Why the race on classic difficulty is objectively bad.

[Vault-TecPhantom]

Before I’m greeted by the “gitgud” crowd, I‘ll just mention right now that I beat the race on classic a few hours ago and have the platinum so this isn’t a whinge thread about how it’s “impossible to win!”

 

The problem with the race on classic is that absolutely all of it is scripted. You have to go against your every instinct in order to play the role the game has given to you which is that of the underdog that catches the crowd by surprise at the last minute. I looked at the multiple tips posted online and could not for the life of me figure out why even when I would start out in first place I would be so swiftly overtaken by one or two cars despite doing everything right and never spinning out. That’s when it hit me: I needed to stop trying to win.

 

To elaborate, on my successful run I was number 2 throughout most of the race. I had been here before - multiple failed attempts where I had tried to overtake number 1 and just ended up crashing into him and spinning out as a result. So this time, rather than trying to overtake (since I know he is destined to crash) I thought to myself I’m just going to keep up with him, observe how he moves, mirror where he turns, when he slows down, the side of the road he drives on etc. This went well and when he inevitably crashed at the speed bump section I slowed down and went round him so that I wouldn’t collide with the wreckage. In doing this, number 3 immediately overtook me.  Again, I stayed calm and closely observed this new number 1, resisting every urge in my body to try and reclaim my brief victory, and at that final oval turn I had the biggest smirk on my face because it was at that point I knew I was going to win - not because I had any intention of overtaking but because I knew that this was the moment the new number 1 would crash.

 

The reason why it’s difficult to maintain the lead before the last oval turn is because technically by doing well right off the bat you’re going off script. You’re not meant to be number 1 so early which means if you find yourself leading right out of the gate you’re actually going to have to try to win - that means being both the fastest racer while being careful. The problem with this is that the two cars behind you are programmed to be faster no matter what so they'll either overtake you eventually or worse case scenario hit you in the back causing you to spin out. It's not impossible to maintain the lead before the last oval turn - I have seen someone to do it - but it requires absolute perfection on those corners. It’s much better to just let the two fastest cars have at it and wait for them to make the scripted screw up.

 

This is why the race is bad. A good race is never over until it’s over whereas this race is so on the rails that the laws of physics don't apply to the other racers and they're not susceptible to the same obstacles you are. They’re all playing a part and you’re expected to play yours right up to the end. It feels counterintuitive.

The fact that the player knows whether they’re going to win or not just by what place they’re at during a certain turn is absurd. It clips any tension and makes you realise this is not skill based at all, you’re just memorising patterns of behaviour.

 

 

What I would say to those still trying is don’t give up. Just remember the routine and you’ll be fine. Also, I know a lot of guides say to instantly reload the checkpoint if you screw up... I would instead advise to see the race through to the end so you can practice your turns, brakes and boosts. When you can get from start to finish without spinning out once regardless of whether you win or not then you can tackle the race properly and reload when necessary.  All the best.

[Mr_Buzzinka]

i was 1st most of the time when i did it...what are you talking about ?

[totallycrushed]

Newbies be mad when old game kick their ass lol.

[MrFluFFnpuFF]

I was usually in first place midway through the first lap and never got passed again. Only time I’d lose is if I oversteered. 
 

Hated the race either way, but there’s no rubber banding 

[Alos88]

What's weird to me is that this actually sounds really doable... but in the most obtuse, unintuitive way. It's like a puzzle more than a test of skill almost and there's no indication of that ingame at all.

[araujonj]

34 minutes ago, bboysunny93 said:

i was 1st most of the time when i did it...what are you talking about ?

But you took 3 hours just to finish it, though...

[MarcusPunisher]

After few attempts, I was able to get to number 1 spot towards the end of the first lap and maintain that through out the rest of the race. I can easily confirm that this race is not scripted whatsoever, in fact it's very randomized. I had instances where the drivers would stay behind and one where they would keep up with me. It really depends on practice.

