Tuning for online racing

[chuyler1]

Loose is fast right? When I tune cars for quick laps around a track like Tsukuba I can usually get within a few 10ths of the top qualifying time in a lobby of online racers if I'm not the quickest. However, if my car is tuned for slight oversteer to conquer the tight turns on the track, a slight nudge from someone trying to take the inside line will send me spinning. Does anyone find that to stay on the track in online races you have to generally tune for understeer so the car handles bumping and ramming better?

 

[Rated-M3]

Nope, it's the people you are racing with. The best you can do is thorttle modulate and counter steer after impact.

 

[BlueShift]

Yesterday I made a few tests with the new server option.

- Put tires wear off
- Put off-road options to "not realistic" (I don't know the name in english)

And voila, you've got the exact same physic engine as in offline mode within events.

My best lap with my S-Zero NSX at Grand Valley are 0.0xx different (1'55.9xx), and the driving is very, very, very similar. At least I could race a semi-drifting car 5 laps without being that much disadvantaged by the unrealistic tires' wear (wear off too fast imo) vs unrealistic 4RW.

The default online option favorise a lot 4RW cars, and (for me) they are boring cars to run around a track, at least in the kg/hp ratios around 3 (street cars - 400hp/1200kg) and destroys all the MR/RR driving.

Unfortunualy, nobody use these server options and everybody use 4RW. Nissan GT-R is happy, so japoneese guys are happy and that's it.

Tires wear On will (almost) never be used to tune a car, as this makes "car reading" not really precise and driving/time dependent. It can be used to check the tires cons but only as an indication.
Off-road options set at Realistic seems to work on road too. But they feel sligthly different, when you drift only, on the road. It's when you lose traction in definitive that physics changes.

If you can't put these two option to ON in event, where people setup their car to earn Cr., then tuners end up being poor guys. The problem of tuning in time attack is they would propose only crap car : another "base idea was great but I don't know how to polish my gamedesign" from PD ! (this, and the lack of japoneese events in 5 laps in extreme mode).

 

[nomis3613]

Thanks for sharing your testing.

Off-road options set at Realistic seems to work on road too. But they feel sligthly different, when you drift only, on the road. It's when you lose traction in definitive that physics changes.

Not sure I understand what you're saying. Do you mean that the off-road grip reduction thingy setting even effects handling when you stay on the track, because it changes the physics model when sliding? Or have I misunderstood and you are saying something else?

 

[BlueShift]

That's it. I don't how it's named in english.

 

[chuyler1]

Nope, it's the people you are racing with. The best you can do is thorttle modulate and counter steer after impact.

Yeah I know. Anyone without a mic I find doesn't feel that they are accountable for poor driving. I hate running races in last place because although I was out front in turn one, someone bumped me and spun me around. It could be that I like to pick tail happy cars to begin with...or that I need to learn how to tune better.

Interesting conclusions BlueShift. I figured the tire wear had a lot to do with online vs offline handling. I'll have to keep that in mind when I tune and/or pick rooms to join. However I think I'd prefer to have tire wear on.

 

[kenkwilinski]

IMO it's who you are racing with. Tune your car the best no matter what, turn off aids and race your friends. Send friend requests to good, clean racers. I have done so and now have about 50 in game friends. So when I want to race I either join their lobby or ask them to join mine. Before races I'll view profiles of the rooms newcomers and will usually kick people under level 20 or kick people with no liscenses. Also before a race go to watch and survey the field. Look for who has internet lag issues and who drives overly aggressive. Suggest to kick them out or stay away from them. Another thing good about having a friend or two in the lobby is you two can work together to get to the lead pack (especially useful if spun out by someone). If someone is crashing you and is respectful and wants to be a good, clean racer you should share your settings so then they can run the track without crashing every turn. On the other hand I have joined lobbies where I don't know anyone and I'll stay back in the beginning of a race and observe the other drivers. And I'll make my passes where due near the end and if I get stranded by a spin out I'll call out other lonely drivers to my aid and negotiate some terms real quick to help us get back in lead pack.

 

[Adrenaline]

More laps tends to help with clean driving.
If you only have 2 or 3 laps, then people aren't going to wait around to move to the front, and they'll force themselves up quicker than normally. Give them 5-7 laps, and smart drivers spend the entire first lap, just letting the bad drivers move themselves out of the way, which also helps conserve tires. My cars usually handle like crap on cold tires anyway, so I don't start driving hard until the 2nd or 3rd lap. More laps also takes tire wear into the equation, so that aggressive drivers will have tire issues at the end of the race, which also helps tame them down a bit.

 

[chuyler1]

Good tip about number of laps. However if a fast driver gets up front you may not be able to catch them in 10 laps unless you are running a few seconds faster per lap, especially when other drivers don't want you to get by. I've been trying to stay clear in turn by going to the outside. Sometimes it works, other times someone understeers and knocks me off the track. I crawl my way to the front but there is rarely enough time.

 

[Adrenaline]

If you aren't going to catch them in 10 laps, you surely weren't going to catch them in 3.
The more laps there are, the more likely the fastest driver will finish first.

 

[87lc2]

Just tune your cars in your online lounge with tire wear on and you'll be fine, physics will be exactly the same as an online race. No need to tune for "bad drivers", just tune the car to where you feel comfortable and its quickest around the track.

As far as getting slammed by bad drivers when in the lead, theres really not much you can do except be aware of who is around you. Even then there is still nothing you can do to prevent someone from ramming you into the gravel. If you're up front just keep your line and drive as quick as you can. If they feel better by ramming you off the course and taking the lead good for them, theres just not much you can do. Room selection and finding good, clean racers will benefit you more than tuning a car to cope with the rammers. Good luck.

 

[jdmAP1]

+1 to Adrenaline. 15 laps vs 3 laps will allow drivers more chances to make mistakes that will cause them to damage their car (granted damage is turned on) and slow them down, allowing clean-consistent drivers to grab the victory.

But I too have noticed the difference with offline vs online. Nice testing BlueShift. Just had a 400HP/1200kg FR race this past weekend, was a lot of fun but definitely required more concentration, especially the first lap when my tires haven't warmed up. It was on Laguna Seca and offline, I had a best time of 1:29:xxx, but online, I could only best a 1:32:xxx (this is on sports soft tires).