Official General AI Comments & Discussion Topic

Is there any official word on how AI aggression actually works in AMS2? I just gave up on a race at Cascavel with F3s after several restarts and being taken out by AI several times. AI at 95, aggression at 100.

I've tried different aggression settings since I got AMS2 in June 2021: 0, 25, 50, 100, AI pace usually around 90-95, I race mostly open-wheelers like F3 & F-V10. Whatever aggression settings I choose I see the same problems: AI that's too optimistic and goes for moves they shouldn't, go for gaps that don't exist, don't give other cars enough space, move at the very last moment in the braking zone. If I'm behind and I feel I cannot overtake them in a certain spot I back off and try again in another spot, but it seems like AI doesn't do that at all, once they get even a tiny bit alongside me they stick with it and end up doing a pit maneuver on me.

All I want is AI that has competitive pace and that does everything possible to avoid hitting my car. Is there any aggression setting that's guaranteed to do that?
Also it would be great if there was some sort of radar thingy like the one in ACC, there's some spot where I cannot see the opponent in my mirrors and once the AI car gets within a certain distance the arrows disappear and I have no idea where the AI cars are.

 

Another thing that needs improvement for AI is in multiclass, during practice & qualifying I often see AI cars in faster classes having trouble to overtake cars in lower classes. I also saw several examples of AI leaving the pits the exact moment I'm starting a hotlap and blocking me in turn 1 as well as fighting me for position while they're on their outlap.

 

• Car / Track used: Mini Coopers JCW / Jerez
• AI Strength setting: 90%
• Corner (if issue is corner specific):
• AI Aggression setting: 60
• Session Distance: 30mins Practice
• Weather when the issue was observed: Dry
• Player Tyre: Slick
• AI Tyre (if known to be different from player):
• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): Practice

For some reason the AI is slowing right down on the 3rd last and 2nd last corners at Jerez (this seems to happen to all cars actually not just the Minis but very noticeable in the Minis) to the point where I am 3 secs faster than all the AI who are all very close together in timings, and I wasnt even trying that hard. This game really needs some good AI passes to get things sorted, I am not sure but maybe the new physics have messed up a lot of the AI cars performances. I am getting very fast openwheel cars, medium speed GT cars, and very slow minis and lower classed cars.

I would also like to say that several of the original Brazilian AMS2 cars are looking quite poor internally and externally, camera wise, and don't really match the new cars in the game anymore in terms of quality.

Finally a lot of the paint schemes are pixellated in the bonnet view and some bonnet views could do with altering to improve the view. I drive in bonnet view most of the time (find it looks much more realistic and more sense of speed than the interal views) and its very varied from car to car in terms of suitability for driving.

 

• Car / Track used: Nurburgring Combined. P1, P2, P3, GT3, GT4 (player using P1)

• AI Strength setting: 115

• Corner (if issue is corner specific): n/a

• AI Aggression setting: 60

• Session Distance: 5 laps

• Weather when the issue was observed: Dry

• Player Tyre: Dry

• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): QUALY / RACE

• Fuel / tyres consumption set to ACCELERATED.

AI can't handle the fuel consumption very well. The P1 Ginettas are incapable of setting a qualy lap. In the 5 lap race, the Chevy AJR pitted at the end of the first lap and pitted 3 times in total. I was also in the Chevy AJR and could easily complete 3 laps without pitting.

 

Mandatory Pit Stops:
- Some AI just ignore the rules
- Many AI drivers try to pit, but are way too fast in many cars/on many tracks before the entry. In this case, they either avoid a spin with big effort and stay out because of having missed the entry or they crash into the pit wall. Ends up with a DQ because of not having pitted by the end of the race. Some of them run out of fuel because of their inability to arrive pits and have a DNF.

 

Version: V.1.3.1
Car: Brazilian Stock 2021
Track: Hockenheim (modern)
AI Strength: 100%
AI Aggression: 50%
Corner (if issue is corner specific): pit lane entry
Session Distance: 10 laps with compulsory pit-stop
Weather when the issue was observed: dry
Player Tyre: dry
Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): race

AI seem to go too fast into pit-lane entry and struggle to make the sharp right-hand bend, often skidding over the grass back onto the track, after which they carry on racing. In races with compulsory pit-stops, this eventually results in their disqualification.

