Raised game difficulty -> not fast enough to complete tests in practice

[rristola]

(I played the 2020 version, but the same for every game version. Right?)
Title says it all.
I raised my game difficulty from 50 to 85-90. With 50 game was too easy for me.

Now I'm in the first GP, and I can't complete almost any test in practice session.
I'm not sure by how much.

It's possible, that I made my fastest times with Preset 2 (Increased downforce).

Question:
does game make you drive slower (with difficulty change), or
is this caused by choosing a different set of "perks" in the interview in the beginning?
I answered positive answers for power and durability, so
am I now lacking in aerodynamics too much?

Should anyone in any case complete all the tests in the first GP?
Or is it natural to be "too slow" (no development made)?

Thanks.

[Maya-Neko]

Originally posted by rristola:

does game make you drive slower (with difficulty change)

No

Originally posted by rristola:

is this caused by choosing a different set of "perks" in the interview in the beginning?

The game calculates the time you need to achieve determined by the speed of the theoretical expected time you would need to reach for that difficulty.

Some training programs are also harder than others depending on your driving stlye or car setup. If you never learned how to save up fuel, then you might find it harder to get the time in, if you've a very aggressive setup, then you might not be able to save as much tyre or when you've problems with slow corners, then you might have problems to fullfill the test for a part that needs you to be fast in specific corners or sectors you're struggling with.

Originally posted by rristola:

I answered positive answers for power and durability, so
am I now lacking in aerodynamics too much?

Again, depends on your driving style and even more so on the track. If you've an unstable car, then you might have problems at tracks with tight corners, if you have a weak engine, then you might have problems at fast tracks and so on.

The game still tries to calculates the programs depending on the cars stats, but if you're more cautious, if not even frightened than the game expects you to be, then some training progrems will definitely get harder, if not even impossible.

Also keep in mind, that the setups needs to change a littlebit depending on your upgrades. If you only build a setup at season 1, but still use the setup in season 5, then programs might be outright impossible, when you don't use the cars capabilities to its full extend. That said, for weak cars as well you need to make sure that the setup is build properly. If you use setups from the internet, that are intended for equal car races or time trial, then your weak car might not be able to be fast with it.

Originally posted by rristola:

Should anyone in any case complete all the tests in the first GP?
Or is it natural to be "too slow" (no development made)?

Fullfilling the programs in green is definitely enough to still run away from the AI with standard gain settings and also shows, that you can play the track good enough to compete in the race. Purple is more of a nice bonus, but not necessary, unless you want to build your car way faster than the AI. You should easily be a Top 4 team by the end of 1st season, if you manage to get everything purple. Green should get you at least into the top of the middle field and into the top 4 somewhere in season 2.

But since 22 you can also skip a training session and have the AI do stuff for you. That way you can for example use one session to do all you personal training and the other 2 to try to get the stuff you missed (though it's not a 100 % chance).