Time Attack and Racing: Dead or Alive?

[Editor GEAR]

I've noticed this and I've wanted others' opinions. What ever happened to just time attacking and/or racing with friends (or strangers)? I noticed that cops, drifting, JDM/Stance meets, drag racing, super car craziness, cars shows, and what ever else is out are completely dominating the lobby. Not to mention that no one really wants to drive a street car unless it's meant for drifting or drag racing. What's going on with this strange phenomenon?
Opinions or speculations anyone?

 

[TB]

Moved to the GT5 Q&A section.

 

[Shoe67]

I think people have just gotten bored of normal racing and are starting to do other things and expand. I know that I have only had the game for about 3 months, and I'm 98% through with lvl 40 a and b spec, so I'm doing online racing. I have no trouble finding good lobbies with people who want to race for real, but I do find that there are more and more "cruises" and "shows". Drags down the mulsanne at Le mans are huge now! Circuit de la Sarthe is my favorite track, and I can't ever find a lobby that actually races it instead of dragging it. 👎

 

[Bluntified]

It really depends on what time you go on. I find that when I'm on, using the 'Race For Real' filter, at around 12pm (give or take half hour to an hour), there are plenty of street car races with low (400-500) PP. The only thing though, most of the street legal races are done on the Nurburgring, so unless your a fan, your screwed.

All in all, afternoon times are the best for real races and late evening/night is good for the drifters, car shows, drag etc.

NOTE: I'm in Eastern Time Zone so my times mentioned only reflect that area.

 

[Editor GEAR]

Hmm both answers present VERY valid points. I've noticed that people are trying to expand on GT5's limited atmosphere and Bluntified is right about the time of day affecting the game types. Any one else have anything to add?
By the way, why is there an addiction to Nurburgring? I've tried to avoid it but I'm becoming slightly addicted to it myself?

 

[Shoe67]

There is addiction to Nurburgring because it has what no other track has. And that is everything. It has every kind of corner you can imagine. Uphill, downhill, banked, off camber, dual apex, wide sweepers, blind corners. Nothing compares to Nurburgring. Plus the history of it just gives it a persona that not many tracks can compare to.

 

[Denilson]

I think that the more serious racers (serious as in the cravings for high quality racing) form groups or take part in organized championships, while the more "casual" gamers just fire up a lobby and are having fun (fun, as in what the room owner concider as fun)..
I try to find good lobbys from time to time using the search filter, and it's hard to find an open lobby that provides class A racing, but you can find them.. And if so, FR the guys there, and the next time, you'll join his room cause you know the racing is up to par with your expectations.
There's a lot of "kids" out there imo. And I'm not saying that's bad or anything.. It's just that the pool of drivers racing online are widely separated in terms on the view on how racing should be.
My biggest concern is that many rooms use road car (Which I like).. But in 9/10 rooms, tires are unrestricted.. Does'nt suit me, so I leave and start searching again.

 

[Editor GEAR]

Shoe67: Agree'd The Nur does have the appeal of being a legend. And night racing is an absolute blast, especially when racing with a group of people that are there to test/ tune of just have some fun that doesn't involve drag or drift.

Denilson: True. Some lobbies pop up like mushrooms and die just as quickly. Personally in my opinion it seems like street/road cars are the most abused/unloved category out there. Everyone loves to drive something that is either insanely powered or exotic. As far as Grade-A racing goes, it takes some serious time to actually find a lobby that has people with enough sense to drive a straight line for more than 5 seconds, and then be able to take a turn with out plowing through the racing pack at 200 mph. If that's how it's going to be, we all might as wheel drive Fiat 500's.

Please, keep this going it's getting interesting to hear every one's thoughts.

 

[Shoe67]

Fiat 500 rally's are the best ^^^

 

[Editor GEAR]

Fiat 500 rally's are the best ^^^

I might have to try one of those. I've been curious to see how they work.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I've noticed this and I've wanted others' opinions. What ever happened to just time attacking and/or racing with friends (or strangers)? I noticed that cops, drifting, JDM/Stance meets, drag racing, super car craziness, cars shows, and what ever else is out are completely dominating the lobby. Not to mention that no one really wants to drive a street car unless it's meant for drifting or drag racing. What's going on with this strange phenomenon?
Opinions or speculations anyone?

The move towards non-racing events and non-GT5 races like drag racing and cops I first noticed way back last spring. I've played the game since it came out and at first, almost everything was circuit based PP or HP/Weight based racing. Slowly but surely more of these types of rooms you mentioned began to displace the standard racing rooms. I think the reasons for this are numerous.

As Denilson points out, many serious racers just go to the organized racing leagues but given that there are millions of copies of the game out there and only a few dozen organized race leagues it doesn't explain why the vast majority of gamers never made it to online and only an infinitesimally small % of them continue to do so.

