How Catch-Up Works In GTA Races - GTA 5 Fact-Finding №32

[@broughy1322]

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[@broughy1322]

[@Not_Aran8276]

@@broughy1322 r/woooosh

[@Bayoll]

@@broughy1322 what color is that blue Krieger?

[@ABES718]

👍

[@udlrfbak]

can you do lap testing for all the cars under the effects of catchup?

[@spencer6064]

My top speed was reduced so much in a stunt race I didn’t make a stunt jump on a rockstar track.

[@iLupi]

Sounds like it was In The City. That happened to me as well.

[@Apex_-se6ol]

There is actually a glitch that will increase catchup on a car that isn't even in first. I usually get it on green machine.

[@How2HateYT]

@@Apex_-se6ol its when your position keeps flickering because of loops and things. Ridiculously stupid design catchup is.

[@Apex_-se6ol]

@@How2HateYT the glitch continues even when your in last in a full lobby and laps behind. It also decreases your speed much more than if you are in first, to the point of not being able to make jumps that you normally could even with catchup on in 1st.

[@LumeyAh]

Apex _9977 mainly impacts you on green machine and big drop imo

[@Le_Floffy_A92]

catch-up in a nutshell: "live rubber-banding for race leader"

[@akosy129]

No, rubberbanding speeds up the player in behind. (Or the person you are chasing in this game) This slows doen the player in first.

[@tysopiccaso8711]

@@akosy129 rubberbanding does both

[@Ridiona]

@@akosy129 isn't that the case for rubberbanding anyway ?it slows down the first place player but 2nd place and others keep their normal speed which tbh it's bs on how many public races I lost due to catch-up and slipstream thank god it's disabled by default in open wheel races

[@condorZERO94]

*Tezeract sales go through the roof

[@saminder987]

Stonks

[@doormatt]

I have one, it’s so weird. Sounds like it should be loud.

[@samuelg9115]

I won so many races with this car that it's more than reimboursed for me

[@shr00mhead]

Its because its got shit handling.

[@tailzrachi]

keko it's an electric Lamborghini in real life, search Terzo Millennio

[@Bowdon]

When I've played some custom races and they leave catch up on it drags the speed down of the front car so much it makes some tracks not being able to be completed, like if they have a big jump. The only way to get past the jump is if they have slip stream on and the 2nd place car gets in the slip stream and is able to make the jump (as the first place car crashes).

[@alco5692]

wow so thats why I can't even land jumps sometimes

[@hinty6424]

There are a few cases of cars that just can not make certain jumps. There is one R* stunt track where the Issi Sport, despite being a pretty fast car in its class, just can't make one of the jumps, while almost every other car I have tried can not only make it but often goes a fair way past the start of the far ramp. Couldn't tell you what is special about it to make that the case, have not tried the car in every race to see if it has trouble with other jumps. Had a similar problem with my Khameleon in "Big Drop" but that was likely more due to its poor top speed since it was a long jump at the bottom of a long ramp. I should also point out that I went through a period of being unable to complete some jumps that I had been perfectly able to make before, no matter what car I was driving. Bizarrely, I fixed that issue by turning off the Windows gaming desktop thing. Not a clue why it worked, but I'd been unable to complete the jumps for days, turned it off, logged back into GTA and was able to complete them. Best bet is that it was a framerate issue. It is worth noting, personally I have never had a jump fail because of catch up.

[@alco5692]

@@hinty6424 yup, it did actually did happen to me in an issi race

[@Bowdon]

@@hinty6424 There is a custom race that was for pantos and though its worked for over a year, suddenly the big jump at the end can't be done. I've also noticed for some reason in gta offline I sometimes do the pick up truck repeat missions with franklin.. and sometimes the truck is way under powered.. i wonder sometimes if it is connected to rockstar messing around with speed stats.

[@chrismartin4925]

@@alco5692 there are a few issi classic races affected by it, best to stay in the top 5 till the last lap

[@40088922]

I always thought it was supposed to make the *last* car FASTER, after all, that's what "catch-up" means, isn't it? one is behind everyone else and they must... catch up to them, so it only made sense to me if it was this way. now I know it should be off all the time cuz it's *D U M B* and *U G L Y*

[@tastynoobr3685]

basically being in first early will cause you to lose later lol

[@Raavera]

And here I thought they'd design it so last place would ultimately be the fastest, instead they just penalize people for getting into first. I guess if you were racing 4 wide down one really long straight you'd easily see 1st drop in speed one by one until the cycle started over again. Yuck.

[@topherb83topher51]

You should do a vid on that with title rockstar needs to fix lol I'd like it👍

[@qaulwart]

Yup, that's a very common thing to happen. Add the exaggerated effects of slipstream into the mix and it becomes a really bizarre thing to witness.

[@ThZuao]

That'd be much fairer. Most people have a harder time with faster cars, so Catchup wouldn't be as big a boost to bad racers while allowing talent to shine through with people who made a mistake. Still unfair though. Just disable it.

