"Assetto Corsa EVO" played in VR: False start with misfire
"Assetto Corsa EVO" is set to mature in Early Access, also in VR. We test whether the technical shortcomings slow down the authentic driving experience.
(Image: 505 Games)
The racing simulation "Assetto Corsa (starting from 7 €)" and its successor "Assetto Corsa Competizione (starting from 12,61 €)" are famous for their great driving physics, but also notorious for their technical problems. Italian developer Kunos Simulazioni and publisher 505 Games are also relying on Early Access for the third part to gather feedback from the community. For the right racing atmosphere, "Assetto Corsa EVO" supports VR goggles right from the start. We put on a VR headset to check whether it's worth getting started in the early development phase.
By version 1.0 in fall 2025, the title is set to grow into a fully-fledged simulation – with 15 tracks, dynamic weather, online multiplayer, 100 vehicles of various classes, car dealerships and fine-tuning options. Even the free exploration of a realistic open world is planned. For now, however, the content is very meagre. Currently, you can only take part in training mode and fast races. Just five tracks such as Suzuka, Laguna Seca or the idyllic Mount Panorama are available. There are 20 vehicles and various variants available, from the small Abarth 695 Biposto to an Audi RS 3 Sportback and racing machines such as the Ferrari 296 GTB.
Online obligation temporarily suspended
Although only offline races can be contested so far, some functions and vehicles should actually require an online connection right from the start. However, as there were apparently problems with the game servers at launch, the developers have taken them offline for now and made the affected content available offline. The player profile managed online cannot currently be saved either.
Assetto Corsa Evo (Early Access) (6 Bilder)
heise online / jpw
)During our first laps in front of the monitor, the well-implemented physics were noticeable. The mass and the behavior of the vehicles already feel quite authentic. Even if you use an Xbox controller instead of a steering wheel and pedals, the cars are a little easier to control than in the predecessor.
Not really suitable for driving
However, the question arises whether the team has overreached itself by switching from the Unreal Engine to an in-house engine. The VR mode at least suffers from such major issues in the first early access phase that we were rarely able to make it work. Even in the very jerky menu, the background was often full of unsteady pixel errors. It became even more unpleasant on the track. Occasionally, the background smudged with every head movement in a kind of faulty blur effect. At other race starts, the sim squeezed three screens onto the left eye's display at once or crashed completely.
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With a Ryzen 7 7700, a GeForce RTX 4800 Super and the VR goggles Pimax Crystal Light, we couldn't get the game to run without errors. Even changing the hardware and the fine-tuning settings in the options did not improve the situation. With a wirelessly connected Meta Quest 3 (alternating with Meta Quest Link and Virtual Desktop), we were at least sometimes spared the worst graphics errors. But even here the performance suffered from occasional stuttering, regardless of whether we turned down the graphics options or activated upscaling via FSR (DLSS is still missing).
On an older PC with a GeForce 2080 Ti and an Oculus Rift S, we experienced even more errors: the background often appeared distorted here, especially as the low refresh rate made precise gaming almost impossible. Let's hope that the developers improve this quickly. According to the roadmap, the second of six early access phases should also herald "Phase 2" of VR support. However, we can give the all-clear for conventional gaming without VR glasses. At least on our single-monitor setup (up to three are supported), the first races ran largely smoothly, even if the vegetation and other details in the background are still far from the quality of a "Gran Turismo 7". The detailed cockpits, on the other hand, are already impressive.
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Interim conclusion
Presently, we can only warn VR fans against buying "Assetto Corsa EVO". It is an early Early Access version that suffers from so many bugs and poor performance that even Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 seems technically mature. If you would rather not get involved in the development of the VR mode right from the start, it's better to wait and see or do your laps in front of the monitor for the moment. There, the still rudimentary content at least runs smoothly most of the time, even if the new engine places significantly higher demands on the hardware than in "Assetto Corsa Competizione". After years of fine-tuning, the predecessor does quite well in VR, especially if you adjust the graphics and DLSS options accordingly.
"Assetto Corsa EVO" was released as a download in the Steam store on Thursday, January 16, 2025. The price in Early Access is 32 euros, a purchase also grants access to the full version later. Steam age rating from 12. Console conversions are also planned after the release of the full PC version, although no information on dates or possible VR support is yet available.
(jpw)