In my latest race, of a field of 29 AI, 20 failed to successfully make a pit-stop so were all disqualified on the last lap.

 

• Car / Track used: Daytona, DPi, P1, GTE, GT3 (player using DPi)
• AI Strength setting: 120
• Corner (if issue is corner specific): n/a
• AI Aggression setting: 60
• Session Distance: 2h25
• Weather when the issue was observed: Dry
• Player Tyre: Dry
• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): QUALY / RACE
• Aditional Information:
  • Fuel / tyres consumption set to ACCELERATED.
    
  • Using AI Custom, race_skill, qualifying_skill, tyre_management set between 0.8-1.0.
  • Confirmed that one of the AI had race_skill = 0.99 and qualifying_skill = 1.0.
  • The AI that had the best pitstop behavior had tyre_management = 0.89

2 major issues:

1.) AI driving the DPi is slow overall. I am easily faster than the faster AI w/ strength set to 120%. I am just an average driver and when playing AMS2 I usually set AI to 100-115 and have balanced to difficult races.

2.) AI pit stop strategies are nonsense. In the first stint, half of the field pitted when I had half of the tank left. The AI pits way too often, for no apparent reason, no visible damage, and no drama spottable in the replay. This race was supposed to have 10 pit stops (considering fuel consumption going full throttle, no save) but the best finishing AI DPi did 12 pitstops. Most of them did 13.

The last problem, in particular, is a shame. I tested thoroughly with this combo, but have noticed in other sessions as well. With the latest improvements and custom grid, this game is asking for great endurance races against the AI, but this kinda breaks it.

 

• Car / Track used: Porche GTE, AI GTE class / Nordschleife
  
• AI Strength setting: 110
  
• Corner (if issue is corner specific): Ex Mühle, R-20
  
• AI Aggression setting: 50
  
• Session Distance: 5 laps
  
• Weather when the issue was observed: dry
  
• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): race

AI is way too slow at that corner and very easy to pass multiple cars at same time.
See from video, it should start at 4:26

Spoiler: video

That is also with other car classes.

- Also I wonder why many AI car visited at pit stop, no need for that.
- If possible, when AI car crash, could it wait until traffic is gone and not rush to road and cause crashes. (At iRacing those wait before it´s safe to move).

 

There are two issues I would like to be solved in the near future:

1. AI does not accept to be overtaken on the inside before curves in many car classes.
When you overtake, AI does not brake on the outside in order to stay on track, but goes through corner full blast (even over the grass because of their magic physics), and then reenters track from outside of track limits, forcing their way through just as if a car which comes from off track would have priority road traffic in such a case, going for contact.

2. Rocketing out of slow corners.
AI very often almost stands still on the apex, shifts down to 1st, but can rush out of corners very quick, though.

 

On top of that, overtaking between AI cars seems non existent.

 

• Car / Track used: GT1
• AI Strength setting: 105
• Corner (if issue is corner specific): n/a
• AI Aggression setting: 60 and 80
• Session Distance: 40min
• Weather when the issue was observed: Dry
• Player Tyre: Dry
• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): RACE
• Aditional Information:
  • Fuel / tyres consumption set to ACCELERATED.
    
  • Using AI Custom, race_skill, qualifying_skill set between 0.1-1.0.

- The AI drives strangely. They seem to have good pace overall, very competitive at this strength, but drive against it is difficult and weird. They brake too late, are slow in some corner exits (specially in the second Curve di Lesmo) but seem to have magic traction in others (specially out of Variante Ascari).

(This allows some interesting race, because they can out-brake the player and the player can fight back in some corner exits, but is not very realistic)

- AI racing against each other:
- At 60% aggression they seem to never overtake each other.
- At 80% aggression it improves a bit, but there is still a lot of nonsense. A faster car goes side by side with the car ahead in the main straight, but when they get close to T1, they almost always give up an easy move. But then, going in the outside of Variante della Roggia or Parabolica, they can make the move the harder way.

- The AI often pits with no reason. In a 40min race with 2x fuel consumption, 1 pitstop is easily enough. But in my tests about 1/3 of the grid pitted twice.

 

AI pace is not affected by their line. There are a host of consequences but among the more obvious is that the ai don't pass each other through corners, especially on exit, and the player is penalised because their pace is affected by their line, while the ai are not.

