Classic Difficulty Race

[dreadzilla28]

Some great advice on here. Personally I say start with getting a feel for the track. Figure out where to let off the throttle at and where to position yourself on the track. Braking can be very dangerous with spinning out of control so I would use it sparingly.

 

Such a great feeling once you finally get it though. Thanks for the advice guys and good luck everyone else still chasing this.

[Rohirrim-90]

It's not that hard. Took me about 45 mins. You just have to keep trying.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Rohirrim-90

[Spike_Hostile17]

The video in the guide is just perfect, this shows exactly when you have to brake and when you have to go full throttle. Using X for the extra boost was barely necessary. It took 20 minutes to get the 1st place. Seriously people need to stop bitching everytime there is tiny bit of "difficulty" because I know for sure some people won't play the game thinking the plat is almost unobtainable.

When you see forums these days : "Classic run is too hard on Mafia"/"Crash 4 relics are too hard, don't play"/"Can't Cat-ch me can go f*** itself" on Stray/"The car races blocked me from getting the Plat on Death Stranding DC" and then when I talk to people online, they are like "oh no I aint touching this game, i read it's too hard" lol     And cherry on top is people begging for others to do it for them via "share play" .... Like they want the gold medal but don't wanna step on the track....

Even if you suck at racing games, this race is pretty fair and totally doable within 1 hour after getting used to the controls and watching the video in the guide.

[UlvenFenrir]

The mission where you drive the race car back after the car has been tampered with is where you actually learn how to drive the race car and how you should drive it during the race itself. Remember at the top of the screen where you can see the red bar moving if you hold the acceleration all the way down? It makes the engine “jump” and it makes the car slower. It also means you have to hold R2 gentle and L2 gentle whenever you want to accelerate or slow down to make it back in time because the time limit is pretty tight. Anytime you press R2 too much during that mission, you basically wont make it in time so how people managed to beat it and not the race is kinda odd because its the same trick youll be using.
 

 The harder you push down R2 to accelerate after a sharp turn the easier it is to lose control of the car. The harder you press L2 to slow down before a turn, can also make your car lose control, spin out or make it drift too much.

During the race, the more gentle you are with breaking and acceleration, the easier the race becomes. Slowly push down L2 when you want to slow down and make a turn while slowly pressing R2 during the turn to speed up again so you dont fall behind. Thats really all there is to it and practice.

[Nego_Brown_]

The race itself wasnt that difficult. I needed like 5 or 6 times to win it.

 

Taking the car to Lucas and  Back, though, took me way more time. The car is awful to drive on the streets and 2 minutes is such a slim time. 

 

I can say that having some experience in racing games helps a lot in the race, because its quite basic.

Edited September 27, 2022 by Nego_Brown_

[Zatso--]

My advice is: DON'T DO IT. If you have come here to check if the race is doable before commiting to the plat, it sure is... However! We are talking crazy levels of real stress you will be subjecting yourself into. Unhealthy levels of stress that can become a real problem.

 

I have been trying for the last 5 hours and the race is "easy and basic" for the fellas who did it above (and I have come real close as well six different times and failed in the last lap) because they have already done it. You didn't...

 

The truth is that it is not people are bitching and overreacting about it, is that the controls are really specific and the car can make you lose the run at any point of the race because it loose control. It will look like the controls are trash, but to be honest you will know it's you who is screwing it up again and again. 

 

This is maddening and will make your stress levels go through the roof, your heart will race out of pure frustration and you will have the urge to punch a table, shout and throw the controller in the wall.

 

I have restarted it hundreds of times in these 5 hours. It is not about skill, is about patience. If you haven't played a simulation racing game like me, be warned that Mafia WILL NOT explain what is happening with the controls.

 

[harsly]

16 minutes ago, Zatso-- said:

My advice is: DON'T DO IT. If you have come here to check if the race is doable before commiting to the plat, it sure is... However! We are talking crazy levels of real stress you will be subjecting yourself into. Unhealthy levels of stress that can become a real problem.

 

I have been trying for the last 5 hours and the race is "easy and basic" for the fellas who did it above (and I have come real close as well six different times and failed in the last lap) because they have already done it. You didn't...

 

The truth is that it is not people are bitching and overreacting about it, is that the controls are really specific and the car can make you lose the run at any point of the race because it loose control. It will look like the controls are trash, but to be honest you will know it's you who is screwing it up again and again. 

 

This is maddening and will make your stress levels go through the roof, your heart will race out of pure frustration and you will have the urge to punch a table, shout and throw the controller in the wall.

