Assetto Corsa EVO VR Setup Guide 

The ultimate methods of achieving immersion come up regularly here at Coach Dave Academy. We often talk about how important it is to feel like you are actually in the race car, not only because it makes you feel good, but because it can add an extra dimension to your experience.

This extra dimension is important because, since we Sim Racers have to rely on our senses to get those extra tenths of seconds, getting a leg up on the competition can be worth more than just a couple bucks. The ability to see the world around you in Sim Racing can’t be understated.

Sim racers have to rely on what they see and hear, and what they feel through their steering wheel or another form of controller. In a world where most of your rivals are on monitors, with a field of view between 45 and 180 degrees, being able to see everything left and right brings immersion to life like nothing else.

Why Should You Use VR?

A cost-effective alternative to the current trends of triple-displays and ultrawide monitors is a virtual reality headset (VR). VR is a viable option for those who want a deeper level of immersion without the added cost or loss of real estate in their room. VR literally puts you in the race car and on the grid. You can look around the car, and there’s a real sense of space once the headset is on.

Racing in VR will add a whole new dimension to your Assetto Corsa EVO experience. You can look around your surroundings more, see in your mirrors more clearly, and you can look to the apex of the next corner without having to set it up in the game. If you are planning to send the car a little bit sideways, you can even look out of the window to see the direction that you’re planning to go in.

It is worth adding a disclaimer here when we talk about realism. This is because, to some people, VR can be disorientating without the sensations that come from being in the seat of an actual car. Whilst it is possible to counteract this with more add-ons to your simulator, it is worth slowly building up through slower cars to fully get to grips with how VR works, as you may end up with some motion sickness.

Can I use VR in Assetto Corsa EVO?

Assetto Corsa EVO supports OpenXR, an open-source platform that means VR runs smoothly and seamlessly across different brands. To start up Assetto Corsa EVO in OpenXR, you simply select it when you boot up the game instead of the standard Assetto Corsa EVO.

Unlike in some of its rivals, Assetto Corsa EVO’s VR runs without you ever having to take off your headset. You can see all menus and navigate all options without issue, with the game also allowing you to look around and move around the space that you load into. That’s right, if you so wish, you could technically get out of the car and walk around near it, which will be incredible when the open-world aspect of AC Evo comes around.

AC EVO VR System Requirements

Whilst VR can be a more cost-effective alternative to triple-monitors or ultrawides, it can also push your hardware a bit harder in order to meet the same level of graphics. Much like its fellow Kunos titles, Assetto Corsa EVO can be very intense on your equipment. That is why the minimum requirements for the title are as follows:

• Intel i7 8700k or AMD 1500X 
• 16GB of RAM 
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 2070, AMD Radeon RX 580, or Intel Arc A580 (8GB)

Whilst this is the minimum requirement for running Assetto Corsa EVO in VR, you may find that you will want a beefier computer to enjoy VR to its fullest. A more powerful graphics card will allow you to run at higher framerates, more RAM allows you to see more cars at once, and a stronger processor will allow you to see further into the distance without compromising on either of the other two. The recommended hardware for a good experience is as follows, but not limited to:

• Intel i7 10500 or AMD 2600X 
• 32GB of RAM 
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 4070 ti, AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, or Intel Arc A750

If budget isn’t an issue, your specs have no limits.

AC EVO VR Resolution & FPS Considerations

It’s important to remember that VR headsets aren’t like your typical monitor. Most VR headsets don’t follow your typical 16:9 resolution that a monitor offers, and they typically have one display for each eye which means that you’re essentially running a more complex double-monitor setup. Also consider the refresh rate of your headset, as many headsets will run at higher than your run-of-the-mill 60fps monitor.

On top of that, not all VR headsets are made the same. Some will find certain tasks more power-intensive than others, meaning that you may need to fine-tune some of your settings within Assetto Corsa EVO to get the best all-around experience.

Critical VR Settings

Along with a Virtual Reality headset, there comes a whole host of different settings that need to be adjusted or fine-tuned. The following settings are most crucial to your VR experience.

