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NR 2003 Short Track / Roadie AI

13 posts by 6 people · 26 Apr 2003 01:29 UTC - 30 Apr 2003 20:50 UTC

Haqsau 26 Apr 2003 01:29 UTC#69840
Anybody know how to fix the NR 2003 AI so they don't rear end you in the braking zones on short tracks and roadies? This is absurd. There isn't a single track that requires braking where they are not hitting me in the ass if they follow me into the braking zone. And it doesn't occur at the beginning of the braking zone it is in the middle or even towards the end. They do not estimate their distance properly when following somebody into the braking zone. I thought this was pretty basic - if you follow somebody into a braking zone you have to brake WHEN they brake, not WHERE they brake. The AI does not seem to know that, they run the lap the same way regardless of whether someone is in front of them or not. The really annoying thing is that this worked in GPL (other than you-know-who), but it has not worked right in any of the NASCAR games they have made since then. Does anyone know a file I can edit to fix this? Anyone know if it is being worked on? If not I think I am done with this game.
Agreed this is a serious problem. Look back a bit at my posts about Marty--it is basically undriveable because of the "blind" AI. The behaviour of the AI during practise mode at the larger ovals also suggests they are blind. Look at how they pile into an incident as though it wasn't there. Unless a yellow flag comes on, which it doesn't during practise mode, the AI range of view out the front seems to be about 2 or 3 virtual feet in front of the car--far too little to react to anything be that braking points, incidents, whatever. You are also correct that the NASCAR series has been far, far, far behind GPL in this regard. As the most extreme example, which I try in all sims as a test, is drive backwards on a track in GPL and watch the AI react to you. Then try it in N3, N4, NR2002 or NR2003. Case rested. Marc "Haqsau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:b8cndo$8evfv$[email hidden]... > Anybody know how to fix the NR 2003 AI so they don't rear end you in the > braking zones on short tracks and roadies? This is absurd. There isn't a > single track that requires braking where they are not hitting me in theass > if they follow me into the braking zone. And it doesn't occur at the > beginning of the braking zone it is in the middle or even towards the end. > They do not estimate their distance properly when following somebody into > the braking zone. I thought this was pretty basic - if you followsomebody > into a braking zone you have to brake WHEN they brake, not WHERE theybrake. > The AI does not seem to know that, they run the lap the same wayregardless > of whether someone is in front of them or not. The really annoying thingis > that this worked in GPL (other than you-know-who), but it has not worked > right in any of the NASCAR games they have made since then. Does anyone > know a file I can edit to fix this? Anyone know if it is being worked on? > If not I think I am done with this game. > >
Well I found one possible source of help here: http://www.tptcc.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=23. Appparently there is a tool built into NR2003 that allows you to build your own AI corridors. Not sure if that will address this particular problem, but my thinking is that if one deliberately drove laps in which you braked early at all the critical braking points, and then built new .lp files from this, that this might force the AI to back off a bit. I really don't have time to play with this stuff though, I really would like to see Papy address this themselves. "Marc Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:tYnqa.6126$[email hidden]... > Agreed this is a serious problem. Look back a bit at my posts about > Marty--it is basically undriveable because of the "blind" AI. Thebehaviour > of the AI during practise mode at the larger ovals also suggests they are > blind. Look at how they pile into an incident as though it wasn't there. > Unless a yellow flag comes on, which it doesn't during practise mode, theAI > range of view out the front seems to be about 2 or 3 virtual feet in front > of the car--far too little to react to anything be that braking points, > incidents, whatever. > > You are also correct that the NASCAR series has been far, far, far behind > GPL in this regard. As the most extreme example, which I try in all simsas > a test, is drive backwards on a track in GPL and watch the AI react toyou. > Then try it in N3, N4, NR2002 or NR2003. Case rested. > > Marc >
Haqsau wrote:
Quoted text (9 lines)> Well I found one possible source of help here: > http://www.tptcc.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=23. Appparently there is a tool > built into NR2003 that allows you to build your own AI corridors. Not sure > if that will address this particular problem, but my thinking is that if one > deliberately drove laps in which you braked early at all the critical > braking points, and then built new .lp files from this, that this might > force the AI to back off a bit. I really don't have time to play with this > stuff though, I really would like to see Papy address this themselves. >
For what it's worth, I do think Papy should fix the problem in a patch, too. From the sounds of it, it hampers the otherwise good AI. -Will
The AutoAIStrength works well for me. It's a feature (you can find in the playrecs.ini file, in the player folder, a demonstration of what i'm speaking) that once you have run a race in a particular track the AI is automatically adjusted to fit your speed for future races on that track. It's not the adaptive speed however.
