rec.autos.simulators

I spent a good part of my NR2002 seat time last week practicing and
racing at Rockingham.  I found the AI at 100% to be almost impossible
to keep up with.  Then, watching the race yesterday, I noticed that
the speeds they were running were about what I was running in
practice, if not a bit slower.  Is the 100% AI setting unrealistically
fast, or was there something about the race yesterday that was holding
speeds down?

A couple of times, the commentators mentioned that as the track got
warmer, the speeds would be slower.  I find this to be the opposite in
NR2002.  When the track is colder, my tires have a really hard time
getting up to temperatures.  Only at above around 55f do I ever get
ideal temperatures.  My best times pick up considerably, the warmer
the weather.

Anyone able to take a high line here in the sim and have it pay off?
All that happens when I try it is I get passed low.

I noticed the pole speed was an astronomical 156 mph.  Dang...

Discuss,
Gerald

I have good luck with the high line through turns 3 and 4, but always
get passed low ini turns 1 and 2.

datter

  Something to keep in mind is that the race on tv was with humans; you're
going against computer code.

  Try it online, and you'll see some of the things you mention work fine.

-John

The following is an opinion: I live very near The Rock, less than an hour
away on non-race days. I have only attended about 15 races there in real
life (not counting trips to the dragstrip across the street) so I speak from
some experience.

The track appears to be dead on accurate in the sim as far as the track
goes. Some of the signage is skewed, as are some of the grandstand
placements, though it is so close for me to complain is splitting hairs.

That said, what they meant about the track getting warmer and cars slowing
down is tru to life at the track. With a warmer track, the harder tires grip
better and since the track has a very abrasive surface, better grip is also
going to equate to slowing over time as the tires will wear in a hurry. Is
the AI out of whack in the sim?Likely, I find them to be that way everywhere
in every version of Papy's NR series. The only real test I did in N4 was at
Atlanta last season, second race (Fall race). I setup a race at the same
temp and wind as the real guys were facing, and out Q'd Junior (the Fall
polesitter) by a matter of only a few hundreths. I'm not going to die if I
wreck, so pushing a car to the limit is easier for us simmers. IOW, I
expected to match his Q time and actually beat it by a tad. That said, I
qualified 6th in the field with the AI cranked to 100%. Seems they too know
they won't die and are inordinately fast as a result. The SS's on the other
hand are skewed the other way, I always had to crank the AI over 100% to get
any drafting practice in N4. Go figure. That's why it's best to run online
with this sim line from Papy. Other real folks will typically be in the
ballprak with everyone else whereas the AI is all over the place (from super
fast to super slow depending on venue).

     What Simracer said in his post.  In addition, the physics models
are clearly different between you and the AI (as the above anecdote
indicates); a quick spin at Coca-Cola (do a replay on the AI) will show
you
that they are quicker at the end of the straights, but you can easily beat
them
coming out of the turns.  Farting with the track.ini only allieviates this
by a
little bit (there is a drag setting for the AI but no downforce setting,
for
example)...

    John DiFool

I agree.  In N4 I could keep up with or beat the AI at every track at
100% with the exception of Sears Point (probably because I suck at
road courses) and at The Rock.  I can barly keep up with the last AI
car at The Rock.  Either I have not figured out this track, figured
out the Setup or the AI has too big of an advantage.  If N2002 is the
same I will probably fiddle around with the ini file and increase the
drag of the AI, maybe reduce grip, increase their tire wear, etc.

I have seen almost enough posts about this track to put it in a FAQ
somewhere, so I don't think we are all crazy.

Brian Oster

Brian Oster