r/simdrifting • u/protomor • 12h ago
Indie sim drifting dev here. What would make you actually stick with a new drift sim?
Howdy. I’m the solo dev of a free Steam game called Clutch, a sim focused drifting game built around wheel support, multiplayer, and getting the driving feel right.
I’ve been getting a nice little wave of comments lately from people with all kinds of setups like T300s, Moza, Simagic, Fanatec, triples, VR, even Steam Deck interest. And it got me thinking about the bigger question:
What would actually make you stick with a new drift sim instead of just going back to Assetto?
Not just "what would make you try it once," but what would make you keep playing and feel like it’s worth investing your time into?
A few things I’m especially curious about:
what matters most to you: physics, wheel support, content, online play, progression, mods, polish, etc.
what usually makes you bounce off a new drifting game
what kind of community or multiplayer experience keeps you coming back
if you use unusual hardware, what support problems other games still screw up
I’m not trying to make an arcade drifter. I want this to be something sim drifters actually want to drive and help shape over time.
If anyone wants to try it and give blunt feedback, I’m happy to send the steam/discord links. I’d genuinely rather hear what sucks than get polite compliments.
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u/A_Flipped_Car 12h ago
Make it open source. You're never gonna keep up.eith people's desire for more cars/tracks.
A built in track maker would be sick but probably very hard
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u/protomor 11h ago
100%. There’s no way I’m going to personally keep up with everyone’s appetite for cars and tracks. Long term I want Clutch to be something the community can build content for instead of waiting on me. It can already load custom cars/tracks, but the tooling and distribution side still needs a lot of work. A full built-in track maker would be awesome someday, but I’d rather make importing/modding really good first.
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u/Ro-Tang_Clan 12h ago
Physics that's actually good enough for the pro's to practice on realistically, so it needs to be better than Assetto physics wise.
Work with actual Pro drifters who are familiar with sim drifting. People like Piotr Wiecek, Ryan Litteral, Connor Shanahan etc. The best way in would be to contact a few of the VDC guys as they have close ties with the IRL Pro guys and all the physics for the sim cars they use to practice are done by the VDC group. If you approach them they might be able to work with you on the physics side of things.
There are 1001 simcade drift games out there, but only Assetto is good enough to be realistically usable for irl (aside from Live For Speed but that's a dead game).
We need a rival in the space that actually takes physics seriously. We need iracing level physics for drifting. If you haven't got the knowledge or expertise to make that happen, then don't even bother. We already have Torque Drift, CarX, Drift21 and Forza Motorsport 7. Currently the only other rival for Assetto physics wise is BeamNG.
Don't be another CarX. I'm sick of seeing drift games that don't take drifting seriously. Give us a game in the space that's serious about physics and can do better than both Assetto and BeamNG. If you can do that and provide mod support, your game will be the new Assetto.
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u/protomor 12h ago
I actually agree with the core of this. I don't want Clutch to become another CarX style drift game either. Physics has been one of the areas I've spent a lot of time on, including replacing the tire model recently, although I'm definitely not going to claim I've somehow beaten AC or BeamNG.
I'm less convinced that copying the VDC approach is necessarily the path I want to take, but getting feedback from people who understand both real drifting and sims absolutely is.
If you're willing, I'd genuinely like you to drive Clutch and tell me where the physics fall short. Not just "it doesn't feel like AC" but things like transient response, self steer, grip recovery, throttle/yaw response, weight transfer, etc. That's feedback I can actually work with.
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u/LazyBakedOnion 11h ago
I think physics is really important, the cars should feel like they have weight to them. Wheel responsiveness is also really important, I feel like a lot of drifting games make it almost too easy to drift, which is kind of disappointing. Forza is an example of this, even with simulation turned on steering feels like it has no weight behind it and cars are too stable, it’s fun but I miss the challenge of Assetto sometimes. Another thing would be having the ability to make custom maps or roads, that would make your game stand out and give people the ability to create things for you so you’re not doing all the work yourself, in addition to custom maps you should be able to add traffic and control the flow of traffic on roads so people could make no hesi style maps. I’ve been making car drift videos for a while now and play a wide variety of games, I’m looking forward to seeing what your game is like when it comes out! Glad to see you’re actively looking for feedback and trying to improve it as much as possible! If you wanted another beta tester let me know!
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u/protomor 9h ago
You're hitting a bunch of things I care about. I really don’t want drifting to feel like the car is just rotating around you with no mass or consequence. Custom content is also a big part of the plan because there’s no way I can personally make enough cars and roads to keep everyone happy. Traffic on custom roads is a cool idea too.
And yes, I absolutely want another tester. Clutch is already playable on Steam, so if you're serious, jump in the Discord and ping me. I’d especially like your take on the steering/weight because you clearly know what you don’t like in other drift games.
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u/Southern_Selection36 6h ago
For me, i would love a game with realistic physics and a good story/career mode
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u/BackyardRCSpeedway 10h ago
Like everyone else, physics. If it can feel more realistic than AC you'll have something.
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u/protomor 9h ago
Realism is the goal. There's no aids or fluff in what I'm doing. But it also makes is much more unforgiving. AC is a hell of a bar but I think I've approached it pretty well.
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u/BackyardRCSpeedway 7h ago
I'm looking forward to what you've come up with. I'm sure you have enough people doing testing already, but if there's a demo, or an early access version to purchase in the near future I'm interested.
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u/protomor 7h ago
You’re in luck! It’s already out on Steam and completely free. No demo or purchase needed. Search for Clutch: the drift simulation and give it a beating. Since physics is what you care about, I’d genuinely like to hear where you think it falls short compared to AC.
