Improving AI

Default AI behaviour (setup + driveline) in Nascar Heat comes shipped with each track and is stored in it's TRK file. Which means the AI will most likely NOT act specific to your chosen mod's demands

To improve the AI and making it more mod-specific, you have to work on each track's AI definition files - not the one's stored in the TRK file, but those that Heat uses for ghostcar AI. These are generated automatically by Heat if you have enabled ghostcar option on race setup screen

  1. Check out the chosen mod's ghostcar subfolder for GCF files named [specific track name]_simulation_best_ever.gcf. Rename or delete that files.

  2. Start the mod, chose a car for running a fast lap. The car should be somewhat average, as it's chosen setup will later on be adapted to all AI cars.

  3. Chose the track you want to improve the AI for

  4. Go to Garage screen and carefully setup the car. As mentioned, the setup will be adapted to all AI cars later on. Put in somewhat more front/rear spoiler than you actually would need to have. The AI lacks downforce and even worse, weight, but automatically increases topspeed and acceleration. Setup gears to not revving out at topspeed.

  5. Enter the track and try to run clean laps. Don't run on any curbs ! Stay away from the track's borders and even more from any walls. The AI cars will spread out with your driving line as guidance. Which means they will run offtrack where you cut in turns by using curbs, crash into walls where you had been close.

  6. Your lap MUST be below 3:30 (only important at Lemans), as this is Heat's limit for AI laps.

  7. The fastest lap you have run will now be stored as [specific track name]_simulation_best_ever.gcf in the ghostcar subfolder. If it is not the lap you want to use for AI, start over at (1.).

  8. Else go to ghostcar subfolder and copy the [specific track name]_simulation_best_ever.gcf file to the mod's main folder. Rename it to [specific track name].gcf

  9. Restart the mod and start a race on the chosen track

  10. Have a look at the AI cars by using F4 view and switching to different cars. Are they running clean laps ? No drifting off in fast turns ? No sticking to any wall ? No revving out ? How about AI laptimes (at what skill level)?

  11. If you are not satisfied, start over at (1.)

  12. If you are satisfied, put that track's AI file to a file mod_ghostcar.res by using WinresToolsWizard's MKRES mode and copy that one to the mod's main folder

[ Improving AI ]