Alt Account - how, and why?

[kilesa4568]

I've made several alt accounts for no qualifying racing but they get deleted (from my console) in a couple of days when they reach mid B.

Racing against the often unpredictable lower ranks and having the bonus chance of racing against a lot more people in each race has always been more fun than racing at the sharp end for me. I only race in 2 or 3 events a year now though.

 

[Junkman55]

Multiple accounts give the opportunity for drivers to pad their driver rating , that is the most common reason. The reckless driving , revenge driving and the “I don’t care it’s my fun account “attitude can be a problem . I like to to think there should be no reason for the need to have more than one account if necessary the only one is the second chance .
Hey be proud of your driving record it is you , with or without shortcuts .

 

[barak181]

Multiple accounts give the opportunity for drivers to pad their driver rating , that is the most common reason. The reckless driving , revenge driving and the “I don’t care it’s my fun account “attitude can be a problem . I like to to think there should be no reason for the need to have more than one account if necessary the only one is the second chance .
Hey be proud of your driving record it is you , with or without shortcuts .

Show me here on this doll where the alt-account hurt you...

 

[Jwptexas]

I think alts wouldn't be an issue if PD had a better system in place but the way it's currently structured there are multiple benefits to having an alt if you're a serious player.

If the system was fixed you would actually see good lobbies not this A+ down to B crap you'll see most days. The games top % of players can't play the game without risking entire FIA season.

Believe me everytime you enter a daily it's a risk... i may gain 300 DR for a win while finishing 2nd could net you a loss of DR or god forbid you get punted or bin it that's 2,000+ DR gone and few hours of races just to recover if everything goes perfect for you.

 

[Jim_bilzerian]

I finally made a second account last week (didn't realise it was free) and I love it. I practice a few races early in the week on that account then go to my main account once I know what im doing. Will probably just use main account for FIA if the DR stays ok. Im not dirty on my second account but it is a nice feeling racing without worry or ruining your score if something bad happens.

 

[Groundfish]

I’d rather play than not. Dailies aren’t worth it on main acct though.
@sturk0167 remembers I was against alts for a loooong time.
Now I have a daily acct and an FIA.

I think the whole problem could be solved if once you qualified at a level like A plus S for FIA or whatever level say D S for FIA that once you enter FIA those points are SEPERATE from Daily Race points.
In other words if your daily falls to reset it would have zero effect on your FIA...

 

[afc5150]

Show me her on this doll where the alt-account hurt you...

My points total in FIA will get back to you and your doll.

 

[Redneckchef]

I still agree with most. I am proud of my driving record, and both accounts have ups and downs. And I can say having an alt has helped improve my driving as people drive differently in the different regions, so i have to practice different lines, pass set ups and tactics by driving in both regions. As long as you aren't doing it to do anyone dirty i dont really see a problem.

 

[Junkman55]

My real competition racing was over for a long time. I found simulator online racing to be a close second for the real thing. I see alt-accounts as a Crutch to save driver ratings. People are bragging they are not on their main account when they had a bad day. Give me a break ! why are you racing if you are afraid of having a bad day.

 

[barak181]

My real competition racing was over for a long time. I found simulator online racing to be a close second for the real thing. I see alt-accounts as a Crutch to save driver ratings. People are bragging they are not on their main account when they had a bad day. Give me a break ! why are you racing if you are afraid of having a bad day.

I'd say for most people they're not afraid of having a bad day but rather that PD's penalty and SR systems are absolute 🤬

 

[Jwptexas]

Different strokes for different folks

 

[Groundfish]

My real competition racing was over for a long time. I found simulator online racing to be a close second for the real thing. I see alt-accounts as a Crutch to save driver ratings. People are bragging they are not on their main account when they had a bad day. Give me a break ! why are you racing if you are afraid of having a bad day.

