[Racing Games] Motherfucking Corners!!!

KeyScourge

What the fuck is up with modern racing games and cornering? Do the makers just immediately TRY to make them as insanely ridiculous as possible?

You'd think the process would be simple. Approach corner, ease off throttle, apply brakes and turn in. But that's not what happens! In the games I'm thinking of it's more like: Approach corner, ease off throttle, apply brakes, turn in, spin off in cloud of smoke and screeching tires, skid as far from the track as physically possible, then flail like an epileptic playground round-a-bout trying to get back on the tarmac again.

Now I watch racing a fair ammount (if nothing else is on) and whenever someone skids off onto grass or dirt or sand or whatever they are always able to simply drive back onto the track again. None of this "lightly tap the left direction and instantly get sent into 1080 degree spin". It's fucking ridiculous.

Okay. Rant over! Sorry about that but I desperately needed to vent! Now, onto the actual "help and advice" thing. Very simply:

How the fuck do you make cornering work in these games? Note: by 'these games' I mean:

Grid
Superstars V8 Racing
Colin McCrae's Dirt.
and some Sega Rally game too but I only played that insanely briefly.

No matter what combination of speed braking and turning I use I always fail miserably. Is it the game that's just fucking proposterous or is it just me? If it is me, then help me get better by telling me how to effectively corner on this game.

In particular I'm looking at Grid. Because that one looks superb and I can smash the fuck out of my own car aswell as others, which is always fun.

JebusUD

consider the sharpness of the corner. If you take a corner on the inside, it is a much sharper turn. In a realistic game, if you slam on the brakes and try and make that corner you will just fly off the direction you were already going. You need to take corners on the outside. Wide turns.

I am almost certain this is your problem.

KeyScourge

JebusUD wrote: »

consider the sharpness of the corner. If you take a corner on the inside, it is a much sharper turn. In a realistic game, if you slam on the brakes and try and make that corner you will just fly off the direction you were already going. You need to take corners on the outside. Wide turns.

I am almost certain this is your problem.

I tried that. But instead of hitting the wall right near the corner I spear off and hit the wall a bit further along. My only consolation is that I usually take out another car too.

matt has a problem

If you want to learn how to do it, try following a car in front of you and matching its actions. Watch the line it takes, when its brakes come on, when it coasts, and when it accelerates. As a general tip though you don't want to still be on the brakes when you start the turn, as braking takes traction off the back tires. As you start the turn you should either be completely off the brakes, or just barely on them.

Quick rundown -

Braking too hard, then turning = loss of traction and you skid in the direction you were going.
Turning, then braking too hard = back end loses traction, and you spin out.

Not braking enough, then turning = loss of traction, and you skid in the direction you were going.
Turning, then not braking enough = too wide of a turn and you hit the wall.

Reservoir Angel

My bet is that you're hitting the brakes and keeping them hard on through the corner. Wrong. As you get to a tight corner, let go of the throttle, just tap on the brakes slightly. Make sure to take the corner from the outside, makes it a softer turn.

UltimaGecko

I'm not a big driver or a big player of racing games (my massive racing repertoire consists Gran Turismo 2 and Forza), but I think the order is:

Approach outside of corner.
Coast (or brake if necessary) during the approach.
Turn as necessary.
Accelerate out of turn.

All I've got to go on is in-game manuals and physics.


You want to have the widest angle going into and coming out of your turn. Approach from the outside, aim for the inside then back outside; use the whole road. The wider you make the turn, the less chance there is for friction to make you lose traction. IGN has a useful tutorial thing up for GT5 that applies to racing in general, and it has better graphics than mine but basically:



Slowing during the approach gives tires more grip, preventing the loss of traction that would make a car skid off the road. This may not require braking - it depends on the angle of the turn and the width of the road. Ideally, you don't want to turn much while braking. Once you've gotten past the apex/tightest part of the turn, accelerate out.

Make sure you slow enough before you start turning too much. It sounds like you're going too fast into the turn or still braking too late. If it's an actual racing simulator-esque thing, you'll actually need to apply the brake coming up to many turns. Forza was nice for this because it has a fancy drivers' line thing that was green for accelerate, yellow for coast and red for brake (but occasionally you could develop better lines).

KeyScourge

That strategy works. But it's hairpin corners that fuck me up.

meeker

I see some people recommending coasting. In racing conditions, you will always be on the throttle or the brake.

The key is knowing how fast you should be going into the corner and easy on the throttle on the way out. Play GT4 and do the License Tests. It will teach you proper cornering techniques and not coincidentally, will teach you how to apply them in the real world as well.

Reservoir Angel

KeyScourge wrote: »

That strategy works. But it's hairpin corners that fuck me up.

Same strategy applies. I'll let you know something.

In racing games I play, in corners I never touch the breaks, I just ease up on the throttle a fuckload. I find that breaking slows me down way too much so I get overtaken.

So, in normal corners, come in wide and just coast the soft bend. In hairpins, come in wide, coast the soft bend then apply the brakes slightly and make a slightly harder turn at the very end of the corner, then hit the throttle and give it the beans down the next straight. Always remember, leave yourself plenty of space to slow down before getting to the corner. If you give it the beans up until you have to coast you'll still be going to fast and you'll go off. My general rule is that when the corner appears just in visual range in the distance up ahead start easing off the throttle to about 1/2, maybe 1/3 of full power. Then when you get to the turning point let go all together, then as soon as you're round that crucial bend slam the power back on again.

You might want to practise on some sort of time trial mode. The more you get used to doing it you'll be seeing your times rise. But here it is simply:

1) Full throttle in the straights
2) Reduce to 1/2 or 1/3 power when you see the corner approaching
3) Go to the outside of the track
4) When at the corner let go of throttle
5) Turn in gently
6) As soon as corner is cleared go to full power

May it serve you well Grasshopper

EggyToast

Slow down, turn on blinker, and once cross traffic is clear, make the turn.

Seriously though, I've found that "turning a corner" varies from game to game, especially if they're approaching the steering differently. Some games go for a more "tight" control, like the Burnouts (arcadey, relatively straightforward). Others go for realism, which are more complex. And finally there are the drift racers which don't make any sense to me. Within those, each programming team will implement the controls somewhat differently, and racing games are usually based on precision, so going from one to another -- especially if you've practiced on one -- can be surprisingly difficult.

The guys above have some good tips. What game in particular is giving you trouble, though?

Rotting Meat

UltimaGecko wrote: »

Definitely work on UltimaGecko's image strategy first; it's the easiest, but is referred to as a 'lazy apex'. Once you get that you can start working on a closer turn in:

(you want the yellow line)

Good advice in this thread, just remember:
- don't get frustrated
- sometime's slower is better, despite what you're brain tells you