AI skill level linearity

The experience varies due to car, track and weather selection. Also, as everyone knows, AI doesn't use same physics compared to player, thus allowing PCARS engine to play so nice even on less potent CPUs. This is why on some tracks (Bathurst, for instance) you can run 120%, start on back and still finish 1st in a 20 cars 10 lap race on almost any class, but on other tracks you must downgrade the AI to 110, 100, etc (again taking into consideration weather and car class). On wet, the AI is vastly superior, they don't even acknowledge the puddles, taking curves at impossible speeds/grip levels. So far, no news. The thing that intrigues me is why, *as soon as you pass them*, they absolutely loose speed and get way behind, no matter how hard you fought to get that pass, barely getting it after chasing them 2-inches-behind-absolutely-full-power for 5 or 6 laps straight. you have to commit a serious mistake to be passed on, even on highest aggressions settings. (Pardon my ignorance, but the way I see the settings are: "strenght" rules the speed, and "aggression" rules the "will of fight"). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

PS: not trying to hijack the thread, I agree that the linearity is also broken, but not knowing how Reiza's algorithm works, cannot suggest improvements other than expect that they fix it.

 

It's all still very much WIP, as Reiza has explained. All these issues will eventually get addressed, as they were in AMS (that had these same and other even worse issues that it inherited from rFactor).

No other rFactor-based titles managed to resolve most of the well-known issues, but AMS finally did. The only good news is that Reiza now knows what it takes to fix them, so they are at least one-step ahead in correcting all the flaws left behind/never addressed in the Madness Engine/PC 2 scenario.

 

The AI linearity problem really manifests itself if you're trying to have a relaxing race at low AI difficulty. Sometimes I'm perfectly happy to set the AI at 90/50 and try to make my way through the field in a 5 lap race, admiring the cars and scenery instead of sweating bullets. With some AI classes this just isn't possible. The Group A cars* at 90% need you to drive at 11/10ths if you want to keep up and pass them, but in PC2 fashion drop right back once you do squeeze past. GT4 cars can be thrashed at 93%, GT3 cars, an easier all round drive, leave me in the dust at the same difficulty. At 91% they are Sunday drivers.

I'm hoping that now that the AI are actually in a really good place as regards their general behaviour, a concerted effort can be made to balance these issues, which will go a long way towards a meaningful career mode etc.

* Actually I think these guys need AI work all round: they're incredibly slow off the start then after a few corners the cars in front of the player are just hugely overpowered. I need to turn them down to 75-80% to enjoy a friendly race which I get from most other classes at 95%.