Boost Racing - The bane of online racing.

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subsist
Boost racing, who likes it? Certainly not me.

My thoughts on boost racing and why I think it has to be the worst form of racing in online lobbies.

1. Punishes the good driver, Rewards the bad driver.

A typical situation in a boost room goes something a little like this:

Driver A. Drives good, makes no mistakes, runs the near perfect race, comes 2nd.

Driver B. Crashes multiple times a race, keeps flying back to the front where he will crash again, rinse, repeat until end of race. Finishes 1st. Fair?

2. Changes physics of cars depending on race position.

Not only does it punish the guy who has ran the perfect race, it makes the guy who cannot drive at all think he is superman. The way it seems to do this is, if you get into a position of 3rd or behind, the physics of the game seem to change, corners now become possible to fly through without thinking and you suck up to the back of the car in front like it has a huge vacuum pulling you in.
Once bad driver gets back to 2nd or 1st position, physics kick back to normal, bad driver can no longer control his car on the next corner, crashes, starts the process again.

The physics change is also very hard for the good driver, as he has to always be aware where he is in the race, how hard he can push because of position and has to be very careful to change driving style once back into 2nd or 1st position. If you drive the car once at the front of the race like you did when you were trying to catch up, you will not brake fast enough, corner speed diminishes and the car will spin a lot more freely.

In conclusion driver B can crash 10 times in a race and still win it, how is that good racing? The excuse I hear online a lot is that it keeps the racing close. No it doesn't, it makes the racing stink. All it does it gives people who do not want to work at getting better a chance to win a race they should not even deserve to be in the lead of.

This does not make close racing at all, it makes frustrating racing, does anyone else agree with my opinion or care to share another opinion on the matter?

Discuss.
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Well, this is the real driving simcade for you. Just turn this 🤬 off and look for good online lobbies. Although, there aren't many.
 
NJ72
Then surely boost will level the field and create more passing and close quarters racing? I don't personally find that it slingshots people to the front unless you're on the straight of Sarthe.

In F1 they do so much to try artificially create 'boost' with DRS and KERS, but when they try to do it in GT6 people complain? :confused:

I think it is like every 'aid' in racing games, when used properly it can make the game more enjoyable, but there are always people who misuse it
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I think you'll find few supporters of the DRS concept among F1 fans.
 
For a while I raced in a room with a bunch of cool people but it was still absolute nonsense. It was fun for a minute then I realized we're not racing at all, we're just being played with an invisible rubber band.
 
I always check the room settings before racing. If I see cheats activated (slipstream not set to real, boost or SRF on) I just leave.
 
NJ72
In F1 they do so much to try artificially create 'boost' with DRS and KERS, but when they try to do it in GT6 people complain? :confused:
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DRS and KERS are NOTHING like boost at all. They are not more effective the further you are behind and all cars get KERS at all times. Boost is used to create artificially close racing. KERS and DRS are used to aid passing. How many times have we seen a RedBull disappear into the distance? KERS and DRS don't stop that because they are never designed to, boost was.
 
nasanu
DRS and KERS are NOTHING like boost at all. They are not more effective the further you are behind and all cars get KERS at all times. Boost is used to create artificially close racing. KERS and DRS are used to aid passing. How many times have we seen a RedBull disappear into the distance? KERS and DRS don't stop that because they are never designed to, boost was.
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Yeah, I agree, DRS and KERS were to make F! more exciting, not to let Mark Webber who went into the sand trap on lap 1 to catch instantly back up to the leaders.
 
I don't play/race that often, but I like that the option is there. It gives the casual player like me and the others in that room to be together on the track. I remember running Daytona in a room with 4 other players and the laps were like 20 or so... anyway it was tight racing and there was contact and I spun out and was able to rejoin the group. It stayed tight until the finish. Two wide tight pack of five. The thing is, I remember that race and not a lot of the other 'real race' races that I've been in. It was fun and good racing; for me at least.
 
FuelAirSpark
I don't play/race that often, but I like that the option is there. It gives the casual player like me and the others in that room to be together on the track. I remember running Daytona in a room with 4 other players and the laps were like 20 or so... anyway it was tight racing and there was contact and I spun out and was able to rejoin the group. It stayed tight until the finish. Two wide tight pack of five. The thing is, I remember that race and not a lot of the other 'real race' races that I've been in. It was fun and good racing; for me at least.
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Of course it stayed tight until the finish, that is what boost does. You went off the track, your fault or not in real racing you cop it on the chin. Not get artificially boosted back to the front to win a race you should not even be in the lead pack of in the first place.

Though saying that, I can see the attraction for some people that don't like to lose or do not want to put in any effort to get better at the game.
 
subsist
Though saying that, I can see the attraction for some people that don't like to lose or do not want to put in any effort to get better at the game.
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Can you also see the attraction for a casual player or even a serious one, that just wants a good close race and isn't concerned at the moment about enhancing his skills?
 
Johnnypenso
Can you also see the attraction for a casual player or even a serious one, that just wants a good close race and isn't concerned at the moment about enhancing his skills?
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Yes, I can see the attraction for the casual player, not sure I can see an attraction for the serious racer though. I get closer races without boost on when I am with serious racers. Boost seems to upset the tempo of the race and physics which is very annoying.
 
I find it hard to enhance my skills with this game just running a hot lap. I loose interest. I like running with other cars, AI or real, that will keep my interest. At current, the AI isn't up to it. The boost allows me to run with real people and possibly become a better racer by having more time actually running close and learning.
 
FuelAirSpark
I find it hard to enhance my skills with this game just running a hot lap. I loose interest. I like running with other cars, AI or real, that will keep my interest. At current, the AI isn't up to it. The boost allows me to run with real people and possibly become a better racer by having more time actually running close and learning.
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No, if you think this way I am sorry you are just fooling yourself.

Boost will never make you a "better" racer. There is no way to learn how to become a "better" racer when an aid keeps artificially bringing you back to the front every time you make a mistake. You do not have to win every race, coming last is also a learning experience, and there will always be others back in the pack to race with and get better against until you are good enough to keep up with the front runners.

What makes you a better player is learning from your mistakes, then taking those lessons and applying them over and over until you get it right. Not artificially kept near the front where physics of the car can change on you in a split second if someone over takes you just before a corner.
 
Boost is never good for "serious" races. However, if the people involved are casual gamers that just want to have fun and not improve their skills, it should be allowed. Some are faster than others, and it's really boring if one person wins over and over again. Boost gives casuals a chance for some champagne and joy.
 
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