Official General AI Comments & Discussion Topic

That value determines the reaction of the AI to the green lights at the start of the race, the lower the value the slower their reaction time, nothing to do with them making a mistake at the start.

 

Version: 1.4.5.2.2247.AVX
Car: P4
Track: Buenos Aires No. 6
AI Strength setting: 105
AI Aggression setting: Max
Other: Date 07/02/2021, 2 random weather slots, 40-minute race. No mandatory pits.
Report: AI pit stop behaviour - unnecessary stops.

The race started with a light rain and a moist(?) track. The rain ended 15 minutes into the race. I drove the whole race with slicks.

Within the first three laps 10 out of 15 AI drivers pitted. Some AI drivers went into the pits, stayed there for 4 seconds and left without changing tyres. Some drivers went into the pits, switched to wets, then came back in after one lap to change back to slicks. Both behaviours feel wrong.

I had restarted the session and immediately started the race, so accumulation of water on the track while sitting in the pre-race screen is unlikely to have been an issue in this case.

 

• Car / Track used: Formula Classic Gen 4 (though this seems a general problem across most series)
• AI Strength setting: 100%
• Track: Silverstone 2001 Historic
• AI Aggression setting: Medium
• Session Distance: 15 Laps
• Weather when the issue was observed: Dry
• Player Tyre: Slick
• AI Tyre (if known to be different from player): Slick
• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): Qualification and Race

- When qualifying and racing, I noticed that the AI find it very difficult to pass one another
- It appears that the attacking cars are unable or unwilling to commit to an overtaking manoeuvre on the inside, instead their preferred move appears to be trying to pass on the outside into Maggotts, Stowe or Abbey - with no observed success.
- This means the AI are bunching up behind one another, usually in packs of at least 3.
- The AI at the front of these packs are usually much slower than the chasing pack, yet the chasing pack seem unable to commit to an aggressive overtake on the inside, meaning they line up in a train of cars.
- Attacking AI will sometimes leave the track looking to pass on the outside, kicking up dust.
- This also means that the player gets stuck behind these packs as it is too dangerous to overtake given this will lead to crashing into another car in the apex of the turn.
- The defensive moves of the defending AI car also seem to exacerbate the issue. It appears the defending AI are able to commit to a decision far better than the attacking AI.
- Sometimes these groups will go three wide, usually down the Hangar Straight, though this doesn't end in an overtake.
- The only ways an overtake seems to take place is when the defending AI makes a mistake and loses traction, or the attacking AI hits the defending AI from behind and is able to outdrag them into the next corner.

The AI's reluctance to pass and the bunching pack issue has been a pretty consistent problem across AMS2 since I bought the game in November 2021. I note for a short period of time last year, I think between September - November 2022, this issue was not so bad and the AI was able to avoid these packs and were pretty good at passing one another. However since V.1.4.3.3 I've noticed that the AI's indecisiveness has returned.

 

Formula Vee fin around a rainy Cleveland in minus temperatures, the ai seem unaffected. Even on the lowest difficulty they leave me standing (had to do it in my Racing Life career).
My tyre temps were 5° front and 11° rear even after broadsiding around every corner.
The ai however, drove like aliens.
Somethings's not right.

 

Version: 1.4.5.2.2247.AVX
Car: GT3 & GT5
Track: Imola (modern) & Brands Hatch
AI Strength setting: 105
AI Aggression setting: Medium
Other: 1h practice and 15 min qualifying
Report: Differing AI pace throughout sessions

The AI was able to set laps that were several seconds quicker in the practice session than in the qualifying session.
The pace of the AI was roughly 2-3 seconds faster in the practice. This is somewhat annoying to me, as i tend to set the AI difficulty in the practice sessions.

 

Version: 1.4.5.2.2247.AVX
Car: GT5
Track: Brands Hatch
AI Strength setting: 105
AI Aggression setting: Medium
Other: 10-lap race
Report: Aggressive AI Behaviour.

The AI makes many weird and overly aggressive moves on the player. I noticed this mostly late in the druid's corner (T2). The AI tends to put its bumper just next to the player's and then try to slot in behind. This results in a pit maneuver. It seems as if the AI doesn't know that it hasn't yet cleared the player. This happens throughout the race, not just on lap 1.

Furthermore, the AI behind the player seems to get a speed boost/ increase in pace, as it is able to set a faster pace than other cars around it. The enhanced car seems to change when the car behind the player changes. The car which is behind the player will then get the "boost".

 

AI still cuts corners instead of braking in order to avoid being overtaken by player and rams you off track without getting a penalty.

The AI on slicks also has way to much grip on grass compared to player.
And with damage switched on, they can ram like crazy without suffering from any damage, whilst player must be extremely careful.

 

• Car / Track used: Group C
• AI Strength setting: 120
• AI Aggression setting: MAX
• Session Distance: 18 laps
• Weather when the issue was observed: Dry
• Player Tyre: Soft Slick
• AI Tyre (if known to be different from player): IDK
• Type of session when the issue was observed (practice / quali / race): Any
  
  
  
  

 

Same observation as yours, but with all the classic/vintage F1 cars/AI

 

3 years after release, some general issues should finally be fixed:

- Overtaking: Instead of passing slower car, AI always goes for rear tyres (you can observe that in open wheeler races) of car in front and breakes instead of keeping distance to other car and pass.

