PC Racing Sims |OT|

marvelharvey · May 14, 2019

TJP said:
rFactor 2 track update:

Zandvoort v1.02

- Tweaked asphalt texture & shaders, structure more visible, less blurry in the distance.
- Pitlane Coloured striping on less blurry when far away.
- Tweaked offroad dust and tiresmoke coming from the car, should look more natural, bit less pixelated.
- Collision outerwall altered slightly, so you can drive around the full support sandroad, but only can enter the track from the pitlane.
- Smoothed braking zone (washboard effect) before Tarzanconer.
- Reworked grass/dirt/curbstone masking, for better of connection of different textures.
- Added 2nd skidmark layer for a more lively road appearance.
- Tweaked skidmark spec and normals, rubber shines more than the track at low light angles.
- Many (too) white objects lowered tone a bit, so less overexposure at low sun positions.
- Many objects tone changed slightly for better appearance.
- Tirewall texturing redone.
- Start-finish bridge, better bump/spec maps, added cube shader.
- RedBull-arch at pitlane entry, 3d model redone, better texture and normal/spec maps.
- Racecontrol-tower texturing added better bump/spec maps.
- Pitlane building texture and shader upgrades, fixed to bright reflections of cubemaps in windows.
- Crowds, added a lot more and different amounts for all track states and layouts.
- Added pit entrance/exit/keep out signs.
- Changed max pit speed to 60km.
- Paddock and infield have more diverse objects and better positioned.
- Added rF2 flags last part of main straight.
- Added new Paddock Club building at inside Tarzan corner.
- Tarzan exit ribbed-curb now real 3D, texturing upgraded.
- Trackside banners better bump/spec maps, added cube shader.
- Added buildings, a whole town of Zandvoort and the Centerparks bungolowpark for more accurate horizon view.
- Reworked trees and treelines at horizon.
- Bigblue crane now only shows up in qualy-race, less bright reflections in window.
- Bricks next to curbsstones have better mappings and normalmap shaders.
- Clubhouse at Scheivlak fixed too bright cubemap, added normalmap shaders.
- Paddock buildings, added cubemap and normalmap shaders.
- Restaurant fixed too bright cubemap, added normalmap shaders.
- Tunnel under mainstraight added banner above.
- Concrete plates above tunnel on straight new texture and shaders.
- Toilets, added normalmap shaders fixed to bright cubemap on windows.
- New disabled people stand next to main grandstand.
- Removable guardrail (splits the layouts) better textured.
- Radar tower now at correct position.
- Optimized objects and lod's for better performance.

All those changes and they forgot to fix the AI not setting lap times in practice and qualifying.

marvelharvey · May 14, 2019

marvelharvey said:
All those changes and they forgot to fix the AI not setting lap times in practice and qualifying.

But, aside from that it's a great looking track now.

DrPenguin · May 14, 2019

Has anyone been driving the new RSS3 F3 car? I'd love to hear some others opinions on it, I'm quite enjoying it.

Branson · May 15, 2019

TJP said:
No thanks :)

rFactor has several stand out mods in an ocean of crap. Point taken though...we are prbably laying into ACC a little too much.

I was joking. There was a period there where that was the case it felt like.

I haven't touched ACC though. Too many bad impressions. I was hoping it would be better as it's more focused of an effort compared to AC on one series.

TJP · May 15, 2019

marvelharvey said:
All those changes and they forgot to fix the AI not setting lap times in practice and qualifying.

What more do you want? It's a free track /s

I did see the issues on the official forums; two steps forward, 3 steps back. Shite happens I guess. I just wish S397 would add people to their testers *hint hint*

Some comments from Marcel: https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...rt-update-released.168493/page-2#post-2971026 and https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...rt-update-released.168493/page-2#post-2971049

And a fix is on the way according to the staff on the official forums.

marvelharvey · May 15, 2019

TJP said:
https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...rt-update-released.168493/page-2#post-2971049

I did wonder if the reason the AI FCY bug never gets fixed is that S397 never encounter it, only ever racing amongst themselves. I guess that post confirms my suspicions.