 

There are problems in the race. I mentioned before how the other cars are like bulldozers and yours is made out of paper tissue it seems lol. The race is not enjoyable and easily the worst part of Mafia, but it can be beaten. 

[Sylvanticore]

I finally beat this level on classic after about 3 hours, the first few attempts I found myself getting angry at not being able to get even close to the front of the pack. I then spent the rest of the time getting my timing down on turning corners and shortcuts, the race is a pain in the backside but after a while you'll get there!

[Taliesin_2943]

I had trouble at first but once I realized that if I was first after the 1st lap it was basically just a win if I paid attention and by that I mean once I crossed into the second lap instead of racing my way through like impulse says just drive fast but on corners I could all but stop and crawl through the turns even with the other cars in my ass they just slowed too and once through I sped up till the next bad turn and through out they did the same and on the 3rd lap right next to the finish I had a car try to pass but I just turned the car slightly tears his direction and he backed off 

 

I don't think it's scripted or rubber banded so much as it plays on your nurves it screws with you on that first lap it's random will I get ahead will they all just attack and shove me will I somehow bounce into a wall but then that golden chance at getting to first after so many screw ups people are already stressed and on edge not thinking calmly their impulses say be fast don't screw up must win so they take the whole track like greased lightning and screw up sure some pulled the rabbit out of their ass and still won but if u can calm down and think through then your golden 

[Mr_Buzzinka]

10 hours ago, araujonj said:

But you took 3 hours just to finish it, though...

its because of the controls...not the AI

[WatertownsFinest]

Like a lot of people already saying, idk what OP is going on about.

 

The cars arent programmed to overtake you at all. I stayed in first for 2 and 1/2 laps and never came close to being overtaken.

 

The boost button is your best friend. I tried to learn to boost around corners and i was able to do it in 5 tries

Edited October 10, 2020 by WatertownsFinest

[freeman4200]

It took me 50 tries. Maybe more!  On my winning game I was first the whole time after I finally did get to first place. it was kind of scary cause one mess up as you guys know your car goes spinning lol. It seriously makes every car part in the game much easier cause no other car acts like the one in the race. Let the good times roll. 

[Lightsp33d1987]

The crashes are scripted and that's about it i did this 2nd attempt first run just learn the short track next time i just went for it and won i would of been first for most of the race but i made a small error dropped to 3rd but still back to first and stayed there until the end, I think people forget these are old racing cars and on classic you have no ABS or TCS so the race is easy if you don't turn while braking and not locking the brakes and trying to turn.

[saiyanbloodstyle]

Didn't enjoy that race at all.

[maurjen]

the race took me 6 hours to finish and i never enjoyed it one bit since it requires a perfect run meaning one wrong move like ending up spinning would be over for you. The only thing i can say is at least be 2nd place in the 3rd lap as the car is scripted to crash making you 1st assuming no car is following you seconds later

[Valkirye22]

The only scripted parts I figured were the crash at the 2nd big turn in lap 1 (commentator always has the same comment) and 2 drivers crash on the straight after the chicane on 2nd lap but those are random sometimes those ahead, sometimes those behind you regardless if you are leading or trailing. In the first lap most turns are a clusterf*ck anyway so you try to keep clean and away and let them bounce off each other.

I got it in 30 minutes tops, don't want to "gitgud" anyone since I'm sure some have done it 2nd try either through skill or luck but I honestly don't see how it can take more than an hour to beat for the average player.... It's really not that hard or gamebreaking - sure the controls are iffy, AI is all over the place and the thing has as much grip as soap but nothing that incredibly hard.

