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Damn right! Big jumps, Finnish dirt roads in the countryside and a Subary Impreza are all I need!


Here's a video that may surprise some; there's no snow and yet it still is set in Finland. I was shocked too but it's not always snowy over here.



Not only does the update bring Finnish tracks, the 2001 Subaru Impreza and 2001 Ford Focus RS Rally, it also introduces mouse support, reworked handling to almost all cars, better sounds to the '95 Subaru Impreza, and much more.

Details about the Dream Pack #2 have been revealed.


The Dream Pack 2 will be available starting October 8th, selling for 7,99€.

The pack will consists of a laser-scanned version of Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, home of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix.

Furthermore, the pack will introduce the following nine new cars to Assetto Corsa:

Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattro Valvole (based on an very well-made mod, I think)
Lamborghini Huracan GT3
Ford GT40 MK1
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG003
AUDI R8 ULTRA 2014
RUF RT12R AWD
RUF RT12R FWD
BMW M4 Coupe
BMW M4 Coupe Akrapovic Edition

Physics, graphics, sound effects and multiplayer are also improved.



While all of them are exciting new cars, and the Countach was great in the mod, I'm mostly looking forward to the RUFs. And for the first time, we'll have the chance to try out the same car (RUF RT12R) in both RWD and AWD.

I remember this thread from the old forum. Once again, I'll say that a 100-point is ridiculous. Why is Day Z (Arma 2 mod with a Scriv score of 9.2) 0.3 points lower than Battelfield 2 and 0.2 points higher than Project Reality? What would make it 9.1 or 9.3? What IS the difference of 0.1 points? Also, the scores tend to be around 70-100 no matter how good or bad the game is. With my logic a game with a score of 50 is the average game. Not great but not too bad.

As I've said before, a five or a three point scale makes more sense.

1=bad
2=mediocre
3=good

or

1=bad (not worth picking up even from the bargain bin)
2=decent (some major flaws, but not enough to make it a completely bad game)
3=average
4=great (some flaws preventing it from being excellent)
5=excellent (pretty much everything is very well-made)

Some gaming websites have gotten rid of scroing games as it's very difficult and very subjective: Kotaku only gives a binary score of YES or NO. Eurogamer only gives a written review and maybe a recommendation medal. Rock, Paper, Shotgun has regular reviews and written discussions about the game, but never a score.



I see that Scriv has played Medieval 2: Total War. I've only seen my room mate play it and it does look really good. Have you considered checking out the Crusades Kings, Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron games? To me they look quite similar and right now I'm looking for a grand strategy game that suits my interests. The medieval setting of many grand strategy games is a bit off-putting for me, but the Hearts of Iron series, which are set in WWII, look very complicated and difficult to learn. Then again, in HoI I could (try to) conquer the world as Finland in the 1940s...


As for the reviews... Just some games I've played lately.

Assetto Corsa - 5/5 - While it is lacking in the single player campaign and the multiplayer hasn't been the best, the graphics, the sounds, and most of all, the handing is incredible.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 - 3/5 - A surprise hit, but after all you're just driving cargo along repetitive scenery to tiny cities that don't really resemble themselves. There's some small compay management, but it's not much.

Dirt Rally (early access) 4/5 - Are we getting a new rally game purely focused on rally driving with good handling? It looks like it. Really fun to play and there's more to come, including tracks set in Finland!

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 5/5 - A stealth game in an open world set in the 80s? Count me in. It's the first game I've bought at full price in a long while, and also the first Metal Gear Solid game I've played if we don't count Ground Zeroes. Almost 30 hours played so far and I've read that it'll offer about 100 hours of gameplay. So far I haven't gotten even a little tired of hiding under a cardboard box.

Unfortunately (?) I already have all the games I want from those. Great deal, though.

Assetto Corsa received the 1.2 update today. It features numerous fuxes, tweaks, improvements, NEW CARS and A NEW TRACK!


Here's everything about the update from Facebook. Strangely there's nothing on the official web site nor on Steam about it.


