Possible solutions for excessive AI performance in wet conditions

The AI is currently driving significantly faster than the player during wet conitions. In particular, the slot for storms/thunderstorms is partially useless. On the one hand, this is due to the simpler driving physics, as well as the greatly fluctuating performance of the AI on the different tracks.

So here are suggestions for REIZA how to deal with the problem:

1)
Introducing a separate setting for the strength of the AI in wet conditions. As a result, you could set values for AI strength dry and AI strength wet before the race, which would then be applied to the AI according to the weather situation. It is not the real solution to the problem but helps to compensate the overpowered AI in the wet.

2)
Another suggestion would be to completely get rid of the storm/thunderstorm weather pattern. In reality, no races would take place under these conditions, so this setting makes little sense anyway.

3)
Or the limitation of possible weather scenarios that can occur during a race. You could set random weather and manually limit the area that can occur. For example, everything except a thunderstorm or something similar.

Just my suggestions.

Regards.

 

This maybe is the case today but not in history.
example

There must be a better solution. In that way, depending on wetness the AI strenght must be set before you know how wet the track is and how to set AI.

 

I am completly agree with you, I was about to do a post about that storm and thunderstorm are usless type of weather, but seeing that an advance weather system is in the way I want to wait with what they come with. I hope they improve it as the AI because for me this is the best sim

 

I had a wet race at lemans in the formula ultimate and I was automatically put on wet tyres, the AI were on soft dry tyres. Within a lap they had all blown past me and rapidly left me behind, the track was still soaking wet, they were planted and I was not. It still needs some work

 

Where did you see this information about a new weather system coming? Could you please post a source? Could be an interesting read. Thank you.

 

Look at the last tweet they made, they post some images of the "advance weather system"

 

I've had an okay experience in the rain against the AI. It's hard to say when indeed is the AI balancing, or lack of skill, or the player's tires. But in the latest updates I've had a general great experience racing against the AI in the wet, in numerous cars, numerous conditions.

 

At least Formula retro gen1 is definitely off. AI is much faster in wet conditions. Yes, I can be uneskilled in wet, but they just have more grip.

Have not tried lowing wet skill with custom AI. I suspect it is not enough but I will try to test it.

Edit: I did a race today with rain at Silverstone with retro gen 1s (70s, chicane version) and to my surprise it was actually balanced. What I wrote before was after a practice in Jerez historic.

My guess is that puddles are the issue. Silv is pretty flat, while in Jerez there was puddles in many places. In a flat surface performance degradation in the wet wrt non-wet is similar for AI and humans. Aquaplanning is huge on puddles (as it should), while the IA apparently is less affected.

 

Totally agree. The AI is barely affected by puddles.
Try a race at Imola with a thunderstorm. In normal rain and less puddle formation it works, but if larger puddles appear, the AI runs away.

 

Is turning down the AI strength not an option when driving in the rain? Never tried that but perhaps an idea.

 

This would be too simple.
If I adjust the AI strength to a level that allows me to keep up in the rain, then I'm significantly faster in the dry. This is a problem when using dynamic/random weather.
That's why I suggested implementing two different difficulty settings for the AI (dry/wet).

 

Yeah in dynamic weather this is not a solution of course. Besides that, Reiza have to come with a solution for this. But for in the mean time it can be an option. When you do wet races only.

 

I've only come back to AMS2 recently and am enjoying the dry simulations immensely but it seems consistency in the wet is still a way off. I tried the GT1 championship and during the first leg at the Nurburg GP course in the 911 GT1 it started raining a few laps in. The AI didn't pit but still seemed to lap at the same pace as in the dry. On slicks I was sliding around. Others seem to report competitive racing against the AI in other car track combinations. Inconsistency in the wet experience was a feature of the Project Car sims which seems to not have been solved in the Madness engine

 

Replying to myself here. I think this is the solution to inconsistency. Rain and loss of grip when using slicks. I scale the races so I'm probably getting huge amount of rain in a short time explaining why it goes from drive-able to flooded in less than a lap. Although not sure why the AI can still plough onwards...

 

The post you linked was mine. Yes, scaled weather is a problem and it doesn't seem to be easy to solve. What I find worse, however, is the short time between the weather transitions. Sometimes it doesn't even need one lap to get the track completely soaking wet. Strangely, the transition from wet to dry is more realistic and easier to handle. Hope they get this one sorted with their upcoming new weather system.

 

This is absolutely correct. To get the best results, do not put Weather or Time Acceleration (when using Real Weather) higher than x10. x5 will work best in most cases. LiveTrack (how fast the track gets wet or dry) is directly tied Weather/Time Acceleration. So anything higher than x10 mean that in a single minute you could get as much water as if it had rained for a much longer time - so you'll have no time to get to the pits.

With x5 (or at most x10) you'll find the AI is much, much better balanced. Perhaps when a track becomes soaked in 20 seconds the AI's performance is somewhat different than that of the player, but it would also be no fun for anyone if the entire field was running off the track and retiring.

 

No, it is an easy (and working fix). Just set <wet_skill>X.XX</wet_skill> and you have no problem with faster AI in wet conditions (e.g lowering of about 0.40 compared to race skill is ok for LMDh)

 

The AI pace with in wet track/wet tires is more or less fine, on some car/class combos they are either too fast or too slow, but more often than not you can have a rather competitive race with them. The huge problem is their dry tires on wet track pace, where they are impossibly quick on acceleration and mid/high speed corners, making that transition from dry to wet extremely unfair for the player or if the race begins in wet/damp conditions with no rain and the AI is running dry tires you are toast, even turning TC on will not help you much.

Also the custom AI wet-skill parameter is disable for the time being, until they dial their pace on the wet, so no matter the value you put, it will make no difference.

 

I totally agree.

I try many values in mid-january with LMDh and with 100 AI / max aggression (my "stock" setting) I got 2-3 second per lap at Daytona (start "rain"). Than I lowered the wet value making many test, and the race pace of AI was strongly reduced (at 60 AI I'm able to stay at the front of the field, just like dry conditions). I never tried again AMS2 since mid-january, so I don't know if something happen with following patch, but I don't remember specific logs... but I trust you if it does't works anymore in the last couple of months!