Weird A-Spec Points Question

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Ok, I'm confused. I thought A-spec points illustrated how hard a race was, i.e - 200 for a hard race (i.e using a slow car against fast cars), and 1 point for using a fast car against slow cars.

I'm wondering then why, I just got 200 points for the Opel Speedster races, using a fully tuned Opel Speedster Turbo '00 with around 350bhp and new oil.

I won the races, not by a mile, but fairly easy. Surely it was only worth 20 points at the max...

So, why is this race pointed like that?
 
because how "hard" the race will be is determined primarily based on weight-to-power ratios. Because the best car in the Speedster series is fully tuned and therefore approximately equal in this this and the other measures used to calculate A-spec points the number you get is high.
 
Same thing also happens to me. I'm running a loaded Peugot 206 RC in the 206 Cup and I still get 200 points. Oil change, turbo, all of that top end stuff. Really odd.
 
the speedster non-turbo is faster when tuned so you basically take a slower car against faster cars because if you race against the same car you get 80 points
 
i hate how the speedster turbo can only have half a boost meter even at redline. if i hadnt kept dumping money in it thinking i could make it faster i would have bought the non-turbo.

i think those two arent the only ones that do this though. i think there are other manufaturer races that do that to.
 
Well... there's a couple things going on here.

1) The ASpec points are indication of difficulty but they are far from perfect.
2) In that cup, the Speedster is 343hp and the Turbo is 379hp. In other words, fully tuned. And, for all we know they may have had weight reductions as well. (I'd say it's likely). Still, there may be something of a glitch because the game is claiming your competitors are on Sport Softs. But I don't buy it considering you really need R3s or R4s to win.
3) Peugeot 206 Cup... Same thing as the Speedster. They're maxed.
 
JTSnooks
Umm...it's plenty easy to win on S2s, that's what I did and won them all on the first try.

I stand corrected then :sly:

Did you perform a weight reduction or add a wing or was it just maxing out the HP that did it?
 
Must be one heck of a driver. The opponents in the Speedster cup are ALL fully modified. Even if it doesn't feel like it, they are hard races. Chances are you got a lucky break and it was a turbo on pole position all the time. Cause' the turbo sucks a$$ compared to the 'regular' Speedster.

But then, if you're used to the Turbo and have a good suspension set-up, it shouldn't be that hard either. As long as you don't get caught up in traffic, catching the lead car is a cinch.
 
I had every upgrade except the rollcage and a wing. I may have had one or two others that I didn't use on all the races, but I don't remember right now. I had heard it was supposed to be hard before I tried it, so I was prepared for a challenge, and ended up breezing through it, although not by more than 1-10 seconds or so on any track. Nitrous helps a lot, and using manual transmission is key, as the car makes most of its power after redline. Oh, it was my first time driving the car, too, so I wasn't used to it ;) They were all 200pt races, and on at least most of the races a regular speedster was in front, or at least got there quickly. You just need patience, and to make sure you don't get caught in any gravel traps.
 
Not necessarily in the Speedster event specifically, but I am beginning to wonder whether in some events the AI "tries harder" (allows less catch-up) if the A-spec ante is low.

I.e. while a certain car might statistically overpower, say, the British GT series, and so be up for less than 10 points per race, perhaps the AI will actually cut it less slack, so that a car giving a higher A-spec challenge might actually be easier to win with, especially since getting the maximum out of an overpowered car on sports tires can often be quite difficult.
 
SportWagon
...I am beginning to wonder whether in some events the AI "tries harder"

I am almost convinced that AI opponents are allocated a skill level at the start of a championship (and probably single race).

I am currently completing the F1 Championship and one car has come second 3/3 times (although rarely starts in second, usually 3rd or 4th) and one has come last every time. The other three seem evenly matched. These results have been clear cut and all I can think is that the drivers must have more/less skill than their opponents.

If this is the case then if the high powered car gets allocated a poor driver then it should be much easier to win. Another example of this is when the AI drives a Ginetta at the 'Ring. Sometimes they do quite well and have been unbeatable, other times they basically cannot stay on the track anywhere and will come in last everytime. The Ginetta also often has trouble at Le Sarthe.
 
Moloch_horridus
I am almost convinced that AI opponents are allocated a skill level at the start of a championship (and probably single race).

I agree that the races range in hardness from easy to impossible (when chasing 200 points) depending on what day you turn up on.
From reading comments on the hardness of the driving missions it is not beyond possibility that these are also variable.

Wether it is AI skill level, a variable in GT4 physics that changes grip levels, or a random day thing, something does happen to affect your chances of winning races.
Examples that come to mind are, The Supercar Festival, Speedster Cup, the 206 races, some rally events, Dream car events.
Mission 22 also springs to mind.
Some Rally races has the AI hitting you very hard and other races the AI will not come near you even though they are in identical cars.
I easilly won a 100 point Supercar race at Seol in a SS Commodore by a long way but in a 10 pointer in a Ford GT could not catch 1st place.
 