[@ImSquiggs]

It only makes sense to lower people's speed, not increase the speed of losers, that makes it harder for the losers to perform and probably makes them crash more

[@Swigzable]

Actually this testing is wrong or at least misleading. Here me out, Catch up does effect second place. I tested it doing a 3 person racing around a oval track with f1 cars. I went 118 mph in first. 122 in second and 129-130 in last place or 3rd. I also believe if i had four players instead of 3 if i were in 3rd place i wouldve been slightly quicker then 2nd but still not as fast as fourth. Catch up seems to work differnt for differnt cars as well which makes it even more confusing

[@Steel86Curtain]

Seriously well done testing here. Impressive work.

[@ERIC44424]

As he always does, he brings the best quality tests and is also a nice guy, definetly worth subcribing to him because hes one of the best content creators about gta that youre going to find

[@Swigzable]

This testing is wrong. Here me out, Catch up does effect second place. I tested it doing a 3 person racing around a oval track with f1 cars. I went 118 mph in first. 122 in second and 129-130 in last place or 3rd. I also believe if i had four players instead of 3 if i were in 3rd place i wouldve been slightly quicker then 2nd but still not as fast as fourth. Catch up seems to work differnt for differnt cars as well which makes it even more confusing

[@Swigzable]

this was all done with a min downforce dr1 with both spoilers broken off for highest possible speed

[@Supershackda]

I can actually understand the concept of having a catch-up feature in place. For the more casual players, making a mistake in say a stunt race can put you so far behind that you'll have no hope of even making it out of last place, and with how long some of the random races go on for, they end up either just quitting the game entirely since you can't just leave the race, or you end up creating those arseholes that hang around the choke points and try to block the track or knock people off course because they have literally nothing better to do until the race is over. But this particular catch-up system doesn't in anyway actually help people that are behind catch up. All it does is make it more difficult to maintain first place. If you're in a race with catch-up, and you have 2 or more similarly skilled drivers, they essentially just end up trading first place back between them as one of them takes it, gets slowed down and over taken, then the next person is slowed down and overtaken, and so on. It literally turns a competitive race into a game of luck where the winner is whoever just happens to take first place at exactly the right moment to not be slowed down in time to be overtaken before they cross the finish line. Either that or people resort to intentionally trying to bump other drivers off course so that they can actually build up a decent lead. So basically, not only does the system ruin the race for skilled and competitive drivers, it also completely fails to actually accomplish the goal of helping the casual drivers to still be able to have an enjoyable racing experience. It is objectively a bad system, there's no argument, no 'that's your opinion', it literally makes the experience worse without offering any positive aspects to anybody.

[@youtube_hate_my_gutsfall_o9278]

That is so damn true what you said, I agree 100%

[@danielaponte4054]

This

[@ernestochang1744]

Id rather them dont have catchup on the first place, what you say is true, but the fact that someone cant do GTA online racing i find it very hard to believe since the game for driving is pretty Arcade handling, any1 can make a turn coming out the other end with a powerslide, if so then what is the problem here? Let the kids that cant drive quit or block a checkpoint, that doesnt bother me, mainly because the good drivers know how to play mind tricks just as well as avoid the mind tricks, someone driving backwards on a track? just keep your line when they get close either turn left or right, get back on the gas and done, its not rocket science, Catchup hurts every1, people driving backwards or blocking a checkpoint doesnt hurt every1 it only hurts those who were unfortunate enough to fall for the trap which frankly theyre really easy to avoid in the first place, they already consider themselves to have lost the race based on them driving backwards, so what makes you think they could try "harder" to block off a checkpoint to the point where they can succeed and take out the best driver. Catchup has always been a game of luck back in xbox 360 days if a race had catchup on (like 80% of the time) i would literally not even bother and just have the controller on 1 hand, and drive with 1 hand, surprisingly the controller was small back then to the point where i placed 2nd and 3rd many times but because catchup is always on 1st was left up to lady luck. Catchup ruins a race faster then someone blocking off a checkpoint, What could ruin a race faster? Someone ramming you off the road, but if youre already in 1st some people are dumb enough to have their own little turf wars in 2nd and 3rd to the point where if you drive confidently enough in 1st place you will actually never get out of 1st place, its both a curse and a blessing at the same time really and thats when catchup is not on, when catchup is on now you have to worry about catchup and now you also have to worry about the DICK that ran you off the road quickly gaining a lead on you like he was some master driver bullsheet, proceed to punt the back of your car and push you into the ocean. So now you have 2 deciding factors that ruin your race faster then a jackrabbit can run 1. catchup 2. asshole with small peepee

[@Carno_Yujia]

Well said

[@Mernom]

@@ernestochang1744 a well made catchup system would help lower positions, while turning off once the front positions enter a reasonable battle range. That would mean that one mistake wouldn't completely make it impossible to win, but still require you to earn it.

