- 1,238
- RocketPunch1221
- RRoD? no thanks.
The "Online Boost" demystified
- Thread starter unimental
- 431 comments
- 34,748 views
magburner
Premium
- 2,693
- The Empire State
- magburner, GTP_madgurner, showtime_uk
Having never drafted a car in real life, I cannot say for sure if PD have modelled it accurately or not, but I have noticed some odd things.
You have already mentioned the increased power, but have you noticed that you can draft even when free wheeling, and you still gain on your rival?
I can say categorically that there is no 'online boost'!
Are you for real? The tuned Corvette is a superb car! I got to 2nd on the Daytona Speedway 700pp Time Trial last night, and my lap was clean (unlike the doche bag in first place who likes to ride the walls!). On top of that, I was killin' it at Suzuka, scoring podium finishes every time. The tuned Corvette is fast, handles well, and will out accelerate any Elise! 👍
I was on Daytona last on 700 pp and IMO the boost is still there
Are you sure it wasn't down to drafting? If two cars are behind you and you are alone upfront, then you are at a disadvantage because they can piggy back draft all the way up to your ass. It has nothing at all to do with an 'online boost'.
If I can find a compliant driver, I will regularly use (and let him use) my slipstream to gain extra speed on the straights and corners. I can easily add 10 or 20 mph to my top speed doing this. So unless the guy upfront is more than 10 seconds away, or there are too few laps, then it is inevitable that the race leader will be caught. All that's left after that is the last corner and the chequered flag! 👍
nd 4 holden spd
(Banned)
- 6,142
- GTP_nd4holdenspd
- No, another PSN: nd4holdenspd
Correct me if I'm wrong but the way the boost supposedly works is to slow down the leaders right? Well I was racing my Z06 Corvette in 1-on-1 races against a Mine's GT-R in the expert HSR Reverse race. Had 3 races, all good ones. I believe I was averaging high 1'10s to low 1'11s when I was behind him in one race, then in another races I was in front of him and guess what? Same lap times, exactly the same. There is no boost. Only slipstreaming.
- 206
- Notodden/Norway
- rolandvg99
It´s not that bad. Managed to keep, relatively, good control on two Elises this morning. That was until one of them felt threatened and moshed me into the railing on the last lap.
This was on Expert 700 PP mode at High Speed Ring.Found one thing: The Renault Clio Tuned is actually quite fast. Considerably faster than the Elise on the straight, but only a tad slower in the turns. Won 3 straight races at the HSRing before switching to the Tuned Corvette.
nd 4 holden spd
(Banned)
- 6,142
- GTP_nd4holdenspd
- No, another PSN: nd4holdenspd
I can confirm that drafting in real life can make a MASSIVE difference to your speed. I spent 2yrs driving a Ford Escort van up and down the motorway. If it was a time when there weren't many cars/trucks around it used to take me 1 hour and 45mins to get home. If there was a few other road users I could draft behind however I could get home in 1hr 25mins. This was tested time and again over a two year period.
- 144
- Blaktek
My grain of salt, or maybe a full bucket.
A few details first :
- I play the 600 PP Suzuka event, so standard mode, no aids, ABS to 1.
- I have a friend living ten mins away, on foot, with the same ISP (kind of relevant later).
- I drove quite a few cars, bar the "vanilla" Tuned Clio.
- Oh ! And I live in France, in the middle of Europe, more or less (once again, quite relevant blah blah).
I'm somewhat too lazy to make a dissertation out of this, so you'll have it as it pops out.
I'll start with my friend/neighbor :
We regularly synchronize via MSN to start a race at the same second, to be on the same grid. This is beginner's reversed HSR with supercars. He's the kind of player that would fit in a "blackhole list" if there was such a thing, hence the race with no sand and the measly 3 mandatory brake points. We chat via MSN during the whole race, and often compare our times, an online d*$%k weaving contest of some sort.
