Normal -> Hard Difficulty

[Nugget699]

I think the Normal and Hard difficulties need a bit of tweaking. I'm starting a career with Force India, and in Normal difficulty blitz the field and finish 1st every race. Yet when I bump the difficulty up to Hard it becomes nigh on impossible not finish any higher than 19th.

Hard just seems slightly too difficult.

[sam111]

I think the hard setting is perfect. rem the lower teams should not be getting much above 10th ish anyway. Ive played a season with brawn and get around 10th -19th depending on the cirucit. Norm mode has been made more easier but what i think is needed is a setting between norm and hard. Its probably too much to base it on 3 lvl settings. But ultimatly si u need to leave hard as it is. its realistic and perfect for the lvl.

[ravezz]

I think the hard setting is perfect. rem the lower teams should not be getting much above 10th ish anyway. Ive played a season with brawn and get around 10th -19th depending on the cirucit. Norm mode has been made more easier but what i think is needed is a setting between norm and hard. Its probably too much to base it on 3 lvl settings. But ultimatly si u need to leave hard as it is. its realistic and perfect for the lvl.

That's exactly what I'm thinking about this. Hard is.. well, really hard :lol: Currently I'm playing a career with Williams on Hard and after 5 races I'm fourth with 18 Points. That's quite much, but only because I won at Melbourne again. That's the only problem: The first Grand Prix in Australia is simply to easy, even on Hard. Never mind which car I take, the first place is mine. In the other races, I really had to work hard and fight for points. In Malaysia I did rather bad and was 20th, even overtaken by my teammate Rosberg. :redface: But in the next races I was 5th two times (really had to slow down the mass of cars behind me :D ).

[sam111]

Seems like your having a good season, and a very exciting one to boot. Nice work pushing 18 points out the williiams on hard, thats some going with such a low team. I amazingly just took a victiry in valencia with brawn and followed it up with a win in italy (love italy, no slowing down). game is balanced perfectly on hard.

sam

[Alex Reeves]

I disagree. Hard *should* be hard. Looking at the lap times that people are pulling out already and the times that the AI is set to, if anything I think that Hard is still a little too easy. Complaining that you can't beat the game in the first week is a tad ridiculous - I like the idea that the AI is giving me a bit of a spanking in the early days, until I really get to know the game and the tracks. Assuming of course that this is not because the AI is cheating by giving itself an extra 20% top speed or anything stupid like that - the AI should still be limited by the same mechanics as the other cars.

[ravezz]

Seems like your having a good season, and a very exciting one to boot. Nice work pushing 18 points out the williiams on hard, thats some going with such a low team. I amazingly just took a victiry in valencia with brawn and followed it up with a win in italy (love italy, no slowing down). game is balanced perfectly on hard.

sam

Yes, I don't really know how I managed that. :D
By the way, I didn't change the Williams stats, so they are really still bad (Rosberg is never better than 15th or something).

Oh, two victories with Brawn (original database I guess?) is really good too! Good luck for the championship ;)

[sam111]

championship is miles out of sight. (obv with latest update), Too many 18-20th placed finishes. As the previous poster commented. us low teams get a few spankings witch i agree is good. I just urge si not too make it easier, i personaly think hard is balanced perfectly. if anything id prefer it to get a tad harder not easier

[Sida79]

Loving the hard setting so far, normal seems too easy, as mentioned.

[Nando]

Si, maybe it is time to change the difficulty to "Five Stars" instead of a Easy/Normal/Hard, as it would add two new difficulties to make it more/less challenging.

[topazg]

Yes I agree. Frankly, I see Easy as 1*, Normal as 2**, Hard as 5*****

I'd be more than happy with two levels inbetween them. I think Hard is about spot on for the top level, and I'd personally choose to play the game on 4* in the scale above if the two intermediary levels can be put in. As it is, I'm finding hard a bit too hard for a relaxed game, and normal way way too easy!

That said, it's great fun anyway :)

EDIT: I also agree with an earlier poster on Melbourne. I have no trouble winning Australia on Hard with Williams - that's kind of wrong I think!

[siread]

There's still only 3 levels of difficulty but I've tweaked the medium one and made the Com drivers better in Australia in version 1.04. Let me know what you think.

[markohladnik]

I admit I'm still more of a Sunday driver, waiting for the license key, so my experience level might not be right to pass judgement - but I like the normal level now. Knowing the tracks and concentrating not to make any big mistakes allows me finishing on the podium with a second-worst class team like Torro Rosso. The races are exciting with the right amount of overtaking ... I suspect, though, that once you get versed in the game, winning on normal could be too easy, eventhough the com cars would never be far behind.

[Sida79]

I'd say looking at the lap times of an 'average' player would be beneficial. IMHO for longivity and enjoyment even the normal skill level should be such that an imaginary 'average' player would be able to produce only the results that match the performance of a chosen car.

[topazg]

There's still only 3 levels of difficulty but I've tweaked the medium one and made the Com drivers better in Australia in version 1.04. Let me know what you think.

I made sure I didn't post until I'd tried Australia on normal and hard with williams in 1.04 :)

Normal - Qualify Pole, win by half a lap over 10 laps.
Hard - Qualify top 4, normally win though close race.


I'd say looking at the lap times of an 'average' player would be beneficial. IMHO for longivity and enjoyment even the normal skill level should be such that an imaginary 'average' player would be able to produce only the results that match the performance of a chosen car.

