Project Cars vs. Assetto Corsa

[namarino]

In terms of AI,which game would you recommend, PC or AC? I was just playing Gran Turismo 5 today and I realized how truly AWFUL the AI is. I want something that's a little more challenging and something that doesn't just run in to you all the time. Anyway, thanks a lot! 

[arnavvr]

Project Cars for the Graphics.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

Haven't played Assetto Corsa. The AI in Project CARS should definitely give you a run for the money, but they don't feel like real people. They will make weird decisions from time to time and it's going to result in collisions. Race AI still have a long way to go tbh.

[Aniallation]

In terms of AI,which game would you recommend, PC or AC? I was just playing Gran Turismo 5 today and I realized how truly AWFUL the AI is. I want something that's a little more challenging and something that doesn't just run in to you all the time. Anyway, thanks a lot! 

Assetto Corsa is more realistic in physics but Project Cars is a lot nicer.

[Columbo]

There is far too much right with Project Cars since it was introduced. I really doubt the critics have taken notice of all the small details that are in the game. Drive the open wheel cars and look at the tires. Names like Dunlop can be read. As you accelerate the white writing on the tires moves with the rotation of the tire. Just like the real thing. 

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

My car friends tell me Assetto Corsa > pcars. Assetto Corsa has some pretty graphics though, but not quite at pcars level.

[T6kke]

I'm not big into sim racing and I only just started playing them. So everything I'm saying is from what I've read and not experienced. 

 

AC gets quite a lot of hate for it's AI and it's very limited season and story mode. There was a patch for the AI recently(don't really know how much it has improved stuff) and there is a lot of potential for modded content for singelplayer career stuff. And there already is some cool stuff available.

What makes AC really good is the simulation part. It has the best force feedback system of any sim to date and it has the most detailed tracks to date. Every track they add is laser scanned so it has every bump and every curb acts as it were real. But you also need force feedback wheel to get that experience.

It also already has quite a lot of modded content with cars and tracks and other extra interface applications. And it has a big potential for a lot more.

And the game runs a lot better on wider arrangement of HW compared to Project Cars.

 

Project Cars has been described as more of Forza and GT5 rather then a full simulator. And there is that fine line between these two types of games. It does have a lot better career mode. And it does look a bit better then AC. But it also has some performance problems where it basically only runs very well on Nvidia 900 series cards. It's said that it's caused because the game uses some elements of Nvidia PhysX for the actual game simulation. So if you have AMD card or an older nvidia card that doesn't support that feature the simulation is done on the CPU and that has a huge performance impact.

[Columbo]

At what point do people think old graphics cards will work well on cutting edge games? 

[.spider.]

 Names like Dunlop can be read. As you accelerate the white writing on the tires moves with the rotation of the tire. Just like the real thing. 

And that's special? 

[Ialyrn]

Racing games are my bread and butter, been playing them for as long as I can remember; which the earliest of which is in 1989. I also put towards the crown funding for Pcars and have over 3 years of experience in playing it because of it.

In terms of physics, Assetto corsa walks all over Pcars. In my opinion with my logitech G27 in hand, and past experience with a thrustmaster TX with both games also. I find the force feedback to also be far better in Assetto. I would also say the AI in Assetto is better as well. The AI in Assetto is slow, at least for me anyway. But they make far less stupid moves, unlike the AI in Pcars. In pcars, the AI will have a tendency to take you out of the race. Sometimes they fail to also take a corner, which can result in the entire grid been wiped out in one fell swoop. 

As for Pcars been likened to Forza or GT, a lot of the hype billed it as a Forza and GT beater. In reality it is not. Pcars is aimed at a different market to Forza and GT, as the latter 2 are more casual in the way they play, and have extensive car lists and upgrades for those cars. With Forza also having its paint shop, which provides greater than the norm levels of customisation. With project cars, the only thing you can customise is the tuning setup on your chosen car, though this is also the same with Assetto. 

Another issue with Pcars, is the fact a lot of bugs from early on in the dev cycle have carried over to the full release. Now this is the worst part about project cars, as some of these bugs are game breaking. SMS have said they will be fixing them, so we will see.