I think the game is just too difficult for the average casual gamer. It's great for enthusiasts like me and others who love to race and play few other games if any because it's a game that you can slowly peel back the layers from and continue to enjoy over a long period of time. Casual gamers, which I think is the vast, vast majority who bought the game, just want to turn on the PS3 and go racing. For the few that tried online racing, they found they weren't competitive and so turned to other games or some to other GT5 pursuits that are much easier, like drag racing. Even a mediocre tune in a drag race puts you within a few car lengths of victory, whereas in circuit racing, a mediocre tune combined with sub-par driving skills, leaves you 20, 30 or more seconds behind, even in a 4 lap sprint. Most people don't find that fun.

Anyone who ventured into open lobbies also found that there was little respect between drivers. Many lobbies turned into crashfests. I imagine there were thousands of people trying to play online every night, only to have their experience ruined time after time by Dale Earnhardt wannabes who think it's fine to push someone off the track to win an all important, open lobby, 4 lap sprint. Unlike in other games where you can play for a while before getting defeated or you can respawn and continue to play and fight even if you have a losing score, in GT5 once you are bumped off the track, you are essentially out of the race, and just biding time until it is over, followed by another 10 minutes of driving around to qualify, only to be knocked off in the first corner again.

In that regard, GT5 is it's own worst enemy, in that in it's purest form, with no Aids and wide open Tuning, it's a very realistic, but very difficult game to play, and in this day and age, outside of the real diehards, most people aren't willing to put in the time necessary to be competitive nor do they want to race for 30 seconds, be knocked off the track, then wait 10 minutes for the race to finish and another 10 minutes qualifying, followed by another 30 seconds of racing.

 

[Shoe67]

^^^ adding to this great post
There are also gamers who are "less skilled" looking to improve their lines or throttle responses or braking in an environment with people who are willing to be generous and give room and do a nice clean race. Those rooms don't exist anymore

 

[Delta795]

Alot of people also have moved to lounge racing with friends or leagues. We have roughly 24 people that run in lounge races only with like minded racers.

 

[Delta795]

^^^ adding to this great post
There are also gamers who are "less skilled" looking to improve their lines or throttle responses or braking in an environment with people who are willing to be generous and give room and do a nice clean race. Those rooms don't exist anymore

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted a add that this is still alive and well.
Either look us up www.LZRacing.com or I know C.R.A.P. has a pretty good group of racers.

 

[Shoe67]

Alot of people also have moved to lounge racing with friends or leagues. We have roughly 24 people that run in lounge races only with like minded racers.

I run in lounges all the time. It's nice being able to race with your friends and have a good time

 

[Editor GEAR]

Regarding Johnnypenso's post, he's right about the drivers that aren't generous or even gracious enough to actually check their side and rear to make sure the other guy has enough room, not to mention those that are too lazy to actually tune their car so that they can actually slow down fast enough to not turn the racing grid into a stack of dominoes. I've seen it get to where people will ram you off the track in free run mode and cruises for no apparent reason. Shoe67 and Delta795: I agree about the lounge idea. The one problem I have with that is that not everyone can be on at the same time or you might even have those that aren't as dedicated to GT5 as the host of the lounge might be. (sorry if this post seems alittle scattered, work kicked my butt today.)

 

[ZohsixGT5]

Johnny's post wins the "Post of the year" award for the Q&A section. 👍

 

[NCRthree]

I consider myself lucky to have been racing and practicing with the same 10-15 guys for the past 1 1/2 years or so. Plenty of respect, we help each other tune and have fun with casual practices. Our weekly enduros are pretty competitive and are the highlight of our week. None of us are alien types, just casual but good drivers.

Just search around GTP if you want some regular guys to race with. There's a couple good links in this thread. Johnny's post describes open lobby racing perfectly. Haven't tried it in ages.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Johnny's post wins the "Post of the year" award for the Q&A section. 👍

Haha...I'm gonna use this in my sig from now on...lol...thanks!!👍

 

[Editor GEAR]

Yea Johnnypeso does get post of the year on this thread. ncrthree: Thats a cool deal to have the same people to race with a year and a half straight. You don't run into alot of people like that in open lobby mode.

 

[watermelon punch]

I honestly think it's just like every other online game I've ever known... You have to socially network either here on GTP &/or on PSN itself, to find the kind of people who like to play the way you do, and then find them again & again.
It's been this way for every online game I've played for over a decade.

Not to negate Johnnypenso's various points of course, all very valid & legitimately contributory to the situation.

But I'd like to take a different viewpoint and say that while super cars & drag racing makes positively no sense to me at all... I imagine some people are enjoying themselves or they wouldn't be doing it.
And I think the nature of gt5 is such that it does tend to target to appeal to a VARIETY of people with a variety of interests... from collectors who have to have every car in every colour... to people who don't bother with paint chips or replays, they just want to get on and race whatever...
I think we take the good w/ the bad w/ gt5... in that if it didn't appeal to a wide enough audience, they'd never make the money to make the game as good as it is. It has problems, many... but it really is an amazing game for what it is, which is why we all like it.

I don't even know what a JDM/Stance Meet is!!! ???????

But there ARE many of us who like racing... proper kind of racing of one kind or another, in the many road cars gt5 offers. And for things other than drag or drift.

It's not dead.