 

I'm hoping that no-one at Reiza reads this before the new year because they're on holiday, but once back it would be great if a few imbalances in AI performance could be looked into. Specifically there are still a few classes where the AI remains difficult to compete against compared to AI in other classes of similar vehicles. Like many others I consider the modern Stock Car AI the best in the game, and at 98% skill and 50% aggression I can usually make a podium in a 5 lap quick race starting mid field against 23 opponents. For certain classes, this just isn't possible unless I do extreme overdriving.

GTE vs GT3: GTE are way harder to compete against at a given track and difficulty than GT3. In a GTE race at 98% I'm lucky to be 0.2 sec/lap faster, regardless of the car I choose. In a GT3 race on the same track and difficulty I'm consistently 1-1.5 sec/lap faster.

F3 vs P3: F3 are similarly way harder to compete against compared to the similarly powered P3 Roco.

FVee vs F Trainer: FVee is much more difficult to compete against.

Group A vs Omega Stock Car: Grp A is much more difficult to compete against.

My general observation is that the difficult can AI brake much later, accelerate out of corners much better, and have slightly higher top speed than the player. On the bright side, even though the AI are overpowered, they are largely entertaining to drive against and exhibit far fewer stupid behaviours than several months ago (though they will take me out sometimes because I'm slower in and out of corners than they are).

 

Since the update to version1.3, I find the Vee much harder to drive and I can not compete at the opponent strength I had done before.

 

All of the AI cars are very slow on the last corner at Spielberg before the long straight.

Generally all the circuits have corners where the AI goes noticeably slow. Just got to drive the circuits to find these corners out. I am sure there are loads and loads of posts about these in the lists above.

The Ai driven DPi cars are generally very slow. I drive at around 90 to 95 AI difficulty and most cars are a challange to drive against at that sort of level, but the DPi cars are not. Similarly the Mini Coopers are very slow at that level. There are several other car types that are much slower than others and need a bit of balancing. Sure Reiza know about these already though.

 

Have to agree. Actualy, at 120 they are still slow. I usually have a challenge at 100-115 (depends on the car class, sometimes on the track too), but not with the DPi

I am sure they will address it given the time, as they already did with a plethora of issues that I thought they would never solve in this engine.

 

• Car / Track used: Londrina Short, P1, P2, P3, GT3, GT4, Ultima (player w/ the P1)
• AI Strength setting: 115
• Corner (if issue is corner specific): n/a
• AI Aggression setting: 100
• Session Distance: 134 laps
• Weather when the issue was observed: Dry
• Player Tyre: Dry
• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): RACE

I started the race against 11 AI-controlled P1 cars, only 2 finished.

I tried watching the replay when the retirements happened, and every one I could spot (3 or 4 cases) they had the exact same accident: trying to overtake a slower car in the fast "S" in sector 2, hit the sausage in the inside curb of the right-hander and got launched to a rollover.

 

Guaranteed? No. And that also happens racing against real people, you won't find a race where it is guaranteed that you won't get hit.

AI in AMS2 can be improved for sure. But in the meantime, if will want to enjoy it, it's inevitable to deal with it. They brake magically well and sometimes they have magical grip at corner exit. But sometimes they are awful slow, especially in some corner exits (it varies from corner to corner). So, if they get alongside you before a braking zone, there is little you can do, just try not to get hit. Then try to pass and open a gap where they are slow.

I have been using aggression at 80-100%, because otherwise they will never pass each other and the race is dull. But I drive mostly prototypes/turing cars. For open-wheel it probably has to be a bit lower. I had a super fun race at Historical Monza, Formula Vintage, with agress = 60%

 

I'm sure this may have been mentioned, but I recently did a race at Daytona Road and the AI were driving a middle-line on the banked oval sections of the track, which is not the normal/fastest line. (AI strength was about 90-95 I think)

 

Track: Montreal 1988
Car: F-Classic Gen 3
AI Setting: 92/55 (with custom AI)
Conditions: Dry

Issue: The last chicane before the start finish line is a pretty fast one, but the AI do not have to lift at all--they can go full gas, including going through the grass and jumping the curbs, getting all 4 wheels in the air, and sticking the landing.

Result is that the player has to use too-low AI skill setting to make up the time on the rest of the circuit, making for a very artificial race experience.