Assetto Corsa EVO is Kunos Simulazioni’s long-awaited sequel to the iconic Assetto Corsa. Surrounded by hype and filled to the brim with cars, tracks and game modes, it can be hard to figure out where to start with this sim. So let’s go on a journey into AC EVO, figuring out how to get up to speed.
What is Assetto Corsa EVO?
Assetto Corsa EVO builds on what was already a successful platform for the original Assetto Corsa. It’s a sim racing title that allows you to drive cars from your everyday road-going machine to purpose-built weapons from the pinnacle of motorsport. So yes, you can drive a classic Mini. But you can also drive the latest and greatest from Formula One. And yes, you can drive at Fuji Speedway or Brands Hatch. But you can also drive around Bathurst, or the legendary Green Hell of the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
They’ve just dropped their latest V0.9 update, which you can read all about in our V0.9 guide right here.
What Can You Drive?
There are dozens of cars currently on offer in AC EVO, with Kunos targeting a tally greater than 100 when the game is complete. If you’re looking for a comprehensive list, why not check out our car list?
The car roster is split into 3 categories: Road, Track, and Racing. Road cars are your road-legal machines, both the everyday and the extraordinary. You can find Volkswagen Golfs here, and you can also find Ferraris such as the Daytona SP3 or the 296 GTB. Track cars are purpose-built for track days, but not full-fledged racing machines.
Expect to find cars such as the Dallara EXP in this category. Racing cars are seemingly self-explanatory, in that they’re not road-legal and they’re popular in racing series the world over. They can be club-level like the ND-generation Mazda MX-5, leading-edge machinery like the BMW M4 GT3 Evo, or some of the fastest cars to ever exist such as the Ferrari F2004.
Within these categories, there are 3 separate groups. One is Modern, which typically means cars that are either on the new-car market currently or recently have been. Another is Youngtimer, which typically refers to cars from the 90s or 00s but also includes some 80s machines. The final is Vintage, which typically refers to cars over the age of 40.
Can You Modify Them?
Yes, you can! Car modification is a feature that you can really have fun with in EVO. Many of the cars are available in different variants, which are typically more performance-oriented and include the likes of the Road, Track, and Final Edition for the Caterham 485 CSR, as well as different trim levels, which are typically more cosmetic and include versions of the Audi Sport quattro that are in a Single colour, feature Audi Rings in Black, or have Audi Rings in White. But if you’re looking for more, you can always mod.
Did I hear… Mods?
The original Assetto Corsa has a legendary library of mods, something that Kunos is aware is integral to the success of the franchise. For EVO, Kunos provides sim racers and designers alike with access to in-house tools that allow you to build your own mods for the sim. First added in Version 0.7, we have already seen new cars arriving in the sim thanks to the work of genius modders. And, since Version 0.8, you can take some of these online too!
Where Can You Drive?
Assetto Corsa EVO currently offers nearly 20 tracks, many of which come with multiple layouts as well. These corners are some of the most iconic from around the world, encompassing 5 continents and the corners of the Earth.
Much like with the car roster, we currently have an article on the tracks in AC EVO if you wish to take a deeper dive. The current track roster includes cutting-edge technology such as the High Tech Test Track of Paul Ricard, legendary race circuits in Spa or Monza’s Temple of Speed, and club racing icons like Oulton Park or Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca.
Is It Just Racing?
Whilst it is known as a racing sim, AC EVO isn’t just about racing! Whilst we do await to see the much-hyped Free Roam map around the Eifel forest region that includes the Nürburgring, in the meantime there are plenty of different things to experience.
One of the game modes outside of racing that might be of interest to you is drifting. Whilst we await a fully-fledged Drift Mode in EVO, there is still plenty out there that allows you to get used to drifting ahead of this. Why not check out our Ultimate Guide To Drifting as a good starting point?
