"Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results" this is the definition of madness, a quote attributed to Albert Einstein. Yet it perfectly describes the state of raceroom's penalty system regarding cutting corners. Sometimes you can go 4 wheels on the kerb and nothing happens. Sometimes you put two wheels on it and it gives you a penalty. There is simply no logic - each and every time you start learning a track you have to do trial and error testing where it allows you to go and where it doesn't. Why not just do a simple "if four wheels are outside the white lines you get a penalty"? Currently I spend more time worrying if I get a random penalty than actually driving fast. On another note: those "slow down for x seconds" penalties you get for the madness described above: I get a 0,3s penalty. I slow down on the straight, definitely losing more than those 0,3s. And what? Nothing, the counter didn't go down, I have to slow down even more, losing even 3-4 seconds to serve a 0,3s penalty. It's nearly as insane as the problem with where you actually get those penalties.
I also find it annoying that track limits are inherently inconsistent, not only by mistake, but also by design. Yes, we have the rule that a track is: everything inside white lines, plus the lines themselves, plus curbs, - but it also mentions there can be exceptions for some corners. Most if not all tracks I've driven have at least one place that doesn't fit that rule (and I'm not the one who tries to use every available inch). So the only real way to learn track limits is by trial and error, and if you crossed the limit, your next shot is only after you complete the lap. Yes, this is how it is in all racing games and it's the same for all players, but that doesn't mean it's all fine. My opinion is: if you're penalizing people for exceeding track limits, that means track limits are part of the rules of racing, but the rules of racing should be openly stated for everyone, they shouldn't be left for each player to discover on their own. It should work like that: it compares your current lap time with your fastest valid lap time; if there's none, it compares it with some predefined lap time (also the first lap of the race is excluded, if I'm not mistaken). So for example, if your only valid lap was 2 seconds slower that usual for whatever reason (a driving mistake, avoiding a collision, etc.), a penalty will require you to slow down even further than that. Another consequence of that, is that later in a race a small penalty often goes away by itself because you're naturally slower due to worn tyres.
To be honest, I don't see the problem. There is no general rule for track limits in real life, they are constantly being negotiated between the drivers and the race directions. If anything, you should point out a certain corner where the track limits in the game and in real life are different from each other. You should lift off completely if you want to reduce the penalty time.
There is no one real life to compare to tho, every series handles things differently (and even the same series can do things differently year to year or even change things over the course of a single weekend). Track limits in real life are a complete mess and while of course technically a simulation will have to simulate that mess as well i think its better to have consistent rules in the game (which at least according to a loading screen from ages ago seems to be what the devs intention is/once was)
Totally agree, should be something consistent like two wheels inside track lines at all times, four wheels over and your pinged! Simple!
At least the game is consistent in its inconsistency in that the cuts apply to all players equally, unlike some series which seem to favour some drivers. I see this as one of the exploits that practise and experience help fine tune, same as with car setup. Regarding the time you need to give back for cuts, it is also an art to perfect when and where to give back the time, which is exactly what happens in F1 - see Saudi race last year as a case in point.
Well, that's true, but if you really want to push for a better lap time on a leaderboard, it takes like 15 minutes to work out the track limits for any given track, which is pretty negligible in the grand scheme.
10 shots to find out exactly how much you can and cannot cut at each entry, apex and exit sounds a bit too optimistic to me. But I'll try to test it.
Do these track limits apply to the AI as well?...I'm pretty sure I've followed the AI only to be pinged?
Ai do not get penalties for track cuts I suggest as i do with everyone , when racing against ai , set flag rules to visable only and turn penalties off Andi
What is the difference between flag rules to visible only or complete if the penalties are turned off?
You can only turn off the penalties for cutting the track. You could still get a penalty for overtaking under yellow flags with complete flag rules.