[@iambennyboy]

Thanks to this video, im all caught-up on the effects of catch-up.

[@nebulagames4059]

Badum chhh. 🥁

[@adamcumley3950]

zing

[@Swigzable]

This video is incorrect.. Ive decovered enough varible on catch up The amount of people in the race determines how much slower first place will go. I did a race with three people with a digital speedo. First place i was going 118 second place was 122 thrid or last was 128. But just now i did the same race with the same car with 16 players and when i was in first i maxed out at 111-112 mph. ALSO to make things even weirder. During the last couple checkpoint my car speed up to normal speed as if the catch up was turned off. I could tell from the digital spedoo. i went from 111 to 125+ And no cars were near me. This video is misleading and wrong broughy. I was even in the live stream when you were doing this testing and knew somthing was weird about it. There are so many varibles about catch up that you cant just make a simple quick test liek you did and call it accurate

[@oliver9832]

@@Swigzable He talks about how more cars can alter how catchup works literally about 2 minutes in?

[@usunto8470]

There should be catchup for Mercedes in F1.

[@minoassal]

There is, just on the wrong Mercedes, Williams

[@vertebra00]

from next race they will actually try something like that LoL

[@jakub-kube]

@@vertebra00 wait are they actually

[@carl_estepa]

Now there should be catchup for Red Bull

[@thomas751]

ive needed this explanation for ages, the amount of times ive failed a stunt race jump because of the speed reduction is beyond a joke

[@nebulagames4059]

It’s almost as if the catch up system increases the drag coefficient on your car when you’re leading the race. Even though it only reduces top speed and acceleration, it isn’t fair either way.

[@gamanzhiydanil]

"only"

[@alterego9791]

Drag shouldnt be as massive as to reduce speed by 12+ mph especially those with aerodynamically fit shapes.

[@pedinhuh16]

Maybe almost as if, but not really. It decreases engine power but leaves drag coefficient alone, it's why the Tezeract remains mostly unaffected by it. EDIT: I was wrong, it does affect the drag instead of the engine power.

[@ericyoutube6943]

i think the problem with catch-up is that it's on by default when you make a lobby

[@henriquewd7574]

U SO RIGHT

[@efftee]

When a heavily nerfed kreiger is still better than the voltic

[@pedinhuh16]

It's a testament of how slow the Voltic is, maybe it was okay as a Super in 2013, but nowadays it probably would be slower than most mid-tier sports cars on a track, they really need to allow it to race on sports class which is where it truly belongs, along with the Benny's Sultan RS.

[@diaress]

Catch-up: The worst thing in GTA, ngl

[@chubskii]

Cargo griefers

[@Ass_Burgers_Syndrome]

But the best thing on fries ... oh wait ...

[@Jack-tu5zf]

I hate catch up! I am usually 1st in a lot if races for most of the race but if there are dirty racers they end up catching up the last few meters of the races and spinning me out and I end up second or even lower, this has happened so many times.

[@brichards71993]

@@Jack-tu5zf yup. many times i've just had someone lagging behind me until the finish just to blow by me. occasionally i turn aggregate position on if people complain about catchup being off and keep catchup on so this can't really be done.

[@mxbley]

what about the blur effect that showed when aiming before i found out how to turn it off

[@iPwnZz]

Woah thanks, I know what car I’m gonna use in races with randoms in the future

[@hudsonball4702]

Only if the track is a straight line. If it has corners the Tezeract will act like its on ice.

[@GamingForst1]

It wont work on stunt races

[@Terminator2911]

For anyone who might question these results, I was in one of the lobbies during the testing & believe me, every possible scenario was carried out !

[@garchompy_1561]

But What About X Car??? Might Be Different!!!!!

[@lukeiannello6190]

Genuine question, did anyone in these lobbies observe any instances of how long catchup takes to activate or deactivate? There's been a consensus for a long time that it affects 2nd place as well, and I know from experience (even though I haven't raced in GTA in a long time) that it definitely "feels" like it affects 2nd, you don't just instantly gain an acceleration or speed boost as soon as you lose 1st place and go to 2nd. Perhaps there is a delay between taking/losing 1st place and the affect activating/deactivating? Or possibly it activates slowly, meaning that (assuming it affects drag) getting into 1st place triggers catchup to gradually increase your vehicle's drag over the course of a few seconds until it reaches the catchup value?

[@mun123keet]

Did you guys try catch up with the Dozer though??????

[@chispin763]

And voltic, does voltic afect from this feature?

[@pedinhuh16]

@@chispin763 all cars suffers the effects of this shit, including the Voltic. I just don't know how much it affects it though. Either way, the Voltic is pretty garbage to race as a whole.

