Marco hinted at it even last year, but now the message is clear. Kunos is preparing for the future. The good news is that they are planning to build on this platform which means even better times are coming for simracing enthusiasts. The team is increasing, they are testing and looking at new technologies (let's not forget that AC is based on a pre-2011 graphic engine) and they will definitely (wishful thinking ? ) look to include the things community craved the most - rankings, night/day cycle, maybe even rain. The bad news is.. we don't know when. The last 4 years have been so exciting, always looking forward to what the crazy passionate guys at Kunos will do, while enjoying the tasting simulation that Assetto Corsa is. I assume now a period of calm will follow, a time to enjoy AC as it is, and maybe a time to allow new talented modders to release their creations. It might sound "problematic", but it's not. I am still enjoying LFS after more than a decade, and we all know how development went for it . So I'll just say, thank you Kunos for what you have done and best of luck for you (hence for us) in the future. With this occasion, I would also like to say thank all of you for visiting or participating in this forum. We are more than 4000 people registered (which is amazing!), and while it might not look very vocal, I know you are reading. Figures don't lie . Happy 2018 ! "Since we started the Assetto Corsa project, each year we have experienced something remarkable: in 2011 we unveiled the new IP, in 2012 we presented the game at Gamescom and announced the Ferrari licence, granted to an independent production for the first time ever. In 2013 the game was released in Early Access, in 2014 we launched version 1.0, in 2015 we introduced the Lamborghini licence and released the first version of the Nürburgring Nordschleife based entirely on laserscan data. In 2016, we released the simulation to consoles thanks to the partnership with 505Games, and announced the Porsche Programme, which brought the very best selection of Porsche cars in a genuine simulation after 13 years. In 2017, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of Ferrari with a dedicated pack that is one of the most successful DLC packages ever released for Assetto Corsa. More importantly, throughout the years our entire team has worked hard to improve every single aspect of the simulation: adding new features and improving physics, performance and the underlying tyre model as well as single- and multiplayer features, with the aim to provide our fans with a driving simulation that can keep high standards in vehicle modelling, sound effects, handling and gaming features. This long-term support has been possible thanks to our loyal user base and all those sim racers and gamers who have purchased our product and given us suggestions and positive criticism day after day with the aim to improve the game. The free Bonus Pack #3 recently released is dedicated to all of them. Another remarkable event in 2017 was when Kunos Simulazioni became part of Digital Bros, a decision that as founders of the studio, Stefano Casillo and I, made with the objective to consolidate the team, guarantee more stability, strength and resources for the present and future of the company. Yes, the future: what can you expect now? As I have said, Assetto Corsa has kept Kunos Simulazioni busy for almost seven years, and we have continued to update the game for three years following its 1.0 release. Assetto Corsa is not just a “game"; it is based on a technology designed and developed in-house, which is not a secondary detail, given that this is the technology that will determine and define the quality, gameplay and potential of the games to be based on it down the line. This is why we dedicated years to improve an engine that had originally been conceived in 2011, and this is why during 2017 we also dedicated time and resources to R&D activities that will define what we are going to be busy with in the years to come. In 2011, Assetto Corsa was conceived to be a moddable platform featuring - possibly - 20 cars, 5 tracks and the basic functionalities typical of a driving simulation. Today, it offers 177 cars in 20 classes and genres, 19 tracks in 35 configurations, an offline career, custom championships, a solid multiplayer experience and much more, not to mention the ongoing support for modding, which has seen improvements through the years and resulted in an incredible collection of third-party content created by a dedicated community. And sometime we still can't believe that Assetto Corsa has gone so far. But it is not just the software that has changed and evolved throughout these years, but also the company itself. What was once a group of four guys trying to wage war on the most established names in the business is now a bigger team. Finding the "right people" to insert into such a peculiar working environment such as Kunos Simulazioni is not an easy task, and it's something that has kept us busy during 2017 as well. I am glad to say that the results are encouraging and the future looks bright thanks to the new talents we were able to add to our team and that will join the ranks alongside the founders me and Stefano, the guys of the "old guard" who joined us since the beginning and all the other people you've learned to know during this adventure. All of the above thanks also to our new "Benevolent