The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
I Suck at Racing Games. Help me Improve
Professor Snugglesworth
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
When it comes to racing games, I've usually stuck to the Mario Kart-style format of bumper cars and power-ups, and for a while I was content with this. But nowadays, as games improve graphically and technically, more and more realistic racing games have been popping up. I feel I've shyed away from them long enough, and offered to review a couple that were up for grabs (currently, I'm playing DIRT 2 on the PS3).
The problem is I can't figure out how to play these damn games without hitting last place. My main problem involves sharp turns. I try to treat it like a real car, easing up on the accelerator while adding a little of the brake, but this usually has me crashing right into a wall or turning too slowly while the AI racers woosh past me. This is where I usually employ the Mario Kart tactic of slamming into the other car, hoping to send it off-track. This usually works, but the boos I get from other racers tell me this isn't a legitimate strategy.
So what are some tips you can give me to adjust to real-world (or rather, real-virtual-world) racing?
The problem is I can't figure out how to play these damn games without hitting last place. My main problem involves sharp turns. I try to treat it like a real car, easing up on the accelerator while adding a little of the brake, but this usually has me crashing right into a wall or turning too slowly while the AI racers woosh past me. This is where I usually employ the Mario Kart tactic of slamming into the other car, hoping to send it off-track. This usually works, but the boos I get from other racers tell me this isn't a legitimate strategy.
So what are some tips you can give me to adjust to real-world (or rather, real-virtual-world) racing?
Professor Snugglesworth on
0
Posts
if you have a straightaway it wants you to floor it, but usually this will just fuck you up
but i rarely play these anyway, so better advice will come
Probably not a good strategy, but I usually came in 2nd or so.
For instance, I downloaded the Wipeout demo for PS3. On the easiest settings, it took me multiple tries to come second last, a feat which I have not yet repeated. Then one day a friend was over, and he wanted to try it out. Yep, he won on his first try. FFFFFHWHIJDFI :x
It is like this for every other racing game under the sun. My only consolation is that I am friggin' awesome at pretty much everything else.
Try doing a few time trials, start off without blasting the throttle, concentration on just making it around the track rather than your time.
Each lap try to increase your speed a bit, eventually you'll understand the maximum speed you can enter and exit turns at. Racing is more about consistency and smooth driving than it is pure speed.
Slow in, fast out works very well for sharp turns. The problem is not breaking the rule
edit: Except for Burnout, brake/turn like a motherfucker in that game.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
It's much more fun though, Grid with a controller is awesome!
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I think people find racing games difficult or boring often because they don't realize what goes into being good at them. It's not really like call of duty where you just play a lot of it and get good...you actually have to study it a little. Once you do develop an understanding of how to race well, you will find that being good is mostly a struggle against yourself....trying as hard as you can not to choke through each turn.
Three years ago I didn't really care about racing games at all. I may have played Cat & Mouse in PGR with my buddies here and there but that's hardly the same thing. I used to give one of my buddies a hard time because he played racing games so much, and I just didn't get it. It just looked like driving in circles to me. But now I am obsessed. Desperately trying to get my laptimes into the top 1000 players on the Forza 3 demo. I have invested in a really nice wheel and even some of my other friends who didn't like racing games have started to come around. Games like Call of Duty still interest me but not nearly as much anymore. 90% of my video game energy goes into racing games now.
You don't actually need to have a PS1 to play it, you just need the instruction manual. Towards the end of the manual is a section on driving technique. It explains weight shifting and how to handle different types of corners. Read it, learn it, practice it. It's not hugely complicated, just simple principles that can be applied to any racing game with 'real' driving physics.
I found those gave me all the information I needed on how to play the game properly.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
Arcade Racers I tend to tap the handbrake button before a regular corner and then slam down the accelerator once i've started turning, then try not to overcorrect coming out of the corner. Sharp turns (i'm not sure if you mean hairpins or sudden 90 degree turns) slow right down and line yourself up before you apply any significant pressure to the accelerator, to learn how to brake most efficiently you'll need to just practice the game in question, sometimes I'll slow myself down and have another 10 meters to go before I turn, it'll come with experience.
Man this takes me back to the Colin Mcrae days when I tore through some thick woods in 6th gear and didn't hit anything.
They do, but they don't really explain the principles involved. At least, I certainly found it easier to digest them in textbook form. I actually turned to the manual when I was sucking at the license tests and then after reading through it a couple of times breezed through the tests.
