Making Complex String Useful

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GTPlanet, John M. (myself) would like to say hello to you again.

As I said in another thread, I think that Complex String is a bit more of a Test Track than Test Course, even though it is more challenging than Test Course. To me, I think the Complex String should only be there for testing out your car. But 3-5 minutes (judging on the speed of your car) on a very long course can be very daunting. Now, I know that running for a long time on a race course is racing in real life, but when you just want to test one section at a time, that makes for better tuning. The Test Course should be more of a test track for speed and hi-speed cornering and nothing else. The Complex String should be segmented so that you can pick a section of track and race it to test your abilities and the car's capabilities. A nice option I would implement is to run a battery of tests that you can customize. So you can set up your program to run for all courses. For example, a series of tests could be: corkscrew alley, slalom, and the 90 Degree turns. Then you can save what kinds of programs you want to run for certain cars. And if you choose to end your battery of tests by running the entire course after the segmented tests, that's up to you.

Make Complex String more useful! How do you think you can do it?
 
I say leave it how it is but half as wide.
 
well I usually use complex string for that, testing out new cars, getting used to them..
 
I reckon they should add some extra bits of track connectint to different parts of the complex so if you just wanted to test the car over the bumps you could getthere alot quicker.
 
Originally posted by LaBounti
I say leave it how it is but half as wide.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I hadn't thought of that. Making the track narrower would definitely change things up.

Also, people have said it would be interesting if it weren't a loop, but rather had several places where you could turn around early (holes in the wall) and run the same segment again, or create a different course out of it.

Also, if you could set your own start and finish lines and rolling speed, then have the game loop the section with about a 5 second break between runs, that would be hella cool. I would want that on all tracks. This would be basically like the license sections, but there wouldn't be a menu between runs. It would just loop until you hit the start button and exited.
 
Oh yeah if anything add a wet section after the blind turn section.
 
I think Complex String needs t add a little spice to the track which in GT3 is boring, I think the Complex String can be a city course with building and such, not a boring farmland.
 
Is there going to be weather in GT4? I haven't been paying attention... If there is, make a wet option for the whole circuit - you're not going to be racing on a combo surface. Weather brings the problem of a whole other range of tyres to include...

I think that breaking the circuit into a number of different versions of that circuit by opening and closing pathways ala NFSU tracks would be a good idea. You can set records for a section and the whole track. I think that as far as testing goes at the moment, it's a brilliant circuit.
 
I've done 100 laps of the track (in one go - done probably close to 200 if not more, total laps in various cars) and i think it needs to be longer with more 'complex' sections.

Such as a wet section
high speed banked corner section
uneven surface corners
longer main straight (about 3km's long)

And as mentioned above it should be at least half as wide as it currently is. If not the whole track then wide in some sections - narrow in others.
 
The thing about it is just that I can't deal with a track that has 40 turns and lasts for 3-5 minutes. Now if you could have any track in the world and designate it as a test course, I have two choices. Road Atlanta and Monza. I say Road Atlanta because it is a nice mix of high speed and crafty cornering. The slow chicane before travelling downhill to the finish makes a nice challenge for those who want to go fast and have fun. Monza is a bit more challenging, but it is a top speed circuit. Period point blank.

If you want to make Complex String more useful, think of some of the suggestions I made. I think I've made some nice ideas, even if I can't do a long track. An interesting idea is to challenge yourself against a ghost competitor. Or you can choose a custom opponent with the same specs as your car based on your specifications. And if you tune your car with higher capabilities, you may be warned that your car may be more/less powerful than the opponent. You can also ghost yourself, and an AI driver will try to drive as best as possible using your current configuration. And if your car is improperly tuned, you'll know it. For example, if your car has too low of a ride height (and I know because I fell victim to it), your AI driver will corner effectively, but kind of slow up in the turns. If your car is a drifter, you'll see the ghost car look like he/she will miss the braking point and drift aggressively through the turn to recover.

What you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Drinking too much? What?
 
You know where it has the series of hills then corners? Leave that section wide. I love going flat tack through that.

I use it to test, practice and find out my cars weaknesses
 
Originally posted by The Vanishing Boy
I think Complex String needs t add a little spice to the track which in GT3 is boring, I think the Complex String can be a city course with building and such, not a boring farmland.
Click to expand...
Given the length of the course, I suspect Complex String is hard up against the hardware limits of the PS2 as it is, hence no races there. That's probably the reason there's no scenery there.

I think Loud's idea of access roads and 'sub-circuits' ala 'Autumn Mini-Ring' is a great one - testing for individual handling attributes.
 
I think Complex is an amazingly fun track for full grid iLink races. :) I've tested it with some other experienced drivers several times now, and races there almost always seem to be very exciting.
 
I play two player races there with my friend sometimes. It always ends up being fun. We use the same car and stuff, it's always great. I think it would be alot better with iLink thouygh.
 
I managed a 4:59 round it using a tuned Vantage V8 with no mods apart from engine tuning. I had no TCS or ASM too. It was really funny.
 
This may sound weird, but... if you can't have real rain, would you like the circuit to be covered in wet snow? Think about it (and maybe I love snow, even being in rarely-ever-snows Houston, Texas). A snowstorm came through and the skies are cleared as the track goes into twilight. You can test the track in a wet snow day to get a feel as to how the car handles on slippery roads. And if you get into the snow, you'll be in for a long slide, but may not be recommended for drifting.

That's another thing! Since I'm such a late bloomer to the drifting craze, why not have a big section of road where you can set up your own drift course, and even in snow? What about testing for that, ladies and gentlemen?
 
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