Go Kart races impossible to win with controller/superior AI

[Quakebass]

I'm finding that the people having the most difficulty with GT6 are using DS3's without the triggers set as the accelerators/brakes...

That's your problem right there.

Going from 0% throttle to 100% throttle in a split-second button press is asking for trouble in nearly any situation. I'm not sure why PD has it as the default on the PS3...

 

[nascar49]

I'm finding that the people having the most difficulty with GT6 are using DS3's without the triggers set as the accelerators/brakes...

That's your problem right there.

Going from 0% throttle to 100% throttle in a split-second button press is asking for trouble in nearly any situation. I'm not sure why PD has it as the default on the PS3...

Since GT5 I use the triggers for throttle/brake, and even then I still will spin out with the carts, two things I notice that seem to cause, or help cause the spin was either having even a part of one of the rear tires on the curb, or sometimes if the wheels were turned, and getting back on the throttle would cause a spin.

 

[TheeFrogmanlego]

Hah none of you played the vanilla version did you? the Ai uses the default car that has more horsepower and pp than the one you buy. I happen to have the vanilla go kart and the update go kart. Il take a pic soon

 

[billhickok]

The OP is right about the AI though, they're programmed with faster karts. They accelerate faster on straightaways and their top speed isn't limited. Even if you set your transmission dummy slider all the way down, they'll out-accelerate you on a straight. This is balanced out by the last 2 laps of every race, where the AI will slow down and you can easily catch up. There's some pretty significant rubber-banding going on too. If you screw up royally and spin out on an early lap, you can still easily catch up in the last lap.

The only event I had problems with was the 125cc Shifter Race #3 at GT Arena. I'm going for a perfect win ratio on the stats page, so whenever I didn't get 1st place in that race, I had to start over from the beginning and do over the first 2 races. Took me all day to finally get gold in all 3 races successively. The 1st two races become pretty easy once you get the hang of the kart and the courses, but GT Arena requires you to get perfect runs on every lap. I figured out that you need to average at least ~26.5 seconds per lap in order to win. I also experimented by setting the transmission slider at 86mph and also at 112mph, but it made very little difference and I still ended up with identical lap times. Here's a video of someone getting gold on all the Shifter races:

The key for GT Arena is to accelerate hard and brake hard on the first two sharp turns, then throttle your way into the last section. In this last section, follow a wide driving line and throttle starting at about 70%, gradually increasing the pressure until you're at the straightaway where you should now be fully holding down the gas. You need to overtake the 2nd place racer by at least the 7th lap. By the 8th lap, you'll need to overtake 1st place in any of the turns. Once you overtake 1st place, you control the pace of the AI and you can drive comfortably until you win. If you're right behind 1st place on lap 8 and you know you don't have enough time to overtake him, try accelerating as hard as you can out of any of the sharp turns and ramming him from behind. This will mess with the AI and cause him to slow down. I actually had to resort to this in order to finally get gold. Turning on the driving line and setting transmission to automatic also helps you focus on the race.

The Red Bull kart races are a cinch once you master the 125cc shifter races, they handle like a dream and you have to go out of your way to make them spin out.

 

[FishHunters]

Finally learned the turns by following for awhile. Just follow smoothly. DS3 owner here.

 

[alonsof1fan91]

@billhickok

I think the key to success for the GT Arena race is to drive smooth. If you get your braking points right (you can reduce the gap alot in the final corners) and don't loose too much time while moving trough the field its pretty easy. It just gets f-ed when the AI decides to crash into you^^
If you have trouble Its best to make sure you win the first 2 races and then get here a gpod enough position to win the championship, so you can try this single race later again.


btw: Anyone else faced a AI driver named "S.Vettel" in kart races?

 

[guillermo968]

Guys playing with the DS3 are my heroes. Can only use it to "drift" and normal racing is impossible can not complete a single lap without spinning.

 

[lightstone]

Has anyone noticed how the AI has superior acceleration and handling in corners almost all laps except for the last half of the last lap they start slowing down a little.

Seriously, i can't win these things it's unfair for controller users these races are impossible to win the AI is flying through the track and make no mistakes they go through corners perfectly.

What an idiotic addition to the game.

lol, you people will never be satisfied. tones of post on forum how AI is stupid and slow down, now oposite. they are too fast.

if I be on Kaz place i would show you middle finger at least. one big llol

 

[stb155]

X2010 at Goodwood is doable. I got gold by almost one and a half seconds.

Another example of where you just have to concentrate on driving the car, the time is easy to do, you need to be nowhere near the limit of that beast.
Only trick is to concentrate on very small and smooth but fast steering inputs and not going to quick in corners.

