Racing with AI ; (new to assetto corsa)

[manu68]

Hi,
It is probably not a totally new thread, but I am about totally new to assetto corsa and would have like to clear some aspect with AI.

What is your favorite / recommanded setting for AI in assetto corsa ?
I mean speed, agressivity.
I am a "normal" racer, not especially quick on the track.
What is then a "normal" AI config

I don't have much experience with assetto corsa, and I am not especially a quick racer on track. But I have some experience of online / offline simracing with various sims, and I have been a little surprised with the AI within assetto corsa

Yesterday I made a first quick attempt at Zandvoort on GT3 against the AI.
First race on the track , first race on the car with stock setup except quick gear box change to 252 km top speed to fit the track , first race ever against AI on assetto corsa (it makes a lot of first !)
I could manage to follow the pack easily and even win the 8 laps race strating last at AI speed of about 88%.
(Race lap pace 1:40 / 1:41 ; stock setup with the porsche 911 GT3 R to give you an idea of my pace ; It was only possible to overtake the AI where it is indeed possible to do so and not just everywhere on the track !)

But at AI speed 98%, it seems to me that the AI are just impossible to follow.
Race laps in about 1:36 / 1:37, which seems to me about impossible to achieve even with a better setup. They just fly away, bye bye !

Do you really can race against AI at 98-100% speed ?
Is it normal to have to set the racing AI speed at about 90% to have a nice racing challenge against the AI ?

Except that, and at my level, I have a very nice racing experience with the AI.
Maybe not as interesting and more predictable as real human drivers, but really cool and really challenging.

It is just for me to know, in case I want to practice for a real online race and have an idea of what the average pace should be

 

[guidofoc]

I think it depends on the car/track combo, on some tracks the AI are super fast, less on others. I am not much into racing against the AI, so other people will give you more interesting comments. I will give you two pieces on information though.
1) You can check the RSR leaderboard to see what kind of lap times the "aliens" are able to do on a certain combo (although quite a few of the aliens do not use it). For example: http://www.radiators-champ.com/RSRL...controller_type=all&community=all&friends=all

2) There is a beautiful app called Content Manager which basically replaces the AC interface and gives many more features. In the case of AI, it gives you more option to customize them. Personally I am running AC only through Content Manager now. You can learn more about the app here: http://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php?threads/content-manager-aka-alternative-launcher.33824/

 

[manu68]

Thanks.
I will look at this content manager.

 

[Kek700]

Very well scripted question.

The points made by guidofoc above are most useful.

I can only comment from my isolated view point.

I am also assuming that this is basically for assessing your online pace.

Ai usually create almost unbeatable traction out of slow corners this in my humble
view is were they make most of their time on you.
If you can manage 1:40's at Zandoort then that is reasonable
for online racing unless you want to win.

There are a few people that can easily match 1:36's ( Zandoort ) of Ai and always beat them.
Assetto Corsa quite often update Ai so this statement is always a varible and
what Ai can achieve is alway set by software to suit a span of driving abilities.

When I sometimes practice for a circuit for an online race my rule of thumb is try and match
Ai ( i think mine is set at 98% ) to be reasonable for an online race, when i start they are "gone"
even on the first lap, you or maybe just " I " need a few laps to even to get near their pace, they then
anoyingly get slower for you, as i said, if i can then match thier "slower" pace that means to me
that i can have an ok online race, if i want to be more competitive then i look for 2 seconds
quicker. But that requires a bit more effort. (But this is so varible circuit to circuit).

That then brings me onto modifying Ai via software which if you wish can be answered by someone
else, this from my "perspective" is not required, as my aspirations stop at about " mid field" placing
Online.

Again this is my view, you need repeatable reasonable race pace, i try not to be so concerned
about out and out race pace ( luckily ) , unfortunately i do not always manage this, but this
Is my aim. And is probablly the reason that i do much better that i should in online racing.
This is why i have a pragmatic view to me and Ai pace when i pratice against them.

 

[Rob Every]

I would be careful racing AI in AC. It is a rather different experience depending on the track and what cars are being used.

If you are finding it tough, then simply change the settings of difficulty or aggression (so long since I tried I cant remember if there are two)

But from memory, you might do several races or challenges with it on a certain setting and find a pleasant challenge and obviously this ramps up as you go up the alien, expert type degrees. You might do 5 or 6 like this.

But now and then you will try one that is almost impossible on easy or novice. You have to change the difficulty each time, it does not remember it from the last one you did.

So if you are going straight in at master and you managed fine the last 5, be very aware it might be next to impossible next time!!

Other AI hints, they will not divebomb you as they do in other games, but they will stick to their line, which means if you have gone up the inside into say turn 1 at Mugello, they will hang on outside of you with the same grip as you have, so you have to be clear of them or they will spin you round on the exit, they will not back off even if you are 9?10 of a car length in front while alongside sometimes.

