Shutoko Revival Project

First published in GRIND II, pages 26–29.

If you're playing with friends too, a few hours in and you won't want to do anything else. Adrenaline is through the roof, the sound of the engine at 7000 RPM at 260 km/h is exactly right, and then, inevitably, along comes that moment of inattention where you clip a car in traffic and spin out a few times. And it's absolutely splendid, unlike reality… where there'd be nothing left of you. Now you can laugh and start over. And if you're lucky enough to own a VR headset, the sensation becomes far more real and far more insane.

How do you play? Very simple – the mod is free and can be downloaded from the creators' Discord server - https://discord.gg/ shutokorevivalproject You'll need to own Assetto Corsa, along with the Japanese Pack DLC. On top of the mod itself, you'll also need to install a content manager and a custom shader pack, plus two extra car packs.

With the exception of the game and the DLC, everything else on that list is free.

The map can be played in single player too, but I'd recommend the multiplayer servers, because that's clearly where all the fun is. Detailed installation instructions are also on the team's Discord channel.

Also, if you'd like to support them and contribute to the project, you'll find a Patreon account called Shutoko Revival Project. You'll find all the information there. 29 I hope you enjoy the JDM experience.

For me, at least, it puts a smile on my face every time I log onto the server.

Greetings, and I'll be waiting for us to hit the road! ProjectShutoko https://discord.gg/shutokorevivalproject Revival

I'm referring, of course, to the Mid Night Club. No, not the Rockstar series… but the street-racing club that managed the feat of breaking speed records in the 1980s and 1990s on this very motorway, Shutoko.

There's no speed enthusiast who doesn't want to feel what those drivers felt; it's simply porn. So we have the perfect place for a speed and adrenaline fan to let loose. And not just the place, but the means as well.

From modified Supras, Civic Type Rs from various generations, Lancer Evo VI or VIII and, of course, the Impreza WRXs that go with them, all the way to monsters like the Lamborghini Murcielago or Ferrari F40, Honda NSX — you've got a collection that will more than likely satisfy even the most demanding Japanese car enthusiast.

Everything is functionally recreated to reproduce even the smallest detail. And as for the graphics, it looks fantastic.

from night, and the maps come bundled with AI traffic that minds its own business on the motorway alongside the other players.

I don't know whether you can imagine how cool the feeling is when you join the server, you're behind the wheel of a Lancer or an NSX or RX-7, you line up at the start next to 5-6 other guys revving their engines or drifting, and then you all set off in a convoy, dodging traffic at 250 km/h on the motorway, ABSOLUTELY at night.

EPIC. But no, that's not enough. There's more. The mod includes multiplayer servers available to the general public at any time of day and ProjectShutoko Revival

Shutoko Revival Project is a mod for Assetto Corsa, one of the best driving sims of recent years.

What does the mod add? The Shutoko map, a road also known as the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway.

Kilometres of 1:1 scale motorway, a day-night cycle, weather effects (with fog and rain among the most spectacular) and a collection of cars that made history… the kind of history that turned JDM cars into genuine legends.

ProjectShutoko Revival

JDM

Three initials that mean nothing to most people.

But for those who know what those three letters stand for, the very gland that secretes dopamine gets tickled when the sound of hundreds of horsepower comes along – the noise of engines and exhaust pipes, the smell of hot brakes and melted rubber.

Petrolheads.

Adrian Dobrescu

Have I got your attention? Let me tell you how you can fulfil a dream: because now you have the chance to race on Tokyo's motorways from behind the wheel of your favourite JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) idol, in an extremely accessible way. You don't have to spend the tens of thousands needed to buy an imported vehicle from Japan, and you won't have to deal with fines or other unpleasant road incidents that come from combining high speed with heavy traffic.