Learning curve for driving skills

[ka-mai]

Hi,

I have noticed in the recent past, after 6 good solid months of playing, that suddenly my skills have taken a leap forward & I mean over a really short period, like perhaps 2 or 3 days.

So much so that I was beginning to wonder if the physics had even been dumbed down.

I was wondering if anyone else had experience a similar sudden improvement.

Specifically, I have noticed is that hitherto "impossible" (at least for me) cars to drive without nannies, like the Zonda R, Enzo, most of the race cars, etc, have become fantastic and entirely controllable. And the other cars which were my bread and butter drives are now just boring. The impossible cars are now almost essential to me to get a great buzz from the driving.

I'd be interested to hear if this is a standard experience for pple playing the game.

For me, its just another fascinating experience, peeling away the many aspects of this "game" over time.

Cheers!

 

[SoCal Senator]

Did your driving settings revert to default perhaps, like turning on ASM, SRF, etc.?

 

[ka-mai]

nono, lol... I make sure all the nannies are off, apart from ABS1 :-) - it's feeling like i've just learned to ride a bike after months of using stabilisers... or perhaps skiing properly instead of snow ploughing everywhere.

Quite a sudden paradigm shift of skill. To illustrate, I checked it with my son, who was always able to beat me previously, i did a good lap of Eifel using a fully equiped Ford GT (upto around 780hp) with all the gizmos off and then handed him the controller, he couldn't make it round one corner; just could not control it at all. 2 weeks ago, I was the same. My point is not to boast, but the SUDDEN change after 6 months of dedicated play. Accumulating 350 cars, doing some 40000 miles of driving, why now, suddenly do I get a major skills boost? & I was wondering if this was par for the course in this game with most other drivers.

 

[Jay.]

You've just become a 'Real' man.

 

[ka-mai]

You've just become a 'Real' man.

LOL - I can now change my moniker to something racy like "TheStigster" or "IamStig"


I might even dare enter the online lobbies.

 

[Jay.]

Seriously though...
What tyres have you been using most? ........................racing with the cheaper tyres will improve your driving skills in general.

Have you started using the faster cars more often? ........maybe you just got used to them.

Do you race the Seasonals when they are out?...............again with the tyres. If you've been using slicks and then just spent a day or two grinding the latest seasonals....

 

[ka-mai]

Seriously though...
What tyres have you been using most? ........................racing with the cheaper tyres will improve your driving skills in general.

Have you started using the faster cars more often? ........maybe you just got used to them.

Do you race the Seasonals when they are out?...............again with the tyres. If you've been using slicks and then just spent a day or two grinding the latest seasonals....

Yes been grinding the seasonals - been playing more than usual it must be said, to take advantage of the cash payouts :-) - I have been running slicks mostly but have been also "downgrading", to test out handling. Not sure where you're heading with this; Ref the tyres I mean. It's a relative thing. I was crap with slicks before and worse with hard tyres, and now Im (relatively) much better with slicks or hard tyres...

I think this is true...

Have you started using the faster cars more often? ........maybe you just got used to them.

But my point of the thread was the sudden apparent change in skill and was wondering if any others had had this also.

 

[Jay.]

You say you are crap on slicks? but your driving would still be better on slicks than sports or comforts.
If you've spent weeks racing slicks then had a few days grinding the seasonals on comforts or sports then you're skills would adapt to the different handling.
Add that to the fact that you've been playing more the last few weeks then yes, you will improve, and it's likely to be a noticeable difference.
Congrats.

 

[ka-mai]

You say you are crap on slicks? but your driving would still be better on slicks than sports or comforts.
If you've spent weeks racing slicks then had a few days grinding the seasonals on comforts or sports then you're skills would adapt to the different handling.
Add that to the fact that you've been playing more the last few weeks then yes, you will improve, and it's likely to be a noticeable difference.
Congrats.

thanks :-) - will keep going... am constantly surprised at how much this game has to give.

next stop... G27 racing wheel !