[@ImSquiggs]

Watched your videos when I first got the game in 2013 to make choices on buying Sadlers and Dominators, watch them in 2020 when all my friends get back into the free Epic version to finally figure out how Catch Up works. Great channel friend, you are a legend and you've been helping me play this game properly for almost a decade

[@brichards71993]

when people ask me if the taipan is a good car i always tell them driving it feels like being in first place with catchup on.

[@zl1.sheldon]

You can definitely tell a difference when doing the NASCAR races

[@CarlDraper]

indeed, because all cars are the same so you notice the speed difference more

[@mankindsixfeetunder8220]

That is the dumbest type of races,

[@loyaltyabovealllawzco.lilw1232]

@@mankindsixfeetunder8220 naw lol learn to drive on a oval stupid

[@pedinhuh16]

@@loyaltyabovealllawzco.lilw1232 on GTA that is the stupidest type of race. No fuel consumption, no tire wear and the vehicles don't damage enough for it to be a concern. Just stick behind the leader and overtake only when you're near the finish, that's literally the only thing to worry in those races. It's no wonder why R* tried to make their version of NASCAR a bit more interesting by making their ovals have boosts, inclines and declines, jumps, obstacles, and etc...And those races quickly turned into ghost towns.

[@loyaltyabovealllawzco.lilw1232]

@@pedinhuh16 stfu u anit teaching anybody a thing this is gta nobody races proper so that has to be done im way better then everybody i only lose when a stpd fk takes me out i was number 2 in the world on a race on gta now im like 8 in the world ive also made the top 10 in leaders boards on gran turismo a real racing game ive made the top 30 an 50 many many times on forza in the world in gt an forza they have contact but atleast there everybody in the race isnt just there to play bumper cars and nascar on its own is better ur not a real racing fan if u think gtas verison of nascar is better theres a time and a place normal oval racing has a place why cant there be both huh why does everybody in gta not know how to drive or even basics like a racing line i use iracing i use a wheel im able to make the leaderboards on games with the wheel and withe controller im pretty sure im more skilled then 99.999 percent of the gta community u know a skilled racer can do not just one lap or one race but the majority of his races without crashing if hes with other skilled drivers to bad the only guys i can find on gta that r skilled r cutters an leaderboard maniacs

[@ediblepinevideos]

There’s actually some other cars that barely get affected by catch up like the revolter. That’s the only gas powered car that I know of that doesn’t get affected much by it

[@elements1186]

If that's true (and I have no evidence to suggest it isn't), it doesn't fit with Broughy's theory about the Tezeract with its very low engine power and drag coefficient because the Revolter has a rather high engine power for a sports car and I'm almost certain it has the highest drag coefficient in its class. How very odd...

[@samuelg9115]

Thanks Broughy, one quality vid I was wanting so much, since I play a lot in random races with random hosts!

[@DatMageDoe]

The amount Catch-Up affects each car seems to vary heavily, as at first place in a 4 player race, the Krieger gets a 15% reduction in speed while the Cyclone gets only a 9% reduction, and obviously the 0.3% reduction on the Tezzeract. This requires more testing. Not just to see how much the reduction is and how it's done, but to also see if there are more vehicles like the Tezzeract, which get penalized less than normal. It's possible, after all, that the Tezzeract is not the only vehicle with this, and others exist - but they aren't as widely known due to being in classes other than Supers. My theory is that the Engine Power attribute gets a certain % reduction from being in first place. Because each vehicle in the game has different Drag and Max Velocity statistics (which also affect top speed), it results in the reduction being different.

[@cataleast]

Tez has the lowest drag value of any vehicle in the game (2.0), the next lowest drag values of viable vehicles are on a bunch of coupés at 5.5. This is the biggest discrepancy in the handling of the tested vehicles, which would suggest that catch-up is indeed an engine power reduction. A very low drag value plus the fact that the Tez is a CVT car (which end up having a limiter on their top speed even though they could go faster in theory) means that lowering the engine power will have a significantly smaller effect on the acceleration and top speed of the vehicle.

[@nightlythievery]

That was really interesting to witness. What a weird mechanic this is. Thank you so much for your effort and solid fact finding!

[@RisikoAO]

didn't know about the differences with 2 to 4 players, and didn't know about the Tezeract being immune to this. Thx, as usual :)

[@nathanielperry3614]

I don't doubt Broughy's testing. I'd always assumed catchup had effects up and down the racing order, as I'm used to, if I'm in 3rd place, catching up with the 2nd place car as if it were being slowed, but this could be mere assumption as, while I'm not up to the standards of top-class racers, I'm better than most of the randoms in public race lobbies, (and thanks to Broughy's testing, I've always got the quickest cars in the classes)

[@crashboredom2]

This is awesome. Ive also wondered about the specifics to this. I use it whenever a new friend joins the game and doesnt have fast cars or experiance. Thank ypu for testing and taking time to make a video and explain!

