Alt Account - how, and why?

[MidnightRun85]

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.

I found Race C last week to be the exact opposite. I found Race B terrible for DR (lost over 1,600 DR) but great for SR (had only clean races and got back up to 99 again!). And then found Race C I would always make some good gains over the race and pick up decent amounts of DR, at least 500 per race, plus most of my races were fairly clean and only lost 7 SR in the space of 5 races. I've not even tried this week's C because it sounds like mayhem. I've not tried B either. To be honest, I've not done ANY dailies this week because none of them suit me...

 

[fisheye]

Has anyone explored the open lobbies instead of creating an alt account? There's lots of stuff you can do in there that's not in the daily races. It even has a choice to go out of your region without using an alt account.

 

[Norrin Radd]

Has anyone explored the open lobbies instead of creating an alt account? There's lots of stuff you can do in there that's not in the daily races. It even has a choice to go out of your region without using an alt account.

Yeah I've tried, but apart from actual organised events I've had no luck. Get in a room and no one comes or the owner takes ages to start the race so people leave. An added problem for me is I have Nat 3 so restricted to rooms and quiet often causes issues. I like dailies because they are set up fairly and the same. Had rooms where markers turned off or no TCS and other stupid garbage. I just want to enter and play, no fuss no hassle and dailies or the only real option for this.

 

[Junkman55]

My first accomplishments in all my racing is first finishing the race and second NOT being the last driver getting the checker flag. I use the word cheating in a post to describe a feeling I get that my finish in any daily race could be tarnish by drivers using alt-accounts. I have enough top five finishes to keep me racing on line. But in my best race, did I get the best racing my competition had to offer, I will never know.

 

[Famine]

I use the word cheating in a post to describe a feeling I get that my finish in any daily race could be tarnish by drivers using alt-accounts. I have enough top five finishes to keep me racing on line. But in my best race, did I get the best racing my competition had to offer, I will never know.

It could also be tarnished by drivers using their main accounts but resetting them to lower DR on purpose for easier wins. You will never know.

It's a ridiculously broad brush you use when you say that any second account is cheating.

 

[Groundfish]

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!

I think there’s no platform that fixes people’s driving in online racing. You are always going to have people who are fast but don’t know how to race well, or people whose tempers flare (me) and behave in stupid fashion, or incompetent rejoins, bad moves dives swerves mistakes etc etc etc.
The platform isn’t going to change people THAT much.
I’ve watched enough streams etc to know that.
On NA in GTS, if you race with high enough rated drivers, the racing is excellent and...EXCITING.
I keep vascillating on buying a pc because I found out the tv I use doubles as a great fast pc monitor too.
So it turns to whats the draw?
Iracing is out straight off due to cost.
ACC is the one that interests me most, but, I question the race length on competition server a little.
My sweet spot is 20-30 minutes and from what I saw on console its minimum 45. I question the playerbase big time on NA. The lobbies on console often are 400 ms ping from me.
I question setup tire pressure etc etc etc. Then there’s pc setup graphics settings compatibility etc.
There’s pc cost associated.
When I factor all this in I’m interested in ACC on pc but is it worth the price of admission for what it is? I’m not a guy really who is going to hotlap. For single player I like Dirt Rally 2. The dailies are great I absolutely LOVE that you get one chance on a stage. No resets no do overs, love that.
I’m not a person whose going to do single player. Rfsctor2 looks cool but multiplayer? Doubt you can race anytime like GTS.
When it comes down to it, getting a GOOD pc that can run game like ACC on peak settings on my big tv is NOT going to be cheap.
For now, GTS is far and away the best option for daily online, and using an alt is the way to go because of the scoring.
This way you take an account, rank it up nice do you can get great FIA matching, then shelf it and you’re rating will stand.
You use the alt for dailies and it only needs to be high enough to get matched with people at your pace.
The only downside is the sometimes arcade nature of certain players...That’s imo the best option.
The console.
Edit re excitement...
Many streams I see on these top level pc platforms are mostly the driver lapping far from other cars...
Yes realistic and yes BORING

 

[deviln3]

Worked really hard to get my account up to DR A SR S, and today got bumped around by people in Race A. Dropped to SR A through no fault of my own.

If I cant make a clean pass, then I will back out, but most people dont.

Makes me want to use an Alt account but not going to. I understand the frustration people feel when 1 race can damage the work you did over the last month.

 

[Junkman55]

It could also be tarnished by drivers using their main accounts but resetting them to lower DR on purpose for easier wins. You will never know.

It's a ridiculously broad brush you use when you say that any second account is cheating.

I don’t know why someone would want to lower their driver rating there is no win with that thinking .

 

[RACECAR]

I don’t know why someone would want to lower their driver rating there is no win with that thinking .

