help the newbie

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kestrel452

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i just got this game a couple weeks ago and i am about to burn this CD in frustration. i am having a lot of difficulty trying to corner and follow through turns. i have gotten my B license and cant pass the Licenense A-10 challenge. i spent hours on that trial. and i do poorly in races even with my turbo nitrous nissa silvia k aeros 256 HP. what do i do? i just cant seem to corner well. help would be greatly appreciated.
 
What do you use, the standard controller or a wheel?

And can you describe your problem a bit better? What exactly happens when you corner? Does the back of the car step out? Don't you hit the apex? Do you run off the track? What exactly is your problem?

Oh, and welcome to GTP! 👍

Regards
the Interceptor
 
Four words to live by:-

Slow In = Fast Out.

Brake early and in a straight line, try not to turn while braking (especially in something with an FR drivetrain like your Silvia), hit the apex of the turn and power out smoothly, but not too soon.

Use the button (R1, I think) during the early licence tests to show you the optimal line through a particular bend or bends, and take note of the colour changes, blue for power on, red for braking and white for coasting!

Have a look around in the Missions & Licence test section for tips on not only passing the tests, but getting gold times too. Until you're capable of passing the tests I'd give racing a rest, as it'll only frustrate you more.

Use arcade time trial mode to race against the clock and learn the tracks bend by bend, the less time that you spend off track, the quicker you'll be.

Take a look at this thread, there's some excellent advice in here.
Basic cornering questions
 
There is really no way to help with this kind of issue. Before others see this thread of yours, the only advice anyone from this site is going to give you is to practice. This game takes lots of practice to get the hang of. Mainly because it's that difficult to master the stearing for each car in the game. Also, you should check the numours of threads here as well, they have wonderful tips and strategies for newbies such as yourself. About the licenses, you should check the Mission Hall and License thread located at the topp of main thread screen which has a complete walk through of each license test and how to master the test and get mostly golds. It helped me get 80 golds on the licenses. Also, before any one elses mentions, and trust me kid they will, try using the "search" located at the top of each page here on GTP. you many key words as you can, like "license tests" or " steering the car" etc. helps out.


Anyway welcome to GTP, and I hope you enjoy your stay with us here
 
i run off the track back end first. and use the DS2. i blast ahead of cars and then run off in to last place when i corner and then remain in last for the rest of the race. im still trying to beat the beginner FR challenges and A license. im trying to get that delorean.
 
Well, there could be several reasons, like you driving too vigorously, not enough downforce on the back, bad tires and so on. Go into arcade mode and try some other cars. That could help you find outif it's you or the car that has a problem. :D

EDIT: ... and use the hints the others gave you. This forum has pretty much everything you can imagine about GT4 in it. Take your time to read, and you'll be wiser.

Regards
the Interceptor
 
Welcome to GTP, you'll find a lot of help here.

GT is not like other driving games, it's more of a driving simulator than a game. So you have to drive as if you are on a real race track: "slow in fast out" is a mantra you should be muttering to yourself in your sleep. Anything you read about real race driving is likely to be relevant.

Imagine you are on a real race track, going along a straight at 100mph:

where would you have to brake to make the next corner?
if you crash into the barrier at a particular place on your first lap, how would you attack that corner on your second lap? (Obviously, much more carefully)
at a gentle bend, how much would you turn the steering wheel? (Not much)

If you approach GT4 with this attitude, you'll pick it up surprisingly quickly.

Going fast in Gran Turismo is all about racing lines and braking points: find those, and you'll soon be beating the AI.
 
I would try a different car to start with. The Silvia is an FR & very tail happy. Try a 4WD car like a Subaru until you get the hang of it.
 
This is a very common problem and "Smallhorses" has given you the best answer possible.

Slow in, fast out.

Brake way early even if it seems un-necessary.
Starting with that technique you will learn proper braking distances and once you've got that down... :cheers: ... You will be unbeatable. 👍

Obviously, based on what you've said, braking in time to not fly past each turn is your biggest problem and this simple slogan will help you to over-come your problem without too much trouble.

