I am a punter

[AERO_HDT]

I had a race with a fellow Aussie the other night. It was a No Mercy Event at Suzuka.

It was quiet.

There was me, there was this fellow Aussie (whom I'd never met before) and an Frenchman who was in a Ferrari California.

I was in a Ford GT (not LM Spec) and my fellow countryman was in a Subaru WRX STi (the old ones).

Anyways, the race started off with me getting swallowed by both the Subie and the Cali, the Ford building up pace slowly whilst the other two rocketed into turn one. I watched with baited breath, as neighbour from Adelaide proceeded to take the lead into turn one, the Ferrari driver hot on his heels. I was perhaps three or four car lengths behind, certainly in no hurry and certainly not in a hurry to engage myself in this tussle between a Frenchman and an Aussie whom I'd never met.

You see, I was not taking the race seriously. Why?

Well the chap in the Ferrari was only at 625PP and the gentleman from the City of Churches was running a 640PP Subaru. I knew that I had the pace to outrun both of them and I was merely content to sit back and watch both drivers dice it out.

My viewing pleasure came to a premature end as on Turn 3, the Frenchman, pushing his Ferrari ever so hard, slid off into the sandtrap. That left me and the Subaru to dice it out for the next five laps.

I watched the Adelaidian fellow pull some stunning drifts up through the S-bends and all the while, I was following, admiring his car control, wondering how long could he keep it together. I was running the Ford at about 75 percent, coasting most of the way and braking very early, keeping it all tidy and just laying in wait. I'd seen guys like this before. They were knife-edge drivers. One mistake and they'd be finished.

One corner. Two corners. Three! FOUR corners! He kept yanking on the handbrake and pulling these amazing four wheel drifts. And whilst I choked on gram after gram of Bridgestone rubber, I wondered how much longer he could keep up the Tokyo Drift for.

I was miles quicker and I knew it, but I was happy to watch, it was only first lap and I figured he was showboating and not taking the race seriously. After the Frenchman dropped out, I wasn't taking it seriously either. It was a two horse race and he was on the verge of losing it.

Into the Suzuka chicane, I watched him slide off into the sandtrap. I was perhaps a carlength behind him and it appeared to me as if he snatched the brakes too early coming out of the right hand kink before the hairpin turn, which first spun the WRX to the right and he overcorrected and then entered a fatal slide into the sandrap.

Hmmmm. It was a two horse race. No more French fellow, just me and the WRX-driving Aussie. And the WRX was in the sand.

I sailed through the corner and took off, dismayed to find that the WRX didn't leave the sandtrap. I carried on, keeping a close eye on the blip at the Suzuka hairpin map and as the seconds went on, that blip didn't move.

Please don't tell me he's going to quit, I told myself. Lap One out of FIVE. Come on mate, we got stacks of racing left to do!!

I pulled in at the pits and brought the GT to a stop, ready to wait until he caught up with me. There was no fun in racing alone. My eye was still on the blip on the radar map. As soon as I stopped, the blip disappeared.

Great. He had quit the race.



Disappointed, I sent him a message that was intentionally sarcastic. "Thanks for the race."

A few minutes later I recieved a reply. "Yeah Right. Punt me into the sand and race on like you're some kind of winner. GO **** YOURSELF."



I was immensely disappointed with the reply. So much so, I had to write back and as the conversation carried on, it became clear that the fellow Aussie I'd been racing against was convinced that I'd punted him into the sand and labelled me as a Punter and not worth racing against. He said "It's guys like you who ruin this game."



I have never been called a punter before. I pride myself on clean and fair driving and if I hit a player and bump them off the track I will always wait for them. And this fellow (whom I now have on my friend's list) called me a punter, the lowest of insults a GT driver could get.

This is not a thread to vindicate myself, neither is it a thread of support. But never in 10 years of driving have I ever been called a punter and it has come as a shock to find that one driver found me as such.

How many others are there?

 

[Famine]

That's why I record my races.

 

[supersonic-88]

I wouldnt worry about it. If you didnt hit him off, then lag might have been a factor. If not then, obviously he hasn't realised he's made the mistake himself and thinks because you were close behind, it must have been you.

I really dont see the point in him pulling over and quitting. You had followed him closely for that entire lap or more, in a more powerful car, clearly showing you were a fair and clean driver, he spins off & then claims you're a punter who ruins the game. If you were a punter you wouldn't have followed him around for that amount of time. You would have hit him right off straight away.