The thing is, you can view a replay of a particular course over and over, how it's done properly.
Then all you have to do is emulate and copy that. It's not really hard. By doing, you learn.
Well it's more then pushing a couple of pedals and turning a wheel, and frankly I dont think you're the type of person who can perfect the art of race car driving.
But if you want to continue on, then I can give you some broad types:
1. Every race is a drag race. Everytime you come out of a corner, you're accelerating for as long as you can until you have to slow down for the next corner.
2. Dont think you can Initial D every corner at 110MPH. There's a reason why you car have brakes. So slow that car down before every corner. BRAKE IN A STRAIGHT GOD DAMN LINE FAGGOT! Brake, turn, accelerate! NOT TURN, BRAKE, ACCELERATE! As you become more advance, you may learn about brake fading and stuff, but for now BRAKE TURN ACCELERATE!
3. Follow the line. The line will give you the most opportunities to accelerate.
4. The subject of weight shifting is fairly simple. You step on the gas, the car weight shifts back. You step on the brakes, the car weight shifts forward. This is why RWD cars have the advantage over FWD cars, you're using you back tires to accelerate and your front tires to stop and turn; whereas the FWD car uses the front tires to turn, stop, and accelerate.
So why is this important? Because you dont use the steering wheel to turn the car, you use your goddamn gas pedal to either increase or decrease your turning radius. The steering wheel is only there to initiate the turn. This is why you see those dumbass kids driving the 800HP race car crash and burn in the first corner every single race. If you fuck it up the corner, you car will oversteer (or understeer) and you'll fly off the track with the rest of the dumbasses. This is why it's essential that you BRAKE IN A STRAIGHT LINE!
RWD cars tend to oversteer (spin out), FWD cars tend to understeer (slide in a straight line). Basically, in a FWD (and especially in a AWD car), you want to 'pull' yourself out of the corner; smoothly get on the gas pedal after you hit the apex and begin to exit the corner. A RWD car is much trickier to handle and I suggest only accelerating once you're completely out of the corner for now. As you skills increases, and you begin to smoothly control that gas pedal, you can accelerate earlier.
So basically racing a car is about keeping the car in balance. If you're jerking the wheel back and forth, stomping the pedals like a on and off switch, you're going to lose and everyone will hate racing with you. But once you can smoothly control your car, then you're 1/4 the way through to becoming a race car driver.
Bro fist.
Initial D's one-on-one with mountain roads, while Maximum Tune's more about highway racing(and it has better music).
What you should do is get a driving game with a visible "racing line" like Forza or Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Follow the line. It'll tell you how to steer and when to break and accelerate. This visual aid will teach you more than anything I can type. While I'm talking about line - don't ease onto the brake. Stay fast right until the proper moment, brake hard in the straightest line you can, and floor the car as soon as you've slowed enough to make the turn (in general).
Don't assume that driving aids are always helpful e.g. I rather dislike having TCS and ASM on in the Gran Turismo 5 Honda Civic. There was a particular race I could not win after a dozen tries, as soon as I turned the aids OFF I won easily. But there are other cars where I find them helpful, such as the Lotus Elise[/anecdotal]
I would also say to drive 4WD cars when learning. Or at least that's what I found helpful. The Lancer Evolutions in Gran Turismo are among my favorite cars for starting to learn a track since it's really, really hard to spin them out. Conversly, FUCK the Nissan GT-R.
Get a good wheel. Real force feedback is your friend. It helps you feel what your car is doing and respond. The rumble you get form a controller is comparatively useless.
And watch Initial D. Ignore the bit about how the only way to take a corner is sideways and there's a good amount of useful information to find there, especially in fourth season where they finally just race all the time.
Most of what ethugs said will apply, and what you really need to do is ask yourself: If I were really in this car, and really on this track, would I be driving the way I'm driving right now?
Chances are the answer is no.
Here's a good illustration why:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgCKaO6_O6A
Essentially, the more accurate/realistic the simulation, the more you have to behave & think like a real driver in order to succeed. Most racing games are much more forgiving than real life, allowing you to push the car harder than you'd truly be able to - this is why racing games are fun and not just a chore. They're made for a quick, entertaining race.
The entertainment value of a more accurate sim comes not just from racing opponents, but also from mastering the technical skills required to succeed.
Most modern titles fall somewhere in between, so while you might be able to brake later or accelerate earlier than real life, you do still need to follow the basic driving techniques of a racer.