Except in their minds, there is: Easier wins and far more wins to pat their stats without all that pesky "getting gud". And they'll do that by intentionally stacking massive amounts of penalties repeatedly (Taking out other cars, brake checking, shortcuts, etc) just to get their ratings down. It's way easier to lose your rating in a short amount of time then it is to gain rating over a long amount of time (A very glaring issue that still exists, hence why many have alt accounts protecting their DR.) It's all about winning at ANY cost, even if it's by those kind of questionable means.

 

[Famine]

I don’t know why someone would want to lower their driver rating there is no win with that thinking .

They do it to get paired with slower drivers so they can get easy wins. It happens all the time - and rather negates your point.

 

[NoStopN]

Wow are the drivers with multiple accounts better then the driver with one account proud of their accomplishments .

I'm proud of my races no matter which account I'm using. If I have some awesome race in the game, I'll share it with my name in view. It's about the racing, not the feeling of boosting multiple accounts.

I don’t know why someone would want to lower their driver rating there is no win with that thinking .

Some people are petty & some have low skill. They feel like more wins = better driver. I don't take the number of wins seriously if I know or have seen them drive like garbage.

They do it to get paired with slower drivers so they can get easy wins. It happens all the time - and rather negates your point.

As mentioned, honest drivers don't take a C/B driver seriously if they have 500 or so wins. We know they are likely dirty or will get passed & left behind.

 

[BigSarj]

That's what I'm thinking - I don't see the point in making an alternate account at the moment, I just pick daily races carefully and try avoid the punt fests. Would be interesting to start all over again in the game though...

I don't know how to feel about these accounts. I'm newish to the online and haven't touched the FIA but I know that in a game like Siege, for instance, I despise smurf accounts because they ruin the fun for other players and potentially turn away new players.

In a racing game, I suppose getting overtaken cleanly by a good driver isn't as frustrating as getting headshot at a spawnpoint or something but in the end, it is technically messing with the ranking system if the driver is purposely keeping his rank down or simply not playing his or her best (or close to).

 

[roamingbard13]

In a racing game, I suppose getting overtaken cleanly by a good driver isn't as frustrating as getting headshot at a spawnpoint or something but in the end, it is technically messing with the ranking system if the driver is purposely keeping his rank down or simply not playing his or her best (or close to).

If I wanted to get a bunch of wins, letting my main account continually get reset would be the way. I'm nowhere near the fastest person, but I'd bet I could get a win percentage around 85% probably if I just drove like that.

Most of us who run alt accounts run at a DR pretty close to where we are on our main account.

The ranking system for GTS is really in FIA. I agree that running alts in the same FIA Championship as your main is questionable at best, although there are some folks who do so at a high level.

 

[HarVee]

I have an alt account I use for sharing more decals. I'm already close to the limit on my main.

 

[Groundfish]

I personally hate this crap. It’s happening right now to me.
It’s torture to not be able to race better people when your sr drops.
You guys really think people do this on purpose?
Get reset to farm non wins?
Every time now I get an sr down I’m paranoid it will lead to where I’m at right now. 65 sr after 2 c races on alt. Let’s say this next one I end up reset because like an idiot I have a q time in.
Let’s say I get reset and lose my 46-47k
If that happens It’ll be fifteen races of hotlap ping to get to about mid b or so.
No idea why this would be done on purpose it’s horrible.
The best dr to be for dailies imo is just high enough B to make it into good rooms. When you get too much the system kills you on pens and you get reset. I’m on alt, AND IT STILL SUCKS LOL, because matching.
No one on alt wants to enter online races only to time trial and never see another car.

 

[BigSarj]

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.

If I wanted to get a bunch of wins, letting my main account continually get reset would be the way. I'm nowhere near the fastest person, but I'd bet I could get a win percentage around 85% probably if I just drove like that.

Most of us who run alt accounts run at a DR pretty close to where we are on our main account.

The ranking system for GTS is really in FIA. I agree that running alts in the same FIA Championship as your main is questionable at best, although there are some folks who do so at a high level.

Okay, that makes sense. Second accounts in FIA is questionable but as a noob racing in B rank, I welcome any driver who isn't dirty. I don't care how much more skill they have, as long as I'm having fun. My main worry would be that I am potentially hindering someone by early braking or some such. I can't stand dealing with that myself, sometimes.

So clearly the solution is to separate the rankings. Or maybe have daily race SR hits have less effect on the SR you bring into FIA?

 

[roamingbard13]

So clearly the solution is to separate the rankings. Or maybe have daily race SR hits have less effect on the SR you bring into FIA?

Perhaps, yes. De-linking SR and DR so that having a B SR doesn't reset an A+ driver to 15000 DR, or a C SR reseting a driver to 7000 DR. Letting the dirty, fast people play by themselves in mostly empty lobbies would be a better deterrent in my opinion than letting them club the baby seals through the lower DR ranks.

