F1 Games

Your driving style in F1 games

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 26 total)
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  • #131970
    raymondu999
    Participant

    Just wondering. How would you folk describe your driving styles in playing driving/F1 games?

    There is of course the obvious caveat that most games (even those who claim to have good vehicle dynamics) don’t have good vehicle dynamics simulations – though there are of course some exceptions.

    How would you describe your gaming driving style? How do you approach corners, their apex, and your exits? How about chicanes? Where are you very strong, and where are you weakest, and what do you need to improve on? What sorts of lines do you take?

    Would be interesting to see what peoples’ views of their own styles, techniques and lines are.

    #207712

    Aggressive, tyre-eater and inconsistent. I try to take the racing line as best I can, but its very rare that I take the same corner the same way more than once.

    #207713
    Alfie
    Participant

    Same as JPH..with chicanes it’s very easy to go a lot quicker than the AI and jump the kerbs in most games.

    #207714
    Oli Peacock
    Participant

    Not last of the late brakes but use a early turn in and a kerb munching style to be able to pick the throttle up early. Often run 2 wheels of the track and I short shift in low speed corners to reduce wheelspin. I’m good at quick changes of direction and slow-medium corners struggle with the optimal line in fast open corners, proberly cos I take too much kerb haha

    #207715
    Slr
    Participant

    I’m quite erratic. In some races I will hit every apex and make no mistakes, in other races I will be cutting corners, running wide and locking up frequently.

    #207716
    Kingshark
    Participant

    I jump over the curb like crazy in harpins. I’m very aggressive. In harpins I go wide on the entry and hit the apex as late as possible. That allows me to get a better exit and more momentum out of the corner.

    I’m horrible at fast corners. Hence I look like a Karthikeyan on circuits such as Suzuka. For whatever reasons I don’t have any confidence in fast sweeping downforce corners.

    Based on my first three points, I guess you can see that I’m much better on tracks like Singapore and Monaco than I am at Spa and Suzuka.

    I’m probably worse than Massa in heavy rain, although decent in moist conditions. Wet weather driving is something I definitely something I need to improve at. I can’t remember the last wet race where I didn’t spin. Sad, isn’t it? :(

    I eat my tyres faster than a fat man eating burgers, and that doesn’t seem like it’s going to change anytime soon.

    #207717
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I like to think that I’m reasonably good at keeping to the racing line, hitting apices, etc. etc., but I am inherently slow, and quite often am found at the back of the field, doing my best not to be lapped. :P

    #207718
    Kingshark
    Participant

    A “normal” race for me is 50% long and with some basic driving assist gadgets, such as traction control.

    In a normal race at Monaco, Valencia or Singapore I’m always very competive, I’m usually leading or at the very least second. Meanwhile in a normal race at Spa, Silverstone, or Suzuka I find myself lapped. In a normal rain race I average one spin per lap and complete about half as many laps as the leader.

    As a wheel-on-wheel racer I’m actually quite good. I’ve pulled off a fair share of great overtakes on cars ahead of me who were only slightly slower, and I’m quite the defender, once holding up a car 2-5 seconds/lap faster than me for 3 laps. Although this might be down to my aggressive driving style.

    #207719
    raymondu999
    Participant

    I guess most people view themselves as somewhat aggressive, especially on turning and on the throttle. Myself, I drive the car from the exits and entries.

    I have a great feeling for the front on corner entries, and I like to trail my braking all the way up to the apex. Having said that though, I dislike powering out with tight steering. So I always start my braking phase ever so slightly too early, and I end my braking slightly early correspondingly, and during that brief period of time, I roll to the corner on no power or brakes, and tighten my steering to take a tight apex, before then unwinding the steering and powering out on a straighter run. For long slow corners such as the last two turns in Hungary though, some patience is clearly necessary, and I do my best to hug the apex at constant speed.

    In the rain, where braking and entry are laptime kings, this makes me very very good. Also, given that I’m excellent on braking – I outbrake others like a demon. Get me in your slipstream. And you’re a dead man. I’ve won races in a Williams on legend in F1 2011 just by virtue of outstarting the guy and defending through braking (without even covering the inside – even if they DRS past me, I pick up their slipstream and outbrake them back) – I did that outbraking past DRS routine for 40-odd laps on Alonso in Spain. It was a load of immense pressure, I tell you. But it makes victory that much sweeter

    Of course that’s what I do in slow and medium speed corners, but in quicker ones I think most people pretty much everyone takes similar smooth lines. Having said that – while my style/techniques through sweepers are all sound, I have a rubbish feel, like @Kingshark, though thankfully I’m generally good enough through the slow bits to cover my hiney in the quick ones

    As you notice I don’t like balancing the car speed against tyre scrub for long times at the apex of slow corners – i.e. maintaining a constant apex speed (I’m basically slowing down or gaining speed all through slow corners/hairpins) and I treat chicanes similarly. For a few chicanes on the F1 calendar it’s probably best to equalise the speed you take on both apexes – but I don’t. I slow down the first apex a bit, to tighten the line, before then going faster through the second half.

