A (long) story about my row of disappointments in Sport mode yesterday

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Raghza615
Hey everybody, just wanted to vent because this has been on my mind since last night.
English is not my first language.

So I've been playing GT Sport since January, after I finally decided to get a PS4 Pro. I've been playing the GT series since GT2 and haven't skipped a game, but apart from a few bad online races in GT6, I haven't really spent much time online.
When I started with GT Sport, I didn't go online before I felt comfortable with the game physics and was quick enough for me. Then one day I didn't feel like doing the Campaign races, so I entered the Sport mode.
Man, was I intrigued about it - nothing like the races in GT6, but everybody were racing so clean and equally fast, so it was a real joy. I still enjoy the Campaign mode and I think I spend the most time in the Time Trials, when we have friends over at the weekend, so we just race each other for the best lap time. But I've been doing the Daily races more and more, but since I want good fun out of it, I usually go for the ones on the tracks I like the most and just skip the others.

I think I've done about 15-20 races in Sport mode and since I just do it for fun, I haven't really paid any attention to my DR and SR - IIRC my DR has been C for quite some time and my SR sits at S (I thought that "S" is the lowest rating and I just haven't spent enough time online for it to go higher).
Out of these 15-20 races, I think I have around 5 wins and a lot of finishes in positions 3-5. So I'm not very fast, but I believe I'm stable and that's what gives me somewhat decent results.

So we get to last night and me finally coming home after a long day at work and a great workout. I decide to do a little session before bed, so I push my racing seat in place and see the one-make race on the Nurburgring GP with the AMG A45 - that's one of my favourite tracks!
9 minutes until race start, so I start the qualifying laps. Love the track so much and after a few laps I'm even starting to like the dull-for-me A45. I get to do 3 laps and then the time's up and I'm a bit disappointed, since I messed up a lot and the time was incredibly bad. So I'm prepared to start the race from the last position.
To my big surprise, I start from the 4th position and ofcourse that hypes me up, since I know I can be a lot faster, so I sense a podium finish coming up...

The race is about the start with 14 other drivers, who are all at DR/C or B and SR/S. On the home straight, I immediately manage to slipstream the car in front of me so well, that by the end of the straight, I'm already 3rd. Some more great battles and by the end of the 1st lap I'm in the lead. We start lap 2 and reach the first, slow corner of NGP. I brake just on time and when I'm about to turn in the corner, SLAM!!! Two cars behind me hit me at pretty much full throttle, sending me into the sand and to the wall at around 150km/h.
DISAPPOINTMENT #1.
I drop to 7th and lose all the motivation I have. Nevertheless I try to keep it together and struggle my way up to 3rd thanks to the driving mistakes by other drivers. By the end of the 3rd lap, just before the chicane, I'm feeling fine again (3rd place is still good when starting from the 4th) and then, SLAM!!! The car behind me hit me at what I would say was full throttle again, so I slide off the track and watch several cars pass me. Ended in 7th or 8th (was too pissed to remember).
DISAPPOINTMENT #2.

Since you can't quit after a bad race (you know, never go to bed angry), I entered again and also had some time to qualify. I did just two laps, improved my time quite a lot and when the matching began, I had the pole position with -0.5 sec so I, once again, started to get over my disappointment.
It took a lot of time for "waiting other players to get ready" and finally I was greeted with a Network error, that told me I was disconnected. WHAT THE HELL?
DISAPPOINTMENT #3.

