Arcade races- Hard not so hard

[HEAVYSET]

LOL, working on the Arcade races my 2nd time through the game, using the Altezza all the way. Came across something I don't remember from my 1st time. Easy difficulty is just that. Normal gives me a little more competition from the AI. But Hard is a joke. On Normal, I'm up against another Altezza. I pull out to 3 second gap and settle in to maintain it. But, one mistake, and the AI is right there. On Hard, the game puts a PT Cruiser against me!!! Huh? I win by margins as great, or greater, as on Easy.

Nevermind the Rally races. I use the Subaru prototype and am up against a Mitsu or other Subaru proto on Easy and Normal, but on Hard I'm against a Citroen that can't even get off the start line. ?????

I'm not complaining. The easier the better for me. I'm just wondering what the devs were thinking.

 

[KAMKA-Z]

There are some cars that have an unfair advantage. I did a great deal of Arcade Mode with the Nismo 400R. I't was fast but I still had to watch my backside. If there was any race I was really having a difficult time with, I grabbed the Opel Speedster. You could polish off All of Arcade in an afternoon with it, that's how much better it is than the competition provided by the AI.

 

[HEAVYSET]

I've never tried another car, or even another class for that matter. I know I can tailor the difficulty to suit myself depending on which car I pick. I just don't understand why the AI doesn't push me harder on Hard. In fact, I feel the AI is better on Normal than Hard. It's no different going up to Professional level either. Just more laps.

I know I keep spreading the love for my DFP to the point I sound like a PR rep for Logitech, but in all fairness, I do believe it's the reason things seem so much easier this time around. I don't ever remember thinking the AI was a pushover my last time through this game.

I'm really just getting the Arcade stuff out of the way to refamiliarize myself with the tracks before I go into Simulation mode.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Huh. See I never tried Arcade on easy or any setting other than the hardest because I wanted to progress and open more tracks. That seems odd that lesser settings would produce a more competitive race, though...good find!

 

[breakpoint]

I have never noticed this, well looks like i have to play arcade tonight
Ever since i started drifting in GT3 i haven't done a single race since, its just too much fun.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I have never noticed this, well looks like i have to play arcade tonight
Ever since i started drifting in GT3 i haven't done a single race since, its just too much fun.

Dude...GT3 arcade is the 🤬!!! You can enter a PT Cruiser. You can enter a Cobra Mustang. You can enter your Vertigo. The computer matches your car's power with the AI's so that if you're doing a 5-lap race in hard setting, you can wind up with some good racing and decent replay. I remember really driveing my Oreca Viper to catch the leader in some of those races...lap 4 or 5 a real showdown to the death!

Just go into the "FREE RUN" section of arcade to tune your car before you enter the "SINGLE RACE" (you can't tune in the single race pages for some stupid reason)

One word of caution: some of those slower cars (the PT for instance) will blow away the AI if it has any mods. I remember just using mostly stock parts (suspension, tires, etc) before the race felt competitive. But with faster cars, you can up the ante and tune to your heart's content.

GT4 arcade sucks. I wanna enter MY car and TUNE IT...it's one of the things that annoys my about 4 is you have to race the cars the computer offers you.

 

[HEAVYSET]

I did all the arcade races one track at a time- easy, normal, then hard. Then I'd move on to the next track. I used a bone stock Altezza. On easy, I'd out accelerate the competition to the first corner, then go on to outpace them by 4-5 seconds per lap. On normal, I'd have to fight to get the lead by corner 2 or 3, and could pull to a 2-4 second margin, but no more. One mistake and the AI was hounding me again. On, hard, it'd be almost the same as easy.

Same deal for the rallies. Most of the time on easy and normal, my stock Subaru prototype would be against the Mitsu prototype, another Subaru proto, or Focus. I'd pull away easily on easy, but I'd be hounded on normal. Then for most of the races on hard, I'd be up against the Xsara. Well jeez, I'd be cutting the first corner while that thing's front-wheel drive was still trying to claw it's way off the start line. What the...?

