Aristotelis Vasilakos moves on to new adventures from Kunos Simulazioni

This one?

 

ftfy

 

Yeah it’s a poor excuse to assume most aren’t bothered about single player so why bother at all. Reiza aren’t a huge team and manage to have decent AI that’s scalable beyond 100%. Personally I believe iRacing to have the best AI out of the current crop of sims, but then they really should with all the money they’re raking in.

But we are verging off topic here. Aris after all had nothing to do with the AI and again, he’s clearly stated in his video that a replacement for him is in place and that AC2 is coming along nicely. So I’m sure we don’t have anything to worry about. It’s just simply someone moving to a new venture, no untoward reasons behind it. This article is a good read…

https://www.racedepartment.com/news...asilakos-resigns-from-kunos-simulazioni.1678/

LATE4APEX, I’m with you on the AI issue and let’s just hope they are sorting it for those of us that enjoy single player as well as multiplayer. We’ll just have to wait and see.

 

As single player only I honestly feel that AI in ACC is in a very good shape already. Much better than AC for instance, once you realize that it drives on the same physics as you and cannot shift sideways or stop on a dime, things just fall in place, you respect and give them the space, they do the same. Raising aggression to 100% to make them move away from the racing line helps too.
Can it be better, sure, like anything else under the sun.
But AI is not the subject of this thread, may be we deviate quite a bit.

 

Hello, I'm NomeKitoTestorbo, just 6418 hours in Asseto Corsa and 3482 hours in the Competizione...Just saying Thank you!!!Massaruto, Aristotelis, Stefano and company, Good times they have allowed us, good luck in the move...!

 

@Andrew_WOT The trouble now with raising aggression to 100%, since the 1.9 update and the fact Kunos has not bothered to adjust the AI to compensate for this physics change, on some tracks the AI are abysmal on one corner in particular and just can’t get round it full stop. Just drive straight off the track and either stay where they are and ghost to the pits or rejoin dreadfully causing chaos. And of course the most common issue of not acknowledging the player is even there and driving straight into you.

I’d agree with you that it is serviceable and good, fun single player races can be had. It’s the inconsistency and lack of attention to it from Kunos that irks me. Many of us have posted track specific AI bugs on here but they’ve been completely ignored.

 

When it comes to car physics Aris is an institution in his own right.
Imagine a strong German accent when I let DeepL say: Καλή τύχη και ευχαριστώ για την καλή δουλειά!

 

goes to 11

 

This looks very bad, honestly... I don't know what the future of AC2 can be without Stefano and Aris, I don't feel comfortable with another simracing product, any kunos product without Stefano and Aris is going to lose all its essence . Good luck Aris on your new path, I wish you the best!

 

I don't really understand why you would say that. Especially Stefano, he left the company almost 4 years ago. He would have absolutely nothing to do with AC2. And did ACC die and regress after he left? Clearly not. There are lots of other people working on the titles too. What Aris did for the community in his free time is something that most likely will never be replaced. But, I have no doubt that his replacement will continue where he left off.

 

Maybe its simply down to money.

Not sure what the worry here is.... Kunos is not the next Motorsport games.

As most of you know getting that bigger salary requires hopping jobs. If you stay at the same company forever you will hit plateau.

Gather 5-10 years of experience at one company and than use that to apply for higher position somewhere else...

At end of day it might simply be down to this.

Feels like some of these comments here are missing this part.

ACC didn't fall apart after Stefano left, I am sure there are placeholders that are in place to keep ACC/AC2 or whatever in pipeline going.

 

All the best to Aris.

I see it as a positive a breeze of fresh air. New talent brings new innovations and ideas. So let´s see. The glass is half full instead of half empty.

cheers

 

Stefano left the team when the ACC base was finished, ACC was one of the few simulators that launched with a solid base practically finished. The updates have come with many changes but I would say not really important ones. If one area has changed with significant updates, it is precisely the physics where Aris worked. I'm happy to see optimistic people, but I sincerely believe that time will prove me right, I hope not.

 

Sincerely I think Stefano departure from Kunos was much more relevant than Aris, with this not saying that Aris is not relevant, but basically is was Stefano that coded AC and ACC settles very much in what AC is.
With AC2, which will be using a new in-house engine, we all are going to see how impactful Stefano and Aris absence will be.

Personally I see Stefano, Marco and Aris as the head and face of Kunos, but I understand that it's isn't like that anymore.
Time have passed, Stefano went out and now Aris as well, therefore somebody have to fill their shoes somehow. The question could be if the person(s) with those tasks in hand will be as significant for simracing as when the trio was together.
One thing is certain, both Stefano and Aris have left a very significant impression in simracing development and surely their names will be remembered for their impactful contributions.

About the future, only time will tell if Kunos will continue to be a reference for simracing and game engine development, certain that different it will be for sure.

What I really miss the most about both Stefano and Aris leaving is the interaction with the community and how open and candid they both were talking about their work and how things were being developed.

Right now I'll wait for the GT2 and Nords, particularly what it will bring in terms of development and engine update, more than the content by itself, and I'm very curious to see what AC2 will be, namely if it will be an evolution of Stefano’s work for AC/ACC or if will go for a new route.

 

Hopefully a new track and a new GT class, is enough to insure ACC+ will still be around for a while.

Upgrading AI, is still an unknown.


As always,...

 

It must be recognized that "a new track" like the 24-hour Nordschleife layout, more than a farewell, is a great culmination in style to the best work done as the reference in motor sports in automotive simulation at the beginning of the century. Surely the AI does not dull my reflexes after a good nighttime drizzle with a sunrise on an 8º track waiting for a passing lane to form leaving the forest towards the long back straight...

 

This is such an overly dramatic and quite frankly strange response to all this. Aris would have no reason to lie to us in his farewell video. Perhaps go watch it again? He states very clearly the position Kunos is in as a company, references his replacement, the upcoming content to ACC and how well AC2 is looking. Kunos is not nothing without Aris and Stefano. I’m sure both of them would agree with that. While they have obviously been integral to the game, what with Kunos being such a small developer, every other single person is too. And they’re all replaceable…

 

Goodbye Aris. Thank you for your incredible contribution to simulated driving and racing. It opened a whole new world to me. Enjoy your life and have fun.

 

Aris wasn't a physics programmer though. I believe Fernando Barbarossa took over as the lead physics programmer after Stefano left. So he would have been a major contributor as well. I just can't get behind the idea that everyone else at the company, and potential replacements, are somehow incompetent and incapable of taking the sim forward.

 

I am sure there are competent people at the company but Stefano and Marco created Kunos and Aris joined soon afterwards. Let's not mince words: Stefano is a genius, Marco is a great salesman and Aris is a true petrol-head, in love with cars (besides being a nice guy). The combination of these three personalities made it possible to have AC and ACC. I think it is legit to ask ourselves if Kunos will keep the same focus and the same passion now that two of the three main people have left and considering this is a rather small company (also considering it is owned by 505 Games). I guess we will get an answer soon.