HomeEdit Messages & Buddies My World RankingWR Table My GamesJoin Public GameJoin Mid SeasonPrivate GamesInterested TeamsUpload Helmet [ List All Documents ] The following guide is based on the GP 2013 carset, which stands at the core of BATracer. If you're a new player just signed-up for the game, you're very likely to end up driving in this carset and there will always be one available to join in the Game Queue. However, BATracer offers alot of other carsets too, which you can see listed on the homepage. If you stick around and make it to Pro, you can try them out. While strategies and some setup parameters will be different between carsets, the general idea applies to BATracer as a whole, so hopefully after you've read this you'll have a better understanding of the game. * GP 2012 is quite similar, so if you ever end-up playing in that set, feel free to apply the same basic principles. ----------------- 1. Car Setup ----------------- First and foremost, you need to setup the car for the race weekend. The settings are identical for both team cars, so you need to work with your team-mate to achieve the best possible setup. Go to Garage -> Car Setup and check your Engineer's Advice. This will provide important information on where to set your sliders before doing your Practice laps. For example, if the Engineer says "Hard Suspension", a good idea would be to start testing with the Suspension sliders around 75. Same for the other settings. IMPORTANT! If your team-mate already did his runs and posted the margins, take note of his data and be careful not to test outside limits. You can load his setup and try to improve it, otherwise follow the Engineer's Advice. Here are some recommended starting points based on the Engineer's information: Downforce (Wings): Low - around 25 Medium - around 50 High - around 75-80 Suspension: Soft - around 25 Medium - around 50 Hard - around 75-80 Anti-Roll Bar: Loose - around 25 Medium - around 50 Stiff - around 75-80 Ride Height: Low - around 25 Medium - around 50 High - around 75-80 Tyre Pressure: Low - around 25 Medium - around 50 High- around 75-80 Gears: Short - around 30 Medium - around 50 High - around 75 * Medium gears can go as low as 36 (never seen it below that) and as high as 65. Anything below or above is short or high. Brake Bias: Safe - around 30 Medium - around 48 Loose - around 60-65 * Medium Brake Bias is always somehwere between 40 and 55, so it's best to change the slider by +/- 4 points when you get feedback. Anything below or above that is either Safe or Loose. This applies to all carsets I've played so far. On rare occasions Loose Brake Bias can be 55, so if you end-up with 0-56, just change it to that. Once you've set your starting points, time do a practice lap. Usually a Risk between 50-70 works well enough. You can try different risk settings, but generally would not recommend something above 70 unless you have Thinker or Charisma (which allow 100 risk on all Practice laps without crashing) as a DC (driver characteristic). Higher risks obviously mean that you can crash and lose laps more often, so setup won't be as good, although sometimes you can get away with it and benefit from the increased feedback. After you've done a lap, you'll get feedback on some parameters. It's best to use an 8-4-2 method to pin-point the spot-on value. This means you should change the highlighted parameter by 8 points, then as you get closer, by 4 or 2 points (i.e. 50-100 - use 58; 58-100 - use 66; 58-66 - use 62; 58-62, use 60). This works well because you always have an interval that can be divided in 2 equal halves, so it's easier to find the optimal value, rather than guessing it from a 59-73 interval for example. Keep updating the sliders after each run, when you get feedback. If you end up with only 1 Practice lap remaining, crank up the Risk all the way to 100 (it doesn't matter if you crash, but the feedback is increased). * Hard tyres don't offer proper feedback, so always pick the softer compound for Practice. ** Nobody cares about Practice times, so do ALL your runs on the same set of tyres (even if they become Terrible), feedback seems to be the same. Best keep the rest of your tyres fresh for Quali and the Race. *** Sometimes, if the weather is Greasy or Moist, you may notice a message warning you that your selected tyres aren't appropriate for that particular weather, no matter which compound you pick. This happens because it's not quite Dry enough for Soft tyres, but also not quite Wet for Intermediates. Feedback is reduced in these conditions, but don't worry, it's the same for everybody so you'll have to make best of what you have. Once you've completed your Practice, it's HIGHLY recommended to share the setup margins in Team-Talk, so when your teamies log-in they can easily see the intervals they should be testing in. KT players can see them directly on the Car Setup screen, but it's always good to at least let them know that you've done your runs. ----------------- 2. Qualifying ----------------- Set your qualifying Pace / Risk to what you think should work best, there is no "perfect" solution here, but generally you should gradually increase the Pace from Q1 to Q2 and Q3 (i.e. Q1 - 45, Q2 - 65, Q3 - 85). These values are just an example, feel free to experiment. Use a fresh set of tyres for each of the stages and keep in mind that if you make it to Q3, that particular tyre set will be used at the start of the race (no matter what you select from the drop-down list), unless the weather changes (and you'll be allowed to pick the appropriate tyre). ----------------- 3. Race Strategy ----------------- Before you decide on the number of pit-stops / stint length, you need to know how long can you run on a particular set of tyres. The Engineer has some information about this, so you can check his advice again. Also, for GP 2013 it's generally recommended to keep your Use of Tyres slider to low settings (even 0, yes zero), as especially the softer compounds tend to wear out pretty fast and you can end up being slow on track if you use them for longer stints (and even risk blowing the tyres)! As a general idea, a FRESH set of tyres can be used well for about: 14-15 laps - Super Soft 18-20 laps - Soft 20-24 laps - Medium 24-28 laps - Hards * The tyre wear estimation in this guide is for a UoT slider of 0, which is very much preferred in this carset. The Engineer info may be different, but that's based on a UoT slider of around 50 (default). ** There is no clear information on Intermediate or Wet tyre usage because this differs as the weather changes. In Storm conditions, for example, the Wet tyres can last forever (even with a high UoT slider), but if the weather starts to go dry, the wear increases gradually. You'll need a few races to get the hang of this, don't forget to check your (and your rivals') Lap Analysis to get a grip on things ! :) Tyres can go longer than that, but like previously said, their high wear may turn you into a moving chicane or worse, running on metal with a blown tyre, and you don't want that. Now, with that in mind, you have to decide on the number of pit-stops and the laps you want them on. You should try and avoid pitting in the same lap as your team-mate, this can potentially lead to queing for the driver who's behind. IMPORTANT! You can start on one Dry compound (i.e. Soft) and then use the other Dry tyre during the race (i.e. Hard), but you CAN'T use mixed strategies (like Soft-Hard-Soft). That's just how the game runs, but no worries, it's the same rule for everyone. So make sure you only tick the checkbox of the Dry tyre you want to use during the race when pitting, don't tick both (or worse, none) because you may end up messing your strategy or (if you don't select any Dry tyre) with leftovers that will pop in a few laps and ruin your race. * You don't have to use both Dry tyre compounds during the race if you don't want to, it all depends on how you set your strategy. You can (for example) start on Hards and then switch to Softs during the race, but you don't HAVE to. Here's an example of a strategy where you start on Hard tyres and then switch to Softs later during the race: Start Tyre: Hard Soft - TICKED (Wet factor 3) Hard - UNTICKED (3) Intermediates - TICKED (36) Wets - TICKED (76) Next to the tyre selection, you'll notice the Wet Factor. Even for your selected Dry tyre, it's best not to leave it on 0 (no worries if you do though), instead use something around 5-10. This is because even if the weather becomes Greasy or Moist, the Dry tyre could still be the best option. For Intermediate tyres it's generally a good idea to select a Wet Factor of around 35 and for the (full) Wet tyres, a Wet factor of around 70-80. Next, there's the "Wrong Tyre" slider, which determines how quick you react to weather changes. If set to 0, the moment a raindrop touches the track you're on your way to the pits, while 100 means all hell can break loose, you won't be bothered to change your tyres. Based on race length and your selected strategy, you can decide for yourself how quick you want to react, but generally a setting around 30 works well enough. Keep in mind that it's value does not represent laps, but rather a "how quick do I want to react to weather changes" value. Below the tyre settings, you'll notice the Team Co-Operation checkbox. You should leaved it ticked, unless you have some grudge against your team-mate. Team Co-Op means that whoever is faster on track gets to pass ahead, clean and without incidents. If you switch it off, you may end up colliding with your team-mate, which sucks, because you have enough other drivers to collide with anyway, so you may want to leave that checkbox selected. Target Track Position and Main Rival determine how hard you'll Push in the race. Naturally, the harder you push, the more prone you are to incidents, so depending on your car and your personal goals, you can fiddle with these options or even leave them to None if you care for a safer approach. Fuel Margin is affected by the Push and Rival settings above, so if by any chance you want to Always Push, then the Fuel Margin should match the number of laps (i.e. 66 laps race = 66 Fuel Margin). If you qualified in pole-position but you chose to only Push for P4, than you can consider decreasing the Fuel Margin, as any position you're racing in above 4th doesn't count for Push (as far as I know), so you can try and set a FM of Race Length -5 (i.e. 66 laps race = 61 Fuel Margin). If you choose a "safer" approach and leave Push and Rival to default (None), you can try Fuel Margins of Race Length -10 or -15 (i.e. 66 laps race = 56 Fuel Margin, or 66 laps race = 51 Fuel Margin). Feel free to experiment with this as well, but take note that if you set a Fuel Margin too low, you may have to step off the gas pedal later in the race to ensure you'll make it to the finish line. You