Difficulty in keeping up with AI in R&D

[AoiAsahina 26]

I do believe several posts have been made about this, but not specifically or directly. Although I do love the fact the AI are utilising R&D a lot faster than in previous games, I feel the rate of change is too much for the AI compared to the player.

For example, I have seen many images of the R&D progress where Williams or Alfa Romeo have just shot up like a rocket in about 6 or 7 weekends. Obviously, given you can probably earn about 1200 resource points a weekend, it becomes very difficult with failures in development, as well as this monumental increase to keep up, and I fear I'm going to fall miles behind in terms of pace and sit alone at the back of the grid with my teammate about 2 seconds off the pace.

It would be great if others could share their thoughts and experiences on this, and perhaps get this pushed forward a bit.

[Zachrulez 56]

The AI flat out have to be utilizing more points than the player in career modes. That's really the only way the AI R&D rates make sense.

[1henryw 113]

Yeah Ive fallen to the bottom with two teams now in career despite acing all the practice sessions.

[SkySkater 1]

This needs to be adressed quickly...otherwise career mode is doomed.

Unfortunately the designated patches in the future don't seem to adress the problem.

Codemaster please fix this :(

@Faya

[TheEmpireWasRight 872]

27 minutes ago, 1henryw said:

Yeah Ive fallen to the bottom with two teams now in career despite acing all the practice sessions.

THIS.

 

Same here, the speed of how the development of r&d progression is currently structured into the game is too fast overall.

 

In real life cars usually don't magically become 1 - 2 seconds faster in 12 - 14 race weekends.

 

Either the prices for each part needs to be raised, or the points we gain in each race weekend needs to be cut to a quarter and or both.

 

Also, it'd be great to get massive team standing bonus points at the end of a season.

 

Overall, i believe, the whole r&d system gets unbalanced due to driver transfers, as r&d points seem to get taken to the new team as well.

 

I really don't understand how CM could not foresee this issue, did they not have intern testers do multiple seasons in career mode?

 

Or is this a design choice to keep the casuals with a small attention span hooked to career mode?

 

If that is the case, then why did CM not offer options for transfers and r&d progression so that everyone could be happy?

 

For example:

 

Driver Transfers/

1. mid season tranfers + end season transfers

2. end season transfers

3. no transfers 

 

R&D progression/

1. fast r&d (what we have currently)

2. medium r&d (35% less r&d to what we have currently)

3. realistic r&d (70% less r&d to what we have currently)

 

Of course these hypothetical options would probably still not fix the core issue of this mess, which imo lays in a more complex vortex of multiple issues correlated to each other, but at least it would make the game more bearable to the user.

 

[Worntoathread 865]

It's getting a bit ridiculous. Alfa Romeo ended season one as the 7th fastest team and there were no rule changes other than durability. They have developed from a lower backmarker to extreme dominance within 8-10 races. They have a 100 point lead in the car performance chart now which is about the difference between a base Mercedes and a Renault.

I am at Mercedes and make sure to get at least 2 or 3 practice programs purple every time. I finished nearly every race on the podium and invested everything in performance. The last upgrades I developed for Hungary is an ultimate, together with another minor one, Yet Alfa has further extended their performance advantage..

At this rate they'll be 1.5 - 2 seconds a lap faster by the end of the season.

[Worntoathread 865]

14 minutes ago, Worntoathread said:

It's getting a bit ridiculous. Alfa Romeo ended season one as the 7th fastest team and there were no rule changes other than durability. They have developed from a lower backmarker to extreme dominance within 8-10 races.

Fun fact: if Williams had developed at the same rate in season 1, they would have been in front of Mercedes by Silverstone.

[Akkan74 264]

Sad, that we doesn't got any reply from Codemasters. Something is really broken for carreer this year. I don't know if it is a minor problem and they can fix it or not, but up to now i haven't started my carreer yet, because stupid mid season transfers and ridiculous R&D.

[SASColfer 56]

I'm hopeful but I have little faith this will be fixed. I'm not sure they've even acknowledged the issue. 