Won't help a lot--you'll spend hours tweaking and then you'll be nailing them in the rear because they brake too soon. They largely brake OK now, except that they ignore the presence of the player. I assume they ignore the presence of the other AI, too, but because they all act so similarly, it doesn't present problems. GPL was actually quite forgiving to newbies in this regard. Once you get within 5% of the speed of the AI, there are very, very few problems (we all know the one notorious one). The AI seem to be especially wary of a car driving erratically (the player!!). In NR2003, you have to be within 0.5% of the speed of the AI to avoid being treated like a pinball. I can only assume that increasing the AI's awareness distance kills the frame rates and/or causes mayhem on pit lane. Otherwise, Papy would have fixed it long ago. Marc "Haqsau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:b8ejno$98a1v$[email hidden]... > Well I found one possible source of help here: > http://www.tptcc.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=23. Appparently there is atool > built into NR2003 that allows you to build your own AI corridors. Notsure > if that will address this particular problem, but my thinking is that ifone > deliberately drove laps in which you braked early at all the critical > braking points, and then built new .lp files from this, that this might > force the AI to back off a bit. I really don't have time to play withthis
Quoted text (10 lines)> stuff though, I really would like to see Papy address this themselves. > > > > "Marc Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:tYnqa.6126$[email hidden]... > > Agreed this is a serious problem. Look back a bit at my posts about > > Marty--it is basically undriveable because of the "blind" AI. The > behaviour > > of the AI during practise mode at the larger ovals also suggests they
are > > blind. Look at how they pile into an incident as though it wasn'tthere. > > Unless a yellow flag comes on, which it doesn't during practise mode,the > AI > > range of view out the front seems to be about 2 or 3 virtual feet infront > > of the car--far too little to react to anything be that braking points, > > incidents, whatever. > > > > You are also correct that the NASCAR series has been far, far, farbehind > > GPL in this regard. As the most extreme example, which I try in allsims
Quoted text (9 lines)> as > > a test, is drive backwards on a track in GPL and watch the AI react to > you. > > Then try it in N3, N4, NR2002 or NR2003. Case rested. > > > > Marc > > > >
Marc Collins 27 Apr 2003 02:49 UTC↳ reply to ZP#69742
Not relevant to what we are discussing here. But I'm glad you like using it. Marc "ZP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:b0Eqa.13058$[email hidden]...
Quoted text (9 lines)> The AutoAIStrength works well for me. It's a feature (you can find in the > playrecs.ini file, in the player folder, a demonstration of what i'm > speaking) that once you have run a race in a particular track the AI is > automatically adjusted to fit your speed for future races on that track. > > It's not the adaptive speed however. > > >
Marc have you tried playing with the track.ini at all? I found a few parameters in there which might help, but not sure when I will have time to test them. From the Watkins Glen track.ini: ai_decel_modifier = 0.77 ; braking grip efficiency ai_drafting_distance = 1.15 ; car lengths behind while racing ai_dlongpad_scale = 1.8 ; scales padding in braking zones (smaller = more scaling) ai_dlat_pad = 0.8 Now the same values from Infineon: ai_decel_modifier = 0.78 ; braking grip efficiency ai_drafting_distance = 1.15 ; car lengths behind while racing ai_dlongpad_scale = 1.5 ; scales padding in braking zones (smaller = more scaling) ai_dlat_pad = 0.8 From Martinsville: ai_decel_modifier = 0.94 ; braking grip efficiency ai_drafting_distance = 1.07 ai_dlongpad_scale = 5.0 ai_dlat_pad = 0.9 And from Atlanta, to show how different the speedway AI is: ai_decel_modifier = 0.70 ; braking grip efficiency ai_drafting_distance = 1.25 ; car lengths behind while racing ai_dlongpad_scale = 25.0 ; scales padding in braking zones (smaller = more scaling) ai_dlat_pad = 0.85 First it seems like the AI braking grip at Martinsville is way off compared to other tracks, so it might be helpful to reduce the ai_decel_modifier there. Drafting distance might not be a major effect, but again if they can't anticipate properly then increasing the drafting distance a tad might help. The ai_dlongpad_scale is the one that I think will really make a difference. Have you tried it? I found that at Infineon I wasn't getting rear ended much, and notice that it has the smallest value for ai_dlongpad_scale. Perhaps reducing it to 1.4 at all the problem tracks would help. Also ai_dlat_pad is not documented in the files I looked at but would seem to have something to do with the lateral separation the AI uses in the braking zone. I think changing this might help another problem I had, which was that AI would go for the dive bomb pass without enough room, tag me as they tried to go around, and spin me in the process. It is not clear whether it should be reduced or increased though, it doesn't appear to work the same way as ai_dlongpad_scale. Unfortunately I have guests here this weekend and I don't know when I will have time to test any of this stuff. If anyone has tried or will try any of these parameters I would really like to hear what kind of results you get. Thanks, Hal "Marc Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:byHqa.5929$[email hidden]... > Won't help a lot--you'll spend hours tweaking and then you'll be nailing > them in the rear because they brake too soon. They largely brake OK now, > except that they ignore the presence of the player. I assume they ignore > the presence of the other AI, too, but because they all act so similarly,it > doesn't present problems. > > GPL was actually quite forgiving to newbies in this regard. Once you get > within 5% of the speed of the AI, there are very, very few problems (weall > know the one notorious one). The AI seem to be especially wary of a car > driving erratically (the player!!). > > In NR2003, you have to be within 0.5% of the speed of the AI to avoidbeing > treated like a pinball. I can only assume that increasing the AI's > awareness distance kills the frame rates and/or causes mayhem on pit lane. > Otherwise, Papy would have fixed it long ago. > > Marc >