Overlords" in Digital Bros, allowing us to think and dream bigger than we could only a few months ago. Talking about the Team, in 2017 we welcomed four new programmers specialized respectively in graphics and gfx, UI and animations, mechanic and physics, online racing environment and ranking, with the aim to improve in those areas that can make your experience with Assetto Corsa games better and better. There is always a margin for improvement: even after a lot of hard work to reduce this margin throughout a long development period, 2017 was a highly important year to us to define the new basis in the technology we will use in future. Even today, the community keeps asking for something new, and that is great as it means that you continue to keep us involved in fuelling your hobby, passion and training tools. To meet your expectations, and to support the features that our current technology cannot manage, some – actually a lot of – work will be required. So, it's time to move forward. When it arrived, there had been nothing like Assetto Corsa before. We are working hard to replicate this feeling with what there is to come in the future. Marco Massarutto, Assetto Corsa's Brand&Product Manager"
..aaand this one, which seems to pre-date the announcement on the 31st. Good bits of information (auto-translate): "Hi Matteo Bàkkhos Righetti, I reply here to your comment on the official page of the race race because I don't think it's controversial but in its proactive way, and since I quote text - you are increasingly amazed by my managerial, managerial and entrepreneurial skills (I would add Supercalifragispiralitoso ) I would like to offer you some insight that might also be interesting for others. You Write (the square brackets are mine): " in ac2, it was not announced or mentioned I can tolerate the same graphic graphics, an audio not at the highest level, I can tolerate the lack of mechanical damage, the parts of bodywork that do not depart and the Wheels that don't roll as a result of an accident. I can even tolerate the lack of the longed-for rain and the night. But please, I beg you to kneeling on the coals, fix the multiplayer. That's the soul of the game. There is everything, it has immense potential, but unfortunately it is not exploited. AC is wonderful but, forgive me, it's more often than swearing that the times you entertain. Every time I get out in a worse mood than before. I'd like a ac2 with a decent multiplayer to amuse me. I would like a multiplayer online multiplayer, with a point system or filtering. That would be the real breakthrough beyond graphics, Oculus and simulation. This is a necessary and mandatory passage for me. Who cares if the new engine won't be able to handle more than one source of light? " Apart from the fact that if to follow your suggestion in ac2 there was no night, they would come looking for you at home (and we would do anything to make you find ), your analysis follows a common logic to many gamers: if you He is interested in the "x" aspect of a video game, then x becomes (also for all other gamers) the key to success, and everything else becomes secondary to it. Without x, everything else becomes an end to itself. In Your Case, the x is the multiplayer. One tomorrow, in ac2 will not be important graphics, damage, night and rain, VR support, no: but the multiplayer. I'll give you some numbers that will give you and others a thought. Running framework is on steam one of the most popular driving games and played daily (steam data, eh): more games out of the same period, and even more recently played games. By following the numbers, if we look at the total of from 2014 to today, about 0,2 % play online. In Numbers, 2 players out of 1000. But it is an end calculation to itself, and so we delete all users from 2014 to today, and let's pretend (sorry the caps but I can't emphasize or highlight ) that The active users are only those who have purchased framework in the last 3 months, seems fair, agree? We are therefore talking about 50.000 users, who are certainly active because they bought around 200.000 DLC during the same period. Of them, about 3 % play online with a minimum of regularity. That is, 3 players out of 100. The other 97, no (and I remind you, that I removed from the equation more than 600.000 users). Does that mean the multiplayer isn't important? Nothing at all: but it means that the multiplayer is as important as all other features of the game: Graphics, cars, circuits, single player, special events (Inorridisci if you want, but they are the most clicked element of the game ) , career. As developers, we have a duty to treat all aspects of the game, otherwise our management management would be unsuccessful. So I can't share your vision of what a hypothetical ac2 "should" be, although i understand that you wanted to express a paradox. But you see: if you play a game with an excellent multiplayer system, but with graphics, sound, and functionality "a bit like this", you'll find empty servers because a game like that, nobody cares. Speaking of "bankruptcy", this is the term with which you define the multiplayer, and I quote: " the multiplayer was unfortunately unsuccessful and still is. I'm very sorry to say it, but I think it's in everyone's eyes. , and this is " under everyone's eyes. In the public servers you can't make a clean race, and to make a decent one, you have to go to the