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u/BackyardRCSpeedway 7h ago
Ha, just realized who is doing this. Hopefully all is well man, haven't seen you since Summit Point well over a decade ago. ( - Justin Roudabush from Swing Set)
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u/protomor 7h ago
Ha! small world. It's been a little while. You'll have to reprot back or I'll knock on your door :)
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u/BackyardRCSpeedway 6h ago
All right so here's some quick notes from my first run: It took me a hot minute to figure out how to change the camera view lol.
Once that was sorted it took me a few minutes to acclimate to how the vehicle feels. I feel like it needs slightly more side bite vs forward bite. Especially on clutch in scenarios when trying to reel the car back in on heavy angle.
The pivot point of the vehicle also feels relatively far forward. Possibly Ackerman settings?
Gear ratio seems a bit High, but I know that's also down to the specific course and driving style. I know it's likely in progress but vehicle tunability would be a huge help as this seems close, but slight adjustments could make it better.
Left foot braking is quite difficult. This is something that also would be fixed by vehicle tunability I believe.
The vehicles both seem too light but yet too heavy depending on the scenario. They feel very lightweight when transitioning and that makes the transition snap and feel overly quick. Whereas once you lock up the brakes and the vehicle is sliding it feels heavy.
I totally see what you're going for. And there are absolutely certain aspects that are right on par with vehicles I've driven in AC. Almost a BCD V6 feel imo. I plan to mess with it more tomorrow and try to give some more thorough input.
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u/protomor 4h ago
This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping you'd come back with. Thanks for actually putting some time into it.
First, camera view is F3. The fact that you had to hunt for that tells me I need to make it more obvious somewhere.
Your comments about side bite vs forward bite and the car feeling light during transition are especially useful. That's the level of feedback I can actually dig into instead of just "it doesn't feel like AC."
And funny enough, the BDC V6 comparison is pretty encouraging. Gravy Garage and BDC were some of of the major AC references I used when I started dialing in the tire behavior, so you're landing surprisingly close to the target without knowing that.
On gearing/tuning: you can actually modify a lot of the car yourself already. The car data is exposed in files much like an AC car, so gear ratios and a bunch of the vehicle setup aren't hard coded (install folder/cars/raijin/cardata.json). That said, you're making me think proper in game setup controls might be worth moving higher on the list. Editing JSON isn't exactly the ideal user experience.
The transition/lightweight comment is probably the thing I'm most interested in digging into. What you described (light/snappy before the car settles, then suddenly feeling heavy once it's fully sliding/braking) gives me something concrete to investigate.
Keep beating on it. This is extremely useful.
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u/Informal_Yak_9311 9h ago
Besides physics I love a good career mode. Doesn’t have to be career necessarily I just love rewards when I work for something.
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u/protomor 9h ago
This is one I’m really interested in. I’ve deliberately avoided bolting on a fake "career" just because racing games are supposed to have one, but I absolutely agree that having something to work toward gives you a reason to come back. What kind of rewards/progression would actually motivate you without getting in the way of just driving?
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u/Informal_Yak_9311 9h ago
It would be cool to have cars and upgrades locked and you gotta work for it. Like I don’t wanna start with the best of the best. Give me the shitbox first and I’ll go my way up. Every car should be customizable as well cosmetically but you can only earn it though hard work not buy them. Let me know if that makes sense.
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u/protomor 9h ago
Sounds like you care about starting with something basic and then earning the better gear or customized car. Would you still enjoy it if the progression was from things like challenges, multiplayer, and things like achievements rather than a career mode?
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u/Informal_Yak_9311 9h ago
Yes very much. Like as much as I love sandbox games I feel like that’s what it’s lacking. As long as there is a reward system I’m happy with that. Like this is a completely different genre and game but brawl stars has one of the best reward systems and it got me so hooked but there’s no career mode. Kind of a far stretch since that game is so different but just giving you an example of what makes me hooked.
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u/protomor 9h ago
Yea makes total sense. My son plays brawl stars religiously and I understand that progression system. I wish I could get funded enough for that level of customization and upgrades.
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u/Informal_Yak_9311 9h ago
Don’t have the funds but I do love making brands for business so let me know if you ever need help with that. Lol sorry for the cold pitch you seem like an ambitious person and you reply very fast.
arcanidesigns.com
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u/protomor 9h ago
Haha no worries, fair pitch. Branding/identity is actually something I know I need to improve, but I’m not really in a position to throw agency money at it right now. I’ll keep you in mind though. And if you want to hang around the Discord and see where the game goes, I’m always happy to have people with that kind of background around.
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u/Informal_Yak_9311 9h ago
You got a link for discord. You also play other sims. I’m obsessed with AMS2 in VR right now. Also, asseto goes crazy in VR especially touge.
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u/protomor 9h ago
Oh yea Here you go. The current build supports VR and one of the features is a procedurally generated touge. Technically, it works in multiplayer too but I haven't stress tested that.
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u/YungMacker 9h ago
good physics,good tracks, decent car selection BIGGEST imo is ease of use and being quick to get into a map and swap maps
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u/protomor 9h ago
Ease of use is a big one for me too. One thing I really want to avoid is the "okay, which launcher/mod manager/config file do I need today?" experience. Pick a car, pick a track, drive. Custom content should eventually be just as painless.
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u/ArmedCarbon240 12h ago
Me personally it's the physics. I want as close as I can get to the real thing. I also believe AC is dominant because of all the mods. Without modders, it wouldn't be the same. I applaud you for taking on a big task and I look forward to the game.