Pilot Assist...

[Maschinengeist]

Is it just me, or do you have a difficult time finding players for games you're hosting when you have Pilot Assist banned on your game? It seems like it takes forever to get one or two players in the door.

Conversely, I do think it's funny when I gain control of a popular server due to the original starter leaving...and deactivate Pilot Assist. The first race after, I keep seeing these people "eliminating themselves" over and over...and end up lapping two or three of them. I sort of feel like an ass for doing so, but...I still think it's funny, lol.

On the other hand, though, the few people who have joined my games knowing Pilot Assist is disabled have given me some darn good races; I actually end up in second or third a lot, rather than ending up with a ridiculous 20 second (or more) lead on the guy in 2nd place. When I win, there's never more than a second, maybe two, between us; and THAT makes for a good race. The people who show up to these races make me fight hard for a podium finish, and I love it. :D

So, here's my question: has the Pilot Assist notification become something of a bane to you as well, as far as finding players goes? Or is it just my imagination?

[Zitrax]

I did not think that very many used it but perhaps I was wrong; I have also noticed a few times that when I turn PA off many players directly leave the game.

[Maschinengeist]

Exactly...they start dropping like flies. And they're almost always the same ones I see bouncing around like ragdolls in a tin can, lol...especially that little boost area just before the finish line on Anulpha Pass...that's a really telling are to see who's using it.

[zeeZ]

I demand hires footage of those events :lol
Might end up as some awesome contender eliminated movie

[Maschinengeist]

LOL...The best part was probably the bemused expression on my friend's face when it kept flashing "So-and-so have eliminated themselves" or whatever it says, over and over, until they just disconnect and leave (he'd never seen Wipeout before).

[blackwiggle]

Yeah I have suffered all of the above .

Also when I change rooms ,somebody from a previous room that I've race will join ,see who's racing,go hell not him again, and leave the room.

I'm only deducing this because when I start a room I find it hard to get anybody to race,well this is at sane hours of the day for me.

If I stay up till the wee hours of the morning I can get races no problems, as all the faster EU people start coming online ,problem is I'm starting to get dozy by then and way past my best.

Then nurse comes and wheels me back to my room.:lol

[Maschinengeist]

Come to think of it, I saw your name in one of the rooms last night...I think you might've been one of the two peeps who spanked me last night; those were some awesome races. :rock

But, yeah...I see them doing that, too. There don't seem to be nearly enough Phantom class races, though...but maybe I'm just being a whinging yank...no more complaints for me for the rest of the day, lol. :)

[blackwiggle]

If you turn off pilot assist in Phantom class it's like you farted in an elevator for a lot of people,they just get out of that room quick smart ,or if they haven't noticed that you have turned it off, they usually quit after you pass them on the second lap [causing one of those lovely glitches as they depart].

You occasionally get the ones that try to finish as best they can [their the ones you see wriggling about like a sparkler on the 4th of July],I respect those people,even if they are out of their comfort zone ,at least they are trying to get to grips with it and I'll purposely not fire upon them nor bomb/mine their immediate path.

Thankfully and rarely do you get the "I can't handle this so I'm going to screw your race up" type of fool,they potter between weapon pads waiting in a straight to shoot on coming race leaders,or put their craft sideways across the straight to cause a pile up.

A well delivered Plasma bolt usually takes care of that,full on impact with a shield on can be an amusing elimination of said fools as well.

[stinkleroy]

That has happened to me a lot of times too wiggle, people leaving the room as soon as you change the settings.

I just don't see the point of pilot assist, as all it encourages you to do is learn how not to play the game. Fair enough if people need training wheels during the campaign but online...no. Part of the awesomeness of wipeout is mastering the way the craft feels and handles, it's like no other racer, it's hard but all it takes is practice and the feeling of winning a race without pilot assist surely must be better. I just don't get why it was ever allowed online, or why anyone would want to use it.

[crawdad62]

Yeah I've noticed it. I've noticed it big-time. I even mentioned it in another thread. I can't believe there's so many races with PA on. Before it was an option I heard so many people talking about how lame PA is I figured I'd not see too many races with it. I was wrong. There's way more races with it on and I'm really surprised how many Rapier/Phantom races have it. Crazy!