Once you master braking distances you will look back at this and laugh.

However, you have got to remember...

Slow in, fast out.
Brake early regardless of what you think... It will work- trust us.

Btw, Smallhorses...
Rep points awarded for the excellent advice. 👍
Just wish I could have beat you to the punch. ;)

Oh and btw, I just now managed a new best lap on the Ring...
Dead stock SLR on N2 tires without oil change- 7'17.605. :sly: ;) :lol:
 
Back to his choice of car and the upgrades he did to it: be careful with the Silvia, as too much throttle around the corner WILL have you eating wall, you should look more into chassis upgrades aswell (suspension, driveline, and reducing weight) before stuffing it with power and making it beyond your skill level in driving. Also when you are ready to setup your car more skillfully, stop buy the tuning thread for help. Good Luck and Welcome to the Planet! 👍
 
ok this game is getting truely frustrating, im literally hitting myself hard in the head in anger trying to pass these stupid license levels. i even have the driver aids at 20. what gives.
 
like stated earlier, you need to come at this game differently than others. go into arcade mode, spend some time there. if it takes a week, it takes a week. that time you spend practicing, you will improve not only your turning skills but also your timing too.

slow in, fast out...remember that. its been said but remember.
 
YESSS!!!! After days spent trying to beat License Challenge A-10 i finally just got a bronze with a time of just 1 second under 3 minutes. Thanks your advice, i now have an A license graduation test i can take. YOU DUDES ARE AWESOME!!!!!!
 
Since you're doing the license tests, try using the guide line and watching the demo. Especially, try watching the demo run with the display on and from the cockpit view, so you can see exactly what the demo driver is doing. Watch the throttle and brake gauges to see when he brakes for a corner and when he starts accelerating again, and memorise the line he uses. When you try, press the right analog stick down (this is referred to as button R3) and you'll see a line appear on the track. This shows you the line to take and when to brake, coast, and accelerate: when the line is blue you should accelerate, when it's white you should coast (no accelerator or brake), when it's red you should brake. If you're having trouble learning the basics of racing lines and braking points, that'll help out a lot.
 
Just out of interest kestral452, which other car racing games have you played previous to GT4?

Most people probably underestimate the difference in how you approach something like Gran Turismo as opposed to most arcadey racing titles out there, especially hard if you aren't familiar with real car racing, and your entire experience thus far is only that unrealistic arcade-style game. The main thing to get used to is the earlyness you need to brake, and the general smooothness you need in how you apply the steering, throttle and brakes... You'll start to work out from practise whether or not the car seems to be starting to understeer (not turning into the corner enough) or oversteering (the rear end losing grip and the car getting into a slide, possibly a spin if you don't back right off the throttle and countersteer effectively.)

Once you start to detect what is happening with the car early enough you can make the appropriate reactions (off the gas+countersteer (turn in the opposite direction to the bend) to fix oversteer, and to fix understeer - don't come into the corner so fast in the first place! In a rear drive car that is prone to oversteer (provided you're going slow enough at a safe speed), you could apply a little burst of throttle to get the car pointing more towards the apex than the fence... But just be careful to back off before the rear loses it! Otherwise, to fix understeer (assuming you've come in too hot) all you can really do is NOT accelerate at all, brake only a little (not too hard, as you don't want to lock the wheels causing you to plow straight ahead (front wheels need to be able to spin to make the car actually turn! Sometime actually taking OFF the brakes you'll realise the car starts turning in better and you make the turn!)) and just wait for the speed to scrub off, and your ability to make the bend increases as your speed decreases... There is not a lot more you can do. If you still leave the track and can't make the bend, you've simply come in waaaay too hot and need to brake much earlier.

Slow in, fast out. Just to say it again...

Just drive a lot of different cars to work out how their behaviour is related, and how they react, whether they are FR, FF, MR, RR in layout... This will teach you how to deal with understeer and oversteer in many different situations. Once you can keep cars ON the track and make every bend without coming off, you're ready to try and go faster... don't try and go at the maximum speed straight away, you'll have a much more annoying time trying to find each car's limits.

