Personally, in terms of on-track action, I go to these for the close, door banging, paint trading racing. I don't mind being hit anywhere on the car except in the back by someone doing 10+mph more than me. If I wanted to pass every car cleanly every single time, I'd stick to racing the AI who half the time can't find a racing line with both hands
A clean pass is nice, but I'd rather spend half a lap side by side with someone, nudging and bouncing off've each other - to me, it's simply more fun. I guess it's just each to their own.
That last was just what I logged in to post, mate
. Sadly, at work I have a limited window in which I can post so I have to snap-type and thoughts that occur after an initial post generally have to wait
.
If door-handle bashing racing is what you enjoy, then there's nothing wrong with that as long as you're in a race where that sort of behaviour is anticipated. For myself, as I said, I've hung around too much with those who have to pay-to-play so I tend to have their attitudes (more GT than BTCC
).
I'm afraid I have something of a hair-trigger to the "rubbin's racing" cliche and am liable to reflex spout on about how it is oh-so-not. So I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't talking directly to you or implying anything personal.
Likewise I hope Diego was speaking in general terms rather than directly to myself? I've been called worse things than a 'prick' out in the real world but I rather hope that noone here would apply such an epithet to one of their fellows?
As to if it is possible to avoid contact at LANs, then, yes it is. You just apply the "treat it as if it was real" axiom and if there's no chance of making a pass without contact, then you don't pass. If two cars are trying to go into a corner at the same time then, providing there isn't an obvious chance to sneak one, the one who is a touch in front has the right of way and the one behind gives the necessary room. That doesn't mean that you can't contest corners competatively, tho' it does put you at a disadvantage as it's harder to set up the line you want on the way out.
Driving the LAN as if you really could crash, damage your car, get a license suspension etc is harder, true, and is possibly less fun in some ways for those who like 'aggressive' automotive contact but it is also less likely to provoke bad reactions (which translates as more fun overall).
This is not just a case of bringing too much of the real-world to the PS2 as some of the serious (real(ish)-time) on-line racing that goes on with other game systems take the approach that too much panel-rubbing will get you a suspension from participating.
Of course at the end of the day, what I'm talking about in the context of the GT4 LAN environment is the truly heinous bashing and barging i.e. failing to brake, running people off the road, overtaking on the inside by leaning on another car and so forth. A bit of side-by-side running, with no intention to cause contact, spices up an event nicely 👍.
I'd rather finish 2nd with a bit of bumping than win without a fight.
. I guess it's the company I raced in back in the days when we used to run multiplayer all the time i.e. everyone but me in our 'circle' raced in the "3D, pay for your repairs, go to hospital if you get it wrong" world. Their attitudes percolated through and stuck.
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