Cheating

Hello @DEVS.

I hope you're all well, despite ongoing difficulties for some of you. Thanks for your continued efforts to keep this sim updated and enjoyable.

I have a small issue (and it's something I'd like you to look into, if indeed time and other resources permit):

Since the release of the F-Ultimate Gen 2 I've been spending a lot of time with the car on various tracks... so much so that it might be fair to say that, over the past few days and weeks, I've come to know the car quite well. Admittedly, I can say that I'm pretty quick in the Gen 2 car - it drives well and has an insane amount of grip which I actually find to be to my liking and so I've been doing well enough to post a few top times on the TT leaderboards and excel in online racing, too.

Unfortunately, though, a small number of people have taken to calling my pace into question. It's understandable, sure. And of course, it's a compliment really - they're essentially saying "you're so quick that you must be cheating", which, although untrue, is like saying I'm really quick. So there is a positive to it, I can see that. However, because of the public nature of these messages in the chat box (which do actually flat out call me a cheater), it's likely now that some people are probably starting to wonder 'what if?'.

And so I have a small request (which I hope is both realistic and more-or-less effortless on your part).

Would you mind, if possible, investigating me to see for yourselves if I am indeed cheating and post the results here?

I know this might sound like a strange request from someone who's full of themselves, but I'd just like to nip this in the bud. I've asked the people (who've accused me of cheating) to report me, because I'm confident of no wrongdoing on my part, however, you may not have received any requests as of yet and so I'm taking it upon myself to ask you instead so it can put the minds of the very few to rest, whatever the outcome.

Thanks.

 

Thanks Crimson. I personally don't feel there's anything to investigate either. But for that small minority who, like you say, find it hard to fathom, I thought at least to ask to see if it can be looked at officially, if and when there's time to do so.

The tracks I have TT times registered in the Gen 2 are:
Spa 2020
Spielberg
Interlagos
Silverstone
Watkins GP
Jerez
Kansai

hmmm, probably a few more but they escape my memory atm, sorry.

Thanks for the reply btw.

 

That both smarts and is reassuring at the same time lol

 

Please post videos of your hotlaps, in that way people can see what you're doing and maybe learn a few tricks to go faster.

 

OK. It's something I'll bear in mind. I only really have my phone cam to record (no professional equipment to use, unfortunately) but I'll see what I can set up. If the results are passable then they'll be uploaded to my YT channel. Thanks for the request.

 

If you have a Nvidia graphics card you can install Geforce Experience and use its recording function. That's how I record my videos, it's the easiest way to do it imo.

 

Thanks. I have OBS already actually. But I thought it wouldn't be suitable if I'm to record myself actually driving the laps, like from a third person, out-of-game type view. Over the shoulder, kinda thing. I can certainly drive the laps and record the screen if that's what you mean. That's no problem at all.

 

Ahh ok. Then this will be easier for me to do, rather than recording me doing it in-person. I'll probably start tomorrow at some point and see how it goes. See if I can't better my times at the same time as well.

Thanks guys for your input.

 

I did participate in a lobby where someone called you a cheater. Your pace was actually quite a bit better than what I thought the car could do, but that insane pace actually prompted me to go to TT and try to find a suitable setup for the car - which then turned out to be far quicker than the default. I did actually (barely) beat your TT time on Silverstone, the very track you'd previously blasted me by 2 seconds per lap.

Too bad TT doesn't let us see ghost car laps for F-Ultimate Gen2, that's very annoying, and could also be the cause of the unfounded accusations. I think making ghost car laps visible would be a good way to verify you're not cheating; however, that's something Reiza have to do.

So, I believe the times are legit and you're not cheating. There's nothing to suggest you are. People just don't know what the F-Ultimate Gen2 can actually do and are too lazy to find a setup/not capable of driving it at decent speeds.

 

Thanks man. I've literally just seen that you beat my time and so I put in a few more laps and managed to snatch back first place again (for now). Just trying to work out how to edit using OBS (if it's possible) so I can upload the video as 'proof'.

I'm glad you've managed to find more time from the car, btw. It's a lot more enjoyable to drive once you put a suitable setup on it, isn't it? I think perhaps this is where people struggle a little - there are so many settings to change that it can be overwhelming. And I agree that some (most?) people perhaps also struggle with what it is actually capable of.

Anyway, thanks for posting your message and I'll see you track for a good battle sometime hopefully. You've clearly got good pace.

 

OK, so did a quick vid of a time which I posted in the early hours. Managed to snatch back P1 for now.
Sorry for the cruddy quality. I hadn't set up OBS to output at my monitor's resolution so it caused an issue where the picture is off-centre.

Here's the link:

 

Well I struggle with that, too. I actually copied the setup from the quickest guy where the ghost was visible and then changed the only values I'm sure what they do: Anti-roll bar, wings, brake pressure and gearbox. Could also play around with tire pressures, but the suspension settings are a bit of an enigma to me. Setup knowledge is definitely my most lacking area in the game, and others' as well probably, which explains why they think anyone knowing what they're doing and getting more out of the car is cheating.

So, eg, I'm not quite sure how to make the car change direction as well as yours does, which is maybe one reason I'm losing half a second in S2 (the other being that this section was very well done).

Not sure I can actually keep up with you like that, but I'll see what I can get out of the setup - the lap was pretty much the best it can be.

 

unfortunately the devs cant check if ur car isnt behaving like it should.
the best they can do atm is watch your videos and see stuff thats "unnatural".
in the past people cheating in sims got caught by comparing to another driver, and usually consistancy and track usage are indicators if someone is cheating.

assuming u are driving in the top 1%, and u would increase things like grip, it will be nearly impossible to tell without checks

edit: and tbh i think stuff like more power/grip isnt really the dangerous part cuz yes u could spot them.
but things like get alot less dirt on your tires when "extending" the track, slower tire degredation, a wider temp operation window etc etc all these things will make u faster but only a tiny but and noone will be able to explain why

 

Ahh ok. Then this

Firstly, I've noticed you're on a pad - so props for getting anything like that sort of pace out of the car. Not sure I'd be able to do it, tbh. Been such a while since I used a pad for racing. Think I'd be like a fish out of water, so to speak.

Anway, since that video was posted, I've managed to eek out a little more time out of the car and iirc the time I got was 1:23.2xx. Now I'm certain 1:22's are possible, and I've come close on a few occasions, but ultimately I mess up Stowe, or hit the sausage curbs at the end of the lap and lose some time.

BTW, for me, what's really worked with regards to getting the car to switch direction quite quickly and provide a lot of turn in is lots of rake (despite it being a ground effects car, I've found that running the car similar to how RedBull used to, pre-2022, helps a lot). I've set my front ride height to 23mm and the rear is all the way up at 78mm to give 55mm of rake altogether. This, you might say, has been my 'secret' to getting decent times around most tracks, tbh. Like you, suspensions settings aren't a strong area of mine and most of the central spring settings are either exactly as default or very close to it. I just have a little tweak of the side settings. But it's mainly aero, rake, LSD and brake pressure/balance that I rely on to get those sorts of times.

Also, I'm happy to share the setup I use, if you're interested in trying it for yourself. Whether it's suitable for a pad user, I don't know, but you're more than welcome to try. I'll just take some screenshots and post them here.

 

Well here's a (silly combination, but there you go) test case for you: Formula Ultimate Gen 2 at Silverstone 1975 (no chicane). All of my times there have been set in the last week or so, I think, and none had a ghost appear next to them on the timetable. So it seems there's something else involved.