Rule of three. The next time can't possibly disappoint me any more. Entered the race and didn't even do any more qualifying laps but talked to my gf instead. Matching done, race starts and I'm on the 1st starting position again. All drivers are DR/C and SR/S, so I'm hoping for a clean race, finally.
The start seems okay, but I'm noticing that I'm focusing a lot more on the rear view mirror to avoid the rammers than I do on my driving. Even so, I'm able to stay at the lead despite some mild scraping at the first corner. About half a lap into the race and, SLAM!!! Looks like somebody behind me forgot to brake before a turn.
DISAPPOINTMENT #4.
I get somewhat stuck in the sandpit and fall back to 4th. In front of me I have a Spanish driver, a French driver and another Spanish driver in the lead. I remember something I read in this forum that the Spanish and Portugese guys are often the dirtiest drivers, so I decide to look into it. (Not being mean to anyone, it's just something I read somewhere. My deepest apologies if you are offended by my statement)
The Spanish guy in front of me was a PITA to pass, as he would block me, crash into me, push me out of the track etc. But also he was an incredibly ****** driver, so I got past him in no time and catch up the French driver.
Yup, the stereotype stands. The French driver is incredibly clean and has some great manners, so we battle for some time, but then at one point he understands that I'm quite a bit faster, pulls to the side and LETS ME PASS! Wow. Hope in mankind restored much? Well, no, as I catch up the Spanish driver in the lead.
He seems to have a bit better manners than the previous Spanish guy, but it's mostly because he is also faster and you can't be fast with all that intentional ramming, blocking etc. About half a lap until finish, I manage to overbrake the guy and pass him. So as we're approaching the final chicane of NGP once again, I'm feeling smug and happy, but that is until... SLAM!!! The same guy deliberately crashes into me, causing me to overshoot the turn and cut the chicane.
DISAPPOINTMENT #5.
As I get back on the track right behind this guy, I'm waiting for my penalty for cutting the corner but it's nowhere to be seen. I remember that there had just been an 1.14 update about this, so perhaps I will not be given a penalty since cutting the corner wasn't my fault? I have just one corner before the finish line to give this guy a lesson and I know that he had been extremely slow there. Luckily, he drives off the track so I take the lead just before the finish flag. My penalty? Looks like I won't be having any, so I cross the finish line.

The race is over and the final standings are displayed. To my surprise, I was given a 4 second penalty, causing me to drop to 4th place and even worse, after the race I notice my SR is "B". I do a quick google search and find out that "B" is 2 levels worse than "S".
DISAPPOINTMENT #6.
Did I really just drop down 2 levels for cutting a corner unintentionally and not clearing a penalty I wasn't assigned? Seems so.

I quit the game and go to bed thinking, that if this is how "dirty" some races can be, when all the drivers are SR/S, then how terribly bad is it going to be, when matched up against SR/B drivers?
Since I enjoy clean races more than anything, I'm just afraid that when I will start a race now with SR/B, it will be so bad that I will never want to race online again (I was pretty much on the edge even yesterday).

So can you guys please make me feel better and say the races will not be that bad at SR/B? How long until I'm back to SR/S again? What's the best way to achieve it? Be slow at qualifying, start at the back and then do some clean races without anybody crashing into me from behind? Any other tips.

Sorry for the 8th Harry Potter book, but I believe I'm now vented.
Sincerely,
A guy who likes to keep it clean on the track.
PSN: Raghza615
 
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There are two factors at play here.
Yes, you are at the highest SR rating, but a lot of people in the lower DR categories (DR. B and lower) tend to farm their SR by driving around at the back of races.
So when you combine drivers who aren't the quickest (which implies lack of car control) and tracks with heavy braking points (Nurb GP) you get turn 1 pileups.
Also remember that most people driving at your rating right now won't have years of sim racing experience so they will make mistakes, unfortunately these mistakes can ruin your experience.

My advice would be to spend at least 30 minutes qualifying - that way you are clearly setting a qualifying time which represents how fast you are - and you can drive away from everyone else!
 
Also, in addition to @Sean Renon's good points (especially Q time) you are not max SR/S (99 points) and haven't ever reached that... so you must be having some contacts in most races, causing you to not hit that peak and stay there. I would advise racing a couple of races non-competitively (avoid ALL contact and stay fully on the track) to get to SR99 then you will be matched with similar others. At 80-95 you will be paired with people passing through... either on their way up after a good race or two, or on their way down if they are not feeling friendly.



Re: your penalty, the penalties often take a while to actually go "live" so presumably because this was the last turn, you hadn't passed enough time or distance (however it calculates) for the penalty to go live and then you attempt to wear it off.

