Advanced Tips & Tweaks for Assetto Corsa Content Manager

By now, you should have a solid grasp of what Content Manager can do and how to get it running. In this section, we’ll dive into some advanced tips and tweaks to help you truly get the most out of Assetto Corsa Content Manager and your Assetto Corsa setup. These tips are especially useful for intermediate to advanced users who want to fine-tune their experience, solve specific problems, or explore lesser-known features of Content Manager. Let’s explore a few areas: presets and profiles, using “Real Conditions” and other CSP features, optimizing performance with CSP tweaks, managing content and backups, and other handy tricks.

Leverage Presets for Quick Switching

One of the most powerful (and sometimes overlooked) features of Content Manager is the ability to create presets for almost everything. We’ve mentioned video and control presets, but it goes beyond that:

  • You can create presets for weather and lighting (via Sol’s weather plan editor) if you have certain combinations you reuse.
  • Presets for Quick Drive setups: Content Manager lets you save presets of race configurations. For example, after setting up a race (car + track + opponents + weather), instead of manually configuring it next time, click Save Preset (usually at the bottom of the Quick Drive screen) and give it a name. Next time you want to run that scenario (say, “GT3 Spa 10-lap Race”), just load that preset and everything will be configured instantly. This is a huge time-saver if you have a few favorite race scenarios.
  • FFB (Force Feedback) and wheel settings: If you use different cars that require different force feedback tweaks, you can utilize Content Manager’s ability to adjust certain FFB multiplier on a per-car basis (in the Car setup section). Additionally, if you have multiple wheel profiles (like one for drifting with more rotation vs one for formula cars with less rotation), the control presets feature can cover that. Some users even make a “Drift profile” vs “Grip profile” that not only changes controls but also tunes things like gamma or saturation for their wheel. With CM, swapping these is seamless.

The key tip here is: set up presets for any setting that you find yourself changing frequently. That way, you click one button instead of many. Experienced users often have dozens of presets in their CM, covering various cars, weather combos, video settings for VR vs monitor, etc. It turns Content Manager into a one-click launchpad for whatever kind of session you want.

Use “Real Conditions” and Online Data for Immersion

If you want to add an extra layer of realism to your sessions, try using the “Real conditions” feature combined with Content Manager’s ability to fetch data from the internet. As mentioned, ticking Real conditions in the drive menu will set the track surface grip to match what it would likely be given recent usage (rubber on track) and weather, and also sync the weather if possible​ To get this to work properly:

  • Make sure you have the Geo tags for tracks (most Kunos tracks have coordinates, but if you add a mod track, check if it has latitude/longitude set in its UI data – if not, you can add them so that CM knows where in the world the track is).
  • Under Settings > Content Manager > Drive, ensure that the option to use online weather source for real conditions is enabled. Content Manager can pull current weather info from services for the track’s location.
  • When you activate a session with Real conditions, you’ll notice the time and weather get auto-filled. You can still adjust them if you want, but it’s pretty fun to let it ride. For example, fire up the Nürburgring at local time – if it’s evening there, you’ll get an evening race. If it’s raining in real life and you have rain support (via CSP rain mod), you might see rain in game too.

It’s not always perfect, but it can lead to some interesting scenarios. Many league racers use this to practice in whatever conditions a real upcoming event will have at that date/time.

Fine-Tuning Custom Shaders Patch Options

Custom Shaders Patch comes with hundreds of options in Content Manager’s menus. Some are purely cosmetic, others can impact gameplay or performance. Here are a few notable tweaks:

  • Graphic Adjustments > Extra FX: If you’re chasing visual fidelity, enable things like motion blur, depth of field, or ambient occlusion here. Conversely, if you need more frames, you might disable certain effects. For instance, CSP can generate extra smoke for drifting (Particles FX) which looks cool but can hurt FPS; you can dial down the smoke generation if needed​.
  • New Physics Features: CSP has options like tire pressure effects, engine damage, etc. that are experimental. Use them if you want added realism, but be aware they might affect the balance of some mods not designed for them.
  • AI Behavior Tweaks: There is a section in CSP for AI improvements where you can allow AI to use extended physics or better pathfinding. If you do a lot of single-player racing, experimenting here could make AI smoother.
  • Sol Weather Settings: Sol itself (usually configured through an in-game app called Sol Planner or in CM’s Weather FX page) has options for how fast weather changes, how random it is, etc. As an advanced user, you can script specific weather timelines. For example, you can create a custom weather plan that at 10 minutes into the race it will start to rain for 5 minutes then dry up. Using the Sol weather planner app (enable it under Settings > Assetto Corsa > Apps if it’s not already) in practice sessions can help you craft these scenarios. Once done, Content Manager can load that plan each time you use that weather preset.
  • Debug Apps and Logging: Content Manager and CSP provide some debug tools (like an app to display FPS, CPU usage, or to reload shaders on the fly). If you press Ctrl+F while in a session, CM’s FPS counter can appear (if enabled). Also, if you have issues, Content Manager’s Logs (accessible via the Content Manager app interface) are much more detailed than what the game alone provides, aiding troubleshooting. Knowing how to check CM’s log files (in the Logs section) can help diagnose mod issues – for example, it might clearly list a missing sound bank causing a crash, which you can then fix.

