Anyone else notice that AI cars have a habit of zooming past you at the worst moment, forcing you from first to fifth or something?  I'm pretty sure the AI is cheating, or as it's known in racing games, 
 
HAS RUBBER-BAND AI!  
 
But I've had to repeat races numerous times in my quest to place first in everything, usually because I get cheated out of victory by the AI.  
 
Still a great game though. 

I agree. It's a great game, but I'm definitely not a fan of the rubber-band AI. I'm only about halfway through the career mode, and I'm already starting to get cheated out of wins on a pretty regular basis. It's making me wonder if I'm even going to have the patience to stick with it through the end. 
 
I can't even count the number of times I've been five or more seconds ahead going into one of the last turns only to be passed by four or five guys just in front of the finish line. I'm all for the AI not giving up and hell even giving them a small speed boost to help them catch up to me isn't the end of the world if it keeps the race interesting...but this shit just feels totally unfair and cheap at times.
 
What also sort of compounds the issue in this game is that the power-plays aren't very useful for staying ahead of the people behind you. There's the occasional shortcut, but that is rarely enough to maintain a decent lead, especially when the guys behind you are setting off explosions all around you.

That's something I've always hated about racing games. Especially games where different cars are supposed to be faster/slower than each other. What's the point if the AI can just bounce along behind you, and pass you whenever?

Split/Second seems cool but I think I would quickly get tired of it and given the competition it has from some other racers out right now as well I can't see me purchasing this game. I think a weekend rental will probably cut it for me.

Ive heard that is an issue in this game - however i can kind of see how having no banding would suck , i mean if you had no banding, youd drop one building on everyone, tear away, never see anyone else the whole race so you get no more power plays then BOOM premise of game is gone. 
Though by the sound of it the other extreme isnt any better either - looks like a no win situation tbh!

This is some of the worst rubber banding I've ever seen. I lost an almost perfect race last night because on the final straightaway a car (the same model I was driving) went zooming by me at an insane speed, causing me to come in second. Even if he was drafting for the entire race, there's no way he should have gone by me that fast. 

Not to mention how the AI's cars can move you around like you're a piece of paper but any attempt at moving their cars yourself just slows your car down.  No joke, I had a car start ramming me from the back until it lifted my car in the air and it said i crashed.

Indeed, finally finished the game yesterday, cost me some time and a lot of swearing. But some parts are just pure bs. Thanks to a miracle i had a 15 second lead, i crash one time and i'm suddenly in 8th place.

Sorry for the necro but I'm fucking pissed. I just bought the game today for cheap and went through the first three episodes. It was tough but I could push through it and it felt great but then I got to episode four... I actually would prefer rubberbanding, the AI fucking cheats like my ex. It's ridiculous. I could be going full fucking speed in my ubercar at a straight and all the fucking pickup trucks and motherfucks just breeze by like it's no thing. Jesus fucking christ.

I just got this game a little while ago and I'm really not digging the rubber band AI.  It's as if I just can't push down the gas hard enough.  Somehow, every other car has an extra gear they shift in to when I'm near or in first early on in a race.  Yet, if I stay back they seem to find that extra gear on the final lap as well.  It's a bit of damned if you do damned if you don't.  I still really like the game though.

I'm in the same boat as Terjay. Got gold medals in all events in the first three episodes, and thought it was a really fun challenge. Then the AI started cheating a lot more in the fourth episode, now the game just feels like a frustrating pain in the ass.

It also doesn't help that the one trick this pony has (power plays) is starting to wear pretty thin.

COR FUCKIN HELL

really love the power plays and the visuals, even the handling model... racing the AI is horseshit. And I won the season championship. Raptor and Vixen, I think? Fuck them.

@PureRok said:

That's something I've always hated about racing games. Especially games where different cars are supposed to be faster/slower than each other. What's the point if the AI can just bounce along behind you, and pass you whenever?

because its no fun racing on an empty track which is what happens if there is no rubber banding. you get too far ahead and then you are practically playing alone.

happens in mulitplayer too for the same reason. you need the thrill of needing to stay on edge.

be cool to turn it off though for some races or at least be a mode.

@stinky said:

@PureRok said:

That's something I've always hated about racing games. Especially games where different cars are supposed to be faster/slower than each other. What's the point if the AI can just bounce along behind you, and pass you whenever?

because its no fun racing on an empty track which is what happens if there is no rubber banding. you get too far ahead and then you are practically playing alone.

happens in mulitplayer too for the same reason. you need the thrill of needing to stay on edge.

be cool to turn it off though for some races or at least be a mode.

Well, I guess that's you're opinion, but if someone wants a challenge that's what increasing the AI difficulty/turning off car help (Traction control, ABS, etc.) are for. I would prefer that if my car is vastly superior to the other racers to pull far ahead. That's fun to me. The game completely undermining my accomplishments of affording better cars/upgrades is not fun.

I have the same feelings about RPGs that scale the enemy levels. What's the point of allowing me to level up if everything else levels up around me? There isn't one, because it just makes leveling up completely pointless. In some games it actually makes leveling up detrimental. The same is for rubberbanding - getting a faster car just makes the races harder because moving at a higher rate of speed makes handling more difficult, something that the AI has no problem with.

At the very least I should have the option to turn it off, but I don't think it should exist at all. Maybe if it were a BMX racing game or a running racing game it'd make sense, but not in cars or motorcycles.

@stinky said:

@PureRok said:

That's something I've always hated about racing games. Especially games where different cars are supposed to be faster/slower than each other. What's the point if the AI can just bounce along behind you, and pass you whenever?

because its no fun racing on an empty track which is what happens if there is no rubber banding. you get too far ahead and then you are practically playing alone.

happens in mulitplayer too for the same reason. you need the thrill of needing to stay on edge.

be cool to turn it off though for some races or at least be a mode.

The Burnout games did it right IMO. The AI in those games had rubberbanding, but they'd just hang out right behind you, ready to pass you if you messed up.

It's kind of understandable that this game wants the AI cars right in front of you most of the time, so you can use the power plays on them.

But if you're using the best car available, and driving perfectly throughout the whole race, it feels like a kick in the face to have the AI pass you right before the finish line.