 

I have restarted it hundreds of times in these 5 hours. It is not about skill, is about patience. If you haven't played a simulation racing game like me, be warned that Mafia WILL NOT explain what is happening with the controls.

 

 

So TL;DR don't do it if you have anger issues? The game is otherwise very good so I'd say it's worth going for it even if you're extremely unfortunate like yourself and need 5+ hours to finish the race. Also you'd probably be surprised to hear that leaving a game be for a day after you start feeling frustrated works wonders on both your nerves and your chances of pulling it off.

[Guardian_owl]

13 hours ago, Zatso-- said:

I have restarted it hundreds of times in these 5 hours. It is not about skill, is about patience. If you haven't played a simulation racing game like me, be warned that Mafia WILL NOT explain what is happening with the controls.

Where are the places that you are failing the most? Is it that first big turn to the left on lap 2 and 3? That's where a lot of people have problems. If so, then all you have to do is slow down tremendously before the turn. It's against every instinct you have, because you are afraid they will pass you. However, since this is a PS2 era game and the racing AI is fairly simplistic, all you have to do to beat it on this turn is stay in the innermost lane. All AI racers are programmed to only take the innermost lane on that turn, so if you are blocking that lane, they can't pass you no matter how slow you are moving. There are probably other turns that function that way, so when in doubt, get in the inner lane before a sharp turn and slow down to stay in it. If you check your mirrors in straightaways, you can pull in front of cars trying to pass you and they will not be able to get by. Also due to scripted crashes, all you have to do is get to 4th place by the time of the first scripted crash and you will automatically end the race in 1st place if you maintain your position.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Guardian_owl

[LordGrimF]

I've been stuck on this race since last night. I tried again this morning and literally the only time I managed to play the whole race while in 3rd place expecting 2 additional cars to crash, the scripted crash didn't happen...........

[Guardian_owl]

11 hours ago, LordGrimF said:

I've been stuck on this race since last night. I tried again this morning and literally the only time I managed to play the whole race while in 3rd place expecting 2 additional cars to crash, the scripted crash didn't happen...........

Were they very far ahead of you? As I understand it, the car ahead of you has to be in your field of view in order for the scripted crash to trigger.

[Play3GianniGreed]

12 hours ago, LordGrimF said:

I've been stuck on this race since last night. I tried again this morning and literally the only time I managed to play the whole race while in 3rd place expecting 2 additional cars to crash, the scripted crash didn't happen...........

 

This was happening to me as well, but it's because probably you were too far behind. For the crash to happen you have to see it. 

Try to be a little close to the cars ahead of you and then they will crash. 

The race is frustrating but really not that hard. 

[Marvy_G23]

Impossible race smh

[freddie1989]

16 minutes ago, Marvy_G23 said:

Impossible race smh

Only tips I can give are to be top 3 at the end of lap 1 or it won't happen. Cut the grass off turn 1 and 2 to gain an advantage.

 

Also I found it best to not really brake to much and just come off R2 before corners as I felt like I kept more speed that way. Just persist and watch your mirror off the last turn and it will happen. 

[Marvy_G23]

After like 100+ times trying, it's impossible for me..wish someone would beat it for me

[Guardian_owl]

16 hours ago, Marvy_G23 said:

After like 100+ times trying, it's impossible for me..wish someone would beat it for me

What are the places on the track you are having issues? is it that steep, first turn on lap 2 and 3? If so, just remember this is early 2000s AI, it's pretty dumb. On that turn in particular, every racer is programmed to take the innermost lane. So no matter how slow you are going in that first hairpin turn, as long as you stay in the innermost lane, none of the racers will pass you. So before the turn, get in the left lane and brake as much as you need to so you don't slide around on that turn. Have you read through some of the tips or watched any of the many example videos in this thread? I watched several then combined the best moves featured in each to make it easier to get into 4th place before the first scripted crash in lap 1.

[Marvy_G23]

3 hours ago, Guardian_owl said:

What are the places on the track you are having issues? is it that steep, first turn on lap 2 and 3? If so, just remember this is early 2000s AI, it's pretty dumb. On that turn in particular, every racer is programmed to take the innermost lane. So no matter how slow you are going in that first hairpin turn, as long as you stay in the innermost lane, none of the racers will pass you. So before the turn, get in the left lane and brake as much as you need to so you don't slide around on that turn. Have you read through some of the tips or watched any of the many example videos in this thread? I watched several then combined the best moves featured in each to make it easier to get into 4th place before the first scripted crash in lap 1.

yea half the turns are where i mess up at and i watched a bunch of videos and read tips..I'm just bad at racing . For now i gave up on it, i"ll probably try other time

[Matto_lsi]