 

[BigSarj]

Perhaps, yes. De-linking SR and DR so that having a B SR doesn't reset an A+ driver to 15000 DR, or a C SR reseting a driver to 7000 DR. Letting the dirty, fast people play by themselves in mostly empty lobbies would be a better deterrent in my opinion than letting them club the baby seals through the lower DR ranks.

The good ol' poor sport servers. Maybe put a dunce cap on the roof while we're at it.

Personally, I won't touch FIA until I'm a solid A rated driver. And then, who knows, maybe I'll have to create another account, which I am reluctant to do and have resisted the urge in every other game I've played.

 

[MidnightRun85]

I think there’s no platform that fixes people’s driving in online racing. You are always going to have people who are fast but don’t know how to race well, or people whose tempers flare (me) and behave in stupid fashion, or incompetent rejoins, bad moves dives swerves mistakes etc etc etc.
The platform isn’t going to change people THAT much.

Agreed, but it's not up to the platform to fix people's driving or attitudes. What they do though, is deter the people who gives less s**ts about the technical aspects or don't want to spend more money on a more serious sim racer. Hence, you tend to find a much smaller population of dickish driving because the users tend to have spent more money on the hardware and software to get there, so they're less likely to treat it like a cheap system like PS4/GTS. You're obviously still going to get aggressive and questionable driving - you're just less likely to have that guy flying up towards the Corkscrew at full throttle up the inside with the sole intention of taking out two or three other drivers just for kicks.

 

[Norrin Radd]

Agreed, but it's not up to the platform to fix people's driving or attitudes.

No not the platform, but the game could do a far better job, I often just put things like "why?" in end game chat only to get "????" and even when you explain the problem most don't understand. When you do something wrong and don't get punished then get a penalty for nothing it doesn't teach you anything. I realise that no penalty system can be 100%, but the one we have is terrible, in one game I got 4 pens in one lap and caused by being rear ended, cars re-entering badly and being rammed. The system needs to be a bit better so that people can see when they have done something wrong. Conversely a system with no clue that penalised everyone for every contact would probably work better than what we have, if you know that all contact is bad you'll try and avoid it. Why avoid contact in this game when you've as much chance of giving a pen as receiving one and lately it's seemed that the instigator generally gets no pen.

 

[Luke blanks]

I created an alt account yesterday for multiple reasons.

I got an SR reset on this weeks Race C in the SuperFormula, not a big deal some might say, but im a content creater for YouTube, so this effects me massively as I've been grinding for ages to get the best ratings possible so I can create content with the best drivers. So when you get absolutely dodgy penalties for no reason and you get a reset, an alt account is perfect for this. I still create content at that track and car combo, and if I do take a SR down, ive still got content, and my main account is unaffected for when I create content around the FIA season. When a combo is going to potentially be a messy race, I will use the alt account to take part.

I will also use this account to hone In my manual driving (yea , I use auto, shoot me i know lol) but again, the switch the manual will effect my results, which I dont want, so my alt is where I will practice my times until they match the speed of my auto driving (main account)

Eventually I will get a full wheel and pedals set up, again the same reasons as driving with manual, it will take some getting use to and I dont want my ratings to be effected, so I will use the alt account to sharpen my skills.
---------
I dont see the issue with alt accounts, if anything, drivers with alt accounts are some of the people who take the game seriously, as they want to race in the best lobbies when it matters, FIA time. Your only going to get better by racing the better drivers, and if the a combination of the incredibly stupid penalty system, and the way the DR/SR works, its not possible to race the better drivers as resets are rating downs are way too common. The game is seriously strict at improving your ratings, but you only have to fart on the race track, and your ratings drop massively, so this is why people have alt accounts. It makes sense tbh.

 

[MidnightRun85]

I dont see the issue with alt accounts, if anything, drivers with alt accounts are some of the people who take the game seriously, as they want to race in the best lobbies when it matters, FIA time.

Potentially true, but then you also get the guys who have rage issues who have an alt account to enter a race they know will be a barge fest so they can join in on the festivities and not worry about their main account being affected. Which is just really poor sportsmanship but human nature for some. Soooo... yeah.

 

[RacingGrandpa]

I have the perfect solution for the racer who wants to know who he races every time, and who wants people to drive as if the car was real and the consequences where real.
Sell your. Insole and buy a race car. Go race.
Because in a game,any game, some people will act as if it's a , surprise, game!

 

[Norrin Radd]

I have the perfect solution for the racer who wants to know who he races every time, and who wants people to drive as if the car was real and the consequences where real.
Sell your. Insole and buy a race car. Go race.
Because in a game,any game, some people will act as if it's a , surprise, game!

