Where to Start?PS4 

SupraTurboNinja

SupraTurboNinja

265
United States
Lenoir, NC
SonicSupraRZ
So with the big Flash Sale on PS4 this weekend I decided that I would pick up PC2 and give it a shot. I haven’t played this game yet and was wondering what’s the best difficulty and such to get me used to the game without it completely destroying me.
 
It really depends on your racing skill overall not limited to this game.

I mean if you can race, for example, on Assetto Corsa's Alien difficulty, you will probably find that 120% difficulty level is adequate.
I race on Hard to Very Hard on Assetto, so I run between 80 and 90% difficulty on Pcars2.
So yeah test a bit.

My biggest problem with Pcars2 AI though, is how inconsistent it is along different classes... I mean while I can win in GT4 and GT5 class at 90% difficulty, I was slaughtered in GT3 or other road racing classes. So it's not like a universal setting that you can adopt; you'll find lots of variability if you do so.

Just my 2 cents.
 
SupraTurboNinja
So with the big Flash Sale on PS4 this weekend I decided that I would pick up PC2 and give it a shot. I haven’t played this game yet and was wondering what’s the best difficulty and such to get me used to the game without it completely destroying me.
Click to expand...
There is no right answer really. In some classes I struggle to beat 35% in in others I can handle 100%.
 
Depending on your skill level, I would start in something more user-friendly such as Ginetta Jr or GT5. It will take some trial and error to find the right difficulty level for you and the class you're in, but it's worth it!

As the others said, you will likely have to change difficulty according to the class you're racing. I have a simple list of difficulty/aggression per class on my phone that I update as I go, so I have an idea where to start the next time I run a particular class.
 
I find it also depends on how long you want the race to be. If you do 4 or 5 laps and want to start last and win you can set the AI lower than if you do a 30 min race, where you'd probably want it higher to make the race more exciting all the way through.
 
PC2 isn't a truly realistic sim, like rfactor or iracing. It has intricacies that are not realistic (so much so they are still being tweaked with consumer patches/complaints), so like any game it will take time to learn these and work around them. Once you do, if you're any good, you'll pick it up.

My advice would be to pick a simple low powered car, tune your FFB so you can understand what the FFB forces mean (this will take an hour at least), then learn how different parts of the track affect grip like kerbs, debris, grass, dirt and different grip levels of circuits (another hour or 2), learn tyre temps and pressures (another 2 hours), pick clear warm conditions - ignore the fancy stuff of all the live track options like day/night, wet/dry, cold/hot. This will take you a day of perseverance. Worry about fiddling with setup, serious racing cars and live track later. Find a database of fast lap times for a car:circuit combo and try a free practice session until you can get within a couple of seconds (several hours depending on your ability).

Above all; consider that the SMS team know their physics model to the mathematical level and have designed their game around their own understanding of these. Going outside of the maths (like spearing off the track) will penalise you harsher than any real world experience would have you expect. It will take you weeks to come close to a similar level so perseverance is key.

Do not make the mistake to comparing the physics to other racing games.
 
Georgeagea
It really depends on your racing skill overall not limited to this game.

I mean if you can race, for example, on Assetto Corsa's Alien difficulty, you will probably find that 120% difficulty level is adequate.
I race on Hard to Very Hard on Assetto, so I run between 80 and 90% difficulty on Pcars2.
So yeah test a bit.

My biggest problem with Pcars2 AI though, is how inconsistent it is along different classes... I mean while I can win in GT4 and GT5 class at 90% difficulty, I was slaughtered in GT3 or other road racing classes. So it's not like a universal setting that you can adopt; you'll find lots of variability if you do so.

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

If there is a flaw with the difficulty level slider, this is probably it as said above. Because you have to constantly change the difficulty setting from class to class, unless you want to keep a spread sheet of settings, it does become very trial and error, constant restarts to try and get it right. I'm finding this right now in career mode, it isn't consistent. Maybe that's the problem with such a variable on the difficulty setting, and so many classes to race.

It does make you wonder if a more simplified approach to difficulty might be better next time, such as half a dozen set levels of difficulty. It just might be easier to keep track of class to class. Still a pain though!
 
mattikake
PC2 isn't a truly realistic sim, like rfactor or iracing. It has intricacies that are not realistic (so much so they are still being tweaked with consumer patches/complaints), so like any game it will take time to learn these and work around them. Once you do, if you're any good, you'll pick it up..
Click to expand...
All the sims have their quirks and inaccuracies. You can drive the same car at the same track with identical conditions in all the sims and yet each of them feels completely different - this shows us how far they all have to go yet in terms of realism. I'll believe they have cracked accurate simulation when they all feel the same - likely never!
 
Paulzx
If there is a flaw with the difficulty level slider, this is probably it as said above. Because you have to constantly change the difficulty setting from class to class, unless you want to keep a spread sheet of settings, it does become very trial and error, constant restarts to try and get it right. I'm finding this right now in career mode, it isn't consistent. Maybe that's the problem with such a variable on the difficulty setting, and so many classes to race.

It does make you wonder if a more simplified approach to difficulty might be better next time, such as half a dozen set levels of difficulty. It just might be easier to keep track of class to class. Still a pain though!
Click to expand...

I still prefer having the adjustment, even though I agree it can be a headache. But I literally just have a 2 column list of [class] : [AI level/aggressiveness]. Still a pain for having to spend the time finding the right levels, but worth it in the end if you ask me. :cheers:
 
SupraTurboNinja
So with the big Flash Sale on PS4 this weekend I decided that I would pick up PC2 and give it a shot. I haven’t played this game yet and was wondering what’s the best difficulty and such to get me used to the game without it completely destroying me.
Click to expand...

