Extra Quality Best — Assetto Corsa Is Obsolete V1163 Is Required Fix

Fix: "Assetto Corsa is Obsolete – v1.163 is Required" – A Complete Guide to Restoring Extra Quality & Stability

If you are a sim racer who heavily mods Assetto Corsa, you have likely been greeted by a frustrating red wall of text in the Chat Box or Console:

"Assetto Corsa is obsolete – v1.163 is required"

Followed immediately by connection drops, missing cars turning into grey boxes, or the dreaded "Race Cancelled" screen. For many, this error also ushers in a cascade of visual and performance degradation—objects popping in late, textures failing to load (destroying the Extra Quality settings you paid good GPU silicon for), and overall instability.

Why is this happening? Is your game truly "obsolete"?

Short answer: No. Your game is likely perfectly fine. The problem lies in a server-client version mismatch, combined with corrupted configuration files that kill your graphical fidelity. Fix: "Assetto Corsa is Obsolete – v1

This article will explain exactly what v1.163 means, why the game claims you are obsolete, and—most importantly—how to fix the error while restoring Extra Quality graphics.

The "Lava" Exception: What If You Don't Own The Game?

Let's be realistic. The phrase "Assetto Corsa is Obsolete v1163 is required" is infamous in the "Lava" (cracked) community. If you are using a repack from 2016, you will never get Extra Quality to work.

The harsh truth: Cracked versions pre-v1.16.3 have a different memory map. CSP hooks into the game's memory to draw Extra Quality effects. If the memory addresses don't match the official v1163 build, the fix is impossible.

The actual fix: Buy the game. Assetto Corsa Ultimate Edition often costs less than a coffee. The Ultimate Edition includes every DLC and automatically grants you the official v1163 build. "Assetto Corsa is obsolete – v1

Solving the "Assetto Corsa is Obsolete – v1163 is Required" Error: The Extra Quality Fix Guide

If you are a seasoned sim racer, you’ve likely spent hundreds of hours fine-tuning your Assetto Corsa experience. You have the dream hardware, the premium mod cars, and the laser-scanned tracks. But suddenly, your game hits a wall. You launch a session, or perhaps try to join an online server, and you are greeted by a frustrating, screen-stopping warning:

"Assetto Corsa is Obsolete – v1163 is Required."

Even worse, after ignoring the message, you jump into the cockpit only to find the dreaded "Extra Quality" glitch: flickering shadows, invisible cars, transparent cockpits, or rain effects that look like a broken pixel party.

Don’t uninstall your game. Don't reformat your PC. This guide will walk you through exactly why this error happens and the definitive fix to restore Extra Quality visuals using the mandatory v1163 build. misaligned with CSP expectations)

Step 4: Server Version Mismatch (The "v1163" Specifics)

If you are trying to join a specific server and it says "v1163 is required":

  • Scenario A: The Server is Old. If the server is running an old version (like actual 1.16.3), and you are on the newest Steam version, you cannot join easily. You would have to opt into the "legacy_1163" beta branch in Steam properties. However, this is rare now.
  • Scenario B: The Server is New, You are "Old". If you pirated the game or haven't updated CSP in months, the server sees your client as outdated.
    • Fix: Follow Step 2 to update CSP to the latest version. Most servers display the required CSP version (e.g., "Requires CSP 0.1.79+"). If your version is lower, you get the obsolete error.

What Does "Assetto Corsa is Obsolete" Actually Mean?

First, let's decode the jargon. Kunos Simulazioni stopped officially updating Assetto Corsa years ago. The final official Steam build is v1.16.3 (commonly shortened to v1163). However, the modding community—specifically the brilliant minds behind Custom Shaders Patch (CSP) and Content Manager—have pushed the game far beyond its original limits.

When you see "Assetto Corsa is obsolete," it does not mean your game is too old to run. It means the version of CSP you are trying to use (often versions 0.1.79 or 0.2.x) requires a specific, verified game executable that matches the behavior of v1163.

Why the "Extra Quality" Fix is Crucial The "Extra Quality" setting in CSP controls high-end visual features:

  • Grass FX: Realistic 3D grass tufts.
  • Smart Shadows: Dynamic shadow cascading.
  • Lighting FX: True Global Illumination (GI).
  • Rain FX: The immersive particles on your windshield.

When your game is "obsolete" (or rather, misaligned with CSP expectations), these features break. Cars may render with black windows, tracks may lose their surface, or the game may crash entirely. This is not a GPU issue; it is a version control issue.