I pull over occasionally in races if ive been hit, but usually its because its ALOT of hits. Say i might get hit off 3 times within the first 5 corners, i just give up because obviously im driving with idiots & id rather wait for the next race. But id never pull over and stop because of a single punt. Especially when its a 3 car race only on the first or second lap. May as well keep going & try to regain positions/beat the punter.

Anyway like i said, dont worry about it, no point arguing with people like that.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Well, thanks for the heads-up. I'll make sure to avoid you next time I see you online!

 

[Fujiwara-kun]

Just dont worry about it.
Ignore name calling and just prove how fast you on the track.


Its probably just a kid who always want #1...


The title may be impying that you are a real punter

 

[Paulie]

I bet if you were in front and he behind he would have punted you, probably one himself and can't accept the fact he made a mistake. Otherwise probably just lag, it can even happen on the straights. red-ASH32 was driving around me on a straight one night we had bad lag. The lag caused his car to jump sideways (on my screen only of course) and I was in the grass. I later found out he's a good clean driver, he is now also on my friend's list.
I did have a GTP'er try and make out I made it my mission to hit him off at every corner in one race. I have no idea what happened that time, could have been lag, could have been the fact he stereotyped me from back when I had Holden in my name and decided I was a 🤬 because of it. I don't know, people like that I don't waste my time with.

 

[DTM]

Just leave it for what it is. Ignore the punters and let them be in there miserable own world. And don’t send them messages. That’s what they want. They have a provoke behavior. Most of the times this are people with a lower I.Q then average. I’ll always think to myself, when I met another punter on the track “I feel sorry for you, you must have a horrible social life and accomplish nothing in life. That gives me the drive to let him fool himself and go off, that’s so enjoyable”. People like this can say whatever they want to me. Because I don't attach any importance to his words. In some cases this are kids that needs to play Burnout.
If I come across a punter I’ll stay behind him and follow him on his tail. He will get nervous and within a lap he’s going off and you will easily overtake. He will never catch up again.

Nothing the less, this can be very irritating. That why we need private rooms!!!!

 

[daan]

Otherwise probably just lag, it can even happen on the straights. red-ASH32 was driving around me on a straight one night we had bad lag. The lag caused his car to jump sideways (on my screen only of course) and I was in the grass. I later found out he's a good clean driver, he is now also on my friend's list.

Yep, it was lag. Aero was only a cars length behind when he braked. Lag at that point would mean that the Subaru driver's PS3 didn't get Aero's brake so, on his PS3, you hit him.

People need to realise that a lot of "punts" are due to lag. No one was a punter in this instance.

I did have a GTP'er try and make out I made it my mission to hit him off at every corner in one race.

Which is also why I record all my races. I was accused of hitting folk in one race until posted my replay from my point of view which showed nothing of the sort.

 

[Paulie]

Yep, it was lag. Aero was only a cars length behind when he braked. Lag at that point would mean that the Subaru driver's PS3 didn't get Aero's brake so, on his PS3, you hit him.

People need to realise that a lot of "punts" are due to lag. No one was a punter in this instance.


Which is also why I record all my races. I was accused of hitting folk in one race until posted my replay from my point of view which showed nothing of the sort.

I give people the benefit of the doubt in close calls. Unfortunately these things do happen. Makes me wonder what will happen though when we get damage, and you get hit because of lag- game over.

 

[Blitz187]

I had the SAME experience... I was racing No Mercy and on one of the last laps I drafted this black Vette and passed him EVER so cleanly I even pulled over the side father then nrmal in order not to hit him... as I look in my rearview I see him swerve to the right where I just passed and crash into the wall... Now in my eyes that seemed like a punt that backfired.... moments later after the race I get a VERY rude message from this guy saying Im a punter and I should go read GTP rules... when he's not even a member... He even threatened me with putting up a video because he said he taped it... I was like, "uh, OK you do what you please my friend" and I havent heard anything since...

 

[AutoAki]

That's why I record my races.

I started first time thinking recording, when I saw some arguing months ago about racing-situations. I was afraid, that sometime it could happen to me also, and I would have no prooves to show my point of view.

I had old DV-cam, so I started taping, and since then, I could not even think about driving without it... and biggest reason nowadays, is really not that 'backup-thing'.

I also noticed immediately, that watching races when editing best parts of it, is very very interesting and fun! My 'driving-motives' also changed very much to better way, cause I only drive for good footage.

I recommend to everybody, if you have some decent camera, use it!

 

[Biggles]

I would never assume anyone is a punter based on one incident - only when there is a consistent pattern of behaviour.

