New To Racing Sims

RakeWorm · Jul 7, 2014

I searched for a topic like this but didn't see one. If I missed it, sorry.

I am new to racing sims and I am just looking for general advice on a good or efficient way to progress and learn? Stick to one car? One track? Avoid messing with car setups, or jump in right away? Those sort of things.

Thanks!

RakeWorm · Jul 9, 2014

Juris said:
Glitterbomb sorry if you've said it already but where are you based. If you're in the USA you could grab an SRW-S1. I know its not a dedicated fixed wheel but they are relatively cheap (one company on ebay is selling them for $45 with free US shipping) and if you are moving you can just throw it in a suitcase as its really just a rim. They can also be converted to use with other wheels later on. If you check youtube there are loads of people who have modded them.

Ah, interesting. I will keep that in mind for when I have the extra money to spend next. Thanks. =)

RakeWorm · Jul 9, 2014

I thought of another question for folks. What is a good measure of becoming "not terrible?" I've noticed the RSR leaderboards for car/track combinations. Within how many seconds of the leaders would be considered "average," "mediocre," or just plain "not awful?"

Thanks!

Adria Perez · Jul 9, 2014

GlitterBomb said:
I thought of another question for folks. What is a good measure of becoming "not terrible?" I've noticed the RSR leaderboards for car/track combinations. Within how many seconds of the leaders would be considered "average," "mediocre," or just plain "not awful?"

Thanks!

Simplifying, on popular combos and long tracks (1:30 to 2 min)

0 to 2 seconds: you are an alien or at least something that resembles it (Ripley will shout at you nevertheless).

2-4 seconds: You are good. You can compete for podiums in the club races here, and on public servers.

> 4 seconds: You are not hitting the proper spots for apex, turn in and out in a regular basis. Keep practising.

Stereo · Jul 9, 2014

On this, if you're 1:25-1:28 that's pretty average, 1:24-1:25 is good, under 1:24 is the aliens. This is fairly typical of the plots on RSR, although with unpopular car+track combos you might need to guess where it is.

RakeWorm · Jul 9, 2014

Adria Perez said:
Simplifying, on popular combos and long tracks (1:30 to 2 min)

0 to 2 seconds: you are an alien or at least something that resembles it (Ripley will shout at you nevertheless).

2-4 seconds: You are good. You can compete for podiums in the club races here, and on public servers.

> 4 seconds: You are not hitting the proper spots for apex, turn in and out in a regular basis. Keep practising.

Thanks. So to envision a category under "good" to being average/mediocre, 4-6s?

Stereo said:
On this, if you're 1:25-1:28 that's pretty average, 1:24-1:25 is good, under 1:24 is the aliens. This is fairly typical of the plots on RSR, although with unpopular car+track combos you might need to guess where it is.

Where did you get a graph like that? Can I find them for specific car/track combos?

Adria Perez · Jul 9, 2014

GlitterBomb said:
Where did you get a graph like that? Can I find them for specific car/track combos?

in RSR, at the bottom of each rank combo, e.g.,:*

http://www.radiators-champ.com/RSRLiveTiming/index.php?page=rank&track=6&car=60

* I only used the '*' because I don't think I never - correctly - used 4 consecutive punctuation signs before.

RakeWorm · Jul 9, 2014

Adria Perez said:
in RSR, at the bottom of each rank combo, e.g.,:*

http://www.radiators-champ.com/RSRLiveTiming/index.php?page=rank&track=6&car=60

* I only used the '*' because I don't think I never - correctly - used 4 consecutive punctuation signs before.

Well, don't I feel like a ninny. Just scroll down, GBomb, just scroll down.

Also, there was probably a way you could have fit parenthesis after the asterisk.

Ernest Aubert · Jul 9, 2014

I'll point out that the difference between the lowest times and those of someone who's using the default setup are skewed by the setup differences. The only way to truly compare one's skill to that of anyone else is by both using the same setup.

Adria Perez · Jul 9, 2014

Ernest Aubert said:
I'll point out that the difference between the lowest times and those of someone who's using the default setup are skewed by the setup differences. The only way to truly compare one's skill to that of anyone else is by both using the same setup.

And the same AC version, as cars performance has varied along versions. Just as an example: in the last AC update the Z4 GT3 became noticeable faster.

Ernest Aubert · Jul 9, 2014

Adria, is it even possible for people to be using different versions of AC? For me, it updates itself automatically. Does that behavior vary from one instance of the program to another?

Adria Perez · Jul 9, 2014

Ernest Aubert said:
Adria, is it even possible for people to be using different versions of AC? For me, it updates itself automatically. Does that behavior vary from one instance of the program to another?

I would suspect that 99.9% of people run the latest version, me included, just because steam update the games by default. However you can deactivate automatic updating and stay behind.

But what I had in mind was that I am using a different version now than when I (or someone else) set up some of the records. For instance, GT3 cars had much more grip at the beggining of the year, and you will see that many records held are from a few months back. For instance:

http://www.radiators-champ.com/RSRLiveTiming/index.php?page=rank&track=6&car=60

All top 15 records are from before 08.04.2014.

So yes, car performance varies depending on the version. I don't personally notice any difference unless I am told there is a difference, I am not that good, but on the changelogs you can see how they tweak the physical properties of cars:

Changelog 0.20
- New setting enables forms to overlap ingame
- Fix to some cars in showroom
- Fixed debug apps
- Improved log messages for easier debug
- Improvements in skybox rendering inside the cubemap
- Addedd penalty in time attack for going too slow
- Fixed Time Attack spawn position in some track
- Added Formula K car with open physics as a template car for modders (found inside folder sdk/dev)
- Added open tyre physics files from all AC cars (found inside folder sdk/dev/tyres_ac) as examples
- BMW Z4 GT3 performance balance (slightly faster)
- Corrected non working mirrors on Lotus Exige 240r
- Corrected non working mirrors on Lotus Exige S Roadster
- Corrected disappearing cockpit on M3 E92
- Corrected wrong proportions on Ferrari 458 mirrors
- Corrected internal glasses on lotus GTC and GX
- Fixed Python lap count
- Increased Setup bar animation speed
- Fixed error for laptimes > 99:59:999
- New Shared Memory Layout (update your application!) check our official support forums for examples.
- Fixed non-ascii symbols on Setup Tab
- Fixed time left showed in Basic App during practice solo session

RakeWorm · Jul 9, 2014

Ernest Aubert said:
I'll point out that the difference between the lowest times and those of someone who's using the default setup are skewed by the setup differences. The only way to truly compare one's skill to that of anyone else is by both using the same setup.

Ah, good point though I will probably never be good enough that those kind of details will have much relevance for me. I just hope to be "okay" or "decent," eventually.