The speed and braking you use during the creation of the AI's lines has little effect on their speeds or braking. The smoothness of the lines is how the AI calculate their speeds, not the actual speeds values recorded in the lp's. Your best bet is to try to go into your track.ini and look in the ai_track section and adjust this value..... ai_dlongpad_scale = X.X ; scales padding in braking zones (smaller = more scaling) Jay Taylor "Haqsau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:b8ejno$98a1v$[email hidden]... > Well I found one possible source of help here: > http://www.tptcc.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=23. Appparently there is atool > built into NR2003 that allows you to build your own AI corridors. Notsure > if that will address this particular problem, but my thinking is that ifone > deliberately drove laps in which you braked early at all the critical > braking points, and then built new .lp files from this, that this might > force the AI to back off a bit. I really don't have time to play withthis
Quoted text (10 lines)> stuff though, I really would like to see Papy address this themselves. > > > > "Marc Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:tYnqa.6126$[email hidden]... > > Agreed this is a serious problem. Look back a bit at my posts about > > Marty--it is basically undriveable because of the "blind" AI. The > behaviour > > of the AI during practise mode at the larger ovals also suggests they
are > > blind. Look at how they pile into an incident as though it wasn'tthere. > > Unless a yellow flag comes on, which it doesn't during practise mode,the > AI > > range of view out the front seems to be about 2 or 3 virtual feet infront > > of the car--far too little to react to anything be that braking points, > > incidents, whatever. > > > > You are also correct that the NASCAR series has been far, far, farbehind > > GPL in this regard. As the most extreme example, which I try in allsims
Quoted text (9 lines)> as > > a test, is drive backwards on a track in GPL and watch the AI react to > you. > > Then try it in N3, N4, NR2002 or NR2003. Case rested. > > > > Marc > > > >
I just had enough time to try only a few variations on that tonight, but what I tried didn't seem to fix the problem. I read that comment as meaning that I want smaller values for it. As I posted in another note in this thread, the speedways use very large values for this number, short tracks less, road courses least, so I assumed that I would want to make it smaller still. At the Glen I cut it from 1.8 to 0.8 and I'm still getting punched in the rear at the entry to the inner loop. However while I was doing this I took a look at some of the replays, and I think I'm starting to see a pattern. Decreasing that number did cause them to give me more room initially, so that they hit me later in the braking zone, but the reason they were hitting me turned out to be due to the fact that they were trying to go around me and not giving me enough room. So now I am thinking that ai_dlatpad is the one that needs changing, or maybe both. Hopefully I will have time to try this tomorrow. "Jay Taylor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:%OWqa.193$[email hidden]... > The speed and braking you use during the creation of the AI's lines has > little effect on their speeds or braking. The smoothness of the lines is > how the AI calculate their speeds, not the actual speeds values recordedin > the lp's. Your best bet is to try to go into your track.ini and look inthe > ai_track section and adjust this value..... > > ai_dlongpad_scale = X.X ; scales padding in braking zones (smaller =more > scaling) > > Jay Taylor >
Haqsau 28 Apr 2003 02:33 UTC↳ reply to ZP#69731
That's really what started all this trouble. I ran a race at the Glen with Auto AI Strength on and afterwards it set the strength at 102%. That sounded great and I felt real good until I tried racing at that speed and got run over going up the hill on the first lap of practice. I'm running 1:15's, why it decided that it should set the AI at 102% is beyond me, it should have been more like 90%. So I started manually setting the AI strength but I'm finding that even with them cut down to my lap speeds I am still getting dive bombed in the slow corners, particularly at the entrance to the inner loop. I think Marc is right, the root problem is the AI just don't know what's in front of them. However since we have had that problem for three years now I am not holding my breath that Papy is going to fix it. So I am trying to find AI file tweaks to work around the problem, even if it means forcing the AI to stay farther away from me. Thanks for the suggestion though. "ZP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:b0Eqa.13058$[email hidden]...