What go outside? You can't be serious!!!!!

 

[MidnightRun85]

What go outside? You can't be serious!!!!!

It's impossible to work on your Playstation tan when you're outside. Why would anyone suggest such a preposterous thing?!

I have the perfect solution for the racer who wants to know who he races every time, and who wants people to drive as if the car was real and the consequences where real.
Sell your. Insole and buy a race car. Go race.
Because in a game,any game, some people will act as if it's a , surprise, game!

I could suggest not selling your console but buying a track car anyway. Seeing as selling your console wouldn't buy you much more than a pair of brake pads, while it could be used for circuit practice if you're lucky enough to live near one of the in-game circuits and do a track day there. But you are right, there are numpties everywhere...

 

[Trone_Colby]

You guys really think people do this on purpose?
Get reset to farm non wins?

YES! (I crossed the name out in case it went against the rules. I’ll be happy to pm the name.)

 

[Junkman55]

I did a quick cost of my online sim racing over the 7 years it’s in the neighborhood of $4,500 and I am nowhere close to what others had spent on this $20 software simulator game. Their will come a time when Sony and others will tap in on sim racing money pit and the cost will make drivers more or less better competitors. Alt-accounts may not be in the future of online racing.

 

[Groundfish]

Agreed, but it's not up to the platform to fix people's driving or attitudes

Not the platform, but the rating/matchmaking system within the game itself. Most people are fine, morally in terms of intent. They WANT to race clean, most people. Also most people are not professional sim racers, don’t have fine control, and don’t really know much about unwritten racing etiquette.
I think the game should help more, there. One video saying don’t drive back and forth on a straight isn’t enough.
Further the platform needs to be CONSISTENT either penalize all contact to both cars, or DONT penalize it at all, but the misguided attempts to automate blame make it very difficult to know what’s allowed.
If it were up to me every contact would be logged for every driver there’d be severity levels to it, I’d probably opt for severe realistic damage also.

you're just less likely to have that guy flying up towards the Corkscrew at full throttle up the inside with the sole intention of taking out two or three other drivers just for kicks

You don’t see that enough to be an issue.

Potentially true, but then you also get the guys who have rage issues who have an alt account to enter a race they know will be a barge fest so they can join in on the festivities and not worry about their main account being affected. Which is just really poor sportsmanship but human nature for some. Soooo... yeah.

This isn’t my case but I do get very angry sometimes when I get wronged in game. Sometimes I retaliate. So what?
It doesn’t mean I’m a poor sport. It means I stand up when I need to.
In online racing there’s literally no one I’ve seen who just turns the other cheek at all times and never retaliates.
Huge problem for me is like last nights c race. My alt is sitting at 47 k or so, guy with 25k can ram me with impunity while I’m getting SR DOWN ARROWS and even a penalty?
Come on that’s just stupid.
Ramming is either RIGHT OR WRONG, except in the world of GTS pen system, where if there’s contact the higher rated driver is faulted.
It makes it very hard to race except FIA because often in dailies there’s just not many high ranked players participating...
Why? Well it’s obvious! The system is almost unplayable for dailies if you gain enough points to be A plus or so.
Therefore, alt.

YES! (I crossed the name out in case it went against the rules. I’ll be happy to pm the name.

Yeah well my alt is getting like that lately lol.

Alt-accounts may not be in the future of online racing

I wish they were never a thing!!!!
I was where the people arguing against them were. I vehemently argued against them. My main always 99.
But think about it you enter a daily on main. You’re facing ten alts whose alt ranking is half main. You got Joe streamer last to first challenge guy starting last, you got just a few real competitors oh yeah maybe 1-2 world tour guys at the front...
That’s too split NA daily. Lots of times the racing gets tough. I’ve gotten turned in on recently by a guy I am a fan of lol!
It’s not easy to climb the ladder through all that bs. Once you do, better to stick with the longer well matched FIA races.
All this is the pen system.
If it were just CONSISTENT! that would be something. But, it’s the worst thing semi random with changing sensitivity.
So wth?
Using alt doesn’t mean poor sport, NOWAY.
People who do it are better players with more control than 99 percent of players in game, and alts provide positive benefit too by allowing better players to participate, thus raising the standards for all.

This thread wouldn’t exist if the game had a fair shared fault for contact system.
Ironically that is what they had at release. It was much much better at release but YOU TUBE complained so PD caved. Thanks again Streamers!

Ultimately though, in my heart of hearts I’d like to see one acct per player. You’ll never get that though.

 

[RacingGrandpa]

YES! (I crossed the name out in case it went against the rules. I’ll be happy to pm the name.)

One look on that and I know who it is...

 

[Trone_Colby]

One look on that and I know who it is...

It’s not that guy Devon made famous lol. Totally different person