A pro-tip: The Content Manager community (on forums like RaceDepartment or the official Discords for CSP/Sol) often discusses optimal settings. If you have specific goals (like best visuals for screenshots vs best performance for VR), you can find recommended CSP configs. Some players even share their extension config files or CM preset files. Don’t hesitate to experiment – you can always revert to defaults by reinstalling CSP or clicking “default” on each CSP settings page.

Managing Your Content Library (Disable Unused Mods)

As your collection of cars and tracks grows, you might end up with stuff you no longer drive. Content Manager has a feature to disable content without uninstalling it. This is akin to an “archive” or just turning it off so it doesn’t appear in your lists and doesn’t load in memory. For example, if you tried a mod car pack that you didn’t like, you can go to Content > Cars, find those cars, and click “Disable” (you might have to enable an option to show disabled content toggles). Disabled content won’t show up in your selection menus until you re-enable it. This helps declutter and also ensures that if an online server uses something you’ve disabled, CM knows you have it (maybe it can re-enable or prompt to re-enable to join).

Similarly, under Content > Mods (the JSGME style mod activator), you can maintain big modifications like sound packs or graphics overhauls. For instance, some people use a different sound pack for certain cars – you could keep those as optional mods and activate/deactivate with one click in CM.

Another advanced trick: Content Manager supports multiple installation “profiles.” You can create a new profile which could point to a different AC installation or use the same installation but different sets of enabled content. This is useful if, say, you have a profile for “Online racing” where only certain verified mods are active (to reduce risk of mismatches or issues), and another profile for “Freeplay” where all your experimental mods are active. Check Settings > Content Manager > Content for profile management.

Backup Your Settings and Configurations

Once you’ve spent time tweaking CM and AC to perfection, it’s wise to backup those configs. From within Content Manager, you can export presets (there’s an option to export all presets to a single file). Also copying the folder AcTools Content Manager from your AppData as mentioned ensures you have all your settings, custom car previews you might have made, etc. backed up.

If you move to a new PC, installing CM and then replacing the content of that folder with your backup can bring over all your carefully crafted settings in one go.

Explore Content Manager Plugins and Extensions

Content Manager has some experimental extensions like Custom Showroom and Livery generation rules. If you’re into modding or content creation, these can be fun to explore:

  • The Custom Showroom not only allows viewing cars, but you can adjust reflective spheres, load custom scenes, etc. There is a feature for generating “livery plates” (the UI icons for liveries) automatically with rules​, which modders love because it can batch-create preview images.
  • You can integrate external tools: for example, CM can work with the Shaders Patch “Car Tuner” which is a separate tool to clone and edit car data for personal use. If you have Car Tuner, you’ll see options in CM to directly spawn it.
  • For those into career mode, try creating a new championship via Content Manager: go to Content > User Championships and you can define series with specific events. This is somewhat advanced but rewarding if you want to simulate a season (points, multiple rounds, etc.). The community has shared some custom championships (like a GT3 season, etc.) which you can load into CM and play through.

Troubleshooting Tips with Content Manager

Even advanced users run into issues, but Content Manager often makes solving them easier:

  • If a mod car doesn’t show up in the list, use the Content Manager “Rescan” or “Analyze” function (for cars/tracks) to refresh the content and check for errors. CM will often tell you if a mod is missing files or failed to load.
  • If you experience crashes, check the CM log as mentioned, but also try launching the game in “Safe mode” via Content Manager. There is an option in CM to launch without CSP or with default settings to see if the issue is with CSP or a mod.
  • Keep Content Manager and CSP updated. New updates fix a lot of edge-case bugs. However, if an update ever causes an issue, remember you can roll back CSP to an older version easily.
  • For online issues (like not being able to join servers), sometimes simply refreshing the server list or deleting the recent servers cache (Content Manager stores recently visited servers) can help. Also ensure your Steam is online and running when using CM for multiplayer.

Customize Content Manager Appearance

If you really want to personalize Content Manager’s look: under Settings > Content Manager > Appearance, there are options to change background images, colors, and even CSS if you’re very adventurous. Some users have made custom themes (for example, a different color scheme). While this is purely cosmetic, it can make your CM experience more enjoyable. Perhaps put a nice automotive photo as the background of the drive menu, etc. Just keep a backup of the default in case you want to revert.

These advanced tips barely scratch the surface of what experienced sim racers do with Content Manager. As you grow more comfortable, you’ll likely find your own workflow and tricks. The key thing to remember is that Content Manager is extremely powerful and flexible – don’t be afraid to explore its menus and try new features. If you ever get stuck, the community forums and Discords are full of people who likely know the solution (chances are, any question you have has been asked by someone before, given how many users CM has).

In essence, Content Manager scales with you: it can be as simple or as advanced as you need it to be. That’s why even after years, people continue to find new ways to utilize it, and why it remains such a central tool in the Assetto Corsa ecosystem.