But here's the interesting part : when compared, our times are different. On my side, my time would look like 2'26.216, and, on HIS side, my time would be 2'26.214. His time, on my side would be 2'27.112 and 2'27.116 on his side.
Wich makes me think that there is something fishy about the online racing times, but only during a race, with other players.
Back to me, now :
I'm on 600 PP Suzuka, today with a Tuned Skyline coupe. At around 5.30 AM, and with 1-3 other players, My final (good) time was around 4'35.xxx give or take 3 secs for the random insecure insomniac child that tries to bump off anything that moves (sometimes even it's shadow, apparently).
Then, I'm back tonight, around 11 PM. Same car, same track. This time, I'm put with a full grid of 16 players, and a good third of'em that shouldn't be there but in a state fair with bumping cars and a candy cane. Anyway, I digress... The grid is half full of Tuned Clios, and I'm in the middle of it. By the time we reach the esses, the pack is stabilized and players race at their pace.
My driving is quite the same, with the now usual Punk'O Rama. Well my final (good) time settles around 4'45.xxx.
All this may not be clear I know, but bare with me. With the last update, we can see the country of every players. Living in the middle of Europe (told ya), i can have a full grid with not one player coming from the same country as any other one. Now everyone used to online games knows that online means ping and lag. And except the odd "Warper" (you know them), there is no lag to speak of in online GT5P. I say How come ?
The dreadful "Online boost" may or may not exist. I'm not such a good player to notice this. But I noticed this : the more the grid is geographically mixed and full, the more fluctuent your times are. I read the whole thread and the posters denying the OB took for example a race with 2-5 players, while the ones enforcing the existence of this phenomenon were talking about a (somewhat) full grid.
Again, this is very noticeable in Europe, given the great variety of countries.
I abused of your time way too much, so here is my conclusion, wich I don't deem superior to any of yours : the OB may just be PD's intent to supress (or minimize) lag. Or it's side effect. Your car may handle differently, and your times inflate, just to compensate for the high pingers of the crowd. About the catch-up effect, I think it's a legacy of GT4 on LAN. The leader is not "punished" for it's talent, but the guys in the back are helped with more grip/power/wha'eva...
There. Hope it wasn't too long or boring.
A few details first :
- I play the 600 PP Suzuka event, so standard mode, no aids, ABS to 1.
- I have a friend living ten mins away, on foot, with the same ISP (kind of relevant later).
- I drove quite a few cars, bar the "vanilla" Tuned Clio.
- Oh ! And I live in France, in the middle of Europe, more or less (once again, quite relevant blah blah).
I'm somewhat too lazy to make a dissertation out of this, so you'll have it as it pops out.
I'll start with my friend/neighbor :
We regularly synchronize via MSN to start a race at the same second, to be on the same grid. This is beginner's reversed HSR with supercars. He's the kind of player that would fit in a "blackhole list" if there was such a thing, hence the race with no sand and the measly 3 mandatory brake points. We chat via MSN during the whole race, and often compare our times, an online d*$%k weaving contest of some sort.
But here's the interesting part : when compared, our times are different. On my side, my time would look like 2'26.216, and, on HIS side, my time would be 2'26.214. His time, on my side would be 2'27.112 and 2'27.116 on his side.
Wich makes me think that there is something fishy about the online racing times, but only during a race, with other players.
Back to me, now :
I'm on 600 PP Suzuka, today with a Tuned Skyline coupe. At around 5.30 AM, and with 1-3 other players, My final (good) time was around 4'35.xxx give or take 3 secs for the random insecure insomniac child that tries to bump off anything that moves (sometimes even it's shadow, apparently).
Then, I'm back tonight, around 11 PM. Same car, same track. This time, I'm put with a full grid of 16 players, and a good third of'em that shouldn't be there but in a state fair with bumping cars and a candy cane. Anyway, I digress... The grid is half full of Tuned Clios, and I'm in the middle of it. By the time we reach the esses, the pack is stabilized and players race at their pace.