Like some have said, the difficulty in the game varies depending on the cars and sometimes tracks.

What I do is set the difficulty based on qualifying. If after trying my best, I'm still 2 seconds slow in qualifying, I'll lower the difficulty. I find that even if you're a second slow you can still win races starting from the back because the Ai at my difficulty level is not great at getting a start and you can time your start better than the Ai and quickly move up a 4 or 5 places.

Then you have to set the aggression. If it's too low they won't try to overtake you. If it's too high they'll shove you off the road if you're slow in corners.

I'm doing Ai 70% and 60 aggression. I started with Ginetta Juniors. It's an ideal starter series but I usually go for Formula Rookie.
 
Had the game since January, haven't even started career yet. Just learning alot of different cars at alot of different tracks in a lot of different weather scenarios.
AI @ 90/75
Full damage except mechanical failures.
Fuel/tyres = authentic.
XB1X, pad user, aids off except abs low.
Control settings.
1
50
1
50
1
50
0
0
85
85
85
0
 
Well, this will be the 1st question I'm answering and not asking, as I'm also new to PC2, coming from GT Sport

The suggestion to start slow fit me perfectly and I simply began a career driving the Ginetta Junior car (low horsepower). My settings for AI were 20 and 20.

It was still a great challenge to me, much more difficult and technically challenging than GT Sport

Your level of racing is likely higher than mine. But, in the event you're new to the whole process, you will benefit in the most massive way by the practice sessions followed by the qualification session, before you ever race.

What a world of difference to slowly learn the track and what the car can and can't do for the individual track. Then, I like to take time to watch the replays if the top AI cars to see how they're driving the specific track.

Taking the time to learn this way was the best advice I've been given here.
 
If you enjoy the Ginetta Junior definitely go up to the GT5 version and if you like that you'll probably like the Renault Clio Cup. And if you like that, then you can decide if you want to stay in sports cars or check out the low powered open-wheelers and prototype style chassis. Formula Rookie and Formula C are fun, but so is the Radical SR3-RS. The choice... is yours!
 
mattikake
PC2 isn't a truly realistic sim, like rfactor or iracing. It has intricacies that are not realistic (so much so they are still being tweaked with consumer patches/complaints), so like any game it will take time to learn these and work around them. Once you do, if you're any good, you'll pick it up.

My advice would be to pick a simple low powered car, tune your FFB so you can understand what the FFB forces mean (this will take an hour at least), then learn how different parts of the track affect grip like kerbs, debris, grass, dirt and different grip levels of circuits (another hour or 2), learn tyre temps and pressures (another 2 hours), pick clear warm conditions - ignore the fancy stuff of all the live track options like day/night, wet/dry, cold/hot. This will take you a day of perseverance. Worry about fiddling with setup, serious racing cars and live track later. Find a database of fast lap times for a car:circuit combo and try a free practice session until you can get within a couple of seconds (several hours depending on your ability).

Above all; consider that the SMS team know their physics model to the mathematical level and have designed their game around their own understanding of these. Going outside of the maths (like spearing off the track) will penalise you harsher than any real world experience would have you expect. It will take you weeks to come close to a similar level so perseverance is key.

Do not make the mistake to comparing the physics to other racing games.
Click to expand...
No, mostly just you :P
 
I have started to play some PCars2 and have trouble warming up the tires in the clio cup. Even after 2-3 laps my tires are still blue especially the rear tires with default loose setup and normal weather conditions. I am not a hardcore simulation guy, so I rather not go to deep into settings (Cole trickle style), but perhaps that is required? Do I need to tweak the tire pressure from default or should I just be more patient building up some heat in the tires with practise.

There is a setting to turn off or accelate tire wear, but it doesn't seem to change anything?
 
PocketZeven
I have started to play some PCars2 and have trouble warming up the tires in the clio cup. Even after 2-3 laps my tires are still blue especially the rear tires with default loose setup and normal weather conditions. I am not a hardcore simulation guy, so I rather not go to deep into settings (Cole trickle style), but perhaps that is required? Do I need to tweak the tire pressure from default or should I just be more patient building up some heat in the tires with practise.

There is a setting to turn off or accelate tire wear, but it doesn't seem to change anything?
Click to expand...
One simple tweak you can try without negatively affecting handling would be to adjust the brake ducts. Closing them will allow the brakes to retain more heat, which will help build heat in the tires. The brakes actually impact tire temperature more than you might think (something I learned from this game myself). The only limiting factor is ensuring your brakes don't get too hot, depending on the conditions of the race.

I don't believe the tire wear option affects the temperature simulation, but I've never toggled it off.
 
PocketZeven
I have started to play some PCars2 and have trouble warming up the tires in the clio cup. Even after 2-3 laps my tires are still blue especially the rear tires with default loose setup and normal weather conditions. I am not a hardcore simulation guy, so I rather not go to deep into settings (Cole trickle style), but perhaps that is required? Do I need to tweak the tire pressure from default or should I just be more patient building up some heat in the tires with practise.

There is a setting to turn off or accelate tire wear, but it doesn't seem to change anything?
Click to expand...
All fwd are like this dude the rears dont drive the car or have any weight over them......
 
Regarding difficulty settings: In career I start at a level I am comfortable with. If I win I increase it for the next race. If I lose I reduce it for the next race. This means I don't win every race but in theory it keeps me challenged without being overwhelmed.

It's a game within a game for me ;)
 

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