[@t_k_o_l]

Quality testing as always, thank you so much

[@Jaybee4920]

So *THAT'S* why the people used to say the Tezeract was the "best". 😅 Edit: right after I posted this he mentioned it lmao

[@nfsfanAndrew]

I kept saying Tezerect works really well when catchup is on and there was something up with it. Finally there's proof.

[@oleg_aka_djmeg]

"finally proof" i posted the proof a year ago

[@LeqitAndre]

Only some People maybe saw your vid know it will Go viral now

[@Phaed_]

Now we just have to hope that randoms don't completely disregard the information in this video, because of course their exeperience of 'I felt slower in 2nd' and 'I felt faster in last' is obviously correct and totally doesn't need any proof

[@Swigzable]

Actually this testing is wrong or at least misleading. Here me out, Catch up does effect second place. I tested it doing a 3 person racing around a oval track with f1 cars. I went 118 mph in first. 122 in second and 129-130 in last place or 3rd. I also believe if i had four players instead of 3 if i were in 3rd place i wouldve been slightly quicker then 2nd but still not as fast as fourth. Catch up seems to work differnt for differnt cars as well which makes it even more confusing

[@Phaed_]

The information in the video is in no way incorrect or misleading. The points were all made based on evidence from scientific testing with known control and independent variables, with all the proof present as well. If you want to refute anything in the video you’re gonna have to prove it via accurate testing like what’s present in the video. Just saying it’s wrong means nothing.

[@pedinhuh16]

​@@Phaed_The information in this video regarding this IS in fact incorrect, Broughy has correct himself on this on his latest video, while also finally discussing the intricacies of how catch up works in the game...Thanks to the source code leak of V we can now know it all. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place are affected by the mechanic. Catch up mechanic works by increasing the drag coefficient of the cars, it does not messed with their engine power.

[@jonatasfreitas2772]

You never cease to amaze me with your research and work, very nice video.

[@LegendsOfNascar]

There is a bug with catch-up where sometimes it doesn't get removed when you drop out of first place and your car retains the catch-up effect for the remainder of the race

[@pedinhuh16]

It's infuriating when that happens.

[@imatiuu9792]

This is definitely one of the worsts features in the game, thanks Rockstar

[@tjcmoto5484]

Yep it pretty much ruins and amount of competitive racing.

[@shobzh5256]

Turn it off then

[@davidflewelling5043]

I think kerb boosting is the worst feature in racing/game

[@hussainsabt6368]

it's not that bad but since it's on by default is what makes it bad. It has a good use in grand prix / nascar race styles

[@Krushking99]

@@davidflewelling5043 Brake boosting 🙃

[@SixFt12]

Great work Broughy! Thanks for the research!

[@FallenOwl-ts5ez]

CU be like: LeTs PuNiCh GoOd PlAyErS By SlOwInG tHeM DoWn

[@eren_nt]

Hello birb

[@ImSquiggs]

The real purpose is to give everyone a chance to come back in casual races so you're not just sitting in your positions the entire time and not interacting with each other

[@BobRobber1]

@@ImSquiggs thats what slip stream is for, you gotta be faster to pass. Its retarded to punish people for doing good.

[@DogMakingSausage]

@@ImSquiggs You're probably just bad

[@ImSquiggs]

@@DogMakingSausage Cool personality.

[@BananenBoerBob]

Thanks, I somehow always had the impression that it did affect you more or less depending on distance to second place. Argueably that would be a better way of doing it because now with catchup and slipstream everyone hangs in second place and overtakes right before/after the last corner

[@XYZUNKNOWN]

Thanks for uploading.

[@LivingWithGames]

So there WAS a bloody reason to own a Tezaract. Oh my good lord.

[@pancakead]

I sold mine off a while back, completely regret it now

[@JamieMLP]

Catch up can actually help u because if someone is in first place because they rammed u, u can use that catch up to catch back up to them and either get revenge or take the lead back so it just depends on peoples intentions while racing

[@SmugRoom38]

I’m glad it’s permanently off on open wheel races

[@CalicoBlack]

Amazing video Broughy 👏👌

[@TheLukesterGaming]

Even though it might seem obvious what 'catch up' does or might do, it's still really quite interesting to see what kind of difference it actually has on the top speed performance of a car like that, pretty crazy differences!🤯👍👏

[@lgkfamily]

Different strokes for different folks. I watch a lot of vids by the Failrace channel, and he almost always has catchup and slipstream turned on because, in his opinion, it makes for a closer more interesting race, and having one bad lap doesn't automatically put you out of the race. I like watching both your vids and his. Glad the feature is available, though it is debatable whether it should be defaulted to be turned off instead of on. One bad effect of catchup: If you come to a jump that requires high speed, you can come up short.

[@03bmw330]

awesome work Broughy

[@BertTF2]

They should change it so catch-up gives you a snall speed buff if you're at least 5 seconds behind the leader, and anyone within 5 seconds of the leader and the leader themself are unaffected. I feel like that would be a lot more fair (though not as fair as just removing it entirely)

[@abrams5819]

If done correctly the rubber band effect is very important for casual players to have a good experience, this is why it is turned on by default, the problem is that in gta it is not done correctly.

