The Drivatar difficulty poll (and your comments and rants!)

[Nacho Libre]

Hi everybody, now I want to hear your opinions about the Drivatar difficulty level in this game! Regardless of the credits bonus (which for some could be the sole reason to pick a difficulty level), which one is your preferred and why? I'm allowing up to two responses because switching levels could also be preferred due to many reasons (class, circuit, homologation, etc.)
I also want to know your general impressions about the AI! (Of which I have a very unfounded theory of how it works in general )

 

[UnshavenYapper]

Got them on Pro, because then im sure i can get enough room to hotlap/testdrive.

 

[BoneSawTX]

I’ve been running Pro, I’ve been trying out a different car ever two races so I haven’t exactly got them tuned how I like them yet.

Most likely now that I’ve got break for school I’ll bump up to unbeatable and run extra long races with full sim damage. I feel I can actually catch those in the long race.

 

[ImaRobot]

I use unbeatable as it's the one most comparable to my speed. In long races I can usually have the lead by half the race and the last half ends up turning into a hot lap session, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[CSLACR]

I usually run short races and use Pro to avoid the hassle of randomly super fast AI.
On longer races usually unbeatable.

Longer races on unbeatable are much better because I don't fly into the back of them at every corner.

 

[BlazeTheCat05]

I always race on unbeatable.

 

[RikkiGT-R]

Expert/Pro depending on the length of the race.

 

[JR98]

Unbeatable for free play and long FDC races

Pro for short FDC races

 

[JR98]

Personally, I find the Unbeatable AI to be both a little too slow and very inconsistent.

These are results from numerous free play races run on completely different tracks:

All run against Unbeatable AI. Only assists used are ABS & braking line.

 

[Snorevette]

It really depends on the track. On tracks like Long Beach, Unbeatable is very, very beatable, but Sebring seems to have particularly difficult AI.

As for ovals like Homestead? Don't even bother racing against Pro/Unbeatable AI. Here's what happens when you try and do an Early Prototype Racers division (750hp limit) race on Homestead against Pro AI.

 

[Nacho Libre]

Yes, I hate the magical speed boost at the straight of Sebring, to me its more noticeable at pro. I think it also happens at Road America.

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

It really depends on the track. On tracks like Long Beach, Unbeatable is very, very beatable, but Sebring seems to have particularly difficult AI.

As for ovals like Homestead? Don't even bother racing against Pro/Unbeatable AI. Here's what happens when you try and do an Early Prototype Racers division (750hp limit) race on Homestead against Pro AI.

View attachment 697345

I run on unbeatable most of the time on Homestead and other ovals and yes sometimes the AI is truly unbeatable on those tracks, in certain cars anyway. The Porsche shown in the picture would be unbeatable for most people and definitely if you are not in the right car but in that same Porsche setup properly you can beat it without much trouble. In the GT class though... now that is another story. My brother and I were racing the AI there 50 lap races and both of us were lapped by the AI twice in 50 laps yet we posted the #1 and #2 times on the board during the race and turns out the AI was driving the same car I was driving but over 1 second faster. I did not look at his HP but no doubt it was well over the limit.

I have saw on some races where the AI had as much as 400-500hp over the limit on Daytona and have saw the Audi R18 run off an leave everything even though it should have been running at the back of the pack.

 

[Snorevette]

I run on unbeatable most of the time on Homestead and other ovals and yes sometimes the AI is truly unbeatable on those tracks, in certain cars anyway. The Porsche shown in the picture would be unbeatable for most people and definitely if you are not in the right car but in that same Porsche setup properly you can beat it without much trouble.

At the time, I was in a Jaguar at the maximum 750hp limit and running minimum aero with reasonable gearing, and I was barely scraping 220mph in a draft. That's almost a 30mph difference that I seriously doubt could be fixed with just fine tuning...

 

[BoneSawTX]

Sebring is Area 51 for AI. I started the Sebring 300 with unbeatable and very long, 12 laps in 1st is running 5 seconds a lap faster and 10,000 ft ahead. I could get through turns fast and leaving them behind, only to see they would be rocketing past me by the next turn. I was blocking every car on the back straight to stay in 10th. I figure I’ll pit later and catch them like that over the race. Nope not only did I pit first after 40 some odd minutes, the only cars to pit were 5 at the back. I just sat and watched them run 4 more laps and quit the race as they still had not pitted.