Just got the Plat and came back to comment on the race.  I read this whole thread before starting the game and was a little worried about the race, so much so that I delayed starting the game for months.  But I'm glad I finally did as the race wasn't any harder than an average one-make race in the Gran Turismo series.  However, I can't blame anyone struggling with this, because having a 'simulation' level race, with 16 cars, starting in last place, driving a car with glorified bicycle tires in a game that is meant to be an over the shoulder 3rd person shooter/sandbox game is kinda ridiculous.  This race wouldn't pose much of a challenge in a racing game, but I bet most of the people struggling either don't like or don't play racing games, or just simply didn't want to do a race while playing this game, and I can't really blame them for that.  It's a very strange edition, especially considering most races in games like this are much easier and far more informal, with cars with much better handling and braking.

 

But anyway, all things considered, this race isn't that bad.  Most of my fails were either my fault - scraping a wall, tapping a hay barrel, catching my tire on another car, or over-accelerating coming out of a turn, or the AI being a ruthless SOB by constantly side-ramming me while passing or pitting me on turns.  But as far as winning the race goes, my experience with it was simple: when the race starts barrel down the left side of the track, brake late, and use the other cars as a buffer to slide a little without going off the track (don't just plow into them though, a soft touch is required).  After the first turn use the thick stretch of grass on the right-hand curve, and then the thin stretch of grass on the next right-hand turn.  Assuming the AI didn't ram or pit me, I was usually in 5th place.  The first scripted crash occurs on the upcoming left turn.  Brake at the crest of the 'hill' on the next straightaway and cut the corner.  Start far outside on the right and cut the next corner on the S-curve too.  That should put you in 3rd place.  From that point on, stay close to the other leaders and they'll crash on the S-curve on lap 2, and the final banked left curve on lap 3 - respectively.  I checked my mirror on the final straightaway, but the car behind me was so far back I could barely see him, which was nice, cause the first time I got into 1st on the final straightaway, he blew past me like I was standing still when coming out of that last curve, which was annoying and technically impossible.  But I found on the try where I did win that if you pass him on that first S-curve and drive well enough to stay right behind the leaders (cutting the grass mentioned above helps) then he'll be too far behind to catch you at the end of the race.  If not, use your rear view and block him.  I estimate it took me about 30-40 mins to win the race, not sure how many restarts, though most of them occurred during the first half of the first lap.

 

On 9/27/2022 at 0:20 PM, Nego_Brown_ said:

Taking the car to Lucas and  Back, though, took me way more time. The car is awful to drive on the streets and 2 minutes is such a slim time. 

 

Yeah, this was my experience as well.  The race took me a few more tries than I would have liked, mainly cause of the AI crashing into me and spinning me out, but I found the race easier than getting the car back to thh track in that slim time window.  The time I finally achieved it I had just reached :00 on the timer, but it let me through the gates!

[matigrosso91]

Since I completely suck (I mean, REALLY) in racing games and I don't like them at all, and considering the reputation of the race, I decided to count every single attempt on Classic until i get the trophy.
 

I got it at the 88th attempt.

As everyone said before, it's about patience and learning what to do in every turn. 

Edited September 17, 2023 by matigrosso91

[Dovakiin0922]

I tried with the video linked in the guide and no luck. I did it first try with this method if anyone is stuck

 

 

[Abdizur87]

Good God what infuriatingly unpleasant experience. 

Finally got but to about 11 hours on and off with at least 300 attempts. What idiot thought this was a good idea??? 🤬

[Abdizur87]

And now I get to do it again because I didn't know about the Stay Classy Trophy. 🤬🤬🤬

[CrazyPlatinum92]

On 10/9/2023 at 5:45 PM, Dovakiin0922 said:

I tried with the video linked in the guide and no luck. I did it first try with this method if anyone is stuck

 

 

please tell me this isn't patched yet 

[smilinguido4e20]

8 hours ago, CrazyPlatinum92 said:

please tell me this isn't patched yet 

I just did it after more than 2 hours trying the normal way in classic mode, and can confirm: WORKS LIKE A CHARM!

I got it on the first try, but it may take a few attempts until it works. Still, infinitely easier than trying to control this cursed car.

This video just saved me plat, thank you so much @Dovakiin0922, and the person who made the video.

[Juzota]

It took me only two tries to win the race. I watched few youtube videos before attempting so I knew about the scripted events. I play most racing games with easiest difficulty settings so I wouldn't say I'm very good at racing games.

[Yendoron]

On 11/7/2023 at 7:50 PM, CrazyPlatinum92 said:

please tell me this isn't patched yet 

Took me 5 tries on Classic to beat the race using this method.