0.7 Update - Official thread

Maybe someone forgot to upload the goodies

 

So did anybody here at all receive the update yet?

 

Not got it here yet...

 

Also no update in Germany...

 

I can't find the source of that changelog

 

Hey Marty......i designed an AI in rFactor "1" that will give even the fast drivers a great challenge. The AI was specifically made for the FIA GT3 mod and also some select GT's from the Endurance mod and used on special tracks in which the track's AIW's (AI fast-lines) were all remade from scratch by me. These AI have given me some of the best challenges i experienced and when i put up a server with some friends and fill the grid with AI it's so much fun!

 

Speedmaniacs must have made a mistake since this v7.2 is not announced on AC's official updates or they didn't update the thread yet.

 

I haven't driven RF1 for a while, is that a recent mod or an older one? AC has kind of converted me from RF/RF2 physics for now I even bought GSC2013 fairly recently as its been getting a bit of praise and I always loved Niels work too so maybe help those guys stay in business for some AC mods. I like to race in large fields in cars and tracks that arent ever that popular so AI racing it is for the main part, I think the AI here shows promise but still quite a bit of work to do. I dont need aline speed as even here if race pace is 3 sec off my best its not always easy to get past assuming you dont take the easy way out and just pass everyone at their weak corner which they seem to have on all tracks.

v7.2 doesnt come up on mine so maybe someone has too fast a connection lol, maybe speedmaniacs runs the official server and is just being greedy keeping it all to himself. Even the full updates probably really come out on Thursdays but we get them here Sat early AM

 

Marty....i was referring to the original rFactor and not the rFactor 2 beta. There are a few really exceptional mods in rFactor which have great physics and feel as realistic as you might expect!

In my humble opinion about some of the complaints of poor AI in rFactor it's usually because the majority of those mods and tracks converted to rFactor have never been AI optimized simply because the converter didn't care to be bothered or they lacked the knowledge needed.

 

I think the issue with the ISI gmotor sims isnt the mod physics (on the good ones some are badly flawed) but the base engine physics, overall low speed grip issues and just not quite that feeling I am driving on hot sticky rubber if you know what I mean. Not saying there arent or werent some great mods a, they still have the same issues you cant hide without changing the physics engine itself. I dont think AC is perfect and we will never have perfection but it just has the much more natural feel to me, this is with every car I dont see a single weak one so I think the base engine is doing a pretty good job. Especially driving the beamers around nurburg with a combination of that track surface and cars that actually feel like the suspension and tyres are doing their work along with a good feel of weight transfer that only RBR really seemed to get to a similar level all those years ago.

A simple thing like the good old tank slapper which are quite easy to do in a real car just dont seem possible in ISI gmotor as the weight transfer doesnt really seem to be as critical. This makes using more realistic driving techniques actually work in AC where they dont in many other sims. Simply driving the car in a way that the transfer of weight works for you is something that is needed in all cars, sure the stiffer and lighter cars dont do this much but many other sims really dont do this as well IMHO. I have gone back to a few since trying AC and sadly they feel even worse to me now then I remembered them back when they were easily the best sims around.

There is a reason us simmers all are keen to try all offerings because we all know that what we have is pretty good but it will always get better, it will come to a point where most of the better sims will end up feeling much the same. Ideally you shouldn't need to re learn to drive in a new sim or game but just drive and learn the cars themselves not how best to deal with the physics limitations. The funny thing is I had NKpro since very early on but ISI based stuff still felt better to me, AC seems quite a step in the real direction for me over all other current sims. I have heard I-racing is getting much better but havent driven that in quite a while and early on it just seemed like a shinier papy sim.

 

That's so true. The AI in rF1 is actually a lot more complex than people give it credit for, but to get good results it has to be properly calibrated on a car & track basis. Obviously with the thousands of mods and tracks at our disposal, the chances of getting a combo where the two work properly together is minuscule as there are just too many permutations. Net result is that it's pointless for modders to do much more than a basic racing line.

You only have to take a look at GSC to see what can be done when you have predetermined cars and tracks that have been properly optimized to work together. Don't get me wrong, it's still not earth shatteringly brilliant, but much better than you might expect from an rF platform.

 

Yeah, what it comes down to is, just like a human, the AI has to be familiar with the car & track before it can set good times. You can't just write a few lines of code and have the AI immediately running fast laps in any combination; at the least, a self-teaching AI will go around the track for a few laps, running off when it's too fast, and upping the pace, until it finds the limits. More likely, you tell it what the ideal line is and how fast it can run on it, and it aims for that, with some tweaks per car to get it behaving reasonably. Giving it lines for running 2-wide into corners, or when it's around slower traffic, all adds to what you have to teach the AI. Just having it avoid crashing is no good if it loses its line and doesn't know how to steer back to it.

When I have accidents with the AI, it's mostly cause I'm much worse at sticking to the line they use. So if they head for the outside of a corner, leaving enough room if I were to do the same thing, but I'm aiming somewhere else, confusion happens.

I have gotten sandwiched between two braking AIs, hit from behind and pushing me into the car in front, but that just taught me not to try to run inside the pack. Probably they should do that less (as I'm not braking near the limit in that situation, trying to keep room to the car in front) but if they're not ready for it, not much you can do except wait until they've been taught.

Have been thinking about writing an app that detects incoming divebombing AIs (so at the least you're ready to countersteer when they nudge you from behind), not sure how to display the info though.

 

Because most of the ADDON tracks are done for online racing only and the modders doesn`t take care how the AI acts on this tracks.

 

No 0.7.2. here either...

 

ok then speedmaniacs was wrong

 

Well it's okay. Still great time in at Ring with DTM!

 

DTM @ AC?

 

Sure, BMW M3 E30 DTM

 

Yeah, i thought whole DTM, with all (actual) cars

 

I made from scratch the AIW's for several tracks for the AI to race with specific mods in rFactor as that is the only way to get the best challenging AI results. The outcome achieved with all the extra work is outstanding!

I hope AC will have much success with the AI because as much as i like mulitplayer i don't have the time to commit to scheduled races every week and a well made AI can give you close to the same experience if it's properly done.

There are probaly thousands of owners of AC who want the same thing.