 

[zodicus]

Racing softs will let you get away with murder. If you suddenly switched to sports or comfort tires, yeah i would expect you skills would start to improve.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I know what you mean. Quite a few times I've thought I had everything figured out then I discovered some new little tuning trick or driving technique and for the first little while after the discovery everything seems like it's on rails and I knock off another couple of tenths. Then you learn the new limits of the car and start to go beyond them and it kind of feels the same again...until your next discovery and then a few more cars feel like they are on rails. I have lots of cars not I can drive really quickly that I couldn't drive at all a few months ago.

 

[ka-mai]

Racing softs will let you get away with murder. If you suddenly switched to sports or comfort tires, yeah i would expect you skills would start to improve.

No, it's not like i've changed anything specific. Just everything seems ALOT easier to control suddenly, nothing's changed specifically in the car setups, including the tyres. Am trying out the harder tyres NOW because Im finding it suddenly much easier to control the "uncontrollable" cars without the nannies.

My thread is about the fact that Ive noticed a SUDDEN big improvement after hundreds of hours of struggling with my control of these cars and was wondering if others had also undergone similar revelatory moments during their GT5 "careers",

 

[ka-mai]

Aha, thanks Johnnypenso, that's what I mean. All of a sudden something's "clicked" and Im able to "feel" my way through the bends; feeling the right throttle response to elicit just the right amount of tailslide without losing control. Don't get me wrong, Im still spinning out or losing control often, but Im just finding the whole experience more "fresh" than ever before; after many hundreds of hours into the experience!

 

[McClarenDesign]

Aha, thanks Johnnypenso, that's what I mean. All of a sudden something's "clicked" and Im able to "feel" my way through the bends; feeling the right throttle response to elicit just the right amount of tailslide without losing control. Don't get me wrong, Im still spinning out or losing control often, but Im just finding the whole experience more "fresh" than ever before; after many hundreds of hours into the experience!

I had this happen in Prologue, after doing time trials over and over again. It doesn't sound like much, but after searching and searching I eventually discovered everything that DOESNT work, and stuck with what did best. When racing people online, I wasn't always the fastest, but I was consistent and a usual podium contender, especially on spec races where the tuning was limited.

In GT4, there were moments I felt the movement of the engine, transmitted through the transmission, and finally released through the tires... all while entering and exiting a corner. I'm pretty sure this is what you're talking about, and it's a very Zen feeling.

(Daihli Lama enters a pizza shop and says "Can you make me one with everything?)

The next step is to master that feeling, and control it at your will. Try as many cars and set ups as you can, regardless of whether they're "right" or "wrong". If you've got that Zen feeling, you can learn to control the tendencies of the car, and force your will upon it... rather than the reverse. Explore ways to correct inherent design and engineering flaws, and learn to understand what is going on around you and where you fit in.

When you get frustrated, take a break. When you hit the wall and become "bored", spice it up and go online. You're skill will improve even more if you can find racers that provide a skillfull challenge. I know that's a tall order, but they are out there.

Then, when you've finally reached the peak of your enlightenment, and can sense the RPMs coarsing through your Chi... only then can you attempt to snatch the pebble from my hand. Lol.

Finally, remember this: What you manifest is before you.

You create the circumstances and consequences around you. Once you've learned control, you can obtain whatever you desire from a car.

 

[Derrict]

So I guess this is your GT5 moment, kinda like when you hit puberty and your voice drops?

 

[f1webberfan]

Well, maybe the OP has a point.
What I mean is the following:
I was busy IRL and was away from GT5 for like a week. Then I just get on with the last but 1 seasonal event - 3rd race - Laguna Seca in the Subaru - thing. I spent full 3 hours trying to beat the event with mostly unmodified car. Finally had to go for weight reduction 1 and beat the sucker with 3 seconds on the final lap, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that after that I wanted to get some cash for the OCD. I went to the kei-cup, suzuki cappucino and ... OMG ... On the first run, with 2 brutal off-track mistakes (I mean hitting the rail and ending in the wrong direction) I was able to beat 3 minutes. On the second run I went for the 2.55 mark with ease. Suddenly that suzuki had all the oversteer that IMO this grind event needs and even above - I was actually oversteering wildly! That was quite a shock.
So I can see where the OP is going with this.
IMO, if you remember, PD said that they improved AI driver skills. Hmmmm, maybe they just added more grip. At least for the racing softs. Maybe there is a point looking into this.

