Glad to be back after a break

I drove many hours in the earlier AC Beta and, while I was impressed, I couldn't seem to make the Lotus Exige go fast enough at Silverstone and when I saw some lap times posted by others, I skulked away in shame.

I came back to check out the AI, which was why I was so excited about AC in the first place, because I haven't driven a really good single-player racing sim since GTR2 and GT Legends.

I'm very glad I came back. I've been doing the BMW challenge at Mugello and while, like others, I find the AI too aggressive and the amount of contact in the races incongruously demolition-derbyish, I suspect that will be fixed and there is a lot about the AI that is positive. They do not always drive the same line, and they will defend their line; you can't always beat them by late-braking into the inside of a corner entry.

Above all, I find the driving and physics modeling to be really authentic and am so glad that this sim does not flatter you into believing you can drive like Ayrton Senna. The BMW has mass and inertia, it does not corner on rails and if you take too much of the kerb it will upset the car just as it would in real life. I like the oversteer and the response to trail-braking. In short, going fast in this sim takes effort; you are not lulled into thinking you can glide through races, or practice.

I love Lotuses so I'm going to get back into the Exige. I might not be much faster but I hope the car will feel faster. And I can't wait to race it against the AI when that is implemented. I will do some MP but I know from experience that I am at best a mid-pack racer against decent human competition, whereas with enough practice, in a good enough sim, I enjoy the challenge of practicing car/track combos with a realistic prospect of earning a podium in single-player.

Keep up the good work!

 

Glad you are enjoying the game on your return.
I do not rate my skills online (slowest person I know) so it is nice to know I will be able to participate in the AI racing without ruining everybody elses nice time. I am also excited to see what the AI will bring in future

 

I thought I was the slowest online player? Hey, I smell a new kind of race classification

 

Oh welcome back, by the way strummer

AC is evolving quite nicely I think.

 

Bring it on! You will beat me any day I will beat you any day.

 

Its weird but every day I start up AC to do a few laps the sim feels more and more realistic to me.No other sim has had that effect on me and its like I learn something new every day.Great stuff!!

 

Its definitely getting there. I'm excited about sharpening my skills with the AI as they develop. But I can't help but think, when multiplayer comes along, maybe a bunch of us should put together some online racing situations that are welcoming to average skill levels, folks who don't have tons of time to practice. Just a thought....
For me, AC has inspired me to work at racing much more than any other game I've played. I'd like to try my hand at some online racing, but I'm still not even in the same league as most I encounter. I'm betting I'm not alone.

 

There will probably be as many, if not more, servers that are listed as "noob friendly" or something similar when MP is released. I'm pretty sure there will be quite a few servers that are one big practice, or track day, instead of an actual race....In other sims I have had as much fun just messing around practicing with my friends as actually racing.

 

I agree with everything expressed above by my fellow mid-pack strivers. I think the sim is definitely impressive in its high-fidelity; the physics have a real sense of consequence, if you know what I mean.

As I wrote above, I gave AC up in despair when I was stupid enough to install the (excellent) RSR Live Hotlaps app, only to discover that no matter how hard I thought I was pushing the Lotus Exige around Silverstone, at least two hundred people on this app alone were faster than me. And, never one to learn from my mistakes, no sooner had I come back to AC than I updated and reinstalled the app and then did a couple of hours practice at Monza in the Formula Abarth open-wheeler. Practice laps are not recorded in RSR Live.

"Gosh", I thought, as I always do, "I reckon I'm quite quick in this!" as I hurled the thing purposefully around the track, hitting my apexes, driving the right lines and sustaining momentum. After I started lapping in two minutes flat with the prospect of breaking into 1.59:xx I felt great, so what did I do? I pulled up the track/car combo on the RSR hotlaps page and found that not only is the fastest time 1.51:xx but that my best time is 165th fastest of 178.

Oh well, all is not lost. At least now I can race against the AI and feel that I've accomplished something if I get first place on Medium difficulty and maybe a third on Hard. And once they introduce quals, I won't have to start at the back of the grid, which might bump me up a place on Hard. Maybe. I won't be under any illusion that I can hang with the fast guys in MP but I won't be eating crow every time I drive this sim either.

 

Try different cars also....I'm usually only a second or two off the pace in the slow cars but 5 or 6 seconds off pace in the cars that are faster than I am such as GT2 and open wheelers.

For me practicing against my ghost is the best way to learn.

Most important is to just have fun driving the cars and sooner or later more speed will come.

 

People are among different groups; The naturally talented, those that will bash out lap after lap for hours to hone their skills and the hobbiests, myself being part of this latter group. It makes no difference which group you belong to you always think you are better than you actually are. The key is to race amongst people of a similar skill level and mindset so that you can improve both driving skill and race craft whilst maintaining a healthy level of competition. This is why racing series are usually sorted like this in real life. What would the point be of having an amateur or novice go head to head with a pro? Not much competition in that.

Even pro drivers will hit the track and constantly learn new things about a car and nuances of the track.

This is a simulation, a game, the key is to above all have fun! As someone once said... "Practice Makes Perfect!" Don't give up, don't get disheartened, keep practising and enjoy the experience. Comparing yourself to the leaders is something to strive for and is not a given.

 

Not sure I'd agree there as that sort of thing depends a lot one's psychological make-up. In my case, I'm an outright pessimist about most things in life, and sim racing's no different.

 

Sorry, was using a broad stroke genarality. There will always be exceptions I was just trying to give a pep-up and be semi-helpful.

 

Reiterated by your signature....
Give yourself a shake man!

 

I loled

 

OK, in the 1:58s now at Monza with the Formula Abarth, #165 on RSR Live Hotlaps.

 

@RelapseUK

Likewise sorry. Just being a picky beggar

@bigbawmcgraw

You're mis-reading my sig. I'm really an alien on a diet, so all you'll ever see of me is when I lap you, losing a couple of lbs in the process. Honest.