Official General AI Comments & Discussion Topic

I'm still occasionally encountering situations where an AI behind me can make up absolutely ridiculous ground on me in a short span of time.

Here's a 5 lap race at Oulton in the P4, Ai at 98/50. At the start of the final lap I was 2.3 sec in front. By the end of the race I was 0.25 sec in front.

Something is awry here. Either A. Pietro magically received some kind of boost on the last lap, or he was just 3 sec a lap faster than everyone else and only got to stretch his legs after breaking free of the pack on lap 5.

Either way, it takes a lot of the fun out of racing having to constantly watch mirrors for opponents appearing out of nowhere due to huge speed imbalances.

 

• Car / Track used: Stock Car 2019 / Velopark (Championship 2017)
  
• AI Strength setting:95
• Corner (if issue is corner specific): 2/3, 6/7, 10/11
  
• AI Aggression setting:80
• Session Distance:20 m
  
• Weather when the issue was observed:dry (clear)
  
• Player Tyre:soft slick
  
• AI Tyre (if known to be different from player): soft slick i guess
  
• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): quali and race

AI is very fast through corners 2 and 3 (before the pit exit) and very slow through 6/7 (before the second straight), and then again very fast through the last two corners. So when I match the laptimes in quali I could go higher than 95 AI strength. But in the race they eat me alive in turns 2/3 and then block me in turns 6/7, then again eat me in the last corner. Also if I manage to get to the front and pull a gap I can be around 0.2 sec faster than AI and can stay in front. In traffic its very hard to match their laptimes, also because they are very agressive and often push me off line and off track (they seem more aggressive thans for example in Interlagos on same Agression level).

 

Version: V.1.1.4.0
Car: Sprint
Track: Campo Grande
AI Strength: various from 95-100%
AI Aggression: 20%
Corner (if issue is corner specific): pitlane
Session Distance: 9 laps with compulsory pitstop
Weather when the issue was observed: dry
Player Tyre: dry
Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): race

Had a few more races at Campo Grande, this time in the Sprint car and the pitlane entry is causing the AI significant problems, with multiple AI DQs every race. I've just had a race where 6 out of a field of 19 AI were DQ'd, all for the same reason described below.

There are often crashes between the AI as they cross the track trying to enter the pitlane but the more persistent cause of DQs appears to be them being unable to make the final sharp left corner within the pit entry lane, just before they cross the line for the pit lane speed limit. Those AI cars that make the biggest hash of this corner end up driving under the tenting to the right of the lane and when they do then find their way down the pitlane, they don't stop, continue out of the pits and are immediately DQ'd. It's as if a pit lane entry has not been triggered because they were outwith the width of the entry trigger point.

Some AI cars make less of a hash of this final corner in the pitlane and whilst they still go off onto the grass to the right and so don't cross the pit speed limit line on the tarmac, they seem to be sufficiently close to that point for it to register with them as a pitlane entry, so they do stop, and so are not subsequently DQ'd. But their overall pitstop time is obviously slower because of their problem with pit entry.

I also had a couple of races at Velo Citta Club Day in the same Sprint car and the elaborate pit entry lane gives the AI problems at the tight left hairpin, particularly if multiple AI cars are entering at the same time, so end up getting tangled up with one another.

 

AI cars also like to kill each others before the pit entry at Spielberg GP.

 

General report that applies to pretty much everything I have tried, at AI Strength a bit above 100 and AI Aggression a bit below 100. Sure, AI can be inconsistently fast and slow from corner to corner, but the thing that kind of ruins racing AI at the moment for me is that they are just slower in straights. Even if I get a slightly worse exit, the speed difference is unreal. Meanwhile I run pretty much default setup.

 

Recently I had some races in Raceroom. And looking at AI, there is on big difference. AI in raceroom don't give way so easily. They defend their line and do not make room, when approaching from behind like a thrashed dog. AI at 92/60.

I also think the AI moving to the outer line at every corner entry is exaggerated. Every car, like on rails, makes this in a way my car wouldn't be able to.

Finally, AI perception of other cars should be extented to a bigger distance. Following their raceline, AI correct their directions shortly before collision. This also in a way, I cannot do this.