And of course, you'll never feel what the car is really trying to communicate to you with that level of driver aids on! Turn them off except a little traction control... You need to be able to make the car skid and slide to learn its limits... otherwise you can't feel as well what is happening. With too much stability management etc, often the speed you need to be going to either make the turn or not, could seem kinda arbitrary. With these aids off, you'll quickly learn how the car is reacting, as opposed to just driving around seemingly on rails until you lose it. With the aids off, you'll get a better feel for WHY you lost it and what changes you need to make in your driving style.
 
kestrel452
ok this game is getting truely frustrating, im literally hitting myself hard in the head in anger trying to pass these stupid license levels. i even have the driver aids at 20. what gives.
Click to expand...

Driver aids often hurt you more than help you, especially if you are just learning the game. ASM severely changes how a car corners, decreasing responsiveness and turn-in speed on most cars. Try turning both ASM settings to 0, TCS from 0-2 (higher powered cars = more TCS), and run a few practice laps that way. There's a reason why most, if not all, fast GT4 drivers turn driving aids off.

bluedot's advice of trying a 4wd car is good idea, a stock MINI Cooper S is a good responsive FF car to learn on as well.
 
On the license tests in the NA/NTSC version, you can't adjust the driver aids, unfortunately.

But for your own racing, I'll repeat the advice that you turn both the stability controls (oversteer and understeer) ALL THE WAY OFF. In a race with my new Integra Type R, where I had forgotten to turn them off, the so-called "stability control" actually threw me off the track at Sears Point (Infineon), a course I know extremely well, during a corner where the car was doing exactly what I wanted it to do. At the top of the hill I was counting on the suspension unloading to bring the rear end around, but as soon as it did so, the stability control locked up the outside front wheel and yanked the car right off the outside of the turn. So the "driver aids" actually hurt more than they help by interfering with your understanding of how the car is responding to your actual control inputs.

kestrel, based on your first post in the thread, it's clear that you are simply overdriving the car. Turbo and nitrous both mean you are counting on straight line speed to dominate the other cars. This is called "point and squirt" and, while it may be effective sometimes, it will never teach you how to drive.

As everyone else has said, practice patience and repeat the SIFO mantra to yourself.

As you approach a corner, you'll note that a number appears on your screen near the guages. This is the suggested gear for the upcoming turn. It begins to flash at the recommended braking point. It's not perfect, but it's a good guide for you to get your bearings with. Start braking when the gear indicator number blinks, and downshift steadily to the recommended gear. Get the car slowed down before the turn, then release the brakes and turn in. Once the car is settled into the turn, get back into the gas, but don't jam it down. The trick is to avoid overdriving the car by trying to keep your control inputs smooth and in sequence:

BRAKE >> TURN >> THROTTLE >> STRAIGHT

GT4 really punishes heavy control inputs, as it should to be realistic. Your best bet is to get a wheel and someplace sturdy and comfortable to mount it. At the very least, make sure you use the analog sticks for both steering and throttle/brake. I was a long-time GT3 player, 100% complete and all golds using the Dual Shock 2 (DS2) controller that way. However, GT4 really requires smooth and gentle driving, and it was frustrating with the controller. Since buying the wheel I've been getting better and better and even though I don't get to play very frequently I've got all licenses silver, and more than half of those gold, including some of the upper-level licenses. I'm not a super-human player and I'm low in the online racing (OLR) ranks, so if I can do it, you can do it too with practice.
 
kestrel452
YESSS!!!! After days spent trying to beat License Challenge A-10 i finally just got a bronze with a time of just 1 second under 3 minutes. Thanks your advice, i now have an A license graduation test i can take. YOU DUDES ARE AWESOME!!!!!!
Click to expand...

More hints and tips on Licences & Missions can be found here...
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=64913

use it to your advantage!

Welcome to this enjoyable / horrible / relaxing / frustrating / nailbiting / etc etc game.

AMG
 

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