Assetto Corsa EVO’s Career and Open modes clarified

“Well, we got it wrong, but it can be a good thing when developers are willing to listen,” says Kunos Simulazioni Co-Founder and Executive Manager Marco Massaruto at the start of the recent Assetto Corsa EVO development update video.

It’s bold, it’s humble, and it’s what the community wanted to hear following inauspicious beginnings.

Alongside the announcement of earlier-than-expected modding options, plus more cars and tracks, is a segment about server connectivity.

Upon the first early access release of EVO in January, players were unable to access features such as the in-game economy, dealership and licence tests – Kunos servers encountered, and those features required a network connection.

In the video, Massarutto then goes on to explain that the development team is working on an updated game structure, without the need for the internet to access the main single-player areas.

“Some people have assumed that Assetto Corsa EVO has been assembled as an online-only product,” discusses Marco during the keynote.

“Let me tell you this straight, it’s not like that.”

“We are working to make the single-player modes totally independent from the presence of an online connection, with a goal to provide EVO with a fully well-known Assetto Corsa classic experience.

“This means that launching the game, you can choose if you want to play Assetto Corsa [EVO] as you did with the previous chapters in the open mode, while other features related to the game economy, the Driving Academy and progressive modes will live inside the career mode.

An image of a work-in-progress menu is also shared with two options: Career and Open Mode.

But then, that led to further questions. Some community members speculated that the Open Mode would be the online-only area. Others, that the expression “classic Assetto Corsa experience” could mean that all the new features will be omitted.

Well, Traxion has reached out to Kunos directly, and we can confirm that once development is complete, through the early access phase, this should not be the case.

The current plan is that new features for the series, such as the economy, car customisation, Driving Academy and more, will be part of the career mode, and that the entirety of that can be played offline with one exception – the online leaderboard Special Events, which naturally require a server connection.

Whereas the Open Mode can also be played offline, too, again apart from Special Events and, presumably, online multiplayer races.

Think of it as the career mode offering a sense of progression, whereas the open mode is set to be a more traditional simulation ‘sandbox’.

This also applies to free-roam – set in Germany,  surrounding the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and set to expand over time – which will offer offline exploration or online with friends. Which mode of EVO this will fit into remains to be confirmed.

So simply, the Career Mode and the Open Mode areas do not delineate ‘offline’ and ‘online’ modes, but rather the features offered within each mode, and the available options are also to be confirmed later.

Simple – now let’s see how they progress over the coming months…

Assetto Corsa EVO Career Mode

• A sense of progression, including new features such as Driving Academy, car customisation, economy etc.
• Can be played offline, apart from the online time trial Special Events

Assetto Corsa EVO Open Mode

• Sandbox sim racing mode, contents of which TBC
• Can be played offline, apart from the online time trial Special Events

Assetto Corsa free-roam

• German Nürburgring Nordschleife area can be explored offline or online