can't run out of fuel, but you'll obviously be slower. The KERS comes with a reliability warning, but alot of other things could go wrong as well, so most players use it on most tracks. If you end-up in a very close race without it, you might start to miss the KERS as everyone passes you easily. On the other hand, you may have an advantage without it on some tracks where overtaking is harder, especially in wet weather. Generally I use it all the time, but you can try a few races without it and see how you fare. As a rule of thumb, your Safety Car Reaction should generally be about your average stint length divided by 2 (i.e. 18 lap stint on Soft tyres = SC reaction of around 7-9 laps). Same for Pit-Stop Reschedule, but you could add a couple of more laps on this one (can help with weather changes). Depending on circumstances, a SC reaction of 7 and a Pit-Reschedule of 10 can be used for even an entire season with no problems, regardless of race or strategy, but that's only if you don't want to be bothered too much with these. Last but not least, don't forget to press Save when you're all done with race preparations (if the page takes some time to load, don't leave it until it's complete). Sometimes players end-up with ruined races because they forget such a simple thing. ----------------- 4. Driving Style ----------------- These are very personal settings and players can have alot of different approaches, especially since there doesn't seem to be a "perfect" style. You can experiment with these sliders and see what works best for you. If getting consistent results, try noting down your settings and see if they work in other games too. Keep in mind though that the Driver Characteristics also play a role in this. Furthermore, no two games are alike, and what once worked perfectly may not get you the same result in a different game. Different opponents, different weather, maybe a different car, all of these can affect your Driving Style. And don't forget the Race Strategy ! Some players use the same style for an entire season, while others may adjust it for different races (it may be a wise idea to decrease your Pace and Aggression at Monaco, while Monza is a very fast track that may tempt you to press on the gas pedal a little bit harder). ----------------- 5. Race Analysis ----------------- The game offers alot of data and stats for the race, some more useful than others. One thing you should always keep an eye on is the Lap Analysis. That shows your lap times and your tyre wear, as well as your competitors' same information. Compare your strategy with other players and figure out what you can improve in future races. ----------------- 6. Weather ----------------- In case the weather changes from one session to another, you'll need to adjust your car setup accordingly. For a better understanding of this, read the info in the following link: http://batracer.com/-ph?read&106 You might want to bookmark that, it's very useful ! Obviously, this applies to all carsets and getting an idea of how wet the track is for a particular weather can also help you pick the appropriate tyres. Among other cool (!) features, Kool Tools provide you with a quick and easy way to convert the setup, all you have to do is divide the Wet Factor by 2 and you get the value that you have to use on the conversion slider. For example, if Practice is Dry (0% wet) and Quali is Wet & Slippery (54% wet), you'd have to do 54/2=27 and use +27 to convert for that particular weather. If Practice is Rain (45% wet) and Quali is Drizzle (27% wet), first you need to determine the difference, so 45-27=18. Then you'd have 18/2=9, meaining -9 should be used to convert. * Sometimes you'll notice after a session that the weather has changed, but the icon display remains the same, yet your Setup margins are gone / irrelevant. This means that the weather has actually changed very sligthly, not affecting your setup very much (i.e. Dry can be 0% but also 3%-4%). In this case, some settings may require small adjustments, but usually by 1 or mostly 2 points. Posting setup reference for each session (Practice, Warmup) can be helpful, so you'll get a better idea how much you need to change a parameter in case you get feedback on it after doing a run. ----------------- 7. Have fun ! ----------------- While the game is based on the famous open-wheel series we all know and love, it's not an exact accurate simulation of it. This means that you can do well with pretty much any car. Sure, a better car can make things easier and can allow you to set higher goals, but some players have even won Championships driving backmarkers, so don't be afraid to hop in one if other seats are taken. Also, don't expect to be handed the title just because you're driving the fastest car. A word of warning though: BATracer can be very frustrating at times. No matter how well you think you've prepared for the race weekend, something can go wrong and sometimes this can happen quite often. This is obviously not so fun, but don't worry, if you're committed and try hard, luck will change! You'll no doubt get to race many, many thrilling and memorable races and seasons. Spectacular comebacks, painful drawbacks, incredible races won in backmarkers, titles decided on the last round, anything can happen. Stick around, enjoy and have fun ! Document created by Andrei Corneliu. Last updated 20 Apr 2014. | |||
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