Is Assetto Corsa's Penalty System too harsh?

[Terry Rock]

I love AC but the draconian penalty system is just 'killing' it for me.
I'm mostly hot-lapping with it now due to that system...
Recently on starting what was supposed to be a great race....(twenty four guys at Spain running the L125)).
I got in late and did not have a chance to qualify so I started twenty-third...not a problem since I like starting at the back and trying to work my way through the field.
I got a great start...up to tenth by turn one, then had to pull left and slow for a first corner pile-up at which point I got 'clobbered' from behind and pushed off track.
Penalty....I must now slow to almost a stop before the lap is over.
I watch as cars 'fly' by and disappear.
After what seems like an eternity, I can again race.
It's futile.
I pull over...hit escape and exit the game because I know based on the time I sat almost stationary, there is absolutely no way to catch up.
It's a race killer and needs addressing..

 

[Radu Oros]

I was coasting down the hill and when I did my blip on downshift the freaking thing reset, wtf lol.

Can't touch the throttle until the penalty message disappears, in case the penalty is for time. If just to slow down to a certain speed, then is enough to reach that mark.
But if you opt for coasting, then really have to let the timer disappear until you can touch the gas again.

 

[William Levesque]

Can't touch the throttle until the penalty message disappears, in case the penalty is for time. If just to slow down to a certain speed, then is enough to reach that mark.
But if you opt for coasting, then really have to let the timer disappear until you can touch the gas again.

I know, but... Downshifting doesn't make you go forward, that's my point.

In any case, this system is pretty hazardous in a pack. The iR one is far from perfect (especially in certain places where the timer is way too harsh), but at least you can still drive. As long as you go slower. Here basically as soon as you drive your car to not get run over you have to start over.

 

[Ben Lee]

The penalty system isn't great at all, its just too severe. I had a notification to slow down for 28 seconds for being pushed off through a chicane. By the time I took that penalty, I was over half a minute behind the pack.

The OTHER kind of penalty is when you get hit by another car and you take a massive straightline speed penalty. I lost about 10kph just from a knock at the rear of the car.

 

[P*Funk]

I tried bump drafting someone in AC this week. That was a mistake. AC definitely won't be a NASCAR simulator anytime soon.

 

[Alex Townsend]

Was it ever meant to be a Nascar simulator?

 

[P*Funk]

Was it ever meant to be a Nascar simulator?

No, but the point is meant as an indication of how poorly AC is prepared to represent the classic rubbin' is racin'. It might be even more salient if AC were already accommodating more low downforce trainer racers like the SRF that heavily rely on the draft and strategic use of bump drafting.

 

[Alex Townsend]

But bump drafting isn't something that you do in circuit racing is it?
I know touring cars can get a little rubby but a lot of the time it ends up with damage and cars going off.
I've raced incredibly closely online in AC but never bump draft anyone. I thought that was reserved for cars that only go straight and turn left 4 times a race...

 

[P*Funk]

But bump drafting isn't something that you do in circuit racing is it?

Sure it is.

I thought that was reserved for cars that only go straight and turn left 4 times a race...

 

[Alex Townsend]

Looks like a good race. I'll need to have a watch when I get home. Speech bubbles are classic.

 

[Epistolarius]

Also guys you can also serve penalty with either releasing throttle : so when on a big straight, release throttle before braking point. Take advantage of it and reduce time without throttle significantly.

Exactly. The penalty is for releasing the throttle x amount of seconds. You don't need to brake to a standstill.

I personally don't think the time penalty itself is wrong or too harsh, for some deliberate cases a time penalty might not be harsh enough. The issue to me is more how penalties, cutting are determined in races. IMHO it'd make sense to tier areas (like one additional surface state for the tracks instead of just IS_VALID_TRACK=1 or 0) and place those different surfaces logically outside the white lines for how much they'd allow you to gain time, so running wide/braking late out of a turn for example shouldn't immediately incur an additional time penalty, cutting a corner should. Letting the car run wide on a run-off to gain time repeatedly should result in warnings and ultimately a penalty (like a drive-through), just similar to how it's in real life. Additionally the system would benefit from being able to determine through the collision detection, forces applied if a player slid off the track because of contact from someone else. Getting bumped off track only to get a penalty is bitter. In addition a warning/penalty system for repeated contact would be worth a look. Much potential with penalties I think - if they're feasible to implement, that is.

 

[Stereo]

They already do have specific zones marked, it just doesn't distinguish "skipped the chicane at full speed" from "skipped the chicane with 0% throttle", if you drive over it at anything above the penalty speed (30-50km/h usually) you get the full penalty. If you're going offtrack in a place where it's not possible to gain a time advantage there's no penalty.