[@maxseltzer]

Catchup: punishing you for being faster than everyone else since 2013

[@RaijinRacer011]

This is why I favor enabling Slipstream over Catch-Up, though they should still scale back the effects of a slipstream to make it a little more realistic for professional GTA drivers. As a bonus idea, I think both boosts should not be enabled at the same time (the combined effects feel almost like cheating for those behind the lead car, even if they ease on the slipstream a bit). Essentially, Catch-Up is for new players while Slipstream can be for skilled drivers. However, the most advanced drivers could run with neither boosts enabled, if they want to test their skill further.

[@mun123keet]

I've played a few CU races in the Sports class in the past and the Pariah is so quick, that even CU can't hinder that car enough to bring the leader to a disadvantage.

[@broughy1322]

It would if there were a good enough driver in something else behind.

[@sick_nasty_jdm7900]

Yea you racing trash racers. Lol

[@ElDantae]

Thanks for uploading!!

[@Thunderer0872]

What about CU and Slipstream, in some cases when leading a 2nd place gets your slipstream as you are slow because of CU, they pass you but the CU is still on and nothing you can do to get the normal speed back... in reverse I have slipstreamed 1st place and then pass clean and still hear the swish noise of slipstream for a couple of turns after I passed and they drop off the mini map? This may only happen occasionally where there's a lagging situation and not common. If I host it's off but I tend to go looking for lobbies and it's on because it's on default same as traffic which NOBODY asked for. The only advantage of CU is when the lobby is full of Spanish bashers and you can get the first place back off them if there's enough laps to recover. These clowns should pull that crap at the end and not inside the first turn! You say it does not go away? I can get a lead of 10 seconds and it seems I am back to usual speed for the car I am in. It maybe a lag issue again or they are just not that fast. Also sometimes when there are trolls or people who didn't start the race CU can seem even slower than usual? worse is the new player host's that go with no custom cars on stunt races and leave the CU on so you can't make a jump or get away from the bumper car clowns!

[@newbienoob00]

the directional audio thought i feel immersed broughy

[@Foppezao]

The only circumstance i can think of catchup actually works for a leader, a bit, is Vespucci. Cause you dont have to lift through the corners and go ‘flat out’. Regardless, dumbest thing ever in a game.

[@pedinhuh16]

Yeah, drive a S80RR in Vespucci and you're essentially unbeatable once you get the first place and build up a lead from the second place.

[@nfsfanAndrew]

Its about time. I thought there was something weird with the tezerect with catchup. I kept using it on stunt tracks with catchup and usually had very good results. No wonder it worked well. 0 catchup effects plus the highest top speed on flat stunt track pieces. Best car for the gauntlet stunt track

[@HazewinDog]

very interesting! thank you for looking into this, Brough. I roughly knew how it worked, but I still learned a lot :)

[@AnnihilatorCZ]

Me: Broughy: *fucked finding* Me: clicks furiously

[@bencezavarko7312]

It could be better if the effects weren't so severe. Same applies to the slipstream. A seriously toned down version would make for close racing but wouldn't punish you that much for being good

[@Noxai.]

Another nice reason to put on why I like the Tez

[@MegaPROBlader]

Damn, I just watched your first GTA online race. I was shocked about the coincidence .

[@Skitziblink]

That is amazing, really good to know. Thank you for doing the work.

[@westinger34]

cool bit of information brough! i'd love to see you explore the catchup glitch that gives crazy top speeds? maybe a glitch series on GTA? if that's something you're into?

[@wackywavinginflatablearmfl3685]

Really explaining this after 7 years

[@strech147]

I really thought Catch Up would have been some sort of slipstream mechanic like in NFS Carbon. Like getting a speed boost depending on how long and close you can remain directly behind the race leader. They could even give it an appropriate R* innuendo...

[@nickbroughracing4182]

Does this mean that in catch up races the Tezeract would be the optimal car to use?

[@steviejrr]

so this is why nearly every race I dont use the brakes a single time yet people catch up and I come 2nd

[@BrandoMan]

Glad to have this information. Only useful for NASCAR or Highway races in GTA, but great to have it anyways.

[@asticot7]

thx very much for theses tests. BTW you don't say if it's same on all plateform or if it's only tested on ps4. I play on PC and lot of us noticed that there's a bug that makes you slowed down even when you're not 1st anymore. Making it very hard to re catch-up the 1st place when you lost it. Would be nice to get more information about this thing.

[@asticot7]

mostly on stunt races

[@Noxai.]

