Assetto Corsa VR vs Project CARS VR Oculus Rift comparison

Both Assetto Corsa and Project CARS surely offer some of the best early VR experiences so I ran a quick test to see how they measured up side by side using the Oculus Rift. I've added the video although 2D video really doesn't do this full justice, in Rift all I want to do is reach out and touch the buttons and I really do feel like I'm holding that Lotus wheel. I used the Lotus 49, a car I've not used so this was a good opportunity to try it, and Brands Hatch GP as they are in both games.



There is so little to choose between the VR experiences, they are both fantastic and so immersive I just want to drive more. Both games run perfectly and easily hold the 90fps required so I'll leave more technical analysis to those with that skill set. Being really picky I'd say the main differences are:

pCARS - slightly sharper graphics, especially the in car dials but at longer distances there is nothing in it (& yes I've applied the suggested changes to AC settings in the Oculus thread - superb). At the moment pCARS does look slightly more polished in VR, also having the full menu screens etc in VR helps, especially if like me you wear glasses and have to take the Rift on and off for the AC menus. It's early days though so this is fully acceptable.

Assetto Corsa - still for me, has the better feel and feedback from the car, being able to look through the corner and pick the line makes this even more thrilling. Better connection with the car means I'm able to make more of the depth perception and feeling of elevation on the track. Purely subjective I know but I think a lot of VR is about creating that feeling. In pCARS I had to turn up the tyre feedback quite a bit over the desktop version which helped a lot but still for me no match for AC.

Sound - nothing new for VR but an essential part of the experience all the same. On the video PCARS sounds much louder and aggressive but playing the games back to back the difference is far less audible. I think personal preference would determine which is better, I'm happy with the thundering roar both games create in the headphones.

Motion sickness - I'm glad to report any feelings of motion sickness are minor in both games, I was able to complete several laps in each game with no ill effects. I tend to find I need a break after about 8 laps or so all the same. It gets fairly warm inside the headset after a while too. Dirt Rally can still make me feel a bit queasy after a longer stage.

The helmet feeling - one slight benefit is the Rift actually feels quite a bit like wearing a helmet on a real track session, there is that sense of a more restricted view, I think DiRT rally captures this to an even greater degree.

 

Just downloaded PCars over the weekend and wow! It looks muuuch better then it did last winter. I really like the rain but when I got back into AC after a three day hyannis I can't believe how great the physics really are in AC. Not to belittle PCars. I love them both.
Oh! Is there a way to turn off auto exposure in PCars?

 

Pcars VR does have an edge in terms of overall environmental effects and realism; obviously, the weather is a big part of the VR experience in Pcars.

 

I thought the landscape and trees were more 2D looking compared to AC.

 

There may be certain aspects of each that has an edge over the other but, Pcars just looks a little closer to RL video to me. AC has a huge advantage in other areas, especially handling and FFB. While Pcars sounds are expertly sampled and refined, the results are lackluster - especially in replays.

Both titles look great in VR and any difference only becomes a bit more obvious when compared side by side.

 

The play back in Pcars was poor. Landscape bured but it must be set that way. Still playing with it.
My two complaints are auto exposure and aliasing. The shadows look oily. Over exposed and underexposed at the same time in VR.
AC had the same problem but there was a way to turn off auto exposure.
Is there a way to turn off auto exposure in PCars?

 

Assetto corsa has a lot better clear graphics than Pcars when you have the good setting with oculus. Pcars I tried to configure the vr graphics it glitter and if you use antialiasing to correct it gets fuzzy.

 

Just wondering how to check FPS in PCARS?

 

There is just something about PCars phsyics I don't like. The cars feel stiff and glued to the tracks and really slow. Like 150 MPH feels like 60MPH.

As far as VR I have a much more immersive time just cruising in AC. To me cruising in PCars is very boring I don't feel any real unique individual connection with each car.
The Lykan feels stumpy geared and slow. the Mclarens feel floppy as if they dont even grab the track.

 

No matter how good Pcars may look, and with weather / night-day / etc., the driving aspect simply does not satisfy on the same level as AC for me. When I was involved in testing Pcars during development, there was a point where it seemed SMS was on the right track with car-handling; there is something to be said for being acclimated to a given Simulation's handling characteristics and our ability to adapt to them. However, when comparing with other titles, Pcars just doesn't match up for me - especially in a visceral way; one that no amount of math and science can explain.