Quoted text (9 lines)> The AutoAIStrength works well for me. It's a feature (you can find in the > playrecs.ini file, in the player folder, a demonstration of what i'm > speaking) that once you have run a race in a particular track the AI is > automatically adjusted to fit your speed for future races on that track. > > It's not the adaptive speed however. > > >
Well Marc I am making very definite progress. Three variables in the track.ini are having a very strong effect on the braking zone problem. I have been running practice sessions at the Glen and today for the first time I had a fairly good one. I changed these variables to the values shown: ai_drafting_distance = 1.2 ; (was 1.15) car lengths behind while racing ai_dlongpad_scale = 0.8 ; (was 1.8) scales padding in braking zones (smaller = more scaling) ai_dlat_pad = 1.2 ; (was 0.8) With these values I was still getting light taps occasionally, but they were well within control and most of the time if I made a deliberate mistake the AI simply went around me without contact. It's not perfect yet, I still need to do some fine tuning, but I think the cure to the braking zone problem lies in those three variables. Won't fix the problems with accident avoidance, but it should make the road courses and maybe even the short tracks much more playable. "Marc Collins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:byHqa.5929$[email hidden]... > > > In NR2003, you have to be within 0.5% of the speed of the AI to avoidbeing > treated like a pinball. I can only assume that increasing the AI's > awareness distance kills the frame rates and/or causes mayhem on pit lane. > Otherwise, Papy would have fixed it long ago. > > Marc >
R Knapp 30 Apr 2003 20:50 UTC↳ reply to Haqsau#69375
It's kinda sad that we still have these kinds of problems at this stage of the game. There is so much to like about Papy games but this lousy AI is aggravating! "Haqsau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:b8i365$a7hre$[email hidden]... > I just had enough time to try only a few variations on that tonight, but > what I tried didn't seem to fix the problem. I read that comment asmeaning > that I want smaller values for it. As I posted in another note in this > thread, the speedways use very large values for this number, short tracks > less, road courses least, so I assumed that I would want to make itsmaller > still. At the Glen I cut it from 1.8 to 0.8 and I'm still getting punched > in the rear at the entry to the inner loop. However while I was doingthis > I took a look at some of the replays, and I think I'm starting to see a > pattern. Decreasing that number did cause them to give me more room > initially, so that they hit me later in the braking zone, but the reason > they were hitting me turned out to be due to the fact that they weretrying > to go around me and not giving me enough room. So now I am thinking that > ai_dlatpad is the one that needs changing, or maybe both. Hopefully Iwill
Quoted text (7 lines)> have time to try this tomorrow. > > > "Jay Taylor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:%OWqa.193$[email hidden]... > > The speed and braking you use during the creation of the AI's lines has > > little effect on their speeds or braking. The smoothness of the lines
is
Quoted text (14 lines)> > how the AI calculate their speeds, not the actual speeds values recorded > in > > the lp's. Your best bet is to try to go into your track.ini and look in > the > > ai_track section and adjust this value..... > > > > ai_dlongpad_scale = X.X ; scales padding in braking zones (smaller = > more > > scaling) > > > > Jay Taylor > > > >

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