KUNOS Simulazioni and 505 Games have released a new video keynote that reveals the highly anticipated Free Roam feature for their in development racing simulator, Assetto Corsa EVO.
Free Roam is a new feature in Assetto Corsa EVO which includes a 1:1 scale recreation of specific districts in the diverse Eifel region in Germany. Home to the legendary Nürburgring and its immensely challenging and historic 12.9-mile (20.8 km) Nordschleife. This entirely new open world features roads, villages, landmarks and more located around this iconic circuit – all of which have been recreated with exceptional attention to detail, in the highest fidelity.
Beginning with an initial playable area around the Nürburgring – at launch – the first area will include the Nordschleife, the surrounding villages and the road connecting them, with the Free Roam experience set to expand to additional representative areas of the Eifel over time.
Free Roam can be enjoyed both in single-player and in multiplayer with drivers able to explore this iconic location together and play dedicated game modes.
Kunos Simulazioni’s team has spent an immense effort in building Eifel’s separate villages, garages, hotels, restaurants, meeting places, and other local landmarks.
Changeable weather conditions, day and night cycle and variable AI traffic based on local trends also feature. All roads have their real-world length and width and all corners, hairpins, junctions, bridges and elevation changes match their real-life counterparts offering a sense of realism that is unprecedented in the driving video game space.
Assetto Corsa EVO already simulates the exciting, raw competitive nature of track-based motorsport across a range of disciplines, vehicles and locations, but with Free Roam players have the freedom to explore at their own pace, take part in optional in world events like Time Attack challenges, and enjoy the purity of driving in an environment with unmatched fidelity and realism.
“Producing the Free Roam for Assetto Corsa EVO has been one of the most intense challenges we’ve faced at Kunos — and also a real privilege. I’ve had the chance to witness its growth from the very beginning, through all the iterations, changes and improvements we’ve made to our technology to push its visual quality further and overcome some of its limitations” commented Marco Massarutto, co-founder and Executive Manager of KUNOS Simulazioni. ”At the same time, we’ve been able to create something that, in many ways, goes far beyond what you would expect from the size of the studio that worked on it. After such a long development behind closed doors, we really can’t wait to finally let the community play it, explore it and experience it. Our biggest hope is that they will get the same sense of satisfaction and excitement from it that we’ve had as developers while bringing it to life”.
Free Roam will make its playable debut at Sim Racing Expo (October 16th – 18th) in Frankfurt (Germany), with Marco taking to the main stage on Friday, October 16th at 3pm BST / 4pm CEST to introduce the new mode. Additionally members of the general public will be able to sample Free Roam at multiple dedicated stations on the showfloor.
Assetto Corsa Rally will also be featured at the Sim Racing Expo, and hosts the finals of the Esports Global Rally Tour Europe Shootout. Held in partnership with the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), the competition challenges the world’s top Assetto Corsa Rally drivers to compete against each other to win a spot in the global grand finals to be held later this year.
KUNOS Simulazioni continues to deliver substantial updates to their Early Access racing game, Assetto Corsa EVO, and Free Roam is the latest ambitious addition. This experience is designed to cater to all car and racing enthusiasts, regardless of ability or time constraints, with the studio seeking to build the ultimate driving simulation that upholds the legacy of the Assetto Corsa franchise.
For more information about Assetto Corsa EVO and to stay up to date on future plans, please visit the official Assetto Corsa website www.assettocorsa.gg, follow the hashtags #wearesimracing, #WhereSimulationMeetsFreedom and stay tuned across Assetto Corsa social channels.. To learn more about publisher 505 Games and its products, visit www.505games.com