Pcars does have a lot going for it though, and even with the bugs and the AI, the online isn't all too bad. The graphics are some of the best I have ever seen for a racing game, with its only equal in this department been driveclub on the PS4. Unfortunately, the latter only runs at 30fps. Which is kind of bad for a track based racer. The game runs well on older Nvidia hardware, and my original testing with the game; till about a year ago anyway. Was done with a GT630 2gb graphics card. More recently with a GTX780 though. The game runs well on older graphics cards, but you may have to turn a few graphical options down or off. But that is the same with any newer game running on older or less powerful hardware. 

If what you are looking for is a proper sim, with great physics and FFB, if you have or decide to get a wheel. Then I would seriously look into Assetto Corsa, Iracing, live for speed (older game), R factor 2; and the likes of those. Normally I would say to rule out Pcars, but to be fair, I think I am just been far too judgemental with it. Most likely because I put money towards it very early on, and took till the last couple of months before I personally saw any actual improvement over the earlier dev releases. 
 

[leelaa14]

All the pros say assetto corsa is better because of super hyper x scopezz physix.....even though they've never driven a race car around a track in real life.
I prefer project cars as it's a complete package, the weight that transfers through the cars are nice.

I've never driven a real car around a track so I won't talk about dem super uber hype x real scopez physix.....

But frankly, the stig helped make this game and he hated racing sim games....He loves this one though...

But apparently if a car understears like shit in a game then that's the best one.

[Ialyrn]

He was paid to promote the game, just like any race driver that promotes a game. They are under contract to do some pr work.

[Columbo]

And that's special? 

Realism and accuracy of a game is something few notice. 

[.spider.]

Realism and accuracy of a game is something few notice.

But that's 90s accuracy.

[SympathyRS]

Personally, I own Assetto Corsa and have tried Project CARS before it was released, if you are into drifting Assetto Corsa is the way to go, plus I think the physics are better generally. But hard to argue about the graphics in Project CARS, looks incredible.

[Badger906]

All the pros say assetto corsa is better because of super hyper x scopezz physix.....even though they've never driven a race car around a track in real life.

I prefer project cars as it's a complete package, the weight that transfers through the cars are nice.

I've never driven a real car around a track so I won't talk about dem super uber hype x real scopez physix.....

But frankly, the stig helped make this game and he hated racing sim games....He loves this one though...

But apparently if a car understears like shit in a game then that's the best one.

lol does that make me an elite pro as I've done more laps in real life than on assetto??

from personal experience assetto is very good, it's not such a great experience with a controller but then again race sims should be played with a wheel.. hence the sim part.

what I was most impressed with assetto was the laser mapping of tracks, which meant every bump was there.

tracks like Silverstone you could feel the racing line groove and bumps in breaking zones which would unsettle the balance of the car.

I've not played pc but if it's half the game assetto is its worth it.

[leelaa14]

lol does that make me an elite pro as I've done more laps in real life than on assetto??

from personal experience assetto is very good, it's not such a great experience with a controller but then again race sims should be played with a wheel.. hence the sim part.

what I was most impressed with assetto was the laser mapping of tracks, which meant every bump was there.

tracks like Silverstone you could feel the racing line groove and bumps in breaking zones which would unsettle the balance of the car.

I've not played pc but if it's half the game assetto is its worth it.

To quote what I wrote in my post...

"All the pros say assetto corsa is better because of super hyper x scopezz physix.....even though they've never driven a race car around a track in real life"

You have done laps so you have experience, therefore your opinion on the game is taken more seriously...ya get me?

A lot of people who play sim racers have no idea what it's truly like to drive a car on a track so where they get there "physix" knowledge from is beyond me and it's very annoying..

edit, I am not denying assetto is a good game..as it's amazing...but as I said, people seem to chose and blindly defend assetto for being the most realistic even though they have no real idea what track racing is like.

But like I said your opinion is valid as you yourself know what it is like..

[Columbo]

But that's 90s accuracy.

Namco is an 80's and 90's Japanese arcade brand. Project Cars is a European designed game. The Stock Cars also known as Nascar is the American aspect of Project Cars. I have a G27 wheel. With Project Cars I didn't need Fan Led's software to see my Led's light up. Racing games have come a long way since the game "Turbo" on the Coleco Vision which was the first console to have a steering wheel on a console. It was the first machine that had arcade perfect graphics.

[.spider.]

Namco is an 80's and 90's Japanese arcade brand...

Seems to be pointless...

[xAcid9]

pCars AIs is more fun to race with, they will hunt you and kill you. 

[Columbo]

Seems to be pointless...

To you it's pointless.