 

[ka-mai]

So I guess this is your GT5 moment, kinda like when you hit puberty and your voice drops?

Haha, I just hope it's not the menopause :-)

 

[ka-mai]

I had this happen in Prologue, after doing time trials over and over again. It doesn't sound like much, but after searching and searching I eventually discovered everything that DOESNT work, and stuck with what did best. When racing people online, I wasn't always the fastest, but I was consistent and a usual podium contender, especially on spec races where the tuning was limited.

In GT4, there were moments I felt the movement of the engine, transmitted through the transmission, and finally released through the tires... all while entering and exiting a corner. I'm pretty sure this is what you're talking about, and it's a very Zen feeling.

(Daihli Lama enters a pizza shop and says "Can you make me one with everything?)

The next step is to master that feeling, and control it at your will. Try as many cars and set ups as you can, regardless of whether they're "right" or "wrong". If you've got that Zen feeling, you can learn to control the tendencies of the car, and force your will upon it... rather than the reverse. Explore ways to correct inherent design and engineering flaws, and learn to understand what is going on around you and where you fit in.

When you get frustrated, take a break. When you hit the wall and become "bored", spice it up and go online. You're skill will improve even more if you can find racers that provide a skillfull challenge. I know that's a tall order, but they are out there.

Then, when you've finally reached the peak of your enlightenment, and can sense the RPMs coarsing through your Chi... only then can you attempt to snatch the pebble from my hand. Lol.

Finally, remember this: What you manifest is before you.

You create the circumstances and consequences around you. Once you've learned control, you can obtain whatever you desire from a car.

Hmm sounds like you're a bit more "in the zone" than I am, but I can relate to what you're saying. It's like the old advert for Audi, if I remember, the tagline went "Man & Machine in Perfect Harmony"; it's cheesy but seems appropriate (perhaps not quite perfect yet ;-) )

GT-meets Kung Fu, lol!

It is a great feeling to be in control of a "beast" however, and push it a bit to see where it will go; how much further it will go. It doesn't seem to lose it's charm either. Now I've "got it", I just want to keep on testing and tweaking.

I'm actually working down through my car collection to re-rate them (only 320 to go...). It's like I'm rediscovering most of them afresh.

I've not tried the online races yet. Will do it now... must get a wheel also. I know Im missing out :-)

Isn't it amazing that something which is just a load of lights on a screen lighting up in response to analogue inputs that we make, can evoke such subtle responses in us? The line is definitely getting blurred here.

 

[ka-mai]

Well, maybe the OP has a point.
What I mean is the following:
I was busy IRL and was away from GT5 for like a week. Then I just get on with the last but 1 seasonal event - 3rd race - Laguna Seca in the Subaru - thing. I spent full 3 hours trying to beat the event with mostly unmodified car. Finally had to go for weight reduction 1 and beat the sucker with 3 seconds on the final lap, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that after that I wanted to get some cash for the OCD. I went to the kei-cup, suzuki cappucino and ... OMG ... On the first run, with 2 brutal off-track mistakes (I mean hitting the rail and ending in the wrong direction) I was able to beat 3 minutes. On the second run I went for the 2.55 mark with ease. Suddenly that suzuki had all the oversteer that IMO this grind event needs and even above - I was actually oversteering wildly! That was quite a shock.
So I can see where the OP is going with this.
IMO, if you remember, PD said that they improved AI driver skills. Hmmmm, maybe they just added more grip. At least for the racing softs. Maybe there is a point looking into this.

Not sure. I agree it does seem a bit overeasy. But I ran the Zonda on my favoring track today, and it's still spinning out in all the places where it used to if i overcook the throttle. However, Im like you, theres sometimes Im thinking "no way, this is just stupid" when im flooring it round a bend and she's holding fast, and accelerating, with no TCS or other nannies on. Especially noticeable with 4wd cars; its like "is there now way I can catch this thing out?".

Im half thinking Im improving and some of me thinking they've dummed it down; maybe both ;-)