Assetto Corsa Evo is inching through the Early Access phase with the release of Update 0.7. As always, the racing sim is adding new content—though just new cars this time—but also bringing in new fundamental additions, changes and fixes.
But first, the cars. The four cars are an even spread of race cars and road cars. The headliner is the devil itself, the Datsun 240Z. The Japanese coupe by Nissan shipped to the US under the Datsun badge (and a slight name change) and paved way to the popularity of Japanese vehicles in the west. It comes in two variants, the other sporting the Fairlady Z badge as it’s known in its native country.
The Porsche 935 has racing pedigree, as the first-generation of them were used in for sports car racing in the 70’s, with the most powerful version dubbed the Moby Dick. The model featured here is the second generation of the 935, with a Martini-esque livery inspired by the racing colours of its past. The other Porsche is a Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport Evo Kit, a specific version of the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport, a track-only, high-performance 911 which is based on the 991.2, the latest generation of 911. Porsche sure loves making a special car more special with a special kit, especially for the 911s.
Finally, rounding up the new cars is the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. Just like AC Evo, the R8 LMS GT3 Evo II is an evolution of the race-going Audi R8, though sadly it’s the last evolution for a while as Audi has effectively winded down all its other motorsport programmes to focus entirely on F1. A cool car nonetheless, with a version of it previously featured in Assetto Corsa Competizione.
Assetto Corsa Evo Update 0.7 New Cars
- Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II
- Datsun 240Z
- Porsche 935
- Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport Evo Kit
Assetto Corsa Evo Update 0.7 Adds Mod Support, Beginning With Car Editor
Another content-adjacent inclusion to Update 0.7 is the Assetto Corsa Evo SDK. This is an official modding tool that for now allows anyone who owns a copy of the game to mod the game. Currently, the ACE SDK only offers car editing tools, so you can add, subtract or adjust specific car parts on currently available cars, or create one from scratch. Future updates will add the ability to create custom liveries and tracks. Mods only affect the single-player game for now, but the ability to use mods in multiplayer will be a feature.
Despite the existence of the newer Assetto Corsa Competizione, there is still an active community that play with the original Assetto Corsa thanks to its modability. Assetto Corsa Evo will be carrying that modding spirit and this is the first step to get there.
Assetto Corsa Evo Update 0.7 Adds Safety Rating System For Online Multiplayer
And for the competitive multiplayer players, AC Evo Update 0.7 is adding its take on a safety rating, the EVO SR. EVO SR isn’t just tracking if you make contact with someone and penalise accordingly, it also rewards close and clean racing. As in, EVO SR should indicate how “safe” a driver is to be around when racing in close proximity, rather than a track record if they have been not punting another car into Barry R as of late.
As such, you gain EVO SR for driving close to another car without hitting them, which is something you’ll gain more if you’re actually racing hard but safe.
EVO SR takes account in-game impact data to determine who should be punished (the aggressor, obviously), though we will have to see how rigorous it is when a multi-car hit pile-up happens. When contact is registered, the amount of SR deduction is based on how severe the contact is. Interestingly, solo wall hits (you crashed out alone and hit the wall) and slipstream taps (when you follow a leading car and due to the slipstream/tow effect gives you more speed and slightly nudge the car in front) “don’t move the rating.”
It’s an interesting philosophy, as it’s designed not to simply curb egregious rammers online, but rather to encourage better racing though reinforcing racing etiquette. The only way to build your EVO SR is to be fast, you can’t just do laps slowly and hope to rise up the ranks that way. Though how the system can equally match racers within the same EVO SR that is both equally fast and safe, and not anything too lopsided on either end of the scale yet averaged out the same, remains to be seen.
AC Evo Update 0.7 also has added particle visual effects. Dust and dirt will get kicked up by an off-track car that run on gravel now, so that’s nice addition to graphical immersion, albeit one you’d expect any racing game to have should they aim for graphical realism. This explains the trailer for the update started with an opening shot of the Datsun eating gravel.
Assetto Corsa Evo is out now in Early Access on PC (Steam). Check out our impressions of the game when it first launched here.