Quite the opposite is true for the rally events in simulation mode. I just completed all of them with golds. 3 successive runs on each track with increasing lap amounts. Funny how in the first run, the stock Suby proto (my prize for all golds on the rally license tests) could easily out accelerate and dust the competition. However, in the second run, we're neck and neck, and for the third, it's the AI that takes off and leaves. Hmmm...the AI snuck a stage 1 or 2 turbo under it's hood huh? Yeah, well I stuck a stage 3 under the hood of my ride and took care of bidness, and of course now I have the Escudo to conquer all.

 

[TuneRVisioN]

Dude...GT3 arcade is the 🤬!!! You can enter a PT Cruiser. You can enter a Cobra Mustang. You can enter your Vertigo. The computer matches your car's power with the AI's so that if you're doing a 5-lap race in hard setting, you can wind up with some good racing and decent replay. I remember really driveing my Oreca Viper to catch the leader in some of those races...lap 4 or 5 a real showdown to the death!

Just go into the "FREE RUN" section of arcade to tune your car before you enter the "SINGLE RACE" (you can't tune in the single race pages for some stupid reason)

One word of caution: some of those slower cars (the PT for instance) will blow away the AI if it has any mods. I remember just using mostly stock parts (suspension, tires, etc) before the race felt competitive. But with faster cars, you can up the ante and tune to your heart's content.

GT4 arcade sucks. I wanna enter MY car and TUNE IT...it's one of the things that annoys my about 4 is you have to race the cars the computer offers you.

Think that's fun? Try racing a stock TVR Speed 12 against Hard A.I.

 

[Pupik]

Admittedly, GT3's Arcade Mode wasn't too bad, pick Hard, and you'll have a good 5-lap race. If you do a search, there was some way to create a "Professional" 10-lap Arcade Mode race in GT3 that would really make for a close race, pit stops and all. The only caveat is that it wouldn't count towards completion.

GT1's Arcade mode is still the best competition (although a tad unfair) by far, and although you couldn't race your garage cars, the 2-lappers in three different classes could be fun against the toughest AI Polyphony Digital ever devised.

 

[HEAVYSET]

Pupik, I'm not sure if you read the whole thread, but it's my contention that Hard mode does not give me a good 5-lap race. I think the AI races me the best on Normal. They're as much a pushover on Hard as they are on Easy. At least using the class and car that I do: Class C / stock Altezza. For some reason, I feel on Normal the AI races much better. I watched replays from the AI's perspective, and on Normal it seems to take much better lines, whereas on Easy and Hard, it makes more mistakes.

This topic was sort of intended to encourage any newcomer to the game who wants to get 100%, and may feel daunted by how racey the AI is on Normal, thinking they might be in for an even harder time on Hard. I'm saying relax. Use the same class / car as I did, and Normal is your toughest test.

I also feel the AI isn't any tougher on Professional. The only variables I see are the extra 5 laps, and tire wear. But I don't feel the AI drives any better.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

It also depends on the track. The AI (no matter what level of race you're doing) will totally screw up certain tracks....

1. Route 11 turns 8 and 9 (after the straight section with the crook in the middle where the grandstands are) the Ai never gets this right...it is ALWAYS braking too late...slams into the left wall, then overshoots turn 9 and usually slams the right wall. It's actually better sometimes to follow the Ai here, wait for them to screw up, and blast by them as they recover. In general, the Ai rarely makes a good exit from all the hairpins, as well...tapping wall after wall and losing time.

2. Route 246 Tokyo reversed...in the 2nd to final turn....it doesn't matter if some cars are ahead...they WILL not brake early enough and SLAM that left wall. Can't tell you how many times I've won races here just by hanging back and then getting a better line thru that esses section/\

3. Cote d'Azur again, in some of those final corners the Ai gets over-zealous and tries to get friendly with the walls. Easy areas to pass if you get the right line as you follow them.

These are just some examples, but like I said it doesn't matter what level of racing you're at (Beginner...Amateur or Pro).

 

[liam2maps]

I think if you pick the right car, GT3 Arcade mode can be quite a test. Especially if you pick a JGTC car you may often be up against a car similar or with higher horsepower. The test course can actually be quite a challenge if you don't slipstream.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I think if you pick the right car, GT3 Arcade mode can be quite a test. Especially if you pick a JGTC car you may often be up against a car similar or with higher horsepower. The test course can actually be quite a challenge if you don't slipstream.

Agreed