[Faya 1,190]

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone for posting. We are investigating this further.  

[1henryw 113]

Thanks Faya 🙂 Please do keep us updated 🙂

[AoiAsahina 26]

For reference:

 

I am with Williams but you can see the huge strides Alfa Romeo has made within 5 races of season 2.

[SIMRACER123 355]

I havent experienced this with McLaren in S1

Moved up to 4th in development and I'm not bothering to do all the practice sessions either.

Admittedly im not moving forward at huge rates for the above reasons but I'm definately not falling away.

[Worntoathread 865]

8 minutes ago, SIMRACER123 said:

I havent experienced this with McLaren in S1

Moved up to 4th in development and I'm not bothering to do all the practice sessions either.

Admittedly im not moving forward at huge rates for the above reasons but I'm definately not falling away.

Yeah season one was fine for me as well. It appears to become a problem from season 2 onwards.

[TJH 17]

6 hours ago, AoiAsahina said:

For reference:

 

I am with Williams but you can see the huge strides Alfa Romeo has made within 5 races of season 2.

Do you know if there were any driver transfer at Alfa and Renault?

[poulka22 1]

I created a thread on this exact issue because here is what I found.  I have justed finished Japan season 3.  Before Japan I was in Ferrari we about third from the bottom in performance.  I had done everything in chassis r and d.  The power train I had only one item left.  Aero I would say was about 80 percent completed.  I could hardly maintain 17th in Russia a track I normally get a podium.  Had fresh components same difficulty and I was struggling.  Go to Japan I say okay contract is up and I go to Renault.  Get there all upgrades are applied.  I qualify I believe 10th.  In the race all I could manage was 7th.  On the performance chart it said I was first.

To me something is not adding up because if I have all r and d and top performance I should at least by contending for fourth or podium.  Now my difficulty was perfect before, I was not dominating but I was at least in contention unless a component was failing.  This leads me to think all teams have maxed out their r and d except Ferrari because that is where I had been the last season.  Now I love the game, but the way this r and d is working has made me put it down since that race because everything now seems predetermined.

[SASColfer 56]

7 hours ago, poulka22 said:

I created a thread on this exact issue because here is what I found.  I have justed finished Japan season 3.  Before Japan I was in Ferrari we about third from the bottom in performance.  I had done everything in chassis r and d.  The power train I had only one item left.  Aero I would say was about 80 percent completed.  I could hardly maintain 17th in Russia a track I normally get a podium.  Had fresh components same difficulty and I was struggling.  Go to Japan I say okay contract is up and I go to Renault.  Get there all upgrades are applied.  I qualify I believe 10th.  In the race all I could manage was 7th.  On the performance chart it said I was first.

To me something is not adding up because if I have all r and d and top performance I should at least by contending for fourth or podium.  Now my difficulty was perfect before, I was not dominating but I was at least in contention unless a component was failing.  This leads me to think all teams have maxed out their r and d except Ferrari because that is where I had been the last season.  Now I love the game, but the way this r and d is working has made me put it down since that race because everything now seems predetermined.

I've had exactly this but moving to McLaren. We were third best. The best me and my teammate could do was 17th and 18th.

[AoiAsahina 26]

10 hours ago, TJH said:

Do you know if there were any driver transfer at Alfa and Renault?

Here ya go.

[AoiAsahina 26]

Further proof of driver transfers causing excessive R&D:

[caiocrq 26]

And to make matters worse, there is still the problem of Q3 simulation when you do not achieve the same. Results ignore team development and are based on the teams' original performance in the game. All of this is making the game horrible and complicated to play.

[SIMRACER123 355]

21 hours ago, Worntoathread said:

Yeah season one was fine for me as well. It appears to become a problem from season 2 onwards.

Ah ok

Good to know.

Or not as the case may be in this instance ! 

[Striker_703 133]

I just finished all the practice programs for the second race. In following programs I didn't use DRS. Race Strategy, ERS Management and Fuel Management. Waiting for FP to finish to see if that makes a change in the R&D tree.