Nice that they're on it though!

Dijital_Majik · May 16, 2019

DrPenguin said:
Has anyone been driving the new RSS3 F3 car? I'd love to hear some others opinions on it, I'm quite enjoying it.

Yes! It really is very good, I drove it quite a bit the first couple days it came out (then the VRC Bentley Speed 8 came out and took almost all of my seat time!). Challenging on the brakes, but satisfying to get right, and tyre management is key. This and either of the GP2/F2s are RSS' best open wheelers by far. They did a good job to release it for free, it's great advertising for their quality.

On a junior formula related note, someone made a Skippy for AC:

I haven't driven iRacing in about six or seven years, but they've really captured the feel I remember it having there (at least on those older tyre models); that weight transfer, the direct steering feel, the bite if overdone. If I could hold and bounce the upshift off the limiter, I think it'd be almost perfect. It's really rather impressive considering this is the maker's first mod (don't let that put you off, it's very well done), I've been having lots of fun with this!

Branson · May 16, 2019

Dijital_Majik said:
Yes! It really is very good, I drove it quite a bit the first couple days it came out (then the VRC Bentley Speed 8 came out and took almost all of my seat time!). Challenging on the brakes, but satisfying to get right, and tyre management is key. This and either of the GP2/F2s are RSS' best open wheelers by far. They did a good job to release it for free, it's great advertising for their quality.

On a junior formula related note, someone made a Skippy for AC:

I haven't driven iRacing in about six or seven years, but they've really captured the feel I remember it having there (at least on those older tyre models); that weight transfer, the direct steering feel, the bite if overdone. If I could hold and bounce the upshift off the limiter, I think it'd be almost perfect. It's really rather impressive considering this is the maker's first mod (don't let that put you off, it's very well done), I've been having lots of fun with this!

iRacing has changed quite a bit in that time if you haven't kept up.

Dijital_Majik · May 16, 2019

Branson said:
iRacing has changed quite a bit in that time if you haven't kept up.

Oh I don't doubt that! Would be good to hear the thoughts of someone who drives the current Skippy.

TJP · May 16, 2019

rF2 video:

Branson · May 16, 2019

Dijital_Majik said:
Oh I don't doubt that! Would be good to hear the thoughts of someone who drives the current Skippy.

It actually has the new tire model on it right now but I haven't drove it yet.

DrPenguin · May 17, 2019

Dijital_Majik You're right about tyre management. It's a fun to car hotlap, but it's extremely rewarding to race with. I love most of the RSS cars but I haven't bonded with either of the F2/GP2 cars very much. I find that both, but especially the F2 version to be very vague at the front and unpredictible at the rear. I've played with various setups and driving styles but just haven't meshed yet. I'm sure it'll come with time as both cars are very well regarded in the community.

On the topic of the Skippy, I did a lot of development driving for Daniel before release and I must say it was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. It's exciting to finally have the Skippy in AC and see people enjoying it. I'm looking forward to working with him on his next project once the Skippy is fully finished.

Mascot · May 18, 2019

DrPenguin said:
Dijital_Majik You're right about tyre management. It's a fun to car hotlap, but it's extremely rewarding to race with. I love most of the RSS cars but I haven't bonded with either of the F2/GP2 cars very much. I find that both, but especially the F2 version to be very vague at the front and unpredictible at the rear. I've played with various setups and driving styles but just haven't meshed yet. I'm sure it'll come with time as both cars are very well regarded in the community.

On the topic of the Skippy, I did a lot of development driving for Daniel before release and I must say it was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. It's exciting to finally have the Skippy in AC and see people enjoying it. I'm looking forward to working with him on his next project once the Skippy is fully finished.

The Skippy is tons of fun, and I'm not an open-wheeler fan in general.

Dijital_Majik · May 19, 2019

DrPenguin said:
On the topic of the Skippy, I did a lot of development driving for Daniel before release and I must say it was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. It's exciting to finally have the Skippy in AC and see people enjoying it. I'm looking forward to working with him on his next project once the Skippy is fully finished.

