Sim racing offers a plethora of ways to compete, and hotlapping is quite possibly the fastest way to get stuck in. However, some do not appreciate running for lap time by themselves - what is your stance on it?
Racing revolves around battling other cars on track to finish in the highest position, at least in most forms of circuit-based racing. Overtaking, defending your position, pushing other drivers to make mistakes under pressure - many sim racers enjoy these elements, as the countless ways to compete online show.
However, not everyone is fond of running online surrounded by other racers - and most titles' AI leaves a lot to be desired when racing offline. That does not mean that there is no way to compete with other humans, though. Most sims come with time trial modes that include online leaderboards. Everyone gets the same conditions, so times are easily comparable. You could argue that it is the purest form of measuring a driver's pace.
In fact, back when online races were hardly accessible to anyone, this is effectively how Grand Prix 2 leagues were run, for instance. Drivers would do their races offline, save the race and send over the save file via email (or even a floppy disk!) to the league organizer who would merge and calculate the final result of the race.
The Grand Prix 2 era had some hurdles when trying to compete with other drivers.
On the other hand, it seems like many online racers only practice tracks by hotlapping, all by themselves - and that sometimes shows in actual races. They may have grabbed pole position by quite a margin, but start struggling when racing in close quarters with other cars. For this reason, many look down on hotlapping.
Then again, hotlapping is a great way to familiarize yourself with a car and track combination, to find out where to gain (and lose) time, and how to be consistent. So it can be a good training tool for some.
However, this is not always going to be feasible. Despite many leagues or events running practice servers, there is no guarantee that you will run into other cars when you have an hour or so to practice. The session then becomes a hotlapping session by default.
And that can be a good thing, I think, mostly for the reasons stated above. Doing lap after lap builds confidence at a track, you can find out which setup adjustments you might want to make, and build muscle memory for a certain rhythm.
Admittedly, trying to get a hang of the Karussell at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife is certainly a lot easier when no other cars are around.
The one thing to avoid, in my opinion, is time trial modes that have fixed amounts of fuel and no tire wear, so no car progression. Running time trial laps for an hour means that unlike a "normal" one-hour session on your own, your car will not evolve due to tire wear and fuel burn, meaning it will feel much different compared to a run where these elements are a factor. Consequently, it will not help you to get a feel for a race stint as much as it could.
For competitive purposes, however, time trials can be quite fun. Battling a few friends for the fastest lap on the leaderboard is usually quite motivating and even addicting - as is chasing a world record, if that is within reach.
What is your take on hotlapping, though? Do you think it might strengthen unwanted habits? Do you believe it is a good base to dive into racing a certain car-track combo better? Let us know in the comments!
Racing revolves around battling other cars on track to finish in the highest position, at least in most forms of circuit-based racing. Overtaking, defending your position, pushing other drivers to make mistakes under pressure - many sim racers enjoy these elements, as the countless ways to compete online show.
However, not everyone is fond of running online surrounded by other racers - and most titles' AI leaves a lot to be desired when racing offline. That does not mean that there is no way to compete with other humans, though. Most sims come with time trial modes that include online leaderboards. Everyone gets the same conditions, so times are easily comparable. You could argue that it is the purest form of measuring a driver's pace.
In fact, back when online races were hardly accessible to anyone, this is effectively how Grand Prix 2 leagues were run, for instance. Drivers would do their races offline, save the race and send over the save file via email (or even a floppy disk!) to the league organizer who would merge and calculate the final result of the race.
The Grand Prix 2 era had some hurdles when trying to compete with other drivers.
On the other hand, it seems like many online racers only practice tracks by hotlapping, all by themselves - and that sometimes shows in actual races. They may have grabbed pole position by quite a margin, but start struggling when racing in close quarters with other cars. For this reason, many look down on hotlapping.
Then again, hotlapping is a great way to familiarize yourself with a car and track combination, to find out where to gain (and lose) time, and how to be consistent. So it can be a good training tool for some.
Editor's Take
For me, hotlapping is a mixed bag. Practicing with other cars surrounding you is always more helpful in my opinion, as this effectively forces you to try and find out where to brake when trying to overtake or defend, which corners work two-wide, or how to follow other cars.However, this is not always going to be feasible. Despite many leagues or events running practice servers, there is no guarantee that you will run into other cars when you have an hour or so to practice. The session then becomes a hotlapping session by default.
And that can be a good thing, I think, mostly for the reasons stated above. Doing lap after lap builds confidence at a track, you can find out which setup adjustments you might want to make, and build muscle memory for a certain rhythm.
Admittedly, trying to get a hang of the Karussell at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife is certainly a lot easier when no other cars are around.
The one thing to avoid, in my opinion, is time trial modes that have fixed amounts of fuel and no tire wear, so no car progression. Running time trial laps for an hour means that unlike a "normal" one-hour session on your own, your car will not evolve due to tire wear and fuel burn, meaning it will feel much different compared to a run where these elements are a factor. Consequently, it will not help you to get a feel for a race stint as much as it could.
For competitive purposes, however, time trials can be quite fun. Battling a few friends for the fastest lap on the leaderboard is usually quite motivating and even addicting - as is chasing a world record, if that is within reach.
What is your take on hotlapping, though? Do you think it might strengthen unwanted habits? Do you believe it is a good base to dive into racing a certain car-track combo better? Let us know in the comments!
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