I agree completely with this. I haven't even tried on Easy, because Normal was at a level that was already uncomfortably easy. I've never tried racing in a different car to the Williams yet. With a 5 level system I would see it as follows:

* = starter for new players that aren't very familiar with racing arcade games. After half a season or so this should be easy to win most races for most people.
** = Starting players should struggle to do better than would be expected for the car. After half a season most should be able to perform above the cars expected level, but winning races with a bottom end car should be achievable only by excellent drivers.
*** = Starting or novice players should find this level a bit too difficult, and will underperform slightly. Should be easy for experienced players to outperform their cars expectations however, and should be a comfortable casual level to play at.
**** = Starting or novice players should find this level dishearteningly difficult (and should drop a level or two :P), but people that have got the hang of the game should enjoy the challenge. It should be possible for most people to succeed at a slightly higher level than car expectations, and the level will be too easy for skilled veterans of the game, but a solid challenge for most.
***** = A truly difficult challenge. The experts of the game will find that they can _still_ succeed beyond the expectations of their car, but for most it will be hard just to not underperform in any race. Beginners will find themselves completely out of their depth.

[ravezz]

Yes I agree. Frankly, I see Easy as 1*, Normal as 2**, Hard as 5*****

Have to disagree here. For me, Hard is only 4**** or even 3***.

A solution could be this:


I agree completely with this. I haven't even tried on Easy, because Normal was at a level that was already uncomfortably easy. I've never tried racing in a different car to the Williams yet. With a 5 level system I would see it as follows:

* = starter for new players that aren't very familiar with racing arcade games. After half a season or so this should be easy to win most races for most people.
** = Starting players should struggle to do better than would be expected for the car. After half a season most should be able to perform above the cars expected level, but winning races with a bottom end car should be achievable only by excellent drivers.
*** = Starting or novice players should find this level a bit too difficult, and will underperform slightly. Should be easy for experienced players to outperform their cars expectations however, and should be a comfortable casual level to play at.
**** = Starting or novice players should find this level dishearteningly difficult (and should drop a level or two :P), but people that have got the hang of the game should enjoy the challenge. It should be possible for most people to succeed at a slightly higher level than car expectations, and the level will be too easy for skilled veterans of the game, but a solid challenge for most.
***** = A truly difficult challenge. The experts of the game will find that they can _still_ succeed beyond the expectations of their car, but for most it will be hard just to not underperform in any race. Beginners will find themselves completely out of their depth.

Signed, 100% my opinion.
The expected performance of a car should be the clue!
But for example, just now I played a quick race with Ferrari in Hungary on Hard and aborted the race after 10 of 20 rounds because I led by 1 round already. So even with a good or very good car you shouldn't be able to win every race with such a big winning margin.


EDIT: OMG, recognised that I quoted topazg two times. :D

[sam111]

Si i really must add my weight to a 5 lvl difficulty option. The game is truly awesome and the enjoyment is terrific, but ie i started out as brawn on HARD and did well enough to be offered a seat in a renault the next year and won every race quiet comftably. 5 stars will cater for new and novice players and also cater for the people who want a challenge with 4 stars and the ultimate 5 stars what im sure will keep us occupied for a long time till u expand the game in future versions.

keep up the great work si. I know u plan to address the nss4 world cup bug but im sure i speak for the majority when i say implementing a 5 lvl system will keep 99% occupied for months and months.

cheers si

[Rory426]

Hmm I guess I must be rubbish at this game. I was finding Easy ok as I learnt but I won the championship so moved to Normal. This seems just right for me, and I'm 5th in the championship with Force India. I have tried hard, and it seems almost impossible for me. I would certainly encourage a 5 star system, if only because people like me would be able to pick one of the lower ones lol :doh:

Also, my lap times are sometimes a good 2 seconds off of the top 100 leaderboards, so I can't offer any advice for making the game harder, as I clearly haven't mastered it yet :lol:

[topazg]

Hmm I guess I must be rubbish at this game. I was finding Easy ok as I learnt but I won the championship so moved to Normal. This seems just right for me, and I'm 5th in the championship with Force India. I have tried hard, and it seems almost impossible for me. I would certainly encourage a 5 star system, if only because people like me would be able to pick one of the lower ones lol :doh:

Also, my lap times are sometimes a good 2 seconds off of the top 100 leaderboards, so I can't offer any advice for making the game harder, as I clearly haven't mastered it yet :lol:

I don't know, that seems to back up my point quite well. Normal is obviously slightly too easy if you can hold 5th in the championship with Force India in my opinion, who certainly aren't one of the top 3 constructors :)

[Rory426]

I don't know, that seems to back up my point quite well. Normal is obviously slightly to easy if you can hold 5th in the championship with Force India in my opinion, who certainly aren't one of the top 3 constructors :)

I've been 14th in the last three races. I'm mostly in 5th due to a win in Australia (this track seems too easy) and a few points here and there.

[topazg]

Ah, ok, yeah, I can relate to that. That's my experience on hard, a win in Australia and then watch myself drift down the rankings :P

[Shepherd]

2bh i just played in the new patch with Williams in hard mode and it was hard, mainly due to me getting vertually full damage on the first corners lol then having to pit (major hard to get back) but very nicely done Si.

[fredoxyaction]

yeah hard is hard, with a bad team. its still too easy with a good team. i think a 5 star difficulty would be better.
also, i think having some sort of driver skills would help.
at the moment, once you, the player becomes good at the game, then theres nothing really more to it. with skills that you have to build on (perhaps during practice sessions) would slow down your development, so that you haven't mastered it by the first season, gone to a good team and then the remaining 9 seasons are just easy championship wins.

[satchel]

I find the computer's abilities at "hard" to be just right.

To me, the thing which disrupts play balance is the uneven distribution of team abilities, there's too much disparity. I'm in the process of modding all the different teams' characteristics to be between the range of 2.5-4.5 instead of the 2.0-5.0 range.