Weird pit entries make cars break their front wings: is it fixable?

monzaq3 · Mar 16, 2023

There are some racing circuits that have vvvery uncomfortable pit entries. For example:

Pau (just a small gap in the barrier between the pitlane and start/finish straight lol);
Brands Hatch (an S-turn on the entry that has a kind of styrofoam block inside);
Salzburgring (a similar to Pau, also with some block inside that hinders clean entering).

That's super weird. Like, the track designers are telling to drivers: "Being fast is not enough: let's see how good you are at putting a thread in the eye of a needle".

On these tracks AI cars have to make a really sharp turning in and inevitably break their front wings because they just miss the apex. It's not crucial in quali, but on long races with pitstops AI gonna lose a lot of time repairing their aero. Is there a way to help AI drive it clean? Maybe something in AIW files?

jgf · Mar 19, 2023

At least two of those tracks, Pau and Salzburg, are conversions from GPL; so you have the 3D model from one sim with custom AI lines from another. GTR2 is not by default a great platform for modern open wheel series, some tracks work well others do not, and the farther you get from "GT style" physics the worse the issues become. AIW files can be optimized for a particular series, but then you can end up with the opposite problem - F! cars would work well but GT cars wouldn't; or you try for a middle ground, AI works decently for both but not great for either. (Since parameters in the plr file also control AI performance, this is one reason many people have multiple installs of GTR2.)

Your issues sound like either the pit entrance line is poorly designed or the entry speed is too high, both can be worked on with the AIW editor; or the collision boxes are too large or improperly placed, which requires 3D editing software to fix.

monzaq3 · Mar 20, 2023

jgf said:
At least two of those tracks, Pau and Salzburg, are conversions from GPL; so you have the 3D model from one sim with custom AI lines from another. GTR2 is not by default a great platform for modern open wheel series, some tracks work well others do not, and the farther you get from "GT style" physics the worse the issues become. AIW files can be optimized for a particular series, but then you can end up with the opposite problem - F! cars would work well but GT cars wouldn't; or you try for a middle ground, AI works decently for both but not great for either. (Since parameters in the plr file also control AI performance, this is one reason many people have multiple installs of GTR2.)

Your issues sound like either the pit entrance line is poorly designed or the entry speed is too high, both can be worked on with the AIW editor; or the collision boxes are too large or improperly placed, which requires 3D editing software to fix.

No no, the issues persists when racing in GT series, it has nothing to do with open wheelers. I guess I wasn't clear enough using the term "front wing" — "splitter" is the correct word.

jgf · Mar 20, 2023

Ah, in that case the first thing I would check is ride height. Give the AI your setup and see if they still have issues. If they do, the same causes still apply - pit entrance speed too high or issues with the 3D track model.

Are you running default cars or a mod? Do the AI behave well on the rest of the track? Especially note their behavior under braking, do they have trouble with hairpins.

I've run many GT cars at Pau and Salzburg, in P&G also, and noticed no issues; but most of my races are about an hour in length (at my age concentration is the main issue). Can't comment on Brands, there are many versions of this track around so we may not have the same one.