What's the secret to going fast?

General discussion about your experience with the game.
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ZeroCool
Posts: 273
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 4:55 pm

Re: What's the secret to going fast?

Post by ZeroCool »

GR is the only game on my HDD which I used to play with keyboard (e.g. wheel for lfs/rf)
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Sutinen
Posts: 1053
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:21 pm
Location: Finland

Re: What's the secret to going fast?

Post by Sutinen »

Is Logitech Driving Force GT good wheel? its only 80 euros here. :D
(G25 and G27 are too expensive for me.)
.[̲̲̅̅S̲̲̅̅u̲̲̅̅t̲̲̅̅i̲̲̅̅n̲̲̅̅e̲̲̅̅n̲̲̅̅].YOU FOUND IT! YESH! YESH!
...... ಠ_ಠ
..........
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Haruna
GeneRally Carmaster
Posts: 1122
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:55 am

Re: What's the secret to going fast?

Post by Haruna »

DFGT will serve you well, but not here in GeneRally.
"In my world, we don't have enemies. Only rivals.
In my world, our dreams become REALITY."

-- World Endurance Championship 2015 Promotion
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Sutinen
Posts: 1053
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:21 pm
Location: Finland

Re: What's the secret to going fast?

Post by Sutinen »

Yeah, I know, I would use it in LFS and rFactor.
.[̲̲̅̅S̲̲̅̅u̲̲̅̅t̲̲̅̅i̲̲̅̅n̲̲̅̅e̲̲̅̅n̲̲̅̅].YOU FOUND IT! YESH! YESH!
...... ಠ_ಠ
..........
User avatar
ZeroCool
Posts: 273
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 4:55 pm

Re: What's the secret to going fast?

Post by ZeroCool »

Well. DFGT is the best wheel after G27 (G25 arent already produced afaik). Just dont buy it if you want to play lfs demo/rf offline because that make no sense :bg:
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Haruna
GeneRally Carmaster
Posts: 1122
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:55 am

Re: What's the secret to going fast?

Post by Haruna »

I think I finally realize the key to success. Or more rather, a few.

First off, experience is an obvious prerequisite - although there are exceptions, one simply cannot jump in and expect to win. I remember the first season of GRC I was in - I was constantly in last place because I had literally no experience whatsoever. To achieve the speeds the other racers reached would require hours and hours of practice, a fact I refused to accept until later on.

Secondly, setting good objectives for yourself is important. These goals should be something you can immediately measure and quickly verify. Things like "run a lap under 12.5 seconds", "lap AI driver Yukari Yakumo twice", so forth, are good examples of in-race self-challenges you can impose upon yourself to strive to achieve. Now, besides the in-race objectives you also need to set a "goal" objective, like "average speed 130 km/h". Of course, you should make these goals achievable - if a car/track combination takes 30 seconds even for the best drivers, it's obviously unreasonable to have a target lap time of 15 seconds. But you need to make your objectives challenging, so that you feel compelled to take your game to the next level of understanding.

Third, you need to develop strategies and data to accomplish all these goals. You can't figure out how to lap a track in 12.5 seconds or lap AI driver Yukari Yakumo twice if you don't have a strategy to go with your plan. To accomplish a fast lap, you need to watch your inputs carefully, but also remember to experiment with your inputs until you reach a smooth and critical-error-free lap. If you want to lap AI drivers more easily, you need to analyze the trajectory of the AI drivers - for instance:
  • Which sections does Yukari have trouble with?
  • If I catch her at the some place other than at her trouble section, what should I do?
  • How do I deal with her at the trouble section?
...and so on.

However, your strategy is not limited to how you drive your car or how you'll deal with the AI drivers. You need to figure out your pit strategy, which is essential in race competitions. You need to figure out the effects of tire wear, how much you can go on one tank of gas, and how fast your tires wear. Monitoring these little bars is critical for success. Once you know what you are doing to your car, you will need to formulate a strategy according to the race at hand. Take for example:
  • Should I make pit stops once? Twice?
  • Which pit group is easiest for me to access?
  • Should I take only tires, filling fuel only until I get fresh tires?
...etc.

If you want to speed up your maturity of car control, try using cars that offer little grip. Masa offers special Long-Distance version cars which punish drifters, and the numerous GRM and FMGR cars I've made are excellent for enforcing smooth and stable cornering. Learn to maintain a smooth driving style at all times, even with worn tires. Drifting is cool, but grip racing requires discipline and careful judgment in order to be successful. Avoid sliding as much as possible. Here's some tips you can use to get your speed up:
  • Ayrton Senna's famous "staccato throttle" technique is an extremely useful asset for balancing the car. The "staccato" technique is a rapid on/off movement. You'll be able to keep the weight of all the wheels nice and even more easily, which is critical for medium to low speed bends. Additionally, you can "staccato" before a turn to slow down a little bit. If you are familiar with first-person shooters, "burst firing" (tapping the trigger to control swaying upon fire) is a similar concept.
  • "Staccato" can also be used in case you ever have to use the brakes. This is particularly useful for tracks with very long straights, like Qurpiz's Al-Halal, or in the real-world, Le Mans, Road America, Bahrain, etc. "Staccato brake" will slow you down faster than lifting, but more gently than holding the brakes. This extra gentleness will allow you to use a little more grip than if you had held the brake.
  • Overall, you will need to rapidly tap your inputs to maintain smoothness. Save "holding" your inputs for straightaways and curves you can take 100% flat-out.
  • I know this doesn't make sense, but some corners can be taken better if you go slower rather than faster.
  • Try to reduce the distance you cover. This not only makes you faster, but will also save you a little bit of fuel. This little bit per lap can be enough to allow you to stay out that one extra lap you might need to put your rivals in the dust.
All this will be pointless however if you do not enter the correct frame of mind. Generally, I perform sloppily when I am angry. When I'm angry, I can't think clearly, which leads to botched strategies that don't work and sloppy inputs. Stay frosty at all times. Do not let errors get too far into your head. Get them out of your head as quickly as possible so that you can continue to think clearly. The best racers are well-composed at all times, even when impossible odds are against them.

Misc. Tips:
There are a number of tools out there that can help you analyze your racing style: Learn to use these tools accordingly so that you can learn where exactly you go wrong. Pay attention to what's going on at all times! Be aware of the situation at hand and keep an eye out for any opportunity you can take to gain those valuable tenths of seconds.
"In my world, we don't have enemies. Only rivals.
In my world, our dreams become REALITY."

-- World Endurance Championship 2015 Promotion
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