 

No joke, I crashed and reset the part prior getting to the mechanics to tamper with the blue car more than the race itself - until I learned to ease off the throttle a little bit in the city

[maurjen]

7 hours ago, Valkirye22 said:

The only scripted parts I figured were the crash at the 2nd big turn in lap 1 (commentator always has the same comment) and 2 drivers crash on the straight after the chicane on 2nd lap but those are random sometimes those ahead, sometimes those behind you regardless if you are leading or trailing. In the first lap most turns are a clusterf*ck anyway so you try to keep clean and away and let them bounce off each other.

I got it in 30 minutes tops, don't want to "gitgud" anyone since I'm sure some have done it 2nd try either through skill or luck but I honestly don't see how it can take more than an hour to beat for the average player.... It's really not that hard or gamebreaking - sure the controls are iffy, AI is all over the place and the thing has as much grip as soap but nothing that incredibly hard.

 

No joke, I crashed and reset the part prior getting to the mechanics to tamper with the blue car more than the race itself - until I learned to ease off the throttle a little bit in the city

well the game it self requires a perfect run. and not many has the mindset to keep going esp old gamers who now has either families work or normal lives.  

Edited October 20, 2020 by maurjen

[anotherfangirl]

On 19/10/2020 at 7:35 PM, Valkirye22 said:

The only scripted parts I figured were the crash at the 2nd big turn in lap 1 (commentator always has the same comment) and 2 drivers crash on the straight after the chicane on 2nd lap but those are random sometimes those ahead, sometimes those behind you regardless if you are leading or trailing. In the first lap most turns are a clusterf*ck anyway so you try to keep clean and away and let them bounce off each other.

I got it in 30 minutes tops, don't want to "gitgud" anyone since I'm sure some have done it 2nd try either through skill or luck but I honestly don't see how it can take more than an hour to beat for the average player.... It's really not that hard or gamebreaking - sure the controls are iffy, AI is all over the place and the thing has as much grip as soap but nothing that incredibly hard.

 

No joke, I crashed and reset the part prior getting to the mechanics to tamper with the blue car more than the race itself - until I learned to ease off the throttle a little bit in the city

It took me 4 hours to win the race on normal difficulty, I have no idea how long it’ll take me to win in classic mode.

 

I’m just not sure if I should press X when I’m rounding the corners or if I should press L2 (but doing that while using the control stick makes my car spin). Or should I just ease off the gas pedal (R2)?  I haven’t figured out the right method yet.

[Valkirye22]

19 hours ago, anotherfangirl said:

It took me 4 hours to win the race on normal difficulty, I have no idea how long it’ll take me to win in classic mode.

 

I’m just not sure if I should press X when I’m rounding the corners or if I should press L2 (but doing that while using the control stick makes my car spin). Or should I just ease off the gas pedal (R2)?  I haven’t figured out the right method yet.

I haven't used the X ram for speed boost (or ramming) at all in my run. Maybe just for novelty on the finish straight but otherwise none.

 

Don't be afraid to ease off the throttle or brake hard in the turns, just try your best to keep clear of the destruction derby that is nearly every corner in the first lap - find a clean, slower line and overtake as you can. The rest is down to you finding a balance in controlling the car and carrying your speed through long corners. Don't reset if you're not first by the end of the 1st lap - the race has three and I only took 1st on the end of the 2nd lap. Plus it will help you find the balance and figure out car controls.

 

Also try to avoid cutting corners as it's really easy to flip or oversteer (especially on the chicane) - again use the brakes. (P.S. brakes are sh*t so using them 'hard' will just mean braking somewhat effectively)

 

As other have mentioned there are 1 or 2 scripted AI crashes, namely the 2nd turn first lap and chicane on 2nd lap from what I experiences this should help you jump up a few spots and the AI sometime piles on when a couple crash which can be helpful but is luck based - in one of my tries maybe 9 cars trashed all over the chicane but I screwed up a turn later in the race when 1st.

[Lightsp33d1987]

21 hours ago, anotherfangirl said:

It took me 4 hours to win the race on normal difficulty, I have no idea how long it’ll take me to win in classic mode.