What a coincidence, great job on nailing it! Hopefully you're helping on that Radical SR3 ;)

Mutagenic · May 19, 2019

Ferrari 488 Fixed on Sebring has been bedlam.

DrPenguin · May 19, 2019

What a coincidence, great job on nailing it! Hopefully you're helping on that Radical SR3 ;

Thanks! The guy who did the physics did great work, and Daniel is a talented, fast learning and eager 3D modeler. I'll be doing development driving on the next car, but I don't think it will be a Radical. It does have SR in it's name though :P

Dave_6 · May 20, 2019

Well my direct drive setup has become a ~$1500 paper weight. I'm hoping it's something simple like a bad USB cable or connection but this sucks. I'm about ready to sell all this shit off.

Mascot · May 20, 2019

Dave_6 said:
Well my direct drive setup has become a ~$1500 paper weight. I'm hoping it's something simple like a bad USB cable or connection but this sucks. I'm about ready to sell all this shit off.

Still under warranty?

Dave_6 · May 20, 2019

Not sure, it might be. It's been over a year since I got it.

Dave_6 · May 20, 2019

Moved the Simucube USB to a different port on my powered hub and the issue seems to be fixed. Crazy that that was causing issues with the hardware and software too.

TJP · May 22, 2019

The heroes at Reiza have some exciting news for AMS and rF2 DLC owners and perhaps a reveal of their new release.

Reiza Update link: https://forum.reizastudios.com/threads/reiza-general-update-fresh-2019-news.6050/

Time to break radio silence again to bring you some fresh news about what´s happening with Reiza and our projects over recent weeks and for the foreseeable future.

Reiza rFactor 2 Bundle – May Update

As previously announced, we´ve continued development of the rF2 content this month focusing primarily on the development of the two additional Imola versions – the 1988 and 2001 layouts, which will be added free of charge to all who bought the Imola track or any pack that included it.

Below and above a couple of WIP previews – now the rF2 Mclarens will have some era-accurate official tracks to stretch their legs on.

There´s also been some work done elsewhere in the pack with further polishing and sorting a few remaining issues – more notably we have added the missing wet tire compound for the MCR S2000 and we are working on adding the turbo model to the Metalmoro cars that feature it.

With the possible exception of the turbos, these updates are due for release later next week.

Automobilista Final Update & DLC

Unfortunately, are still struggling a bit to get this one worked out. Without going too far into licensing specifics, here´s a brief breakdown of where things stand at the moment:

Although we have for a while now held a licensing deal for some new cars for our next sim and already have them modelled and in-game, we jumped the gun with regards to extending their license agreement to Automobilista – despite continuing attempts we still haven´t quite managed to make the numbers work and it´s looking unlikely we will manage to, which may force us to pull the plug on releasing this particular pack in Automobilista.

If that scenario pans out however we have put together a good alternative – we are extending our licensing agreement with Motorsport Vision to include Donington Park and Snetterton, and in this one we would be able to release both tracks for Automobilista as part of the AMS Season Pack with no extra charge for those who already own that.

Development for both Donington and Snetterton is already in progress, and we should have them both ready by late July.

I understand such changes are never a good thing especially for something that was announced so long ago, hopefully, most users agree this alternative is good value too.

Either way, we are set on releasing one last set of premium content for Automobilista along with some minor bug fixing before the end of July.

There is one more thing…

Naturally, most of you will be checking this more interested in hearing news about our much anticipated and long overdue new title…. I´m aware we have pushed everyone´s patience to the limit there but good things do come for those who wait.

After a long, grueling and sometimes painful conception, we´re finally getting ready to unveil our new baby. Stay tuned for an announcement to be made in the coming days on our Social Media pages, which you can access from the links on the top right of this forum.

Once this is out of the way we should certainly have a lot more to chat about again, so look forward to us resuming our monthly update tradition from next month onwards!