I have a history IRL. I’m amazed I’m not dead from my teens/early 20’s.
This GTS thing for me started out out of the blue. Bought the game and a T80 wheel to goof with on my kids console. Turned out a guy at work was a longtime GT gamer and fan.
After one month of t80 I started wondering about FFB. Blah blah.
Ff to today.
There’s NOWAY I’m gonna run a daily sprint on my account with the over 50 days total drive time it took to snag A plus. Hours? 50x24 equals how many?
Yeah I’m really risking that work in a 4 lap daily. You must be high if you think I should.
Even if I get a top fifty qual time, NOPE.
I’ll run an occasional FIA on it on combos I like. The games penalty and rating scorings waaaay too sketchy for me to trust my fifty days of time to.
I mean everybody has an acct they hold with pride. Hard not to.
That account represents my best effort literally from nothing in online racing. I think it’s cool. I’m attached to it. NOWAY I’m using it unless it’s an FIA.
For at least 90 percent of those fifty days I was like you. I came on here and questioned the alt use, all the while putting that one account on the line once or twice a day...
Once you get to higher levels, at least for me, you don’t just race, you gotta prepare, test, and practice, to get the level you need. Maybe some guys here can race top split with almost no practice but I certainly can’t.
I have one alt acct.
The one thing I realize though is this...My alt inevitably ends up ranking the same as my main. That’s something to think about too that supports your points.
(I’d still never in a million years run dailies on my main but still)
Sprints are sprints. Only FIA is a pretty much guarantee everyone in race is well matched. On North America server there’s just not all that many A plus High A online at many times.
All A plus I’ve only seen in FIA. All A plus A is very rare maybe peak times great combo.
Usually if you are A plus the guy in second might be a B.
There’s just no point.
Further as @Jwptexas says one entry and you get taken out turn1 in a sprint you could lose 2-3000 points.

NOW YPU HOTTA REGAIN THEM BUT HOW?
You’re only beating B drivers you might get plus ten a race.

The scoring in this game needs work. Hence every serious racer I know has alt accounts.

Believe me I get it and agree, but it’s more complex than just what’s right.
The game itself needs work too so most here use alt in daily.

 

[Norrin Radd]

My real competition racing was over for a long time. I found simulator online racing to be a close second for the real thing. I see alt-accounts as a Crutch to save driver ratings. People are bragging they are not on their main account when they had a bad day. Give me a break ! why are you racing if you are afraid of having a bad day.

I just lost about 50 points SR and got reset because of other dirty players, but you think this is acceptable. Wish I got lobbies with you (and presumable were good enough) I'd teach you what dicks playing dirty does to your game.
If I couldn't use alts and FIA was this week I couldn't do Bathurst, why do you think I shouldn't be able to play just because PD has a stupid pen system and idiots think we're playing bumper cars?

 

[Groundfish]

I just lost about 50 points SR and got reset because of other dirty players, but you think this is acceptable. Wish I got lobbies with you (and presumable were good enough) I'd teach you what dicks playing dirty does to your game

You know, I think this man deserves a bit more respect than that. I can get where’s he’s coming from, even if maybe he hasn’t played GTS as much...

 

[Norrin Radd]

You know, I think this man deserves a bit more respect than that. I can get where’s he’s coming from, even if maybe he hasn’t played GTS as much...

No he is making assumptions and that's always a bad thing. Bet there are people who make alts just to play badly or ruin peoples games, but most here do it just to avoid a ridiculously bad pen system. If my DR goes down because I lose then I need to get gud, but I'm not racing in FIA against Ds again. Yes last time I won and had pole, but it was so boring and didn't test me at all. Dailies I don't mind easier races, but I want to see how good I am against others in FIA and the only way to do that is to be playing from the B/S I deserve.

 

[RACECAR]

Multiple accounts give the opportunity for drivers to pad their driver rating , that is the most common reason. The reckless driving , revenge driving and the “I don’t care it’s my fun account “attitude can be a problem . I like to to think there should be no reason for the need to have more than one account if necessary the only one is the second chance .
Hey be proud of your driving record it is you , with or without shortcuts .

So what do you think about people using their primary accounts to intentionally cause mayhem and tank their ratings just so they can get into lower ranked lobbies for easier wins as opposed to sticking to the top splits they can no longer win in?

Also, this broadsweeping generalization of literally ANYONE with an Alt account just doing it for unfair reasons is super farfetched (Especially when you can't even confirm for sure that is everybody). How are they padding their rating having another account when that second account doesn't contribute in anyway? Whatever rating is gained on that account is ONLY on that account, not to anyone else's. Again, this just feels like a blind assumption purely based on you not liking it and people not playing the game the way you play.

By the way:

Now don’t tell me that online racing is a game if it was just a game why are people spending thousands of dollars just to be good at it.

Two things:

- As someone using a wheel and having been racing online since 2007, It IS a game. Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, Project CARS, Assetto Corsa, rFactor and iRacing are all GAMES no matter how serious you take them at the end of the day. What are you doing that online racing on? A Game. How do you even access these races? Through the game.

- Not everyone is spending thousands of dollars just to be good at it. Spending alot of time yes (How else do you get better?), but Spending that much money just to be good is both a myth AND a misconception. Many people are using nothing more then a wheel mounted to an office desk with a office chair (Me being one). Hell, one of the Gran Turismo World Tour finalists are playing with nothing more then a wheel on desk with an old seat from a car (An Audi A5 or something) that he found. I guarantee it took nowhere near Thousands of dollars for me to even get to A driver rating and finish in the top 100 in the US at one point (and that was with only a controller just before the onset of my Psoriatic Arthritis starting to set in)

 

[Timm Sheehan]

I just lost about 50 points SR and got reset because of other dirty players, but you think this is acceptable. Wish I got lobbies with you (and presumable were good enough) I'd teach you what dicks playing dirty does to your game.
If I couldn't use alts and FIA was this week I couldn't do Bathurst, why do you think I shouldn't be able to play just because PD has a stupid pen system and idiots think we're playing bumper cars?