 

Formula Reiza at Sao Paolo GP. AI at 110/100. They take the last turn really poorly so always get slow exits for the back straight. Also, on pretty much all tracks, the AI seems to slow down on straights.

 

Ver: 1.1.5.0
Track: Oulton Park
Class: Copa Classic A (me in a Chevette)
AI: 100 skill 80 aggression

The AI are pretty fast in this class in general, but the AI front runners are just massively overpowered relative to me and the rest of the field. I mean 3 sec/lap faster. It'd be great if whatever file/function is used for AI spread in this class could be reevaluated. The car is great fun to drive but disheartening to race.

What's Heitor got in his tank, kerosine/liquid oxygen?!?!?

PS I took this screenshot after being taken out by an AI trying to pass me on the #$%^ing grass, but that's a whole other whinge.

 

Track: Hockenheim
Cars: F309
Skill/Aggression: 90/85
Corner: 1 (Nordkurve)

There is an orange curb on this corner. If the player hit it in this particular car, they automatically spin. AI can hit it lap after lap and stay glued to the track.

 

Ver: 1.1.5.0
Track: Any
Class: Stock Car 1999
AI: 100 skill 80 aggression

AI are way too fast off a standing, the player can easily lose 5-6 places before T1 on any track.

It would be nice if the devs could look at this, and the German Group A cars which despite having similar power and weight, are way too slow off the line.

 

Formula Classic Gen 2 at Hockenheim. AI at 110/100. They slow down on straights and I can easily pass them. I probably 10-15 kmh faster than them on straight, even when I get terrible exits.

 

Why/how is P2 faster than the P1 driver?

The situation with one or two AI being significantly faster than the rest of the "normal" field is temporary and will get resolved/removed as part of the introduction of the AI "personalities."

 

I will put my glasses on next time before typing

 

This will be great indeed. I know I bitch about the AI a lot but they really have come a long way since release, when they were practically unusable in many classes. Kudos are due to Renato et al for that. I think the problem is that the closer the AI get to humanlike in their behaviour, the more the inconsistencies (passing on grass, physics defying lunges, insane speed gains etc) jump out and piss the player off.

 

As I do races with open wheelers most of the time, I can say that the AI behaviour in those classes got better since latest updates.
On some tracks, they can still carry a lot of speed out of exits although their entry was poor, but they do not ram you out in next braking zone anymore as they often did in former builds.
They also seem to be more aware of human player when going side by side and do not hang in player's tyres in the corners as often than before if you give them a bit space. On the tracks I tried so far since latest update, they also stopped coming over to the ideal racing line compulsively before corners when human player is there.
Issues left (at least to me):
- AI still sometimes tries to force it's way through by cutting corners and going over the grass without having problems with grip.
- The "driving in groups for a long time side by side and blocking the whole track" - thing is still there.
- On tracks with long straights like historic Hockenheim, they are too slow (as it is in many other sims), but that might have to do with default setups they are using.

 

Version: V.1.1.4.5
Car: Formula Ultimate
Track: Spa-Francorchamps
AI Strength: 100..120
AI Aggression: 80%
Corner (if issue is corner specific): Kemmel straight
Session Distance: 10 laps
Weather when the issue was observed: Dry
Player Tyre: Dry
Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): All

AI seems unneccesarily slow on the straights, if I follow an AI car down to Eau Rouge and up Raidillon, I usually overtake the AI midway down the straight even on 120 strength while even when trying to stay out of the slipstream. I'm not using DRS but I'm a good 10-20 kph faster.

 

Same experience. No ERS or DRS and I blaze past them despite terrible exits.

 

I find that if I set my fuel map to lean (0.90) racing AI seems much more "fair" in the straight line. I still feel like I have some unnatural advantage against the AI but it's better. Once AI in the straights is set up well, AI strength adjustments will be much more straightforward and effective. Can someone from Reiza take a look how are AI fuel maps set up? For testing purposes, can I force the AI to use my setup? As much as I am hyped for the 1st USA DLC pack, this is quite a critical issue to get right especially before Daytona...