- Qualifying: Instead of exiting pits in a wise way, they all get out in groups and then build huge trains because of the inability to overtake.

- Lapping: No matter what you set within a custom AI file, the AI fights you like idiots when being about to be lapped.

- Dirty AIr: Only player is affected, AI can always drive like on rails.

- Penalties: Do not exist for AI, they can do whatever they want.

 

I might add that AI don't use draft, maybe? Same car, player can draft and get past AI on straight but it doesn't work other way around, so AI just stays behind and couldn't overtake, in fact they drop a bit so that's why I think drafting doesn't work for AI. That's my observation about it. Other may have other conclusions and opinions on this matter. I agree most of those things you have wrote. Lapping in my opinion is ok but not perfect.

 

Having drove extensively F-Retro gen3 cars. Basically slowest cars which is DFY model. AI is too damn slow even 120 diff (this it not enough for me and needs to be higher or make cars harder to drive for player) and made custom AI file and those skills are high which matter in qualify and race. Made adjustments for Brabham and McLaren drivers so they are basically there where they should be now. Dropped both skills of race and qualify. It's now little closer racing. These cars might be my new favorite. AI might even use fuel in races because I noticed them to be slower comparing to qualify (2-3 seconds) which is good. Settings need tweaking so might get good enough races some day. Power tracks like Monza is good but not perfect and needs more speed there and when driving slow tracks for example Monaco and Long Beach, they just lose a lot of time. And some tracks they just slow on some points of track. This is in Jacarepagua 88, Spielberg 77 and Silverstone 91. Basically I want AI be much faster all around. More difficulty options or sliders.

And question. Should lean and rich fuel mix made difference in fuel consumption and top speed? I drove in Jacarepagua 88 and noticed little difference when tested.

 

I'm pretty convinced that fuel weights do not exist for the AI in general at least in the cars that I've done full fuel stints in... They also seem to have no tyre wear as they will do their race pace like clockwork until the last quarter of the race when their stamina rating starts slowing them down... The difference between race and qualy times is usually made up by softer tyres and full boost or some kind of fudging behind the scenes...

As for the engine modes that is as expected, lean is to save fuel but you lose some engine power in doing so... The AI do not have such engine modes so stick to full rich and work around the extra damage you receive from it in order to not be able to pit a few laps later and maybe finish the race on 1 less stop...

I completely agree on AI strength... In many cases we need a slider that goes to 200...

 

Made changes custom AI file and noticed that race and qualify skill affects only corners, little braking maybe but mostly corners. Monza and Brabham was best friends. Brabham seems to hate Monaco and slow tracks. Have to find balance. McLaren drivers are easier to modify.

I'm having fun in street tracks with these F-Retro gen3 cars. Can we have more please? And older versions of some tracks?

 

Indeed, the race skill mostly affects the cornering speed of the cars, this becomes an issue in tracks with long straights where the "slower" but more powerful cars blast past the faster but less powerfull cars and that creates this unrealistic zig-zag throught the race and pack racing, because the faster cars take too long to pass the more powerful ones on the corners, and as soon as they get by, they are overtaken again on the straights.
This would be fixed if the faster cars could overtake more quickly, it's getting better but still needs work. I just make 2 custom files, one for the long straights tracks and another for the medium and slow speed tracks, been doing it with the vintages and having very nice races.

 

When thinking F-Retro gen3 cars, problem might be that generic car AI are too slow overall. That's why I need to make McLaren and Brabham drivers slower to compensate that. Speed up those generics and I have to put some numbers up for McLarens and Brabhams. Then overall difficulty may go up and need to adjust difficulty slider lower. I think this will solve problem at least for little bit.

And Kansai first sector for AI is horrendous. First corner is okay but then slowdown begin. 3 seconds slower than me was AI when tested again.

In Hockenheim 88 AI is slow against me. First and second sector. I drove DFY model and was faster than turbos, half second on both, overall lap about 1 second. Something must be wrong.

Noticed some Brabham car glitching and bouncing randomly when watching them drive.

 

I think that a large part of the AI behavior is determined by the circuit, and therefore provides a general setting for all cars such as acceleration maximum speed and braking for a corner, while the cornering speed and mutual behavior is a quality of the car, this makes it impossible to get a good AI setting that you can use for multiple circuits, if you compare the AI on Retro Gen3 at Silverstone 1991 and Jerez 1988 you have a totally different experience. The annoying thing about the xml files is that you can't control top speed, acceleration and braking power with them.

 

Version: 1.4.5.2.2247.AVX
Track: Curvelo Long
Car: GT4
Report: The GT4 AI is a bit slow on this track. I qualified P11 at 120 skill and finished the 24-lap race at P3 at 118 skill. Specific corners where the player always gains are Cauda Da Onca and Boomerang. Dry weather.

 

• Car / Track used: DPI / Daytona
• AI Strength setting: 110
• AI Aggression setting: Medium
• Report:

 

On high aggression I find the AI too slow in your red section. They seem to brake way early there and can easily pass them.