 

found out that i need 2 use the steam built-in fps counter

 

I've tested 3 sims (AC, PCARS & iRacing) back to back to back using Z4 GT3 @ Nords to compare. I was focusing on ffb & the motion. My test environment was Oculus CV1 + D-box motion + ECCI 7000; GPU = nvidia 1080, graphics set to achieve around 80-90 fps.
I tweaked various settings on my wheel and motion such that the strength felt similar. What I found was that the PCARS motion code was the 'richest', whilst AC's feedback on the wheel gave the most 'info' on what the car was doing. iRacing had a nice combination of both.
With this car & track combo I was pleasantly surprised how similar they felt. I think this is a good sign for us sim racers and proves the underlying engine is getting closer and closer.

The things which are the most distinct are the sounds where PCARS has the most 'roar' and has the 'richest' mix followed by AC and lastly iRacing which sounds the mildest (most realistic?).

Visuals are also quite different, PCARS has the most eye candy, followed by AC. iRacing has the most 'bland' visual but surprisingly it is the one that looks the most pleasant and close to reality.

I then moved on to a different car & track combo: Lotus 49 at Spa
Here the similarities in ffb & motion that i felt with Z4 GT3 @ Nords were less so. PCARS and AC felt more similar to each other and iRacing felt very 'icy'! iRacing felt there was a lag between what i felt in the wheel & motion to what the car was doing on the track.
Between PCARS and AC, the former felt more alive during corners and straights but AC felt that the car gave more feedback during braking.

All in all I enjoyed all 3 sims for different reasons. iRacing for online competition, PCARS for the physics & eye-candy, and AC for it's overall quality and it's upcoming Porsche DLCs

 

I agree that all three Sim's have something to offer and to be enjoyed but, I just can't get into Pcars handling at all. Pcars does provide excellent telemetry though, for both tactile feedback and steering FFB through SimCommander. I find tuning SimVibe in Pcars to be the easiest among all titles with very consistent results that just feel right.

Perhaps iRacing's strong VR performance is due to both it's lighting and overall smoothness. Pcars has some physics-related things that occur that can reduce overall immersion and detract from the realism IMO; that's an important factor too - especially in VR, where seemingly small things can break immersion.

 

After to try the "big three" with a premium system and Oculus CV1, this ADAC GT spanish driver told that PCars was the most arcade feeling; AC the most accurate with the physics and tracks fidelity; and iRacing the best with brake feeling.

 

Great video and explanation

I feel exactly the same as you, I think pCars has a slight edge in visuals and some (most) car sounds, but AC still is the best for me when it comes to handling and general feeling.

 

For me AC is the most immersive of the two (pCars being the other one I don't own iRacing), I get a real sense of being there when driving the cars and I'm often found gasping for air in certain situations (flat out through Eau Rouge being one of them). With pCars I feel like it's more of an arcade simulator, the cars are on rails from the get go and the graphics decent but almost overdone, if anything I prefer AC ever so slightly with regards to the latter.
The one area that pCars does better is in the AI, they actually race you and you feel like you're in a race until the physics and handling let you down again. I grabbed pCars for a fiver last week so I won't moan about it too much, whilst I will continue to race in it purely for the AI, as soon as AC catches up in this area then I fear pCars will gather Steam Dust forever more.

 

We are indeed, fortunate to have 3 titles with which to make such comparisons, and in VR - no less.

For general "Racing Fun", Pcars is strong but, there are so many things that break immersion and keep reminding me that it's just a game. The sound sample quality (interior intensity) of most cars is really good but, the way the exterior-sounds are in replays is not as good as in AC IMO (if that matters). The tactile feedback from Pcars using SimVibe is excellent - maybe the best of any title atm. It's too bad that Pcars lacks some of the really immersive qualities in the visceral driving experience found in other Sim-titles but, that's good for AC.

 

Thanks, but that in the video is not me; he is a real professional ADAC GT (german GT championship) driver (he drives an Audi R8 GT3), and I posted his impressions after to try the three games with Oculus.