DrPenguin · May 22, 2019

Very much looking forward to more info about their next game. I've always thought the only thing that could tear me away from AC full time was a VR Reiza game.

TylerDurden4321 · May 23, 2019

Thanks for sharing, Travis!

Reiza is just an awesome company.

TJP · May 23, 2019

Tomorrow is the reveal day for Reiza based on their latest FB post.

Edit to include Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReizaStudios/status/1131660799112556546

Mutagenic · May 24, 2019

I'm very frustrated with Sim Lab. The P1 rig has been sold out for ages. They recently announced the P1-X (with full details of the product at a later date), with preorders starting May 24th. It's now the 24th and approaching the end of the day where they're located in the Netherlands. There has been no update to their site today and no update on Twitter. This is the last piece I need to build my rig, and if I don't get in on the first batch it'll delay my setup by potentially months.

Dave_6 · May 24, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv_s-VcSqRA

TylerDurden4321 · May 24, 2019

My eyes were 😲 at the engine logo.

Dave_6 · May 24, 2019

Yeah I knew when i saw it there wasn't any way it is still the rF2 engine. Pcars 2 graphics + Reiza physics could be something else for sure.

DrPenguin · May 24, 2019

I agree, PC2 graphics and VR experience combined with Reiza's touches and physics, to me, has extreme potential. Very excited about this one.

Moss · May 24, 2019

Curious choice for the game engine, had no idea that Slightly Mad would even consider to license their tech out. At least it ain't UE4... ;)

Very excited to see what comes of this, and how Reiza take on implementing VR.

marvelharvey · May 24, 2019

I remember us all saying 'think how amazing PC2 would've been with a decent physics engine?'... well now we'll know!

Moss said:
At least it ain't UE4... ;)

Oh, indeed.

Mutagenic · May 24, 2019

Got my rig order placed! I was a little shocked at the €352 for shipping to the states.

I'm very cautiously optimistic for AM2. Hopefully it'll have matchmaking. (lol)

TJP · May 25, 2019

That announcement was a hell of a surprise. Madness engine looks with Reiza's physics - presuming Reiza are not using the SMS tyre and vehicle physics - should make for one hell of a sim.

I wonder if SMS will position themselves as the default engine for sim racing releases as ISI did with rFactor.

The announcement via FB:

Check out the teaser trailer for our new racing simulator - Automobilista 2, scheduled for release in December 2019!

Automobilista 2 is the culmination of a project developed over the course of nearly a decade. At its core, it is a comprehensive simulation of the brazilian motorsports scene, featuring all major brazilian racing series, race tracks and manufacturers.

Automobilista 2 will also celebrate Brazilian motorsports heritage by featuring some of the country´s most iconic heroes and achievements through its rich history in the sport.

Packing an even larger roster of diverse cars and tracks than its predecessor, Automobilista 2 will venture further into the best of international motorsports, including prestigious brands such as Mclaren and BMW along with iconic venues such as Brands Hatch and Imola, at the same time continuing to explore the more exotic and exciting forms of motorsports from around the world.

Boosted by a new technical partnership with the developers of the award-winning Project CARS series, Automobilista 2 is built on the MADNESS engine, providing incredible graphical quality, the most advanced dynamic weather and track condition systems in a racing simulator and superior VR support, to deliver a substantial realism upgrade and a fully immersive visual experience.

With Automobilista 2 we aim to combine the strengths that made its predecessor unique with major evolutions in all areas. The sim will offer some exclusive features for both single player and multiplayer, which we look forward to sharing over the remaining months of development!

Mascot · May 25, 2019

pCars 2 is easily the prettiest sim out there (although AC with CSP and Sol has closed the gap) but it's a bit of a resource hog in VR. I wonder if Reiza will optimise it at all?

TJP · May 25, 2019

Mascot said:
pCars 2 is easily the prettiest sim out there (although AC with CSP and Sol has closed the gap) but it's a bit of a resource hog in VR. I wonder if Reiza will optimise it at all?