Finally, there are usually two or three aliens in the field, the rest are blockers, typical AI stuff. So you battle past a bunch of blockers, then three guys are 10 seconds away up front.

 

[manu68]

thanks.
I got answer to many questions.
I don't really care about winning races online, because I know that it needs many hours of training , setup and so on, and that there is always someone quicker as I can be (from many years racing online with Grand prix legends). It is not my way of thinking anymore, because I just don't have time for that.
I also don't have a dedicated cockpit anymore (Wheel Stand pro V2 for my wheel + pedals / camping seat ), so my driving position is not the best (but is pretty comfortable and needs two seconds to disapear under my son's desk for the real life !)

I just purchase assetto corsa to have a little different approach, intended that I can not race anymore on league etc... (family, other hobby , many things to do at home , ...).
I will probably do 95% offline, and not intensively.
If I can attend some online event it would be okay, but with any other ambition as having a good time.
I have NO time to spend hours to find the perfect setup and so on.
I take it really easy, and the AI are part of the fun.
I just want to have fun, and it doesn't really care if I have to set the AI at 90% or 100% to fight in the up middle of the field.
I tried helicorsa and it is a fantastic tool for racing (I wish I had such tool some years ago with GPL)

Of course strating last of the grid all the time against the AI may be frustrating, just because as you said some of the field are just blockers, and then after overtaking them it is very difficult to come back to the lead. I also observed that they are very quick on the curves, and that sometime you need to stay side by side during three curves until you can effectively overtake.
I like that !!



I

 

[Kek700]

You should try rookie and friendly, tatuus, mazda mx5, audi tt cup, these races require
absolute minimum of prep (no setup to talk of).
As the title suggests, friendly, and usually 1 hour total time.

I am assuming you have not tried it yet, I do not remember the name?

 

[guidofoc]

I think you can try multiplayer here on RaceDepartment, the community is very good. Another thing you can alternate RD with is Simracingsystem (SRS), there are a good number of people using that too, and the formula is in between casual racing and a league (in that you get points for races and incidents are penalized).
Another tip: there is an app called "The Setup Market" that you can find here on RD. Basically it allows you to download setups and also share your own ones. Works for me when I need a quick fix for a car before a multiplayer race.

 

[Emery]

The important thing is to match YOUR capability and desires. Do you want to start at the back and just barely win a 20-60 minute race by practicing your overtaking skills? Do you want a challenge where you can just barely hang with the AI? Do you just need traffic while learning a track (e.g. you have many offs) and the AI habits?

Do a short practice race or two with the AI (e.g. 3 laps) and then adjust the settings to match your pace for a longer race. Keep notes for that track/car combo.

Some tracks have notoriously slow & bad AI (classic cars on classic Monza), in which case plan on starting in the back and practicing your overtaking skills

 

[Turk]

Ai usually create almost unbeatable traction out of slow corners this in my humble
view is were they make most of their time on you.

I find the opposite. They have impossible grip braking into corners and are slow mid corner and exit.

There's no right or wrong way to set the AI. Basically you're looking for a challenge so set them up so they're on a par or better than you, with time you'll find settings that work for you until you eventually outgrow the AI. There's nothing impossible about the times they set, I've found GT AI is fairly good though, they seem pretty rounded. But as others have said they do vary from car to car.

Short races of 8-10 laps can make it hard to judge, it's not really a very realistic length for a race. If you take into account it can take a lap or three for your car to get up to temperature it leaves very little time to make any progress and can turn the player into a desperate driver overdriving the car to do an entire races work over the course of 5 laps.

If you did a 30 minute or more race you'd probably be faster than the AI setting by the end of the race. A longer race would also teach you one of the most important lessons you need to learn for online, consistency. You can beat faster drivers simply by not spinning as often as them and some fast drivers spin out a lot. I wouldn't worry about racing online either, there's more variation in skill online and while there might be one or two guys 3 seconds faster than you there will be another one or two guys slower than you.

 

[cpt_gandy]

I test AI on a track i dont know by starting at the back of the grid and see how many places i can gain over a few laps, if im near the front then i increase the AI setting by 5% then test again.

 

[Stereo]

Also don't feel like you have to raise aggressive percent, IME that slider controls how risky the AI will try things - at 0% they'll still pass each other and the player in 'safe' spots but if you bring it up they'll start pushing you out of the way sometimes if you don't give them room.

 

[Marc Proudfoot]

I used to be able to use the AI to race and watch my laptop when I am doing work, but now my lap times using AI are in red and I am never able to qualify and have my results posted with lap times. This wasn't always the case. Does anyone know why and if I made some stupid adjustment?
Thanks