Hell last night I raced most of my races in Venom because the guy hosting the room had PA off and most of the other races had it on or were tournament already in progress and I didn't want to wait on them.

As a side note does anyone know what happens if you enter a PA off room and you've got PA on? Does it switch it for you automatically or does it not allow you to join?

[Connavar]

:lol blackwiggle, you're right :)

[Darkdrium777]

As a side note does anyone know what happens if you enter a PA off room and you've got PA on? Does it switch it for you automatically or does it not allow you to join?Switches off most likely.

Also, PA authorized is enabled by default. This is why many rooms have PA on, hosts forget to switch it off quite easily.

[Maschinengeist]

Ah, ok...that explains it.

I like the 'sparklers' description, though, lol. :g

[Motorsagmannen]

for me it isnt much of a problem finding racers when i host PA off rooms, usually it ends up beeing full og happy zoners but there you go, sometimes total strangers stick around for several races to. that beeing said, filling up a room with PA on is way easier without a doubt

[crawdad62]

I race a guy last night that hosted a room that had PA on. He was really good and you could tell the guy would do fine with it off. The reason I could tell he was flying well is because I was behind him most of the time :dizzy

I IM'd him afterward and congratulated him on the races and told him he was really good enough not to use PA which I assumed he was using. I sort of felt bad about doing that but it wasn't a putdown but more of a compliment. He IM'd me back and said "Yeah I need to turn it off." I can see where someone would get attached to using it and fear not having it but again I remember when turning PA off wasn't an option all I ever saw was how much it sucked and how you suck for using it. People here weren't really down on the person using it but didn't like racing with someone that had it on. On a couple of other sites though it was like a linch mob.

[DividedXZero]

I guess i never really gave it much thought, i rarely go out of my way to turn off PA if i host (which i rarely do, mainly just join rooms). Then again i figured beating someone who used PA while i didnt would just show them that it's more of a handicap and is inhibiting their potential as someone who didnt use it surpassed them.

[Maschinengeist]

The only thing is, if someone is using PA, they probably cannot spot the people who are not using it...aside from the fact that one can take the hairpin at Chengou Project and chicane Ubermall at higher speed with PA on, I've noticed... :mad:

I have beaten them through these two turns, but only with Feisar and AG Systems, and even then I am wringing everything out of that machine, and my skills, that I possibly can.

It reminds me of the losers on Need for Speed, back before the games had car damage. I would break before the hairpin, and they would go flying into it at breakneck speed, bounce off the wall, and keep going. Despite my perfect line, perfect car control, etc., it was still impossible to beat them through those hairpins.

"It's deja vu all over again." - Yogi Berra

[Spece2goin]

Even if i finish more than 10s late behind Connavar, or be overlapped in 10laps race (in phantom of course) i will never enable pilot assist

I thought this was a thing for beginners, and i dont uderstand why some good players use it just to get better times, and seem not be able to handle their craft by themselves (as they leave games with PA disabled)
how can they make progress with it?

also, i never tried PA, and i dont know how does it feel when PA takes control of you ship without notifying it. I guess it's not like autopilot that you use when you want, and making a turn with PA on must be weird.

[Motorsagmannen]

as a previous PA user i might shed some light on to this matter. i had PA on all the time right about until the day i met IH8YOU online, this was a real eye opener since i wtfpwned me worse than i have ever been before or since (mabye except when i raced connavar :P) he who was already a friend of my psn buddy vinnymonster, made it clear to him and the n to me why PA must go, and since i turned it off ive never turned it back on. it was aquard at first and i did scrape the walls constantly foir the first couple of days, even on flash. but gradually it became more natural and i could do consitent laps without hitting the walls. what i can say about driving with PA is this, as most here now the PA locks out the top 5% of your throttle, but it also stops you from cutting apexes on turns, which means that although hitting the wall is harder you can NEVER hit the best racing line. so i can say no regrets in leaving the PA behind, i will never use it again, but i can see why some cling to it. i assume they arent aware enough about the pros and cons of PA.