F1 2011 Online anticipation and learning tracks

F1 2011 The Game (Codemasters)
Hey guys, this is my first thread so please don't hate on me!

My normal settings are no assists and legend ai (not that it's hard) etc... I have recently started racing online and had a few thoughts. I was getting frustrated at being a bad driver and taking people out by accident due to not anticipating them well enough. I was then screwing around in career mode when I had an eureka moment!

1. I found a good way to get better at driving with cars is by putting the AI on a low difficulty setting and trying to drive, for example, in p7. Although this isn't usual pace, I found it helpful to try and learn how to anticipate other cars better.

2. If you put the difficulty level to easy, I found all that was needed was to press the accelerator- due to brake assist etc... Possibly this is a good way to get to learn a track? Usually I just drive the track repeatedly without the racing line and get to know it that way but feel that this is an alternative.

Don't know if anyone has anything to add?
 
Not sure if you asking the best way to learn tracks, or best way to start racing online?

Was just simply relaying some random stuff but would appreciate some advice for racing online. For example, obviously the handling is different online- is there a way of emulating this handling in single player mode? Also, I would love to race in a league but can't guarentee my attendance on a weekly basis- is there an alternative? Many thanks.
 
Supposedly, the online cars (when set to equal) have the grip and top speed of the top tier teams in single player mode, but I find they're even faster. I don't know if there's a mod out there to give career mode cars that much grip. In theory, the online cars should have the same handling characteristics of single player mode, except with more grip. As for advice on racing online, here are the rules I race by:

Attacking: I am usually very cautious when overtaking random online drivers, as many of them will try to ram you off the road if you get alongside. I like to observe peoples' behavior at the start, as this is a good indicator of who is going to be a clean racer. If I am attacking a dirty racer, I just sit behind them and wait for them to crash, as most dirty racers are extremely aggressive to compensate for their lack of skill. If I encounter a driver who I think will be fair, I attack with slightly more caution than I would with the AI, to make sure I don't accidentally hit him. Basically, just give the other driver at least a car's width between you and the edge of the road while you're alongside him.
TL;DR: be patient and sensible when attacking.

Defending: Defending is more difficult than attacking (to me, at least) because you cannot always see the other car. I rely heavily on the white proximity arrows when I am defending, as they show both the position and distance of the attacking car. When defending, it is important not to weave all over the track to keep a car behind- pick either the inside or the outside lane of each corner, and don't switch lanes more than once. Usually, the inside lane is easier for defending, but I've found that on some corners the outside is the best defending line, as it gives you the inside for the next corner. Once you have both picked your lines for the corner, the attacking car will attempt to get alongside you, either on the straight before the corner or into the braking zone of the corner. Once a car is alongside you (when the arrow is at about 45 degrees to the left or right of center) you cannot switch lines. This will cause an accident. You also shouldn't slowly move over towards the other car, as this could provoke aggression and/or cause an accident. Again, leave at least a car's width all the way through the corner. If the other car manages to overtake you, don't try some crazy bansai move into the next corner. Sorry, but you're not Kobayashi. Just stay calm and patient. Sometimes, you'll be overtaken, but most of the time, the method above is a clean, efficient way of keeping a car behind you.
TL;DR: Pick either the inside or outside line and stick to it.

So, I hope you found this helpful! Sorry it was so long, but it's a pretty complex thing to describe!
 
Thank you so much @toddlerdude, that is some good advice. It's so frustrating how people don't seem to be able to "accept" that you are going faster. I find also that being in cockpit view makes it considerably harder to be spatially aware so I've tried t-cam but just can't re-adjust easily with breaking points etc... I got myself a seat with Ferrari for season 2 but got fed up of being so much faster- maybe grand prix mode is the only way to train for online?

PS: I think Maldonado needs to take your advice!
 
No problem! Personally, I use the cockpit cam, and I guess it's just a matter of practice of reading the arrows and figuring out where the other car is. If you're miles ahead of the AI in career mode, you can try various things like qualifying on primes, not using KERS, only using lean fuel, and not overtaking on the first lap to give you more of a challenge. However, there's only so much that practicing with the AI will do for you, as the AI is a lot more predictable than an online driver.

P.S. Don't get me started on Maldonado. I think he's had 11 penalties in 11 races. Ridiculous.
 
Problem is that I just restarted my career with Lotus!!!

Just finished a 20% no assists Q&R in Istanbul btw and it was surprisingly clean- problem is that I think I was too passive so they just shot by but only one way to learn! The other problem is that I couldn't get a lap time below 1:24- well that's just bad driving!

If the Venezuelan didn't continue to commit $40m to Williams every year he races, I wonder whether he would have a seat.
 
Oh. Well, good luck with Lotus. Just a warning- I started my career with Virgin, and was continually stuck finishing 19th (50% races, no assists, legend AI.) Meanwhile, the team was expecting 15th place, and I just got really frustrated and restarted my career with Williams. I find it to be the right difficulty for me, as I can count on a points finish, get a podium with some luck, and have a shot at winning, depending on the track.

The Venezuelan is almost guaranteed a seat next year whether or not he pays $40m because he won in Barcelona. Hopefully he'll eventually chill out with his overtakes, because he does have pretty good raw pace.
 
Well, if Force India was too easy, maybe Lotus will be a better challenge for you. The Williams and the Force India are about equal, but I find the Williams a little easier to set up. However, I think the Force India is faster when you find the right setup.
 
Online and off line the cars are totally different IMO, it's no good doing a set up off line as it won't be the optimum for that car. Personally I use two PS3's so I can set up quali/race sessions all by myself, if you can't do this find someone who wants to practice with you and do all your set up work online. Once you have the set up worked out, race race race (tweaking the set up as you gain pace).
off line is fine to learn the circuit before you go online, drive offline until you can lap consistantly then switch to online, thats my advice.
 
Online and off line the cars are totally different IMO, it's no good doing a set up off line as it won't be the optimum for that car. Personally I use two PS3's so I can set up quali/race sessions all by myself, if you can't do this find someone who wants to practice with you and do all your set up work online. Once you have the set up worked out, race race race (tweaking the set up as you gain pace).
off line is fine to learn the circuit before you go online, drive offline until you can lap consistantly then switch to online, thats my advice.

Cheers steve, it's a shame that the only consistency between online and offline is the inconsistency!
 

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