- 107
- GTP_PlusP
I don't want to rant here, but I guess I will...a bit.
I mentioned it in a couple of other threads, but, like many others here, I have a pretty lengthy PC sim racing background. PC sim racing "games" are very unforgiving. It is often up to the driver to figure out the best line around the track for himself as many PC/console racers do not include the tools to show the driver the optimal line, breaking points, etc. We often have to wait for "user-made" mods and tools to help us out in this department.
What baffles me, is that GT5
, a demo, includes a racing line and a ghost replay right out of the box. PD has given everyone two invaluable tools. You can use the “racing line” to help you when racing online and the ghost replay for improving your times!!! However, it seems that a majority of the drivers in any given online race fail to even utilize either.
I consider myself merely an average driver in my PC sims where in a normal online race of 30 cars or so, I usually finish in the upper middle of the pack. I expected the same to be true in GT5, but usually find myself in first or second place and that should not be the case.
However, it is apparent that most people just go all out in a desperate attempt to overtake the pack as soon as possible...and wonder why they fail.
I have raced some darn good races where I pushed my car to what I felt was he absolute limit and still had my rear end handed to me by a better driver in a lesser car...and that's a good thing, because it pushed me to get better. While I am certainly no expert, I am going to post a few tips that might help people who are struggling online.
1) Use the "racing line" tool that PD graciously gave us until you learn the tracks. It may not be the best line and it may not completely match your driving style, but it is pretty close. It will tell you approximately when to brake and will set you up for the optimal line through the next corner.
2) Slow in / Fast out. Learn it, live it, love it. Too many people brake way too late and carry too much speed into the corners. They may have passed a car or two, but the effort was worthless because they lost the optimal racing line (if they even stayed on the track) and, just as importantly, lost the speed they could have gained by being able to straighten out the car and get on the gas as soon as possible.
3) Full brakes / Full Throttle in a straight line only. The most efficient way to go full throttle/brake, is in a straight line. There are a few exceptions, but generally this is gospel. If you brake too hard in a turn, you greatly increase your braking distance. It might feel faster, but generally, it is not. The same goes for acceleration. If you accelerate too while turning, your wheels will be likely to spin. You will accelerate slower, swing out too wide, or accelerate slower while swinging too wide into another car or off the track. Not to fast, huh? It is often best to wait a a few milliseconds longer to straighten out before braking or applying the gas. It will gain you time. Trust me here.
4) You have an analogue controller or analogue pedals...use them!!! Too often, I see people slowing down, making a great "turn-in" to the optimal line...and blowing the effort by "punching it". Now they are swinging wide because they are carrying WAY to much speed. They have to make major readjustments to tackle the next corner and everyone else is trying not to wreck into an "erratic" car. If they would use proper throttle control to stay inside their ideal racing line, they would have everyone else behind them licked. Use just enough throttle / brake pressure to accomplish your goal. No more, no less. Speed is everything but you have to be smart about it.
5) Think at least 2 turns ahead. This is crucial. It is easy to pass up the pack and beat everyone into a turn. However, it is not so easy to recover safely and beat the same pack back out of that turn and into the next one. Setting yourself up for the next turn involves knowing how to enter a turn at the right speed and angle to efficiently tackle the turn after that. This takes practice and memorization. Don't just follow the faster car in front of you and mimic his moves. Think smart and wait for him to make a mistake. Tackling each turn properly to set oneself up for the following turns will pay off in dividends.
6) Efficiency is the key The fastest drivers spend the most time on the gas. If you look at World Record replays in any racing game, you will often note that the fastest guys were on the gas quickly and efficiently and for the longest period of time. They kept their braking to a minimum and carried the best speed through any given corner while using the entire track. You have to use all of your tools to be successful. It is not always the most powerful car that wins the race. It is usually the smartest driver. One of the most odd things about a great lap is that it feels slow. I can’t explain it, but most of my best ever lap times did not feel all that fast. However, the numbers don’t lie.
7) Be patient. I cannot count how many times I have started in last place, had to stop on the track to avoid a wreck, been knocked off the track by aggressive drivers and been penalized for other people’s mistakes…and still finished first or second. Many races are an all out onslaught to get to first place ASAP. This is a route to disaster. Be patient. Let the wreckers get ahead of you. They will make a mistake very soon and you can fly by them once you get to a good straight. Don’t let these guys ruin your race. Most of my wins happen in the last couple of turns or on the final straight because I spent the race avoiding pile-ups and such.