I like how you had 16 other people to do this with

[@artvasch147]

No one going to talk about the dreaded glitch on stunt tracks where you reset while in first and when you show up in 3rd or whatever after the reset, catchup stays on you, even though you're not in first, until the race is over or first place finishes the race lol

[@jezwc]

Very informative thanks mate

[@ADreadBellow]

I personally like the mechanic I think it should be turned off by default but it gives some of the poorer drivers a chance to keep up. It keeps the field together a little more which can make random races a little more interesting, rather than just stomping with the Emerus. It’s a cool mechanic but I almost always turn it off when I am hosting a race because it’s super frustrating when I am driving well and the people behind me who are crashing still manage to catch up.

[@kieroncraig3594]

been waiting for this for 7 years now

[@Goudafortuna]

Huh, so I was right, and I figured out the tezeract thing when it came out cuz I definitely realized I wasn’t going nearly as slow with it while in first. Haven’t seen the tezeract used by a “good” driver to observe from behind as next to no one uses it in races if they’re willing to drop the money on it. Just used it myself and realized I don’t feel nerfed. You’ll really notice it on tracks like mountain drop, and plummet 1. Also you can hear the difference in the non electric cars when catching up is on and your in first compared to it being off while in first.

[@nfsfanAndrew]

I noticed this too when it came out. I used it in stunt races a lot because of its high top speed on flat stunt track pieces. Great for tracks like Gauntlet. But I haven't played in awhile.

[@Goudafortuna]

nfsfanAndrew yea that’s the track I forgot to name, I don’t use the tezeract on it cuz it’s mostly not smooth track pieces and the bumps slow it down unlike the d8, emerus, and krieger which all gain speed from them.

[@dannym1882]

Sometimes what I do is I stay behind the leader on the final straight and pounce with the slipstream boost.

[@8Ryosuke8]

Is there a video somewhere about that race with catch up on with Pantos? Seems like fun to watch ^^

[@jodybrookes]

Aha I always seemed to do well with the tezeract in some races especially on tracks with long straights! This explains it!

[@Just-Michael]

It really does just punish the leader. If you are not a good driver, you will not win. Or at least that should be how it is. With catchup, it doesn't force people to improve their driving skills, which makes racing with randoms an unenjoyable experience since everyone is focused on physicality to get ahead, rather than just getting better and winning races naturally.

[@Panimioul]

the funny part is when you keep gaining time on randoms behind you while catchup is on

[@Holanduzo]

Catch up is the most hateful thing of GTA... Only losers like it.

[@domineos.8224]

There are a lot of losers then, cause every race lobby still enables the dumb feature, even if the host is a high-level player.

[@Holanduzo]

@@domineos.8224 Yes, there are, and not every high level player is for his driving skills.

[@domineos.8224]

Holanduzo Well I even had some cases of some high levels to be assholes to others, and have catch up on just to mess with those that end up first. Riding around in the fastest cars, only to be behind and smash into them. In other words, catch up really is useless nowadays. Low levels already know they won’t win the race at all.

[@Holanduzo]

@@domineos.8224 So, catch up is for losers and assholes, I agree with you.

[@tylerplayzz8697]

@@Holanduzo I am a very skilled racer in GTA and I never turn catchup on bc I always try to set a new lap pb time whenever I race and I only get below 1st place when I get rammed so whenever I host a race I always turn collisions off

[@GeorgiiiVaampire]

If it would give a boost to everyone at least 20s away from the next position it would work much better. Just shows that despite GTA trying to be a racing and shooting game it fails at both.

[@bellicenterprises4362]

I bet R* is gonna patch the Tezeract being unaffected to catch up

[@Slimmeyy]

I bet they won't because they can't be bothered. This might also increase shark card sales, making them more money.

[@Johnny362000]

If the theory that it's to do with how the Tez's handling is set up is true then they won't because they pretty much never touch handling and it would completely change the way the car drove if they did

[@ImSquiggs]

They should.

[@loyaltyabovealllawzco.lilw1232]

@@ImSquiggs no they should turn off catch up completely or atleast dont have it on why u start a lobby

[@ImSquiggs]

@@loyaltyabovealllawzco.lilw1232 I dont care anymore dude

[@CKilla1207]

One of the only good things about catchup is it can help deal with the random aggression and lack of experience when racing online, especially in stunt races! It’s almost inevitable for a wreck to happen in a highly populated online stunt racing lobby, therefore catchup gives the decent /good racers a better chance to get back into the race despite the circumstances!

[@agusjose5122]

This test was great, but you must keep this in mind. Public races are a mess, the more dirty your racing style is, the most chances you have to win (if youre also good at racing). Catchup on gives people that get rammed the oportunity to catchup that scum that made them drop from 2nd to 10th. I still prefere catchup off tho, mainly because you end learning how to avoid rammers.

[@evolition7]

Catchup true definition "punish purely good racers for being good"

[@dann536]

Let's get Into the real science , does clicking ready first put you in pole position? Do the racing liveries make my car go faster? And finally will rockstar ever tier the premium races perhaps even convert into premium league, pooling drivers rather than sin binning them for 45mins.