Besides the old recommendation of "practice, practice, practice" it might help to seek out some videos online of the type of racing you're doing. See what the real drivers do that you don't. If people upload videos of a racing game you're playing, look at those as well. Learning proper braking points is easily 50% of your battle.
This does not work in simulation cars. You really have to slow down prior to the turn and cruise around it and then at the apex start accelerating. Thankfully new consoles have analog buttons that are great for easing on and off the gas.
I don't know if the console racers allow it, but definitely get the other cars off the track and practice lapping 10 times in a row. Even when you "get it" you'll need practice and familiarity with the track in order to avoid careening through a corner by making a big mistake on one random lap.
As far as the fundamentals go, do a search on traction circle for the basic principle, and if the console games have an option to break down and practice corners, do that. It won't translate directly to the race until you start lapping without traffic, but will help impart the basics.
Also, in general, take the straightest path possible through a turn. Start on the outside, briefly touch the inside halfway through the turn, end the turn on the outside. This way you exit the turn with the most speed possible.
GT: Tanky the Tank
Black: 1377 6749 7425
Personally, I used to hate time trials until Wipeout HD, when after you finish a time trial or speed lap of a course, or even the Zone of said course, you learn how to play it. When to barrel roll, and so on to get yourself ahead of the pack.
This can be said for a lot of racing games, the more simulation it is, the more you'll need to spend working at it. But simply put, just like anything else, practice makes perfect. Don't expect to be a pimp daddy behind the wheel with one race, take it slow, work at it, and you'll start to learn it.
Or just play Ridge Racer, and let go of the gas, then turn, then hit the gas again. And yes, it's as easy as that, I got a friend of mine to start learning it within 15 minutes of playing and we had some beers prior.
PS: Never drink and drive, RL or simulation racer.
Oo\ Ironsizide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apex_(racing)
Otherwise just watch how the AI do it.
Steam | Live
GPL...oh, how you hurt me so. And I always came back for more.
It just takes time and practice and in sim games it can depend on the car, tune, and track. Also, when starting off I found it easier to get used to the game with low HP front wheel drive cars. They tend to come out of turns easier. And the two best tips I can add which have already been stated on here, don't hammer on the gas and breaks, and ALWAYS break in a straight line if possible. The biggest mistake rookies make is hammering the gas, and then slamming on the breaks when they see a turn and either plowing right into the guy who took the turn correctly, or flying into the wall. Use your little map in the corner of the screen, if you know the turn is coming, even if you break early, it's better to do so than slam into the wall or someone else. You'll get used to it once you come around to it on the next few laps. Trust me, on Forza 2 nothing was worse than racing with a bunch of idiots who didn't know how to slow down and used your car as their breaks :P
Anyways, good luck and if you have a 360 pick up Forza 3 on the 27th!!!
"Faster, Faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." -HST
After that it's just getting used to the handling of all the different cars.
The only way to learn is by playing over and over again.
I never asked for this!
What a great show though.
It gets stupid in the higher tiers, and it's not perfect by any means, but it's a good game that has a nice blend of realism and accessibility.
Overall it's a very enjoyable game.
But that doesn't even really work - racing is more than just following the optimal racing line. Unless you're watching the replays with the button press option displayed, but even then you're just learning the optimal racing line with optimal braking and acceleration as programmed into the AI paths for that particular track, not actually building up an understanding of car physics and how to exploit them. You aren't actually learning any transferable skills that can be taken away to different tracks or racing games.
Case in point is people suggesting "don't brake and turn at the same time". That's not a useful rule. You certainly shouldn't ever brake then turn whilst still braking, but you can certainly turn then brake whilst still turning. In fact, it's often a desirable method.
Racing mainly comes down to racing lines and weight shifting. If you only follow the racing line, you will have to drive slowly to stay on it. If you employ intelligent use of weight shifting you can follow the racing line at a greater speed without loosing control of the car.
Oh, there's also car control. Some of that stuff maybe lies outside of weight shifting. Such as application of torque, under/oversteer etc. Is more critical when you're driving RWD, I guess, but also important in FWD and 4WD.
I have to agree that replays won't help here. It is similar to RTS games where multiplayer replays will help you improve from intermediate to advanced (extremely well, I might add). This is like someone saying he gets lost and confused when playing RTS games, and just needs to understand the fundamentals then put some laps in.