 

[Zuel]

The AI is matching your pace by .022 seconds ahead. The faster you go the faster the top three AI go.

 

[Bones Brigade]

There are a couple ways you can drive the carts fast.

The fastest and most frustrating is with precise and minimal inputs. I like the scruff of the neck method, which, when done right is great at pointing you in the right direction out of the corners if you manage to not slam into a wall or slide more than a few feet. It's slower and high risk but you don't need the concentration on making your inputs completely minute and perfectly smooth.

And it too me like 20 tries at kartspace. But I thought it wad the most fun event I've done so far.

 

[Squanto]

Agree with OP. The indoor tracks are such a giant pain!

The AI seems to command a much tighter turning radius around tight corners. If I take the same corner at the same speed 9 out of 10 times I'll spin wildly out of control and be left in the dust.

It's like the AI secretly greased my tires before the race.

just be gentle on the throttle and don't brake ... you will keep grip and turn in as tight as you like ... let it roll

Edit : my intention is to be helpful ... if you see it any other way ... I'm sorry for your interpretation ... i just like to help people ... not offend them ...

Edit2: I just raced 9 of them to gold yesterday evening ... i spun a lot too ... hitting the kerbs with throttle results in 180 degree turn ... to quick over the kerbs catapults you out ... too much throttle in a corner will spin you 180 degrees ... too much braking will cost you time ... a bit of draft gains you extra speed... so be close to your opponents ... but not too close as the will brake on different points then you ... if they hit you when you cut them ... you will spin ...
You see i can type it all out ... but I choose to keep it simple in a one-liner to give a summary to be helpful and efficient ...

 

[XPOWER180]

just be gentle on the throttle and don't brake ... you will keep grip and turn in as tight as you like ... let it rollll

I know it's meant in good faith but it really agrevates me when people do replies like that! We know to be smooth and gentle, we understand the basics of kart racing and the difference in handling. What varies is each and every human being. Not everyone has the same smooth and delicate touch. Not everyone is a 16 year old with the reflexes of a house fly and not everyone has the patiance of Mother Theresa! I'm quite sure when these races are made in the development stage they use a board of people to test them but i would guess none are older than mid 20's! Never caters for the wider scope of people, just you young uns!

 

[solidboss07]

I was rubbish at carts (still am), I just couldn't find the limit of pushing round corners with the throttle, I either over braked in or didn't accelerate hard enough through and out. But, then I did the Seb RedBull cart challenges. After getting to race these hyper carts on full size tracks, and then indoors I managed to win with them.
After that, I could go back to the normal 100, and 125 carts. It was easier.

I now love racing in the carts.

 

[Squanto]

Not everyone is a 16 year old with the reflexes of a house fly and not everyone has the patiance of Mother Theresa! I'm quite sure when these races are made in the development stage they use a board of people to test them but i would guess none are older than mid 20's! Never caters for the wider scope of people, just you young uns!

Don't know who you are referring to ... but i'm much older then the ages you mention ... i just find it challenging when i can't gold it in one go .... still trying to gold the vettel challenges in GT5 ... I might add ... nothing is impossible is my opinion ... and as your suggestion for the board of testers ... you forget about Kaz .. he's well in his 40's and probably the most influential tester on the team ...

 

[solidboss07]

Well, I am nearly 36, have Arthritis from my toes to my jaw, every where in between, and I manage just fine. I hate any games that are too easy. A challenge is good, as long as it is 'Fair'.

 

[Shirrako]

The race is basically about not giving up.

 

[FishHunters]

The AI in Kart racing is the same AI in the other races. Drives the same way too! Its just the the Karts are difficult to handle. Whadya think PD made two different AI programs? Same dudes. You're supposed to be smooth with a car but can get away with not being smooth because of all the components in a car. Karts are straight forward. No race softs, no traction control, nothing. In Kart if you're not smooth you won't win. I followed the AI. Learned how to drive like they do. Then I won.

 

[G.T.Ace]

I did the 100cc Kart races yesterday and so far they're pretty easy and actually a lot of fun.
People had problems in GT5 too and I rushed through the Karting events without any issues.
Driving with a DS3 too and steering sensitivity set to +7.

Be gentle on the brakes (never apply them fully) and smoothly accelerate out of the corners.
Karts also turn better when there's a bit of throttle applied, it's a bit like driving a boat.

EDIT: And don't use anything like the virtual driving line.

 

[Hazzy997]

just be gentle on the throttle and don't brake ... you will keep grip and turn in as tight as you like ... let it roll

Edit : my intention is to be helpful ... if you see it any other way ... I'm sorry for your interpretation ... i just like to help people ... not offend them ...