When doing the Speedster race first time round, I found it tough. After getting 100%, all golds etc and then maxing out my Aspec score.... they were easy.

Aspec is a guide, some are easy due to eg wrong Aspec values eg the RAM, but overall, 200pt races can be quite a challenge.


Steven
 
JTSnooks
Umm...it's plenty easy to win on S2s, that's what I did and won them all on the first try.


Funny that, about the S2 and S3. I have been doing a few races, trying to max out the a-spec points, and was forced to use S3 and S3 tyres to do so. To be honest, I was quite surprised at how well these tyres performed, and also lasted longer than the race tyres.
 
so.. dificult 200 point races? umm.. FGT championship at extreme event hall.. if you let your stiggy drive it, it's solved on pit as the stig doesn't dare to push the car to the limits= he's equal with rest of the pack, no matter how much skill he has.. if you drive it yourself, you'll go berserk sooner or later because FGT has tendency to kill front tyres no matter what settings you apply on it. :ouch:

THESE FACTS PREVENT ME FROM GETTING THAT FRIGGING SAUBER C9 :mad: 🤬 !!
 
Uncle Harry
From reading comments on the hardness of the driving missions it is not beyond possibility that these are also variable.

I disagree with that - from my experience the competitors in the Missions perform exactly the same every time. I think the only variable in the Missions is the user themselves, just like the Licenses.
 
Leonidae
so.. dificult 200 point races? umm.. FGT championship at extreme event hall.. if you let your stiggy drive it, it's solved on pit as the stig doesn't dare to push the car to the limits= he's equal with rest of the pack, no matter how much skill he has.. if you drive it yourself, you'll go berserk sooner or later because FGT has tendency to kill front tyres no matter what settings you apply on it. :ouch:

THESE FACTS PREVENT ME FROM GETTING THAT FRIGGING SAUBER C9 :mad: 🤬 !!

Interesting, because a friend and I ran the c'ship together, and struggled with rear tyre wear, even having removed the large toe value on the rear. Maybe it is the way you drive it?
 
neilX
I disagree with that - from my experience the competitors in the Missions perform exactly the same every time. I think the only variable in the Missions is the user themselves, just like the Licenses.

Thank you for your input neilX.
Look a little deeper and you will find that in the drafting mission 22, The Skylines in the pack do not perform the same every mission.
Also, if you gain the lead early the AI performance changes resulting in a winning time that can be several seconds slower than if you gain the lead just before the line.
Here at GTP there is enough reported cases that some missions are harder than others for players that have decent skill. One will say mission X is hard and mission y was easy yet another will say mission x was easy and mission y was hard.
Several people have reported the Skyline mission was easy yet they struggled with another drafting mission.
I struggled with the Skyline mission and found the others all very simple when first attempted. I then went back and re did the Honda Oddesy mission 3 months later and could not catch the lead car. However the Skyline mission I won easily.

There is more to the variations than just the skill of the player.
 
RenesisEvo
Interesting, because a friend and I ran the c'ship together, and struggled with rear tyre wear, even having removed the large toe value on the rear. Maybe it is the way you drive it?

nope, it's the same with myself and with bob. I think that I need to tinker with the front suspension to sort it out.. the rear is already sorted out. no matter what I do, AI can run atleast 2 laps more at that point when I have to pit in.. = immediate losing. :ouch:
 
Uncle Harry
Thank you for your input neilX.

I struggled with the Skyline mission and found the others all very simple when first attempted. I then went back and re did the Honda Oddesy mission 3 months later and could not catch the lead car. However the Skyline mission I won easily.

There is more to the variations than just the skill of the player.
I'm a mediocre driver, and I found the Odyssey an impossible-to-lose mission early on, and used it as a cash-cow back then. Maybe it will be different now??? :eek: That was the North American version. Perhaps that's relevant.
 
I think it's to do with driver orientation. Some people are extremely fast with good cars, but will struggle with poor handling/slow cars. Some people are just average with racers, but can pull great times with slow cars... it's all about what you're used to and what you're good at.

The Missions make you adapt to many different situations. I've found some of them annoyingly hard... only to find that the next set is ridiculously easy. :D
 
SportWagon
Uncle Harry
Thank you for your input neilX.

I struggled with the Skyline mission and found the others all very simple when first attempted. I then went back and re did the Honda Oddesy mission 3 months later and could not catch the lead car. However the Skyline mission I won easily.

There is more to the variations than just the skill of the player.
I'm a mediocre driver, and I found the Odyssey an impossible-to-lose mission early on, and used it as a cash-cow back then. Maybe it will be different now??? :eek: That was the North American version. Perhaps that's relevant.
I did the Odyssey mission again on the weekend, and did find it difficult to win until I remembered that you should drop down the banking and pass the other cars on the inside.

After that, it was again easy to win.

On a related note, I won my first "real" mission. Mission 19 with the Amuse S2000's at Suzuka East. A large part of winning is working out how the ASM works. Among other things, it seems that keeping the gear higher than I normally would avoids triggering it.
 
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