I doubt it as SMS will need to do the coding to right their wrongs although Reiza worked wonders with the isiMotor 2 engine.

Super excited to see what Reiza can do; I wonder how S397 feel as rF2 was seen as the default choice given Reiza's work with their DLC pack.

TJP · May 26, 2019

I've seen this is AC; perhaps to others soon..

Dave_6 · May 26, 2019

^To Raceroom?

Mascot · May 26, 2019

I added some animated helicopters at Bernese Alps

https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...ards-and-helicopters-for-bernese-alps.168051/

TJP · May 26, 2019

Mascot said:
I added some animated helicopters at Bernese Alps

https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...ards-and-helicopters-for-bernese-alps.168051/

I saw your post history on GT Planet - looks cool.

Mascot - Can you install the Shaders patch and SOL using the standard version of CM? I tried a while ago and the night feature never worked for me; all I got was clear blue skies with what apopeared to be a few stars added to the skybox even when setting AC to 12AM.

Clearly I screwed up the process somewhere...as for the rest of CM it is amazing and is how all mods should be installed (for those releases that allow it).

TJP · May 26, 2019

To his credit, Ian Bell of SMS has been active on RD regarding Reiza using the Madness Engine:

Yes. They're a great bunch and we've been having a very nice relationship (steady!) with them.

https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...-engine-confirmed.168879/page-12#post-2977793

Agreed. The people that made the engine, made GTR, GT Legends, GTR2, pCARS would be a disaster if they got involved.

https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...-engine-confirmed.168879/page-12#post-2977804

(Debatable who did what but whatever as SMS have 'the runs on the board')

Reiza are doing their own thing. We're supporting on the engine side only.

https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...-engine-confirmed.168879/page-13#post-2977860

Great question. Our engine (including physics) is entirely open. The seta tyre model is a generation ahead of what's out there in some of 'the favourite sims'... What you do with it is up to you though. We didn't polish it as we would have liked. Reiza are experts at polish. I'll say no more.

https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...-engine-confirmed.168879/page-14#post-2977957

And one quote from Renato of Reiza from their forum:

I'll say one thing that pretty much applies equally to AI, physics, audio which I think most agree were some of the strongest points of AMS1... Nothing can be ported over like a copy&paste flick of a switch - some fronts will demand a lot of work, others less. At the same time we would not have made the move if it meant starting any of those fronts from scratch. Most things are ingood shape already and it will only get better.

Mascot · May 27, 2019

TJP said:
I saw your post history on GT Planet - looks cool.

Mascot - Can you install the Shaders patch and SOL using the standard version of CM? I tried a while ago and the night feature never worked for me; all I got was clear blue skies with what apopeared to be a few stars added to the skybox even when setting AC to 12AM.

Clearly I screwed up the process somewhere...as for the rest of CM it is amazing and is how all mods should be installed (for those releases that allow it).

No idea about the 'standard' version of CM (dude - chuck Ilja a couple of bucks already!) but installing the shader patch and/or reverting to previous versions is literally one button click in the settings now. Sol is also a drag 'n' drop installation too (although follow the instructions carefully the first time you install it).
Sounds like you're maybe using a non-Sol PP filter or have older 'night' weathers installed (it was a little confusing when people started releasing their own crappy versions before Sol).
CM/CSP/Sol is getting very slick now, with VAO patches, lights configs, track configs, loading screens etc all auto-download/install as soon as you visit the track. No more searching for the files and installing manually (unless you want to).
Plus, the new CPU/GPU optimisations means than AC with all these bells and whistles actually performs BETTER than Vanilla AC through the Kunos launcher.