    My style uses the front quite a bit as they suffer under compound loadings a lot – and I usually end up with equal wearing fronts and rears, especially in circuits with lots of medium speed corners where I trail the braking. While this is generally a good thing, it’s not always. Most evident is in Canada, as I seem to get the fronts and rears especially matched in wear and temps. I have supreme balance on worn and new tyres, primes and options, but I can never tell when my tyres are gone, unless I open up the mini screen thingamajig in F1 2011. In circuits with lots of slow corners with powering out under steering (eg Monaco, Singapore) I can tend to have some wheelspin as my right foot is heavier than it should be, which tends to kill the rears quick. In circuits with heavy braking and not-so-slow corners, such as Sepang and China (trail braking mid-corners, and into hairpins, such as China last, 8th and first corners, Sepang penultimate, last, 7th and first corners) I fry the fronts till kingdom come.

    My style is fantastic through slow corners – in my first race in Monaco with Williams (F1 2011) I pulled away at 6 tenths a lap every lap after starting on pole

    #207720
    Kingshark
    Participant

    My best performance was leading from pole to finish at Monaco, 100% race distance thus 78 laps. I wasn’t challenged by anyone, winning hands down. :)

    My worse drive was definitely one wet-weather race at Spa-francorchamps with 50% race distance (22 laps). I completed about 16 laps, lapped 6 times by the leaders. I averaged 2 spins per lap, and my average lap times were 25 seconds slower than the leaders.

    However, in the few sectors and one lap I didn’t make a mistake I was actually faster than anyone else. Suggesting I do have pace in the rain, I’m just reckless.

    Yeah, both those drives do mirror my driving style I described.

    #207721
    James Brickles
    Participant

    Speaking from an RFactor 2007 F1 mod point of view.

    How would you describe your gaming driving style? – Very aggressive behind the wheel, like I want the car to do what I want it to do, not what IT wants to do. I don’t mind it if the back end steps out under braking but I do NOT like understeer!
    How do you approach corners, their apex, and your exits? – Depends on what sort of corner I’m coming up to. In a slow corner, I may try and coax the back end into the corner. Coming out of the corner, I like a little oversteer under acceleration, when the slow corner is long, it often helps me. The apex is probably the least important thing for me.
    How about chicanes? – Alright I think. I did a race at Imola and aside from the Variante Alta, my performance at the chicanes was quite respectable. Cut the last chicane a few times though.
    Where are you very strong, and where are you weakest, and what do you need to improve on? – I’m quite proud about my aggressive style but aggression can sometimes equal not-very-consistent. Generally, it’s ok but there’s are a few rough edges. Backmarkers also seem to be a problem for me.
    What sorts of lines do you take? – Hopefully the fastest one’s :P

    #207722
    mnmracer
    Participant

    The first driving aid I always turn off, since the days of Grand Prix 2, is brake assist. Need I say any more? I like to brake very hard and very late, which is probably why I am very good at defending. Like Vettel in Spain 2011 and Bahrain this year, I know exactly how hard to defend to keep someone behind, not losing any more tiime than necessary.

    I also love riding the kerbs, and take as much track width as available.
    I’m very good adapting to new circumstances, and can usually take a corner almost optimally even if in a completely new situation (set-up, car, dry/wet). I seem to be very good in judging situations from afar.

    I’d consider myself a decently good driver, but I know I’m not extremely good. It probably also has to do with my lack of patience to find the best set-up, and if a race is too long, I tend to lose focus.

    #207723
    Joey-Poey
    Participant

    I can’t really say on F1 games since it’s been a couple years since I touched GPL and I don’t really have any others (besides Pole Position 64 and that’s not worth trying to analyze). However, I know in iRacing it varies by car since I usually adapt my style to what I’m driving and how it’s set up. In the MX5 I’m much more aggressive, though I prefer to set up the car for the exit to be able to get on the gas sooner. Especially with how those things can understeer. I’m similar with the Skip Barber F2000, in that I tend to focus on how the car is prepped for the exit. Except with the lift-oversteer that the car has in spades, I’m typically a bit tail-happy mid-corner so I can rotate the car into position. However, I’ve often wondered what others might say my driving style is since I have a hard time looking at myself from an outside perspective. I feel like it’s difficult to give an opinion on myself. Mostly what I’ve heard is that I’m clean and consistent (though I don’t think I’m as consistent as I’d like to be) even though I’m not lightening quick. Hence why I idolize Button so much X). I just wish I could get FRAPS or some similar program to work so that I could post them on Youtube and get some thoughts.

    #207724
    Lin1876
    Participant

    I’m usually good on the brakes, but other than that I’m inconsistent. I’m usually pretty good with racing lines, especially in slow corners, and I prefer an all-round stable car, though slight oversteer is better than understeer for me.

    I also scare easily, especially online, which has led to some embarrassing moments in races where damage is enabled…

    #207725
    ShaneB457
    Participant

    I like to think that my driving style is very smooth when I play F1 2011, like Jenson Button. I admire how smooth he is with the wheel and have tried a lot to copy this.

    In qualifying though I am much more agressive as it simply is faster I think. In a race however, I’m quite good at looking after the tyres and when I turn for a corner, I rarely have to correct my line. I’m also very, very consistent with lap times. I think I did 8-9 laps in a row in Abu Dhabi within a half a second of each other.

    I have very good concentration when I’m racing and rarely make a mistake. However I do get caught up in first corner incidents sometimes. I have learned to be more patient and when I try to overtake someone, I try to do it as cleanly as possible without making contact. It doesnt always work out that way though :)

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