But lots of people are outside in their free time, where much of the population that plays this game, it's the summer season.
And you know, it's been awhile since I've raced a lot, since I spent most of spring & early summer tending to my gardens. Spending lots of time outside, and then being too tired to organize races or even to race.
(Or with family or friends visiting or general outings & such.)

I mention this because I see your GTP join date as : Jun 07 2012

It's really hopping with the more mature folks who race when it's dead of winter in Europe, Northeast US, & Canada, getting dark by dinner time, and too cold to be sitting outside or spending hours on the lake fishing after work.
(Or mowing the lawn. heh.)

 

[NjLowrider]

I open the lobby and wade thru the rooms looking for a "street car only" or "550 pp" room with restrictions and 4-6 laps.

I have been playing since launch and never look very long before finding something. I do have a long list of clean, fast and respectful friends I've gathered over the years. So usually I join something in progress.

Ps. We rarely drive the ring. Circuit racing is what i like.

Look harder.

 

[JoRdY105]

I have a funny story

I remember the first time I went online, the second lobby I joined was with a couple of Swedish guys. I couldn't understand them, but I started driving with them. They were racing around the 'ring, so I grabbed a car out and started racing them. They were in these fast cars and I was beating them, in a considerably slower lancer. They then left and closed the lobby!

I think it's because people have gone online and joined lobby's with professionals, and been beaten so badly that they have given up racing and gone off to just muck around!

I'm not saying I'm a professional by no means, but that's just the way it seems!

 

[watermelon punch]

I have a funny story

If I had a nickel for every time someone told that almost exact story here on the forum... I'd be very wealthy probably.

 

[Editor GEAR]

Watermelon punch: Point taken. It does make sense on the topic of variety. I do agree that variety does make GT5 a pretty darn good experience and that it can bring the best (and/or worst) out of people. JoRdy105 I have run into those that give up racing to just muck around after being beaten so badly. NJLowrider: Believe me, I do look, and I look hard for something interesting. I do end up finding something that's pretty fun and/or interesting but in the end, it gets taken over by supercars and exotics.

 

[GTP_CargoRatt]

If I had a nickel for every time someone told that almost exact story here on the forum... I'd be very wealthy probably.

Yea, that story is like that fruit cake that keeps on getting passed around, lol.

 

[watermelon punch]

Yea, that story is like that fruit cake that keeps on getting passed around, lol.

👍
I'm going to start calling it "the fruitcake story" from now on!!

variety does make GT5 a pretty darn good experience and that it can bring the best (and/or worst) out of people.

Well, to be fair, ANY competitive activity tends to do that.
Human nature I suppose.

But yeah, you really can get surprised by just how differently other people view the game... and it can be quite perplexing.
I'm a live & let live kind of person as long as they're not bothering me. But believe me, I agree the way some people play games in ways they were never intended to be played has always been boggling to me.

And I'm still wondering what JDM/Stance means.
Is someone going to explain this to me?

NJLowrider: Believe me, I do look, and I look hard for something interesting. I do end up finding something that's pretty fun and/or interesting but in the end, it gets taken over by supercars and exotics.

Oh, that's why it's important to either host yourself... OR find the hosts you like that keep a tight reign on the proceedings & don't give into every whining nutball barking orders to raise the PP or switch the track to SSR7... etc.

That's why when I host my Lo PP Shuffle lobbies, I'm amenable... but I do not bow to any pressure. And anyone barking orders is told to not bark orders. And if they pester me about the settings or anything, I tell them to put a sock in it or I'll kick them.
I know what works, I know what me and most of the people I race shuffle with want in a shuffle race room... And I stick to my guns.
Now when it comes to people I race with a lot... if they make a minor suggestion - suggesting a track, or that a particular track should be a spec race, or suggesting to slightly lower or raise the pp on a particular track... If I think the suggestion is a sensible one and a good idea, I'll go ahead and take the suggestion. (And pals I know will you know, politely ask & politely offer suggestions.) But if someone I don't know is barking out demands for track changes or to raise the pp... forget about it.

You know the room is going to go right in the toilet if you've got a host that's bowing to the people rudely barking out orders. My advice... once you see a host kowtowing to the lowest common denominator in the room... just leave for greener pastures immediately.

 

[knukken]

After reading a few posts here, I have to agree. I started drifting the day I got the game, and did until the outage. Because of different physics on/offline I started to race offline while waiting for,PSN to get back up. When it did, I couldn't drift and wanted to race. 99% of the rooms I joined were crap. When I had almost given up on GT5 I found a group of people who didn't mind "noobs" that couldn't drive properly. They learned me lots of thngs, and today, 1year later, I have improved more than I could ever imagine, and am still having fun everytime I turn on my PS3. It's all about meeting the right persons, it may take some time, but you build a network of people eventually if you don't give up.
If it wasn't for C.R.A.P i would probably not be on GT5 today

 

[Editor GEAR]

To answer watermelonpunch's question

Watermelonpunch: This is stance

JDM means Japanese Domestic Market.


Well, I guess that sensible and mature online racing and gaming hasn't died or devolved. It's just gone into hiding per say.

 

[watermelon punch]

I knew JDM.
Still not sure about the stance part.
So it's like Death Race 2000 with Japanese Domestic cars?