I know how you feel about getting accused. A while ago I received 2 indignant messages (I'd never, ever had one before) in one night from well-respected fellow-GTPers. One incident, I had no recollection of, so I'm assuming it was lag-related. The other one had me & S neck-&-neck for a couple of laps in an excellent, close race. Going into Degner side-by-side S ran off into the sand. I had no physical or "audio" cue indicating there had been any contact at all, so I assumed that S had pushed a little to hard, & I drove on. I then received a message saying I had bumped him off.

This highlights one of the biggest (& easiest to fix) problems with GT5P:

why do cars over-react to "nudging"? There would seem to be NO reason for having this in the game - because you can't easily SEE your rival when you're side-by-side, the game should allow for some paint-rubbing & nudging without over-reacting. Otherwise, you can NEVER safely race side-by-side (which is THE most fun thing to do in GT5P), because whether you're on the inside or outside, it will end in tears & recriminations...

 

[Nicksfix]

Your just a bigger man than he is, he's afraid to fess up that he screwed himself , or that lag got him. Either way you showed class by pulling into the pits and waiting so you could have a descent race with someone. You done well , nothing to be ashamed of , good job ( you friggin" punter ) LOL , just kidding , well done buddy 👍

 

[Kneedragger]

nevermind the punting, i want something else, entertaining to read. i'm not joking. many posts, including my own, i cant bear to dwell on for half the time it takes to read them.

 

[Patrik]

I'm absolutely not a racist or something like that... But ain't the spaniards punters in more cases than any other? At least the ones I've raced. I'm like "oh, a spaniard... this will get messy" and I'm always right.

 

[Kryz11]

I know I am definitely not a punter but seems you guys taking it bit tooo seriously. I understand, but its not Private racing, it's not an endurance race. So of course teh noobs (casual gamers) will jump in this game and bash on everyone for his or hers seance of happiness. It's good that we still have decent players around and keep it that way, but getting really mad and pissed off about that someone spins you off.. i think we need to give it a break.

 

[AutoAki]

I'm absolutely not a racist or something like that... But ain't the spaniards punters in more cases than any other? At least the ones I've raced. I'm like "oh, a spaniard... this will get messy" and I'm always right.

I think Spanish kids has more PS3-consoles than others, so it may feel like that. I see much more Spanish drivers there, than other countries... can be also that I 'notice' them often than others...?

Sometime ago I had same feeling about French too, but havent had so much problems with them lately. Maybe some of them get bored to Game, or Wayne teach to them some manners.

I have also learned to take punches much better, so those guys cant ruin my races so easily anymore. That's maybe biggest improve in my case.



Edit: +1 for NoxNoctis, we must understand kiddies.

 

[Famine]

I'm absolutely not a racist or something like that... But ain't the spaniards punters in more cases than any other? At least the ones I've raced. I'm like "oh, a spaniard... this will get messy" and I'm always right.

This has been covered several times before, and almost always ends with a locked thread and a quick visit to the Mod Control Panel.

No more, please.

 

[H20HYBRID_GT]

I'm absolutely not a racist or something like that... But ain't the spaniards punters in more cases than any other? At least the ones I've raced. I'm like "oh, a spaniard... this will get messy" and I'm always right.

I know what you mean, but for me this is history after SPEC III update .
I found many fast, clean and fair drivers from ES,FR, etc. since then. 👍

Offtopic: Just had a squeeky clean race 16 players at No Mercy Match... lol 15 JP guys Vs 1 DE (me), WOOT ! 7th place for me and win for the TEW guy (as usual). 👍

 

[grog]

I agree with giving the benefit of the doubt, as accidents do happen.

I aslo wanted to share a tip for passing punters (on the straights mainly). I have found that passing them as close as possible minimizes the force of the hit. For example if you are passing within a couple of inches between the cars, the punter wont have enough road/space to turn sharply into you. the best they can manage is a minor rub, allowing you to slip by.

With a larger gap between the cars the punter has enough road to swerve into you with a force great enough to punt your car off the road.

Make sure to only use this on "known" punters. I imagine other drivers wont appreciate this close passing technique.

 

[HaylRayzor]

After I got accused of being a punter and threatened with being "reported" I stopped using my GTP id.

 

[Ren-Tec]

For me i know i try my best to be clean and if i get a message like that off some chump they go in the blocked list, simple.

 

[zabeu]

Today I hosted a race (a very rare event). To me everything seemed perfectly fine, but I saw a guy I know to be a dependable driver rocket off the track in front of me, despite my being at least a full car length behind and registering no contact. Next I see Rudi park his car in the spot where he always parks it when he finds the lag unbearable. And for another sign of a laggy race, the field of 11 cars was widely spread even before the leaders had completed the first lap.

