I platinumed WipEout Omega last week. Trophy number 7000. Quite disappointed by how easy it was really, HD was much harder. I hope we get another one in the future. I've since gone on a Feisar livery creation binge though, that's cool.
In other news, I've made the change. The first race I was used it in was the Porsche 911 endurance race at Tokyo. I tried short shifting to try and save a bit of fuel but it didn't seem to make a difference. I did a few more GT League events in slower cars after that. The main problem I had in the Porsche was inconsistency, especially at the hairpin next to the pits. I was trying to be as regular as possible with speeds and braking points, but it was all over the place speed-wise. I'd brake at the 150 board and some times I'd pull up short, other times I'd go far too deep. I did some Gr.2 events and I had a similar problem there at Sardegna.
My first proper online races were tonight's FIA events at a wet Red Bull Ring and the Nürburgring GP circuit. Both in the Nissan GT-R. I figured this was the best car to use for an online race since I've driven it more than any other and I'm going to be driving it more than any other. Both races were a bit of a wash out to be honest, but the wet one was always going to be a lottery. Nurb was good though. My worry about forgetting to change up didn't come to anything (mostly), and it was nice to know it was obvious when to change, having spent so much practice time for Austria trying to balance the throttle. I even went round the outside of a guy at the left-hander after the Schumacher S while downshifting, and didn't hit him!
The worst part control-wise has been using R2 for the throttle. It's quite painful on the finger, especially in those longer races. I switched from my index finger to my middle quite quickly, and that helped. There's definitely a lot less resistance than there is in the right stick, so it'll take a bit of getting used to. The Austria race today helped, since you needed to be at 75% throttle for about 75% of the race anyway. Square for down, X for up. It works.
In terms of benefits, the first one is something I knew would happen from watching top 10 replays. The braking distance can be so much shorter. The first corner at Nürburgring, I used to brake before 150 board where the grass starts pulling away. Tonight it was closer to 120, stopping perfectly on the apex. Even with hard tyres on. That's going to take some getting used to, I'm fine with that. I also had to short shift in that race because the GT-R is awful for fuel, and I managed it. Did it in the race, did it in my practice. With that in mind, I have a few follow-up questions.
I'm alright with shifting and being in the right gear (well, a consistent gear) for corners. for corners. It's a combination of instinct, sound and watching the rev bar so far, I'm actually surprised at how quickly I took to it. The problem is my speed is all over the place. The problem I had with the Gr.2 cars at Sardegna seems to follow me no matter what I drive in. I can, in my view, drive at the same speed, same lines, same gears, same braking points, then have noticeably different cornering experiences. Is this something that comes with practice, or am I doing something wrong?
In the wet RBR race the car was revving differently because of the grip. Usually it redlines at 50-55 for 1st, 70-75 for 2nd, 95-100 for 3rd, 125 for 4th and... well, I didn't shift up to 6th if I could help it. In the rain though that changed when I was at full throttle, 2nd and 3rd would go up instantly and then 4th would start to go up, then falter as the vibration fell away and the car stabilised. Is this just a symptom of low grip? Like I mentioned, I had to be at 75% throttle to keep it from spinning which stopped these problems, but it'd be good to know how it varies by car/surface/conditions.
All in all the change is going well from a practical standpoint. I can do it, I'm just not very good at it. Is there anything else I should be doing?