Some more advice: use 'radar' on the MFD... this means you will be able to spot people behind you approaching too fast and take evasive action. If you move, they will plough on into the sand/chicane/grass or whatever :)
 
Thanks for the good points, guys.
I don't think I've ever hit anybody - I always brake when I'm about to and rather lose some precious time than have contact with other drivers. Surely, I've been hit from the back a few times, but nothing like I had yesterday :)
I think that I just haven't done enough races to get to max SR/S?
I've also noticed that during the races, I get the green SR up arrow, meaning that my SR level raised? Would I get a similar red down arrow in case my SR would drop? Don't think I've ever seen that, so I think my low SR/S score was just the case of me not having done enough online racing.

About the radar.. I'm using both this and the rear view mirror, but when the drivers behind me just use me as brake barriers, my reaction is not quick enough to get out of the way, especially when it happens during heavy braking.

But thanks again, I will try my best to forget this experience, work my way up to SR/S and try to reach the max level, so I could have some good races in the future :)
 
No, it's not to do with a lack of races... you could get to max SR/S in one race from 80 or 90. The fact that your graph stays pretty level around 80-90 means you are not running completely clean races.

A green up arrow means you have passed that sector clean. But, if you perhaps leave the track slightly or make contact with another driver sometime in the race, this can negate even multiple green arrows (in the past I have had one 'orange' sector, the rest green and got a red SR marker after the race*). Sometimes, you will pass a sector with no SR message at all (I think for minor infractions, like going slightly off the course), or an orange SR which is negative. I note that your consecutive race run is 2, so there must be some knocks/bumps/track leaving happening. Try and avoid contact at all costs and get up to 99 where you should find better driving. Basically, as SR is so fluid (it will move in 99.9% of races, unless you are at max 99) the matchmaking is very sketchy.

Once you get up out of DR/C (you are clearly good enough, looking at your DR graph) you tend to find less mistakes so better driving. They may not intentionally be using you as brake barriers, but just missing brake points etc.

*in the post race screen, you will noticed your SR rank will either be blue (gone up), white (stayed the same), or red (gone down)
 
Never try to overtake a dirty driver who is blocking your path, instead, stay in the back and apply pressure until they make an inevitable mistake, in my experience dirty driver aren't aware of the wonders of trail braking, use that in your favor once you're ahead and you need to slow down in a corner.

Also, use the report function after the race.

I personally have wrote in my greetings auto-message the following: "Clean racer here, dirty racers will be reported, you have been warned."
 
Robben, thanks a lot mate, I really appreciate it. I didn't think that running wide on some corners would affect my SR, but come to think of it, I have definitely gone slightly off track due to my own fault in several races (you know, the pressure gets to you lol).
You have motivated me to get back out there and reach higher levels than I had before, so thanks for that again!

Pedinhuh, good advice, thanks. Where's the report button? I sure wish I had known about it yesterday... :D
EDIT: Robben answered already, ty!
 
You are welcome :) please continue to play... whilst frustrating at times, it is easily the best mode in GT Sport. I have never felt so exhilarated, nervous and intense in any game than when I'm playing Sport Mode! It is addictive.

Yep, 'clean' driving is more than not hitting other people. Do a few clean races (even just sit at the back, driving safely) and keep checking on Kudos until you reach 99SR, then try racing again and you should see an improvement.
 
My 2 cents:
like everyone else said, time spent in quali is the most important actor. It not about having as fast quali time as much as its about time spent qualifying which will improve your racing drastically. It is practice. For me, the best racing comes when I have run the track enough for it to be automatic. If I havent gotten to the point where I look up at my lap times and go "holy hell i just did 3 laps??" then i probably am not ready for 10 laps in race traffic. There is just soo much to concentrate on in the heat of a race that hitting brake points and apexes should be an afterthought.

keep racing, sounds like your pretty talented and I hope to see you in a race at some point:cheers:
 
I couldn't agree more. Since I usually only race on my favourite tracks where I know every corner like the back of my hand, I go into "autopilot" quite quickly.
That's usually the time I stop, since it stops being entertaining.

