's F1 cars. Can't wait for AMS2's version of Spa so I can take all the Vintage Formulas out there in VR

 

Thanks for responding - appreciated /:ThumbsUp
Eventhough I dont consider myself as a tinhat guy Im allways VERY hessitant to dwnl/install apps I dont really need.
If I can install/uninstall something without extra 3rd party tools I will allways prefer that.
And eventhough Im a novice conserning AC then copying a folder in or deleting a folder is much more transparent for me than starting some manager up without exactly knowing what it does.
And conserning the mentioned C9 Sprint it wasnt hard to just delete the folder when the car didnt show up.

ByTheWay: Thank you for your link - and I have allready dwnl the Chicago City track.
But did also try dwnl the fictional Paris track because I can remember a lot of good hours lapping Paris in the GTP mod for NR2003.
But the problem with this dwnl is that the site for this track want you both to accept a lot of nasty cookies and upon that to register and answer a lot of goofy questions. So let them keep the track

 

@RDG I just installed the LeMans you recommended sx_lemans_v2.1.
I will compare it with the my Circuit de La Sarthe1.1.
Your version is extremely HUGE so I hope there is something extra

And conserning extra then I can see it include a folder called Extras which again hold 3 zip files.
Do the AC when I open the track unpack these zips itself?
Or do I have to help by doing it manually ?

 

From the readme:
-unpack "_extras\cones_moveable.zip" for 1.5GB more RAM usage and movable cones+apex-markers (backup is: "_extras\cones_unmovable.zip")

So you don't need them, unless you want movable cones and apex markers

 

Thank you. I should have checked it out myself
But I have to say that eventhough I have copied "your" LeMans in I have only tried the LaSarthe 1.1 I talked about.
And I have to say it is looking extremely good - and even better both the temps and the useage of my CPU & GPU are so extremely low that I have never seen so low values.
The max GPU useage is 44% and the CPU is 74% and I have more or less maxed settings out inside AC.
But I guess its a combination of an older games low taxation of HW + the fps cap of 60 I have enabled.
But the game looks really good and sharp

ByTheWay: I need to brag a bit because on this LaSarthe/LeMans I have just used some time on hotlapping in the terrific L98T and at the moment my personal WR is 3:33.150.
Hehe I feel like Senna or maybe even Mansell

 

I hear what so.e of you guys are saying about AC bit it is still the most popular what we call a sim according to steam figures.
I can't handle playing it anymore, I never fully got on with it anyhow.

rF2 I feel is just a train wreck. I had the most hours of any Sim on that until AMS2 came along. I think because I loved rf1 I considered rf2 to be the spiritual successor but let's be honest, apart from a bit of sugar sprinkled over the top of it it has not progressed a lot over the years and still looks blah. Now they are only going to release updates 4 times a year it is even more unattractive to me; if that is possible. I had a race the other night, first time in maybe 6 months and I could not wait for it to finish so I could get out of there. I really can't see what all the diehards there find so appealing about it now.

RR I previously put a lot of hours into but have found the tracks to be too billiard table smooth and the graphics to be tired. In car cockpit gfx are more than a decade behind nowadays, it does have a lot going for it though. I reckon if they update the gfx engine to be dx11 or 12 and put the time into that side of it it would be way up there with the best as it does so much else right.

PC1 and PC2 I loved when they first came out but grew tired and stale of them very quickly and the lack of fixing glaring issues, they felt unfinished to me.
So that just leaves AMS2 and ACC. I it tend to race in ACC when I feel I need a break from AMS2. I have the most hours on AMS2 out of all Sims I have played.
Still a long way to go but getting better and better every update.

 

I just spent most of my digital racing time over the last couple of days on the Goodwood Hillclimb mod in AC.
To me the experience simply breathes motorsports culture, which is odd since I've never been a car enthusiast myself.

As much as I want to, I don't get that feeling in AMS2; it's not awful by any stretch of the imagination, but every time I do some laps on Hockenheim Classic in a period appropriate car I switch over to AMS1 after a short while because to me it just feels, sounds and looks better than its successor.

 

Good point.
Thinking about it then maybe thats the main reason I got so entusiastic after I for the first time started AC up.
Its difficult to define what you call the feeling of "motorsports culture" but for moi who is new to the AC experience it was/is the completely wild behaviour of the F98T combined with the fantastic sexy sound when its sledgehammer turbo boost cuts in.

ByTheWay: As said above I will still be following AMS2 to check out if this sim some time in the future will be able to give me the same feeling of "being there".

 

Have you tried the Porsche 917/30 ? Original content in AC. Probably the most powerful racing car ever built and pleeeenty of turbo . Racing that beast in VR is amazing. I hope it will come to AMS2 too at some point.

Best not to take it to a track with too many corners though, I typically use either the Monza '66, Spa '66 (mod) or Le Mans '67.

 

you know there are guides that explain everything you need to set on cm, csp and sol, right?
I never had any problem with ac, like nothing you mentioned ever happened to me even 1 single time.

 

@RDG Thank you for your inside recommendations (LeMans and P917/30) /:ThumbsUp
I promise I will try it - but..
Hehe but now I have a luxury problem because after reading the latest AMS2 upd notes I HAVE to use time checking the new Cart cars out and Road America.
If I did believe in god I would (kindly) ask him maybe upd the hours of days to 25-26 hours

 

@SuperMonaco_GP
Good to know

 

It's a good time to be a simracer, had an evening to myself last night, made myself a pasta, when I finished eating the AMS2 patch had launched so did some laps around Road America in AMS2 in the MP4-1C, read the news about Daytona coming to rF2 so did a short race on Le Mans in rF2 and finished in ACC where I'm doing a 24h where I do 1 stint per day (and save in the meantime).

These are good times to be a simracing fan.