ASSETTO CORSA 1.2.0 + FREE BONUS PACK AVAILABLE TODAY AT 10.00 AM Pacific Time / 19.00 CET The new build 1.2 of Assetto Corsa is finally available for all users on Steam today, at 10.00 AM Pacific Time / 19.00 CET, at the URL http://store.steampowered.com/app/244210/. The new version provides a considerable update and adds five new cars and one circuit as free bonus content. The free bonus pack does not introduce only new content but, more importantly, new features and sensible improvements, in all sectors: artificial intelligence, physics, multiplayer features, graphics and general performance. The changelog lists all the updates, fixes and modifications applied to the new build of Assetto Corsa, that now is even more stable, and includes new physics algorithms regarding the tyre model, force feedback and artificial intelligence. Here is a description of the main areas of fixes, content and features included in the Assetto Corsa v.1.2 update:

General The updates related to the physics engine and force feedback allows to appreciate even more the new cars included in the bonus pack and rediscover the old ones, since all the previous and existing content available in Assetto Corsa have been updated to take advantage of the latest improvements. Some graphics glitches known since the 1.0 version have been fixed: motion blur feature now works properly on any circuit, tyres “glued” to the road in multiplayer have been corrected, and two new features have been added for the driving view: now the dedicated app allows to find automatically the proper eye position, showing also a visual indication for suggested eyes position and actual eye position for Driver Eyes, in order to help gamers to find the correct match, if they desire to set it manually. All content has been updated in order to set a better driving view position with any car. Also, the limits from Driver Eyes Positioning app have been removed, in order to allow players with dedicated rigs or cockpits, free to set their prefered driving view. A huge operation of fine-tuning has involved all the car values, including lods, instrumentation, 2D/3D details, skins, and so on. Furthermore, continuing the general process of improvement, the game now features glowing brakes for high performance and racing cars.

Physics Differential were updated with the latest electronic wizardry in order to simulate the intricate torque vectoring system at the base of the Nissan GTR incredible handling. Tyre model was also improved by refining the pneumatic trail math model to generate a more self aligning torque, together with improved relaxation length model it will now feature a much smoother ride and more consistent steer feedback. Artificial intelligence Artificial Intelligence is sensibly improved both by making it closer to humans performance in corner exit and in general race craft during the race; AI is now able to choose the proper tyre compound for a given session, better handle turbo strategy during qualify and race, improved DRS usage. Driving lines have been improved, as well as the ability of AI drivers to overtake each other and the player. Now they are more aggressive, and they take advantage of any mistake to take your position.

Multiplayer The update of multiplayer is the result of the feedback received by the community, that asked for more stability and better tools for a more consistent multiplayer experience and leagues organization. Amongst the various bug fixes included in this update, like the corrected checksum for circuits that use the new configuration system, better collision samples triggering, tyres that properly jump together with the car and so on, we also get some brand new and highly requested features. We now offer you the possibility to limit the tyre choice, weather settings on the server side, lock of new players joining races, complete last lap in qualify and practice, add ballast for players and much more. Even more importantly a new complete server side UDP plugin for real time data input/output has been implemented. This particular feature will be of great help to all the league organizers and could bring very important developments in AC multiplayer in the near future.


New content Regarding the selection of the new cars, the Alfa Romeo Mito Quadrifoglio Verde joins the fight versus the 500 Abarth EsseEsse and can also teach a thing or two against some older RWD machinery; the Audi Quattro is a legendary car so loved by car enthusiasts. The Audi had over 300bhp and 4 wheel drive in the mid 80s. A tuned step1 version with locked differentials and more power has been added to satisfy the hardcore car enthusiasts! The Lamborghini Miura SV is the first Lamborghini model officially added in Assetto Corsa. It defined the term supercar back in the 60s and now we give you the opportunity to drive this million value piece of car history. The Toyota GT86 is a very balanced car, and for this reason, maybe is one of the most wanted model included in the new package. This car has been developed in cooperation with RSR Nurburg, that knows each single secret of this modern hachi-roku (eighty six), a car that makes every car enthusiast yell with excitement and every tyre tremble with fear. The Nissan GT-R Nismo introduces in Assetto Corsa the active central differential and it's the second 4WD car now available after the Alfa Romeo 155 DTM. The Circuit of Zandvoort, a well-known motorsport race track located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, Netherlands, is the latest addition of the new build: the circuit gained popularity because of its fast, sweeping corners such as Scheivlak as well as the "Tarzanbocht" (Tarzan corner) hairpin at the end of the start/finish straight. Tarzanbocht is the most famous corner in the circuit. Since there is a camber in the corner, it provides excellent overtaking opportunities. It is possible to pass around the outside as well as the easier inside lane.

https://www.facebook.com/Assetto.Corsa/posts/1193519894007660



Of course I had to test the cars right away. I started with the Audi Quattro, which produced about 300 bhp. It's an old car that gets nervous when braking from high speeds. To be honest, I didn't really like the car. It just gets really uneasy under heavy braking and the four-wheel drive makes the car prone to understeer. But the BMW M3 E30 was similiar (minus the understeer) in the beginning. Maybe I'll get to like it in the future. The base version is pretty much just as fast as the E30 on Imola, my test tarck for all cars. The upgraded Quattro with about 400 bhp is a bit more fun, but still not my cup of tea, at least not yet.