[@midnightblaze4313]

Pretty much punishes you for being good at the game.

[@Pwnzor694]

They do the same with Power Player in Team Deathmatches. It ruins 1v1s (I’m a free aim player) so I have to force close range engagement. It causes you to deal half damage while you take double

[@suryankkumar7708]

Sometimes the host has a huge advantage in Contact races where everyone else is fucked over by collisions or trying to avoid them. The host being in 1st place had a huge lead in that case.

[@ChrisWheezy]

Omfg no it's the keep the cars close together to make it a fight to the finish,make the race interesting. So you matter if ur bad or good the race is fun for both.

[@midnightblaze4313]

@@suryankkumar7708 I rarely see the host of the lobby win anything it's usually some level 1k who knows everything about all the tracks.

[@midnightblaze4313]

@@ChrisWheezy cool fight for second still shouldn't be punished for being good.

[@janerishbaluca1529]

I usually put it on fries. But seriously, it's only really fun for playing 1v1 with a friend to keep things dramatic and spicy. Otherwise, it's just unfair.

[@KnowerLikeNoah]

It’s useful in races where people crash into each other and the lead gets away

[@justScottyyy]

I think saying catch up is "awful" is unnecessarily far, it's fair that you don't want to use it in your races as their more serious and competitive but imo those races are quite boring, especially when compared to races with it and slipstream that are just for fun. Yeah it could probably be implemented better but I feel track creators shouldn't be disabling it on their tracks just because they don't like it, what's wrong with giving everyone a choice. Anyway I appreciate the high quality testing, only thing I'd ask for is how quickly does it take effect once you gain the lead and how powerful is it with 2 people continuingly switching 1st and 2nd places.

[@gtdriver2416]

Does ketchup affect the leader when he is driving backwards? Test all cars please. Thank you.

[@awellner3285]

Ketchup only affects the taste of the leader.

[@yk100]

Ketchup turns your license plate into HE1NZ

[@mexicanguy143]

Ketchup only makes a cheese burger taste different

[@SMSmith1990SMS]

Great testing as always. 👍 Now you just have to test every vehicle again to see which is fastest when Catch-Up is on! 😁

[@godofllies]

I'm still laughing about the panto joke. What's wrong with me?

[@cbpbear9021]

I knew it, my theory of slowing down when leading with catchup was correct

[@Denes2005]

They made this shitty system to create close racing instead of making cars at around the same pace, maybe within 2-3 seconds from voltic to krieger

[@LexanderMiller]

No, they made the system so if you crash once in the beginning the race isn’t over.

[@simonn8042]

I think catchup was designed to level out driver skill rather than car performance but I agree the car classes couldn't be more unbalanced than they are now

[@Morpheus-pt3wq]

Well, instead of balancing all cars in the game, this was an easy way out.

[@TheLaXandro]

Voltic shouldn't be in Supers anyway

[@jayfelton7870]

I like the concept of catch-up to use with casual racing with friends. It is supposed to make the race more exciting by making the skill gap lower. But with its dumb mechanics it's so unpredictable

[@asideaccount393]

Was wondering if you were gonna mention the catchup glitch in the “Green Machine” stunt race. Basically catchup affects the other racers and they can’t make the jumps

[@LumeyAh]

This problem is mostly on green machine and big drop imo, as yes it feels as if you get hit by a stronger catch-up, making it impossible to even make it up the jump. Me and my friend got it on a race with catchup off as soon as a guy left/lagged out

[@Robke555]

I'm probably wrong, but it's from my personal experience (PS4) After doing many races around the map that are all about top speed, I've noticed different results while being in 2nd and 3rd place. In these races I use the 811, I do the trick that i can reach speeds up to 200 mph (on the speedometer) . When in 1st it gets pushed back to 140 mph, 2nd and 3rd are limited to 160mph. Even tho the car didn't change, it had the same "glitch setup" nothing changed, only the position i'm in. Yes it is a very inconsistent thing, the trick isn't the same once, but in general this is what i've noticed. (Apart from all the messages calling me a modder)

[@broughy1322]

As shown, this is not what happens.

[@Robke555]

@@broughy1322 My point was, I think it has an effect on vehicles with higher top speed, like the 811. Which gets a speed that normally isn't really possible, due to a glitch/trick. This might show that it does has an effect on 2nd and 3rd. But isn't noticeable in a "normal" car. I'll try to test it my self.

[@Morpheus-pt3wq]

Brough, you should also test how catchup reacts, if the leader is in the fastest car in the class and there is someone in the slowest (and possibly stock) car from the same class in the lobby.

[@Slimmeyy]

It wouldn't react any differently.

[@Saintlawrence100]

Great explanation..thanks....catch-up is garbage...won’t even race with it turned on anymore...sometimes I’m slowed down so much that I can’t even make the jump in first position...