Edit2: I just raced 9 of them to gold yesterday evening ... i spun a lot too ... hitting the kerbs with throttle results in 180 degree turn ... to quick over the kerbs catapults you out ... too much throttle in a corner will spin you 180 degrees ... too much braking will cost you time ... a bit of draft gains you extra speed... so be close to your opponents ... but not too close as the will brake on different points then you ... if they hit you when you cut them ... you will spin ...
You see i can type it all out ... but I choose to keep it simple in a one-liner to give a summary to be helpful and efficient ...

If only my steering wheel would work I could make precise turns...now I need a V2 version which I'm debating I might just get a PS4 and BF4....

 

[Squanto]

Do you steer with D-pad or left stick?

 

[Touring Mars]

I love all the variety here on GTPlanet, on one side you have people screaming that the A.I. is awful and the game is terrible and broken because of it, then you have people saying the A.I. is too hard and the game is terrible and broken because of it.

There isn't a contradiction there... the A.I. is awful. In many cases, it makes winning far too easy - for example, the rubber-banding is so strong you could fire Roseanne Barr into orbit with it. In other cases, the AI makes for a frustrating race in different ways, e.g. the AI is much quicker in the straights than it is in cornering, and thus you can win easily on some tracks, and have no chance on others, all other settings being equal. Getting used to the karts is not the fault of the AI, but the rubber-banding does appear to make the races 'false' insomuch as the AI is quicker at the start and slows down at the end... that shouldn't be the case.

I disagree with the OP though - the karts are a bit tricky to master with the controller, but it's not impossible - or even that hard (compared to mastering the X2010, for example). But that the AI in GT6 currently needs some work is arguably true.

 

[Sean YZF]

I'm having probs controlling the karts on the indoor tracks too, fine on the road tracks, have set this afternoon aside for mastering karts. I can drive them for real, but this is taking some practice to master the digital versions. Have read all your advice, lets see if I can put it into practice. I foresee a frustrating afternoon. Ha

 

[bjosim]

Wen ever i try to go fast like them i always seem to spin n slide all the time and i always have to drive slower than them to not crash out and they pull away. We always seem to crash and they dont. A high chance for us not to win because of this problem its mission impossible lol. Its needs to be improved/fixed/easier for us controller users. Even if we really try on the kart races its still very hard and annoying to win.

Driving angry is never faster. Sometimes i get angry and take the corners as fast as seems possible, pushing 'til I get red and still don't catch up. Then I take five, roll one up and "smoothe" my way to victory even though it seems slower. You need patience.

 

[forzaturismo]

Has anyone noticed how the AI has superior acceleration and handling in corners almost all laps except for the last half of the last lap they start slowing down a little.

Seriously, i can't win these things it's unfair for controller users these races are impossible to win the AI is flying through the track and make no mistakes they go through corners perfectly.

What an idiotic addition to the game.

Yeah Kart Races 125cc are difficult ;....but at least i manage to win few races....

 

[forzaturismo]

I'm having probs controlling the karts on the indoor tracks too, fine on the road tracks, have set this afternoon aside for mastering karts. I can drive them for real, but this is taking some practice to master the digital versions. Have read all your advice, lets see if I can put it into practice. I foresee a frustrating afternoon. Ha

Same; i cant win the Indoor Kart 125 cc.......outdoor races done le.......

 

[forzaturismo]

I'm going to put my 2 cents into this conversaton and say this, I enjoyed the challenge of the kart races. The only other time it was diffcult was driving the 125 shifter kart in the championship, but I loved every minute of it. It was never "impossible", you just need to keep trying harder and yes I did manage to win all the karting races with a controller. Except the last one in the 125 shifter championship, but that's because GT Arena is diffcult by itself.

Yeah; its change of winning races 30 seconds ahead

 

[BanditKarter22]

Driving angry is never faster. Sometimes i get angry and take the corners as fast as seems possible, pushing 'til I get red and still don't catch up. Then I take five, roll one up and "smoothe" my way to victory even though it seems slower. You need patience.

With the Shifter karts it is faster if you slide the rear end going into corners, it's very tricky to do though. I can do a 24.1 on GT Arena using this technique though!

 

[Chris_79]

Spent a hour this afternoon trying to gold the space kart 100cc event to no avail. Got in such a rage (wanting to throw my wheel through the TV screen),i had to go and watch TV instead for a few hours. I will give it ago again this evening, You never know if my luck does not change might still be on the same challenge when the sun comes up.

 

[guywithanAE86]

...So everyone complains about the races in the much faster cars being too easy while people complain about the karting to be hard? Sheesh some people here sure have screwed up racing instincts.