I now switched it to pro and standard as it’s now hot laps after the first 10 laps. That race has been the biggest joke so far in the game.

 

[CSLACR]

Yes, I hate the magical speed boost at the straight of Sebring, to me its more noticeable at pro. I think it also happens at Road America.

Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Catalunya, and Homestead. (And presumably any oval)

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

At the time, I was in a Jaguar at the maximum 750hp limit and running minimum aero with reasonable gearing, and I was barely scraping 220mph in a draft. That's almost a 30mph difference that I seriously doubt could be fixed with just fine tuning...

Not in the Jag for sure. It stands no chance. The 962 is king on that track but I can beat that AI 962 with a 962, a 787b or the Sauber. The latter two both require very good setup and good driving. Much easier to beat it with a 962 as that is the fastest car in the group. It is hard to tune to get around the track at high speed but totally doable.

On Indy only the 962 can beat it and I would assume the same is true on Daytona

 

[RogsR34UK]

Seeing as you have to significantly raise the difficulty to get a cash boost, I don’t bother. If you adjust the setup in free play, by changing to time you get drivers that go off into the distance even on easiest Drivatar setting. You have to mess with power and weight to make your car competitive.

 

[RikkiGT-R]

Sebring is definitely the most difficult track of all when racing Unbeatable AI. I've mentioned before that no matter what difficulty they always seem to get this totally unrealistic speed boost coming out of turn 5, around turn 6 "big bend" and down to the turn 7 hairpin. They just fly off into the distance, and on unbeatable it looks ridiculous.

 

[Misfire]

Currently I use Pro, as I have on all previous Forzas... but it's a bit odd. Some tracks and car classes are really hard (Forza GT was real trough), leaving me trying a race over and over to get 6th, then something like Prague has me lap the field because they treat mild chicanes like there's a death drop at each edge. Might upgrade to unbeatable, but I'm not sure how many times I wanna do races over to get 1st, haha. I tend to end up trying something too ballsy and binning it on lap 9/10.

So from what I read here they adjust horsepower on difficulty levels? Darn. Guess it was naive to think they would actually make the AI more precise with each level.

 

[Xavier2342]

In career mode I usually run Average or Above Average difficulty because I just want to blow through the races without any hassle. Freeplay on the otherhand, depending on how familiar I am with a track I may run anywhere between Highly-Skilled (at the least) to Pro (At most). I rarely race with Unbeatable difficulty but in the event that I do so, it's usually for cash and on a track I know very well.

 

[Xavier2342]

Seeing as you have to significantly raise the difficulty to get a cash boost, I don’t bother. If you adjust the setup in free play, by changing to time you get drivers that go off into the distance even on easiest Drivatar setting. You have to mess with power and weight to make your car competitive.

I usually modify my cars to the top of whatever class I plan on racing in. Here are some Race Setup settings I use in Free Play in an attempt to make things a bit fair.

Advanced Rules
*Car Class - Set a specific class or leave it blank

*Start Type - Standing

*Grid - PI

Car Restrictions
*Performance Index >= I usually leave this value alone but you can always set this value 1,2 or more points below the PI of the car you plan on racing with. For instance, if I wanted to race with my 2009 BMW M5 that has a PI of 762 I would set the PI >= value to 760.

*Performance Index <= Set this one point above the PI of the car you plan on racing with if the car isn't built to the PI limit of the class. For example, my 2009 BMW M5 with a PI of 762. If I wanted to use this car in a Free Play race I would set the PI <= value to 763.

You can establish several other car restrictions such as Drive type, which is something I often use for my A-Class races if I know my one my old school "Yank-Tanks" will have a difficult time catching up to the 2011 Ferrari FF. That thing has 7.9 speed rating and 8.4 acceleration but 4.9 handling. Whereas my rear-wheel drive1973 Ford XB Falcon GT (A-700 rating) has a 5.9 speed rating, 8.7 acceleration and 5.9 handling. I hope this helps.

 

[McLaren]

I stick with Pro. Unbeatable is far too inconsistent unless you learn which tracks the AI gains a speed boost; @RikkiGT-R has already pointed out the infamous Sebring & I think Catalunya is another.

 

[GTPVenomZombie]

I usually race on Highly skilled & Pro. Not been on a Forza game in half a year (from Christmas) so I used the difficulties to work my way up so I know what I'm capable of racing against.