Dear reader,
Welcome to the inaugural issue of the new, Traxion Control Newsletter, you made it! I hope to make these weekly newsletters a deep dive into the most relevant stories/events in our world of sim racing. They are not designed to be short, nor will they be just a whole load of links to stories we’ve already written (and therefore you’ve already read… right?). The ideal scenario is that every Friday morning, this content lands in your inbox and serves as a cue to go grab a coffee, minimise discord, sit back and have a good old-fashioned read.
Tom Bunten, Traxion.gg
Out with the new, in with the old.
While Project Motor Racing and Rennsport suffer their false starts, AC Rally comes snow-drifting into focus and Geoff Crammond makes an unexpected return of sorts!
Assetto Corsa EVO, Project Motor Racing, Rennsport… all new titles, all plagued with issues upon launch, all suffering the wrath of possibly the most finicky, demanding subset of gamers - us damned sim racers.
However, one new title appears to be breaking that mould: Assetto Corsa Rally.
Some say it was the worst kept secret in gaming, others appeared blindsided by the title’s grand reveal at this year’s Sim Racing Expo in Dortmund. We say, it’s “Something Special”.
Launched to a volley of praise, adoration and expectation from the community, Supernova Games Studios have quietly, methodically and sublimely released one of the most polished early access games I can remember for a long time.
Yesterday the Kunos-supported studio came out swinging with a festive update that gives us:
Snowy surfaces
Studded snow tyres
Livigno Ice circuit
1973 Alpine A110 Group 4 (Laser Scanned)
25 new ACR Events
The Traxion team were lucky enough to don their studded snow tyres and take the Alpine A110 for a spin this week prior to public launch… here’s what our front-man, youtuber-in-chief, John Munro had to say:
“Assetto Corsa Rally's first update has arrived, and it was somewhat of a surprise.... The Livigno Circuit (yes, I did say "circuit"!) becomes the third location within the title, and it's 0.9km layout comprising of compact ice and snow banks acts as an ideal training ground for low-grip driving. And when I say low-grip, I mean LOW grip! Despite the newly added studded tyres, this icy arena banishes you at the first thoughts of laying down any horsepower. This isn't rally Sweden'esque; think Trophée Andros instead.
Whilst feeling a tinge of disappointment that we don't yet have that additional snowy stage I was expecting, it does feel like a worthy teaser. A tech demo of sorts, showcasing what snow and ice driving will be like in Assetto Corsa Rally moving forwards. And it's fair to say, whether in a 4WD Rally2 car or the newly added 1973 Alpine A110, with its rear-wheel drive layout and modest 180bhp 4 cylinder engine, this circuit forces you to work on your techniques that will certainly carry over to the stages. Just watch out for frost bite!”
This is all the more impressive considering…
…bringing a new game to the sim racing market is evidently a real challenge in the modern, perhaps saturated world of sim racing titles, as Straight4 discovered to its cost with the recent release of Project Motor Racing.
Behind the scenes here at Traxion, in the lead up to the title’s launch, I witnessed several tormented hours of internal debate, discussion, reasoning, re-writes and more re-writes before the team landed on their fairly damning 5/10 score and accompanying script for our 1.0 video review.
The team did not reach their conclusion lightly. They wanted the game to be a success. The Project CARS franchise and GTR games before it are pillars of our sim racing lore, a spiritual successor is in theory a guaranteed recipe for success.
Following a universal dressing down by the sim racing community when the troubled title launched on 25th November, Straight4 made the “heart-breaking” decision to lay off a number of their staff this week.
Despite animated levels of outrage at the quality of the PMR release, the community was strangely unified in their sympathy for the team’s predicament. In fact, anecdotally, since the layoffs were announced, I’ve seen more and more positive sentiment about the potential for the highly anticipated title to bounce back. Perhaps Ian Bell will get his “No Mans Sky” story after all?
On a positive note, it was nice to see Motorsport Games and Stephen Hood (CEO) reach out across the paddock to those who lost their jobs, inviting them to get in touch about “speculative roles”.
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Elsewhere…
Forza Motorsport has been put to bed. A damp squib of a series reboot that launched in 2023, the title will be furnished with no more cars, tracks, features or even regular bug fixes. Online servers and special events will continue to be supported. Read more →
Wreckfest 2 has come in like a… wrecking ball (sorry) with 2 new modes, 2 new cars and a new track! Once described by our Editor-In-Chief as “barren but solid”, this demolition derby dream is maturing into the physics-based, fun-first, respite from GT3s at Spa that us hardcore sim racers have been hoping for. Read more →
RaceRoom has added a radar. This, to the uninitiated, may seem trite, but those who know.. know. This is a very welcome addition to the resurgent title. Read more →
Le Mans Ultimate have listened to some hefty feedback from the community about their Paul Ricard release and beefed up the kerbs and amended those pesky track limits. Read more →
Wreakreation have turned to Patreon for support from the community after THQ Nordic have stemmed the flow of funding to the title. Read more →
Can AI make you a faster sim racer?
Built by Driver61 (Scott Mansell), Trophi.ai is trying to do just that. We’ve all been there, we get a couple of hours to dust of the rig and jump into some ranked sessions, but this week the track is one we’re unfamiliar with. Trophi.ai will help you get up to speed faster, with live, AI-powered voice coaching.
Brake a little later here, get back on the power a little later there… you know the drill
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