search for serious groups, not knowing exactly what and when and who to look for and with what means. Srs was a device that partially filled this gap. I wish I could see in Ac2 Server with clean races. I would like there to be a system that skimming inexperienced by experts, or better, c **** the." Following your analysis, it doesn't come out that the multiplayer is unsuccessful because it doesn't work, because the server servers, because it is unstable, because nigga, because it doesn't have the functionality to create a game, connect and compete with others (also because This is not happening. No: you think it's "failed" because it's hard to find experienced players, who can be on track and respectful of others. How to say: I, municipality of whatever, organize separate collection, a sufficient number of dumpsters and ecological islands: but if people download washing machines and refrigerators on the street and do not remove the needs of their dog, they are not the others at Being uncivilized, it's my management to fail. Very good. First of all, we will relax you: whatever we do in the future there will be night, rain and an advanced rating system. So we all get along. On one thing I agree with you: at the interface level, the pc run framework could be more user friendly and be more immediate in search and selection of a server, in the booking system, and so on. On this we can only improve, with the console interface we have proven to be sensitive to the theme, and we have learned a lot. And as I said, in the future, we will create tools that will organise online competitions in groups of homogeneous players and sanzioneranno the wrong ones. I also agree that the rating and tools for e-Sports (in my very own opinion the next bubble after VR) today is much more important than it was 7 years ago when the race was conceived ( That is why, after so much time, it cannot be changed, and that will therefore be essential in the future. But to be unsuccessful here is the attitude of players who buy a video game that has all the tools to be used decently and enjoy ruining others. Not the fact that the game itself prevents him from doing so. The problem common to many players is that they know the charter of their rights very well, but they do not consider the duties, first of all, respect for other players. It's news from yesterday that the developers of player unknown: Battlegrounds have banned 1.500.000 of cheater: one and a half million people. Video games and technology need to evolve, to be on the market and step by step. Perhaps it is time for the users to do so. Learning also to understand that everyone has the right right to prefer a game to another, and a particular feature of another, but at the same time trying to have a broader view of things, so that they enjoy their passion for 360 degrees, i.e. better, and more. For our part, we will do everything we can to please you. "
Following comments, from Marco (auto-translate from Italian): "[..]in this context you cannot compare the model of iracing to the: Iracing is only playable online, born and is designed exclusively for online racing and is based on a monthly subscription that is indispensable even to use the software in Practice, because if your subscription isn't active, you can't even use the content you purchased offline. So the two systems are not comparable, neither from a point of view of gameplay, nor statistics, nor business. In, the multiplayer is one of the modes, in iracing is the mode. That in iracing is done well, and it could not be otherwise, because the entire business system has been designed and structured exclusively for this." "what I meant to say is that the numbers suggest that in a context like AC, the multiplayer is one of the important aspects of the product, like all others. Everyone has importance (apart from drag racing, that was a mistake of youth ) and that therefore in the analysis of priorities, it is necessary from the developer not to be taken from emotion or currents of thought, but do An analysis as objectively as possible. To give you an example: until we have implemented the vr support, it seemed that (a) all owned a headset and b) race planning was the only title not to support VR. An NDA doesn't allow me to quote numbers, but if i tell you how many pcs are VR-ready (that is, not that they have vr but who have performance such as to afford it), you wouldn't believe me. Think Small. No, even more.. " "I follow up on what was written in the end-of-Year Blog: the entire race structure was conceived in 2011: from a technical point of view, some things over time can be evolved and,, Some don't. So it is physiological that over time, more recent software and different structures become or be considered more effective. In 2011, we had to make choices based on the resources available and based on the numbers we believed to be running for the race, depending on our experiences and expectations. If we had imagined that a hardcore simulation like ac would sell more than a million copies, probably in 2011 we would have mortgaged what little we had left, and we would have created an even more effective structure. Framework has been for years as a construction site: what in our expectations was to be a 5-story building has become a skyscraper: the foundations can be reinforced, but you can't redo them from scratch without tearing down what you built above."
