The On/Off Braking should be a fairly straight forward fix, i say "should be" but of course it might not be that straight forward. In my racing I've not noticed a decrease in speed of the AI when they do this, merely a spilt second dab of the brakes so they may just need some smoothing out. The Slipstreaming issue, as highlighted above, should not be just a "simple" fix so the AI over take on long straights and that's it - they need to follow the draft of the preceding car and the lead AI car needs to try and break that draft just like we/humans would. If S397 purely code in an overtake from a slipstream it would make passing and defending far too easy for us/humans, like the "block path faint" trick - once you know about it then it's a bit too easy (that's another issue entirely that needs some TLC). So already there's two major bits of code for two different Slipstreaming scenarios, then comes everything else associated with that change; AI awareness of upcoming corners, other cars behind Slipstreaming them whilst they're Slipstreaming the car in front, if on a drying track do the AI pull out of a slipstream to overtake? - is it too wet for slicks, is the risk worth taking, the list goes on etc etc etc. That's why AI coding is not easy, and also what may seem like a "quick fix" is in fact the complete opposite. With this you kinda get the idea how long it could take to properly implement, AI is notoriously difficult to code for, but hopefully one day S397 properly sit down to address it - I just hope we get the Full Works and not just a "quick fix" that becomes exploitable when racing against the AI within the first few laps.
I too am extremely disappointed, I really like racing offline sometimes vs AI, but this game is just unbearable in current state with AI basically unable to maintain anything but 100% or 0% throttle/brake, constantly blipping both to maintain speed during cornering. I honestly thought it was something i set wrong since most you tube videos are of older builds that worked correct. Cant believe this is not a bigger issue, but i guess most ppl still playing the title are just in leagues.
I understand the frustration here, I've been off "flying" instead of "racing" the last 1 1/2 or 2 years. Since I started running tracks again, I was going to check strategy of the leader in a practice session, he was doing the on off throttle thing and my jaw dropped. Things have sure changed, for the good?
Nope nothing has changed regarding this or other AI issues, S397 are simply too busy with other areas of the Sim, whether you (we) like it or not that's just the way it is
You are rather forgiving, don't you think? I remember the precise day that update was released. You could see an immediate change in the behavioural structure of the ai (noticeably blipping, etc). In fact, I reported it the very same day as well and was met with comments such as: 'please provide a video and logs to prove it' and 'if there is a problem we will fix it'. That was over 24 months ago....
We have been very patient for 4 years, but we can still be... Nevertheless, that S397 gives us a little visibility on the future of rF2.... Like the almost absent subjects that are the offline experience and AI, the evolution of the physics engine and realism, the fact that S397 builds official FWD and AWD cars, rain physics, performance of the physics engine and VR... In short, subjects that interest many people, people probably not noisy enough........
There has been lots of noise generated about various items but S397 has shown that pressure rarely creates results. Only the commercial aspects like the 24hr Virtual event seem to get fast responses. Shout all you want, till they achieve the results they are focusing on, you won't see much else.
@davehenrie Ok, but I said it, I agree to be patient, even though S397's priorities are not what I would have liked. But apart from the upcoming obtaining of the UI, the competition system, the slight and progressive improvement of the graphics engine on the visual aspect, some new functionalities which will come with the UI, the obtaining of a high quality car content (physics), and obtaining quality tracks at a very low pace..... We do not really know where we are going on essential aspects like the evolution of the physics engine or the improvement of the performance (not just the visual) of the physics engine and the overall improvement in VR support which is the key to immersion/visual in 2020. And many other things. I would just like them to use roadmaps (or some other means of communication outside of Discord, like the interview on Racedepartment.com) to be more transparent about the short and medium term future of rF2. I think the loyal userbase, made up of real fans like me, deserve this information, at least the ones that aren't overly sensitive. By the way Dave, I am not "shouting", I am just mentioning one aspect which has always been lacking in S397. I love rF2, and strongly support S397, just wish they would listen more. In fact I'm just asking for more communication, not all of a sudden to get my priorities straight.
I am not sure who told you it won't be fixed, but that's certainly not true. We have not addressed this yet, that much is true right now, but the bug has not been marked as "won't fix" internally.
I think offline drivers would love to know what's in store for the AI and the racing rules. It was perfectly understood that the priority was the system of competition (ok). But can we expect a number of improvements, say, in the next 6 months or at least the next 12 months ? In my opinion, if there is anything planned by S397 (I think it is), I think it would be good to talk about it. At least I'd appreciate it, I can't speak for all offline drivers.
I suspect we won't get an estimate. Multiplayer graphics and the UI takes precedence and as long as that is being developed there's going to be more stuff to add or polish in those areas. This AI is going to end up dead in the water. There are a lot of things broken with the AI now, even with some of the official content that some people paid extra money for. If the AI is kept on a constant backburner I personally see no point in paying for any future content, as I play exclusively offline. Best thing they could do would be to relase the AI as an open source plugin so someone else can fix it.
Sadly it seems AI is very low on the priority list. Even with paid content like Azure has had broken AIW since the day it was released. Did S397 fix it? No, Mark Pierce fixed it. That should give you an idea for how important S397 think AI are at the moment. It sucks. It's been 2 years since the AI issues started with no end it sight. But rest assured it doesn't appear on the "won't be fixed" list.
I'm not sure it matters exactly where things are on the list when the item at #1 - the UI - is still not done 3 years after some preview shots came out for it. (I think it was 3 years ago. It's hard to remember) The sad thing about AI is that it has gone backwards with issues like this whereas other unfinished or buggy areas of the game are just sitting static, but they're all waiting. Of course no developer would choose to do this so we can only assume development issues and cashflow have necessitated some changes to plans. The positive is that they are at least still developing and have these things still on a to do list, because abandonment isn't good for anyone. Also important to note that while this particular AI issue has seemingly regressed, there has been some developer feedback that it's not as simple as undoing some changes that were made. Not great news, but it does at least mean someone has looked at it and gauged it somewhat.
4 whole years! 4 years ago it was announced in September and in November/December it will be 4 years since it was previewed.
I really the devs note this discussion and it comes higher up in their priority list/ranking. A lot of people only play these games offline and it would be very nice to see improvements to AI and other offline single player stuff such as the ability to create custom championships with consistent AI drivers. Otherwise people will move to other sims that have or will get these features such as AMS2, ACC, Raceroom and iRacing. RF2 cannot only rely on excellent FFB and multiplayer league/esport racing. It would leave a very big playerbase untapped.