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Test of Battle Skill & 1st place's bonus of Battle Skill
I'm still examining this information, but let's try a summary for now. There are several races documented on this page. Each race seems to express a specific concept for Battle points.
Update: The author has revised the web page with additional comments and information. It would be wise to consider his interpretation of the results from each test. This post has been revised in light of the new information.
All Machine Points were collected before the race. I'm not sure if the machine points were collected from Nurburgring or Suzuka West Short Course. Totals for machine points without battle points are not well documented.
Race 1: As soon as you take the lead you stop earning battle points. However, a (small) bonus for winning will be granted as you cross the finish line.
Can Battle Points be earned if you take the lead but get passed?
Can Battle Points be earned if you lead by a little (on High-Speed Ring)?
Race 2: not available
Race 3 and 4: "Running alone does not earn Battle points". In Race 3 he starts last and finishes last by a long ways and no points are earned. In Race 4 he qualified 1st and lead the whole race. Again no points are earned.
Important Point: No 1st place bonus is earned for leading the whole race.
These races are documenting the basic principles of his tests. Got it.
In Race 5 Overtake is OFF. He is racing the M3 GTR Race Car in the Club "M" race so even at Pace 1 I suspect he is following closely. A note indicates that he moved into 5th temporarily. Only 5 points were earned. I suspect he was trying to establish that Overtake must be ON to earn battle points but passing one car confused the experiment a little.
Could the 5 points be a bonus awarded for passing one car?
What would happen in a race with a fast car against slow competition if the pace was set to Fast so the driver could not help but pass all of the cars even if Overtake is OFF? Perhaps only 25 points would be earned.
Race 5 is providing confusing results. An additional race was conducted under similar conditions but again a few points were earned. The Author is apparently examining the save data (with a hex editor?) and is probably able to learn specific information about the B-spec points. He describes the save data as being the same as a Race 3 where no points were collected.
Races 6 and 7 appear to be similar, but the competition is different. In Race 6 he takes the lead at 2'57. In Race 7 he takes the lead at 5'23. The driver stops earning points after taking the lead so Race 7 collects more points. However, a slightly smaller 1st Place bonus is awarded. Race 7 was only 10 points short of collecting all battle points.
5'23 would be between T7 and T8. I may need to adjust my Good Race description.
Race 8 has sector by sector details. In brief, he ran a close race but remained in 6th place for almost the entire race. Race 8 collected points on par with Race 6 which took the lead in 3 minutes.
Race 9 appears to contain surprising data. The points collected are all marked in red so this is definitely the center of attention. The race settings appear to be identical to Race 8, but the comment is "finish, 6th (much 6th)". This Race appears to have collected all of the C-2 Battle points.
I got this all wrong. In Race 9 the author is actively directing the race pace to assure that the driver is always trying to pass the 5th place car. That explains why so many points were collected. In recent experiments we have been relying on pre-defined settings to control the flow of the race and conduct objective experiments where conditions and results can be repeated and compared. I forgot that under normal conditions I can control a race with high precision by making slight adjustments to the pace if the car choice and lineup are appropriate. I suspect Race 9 would be considered an extremely close battle for 6th place, as compared to a very close battle for 6th place in Race 8.
Much 6th? Does this mean that the driver race behind the other cars by a short or medium distance? In Race 8 the car was alway very close to the competition. Never mind. Revised to read "Keep 6th" and describes his active control of the pace. I suspect the original intent was "close 6th" - close enough that the driver is always trying to pass the other car. However, "keep 6th" implies an effort was made to maintain this position and is probably a better description.
Collecting all battle points in a 2 lap race on Nurburgring is not terribly difficult. Any race with a good car that has good battles for 1 lap should work. However, it is surprising that all Battle points were collected for "much 6th" considering how close the battles must have been for 6th place in Race 8.
Why did Race 9 collect more points than Race 8? Perhaps the driver was close enough to trigger the collection of Battle Points. The settings were the same in Race 8. Maybe he followed by 100m to 200m instead of 10m to 50m. Trailing by this distance would allow the driver to remain on the good driving line. He would take turns more smoothly. There would be less use of the accelerator and brakes without other cars right in front. These factors contribute to increased Machine Skill. Perhaps Battle Points are collected in a similar manner.
Race 8 Detail: This chart was a bit confusing at first. It's new information so I was not familiar with the format. The information is similar to the Detail of the Machine Skill test, but also includes times and splits for other cars.
Distance with 5th: This did not translate well. It describes the current Gap, or Distance behind 5th.
The points collected by each sector appears to be similar to the Machine Skill points. The data from early sectors is inconsistent and probably depends on race conditions. By the time the driver reaches T7 there appears to be a correlation between sectors that earn more points. T8 and T10 tend to build Machine Skill and Battle Skill faster than neighboring sectors.
If Battle Points are collect in a manner that is similar to Machine Points, then measures tested to increase the collection of Machine Points should also apply to Battle Points. For example; unique motion, hard tires, slow pace, a car that handles well, smooth turns on the preferred driving line, and infrequent use of the brakes and accelerator.
