Some suggestions about AI drivers

Finding sweet spot of AI strength percentage can certainly provide some feeling of competition, but in my experience with Assetto Corsa, it only had resulted in following cases.

If I got pole position through qualifying,
a-1) Entire race session becomes a struggle just not to be overtaken. (which can be fun though)
a-2) .. or just driving alone far ahead of them (which is not fun).

If I couldn't get pole position,
b) It gets almost impossible for me to overtake anyone of them. (which is frustrating)

Because, almost every lap time of an AI driver is very close to his best lap time!

Therefore I suggest,

1. Make their performance less constant
ie., Please let them make mistakes like a real human do.
Or if it's too tricky to make humanlike AI algorithm,
then just let their strength percentage vary slightly (+- 2~3%) over time "in" a session.

2. Let users customise AI behaviour parameters
I assume that there are many parameters defining AI behaviours, which are computed in a given Algorithm.
AI strength percentage might be just one of them.
Let users alter many other parameters and tinker with them, instead Dev Team taking too much time and effort fine tuning AI behaviors.

3. Give AI drivers distinct "personality", ie. different set of parameters.
Current AI drivers have their names, but alongside that, let different AI drivers have different set of parameters, given or customised by a User.
So one can have Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen in his "private" roster of fictional race friends.
(Of course there's no license fee to pay them and it does not matter how close they are to their real world counterparts because its just for private enjoyment!)
If a race against those AIs feels too hard or too easy, then one can just adjust difficulty by ruling out too fast or too slow AI drivers rather than moving the strength percentage bar.

I hope my suggestions should be easier than "improving" AI algorithm.

 

I used to have a problem overtaking AI as well, until I started watching this video series:
https://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php?threads/44177/

It occurred to me that safe overtaking is about exiting the last corner before a straight faster than the guy in front of you (even though he is in front), and using the additional speed along the straight to pass.

I say this because I think that AI drivers do make subtle mistakes - by some times being too slow out of a turn, making passing easier.

On tracks that I have practiced a lot (Silverstone and Brands Hatch) and AI at 98%, I am still able to pass the number 1 and 2 cars in this way - just have to wait for the right opportunity (ie. A corner in which they're too slow). Lower down, it's much easier to pass as they are generally slower out of the corners.

The issue I'm finding now is AI giveing up their line too easily, making passing easier than it should be - but you still have to be fast enough to get next to them into a corner.


Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

My experience is that AI does make mistakes, and can actually be forced to make them.

But have to admit that if one gets out front by a more than a few car lengths, they don't seem to make mistakes, and are hard to catch, much like IRL.
And if you get close, and come out of a corner better than one, they will actually immediately come over to make a little block, then return to the racing line.

Not to brag, but I have been racing Tatuus at Monza, and can win from 10th in 5 laps at 97%,...not easy at all for me, mind you.

LATE4APEX

 

Talking about difficulty in overtaking was just an practical example to illustrate more fundmental problem: the inhumanly "constant" (not meaning "perfect") driving behavior of AIs.

Of course current AIs make mistakes and thus can be overtaken, under some conditions.

And under those conditions AIs constantly make same mistakes, so that one can say that they could be "forced" to make them.

My suggestion is that, making mistake should be their inherent nature, which happens randomly upon rare "probability".

 

It kind of depends on the level much like with human opponents, say at 100% same as very good human opponents they can go a 1 hour + race without any significant errors so AI at the highest level should not make errors easily either and at highest setting when I have ran against AI they don't really make big errors but simply repeat the same small errors making them very vulnerable and fairly easy to pass, even if their pace isn't too slow they will all make the same line errors and so you can pass everyone in the same spot every lap assuming you are in range. At lower levels like people a bit more off pace, they will regularly make mistakes each lap so to make them more human like at lower levels they would need to make more mistakes too. How you would code this and make it not over the top with massive errors to match up to an off pace human more prone to errors I have no idea.

Compare a random mp race in an open server and even over 5 laps the gaps will be huge as many will make lots of mistakes, AI will always be more bunched up but then people probably don't want AI to be at the level of a regular pub server where the AI would hit everything and barely be able to finish a lap.

 

Hi guys.I Think Ai is still to slow even on 100. And issue is with tight corner's,or ones with a lot of body weight transfer . I'm no alien on anything like that. Only track where ai beat's me is spa,I just didn't spend time to learn it well. And when overtaking they just let go to easy.But then that is not always the case. Example is red bull ring,u can go side to side with Ai and it will hardly let go in corner if u leave him space.But on other tracks they just let u go on exit.

 

How to code such AI behaviour I've already written in OP.
: just let their strength percentage vary slightly (ex: +- 2~3%) over time "in" a session.

For example, an AI driver set at 95% strength should actually perform like 98% in first X minutes of session, then performs like 92% in next Y minutes and so on...
Another AI driver at 93% strength, who actually performs randomly between 90~96% strength, can have several faster lap times then a 95% AI driver.

And I also suggested that, those deviations also be modifiable per each different AI driver.

In a short session therefore the result should be more unpredictable, and a "lucky" lower AI driver could beat higher AI.

I know that, with current AI logic it is already possible that a lower AI have faster lap times than higher AI in a practice of qualifying session, when they drive together with alternate launcher (Content Manager).

But it's only because they are interfering each other.
(for example, a 80% AI blocks 100% AI right in front of him, while 90% AI drives freely on the other section of long circuit. than 90% AI can be significantly faster than 100% AI)

Messing up race due to AI's "mistakes" shouldn't be a problem, because such random "mistakes" should actually be just a slight drop of strength percentage, which induce temporary dull and slow driving, not accident.

 

The AI could also do like Aris showed us how not to drive. Leave the ideal line and don't use the whole track. Breaking points and pedal efficiency could be varied too by a small amount as the % is changed.

 

When real people are slower its because of errors, missing brake points by a little run half a car wide at the apex etc.

Simply making them slower/faster while pretty much nailing the line at random seems like a strange solution to me, far from realistic or believable behaviour you would expect from a human driver that is not so consistent and prone to errors.

 

You're 100% right about that and I must agree with you.
The real problem lies on lack of flexibility & variation of the AI line.

But that problem seems to need some more fundamental approach to be solved.
My suggestion should be just a relatively easy workaround to give some superficial feeling of flexibility and unpredictability.

100% AI driving consistently with same good lap times on every lap seems at least to me not too weird,
but 80%~90% AI driving also very consistently with same slower lap times on every lap does seem more than awkward...

 

Id like to see AI overtake more. Load up an LMP1 and GT3 field. The LMPs can get stuck behind a GT3 car and will not move to overtake. Likewise a lot of the time they will stay behind me.

That to me kills the race

Also when things grind to a halt (ie if I have an off) the AI will jsut sit there and make no attempt to move.

 

Tracks could have like 3 separate AI lines. Bad, medium and fast. And the higher AI % the more likely they take fastest line into a corner. 100% would always choose fastest. Maybe difficult to implement.

But indeed they should overtake more. They used to (on PC) but due to more aggressive AI hitting player (? or some other reason) it was reverted back. IMO it's players fault if they choose too fast AI, don't choose stupid lines don't get hit.