Race payouts

[Velociraptorius]

Alright, since this is the first primarily racing themed update for GTA Online, I think it's the best time to talk about this.

To start with, I like racing in this game. And racing seems like something Rockstar wants the players to do, since every new vehicle indirectly promotes getting it and tuning it up for racing. There's really little reason to spend money on the performance upgrades other than being able to race those new vehicles competetively.

However, there is a huge problem with races. The payouts. And it actually wasn't until now that I realized the magnitude of this problem, because only when this update dropped did I first land in a 16 player race. And, quite frankly, I got very disappointed.

The payout for racing 2 laps in the new tracks (takes roughly around 7 minutes, give or take) with 16 players is roughly 22000$... for the first place. That is one person out of 16 who is getting what I wouldn't even call a decent pay. Remember, we're talking about SIXTEEN contenders for that sum of money. And let's be honest, no matter how good you think you are at racing, you're not going to consistently finish first with 16 players. Accidents happen. Lagspikes happen. Traffic happens. GTA physics shenanigans happen. Other players screwing you up, accidentally or on purpose, happens. Any of these occurencies mean that you can kiss that 1st position goodbye. And it doesn't even pay well if you avoid them! Even on that 1/16 occasion when you win, given you compete with players of similar skill, you only get an average mission's payout. And then when you don't win, the pay drops marginally. The second place gets less than 10k. Others get further markedly reduced payouts. It's ridiculous. Compare that to up to 8 players jumping in to do one of the missions and EVERYONE getting paid 20k+ without a worry and you start to see why barely anyone bothers to play races.

There has never been a need to buff payouts on something more than now. Whichever way you look at it, racers end up getting the short end of the stick. And it saddens me because I LOVE the new race tracks. And I can't wait for the editor, so I can start making my own skydive-in-a-vehicle tracks, but the problem is, after the initial week's hype passes, these races, and those that follow, will be empty. There's a reason I have never seen more than 8 people in a race previously before the update. It's supremely hard to get people to accept invites to races. And I completely understand. If you spend a few hours racing, even if we generously assume that you won more races than you lost (where "losing" means coming in any place but the first), you're still more than likely walking away with less than 100k in your pocket. As opposed to spending the same amount of time doing missions safely, where everyone gets paid and you'll walk away with at least twice as much.

 

So Rockstar, on behalf of all the racers out there, bottom line is, the race payouts need to be fair. I'm not asking the ability to get rich off racing. Although it would be a sensible decision to allow the players to earn money for the new content BY playing the new content, which, as it stands, is impossible. But let's start smaller. Even smaller buffs to payouts would do wonders. At LEAST make it worth the while winning a race with 16 people by paying double what a mission would provide, not the same or lesser amount. I understand why 2-4 people races can't have huge money in the pots- it would be far too easy to get a few buddies together to boost each other to huge money amounts in short times. But very few people could possibly afford to do that with 15 others. There is absolutely no reason why the big races wouldn't pay big money.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Velociraptorius

[HeavyDuke]

Such wall of text

Seriously, buy cash cards. Thats the whole point.

Edited July 13, 2016 by HeavyDuke

[20451ecneps]

Rockstar increasing the payouts...now that's funny.

 

They'll only do that for adversary modes unfortunately.

[Velociraptorius]

Rockstar increasing the payouts...now that's funny.

 

They'll only do that for adversary modes unfortunately.

Not that there's anything wrong with adversary modes... not all of them, at least. But races need some serious love. Adversary modes are for the most part 4 to 8 people, at least the ones I played, and their payouts are fair for what they are. Now races... well, I already said my piece.

[trhacker01]

I likewise don't see a pay buff happening, but it would be very nice to see. Had a lot of fun last night on the new tracks, but can't do that often if I have any hopes of making $$.

[ash-274]

Remember when one lap around Criminal Records, solo, got you over $2000?

Rockstar decided (with patch 1.04) that racing shouldn't be a means to a profitable end.

Even the premium races that could pay $80,000 ($100k-20k) have a 48-minute cooldown if you win.

 

Race for fun.

[mareepx]

I've been winning 16 player stunt races and making like $28k with 3 laps or $35k with 4 (on certain tracks) and all that. I think that's very reasonable personally. Because whilst it is true that not ever single race ends with you in first no matter your skill, with skill you can get there consistently more often than not, always contending for podiums. If I make $50k from 15 minutes of racing, I'm certainly very happy. I mean, how much do you think payouts ought to be? They're far better than they were (albeit not quite as lovely as day one).