Thanks for the nice words and hope to see you too!
 
raghza
.....I'm about to turn in the corner, SLAM!!! .....driver is incredibly clean and has some great manners, so we battle for some time, but then at one point he understands that I'm quite a bit faster, pulls to the side and LETS ME PASS!......but that is until... SLAM!
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to read this. What you have here are examples of both extremes of playing GTS. Sadly being on the receiving end of negative behaviour is by far the most common, which makes experiences where people are courteous all the more positive.

Like you I've been playing all versions of GT since V1. There are some excellent recommendations on this thread already. In my 4 months playing GTS here's all I can offer to help you manage:
  1. Accept that other "Players" are of all ages and backgrounds. Naturally, if you treat other people with courtesy and respect and adhere to racing etiquette it is not unreasonable to expect others to do so. However, the fast one ahead or just behind you could be a 14year old or a 50 year old. Either can choose to behave negatively towards you for no reason. Simply getting close to them as I have experienced can result in a hard brake check in a straight line (!) or letting you past just to deliberately nudge you off. I just choose to believe whoever it is just hasn't learned many of life's lessons yet and it will come to them eventually. Just don't stoop to their level. I went on a revenge mission in a race a few months ago and don't think proudly of that moment. I take more pride now of just letting a bad racer past. I can guarantee you you will pass most of them later in the race after they have taken off someone else who will retaliate.
  2. Choose your Daily and/or FIA Sport races carefully. Some races are naturally very close because of the track layout (Kyoto) and you are more likely to find yourself close to aggressive drivers. Some tracks just lend themselves to late brakers (N GP). Other tracks which have less margin for error (Brands GP) cars tend to space out a bit better after lap 1 and the attrition is higher just from people making tiny mistakes which will cost them 10 seconds or more. We've all been there, running wide and finding yourself having to reverse out of a barrier the wrong way, getting on the throttle and spinning again.
  3. Don't expect SR "S" drivers to necessarily be well behaved.Sometimes they are the worst. I will share a replay on this this week. If you check back my last post there's a good example.
  4. Some races will just go terribly, no matter how much practice you do. But some of them will be sweet. They are worth waiting for.
  5. Last but not least: Find some good lobbies. I've had my most enjoyable races in lobbies. I guess this is because everyone feels there is less riding on it. The racing is often closer and bad racers get kicked out pretty quick. I've found myself being added as a freind and vice versa with people I've had a fun race with that is clean. Then they see you <> you them in a lobby later that week and it snowballs from there. There's a handful of players I see in lobbies now and I know they are fast and clean racers. We've had some epic battles and I've enjoyed getting my racing fix that way.
Just don't let it get the better of you. Sh it happens as they say and just let it happen. It has a knack of that and just know the bad drivers will eventually get bored of the game and leave. In many ways you could say GTS have done a masterful job in creating a game that the core players care so much about.
 
Some excellent advice here, thanks!

Did the one-make daily race on Brands Hatch yesterday, kept it very clean and already got back to SR/A.
This brings up another question - where can I see my exact SR score, like Robben mentioned?
 
Perfect, thanks!
What a bummer - I was SO close to max SR before the row of incidents mentioned in this thread. Oh well... :)
 
I guess it's time for an update.
After creating this thread, I tried doing some low-level races (even if they were on the tracks with the cars I didn't like that much) just to increase my ratings again, but that didn't work out at all - because I wasn't pushing hard enough, my DR level came to a halt and I made many mistakes in these races, which wasn't good for my SR rise either.

Then, luckily enough, came a daily race that I really enjoyed (one of my favourite cars and tracks) and fortunately I was racing together with a bunch of very good clean drivers. I won the race, gained a lot of DR and SR and it has been a joy ever since.

Since I now know how, I'll share my KUDOS stats lol.
The incidents from this thread occured on the 10th race. From there on you can see when I wasn't concentrating enough and when things got better again.

dr.JPG


Thanks for all the positive comments and I'll see you online! :)
 
Yesterday I reached max SR after the one make race on Tsukuba!
I love this track - such a short and compact circuit but it provides so much more overtaking opportunities than the Suzuka East.
Also my consecutive clean races count is up to 5 I think, which is nice. You can really feel the sportsmanship from the other drivers at SR/S.
 

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