 

I’m just not sure if I should press X when I’m rounding the corners or if I should press L2 (but doing that while using the control stick makes my car spin). Or should I just ease off the gas pedal (R2)?  I haven’t figured out the right method yet.

I did it in just a couple of tries so this is a little sloppy but I only ever used L2 you can lift and coast before braking, Just try to avoid been hard on the throttle and brakes.

 

[XXIIlII]

Took me an hour to win. Problem is I managed to be the 1st so many times but the handling is so garbage that I spin out all the time. Eventually it felt like a normal race like any other racing game. Practice is the key.

Edited July 13, 2021 by XXIIlII

[Shua_J]

It took me 2 hours from the previous levels trophy to this one on Classic. I play some Gran Turismo on my alt account and have the Thrustmaster T150 driving wheel and pedals so I'm fairly used to racing games. I've won online races before on the weekly tournaments too.

I thought this level was super fun. The only time I raced a full three laps was on my last try that netted me the win. The advantage legit racing games have is that you can practice the tracks before competing on them. So...your playthrough in Mafia is three things: learning the track itself, learning the cars behavior and then dealing with the aggressive competition.

I spent the first hour learning the track itself. First, Layout. Second, how I'm going to approach each turn. Then I learned how far I could push the car. Just like in actual racing titles...opponents dont require a whole lot of focus. Overtaking in those titles is about who makes the least amount of mistakes and how to momentarily juke absurdly aggressive opponents that don't know how to drive. 

This approach may seem like it will take a lot of time...but if done right...it would seem that it's much quicker than the white knuckling approach mentioned in the above comments.

Here's some good tips for racing on classic:

1. Everybody is fast on the straight-aways. Your job is to learn how to be quick in the turns.

2. Don't put your focus on where you don't want to go. Put your focus on the exact spot on the track you want to put your car.

3. Watch the corners...not the cars in the corners. This will inform you if you are approaching too fast or too slow. This split second of information makes all the difference in the world.

4. It is advantageous to either be in the back of the pack or the front of the pack. If you are in the middle of the pack...do everything in your power to relieve yourself of that racing hell as quick as you can. In the middle of the pack...you have to deal with everything in front of you and overly aggressive no-minds from the back. Not a good place to be.

5. Don't use other cars as your brakes. Collisions mean slow downs...the exact thing required to lose. Avoid other cars at all costs. In turn 1 of lap 1...contact is almost unavoidable...if you concentrate on keeping up your speed and making as little contact as possible...there is a good chance by turn number 3 of lap 1 that you will be in 5th place or higher.

 

6. Gas pedal plus hard turning equals spin out. Avoid mashing the gas pedal when in a turn. When in a turn...add about 25 percent gas. Only hammer the gas when your wheels are in a straight line.

7. Only hit the edges of the curbs at the chicane. You should be able to maintain near maximum speed if you chose the right angle.

8. In the corners, remember this phrase: Slow is smooth...smooth is fast. Concentrate on taking corners smoothly. This will maintain your speed. Take the turn like youre actually in the car...not like youre playing a video game that has no consequences. Take corners like an adult.

9. Switching the car to manual transmission has distinct advantages to speed.

On my final winning race...I used almost zero boosting (except in the long straight) and I won by at least 7 car lengths on Classic.

[HansPatat050]

Remember that in the second and third lap there will always be a car that crashes in front of you. So if you find yourself being second in the final lap then you're going to win: the car placed first will always crash in the oval corner. 

[Guest]

On 09/10/2020 at 4:36 PM, totallycrushed said:

Newbies be mad when old game kick their ass lol.

I mean... he has a point, all he did was talk about the logic of the game, I think it's valid

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

i'm good enough to get by on racers, but not great, this took me an hr and it's literally just a case of learning the 3 hardest corners and you're away the hardest corner being the first, soon as i nailed the first corner confidently, I turned down dialogue volume and music volume and did it with a headset on, and aced it