TJP · May 27, 2019

Mascot said:
No idea about the 'standard' version of CM (dude - chuck Ilja a couple of bucks already!) but installing the shader patch and/or reverting to previous versions is literally one button click in the settings now. Sol is also a drag 'n' drop installation too (although follow the instructions carefully the first time you install it).
Sounds like you're maybe using a non-Sol PP filter or have older 'night' weathers installed (it was a little confusing when people started releasing their own crappy versions before Sol).
CM/CSP/Sol is getting very slick now, with VAO patches, lights configs, track configs, loading screens etc all auto-download/install as soon as you visit the track. No more searching for the files and installing manually (unless you want to).
Plus, the new CPU/GPU optimisations means than AC with all these bells and whistles actually performs BETTER than Vanilla AC through the Kunos launcher.

I'm using the standard version of CM as I've not been playing AC for quite some time - well over 12 months so I've lost touch with the modding scene as well as the SOL+Shaders patching. I feel there is no point in sending money to the CM dev if I decide to quit AC again which is why I don't buy the RSS and URD mods any more.

Thanks for the tips; I will try and update the vanilla content and see how I fare. Cheers!

Edit: got it all to work with the latest SOL v1.2 + preview 129 of the shaders mod; the difference from vanilla is quite amazing! Modded AC looks a bit like NFS: Shift Unleashed.

Edit #2: Seems preview 129 causes all manner of slowdowns at the start of a 24 car grid at Spa in the dry. I go from 140+fps in the benchmark to sub 60fps at the start with default settings for the Shaders modding and the in-game AC settings at their max using the RSS GT1 cars.

Reverting back to preview 49 which is the recommeded shaders version killed the mod(s) :(

Watevaman · May 27, 2019

I haven't played R3E in a long time but recently got around to hooking the wheel up and giving it a go. I don't know when it was added, but hot damn am I glad they finally put in multi-class racing in SP/Practice mode. For some reason, R3E has always felt so good to drive for me, but it was lacking in aspects that other sims/games had. I'm really glad they put that in and it makes me much more excited to see what they have planned for the future. I still remember playing the beta of Raceroom and how bare bones it felt compared to other sims at the time.

TJP · May 27, 2019

Alex H has worked his arse off correcting the wrongs of the past in R3E. The physics for most of the popular classes have been rewritten, aero has been added or modified, the tyre model has been refined with added features, updated compounds, wear rates and changeable tyre pressures where the class allows them to be changed, suspension modelling has been rewritten for many cars, damage modelling has been worked on, the FFB will be made better and simplified in the in-game settings..the list is endless.

Alex has saved R3E as he has the knowledge, hands on driving experience with many of the cars plus is mates with drivers and teams as he instructs drivers at Silverstone and he has a degree in engineering to back it all up.

R3E really needs is a conversion to DX11 or DX12 and a new graphics engine. Alex also needs to add his trackday RX-7 into R3E too.

TJP · May 27, 2019

Reiza's first interview post Madness Engine announcement is up on RD: https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/automobilista-2-the-big-interview-part-1.168990/

Reiza have been using the Madness Engine since October, 2018 and Ian Bell approached Reiza first about a joint release. Reiza did not see much of the rF2 source code and the offer from SMS came at the right time; not many options available to Reiza for several reasons.

Renato said:
With MADNESS, obviously the graphics engine is one of the strong points, and it generally runs smooth as butter no matter what you throw at it in terms of weather, time of day, number of cars so for us that´s a welcome change of pace!

Renato said:
Moreover the physics, Audio and AI fronts are for the most part an evolution of what we were already used to, so that has allowed us to continue progressing from the solid base we already had on those fronts; The SETA tyre model is a bigger departure to our old tyre model, which is always a tricky move considering how much of good racing simulation physics rely on not only an advanced tyre model but one that´s manageable to work with - luckily SETA has proved surprisingly accessible, very versatile and we´ve been achieving good results with it pretty much from the get-go.

The engine features models for a large range of drivetrain and aero systems, and a variety of rule sets, all of which suits us very well as Automobilista 2 is also due to feature many different motorports types.

Last but not least, Livetrack 3.0 is arguably the most advanced technology for dynamic track conditions in consumer level simulators, and that is a crucial feature for a truly realistic racing experience.

Naturally there are some things we´ll be adding or tweaking to our own preferences and requirements, but all in all we couldn´t ask for a better platform for the racing sim we aim to create.