The next car would be the Alfa Romeo Mito Quadrifoglio Verde, but as it had even less power than the other dull and boring FWD Alfa Romeos and not even a manual gearbox, I passed and went on to the more exciting cars.

The Lamborghini Miura SV is based on the very well-made mod which I have driven before. 60s cars with lots of power and horrible handling characteristics are still not my thing, so I passed this one as well.

Now here's a car I've been waiting for: The Nissan GT-R Nismo! Earlier we got the GT3 version of the Nissan GT-R with RWD, but it's nothing like the street version, which has an advanced AWD system. The GT-R has over 600 bhp and over 600 Nm of torque, meaning that you always have a lot of torque to use, no matter the revs. 0-100 km/h is close to 2 seconds. This was fun to drive, and it was competing against cars such as the McLaren F1 GTR and the Corvette C7R. This is quite an achievement from a somewhat affordable car.

The last car to try was the Toyota GT86. It only has 200 bhp, but it's a well-balanced car with a nice tendency for oversteering. Despite its relatively low amount of power, it's fun to drive around the track.


There's a new track called Zandvoort, located in the Netherlands. Unfrotunately I had already put away the wheel when I remembered the new track.

It's a really long and complex track, being 20 km from the beginning to the end. In comparison, most of the tracks so far have been about 5 km. This mostly explains the enormous gaps between lap times.

You're probably right Scriv, it's Taz's favorite track so of course he's got some training under his belt.

And of course, I wasn't driving seriously either... I'll see what kind of an improvement will I be able to make in the weekend.

There was a force feedback update a small time ago. Either my Finnish rally driver blood has failed me or they've changed something vital, because now I can barely stay on the road. Or maybe I'm just out of practice.

As for the Tarmac terrors update, looks fine at the first glance. Five new cars and 12 new tracks - although they are all based on two long tracks. They are just short pieces of the two long ones, also coming as mirrored versions. Driving on pure tarmac is very different from the usual gravel roads, and the track shape is very different from the rest with their little chicanes and multiple 90 degree turns with rocks preventing cutting. There's also a lot of viewers in there, so most of the time it's impossible to cut corners at all. Strangely, the tarmac often seemed much more slippery than gravel or even snow.

Here are the new cars:
Opel Kadett GT/E 16v
Opel Manta 400
Lancia 037 Evo 2
Seat Ibiza Kitcar
Peugeot 306 Maxi

I can't say much about the few I did try quickly, since it was just a short test. The Peugeot 306 has a very short first gear and it's front wheel drive, so it's a change from the RWD and AWD cars. Just point the front where you want to go and floor it. Understeering can be good in the right conditions.

There was an update bringing us the new, updated physics model as well as two new cars, new game modes, and lots of fixes and improvements. Unfortunately the game has gotten very slow in the menus to the point I thought it froze when I first launched it. With the graphics settings set to about medium I expected good performance, but I got something far from it. Turning anti-aliasing off an lowering some other effects made an improvement on the frame rate.

Driving felt very twitchy: previously, when you made a jump, the FFB effects were turned off as there was nothing preventing your wheels from moving, which is nice. But now it happens all the time when I'm just driving on a bumpy road, getting hit by cars. First, normal force feedback, then none and in a split second it's on again. This may be realistic to a degree, but it made me turn too much or too little for most corners. It may be the result of having a low fps that was all over the place.

It's great to finally get an update after a full year. I should lower the settings to a level where I can get a consistent 60 fps; driving should be much easier then and I could actually see the changes.

Sounds good to me! Are we going to use default settings or allow customisation?

It seems that interest in the periodic challenge has declined drastically and we haven't even had a challenge going on for more than a month. I propose that we decide upon a car and a track that will be used for the rest of the summer. Not as much pressure because there's a lot of time and we could see some serious fighting over the first place.

We could have an ultimate challenge with the Lotus Exos F1 car and/or the full Nurburgring track, but that's just my idea. What do you think?