Hold on, hold on . . . I spent good money purchasing the game and have been practicing my butt off for a "racing" simulator? I thought the game was a bumper car simulator - I have been practicing countless hours so I can be competitive during my next visit to the carnival. Thanks Norrin for ruining my dream!

Enjoy your racing!

 

[Winnie847]

Dude is an obvious troll and honestly, he probably sucks. Most people with alt accounts have the alt BECAUSE they take the game seriously and most likely compete in FIA and don't want to risk undeserved SR downs or DR resets in the races leading up to FIA day. If he knew more about the game, it's players, and how the system works, he probably would not be complaining and might even have an alt account himself. But there's no need for one if you don't take it seriously or if you're forever relegated to DR-D.

 

[fisheye]

Hold on, hold on . . . I spent good money purchasing the game and have been practicing my butt off for a "racing" simulator? I thought the game was a bumper car simulator - I have been practicing countless hours so I can be competitive during my next visit to the carnival. Thanks Norrin for ruining my dream!

Enjoy your racing!

I only use one account, and it shows absolutely all of my quality racing skills. If you want bumper car excitement I'm also over at Wreckfest with the same account... and still pissing people off.
Edit: On a 12 lap race with ~16 players... I was the last one remaining with the rest of them wrecked and I got kick voted just before the finish line.

 

[Jwptexas]

Dude is an obvious troll and honestly, he probably sucks. Most people with alt accounts have the alt BECAUSE they take the game seriously and most likely compete in FIA and don't want to risk undeserved SR downs or DR resets in the races leading up to FIA day. If he knew more about the game, it's players, and how the system works, he probably would not be complaining and might even have an alt account himself. But there's no need for one if you don't take it seriously or if you're forever relegated to DR-D.

 

[Junkman55]

In the real world of racing you have a similar problems with idiots, they are put down on the track with black flags and I’d cards ( one account ) to keep them from entering . Maybe a password before entering the Three daily’s to give the idiots a time out, When needed . Then the Alt-accounts can satisfy people who need them. A simple password at the server might make for better online racing.

 

[Timm Sheehan]

In the real world of racing you have a similar problems with idiots, they are put down on the track with black flags and I’d cards ( one account ) to keep them from entering . Maybe a password before entering the Three daily’s to give the idiots a time out, When needed . Then the Alt-accounts can satisfy people who need them. A simple password at the server might make for better online racing.

You are correct, in the real world of racing you do have similar problems with idiot drivers and they are sometimes taken care of with stiff measures (black flag, fines, suspensions) BUT in the real world you generally race the same group of racers for a season (and often multiple seasons). That does not occur online in GTS, it is possible to race an entirely different set of racers even in back-to-back races. AND how long would you imagine these racers would last racing like this? A season of wrecked cars (which is usually turned off in GTS), along with mediocre performances would mean they would be looking for a new ride at the end of the season - can we at least agree on that?

I cannot speak for all here (obviously) but going back a few messages and calling it cheating is in my opinion harsh (at best). Can you not see a valid reason why you might want a second account? I see your point and I can promise you that until I return to the US, the second account serves a valuable purpose and will remain.

I have given it some thought and have come up with 20 or so different ways to make the online racing better but in the end it is up to PD. The game is what it is and we can play it as it or move to a different sim racing game. Maybe the license structure will come back in GT7 - one can only hope but I am not sure that would solve the problems currently plaguing us.

How would you implement a password system? Interesting concept but I am not sure if it would work across the different servers or stop bad racers with multiple accounts.

Please keep posting, you have brought up some great things to think about and discuss. In the end discussion is always the way to go.

Enjoy your racing.

 

[Rexracer702]

In the real world of racing you have a similar problems with idiots, they are put down on the track with black flags and I’d cards ( one account ) to keep them from entering . Maybe a password before entering the Three daily’s to give the idiots a time out, When needed . Then the Alt-accounts can satisfy people who need them. A simple password at the server might make for better online racing.