As I said earlier, I am no expert, but PD has given us some pretty good tools that many are failing to use. Playing around before work yesterday, I decided I wanted to break a World Record. I tried my TVR Tamora at Suzuka on Standard Mode and got 2nd place in a couple of hours. The guy in first place got there because he was more consistent and efficient than me. He braked better and was on the gas faster. He carried just the right amount of speed through each corner and his replay showed it. I may not be able to get to first and I am sure my record will disappear before too long, but the tools were there to get me close without a whole lot of effort. People need to do themselves and everyone else a favor and utilize these tools to their full potential.
Edit:
This is a given for most, but in case you did not know...
8) Use your transmission and engine to minimize your braking distance. You will stop much more quickly if you smoothly downshift at the correct RPM's while braking. I am not capable of explaining this clearly as it is a matter of feel for me. (I rarely look at the tachometer.) It can save you precious milliseconds/seconds.
Also, while not necessarily "proper" racing technique, I sometimes upshift or downshift a gear too high or too low (very briefly) if I begin to swing out of a corner too wide or if I am carrying a little too much momentum out of a sharp turn. Shifting up a gear too high will sometimes save me from losing control of the car, prevents excessive wheel spin, and might keep me inside the proper line. (I mainly do it in the S-curves on Suzuka if I carry to much speed.) Personally, and I speak only for myself, I find it a little faster to do this to correct very small mistakes rather than to lift my foot off the gas, tap the brakes, and then try to quickly get my foot back on the gas again. I have big feet so this is my best option at times. Experiment for what works best for you. Just don't abuse it or it will cost you time.
9) Learn when it is best to "lift off" the gas to minimize your turn in. Again, I will use Suzuka's S-curves as an example. When I am swinging out a little wide and I know that I need to get back inside my line, I often find it helpful to quickly lift off the gas, make a quick steering correction, and quickly get back on the gas. Unless you are very skilled at tapping the brakes just enough, this is the quickest way for me. It is especially helpful in FWD vehicles as they are prone to understeer. However, most vehicles will benefit from this technique once you are comfortable with it. I am not very familiar with mid engined vehicles, but from my past experience, you must use care if the car is very neutral or you might spin out. Also, if we ever get the option to tweak the differential, too strong a setting may also cause a "wipe-out" in a tight, high speed turn if you lift off too abruptly...but that is for another discussion.
GT5 does not give the us the option to tweak the brake pedal axis as we see fit so I still haven't got a good feel for the brakes on my G25 in this game. (It is hard for me to transition from one game to the next.) That's going to take a lot of time.
I mentioned it in a couple of other threads, but, like many others here, I have a pretty lengthy PC sim racing background. PC sim racing "games" are very unforgiving. It is often up to the driver to figure out the best line around the track for himself as many PC/console racers do not include the tools to show the driver the optimal line, breaking points, etc. We often have to wait for "user-made" mods and tools to help us out in this department.
What baffles me, is that GT5
, a demo, includes a racing line and a ghost replay right out of the box. PD has given everyone two invaluable tools. You can use the “racing line” to help you when racing online and the ghost replay for improving your times!!! However, it seems that a majority of the drivers in any given online race fail to even utilize either. I consider myself merely an average driver in my PC sims where in a normal online race of 30 cars or so, I usually finish in the upper middle of the pack. I expected the same to be true in GT5, but usually find myself in first or second place and that should not be the case.
However, it is apparent that most people just go all out in a desperate attempt to overtake the pack as soon as possible...and wonder why they fail.
I have raced some darn good races where I pushed my car to what I felt was he absolute limit and still had my rear end handed to me by a better driver in a lesser car...and that's a good thing, because it pushed me to get better. While I am certainly no expert, I am going to post a few tips that might help people who are struggling online.
1) Use the "racing line" tool that PD graciously gave us until you learn the tracks. It may not be the best line and it may not completely match your driving style, but it is pretty close. It will tell you approximately when to brake and will set you up for the optimal line through the next corner.
2) Slow in / Fast out. Learn it, live it, love it. Too many people brake way too late and carry too much speed into the corners. They may have passed a car or two, but the effort was worthless because they lost the optimal racing line (if they even stayed on the track) and, just as importantly, lost the speed they could have gained by being able to straighten out the car and get on the gas as soon as possible.
3) Full brakes / Full Throttle in a straight line only. The most efficient way to go full throttle/brake, is in a straight line. There are a few exceptions, but generally this is gospel. If you brake too hard in a turn, you greatly increase your braking distance. It might feel faster, but generally, it is not. The same goes for acceleration. If you accelerate too while turning, your wheels will be likely to spin. You will accelerate slower, swing out too wide, or accelerate slower while swinging too wide into another car or off the track. Not to fast, huh? It is often best to wait a a few milliseconds longer to straighten out before braking or applying the gas. It will gain you time. Trust me here.