My driving is quite the same, with the now usual Punk'O Rama. Well my final (good) time settles around 4'45.xxx.
All this may not be clear I know, but bare with me. With the last update, we can see the country of every players. Living in the middle of Europe (told ya), i can have a full grid with not one player coming from the same country as any other one. Now everyone used to online games knows that online means ping and lag. And except the odd "Warper" (you know them), there is no lag to speak of in online GT5P. I say How come ?
The dreadful "Online boost" may or may not exist. I'm not such a good player to notice this. But I noticed this : the more the grid is geographically mixed and full, the more fluctuent your times are. I read the whole thread and the posters denying the OB took for example a race with 2-5 players, while the ones enforcing the existence of this phenomenon were talking about a (somewhat) full grid.
Again, this is very noticeable in Europe, given the great variety of countries.
I abused of your time way too much, so here is my conclusion, wich I don't deem superior to any of yours : the OB may just be PD's intent to supress (or minimize) lag. Or it's side effect. Your car may handle differently, and your times inflate, just to compensate for the high pingers of the crowd. About the catch-up effect, I think it's a legacy of GT4 on LAN. The leader is not "punished" for it's talent, but the guys in the back are helped with more grip/power/wha'eva...
There. Hope it wasn't too long or boring.
Unfortunately, today's running confirmed for me that, despite my initial thoughts after the recent update, the "online boost"* is in fact very much in effect. I just completed A-class on my US copy and, after purchasing the Tuned Vette Z06, ventured online into the pro events. The online talent level is definitely lower for the NA release given that most of these folks haven't been playing the game for three months. I won four 700PP events at Suzuka by a comfortable margin and at one point had nearly a half-lap lead on second place. When leading on open track and not dealing with traffic or drafting, my laptimes ranged from 2:11's to a low 2:13, with a majority in the low 2:12's. These were all consistent laps with no offs or major errors. I also never had a split time at the bridge timing zone (before the hairpin) of less than 58 seconds. I ran one more race and sat back during the first lap, giving the next highest place car a 3/4 lap lead when I hit the line with speed on lap two. Again, no traffic or drafting, but the time came in at 2:07.215 and my split time at the first timing zone was 57.1xx. Leaving the track and heading over to the 700PP time trial at Suzuka with the same setup I hit a high 56 second split and a 2:06.840 first lap. 4+ seconds is a lot on the track, and isn't just the result of a few blown apexes. It's in the code.
The quality of drivers on the JPN version is much higher given the amount of time we've all had with the product, leading to less of a differential in races and keeping everyone's times closer together so the boost is less apparent.
* - Going back to my first post in this thread, it's not so much a boost for those further back in the pack, but a grip/power penalty to the leaders. The further you are from the leader, the closer your laptimes approach 100% of potential if you are a consistent driver.
The quality of drivers on the JPN version is much higher given the amount of time we've all had with the product, leading to less of a differential in races and keeping everyone's times closer together so the boost is less apparent.
* - Going back to my first post in this thread, it's not so much a boost for those further back in the pack, but a grip/power penalty to the leaders. The further you are from the leader, the closer your laptimes approach 100% of potential if you are a consistent driver.
- 1,238
- RocketPunch1221
- RRoD? no thanks.
- 1,747
Im not so sure about the online boost thingy anymore regarding to the Japanese version. I noticed that i now have very consistent laptimes (about 2:11s suzuka 700pp ) even my best times were when I was leading the pack (2:09s, 2:08s ). couple days before my times differed dramatically between 2:30s and 2:10 and my best times were when I was somewhere way behind the leaders . 💡
So i have a feeling online boost is not existent anymore (JPN game ).
Anyone confirm this or noticed the same?
So i have a feeling online boost is not existent anymore (JPN game ).
Anyone confirm this or noticed the same?