[Cant-B-Faded]

Missions or heists for money. Racing for fun (now). You could get rich off racing early on.

 

I couldn't read more than 3 paragraphs.

[Above Omnipotence]

If you had've been here when the game first came out then, the payouts were extremely great, until Rockstar nerfed all payouts.

 

I look at it this way, Shark Cards=DLC, In-game cash=tuning/ammo. A lot of games nowadays wants anywhere between $15-$30 for their DLC buy in Rockstar's case, they don't have things like Season Passes and DLC bundle deals, which kinda sucks but, I can understand why, seeing as there're "other ways" to get in-game currency and Rockstar knows this. LOL

[Gaffa]

Well, even if it took 10 minutes and not seven, per $22,000, that's still $132,000 every real life hour. That's roughly on par with heists and missions (time vs payout) - the only thing is, you've gotta' ensure you're winning these races (but then really, that's no different in essence from saying "you need to ensure you don't die during heists" OR "don't get shot down in the Titan during a crate sales delivery").

Edited July 13, 2016 by Gaffa

[LightningLord]

Well, even if it took 10 minutes and not seven, per $22,000, that's still $132,000 every real life hour. That's roughly on par with heists and missions (time vs payout) - the only thing is, you've gotta' ensure you're winning these races (but then really, that's no different in essence from saying 'you need to ensure you don't die during heists OR don't get shot down in the Titan during a crate sales delivery).

Agreed. And if you're lucky to win a Premium Race, that's $100,000 extra. Even with the $20,000 deduction for entry, $80,000 a lot of money. Edited July 13, 2016 by LightningLord

[SeveralChickens]

I don't have the attention span of a goldfish, so I actually read your entire post, and I agree with you 100%.

[Hunter]

Yeah, though I'd say buff the payouts on everything.

 

But especially this - when each race is essentially turned into a roll of the dice (thanks a lot catch/lack of non-contact), then we could do with better payouts.

 

Quite frankly, this disgusting matchmaking system doesn't help either. Stuck spending ages looking for races, getting disconnected, lagging - there's some cleaning up to do in all areas.

 

But back on topic, definitely buff the racing payouts, along with everything else.

 

#buff,notnerf

[Pedinhuh]

Not a single race have been profotable ever since December 2013 if I'm not mistaken.

 

And honestly I have never raced for money, I race simply because I love the sport and testing out my cars and I would keep on racing even if there wasn't any payout at all.

[TheTruthIsFree]

Man... It does need to be increased. But it doesn't f*cking matter for me because every time I'm in first the catchup BS always happens when other players catch UP to me despite them making various large and minor mistakes, while I've committed none, and despite when I'm literally far away from them. And once they catch you, they'll play that ramimg your car tactic, honestly, some GTA players deserve the buff, but adding the buff gives assholes more of an incentive to play and f*ck you over. That's why most players,like me, quit races.

[Mach1bud]

What people don't realize is if payouts increase, prices of stuff will increase as well.

[7nvd]

If you race for the money, this game mode might not be for you.

[SoonerDave]

Yah payouts on races suck, but I only play them to have fun. Especially the new stunt races. If I was worried about making money I'd be doing heists, vip, or missions.

[Shootinalloveryourface]

I did a 17 minute race thinking I'd get a bumper payout I got 1st and only 22.2k

[Flash525]

There's two specific things I'd like them to do with races; the first is to better calculate the payout based upon racers at the start (opposed to those still in it at the end), and distance per lap (and then number of laps).

 

I also believe that statistics should detail podium positions, so instead of wins/losses, you'd have 1st's/2nd's/3rd's. Anything under that doesn't register as a statistic (although there should be a public record of how many races have been raced in total). P1, P2 & P3 should get a guaranteed $7,500, $5,000 & $2,500 respectively on top of their actual race winnings (calculate that as you will). Furthermore, a $5,000 to the person that gets the fastest lap.

 

I would be tempted (if it could be done) to aware players with a further cash value if they can have a clean race, thus people at the back of the grid would be less tempted to ram their way to position.

[Beez]

There's two specific things I'd like them to do with races; the first is to better calculate the payout based upon racers at the start (opposed to those still in it at the end), and distance per lap (and then number of laps).

 

I also believe that statistics should detail podium positions, so instead of wins/losses, you'd have 1st's/2nd's/3rd's. Anything under that doesn't register as a statistic (although there should be a public record of how many races have been raced in total). P1, P2 & P3 should get a guaranteed $7,500, $5,000 & $2,500 respectively on top of their actual race winnings (calculate that as you will). Furthermore, a $5,000 to the person that gets the fastest lap.