4) You have an analogue controller or analogue pedals...use them!!! Too often, I see people slowing down, making a great "turn-in" to the optimal line...and blowing the effort by "punching it". Now they are swinging wide because they are carrying WAY to much speed. They have to make major readjustments to tackle the next corner and everyone else is trying not to wreck into an "erratic" car. If they would use proper throttle control to stay inside their ideal racing line, they would have everyone else behind them licked. Use just enough throttle / brake pressure to accomplish your goal. No more, no less. Speed is everything but you have to be smart about it.
5) Think at least 2 turns ahead. This is crucial. It is easy to pass up the pack and beat everyone into a turn. However, it is not so easy to recover safely and beat the same pack back out of that turn and into the next one. Setting yourself up for the next turn involves knowing how to enter a turn at the right speed and angle to efficiently tackle the turn after that. This takes practice and memorization. Don't just follow the faster car in front of you and mimic his moves. Think smart and wait for him to make a mistake. Tackling each turn properly to set oneself up for the following turns will pay off in dividends.
6) Efficiency is the key The fastest drivers spend the most time on the gas. If you look at World Record replays in any racing game, you will often note that the fastest guys were on the gas quickly and efficiently and for the longest period of time. They kept their braking to a minimum and carried the best speed through any given corner while using the entire track. You have to use all of your tools to be successful. It is not always the most powerful car that wins the race. It is usually the smartest driver. One of the most odd things about a great lap is that it feels slow. I can’t explain it, but most of my best ever lap times did not feel all that fast. However, the numbers don’t lie.
7) Be patient. I cannot count how many times I have started in last place, had to stop on the track to avoid a wreck, been knocked off the track by aggressive drivers and been penalized for other people’s mistakes…and still finished first or second. Many races are an all out onslaught to get to first place ASAP. This is a route to disaster. Be patient. Let the wreckers get ahead of you. They will make a mistake very soon and you can fly by them once you get to a good straight. Don’t let these guys ruin your race. Most of my wins happen in the last couple of turns or on the final straight because I spent the race avoiding pile-ups and such.
As I said earlier, I am no expert, but PD has given us some pretty good tools that many are failing to use. Playing around before work yesterday, I decided I wanted to break a World Record. I tried my TVR Tamora at Suzuka on Standard Mode and got 2nd place in a couple of hours. The guy in first place got there because he was more consistent and efficient than me. He braked better and was on the gas faster. He carried just the right amount of speed through each corner and his replay showed it. I may not be able to get to first and I am sure my record will disappear before too long, but the tools were there to get me close without a whole lot of effort. People need to do themselves and everyone else a favor and utilize these tools to their full potential.
Edit:
This is a given for most, but in case you did not know...
8) Use your transmission and engine to minimize your braking distance. You will stop much more quickly if you smoothly downshift at the correct RPM's while braking. I am not capable of explaining this clearly as it is a matter of feel for me. (I rarely look at the tachometer.) It can save you precious milliseconds/seconds.
Also, while not necessarily "proper" racing technique, I sometimes upshift or downshift a gear too high or too low (very briefly) if I begin to swing out of a corner too wide or if I am carrying a little too much momentum out of a sharp turn. Shifting up a gear too high will sometimes save me from losing control of the car, prevents excessive wheel spin, and might keep me inside the proper line. (I mainly do it in the S-curves on Suzuka if I carry to much speed.) Personally, and I speak only for myself, I find it a little faster to do this to correct very small mistakes rather than to lift my foot off the gas, tap the brakes, and then try to quickly get my foot back on the gas again. I have big feet so this is my best option at times. Experiment for what works best for you. Just don't abuse it or it will cost you time.
9) Learn when it is best to "lift off" the gas to minimize your turn in. Again, I will use Suzuka's S-curves as an example. When I am swinging out a little wide and I know that I need to get back inside my line, I often find it helpful to quickly lift off the gas, make a quick steering correction, and quickly get back on the gas. Unless you are very skilled at tapping the brakes just enough, this is the quickest way for me. It is especially helpful in FWD vehicles as they are prone to understeer. However, most vehicles will benefit from this technique once you are comfortable with it. I am not very familiar with mid engined vehicles, but from my past experience, you must use care if the car is very neutral or you might spin out. Also, if we ever get the option to tweak the differential, too strong a setting may also cause a "wipe-out" in a tight, high speed turn if you lift off too abruptly...but that is for another discussion.
GT5
does not give the us the option to tweak the brake pedal axis as we see fit so I still haven't got a good feel for the brakes on my G25 in this game. (It is hard for me to transition from one game to the next.) That's going to take a lot of time.
.
