Talk:Front-Runner/@comment-27123099-20160504172824

montoym Report for Stage 5

Device: Samsung Galaxy S6 Android

Pre-challenge: R$5,329,445 — 580 — 137/146 Cars — Level 171

Car: Hennessey Venom GT PR84.8 8/26

Controls: Tilt A, Steering Low, Brakes Low and TC On, Steering Sensitivity ??. Offline

JKR offline bot #27, 2 Lap Cup on Mt. Panorama with a goal to win and pass 22 opponents - 1st attempt, was in 3rd at end of 2nd lap, force-quite restart. I hit a lot of cars and spun out a few times on the first lap, spent the last 1.5laps getting back up to 3rd after falling back to 22nd after being in maybe 10th. Every new track is like re-learning it again; the handling and braking on this car are unlike any other with its poor brakes and tail happy nature. Not a fun car to drive for me. 2nd attempt, way different story, was in 1st place by 2nd corner (top of the hill). I let JKR pass me and then I took him out. Held up the cars for a little bit (maybe 10sec), kept messing with the bots until the last half lap, then I made sure to keep the lead and I slowed to close the gap. I finished 16yds ahead of Jack Knife to win.
 * 5.1 4:14.864 v 4:15.267

PerturB offline bot #21, Speed Record at Mt. Panorama with no map – I know this track extremely well, so no map was no problem at all. I turned off brake assist before the long downhill just to be safe, but I hit 250mph pretty easily anyhow and slammed the brakes as soon as I saw it pass, flipped the brake assist back to Low and finished the lap. Car is ready for servicing by this point (should have used the mechanic for 5.1). I serviced the car and will continue later. Unfortunately, no ads were available to shorten the service time.
 * 5.2 251.34mph v 250.6mph

oooo! offline bot #24, 1 Lap of Mt. Panorama, beating 2:02 without going over 187mph. I won pretty easily on my first try. Was in first place just after the first corner and stayed there the whole time. I just watched the speedometer and tried not to exceed 187mph (though I’m positive I saw 187 flash up once or twice, so I cut it close). I even slowed at the end because I was about 4-500yds ahead and had some time to kill.
 * 5.3 1:52.029 v 1:54.421

stayFrosty offline bot #5, Speed Snap at Mt. Panorama, finish in less than 25seconds as well. The time is not a problem at all, it’s there purely to keep players from backing up, or turning around, or otherwise “gaming” the race. They want you to do it honestly and that’s how they are managing it this time. I tried 10 times before winning, including one attempt at 251.13mph, so close!! I tried with various combinations of TC On/Off, Brakes Low/Off and I was continually around 249-251, but could not get to 251.3mph. On my 11th attempt, I bit the bullet and bought the Brakes and T&W GC upgrades for 95GC total, I’m positive I’ll need them to finish anyhow. Bumped me up to PR 85.9 10/26. This time, I needed to hit 250.4mph (against HoodooVoodoo instead of oooo!) and I trapped 251.33mph with the TC Off (Brakes still on Low). So, we have yet another event where FM has made it such that if you upgrade your car, they give you easier goals. Such a sham, but it seems to be their M.O. these days. Also, don’t be concerned about the bots on these fixed-goal events. You’re getting tougher bots because the goals are fixed; you go back to your regular bots for other events. Note that my bots on 5.2 and 5.4 are difficult (with fixed goals), but on 5.1, 5.3, and 5.5 they are back to the easy ones.
 * 5.4 251.33mph v 250.4mph (and 251.3mph)

JKR offline bot #27, 3 Lap Cup at Mt. Panorama without overheating the engine. Failed 1st attempt, on the 2nd lap I overheated the engine. I was doing pretty good keeping the bots from passing me, but 2 got by me and in my attempt to catch them, I lost track of the temp and blew it. This one may prove tough, the bots are on my tail the whole time and keeping them behind me on the straights is the toughest part. HaHa, maybe I spoke too soon! 2nd attempt was a completely different story! I did switch to Tilt B so I did not have to brake every time I needed to cool the engine. This probably made the difference, but it was night and day for sure. I even got a bad start and had to play catch-up, but I was still in 1st at the top of the hill and I could stay there easily. I even literally coasted about ¾ of the way down the downhill straight and was still almost 200yds ahead at the bottom. I kept the temp gauge in the lower half the whole race and I kept slowing to take out other bots, but I could catch them easily if they did get by me. I slowed at the end and finished about 15yds ahead of 2nd place (which was Existent, JKR was back in 6th).
 * 5.5 5:48.946 v 5:49.314

Post-challenge: R$5,466,814 — 495 — 137 /146 Cars — Level 171

Car: Hennessey Venom GT PR85.9 10/26

Post Stage breakdown – I think I held my own pretty well considering I was behind the recommended PR the whole time. I did have to buy 2 GC upgrades in order to pass 5.4, but I am positive they’ll be needed anyhow. Plus, they both unlocked additional R$ upgrades, which I meant to kick off, but forgot to. I'll have to do it once Stage 6 opens up. I’m expecting to have to add more GC upgrades as well, but I’ll do them on an as-needed basis. Car is servicing, onward to Stage 6!