I asked the guy who went off if I had hit him, he said yes.
I asked Rudi if the race had been laggy, he said yes, unbearably so.
I asked hyperuk about the lag too, and he too confirmed it had been profound.

Once again shows that lag can make you punt people without even noticing. And that the host doesn't necessarily notice that the race is extremely laggy, in fact he's probably the only one not to notice.

(And no, you're not a punter, Aero, but you don't really need me telling you that, do you? 👍)

 

[s15specr]

I've punted people by accident about 5 times, but if I do i stop and let them pass me

 

[sesselpupser]

I have to say, this never even occurred to me. I know I've never been punted by accident because I've never seen a car teleport itself into me, its always been the same old thing that people have caught me out with, but I did wonder why one guy who I was passing on the start/finish straight at HSR suddenly put his car in the barrier and weaved to the inside of the track, spinning and crashing into everything, then came back in the next race and brake-tested me into oblivion in the next race, because as far as I was aware I hadn't done anything.

Then again I don't play GT5p online any more because of the whole punting thing, you get cleaner races on Burnout for god's sake!

 

[Paulie]

Offtopic: Just had a squeeky clean race 16 players at No Mercy Match... lol 15 JP guys Vs 1 DE (me), WOOT ! 7th place for me and win for the TEW guy (as usual). 👍

But it's not a world event.

 

[H20HYBRID_GT]

But it's not a world event.

Hehe, that's why I mentioned it (i never had a 16 people No Mercy match on PALservers) and I don't think it was really off-topic^^, only a very opposite experience to many PAL races (super clean, no one disconnecting ... )
I noticed this earlier with other JP races, but 16 PLAYER No Mercy was probably the best one I had opportunity to participate yet.

 

[nasanu]

Personally I am beyond caring what people think of my racing. I think that if you know you are a good honest driver then who cares if someone calls you a name? Explain the situation if you must, then move on.

I'm absolutely not a racist or something like that... But ain't the spaniards punters in more cases than any other? At least the ones I've raced. I'm like "oh, a spaniard... this will get messy" and I'm always right.

Heh... I always cringe when I see ES.

 

[AutoAki]

Today I hosted a race (a very rare event). To me everything seemed perfectly fine, but I saw a guy I know to be a dependable driver rocket off the track in front of me, despite my being at least a full car length behind and registering no contact. Next I see Rudi park his car in the spot where he always parks it when he finds the lag unbearable. And for another sign of a laggy race, the field of 11 cars was widely spread even before the leaders had completed the first lap.

I asked the guy who went off if I had hit him, he said yes.
I asked Rudi if the race had been laggy, he said yes, unbearably so.
I asked hyperuk about the lag too, and he too confirmed it had been profound.

Once again shows that lag can make you punt people without even noticing. And that the host doesn't necessarily notice that the race is extremely laggy, in fact he's probably the only one not to notice.

(And no, you're not a punter, Aero, but you don't really need me telling you that, do you? 👍)

I changed my Canal+ deal to 5M-connection few days ago, (who needs movies if you have GT...?) and when I was racing in Fuji little later, I noticed that I was hosting first time ever!

I really hope my connection dont cause lagging. I asked it about some guys who were in, but nobody had memories about lag.

Funny that connection improve from 2M to 5M makes such difference. I was hosting most of races!

Aero... dont take it hard. That guy must know in real, that you had no need to do that. He propably dont know about these lag-issues what are real.



(off topic) ps. when I called to my Canal+ dealer and told to him, I dont need those channels cause I dont ever watch them, but do you have any offers to me about faster connections? He said: 'yeah, if you promise that you will be our dsl-customer atleast 18month from now, we can give you 5m, and you only pay 3€/month more than now.' Was not hard decicion, cause I just were cutting my bills 25€ when stopping my Canal+.

...so I recommend, call your dsl-dealer sometimes, and ask about better deals. They dont call to you if they have. What more we have 'big connections', that less we have lag and disconnections... I hope.

 

[Bollocks#999]

Hmmmm, had a race or 2 earlier today against a fellow, Kiss_me_quick, an Englishperson. Beware this guy as he IS a punter and heaven forbid if you get the upper hand of it, as I did. From what I've heard and seen, he/she is in a tuned GT LM.

I recieved a flood of insulting messages from not just this account but also 2 others. I replied and then blocked him as well as the 2 other accounts he/she sent them from. Said messages were deleted. I did think of keeping them, but really, whats the point?

The sooner this sort of thing can get jumped on the better. Afterall, its not life or death, its just a game, right?