Mixed feelings about the AI in GT League's endurance races

[Timlour]

So I just finished the Gr.3 Monza enduro in the GT League, and I came in 2nd, just 2 and a half seconds behind the lead BMW (never overtook the leader on track). I was racing in a Mercedes with BoP power and weight levels applied to a non-BoP setup (93% power, 100% weight), whereas the AI cars were running with stock power and weight levels (100% power, 100% weight). I'm sure I would've won the race if my power and weight settings were stock.

The race left me with mixed feelings about the AI running without BoP. On one hand, running a weaker-than-stock Mercedes combined with the "chase the rabbit" formula of these races made the race very competetive, as I would often lose time on the AI in the straights and gain time in the corners. On the other hand, it feels kind of strange (perhaps misleading) for the game to notify the player that only Gr.3 cars can enter the race and not implement the Gr.3 BoP.

What do you think? Should PD have implemented BoP in the Endurace League races?

Race Results (I think it's worth pointing out as well that only the top 3 finished on the lead lap... In a 56-minute race. )

 

[cleanLX]

I think yes, but, bet they left tuning available so newer, or, less dedicated players can up the power and still get a win.

BTW, nice 4eye in your avatar... I've got a '92 coupe.

 

[VFOURMAX1]

If you upgrade the power and weight settings on the car in your garage then I do believe you can set the power and weight to whatever level your upgrades allow within the race.

 

[FerrellJ]

I'm not certain what exactly is happening behind the code but it feels like the game already adjusts the performance values of the AI cars during the race depending on your position. Changing the initial power and weight settings wouldn't do anything unless they do away with the rubber banding as well.

 

[cleanLX]

100% on rubber banding... makes racing the AI so hard to judge what car to pick to get a close race.

 

[Factor41]

I'm not certain what exactly is happening behind the code but it feels like the game already adjusts the performance values of the AI cars during the race depending on your position. Changing the initial power and weight settings wouldn't do anything unless they do away with the rubber banding as well.

This is definitely the case. The AI seem to have as much power as they fancy in any given situation!

 

[Stormhawk83]

Just had a rubbish race on that monza enduro. Got to 2nd with 10 laps to go and was slowly beginning to gap 3rd place. Except the lead Aston Martin was over a minute clear by this point! There didn't appear to be any rubber banding as that time remained the same for the rest of the race whilst I left 3rd behind. This whole rabbit car formula, especially on a race where the cars are meant to be balanced, is so frustrating. No idea why PD can't just do a proper 2x2 rolling start for races like this; if they insist on rubber banding the AI cars then they'll stay close by all race anyway unless you massively increase hp. Not sure I'll be in a hurry to run that 'race' again.

 

[KingFrog]

Check the lead AI best lap time ( FL). If it was set on the last lap = rubberbanding, if it was set mid-race, you just need to get faster.

 

[Sven Jurgens]

I enjoyed running the Porsche challenge with an N400 Porsche a lot more. The real challenge was getting a clean run though. I didn't bother handicapping myself with the Ferrari endurance race as there's zero incentive to do so. Yet perhaps I should have as I dozed off and lost my clean bonus lol. So boring to drive up front.

I completed the Porsche one 7 times to see what happened with different strategies.
Fully powered up, flat out 4 pit stops, almost 2 laps in front in the end.
N400 tune, flat out 3 pit stops, bit over a lap ahead at the end.
N400 tune, fuel map 5, 1 pit stop, almost a minute ahead at the end.
N400 tune, 2 pit stops going for clean bonus, 41 sec ahead at the end.

756k / 13.5k xp was a good carrot to complete it cleanly with the handicap bonus. Pretty hard with the behavior of the AI, took 4 attempts.

Perhaps I'll give the Ferrari one another go, first up trying to win the pro league version cleanly with a N400 F40, that rabbit is hard to catch and cheats in T1. Stupid game resets him after the chicane in he can't make it. You can save 3s per lap by using that 'flaw' as well yet no clean bonus of course.

It would have been nice if the reward scaled within the same class as well. Can't downgrade to GR.4 unfortunately.

 

[MikeTheHockeyFan]

I think yes, but, bet they left tuning available so newer, or, less dedicated players can up the power and still get a win.

The classic singleplayer gameplay loop of GT has always been centred around winning all the events on a slow march to 100% game completion in your own power fantasy.

Not really so much racing as it was checking off boxes as you amassed 1st place finishes trying to unlock some prize car you would race once in bumper cam and forget about among your 250 other cars.

 

[KingFrog]

The classic singleplayer gameplay loop of GT has always been centred around winning all the events on a slow march to 100% game completion in your own power fantasy.

Not really so much racing as it was checking off boxes as you amassed 1st place finishes trying to unlock some prize car you would race once in bumper cam and forget about among your 250 other cars.

Absolutely false, GT1-3 had competitive racing. even getting the fastest car was still a challenging race. I guess that's why I hate GT4, it was an absolute snooze fest with awful physics. 5 and 6 had better AI but it was still garbage, in 5 they would slow down once you passed them and in 6 they wouldn't but would slow down on the last lap to let you win.