- 94
- Heerlen
- GTP_southslider
Speaking for the euro version:
I raced last night at the 700pp races,and did notice that the further back you are the more tyre grip you have.When i was at the front of the pack i was drifting in some parts,didn't have this in the middle/back of the pack.It's not so much a boost thing,but rather grip related.
I don't think it's a problem,you just have to adjust you're driving style a bit.
- 1,300
- CZE
- novcze
- 1,747
yeah i know its there on Euro, im asking for Japanese - the ones to get everything first? -
and yes its something to do with the grip levels which i hate more than anything
please read my above post again in which i also mentioned my best laptimes were surprisingly when i was in lead position, #1, 1st place not behind /midfield lol.
ps : sorry for typing small letters but my superior PS3... browser tends freezing up when using big letters
and yes its something to do with the grip levels which i hate more than anything
please read my above post again in which i also mentioned my best laptimes were surprisingly when i was in lead position, #1, 1st place not behind /midfield lol.
ps : sorry for typing small letters but my superior PS3... browser tends freezing up when using big letters
- 46
- jibber951
- jibber951
I tried GT5P online for the first time yesterday...
I knew something felt a bit wrong...
This has to be a joke... i mean, cmon! I'm not racing against AI. I could understand if it would be the typical arcade game thing... AI getting slower if you are far behind, so you can catch up. But in online racing with real people... it's just wrong, VERY wrong!
I knew something felt a bit wrong...
This has to be a joke... i mean, cmon! I'm not racing against AI. I could understand if it would be the typical arcade game thing... AI getting slower if you are far behind, so you can catch up. But in online racing with real people... it's just wrong, VERY wrong!
- 2,799
- Porto
- Burnout_PT
I felt this too. One indicator is when your leading and the suggested gear indicator drops a gear in some corners. As in GT4 on events with tire wear, when the tires started to wear out.
However, I ended up racing on 4 player races last night, and I found:
- after loosing sometime, I couldn't get back into the lead guy's draft in a similar car
- after gaining on those 2 or 3 guys, they could not catch up with me, and my car didn't appear to lose grip.
It's how if "felt", it didn't seam to be working for 4 players. It could be just sleep deprivation... But if it was the sleep, bring it on, because I was lapping 1.08 hig / 1.09 in a 698PP Elise 111 Tuned on HSR Pro.
My point being, it would be nice to know how it really works, and how many players does it affect at a time, and in what measure.
However, I ended up racing on 4 player races last night, and I found:
- after loosing sometime, I couldn't get back into the lead guy's draft in a similar car
- after gaining on those 2 or 3 guys, they could not catch up with me, and my car didn't appear to lose grip.
It's how if "felt", it didn't seam to be working for 4 players. It could be just sleep deprivation... But if it was the sleep, bring it on, because I was lapping 1.08 hig / 1.09 in a 698PP Elise 111 Tuned on HSR Pro.
My point being, it would be nice to know how it really works, and how many players does it affect at a time, and in what measure.
- 22
- Kinetic_Frenzy
don't forget the impact and therefore penalty it has on your braking distances for corners immediately after a high speed straight
- 2,799
- Porto
- Burnout_PT
You may be on to something... I felt that effect just last night but on 10 or 12 player intermediate events. Stopped when went I PRO. It could be that and not the 4 player issue...
Can't confirm, not at home (yet...)
- 1,747
are you talking about Japanese version now??? because that is exactly what i've noticed last night with up to 16 players: constantly good laps! Back on Euro today its still messed up with the arcade-grip-boost whatever! laptimes down to 2:22, 2:10 and back to 2:19...
so wether its due lag/ping issue or they removed it for JP at least?
- 297
- GTP_BonzoHarry
PD just wanted to make close races...nobody enjoys a race where you're 20seconds in the lead.
Unless its an online race. We need to be rewarded for good driving by getting space between us and the bumper car people. However if we get bumped and knocked to p2 we want that boost to pass again...its a mixed bag.
