A beginner’s take on online racing

[Neildos]

I have always liked racing games. I’ve played a bunch of them but generally have stuck to single player or campaign modes. With Gran Tourismo Sport, I decided to venture into online play, which is still quite new to me. I went through the racing etiquette series online a couple times in prep, plus i do some occasional racing IRL.

Here are my takeaways after 20ish online races.

- my qualifying times are decent, I usually start in the top 5 of online races.
- the time-based penalties in online races for poor sportsmanship are bizarre and often are applied to exactly the wrong people, or inadequate given the impact to the race.
- I’ve been rear-ended multiple times by someone coming too hot into a corner only to find I’ve been assessed a penalty, to not fault of my own
- once it’s down to one-on-one battles, GTS basically incentivizes drivers to push other cars off the track. Since penalties are inconsistent and if you can succeed at getting another car off the track, they’ll lose several seconds while you might see a 1 or 2 second penalty (or not) in exchange for moving up a position. With such weak penalties for knocking other cars off the road why wouldn’t it happen often?
- every race so far I’ve been near the front of the pack I’ve eventually lost multiple positions after another car knocks me off the track.

So, uhh tell me, why should I keep going here?

 

[llNovall]

I have always liked racing games. I’ve played a bunch of them but generally have stuck to single player or campaign modes. With Gran Tourismo Sport, I decided to venture into online play, which is still quite new to me. I went through the racing etiquette series online a couple times in prep, plus i do some occasional racing IRL.

Here are my takeaways after 20ish online races.

- my qualifying times are decent, I usually start in the top 5 of online races.
- the time-based penalties in online races for poor sportsmanship are bizarre and often are applied to exactly the wrong people, or inadequate given the impact to the race.
- I’ve been rear-ended multiple times by someone coming too hot into a corner only to find I’ve been assessed a penalty, to not fault of my own
- once it’s down to one-on-one battles, GTS basically incentivizes drivers to push other cars off the track. Since penalties are inconsistent and if you can succeed at getting another car off the track, they’ll lose several seconds while you might see a 1 or 2 second penalty (or not) in exchange for moving up a position. With such weak penalties for knocking other cars off the road why wouldn’t it happen often?
- every race so far I’ve been near the front of the pack I’ve eventually lost multiple positions after another car knocks me off the track.

So, uhh tell me, why should I keep going here?

You shouldn't. Go to the online racing and leagues section. This is where the good, competitive, and fair online racing goes down.
Here is a great place to start:
GTSport Racing League, Club and Series Directory
Or see the links in my signature for my series.
Good luck and hope you find a better experience...its worth it.

 

[Sick Cylinder]

I have always liked racing games. I’ve played a bunch of them but generally have stuck to single player or campaign modes. With Gran Tourismo Sport, I decided to venture into online play, which is still quite new to me. I went through the racing etiquette series online a couple times in prep, plus i do some occasional racing IRL.

Here are my takeaways after 20ish online races.

- my qualifying times are decent, I usually start in the top 5 of online races.
- the time-based penalties in online races for poor sportsmanship are bizarre and often are applied to exactly the wrong people, or inadequate given the impact to the race.
- I’ve been rear-ended multiple times by someone coming too hot into a corner only to find I’ve been assessed a penalty, to not fault of my own
- once it’s down to one-on-one battles, GTS basically incentivizes drivers to push other cars off the track. Since penalties are inconsistent and if you can succeed at getting another car off the track, they’ll lose several seconds while you might see a 1 or 2 second penalty (or not) in exchange for moving up a position. With such weak penalties for knocking other cars off the road why wouldn’t it happen often?
- every race so far I’ve been near the front of the pack I’ve eventually lost multiple positions after another car knocks me off the track.

So, uhh tell me, why should I keep going here?

I agree 100% with the first reply - there are loads of excellent leagues for you to try. You have discovered online racing - now you need to discover online racing with clean drivers - when you have found a good group to race with you won't want to go back to racing random strangers.