Framerate Limit 

The maximum framerate that the game will run at. In an ideal world, you will set this to the refresh rate of your headset. However, if you are experiencing dropped frames whilst you’re in the sim, you may wish to set a firm limit such as 60fps. Consider balancing framerates and overall quality if you are compromised on hardware.

Vertical Sync

Vertical Sync (or VSync) is often a way of ensuring that your framerates are consistently at the same level. It can be very helpful if your hardware is struggling to keep up with the demands of the game, but with beefier systems it can put an unnecessary strain on your components. As a result, higher-end systems will often run with framerate limits instead of VSync settings.

Upscaling Mode 

Upscaling allows you to effectively simulate higher resolutions. Since everything on your screen is effectively a square pixel, upscaling rounds out these edges by essentially creating more pixels within the pixels. Assetto Corsa EVO supports 2 different types of upscaling: AMD’s FSR and NVIDIA’s DLSS. Make sure that you’re matching up with your GPU manufacturer, otherwise you’re costing yourself framerate and wearing out your hardware for no reason.

AA (Anti-Aliasing)

These settings will be subject to your VR headset, how well your computer is able to run AC EVO, and your use of upscaling. It will essentially tell your GPU how much upscaling it is meant to do. Starting off with the mid-setting on AA is a good starting point to see how well the game performs. This is something that you can adjust as you see fit once everything is up and running and you can see whether the adjustment improves or compromises performance. 

Visible Cars

Whilst most of these settings are GPU-intensive, the amount of visible cars will also impact on your CPU and your RAM. Not only do sim racing games have to simulate what the cars look like, but they also have to understand what the car is doing. This can also differ between if you’re racing against the AI, where the sim needs to think about the moves that the AI are going to do, and against online players where the sim only needs to consider what your rivals are already doing. 

Assetto Corsa EVO allows you to choose how many cars you wish to render, and to differentiate between cars in front of you and cars behind you. Since you won’t tend to spend a lot of time looking in your mirrors, reducing the number of cars behind you could be a quick fix to framerate problems.

Lighting 

You might not think too much about it, but a lot goes into lighting in sim racing. The way that the sun sits in the sky, and how it interacts with different surfaces and in different conditions. At the same time, the way that headlights project off into the distance can add an extra dimension, as can your on-board lights. However, asking more of your AC EVO in this space could place more stress on your GPU as it has to simulate how more “sources” interact with each other.

Reflections

It might sound silly to think, but a lot of surfaces are reflective! You can see reflections off of windows, windscreens, bodywork, water. Oh, and mirrors! But adding more high-quality reflections, especially when you’re racing up to and past speeds of 200mph, can add unnecessary load to your already-stressed graphics card. This is a quickfire solution to finding extra frames if you’re finding that your game stutters, especially if it happens more in crowded areas around spectator stands and the pit lane.

Shadows

Like with other settings, this will be a personal preference and a matter of balance. Some computers have a hard time running AC EVO and an easy way to alleviate the load is to reduce shadow reproduction as a quick way of improving framerates. However, if the settings are too low, you may think that the cars look like they’re “floating” above the track. If you’re limited by your hardware, this is a balance that you’ll need to consider.

Post Processing

Even with all of the settings we’ve explored in this article, there are still ways to add extra finishing touches. Post-processing is a great way to do this. It is the kind of thing you see in other games that add “film grain” effects, or other filters that can make colours pop in different ways and add that extra element of realism that makes you feel like you’re actually behind the wheel. It’s a nice touch, often doesn’t take as much power as some of the other features mentioned, and can sometimes be all it takes to fully immerse you.

Final Thoughts

With these VR settings set up perfectly, you should have an incredibly realistic Sim Racing setup on your hands. Although VR may not be for everyone, once fine-tuned, there is no doubting the visual immersion that it brings to you. All that’s left for you to do is go racing. So head to acevo.gg and find your next daily race.