While we find that S397 has made rF2 much better all-around over the last year or so and we very much enjoy using our content in it, the original Bundle was already partially done with the purpose of having a more in-depth investigation into the engine as an option for AMS2, and we already learned what there was for us to learn there.

From a development perspective it is also a step back for us to essentially revert to being a mod group just producing content and not the sim around it, and working on multiple engines at once ends up putting an extra strain in the team - at one point we were working in 3 engines at once and that is not sustainable. We still have an AMS1 update to deploy and after that focus is 100% on AMS2.

With this said I believe the rF2 Bundle was a very positive venture, it does provide us with a welcome extra source of income and I think we did a good job in it to deliver a worthwhile addition to rF2.

Anyone part of the beta testing for the DLC will know what Renato is referring to :)

TJP · May 27, 2019

RD test the WIP build of the Formula 90's cars:

The AI is yet to be finalised so why Paul is complaining at the start is beyond me. It's a WIP build FFS!

ODD · May 27, 2019

The only thing keeping me from finding R3E a "perfect" product is the sharp~stiff collisions. Man, if they fix that I'll be on the moon!

DrPenguin · May 27, 2019

With the AMS2 announcement I decided to give PC2 a go again after having a bad taste in my mouth for it the past while. I'm working on getting my wheel and the FFB tuned up. Does anyone have suggestions for getting the best out of the wheel via the Thrustmaster CP and in game settings. I've tried various popular custom configs, etc but just haven't found something that feels right yet. The help from some folks here helping getting things sorted in AC resulted in an amazing feel.

TJP · May 28, 2019

Mascot - do you have any links for the AC Track Reboot tracks? I know the website is down for good nowadays and I want to get some of the tracks from the site such as classic Spa. Cheers.

Edit #1: The AC Content Manager (CM) continues to impress with making modding appear to be handled by Kunos rather than two people. If you have AC still installed, you'd be mad not to try the additions in SOL's changable weather and the Shaders Patch.

The SOL 1.2.2 patch is fantastic in its ability to provide all manner of changable weather which can also be set to real time conditons something I appreciate as pCARS 2 ability to do the same ended some time ago. I have found some of the weather is randomly buggy e.g. the fog at Spa has noticable random rendering glitches although the atmosphere remains fantastic. Thunderstorms in the RSS GT1 cars at Spa and Sliverstone at 23:00 was a lot of fun!

The Shaders Patch (SP) adds so much extra graphical eye candy & enhancements although I am finding some vanilla AC settings at their maxmiums will bog down my system with SOL+SP installed, moreso when starting at the back of a full grid of 24 cars. This is to be expected I guess and fettling is required to maintain a good frame rate in all condtions.

I run AC with everything at maximum and have no issues with the in-game 15 cars @ Spa benchmark. My system averages 165 fps. Changing to 24 cars sees the frame rate hover in the high 120fps region in a race from the rear of the grid.

With SOL+SP 24 cars at Spa in the "wet" will drop frames to less than 50fps and the late physics count will spike like mad. To combat this, I have set up AC with the mods installled per CM advised settings; shadows set to high, smoke at low (smoke appears to be an fps killer with SOL+SP installed) reflections set a 3 faces and at 1024x1024 res and so on.

Interestingly, many of the CPU and GPU optimisations are set to off by default. The benchmark indicated a 2fps difference between switcing them all on or leaving them at their defaults with the recommended SP preview49.

Edit #2 - Changing to the new preview135 AND turning on all of the optimisations has made the fps soar - the benchmark indicates FPS: AVG=189 + MAX=217 vs FPS: AVG=162 + MAX=198 with optimisations at default. Amazing work.

Mascot · May 29, 2019

TJP said:
Mascot - do you have any links for the AC Track Reboot tracks? I know the website is down for good nowadays and I want to get some of the tracks from the site such as classic Spa.

Cheers.

I had a link to the full archive but it's now dead. I've asked the chap to rehost it.