Inaccurate Stage Times

[BloodReign]

I've been playing DiRT 2 for around 150hrs and find it screwy. First off, getting to Elite class in the Lancia Fulvia is fine, but then switching to the Fiesta R2 makes the game almost impossible to beat, then when I am beating the AI drivers, during a stage and then all of a sudden I'm pushed down the order... Why can't I change difficulty settings besides the damage and random events? Can't learn the game when it's too difficult to even keep up.

[stickydude]

You can adjust the difficulty settings in the freeplay events.

[BloodReign]

Okay sweet, thanks. That won't effect the main rally career though right? The times are still weird though, I only finish in true 1st position if I beat the "stage timer" ai drivers by at least nine seconds, this may mean I'm not the last out on course.

[karik_FIN_134]

Avoid H2 fwd and R2 classes for now, also Gr B 4wd (+Gr B rwd?) can be too hard.

H3 rwd seemed okay on professional (use BMW in this class or maybe Stratos)
R5 seems okay on elite (I'm using Peugeot) and could be fine on masters level too.
Of course you need fully upgraded engine tunings on higher levels and very good track knowledge.

[BloodReign]

I tried my hand at R5 with the Fiesta, can kinda keep up but using a generic gamepad sucks on PC, as the buttons aren't pressure sensitive, so I can't half brake or half throttle. Steering sucks too, as it's 100% left or right no in between. What controllers would you suggest? Besides a gaming wheel.

[karik_FIN_134]

Originally posted by BloodReign:

I tried my hand at R5 with the Fiesta, can kinda keep up but using a generic gamepad sucks on PC, as the buttons aren't pressure sensitive, so I can't half brake or half throttle. Steering sucks too, as it's 100% left or right no in between. What controllers would you suggest? Besides a gaming wheel.

Xbox One or PS4 controller depending on which thumbstick layout u prefer, these have triggers for fully analog throttle/brake controls.

Game has adjustable settings for steering: steering linearity, steering deadzone, steering sensitivity
- have little bit of steering deadzone, like 10-20% (start with 10%)
- then with linearity and sensitivity settings u can adjust steering speed (how fast tires follow steering inputs), u can set sensitivity to 80-100% and then fine tune linearity starting from value 30 and go down until steering speed is good(possibly around 10-20). Usually when steering speed is low it's good for straight line driving but bad for cornering+countersteering and vice versa, u need to find good balance.

[stickydude]

Originally posted by karik_FIN_134:

Originally posted by BloodReign:

I tried my hand at R5 with the Fiesta, can kinda keep up but using a generic gamepad sucks on PC, as the buttons aren't pressure sensitive, so I can't half brake or half throttle. Steering sucks too, as it's 100% left or right no in between. What controllers would you suggest? Besides a gaming wheel.

Xbox One or PS4 controller depending on which thumbstick layout u prefer, these have triggers for fully analog throttle/brake controls.

Definitely Xbox One over PS4. I like PS4 controller in a certain way, but it's nowhere near as comfortable to hold as XO controller. You can get them pretty cheap nowadays too, around $40, often on sale in Microsoft store.

[Eagleizer]

Originally posted by BloodReign:

The times are still weird though, I only finish in true 1st position if I beat the "stage timer" ai drivers by at least nine seconds, this may mean I'm not the last out on course.

The cars are not starting at the same time. When you finish the race in 1st place, and you
did not start last, you are on PROVISIONAL pole. This means that drivers (AI) that started
behind you, may still beat your time, as they are crossing the line after you. The final result
is reflected in the final result list, where you may have been pushed down. The 9 seconds
you have observed is a coincidence, but may be an indicator of how much better you need
to get ;)

Cheers :)

[BloodReign]

Thanks guys, yeah I figured to go with the X Box controller because the triggers are easier to make fine adjustments on the throttle/brake.

The staggered start is what I figured happens.

I'm busy racing the Evo X, and I'm not doing too poorly. I just tend to run out of in game cash for fixing the vehicles. I've maxed out all my engineers almost.

[stickydude]

Originally posted by BloodReign:

Thanks guys, yeah I figured to go with the X Box controller because the triggers are easier to make fine adjustments on the throttle/brake.

The staggered start is what I figured happens.

I'm busy racing the Evo X, and I'm not doing too poorly. I just tend to run out of in game cash for fixing the vehicles. I've maxed out all my engineers almost.

Yay! That's great news. And Evo X is freaking amazing

[BloodReign]

Yeah, though tweaking it's setups can be tricky. Especially in the Poland in the wet, so I've found that loosening the LSD and lowering the pre-load helps. Going to tweak the camber and toe to see if I can get a balance of mid-corner and exit traction.

[N0wh3re]

The different of time is correct. when you start 10th, your delta time will show only other 9 driver's lap time.
so if 15th driver set best lap time later, your position can be pushed down.

+ there are no reason getting higher position. why don't you just play as "a rally driver". if you don't try to get higher position all the time, i bet you can play game more comforted and enjoyable.