- 2,953
- Austria
- GTP_SnowCrash
After finishing my first 24h Nürburgring b-spec race, I found out the following, which I thought I'd share:
ad 1) To remind you, this well-documented problem occurred because the stints in the Le Mans race are too short for AI-drivers to regain their full strength during the other 2 bobs' stints, and therefore downward-spiralling with their stint-lengths until they come in every lap.
In the Nürburgring 24 hours, there are 4 drivers for every car (3 in Le Mans), and therefore all AI drivers are well rested when they get into the car.
ad 2) I was facing the problem that I was taking part in a Peugeot 908, which went fine for 4 laps (you could even push your drivers), but if left alone, my bobs tried to finish a fifth lap, but ran out of tires half way through the lap, resulting in a 1 minute time loss in that last lap. Now, what do you do, when you don't want to nanny your bobs over the whole 24 hours? There was no way I could have won this with going to sleep for approx. a quarter of the race.
Luckily, I was able to solve it this way: I set the minimum strength level to 10%. That was only possible though, because of 2 coincidences:
Also, this misjudgement of what's left on the tires, is affecting some AI cars, resulting in much worse endurance behaviour than their outright speed suggests in the beginning. Some cars just fall back during the race because of this.
In the end, I first brought my Peugeot out into a 1 lap lead after about 6 or 7 hours and then let it cruise with the 10%-strength level enabled. It managed to hold on to a 7,5 minute lead overnight, matching pitstops precisely with the main opponent, which was comfortably enough to end the race the next day with a 1 lap lead.
- The bug of AI drivers pitting after 1 lap does not come into play in this race.
- The Minimum strength-setting for your drivers may be of some good after all.
ad 1) To remind you, this well-documented problem occurred because the stints in the Le Mans race are too short for AI-drivers to regain their full strength during the other 2 bobs' stints, and therefore downward-spiralling with their stint-lengths until they come in every lap.
In the Nürburgring 24 hours, there are 4 drivers for every car (3 in Le Mans), and therefore all AI drivers are well rested when they get into the car.
ad 2) I was facing the problem that I was taking part in a Peugeot 908, which went fine for 4 laps (you could even push your drivers), but if left alone, my bobs tried to finish a fifth lap, but ran out of tires half way through the lap, resulting in a 1 minute time loss in that last lap. Now, what do you do, when you don't want to nanny your bobs over the whole 24 hours? There was no way I could have won this with going to sleep for approx. a quarter of the race.
Luckily, I was able to solve it this way: I set the minimum strength level to 10%. That was only possible though, because of 2 coincidences:
- All of my drivers were the same level (34), and therefore dropped below the 10%-level midway during lap 4, and therefore sending my bobs into the pits after lap 4 (the same stint-length the fastest AI car was on (the Audi R8)).
Unfortunately, this would not have worked that well, if I had used different level bobs. Also, I do not understand why the game only lets the player adapt the strength level in 10% steps, and not 1%. This could well make or break your complete strategy depending on the level your bobs are. I would also not have won, had I been forced to set it to 20%, because then they would have pitted after 3 laps resulting in about 10-15 pitstops more.
- Luckily, the tires and fuel consumption in this exact car were ideal for that strategy. Tires were good for 4 laps, and fuel was at about 29-30% after 4. A fifth would have been possible, but the tires made it impossible.
By the way, I was using Racing Softs, as they proved to be the most durable(!) of all racing compounds.
Also, this misjudgement of what's left on the tires, is affecting some AI cars, resulting in much worse endurance behaviour than their outright speed suggests in the beginning. Some cars just fall back during the race because of this.
In the end, I first brought my Peugeot out into a 1 lap lead after about 6 or 7 hours and then let it cruise with the 10%-strength level enabled. It managed to hold on to a 7,5 minute lead overnight, matching pitstops precisely with the main opponent, which was comfortably enough to end the race the next day with a 1 lap lead.
