Time Attack - Please Explain

[Deva]

OK - so I just went on Austrian Bow. I messed up once or twice on the first lap, and actually had a minus score of a few hundred before reaching the first checkpoint.

When I ran out of time I had 9300 score. I was pretty pissed because I thought if I hadn't of messed up to begin with I'd of had the gold achievement.

So I tried again. Several times. Every attempt with clean laps. I couldn't get 9300 again let alone 9500, despite being just as fast. I noticed at times I was only get +82 crossing a checkpoint, on one checkpoint I got +1. WTF? I'd have to do a few hundred more laps at that rate.

Can anyone explain what is going on here or if you have to do something special to get good checkpoint scores (going wide into gravel on first lap doesn't make much sense as a tactic..)

Cheers.

[rthki]

Haven't played time attack in a while but starting slow and gradually getting faster laps is better than getting consistant fast laps from the start.

[Haruna]

Originally posted by luis Ayrton Senna:

you must start really slow and each lap get a bit faster ,again and again. beleve me. as slow you go better you get the points.

If it's true the time attack mode is the most pointless mode I have seen in racing game history.

[cerebus23]

Yea its not well thought out, to get the best score you have to start at liek 2 minutes per sector and get slighly better times each lap thereafter to max out the scores.

You start in hotlap mode and you wont even make 6 laps before a small error or just the clock gets you.

[Knyght]

Time attack gives you points per checkpoint. Going off track or causing damage to your car subtracts points. Time can increase of decrease depending on lap, and the previous time you posted for that section. The goal is to encourage players to test their "limits" and post better times. If you do, however, post a great time in one section over 3 or 4 laps, and then slightly mess it up, you will probably miss the checkpoint, as the amount of time added is based on your time in the section you just completed and the section you just entered.

Luis Artyon Senna is correct in saying the slower the better, but it may take you quite a few laps, and to get gold you must usually post fairly decent lap times, as the time is shaved off to encourage faster laps.

[Deva]

Doesn't make a lot of sense! To me it should be about going as quick as possible as consistently as possible.

I did manage it in then end, 1st lap was average, 2nd a bit better and then 3rd and 4th were blistering so that would go along with what has been said. Still my best lap and worst lap can't have been more than a second different.

[MarK]

OK let me say something. Before I've red this topic I couldn't get any gold trophy in Time Attack challenges and even Bronze was a tough job and required a lot of training.

Now when I know all of this above in every Time Attack challenge I get gold in first attempt. Furthermore I drive first few laps in "cruise mode" with one hand on the wheel - literally and last one / two just normaly fast - not in super hot lap style.

As an exmaple: I've achieved Bronze trophy in Ferrari 312T at Imola after an hour of training maybe more. Now when I know all of this I've been cruising around the track for few laps and achieved more than 12k points (before it was 6k). And the funniest part of it is that my fastest lap two days ago when I took this Bronze trophy was 4 seconds faster than best lap when I've achieved gold one today! Joke?

And so we have a mode which rewards going SLOWER in a racing simulator. Can someone explain it to me? I can't see the point here. Also it can be just boring when you have to go slower than you can around the track cause game requires it - a RACING game not to forget.

So guys I think you should rethink the whole idea with time attack challenges and either rebuild it or delete it and don't waste time on when you can work on something better and more important.

For now time attack is pointless.

[Talkie Toaster]

I still can't get higher than bronze with perfect balls to the wall laps, I'll try doing the first few laps slow and see if this works. If that is the case then it's pretty stupid.

[Talkie Toaster]

Originally posted by luis Ayrton Senna:

check out update 0.20 you will see " penalty for going too slow on time attack"

I just tried it and get a higher score for a slower lap....

At an average of 2 minutes per lap I'll end up losing the time trial with only 4500 points, I don't think that's a bad lap time for a standard car setup and a pad with no assists.

[86victor]

Both time attack and drift modes are pointless. The only way you can get gold time attack achievements without any stupid tactics is to be completely new with the car and the track.

[MarK]

@luis Ayrton Senna

No. It is still avaliable. You have to almost stop on the track on the straight to get this penatly (you can go even slower on turn and don't get it). Still whole mode works as before. Go slow enough to get points later for going a little bit faster but still slow.

[mane]

well im prety sure if ur getting constant times of 1:44:00 in gt3 at imola for example ull get to do the 10 lap as when im doing 1:44.3or5 i get +-0.1per checkpont so i hope after some treshold of a time u start to get 00 or +0.1 if thats the point but need someone fast enought to confirm
any way is a good tool to become more consistent so its definetly not about going slow just to win

[Frankly2E]

in AS 0.22.9 it's still bugged - I get much more points when I drive extreme slowly in 1st lap, slowly in 2nd lap, and properly fast in lap 3 and more
That's simply nuts...

[Mukatahren]

Originally posted by にしきの　まき:

If it's true the time attack mode is the most pointless mode I have seen in racing game history.

Yeah it's stupid how the faster you drive the harder it is to achieve the goal, especially considering that driving faster is supposed to be what it is all about.

[mane]

its not buged as kunos sad long ago ur supposed to start with med or hard tires and slowly pick up the pace like u would in a race and then stay at the pace for as long as u can. so dont call it buged as its ment to be that way

[Frankly2E]

Then it looks like a bug, smells like a bug, and feels like a bug - when it IS a bug, no matter what..
I literally have to barely cruise in 1st lap to have a chance

Edit: btw: at least in Australian Xbow I can't even change the tiretype (or gears)

And yes, even when the slow beginning method kinda works, it's totally counterintuitive. TimeAttack should be going for the fastest possible lap every lap/time. Cant the bonus-time on the Checkpoint be based on a fix time, not how slow("fast") I was in the previous lap at this CP??