I created my alt just for racing from the back, and it improved my racecraft a lot. I am typically a high B low A racer. On combo's that I'm good at, I can race against most A and A+ racers, at my bad tracks, I'm mid B at best. In one race I have dropped over 20K DR points, through no fault of my own. Yes, there are idiots in real racing, but real racing has serious, and deadly consequences. In a typical weekend daily race, if it was real, you might have 3-8 murder convictions for what goes on. Even in rooms dominated by A rated drivers, things like bumping mid corner to force you wide, or off, just to make a pass, is common.
I will be racing my alt this week at Suzuka. In a mostly B room, there will be much carnage to avoid due to the speed potential of the cars. I am not there to wreck anyone, to cherry pick, or anything else other than racing clean and working my way to the front. Last week I raced my main at the mountain. Not a good track for me. I had a couple good races, but mostly went backwards due to overly aggressive and dirty drivers. I'm now down to 20K from a high of low 40"s a couple weeks back. I'll keep my alt.

 

[djidane57]

racing with people from other parts of the world , simple as that , kind of refreshing actually

 

[Rangeraus]

I know of some otherwise clean top split drivers who lost up to 60000 DR in 1 or 2 races. That is more DR than 99% of drivers in GT Sport have.

If you are lucky and have a great run of results, that is recoverable but will probably take 50-100 races.

So yeah, I don't blame people for using an alt account to do daily races which generally have a higher skill gap and are riskier than FIA races.

 

[Junkman55]

If we look at daily’s is racing as a real race with real people driving in a competition to see who will get the checker flag first. Maybe GTS online racing could be seen as drivers in competition not a game for gamers. I have race with the alphabet drivers most are better rated then me but at the end of a race and I finish in the top five. The alphabet had little to do with who drove better. The only thing missing was knowing if it’s a real top five finish or a race with alt-account drivers. I want to drive with drivers who are proud of their racing finishes and names, That’s racing not gaming.

 

[Rangeraus]

If we look at daily’s is racing as a real race with real people driving in a competition to see who will get the checker flag first. Maybe GTS online racing could be seen as drivers in competition not a game for gamers. I have race with the alphabet drivers most are better rated then me but at the end of a race and I finish in the top five. The alphabet had little to do with who drove better. The only thing missing was knowing if it’s a real top five finish or a race with alt-account drivers. I want to drive with drivers who are proud of their racing finishes and names, That’s racing not gaming.

The guy who causes 'the big one' at the Daytona 500 will still be racing in NASCAR Cup series the next weekend. He doesn't have to worry that he will be demoted to doing a season in trucks before he can race a Cup car again.

But in GTS you can get a DR reset in 10 minutes and the game does not care if you otherwise held maximum SR for 3 years.

If it were not so hard to gain and so easy to lose DR, then you would see a lot more people race their main accounts in Daily Races. But the game allows you to use multiple accounts for daily races so that's what some people do.

Worth pointing out that multiple accounts are not allowed in FIA races, partly because of the reasons you pointed out.

 

[Timm Sheehan]

If we look at daily’s is racing as a real race with real people driving in a competition to see who will get the checker flag first. Maybe GTS online racing could be seen as drivers in competition not a game for gamers. I have race with the alphabet drivers most are better rated then me but at the end of a race and I finish in the top five. The alphabet had little to do with who drove better. The only thing missing was knowing if it’s a real top five finish or a race with alt-account drivers. I want to drive with drivers who are proud of their racing finishes and names, That’s racing not gaming.

Maybe you can look at it like this . . . you finished top 5 racing against 16-20 other drivers. If you did better than an alphabet driver (primary or alternate account) than on that day at that race you were better. Take pride in that?

I don't think you will ever be able to remove the game (or gaming) from the racing. Not until the penalty system is fixed and other methods are implemented to remove those who game the system. The human factor can never be removed so we will always have to deal with racers maturity and moods.

Enjoy your racing!

 

[MidnightRun85]

Just reading some of the comments in here... I think if you want proper racing and less gaming you need to move to other platforms like iRacing, which are much more like proper racing and you don't really get these dive-bombing idiots like you do with more arcade-style platforms like GT and Forza. Even ACC seems to be a better option, from what I'm told. It's that or deal with the penalty system in whatever way you deem fair - for me it's just sticking with one account and working out which daily races are right for me, and when to spend time on a livery design instead!

 

[Norrin Radd]

for me it's just sticking with one account and working out which daily races are right for me, and when to spend time on a livery design instead!

If that suits you great, I like some of the dailes that are bad for SR. This week it's B last week was C, both races are fun and the times I'm at the right ranking it can be great racing. Last race I made no mistakes, got 2 pens and my SR stuck where it was. I do make mistakes and there are times when my SR should drop, but last week I was reset 3 times all because of a stupid system. I don't want to play a game where I need to spend 3 hours finding the best set up, I want to switch on and play, I'd prefer it if they had a penalty system that punished the bad players and actually taught them how to play at the same time. It will never happen so I'll stick to using an alt, if I can ever get games to fix my main account.