The Online Experience
The original Assetto Corsa is well-known for its excellent online communities, with the tin-top-focused Assetto Corsa Competizione also known for taking it above and beyond with online competitions that you can take part in without joining a server.
The Hotlap and Hotstint modes make up the quasi-multiplayer experience. You’re dropped into a scenario, with a preset car and track and conditions, and expected to go as quickly as possible. Hotlap mode is what you would expect from other Time Attack modes, setting the fastest single run possible to get onto the leaderboards. Hotstint takes this a step further, with you having to be relentless in your consistency as you are being judged by how you cover a full stint.
Once you head into multiplayer, a great place to start out is with the acevo.gg Daily Racing platform. Powered by SimGrid, it offers you a variety of regular races in road cars and race cars alike. There are your conventional GT racing series, as well as fan-favourites that enjoy a particular aspect of the sim. You can try out the Flat Six Series that gives you a single-make race in Stuttgart’s finest, or you can join in at The Ring and test your mettle against the legendary Green Hell of the Nordschleife.
- Pro Setups Available for Daily Races
- Engineered for Weekly Racing Series
- Updated Weekly to Match the Schedule
- All in Coach Dave Delta for ACEVO.GG
And, if you’re looking to get involved with a group of likeminded individuals, why not look at what our Communities on SimGrid are offering? With one-off events and regular series alike, you can find your dream races in your dream cars at your dream venues with a click of the mouse!
Getting Set Up
Assetto Corsa EVO is a very accessible sim racing title, with support for a variety of peripherals both in terms of controllers and displays.
When it comes to controllers, most sim racers these days will be using a wheel. But AC EVO also supports gamepads, which can be tricky to fine-tune in a lot of modern-day sim racing titles.
Wheels
Most people who sim race these days use a wheel. However, as many sim racers will know, no two brands of wheel are the same. From the differences between Direct Drive technology and the older belt-driven and gear-driven wheelbases, to the varieties of wheels within a single brand that can include multi-directional switches, dials, and thingamajigs, there are so many differences between setups both big and small.
The main thing to consider is that there are options that you may need to configure both in-game and out of the game. Whilst some manufacturers will give you a setup preset in their software and recommended game settings, this is not universal and it may change when there’s an update to the game or if there’s an update to your wheel’s software.
Thanks to our AC Evo Wheel Guide, you can figure out exactly what each of the settings means and how they might have an impact on your experience.
Controllers
Whilst lots of people will be racing on AC EVO on a wheel with pedals, many sim racers still use the handy gamepad. With buttons, sticks, and triggers at your disposal as well as all of the bells and whistles that can come with high-end controllers, it can often take a lot to understand what you can do in the sim.
Luckily for you, we’ve done some testing ourselves and come up with a handy Controller Settings Guide to help you out there as well. It provides you with a good starting point, whether you have vibration or force feedback on your controller or whether you’ve just got buttons on your controller and whether you have analogue triggers or digital buttons for your driving.
Graphics
As for displays, most sim racers will be using monitors. You can calculate your ideal Field of View online, allowing you to get the correct level of immersion and coverage, and you can experiment with your graphics settings to make sure that you’ve got the optimal amount of detail without compromising on performance.
There will be a few sim racers that are racing in VR as well, and Kunos have accounted for you by enabling VR support in AC EVO. If you’re looking for a place to start in setting up VR, why not check out our AC Evo VR Setup Guide?
Getting Up To Speed
Now you’re all set up to enjoy your racing; your next question is probably this: what should I do first?
It might be a good idea to get into some single-player racing first. Pick a car, pick a track, and see how it all feels before taking the action online. No matter how experienced you are in sim racing, each new title is always something different to the others you’ve raced in. If you’re looking for how to get ready to race single-player, we’ve got a handy little guide for that.
Once you’ve done that, why not take the racing online? Remember that, thanks to our sister site SimGrid, you can enjoy both the SimGrid-powered Daily Racing and online multiplayer racing with one-off races and Leagues.
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