NASCAR '14 Patch Coming Soon, Details Included

[TCrouch]

Hah! Whatever works, yeah.

I hear you. It's hard to get something to feel fresh anymore, so I can understand where you're coming from.

Great to hear from you, at least

[skyycam]

Quote: Originally Posted by TCrouch

Yes, I have multiple steering wheels, a massive racing rig, and race it for realism. You are who the game is designed for, and there's nothing wrong with that. Cautions off, lower difficulty, etc. I'm trying to run at 90% or higher difficulty, and I can qualify fine. Practice fine. But when they get into a race, they will just steamroll down into the inside groove, no matter where you are. If you come in a hair too hot and drift up half a lane, they force their way under you. If you try to play it cautious and brake a bit earlier to stick it on the apron, they run you over from behind. Lower difficulty with no cautions is exactly what I mean when I say it can be fun. But for me, it's sort of like a cartoon rendition of NASCAR. It sort of resembles it in a Looney Toons, ACME kind of way. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the game the way you want--mess up, get shuffled back with no yellows, then charge back up through the field on a low difficulty. Whatever works. But when you try to race it as realistically as possible, where a single second lost on pit road, or on your in/out lap can prove the difference between first and 15th in a longer race, the crazy AI and erratic behavior just don't cut it. The fact that we're still playing a 12 year old PC game for our sim kicks (NASCAR Racing 2003 Season) says a lot.

amen brother.. amen! I totally agree. I just want to play a Nascar game that is at least semi realistic. At on IL the AI didn't run you over in every corner. On some tracks like Bristol its just a bunch of uncontrolled chaos. It looks more like a demolition derby than a Nascar race. They should have stuck with the basics from last year and just tweaked on it a bit. I guess if I were a 14 yr old kid this game would be awesome, but I'm not. I'm an old 31 yr old dad who still loves play video games., and would like for them to be at least somewhat worth the 50 bux I payed for it.

[TCrouch]

If they manage to lower that AI aggression like they mention, it MIGHT be playable. I found one way I can semi-enjoy this game this past weekend, and it was completely opposite of what I personally look for in a NASCAR sim.

50% difficulty, using a Dual Shock 4 PS4 controller on my PC, no pit stops whatsoever, short races. The DS4's longer throw range on the stick let me actually hold a line very well at Daytona, and using a program I found to "trick" the PC into thinking it's a 360 controller, the game works flawlessly with it.

But at 50%, I qualify way too tell because the AI's lap times in qualifying vs. race speed seem completely out of whack. If I bump it up to 85% or 90% I can struggle to qualify in the top 10, and that's great--but then the race starts and they all absolutely cornhole me out of the groove in turn 1, and I watch as they all drive a full second faster per lap than they did in qualifying. Bizarre game.

But at 50% with a controller, it gave me a fun time...except for the qual issue of being a full second and a half faster. So I started qualifying, and then letting out of throttle completely in between turns 3 and 4. I've found that coasting to the line gave me anywhere from 5th to 20th qual position from track to track, and using 5% short sprints, I was still able to mess around with the AI some. I even managed to hunt my way through the field from 8th to win at Martinsville, and placed 4th at Bristol. Vegas was a disaster (as it has been every year, placing something like 32nd, but that was when I tried to up the AI to 60% while trying to find a sweet spot).

Bottom line, when I ran 50% AI with 5% race and no pit stops, it gave me a semi-believable "green flag fuel load run" time. It's a good sit down and play waste of time, but no way I'd really consider it an accurate depiction of the sport.

[BurghFan]

Yeah, qualifying is overly easy compared to race difficulty. I ran 2 single seasons using AI between 50-65% depending on the track. 1st season I had more poles (15) than top 10s (14). 2nd season I had fewer poles only because I was deliberately sabotaging my laps to slow down and not get the pole, and sometimes that didn't even work.

[Stormyhog]

Maybe they should put a seperate qualifying difficulty percentage slider.

[Aggies7]

Quote: Originally Posted by Stormyhog

Maybe they should put a seperate qualifying difficulty percentage slider.

I like that idea because I always seem to qualify in top 5 and then drop back quick.

[Stormyhog]

Quote: Originally Posted by Aggies7

I like that idea because I always seem to qualify in top 5 and then drop back quick.

Yeah I will qualify for the pole or around it most times and then when I race I lose spots quick.

[oldphart667]

Tcrouch,
What are your settings for your ps4 controller on the pc? I feel it's a little rough to hold a line. Linearity, sensitivity, dead zone, etc.