Unless its an online race. We need to be rewarded for good driving by getting space between us and the bumper car people. However if we get bumped and knocked to p2 we want that boost to pass again...its a mixed bag.
magburner
Premium
- 2,693
- The Empire State
- magburner, GTP_madgurner, showtime_uk
For the first time last night I had a suspicion there was something up with a race I had at Suzuka. I was racing my tuned Corvette, which has a particularly good setup at Suzuka capable of getting 6.40 - 6.50 race times.
I started at the front, and got a good clean getaway after a tussle on the first corner 'offed' most of the pack. I was easily 5 seconds clear, but then my advantage started to diminish considerably. It started out at a few hundredths a second per split, until eventually, it was like almost half a second per split!
By the time the rest of the pack caught me (just after the start of the second lap), my car was so unmanageable, I thought I had N1's on it (I actually had R3's front and back)! Things got no better once I was over taken by the leading pack, my car still handled like a bag of spanners (it was fast, but had no grip whatsoever), and it wasn't until I was sufficiently down the pack that my car started to handle like it did at the start of the race.
I'm not about to eat humble pie, because this is the first time I've had any reason to doubt GT5
online. I still have reservations, about the 'online boost', because it is still possible to win by margins of up to 8 seconds at Daytona Super Speedway. I only wish I could record the races I win, because I could show you how precise the controls are, and how I can literally holds a perfect racing line around all four corners, manage my speed to the single mph, and pull away from the pack at time with quarter second increases per split. Infact, I'd say that Daytona is the exact opposite of Suzuka in respect to the 'boost'. 👍
- 46
- jibber951
- jibber951
It depends on your opinion...
For me it's definately not a "mixed bag". If i'm faster, i want to see the reward. If i'm slower, i want to lose.
It's racing, so let it be a fair competition (which it isn't right now).
Imagine a real race... where they would have walkie talkiies... and the guy in the back starts talking to the guy in the lead "hey, could you slow down a bit? I can't keep up you know..." and the guy in front is like "yeah, sure, i'll wait for you to catch up!"?!!
- 8,015
- GTP_Royalton
For the first time last night I had a suspicion there was something up with a race I had at Suzuka. I was racing my tuned Corvette, which has a particularly good setup at Suzuka capable of getting 6.40 - 6.50 race times.
I started at the front, and got a good clean getaway after a tussle on the first corner 'offed' most of the pack. I was easily 5 seconds clear, but then my advantage started to diminish considerably. It started out at a few hundredths a second per split, until eventually, it was like almost half a second per split!
By the time the rest of the pack caught me (just after the start of the second lap), my car was so unmanageable, I thought I had N1's on it (I actually had R3's front and back)! Things got no better once I was over taken by the leading pack, my car still handled like a bag of spanners (it was fast, but had no grip whatsoever), and it wasn't until I was sufficiently down the pack that my car started to handle like it did at the start of the race.
I'm not about to eat humble pie, because this is the first time I've had any reason to doubt GT5
I only wish I could record the races I win, because I could show you how precise the controls are, and how I can literally holds a perfect racing line around all four corners, manage my speed to the single mph, and pull away from the pack at time with quarter second increases per split. Infact, I'd say that Daytona is the exact opposite of Suzuka in respect to the 'boost'. 👍
I see where you are coming from, I believe the 'boost' is turned down or even off at Daytona oval because the draft should be all the boosting anyone should need. However if you get out to a 3 or more second lead and drive consistantly you can hold your lead because boost doesn't hurt your cornering speed and it doesnt help the competition.
However I think it is turned way up at Suzuka. I run laps of 2:10 or 2:11 when I'm in the lead but I can run laps of 2:08 or 2:09 when I'm behind. I can feel the grip level change
I've also noticed it at Daytona road and Fuji (Braking points change so much!)
I'm quite sure the level of 'boost' varies from track to track
- 2,799
- Porto
- Burnout_PT
Euro version. Either Pro events don't have this, or it's related to the nr of cars on track.