 

I would be tempted (if it could be done) to aware players with a further cash value if they can have a clean race, thus people at the back of the grid would be less tempted to ram their way to position.

Could not have said it better myself. Especially your first point. Race quitters disgust me.

[Nomis24]

What people don't realize is if payouts increase, prices of stuff will increase as well.

Personnaly I don't want all payout to be increase I only want a well balanced payout system. I want to be able to play golf, parachute, race, do mission and get the same payout after an hour. A lot of game mode are empty because how horrible the payout is

Edited July 14, 2016 by Nomis24

[JrJohnbarn]

Agreed, If everything wasn't so overpriced now, the smaller payouts wouldn't be an issue, but as it is now, you really do have to grind for countless hours just to get enough money for a single vehicle. Most of the prices in my opinion used to be very reasonable, but are now just ridiculously expensive. For example, the "Sports" class cars used to cost usually between 100-300k. Now, all the more recently released Sports cars seem to cost upwards of 600k, the Supercars are the same. They used to cost between perhaps 400k - 1 Million, now most of them cost atleast 2 million or more, which is just ridiculous for a single car.

 

I can definitely see why alot of people gave up on GTA Online, because it is just a grindfest if you don't want to spend a ton of money on Shark cards. The Shark cards used to just be an optional booster to get things quicker, now they are basically mandatory if you want to buy all of the latest items as they release.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Jrjohnbarn1

[JON22]

I race purely for fun (especially now). If you race just for money then you're doing it wrong.

 

Missions for money. Race for fun.

[Charles_Lee_Raye]

What we need is another premium race option for regular races but not as severe.

Like a 10 k entrance fee but still gave the regular payout.

 

Still only helps first place tho.

 

Like someone else said higher payouts =pricier items.

 

More double race pay or event playlists would be ideal.

[It'same]

Yeah, though I'd say buff the payouts on everything.

 

But especially this - when each race is essentially turned into a roll of the dice (thanks a lot catch/lack of non-contact), then we could do with better payouts.

 

Quite frankly, this disgusting matchmaking system doesn't help either. Stuck spending ages looking for races, getting disconnected, lagging - there's some cleaning up to do in all areas.

 

But back on topic, definitely buff the racing payouts, along with everything else.

 

#buff,notnerf

 

It's sad when you think about how great the races could really be. I know it's GTA and GTA promotes blah blah blah behavior; but really in races, all it does is turn angsty pre-teens into impetulant, blood-thirsty chimpanzees. Each race really is a roll of the dice. You can own first place for the majority of a race, only to have catch-up allow the two lucky children who managed to pull away from the retarded pack, slip stream each other until you've been overtaken into 3rd at the last few hundred feet. And even that isn't nearly as frustrating as having a complete a**hole pit you in the final stretch because he can't win it clean.

[Velociraptorius]

To all those who said "races aren't meant to make money, that's what missions are for, races are for fun", well, I sure am glad none of you are game devs. What the hell kinda mentality is that? Making one game mode for grinding and all the others for fun? How about making every game mode fun, which is what any game developer should strive to do, AND make them pay fairly, since that's simply... fair? It really horrifies me how people treat this sort of crap as normality, as if having fair payouts for all modes, not just missions, is a concept from some fairytale. It's not. It's perfectly attainable and not at all hard to accomplish with what GTA currently has. The fact that one game mode, missions, pays acceptably, is absolutely no argument for why other game modes wouldn't.

And for those who say that higher payouts would mean pricier items, do open your eyes, please. Items are getting pricier as they are. Someone already noted this. Used to be that cars that cost over 1 million were a rarity and that pricetag was well earned. Now damn near every new non-super car costs close, if not more to what actual supers used to, and most of them aren't even competitive in racing to be worth that pricetag. As for supers, most cost close to 2 million. And that's just the cars. Hell, even things like simple jackets can now carry 5 digit pricetags. Prices HAVE gone up. But the payouts haven't. And just so you're aware, I'm not asking for payouts to unanimously increase. I know what that means for the economy. The mission payouts should stay the same, but the other modes should be up to par with them with the time spent=rewards got ratio. That was the entire point of the original post.

Not that I would cry if they increased payouts across the board... but hey, one thing at a time.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Velociraptorius

[Shootinalloveryourface]

 

Yeah, though I'd say buff the payouts on everything.

 

But especially this - when each race is essentially turned into a roll of the dice (thanks a lot catch/lack of non-contact), then we could do with better payouts.

 

Quite frankly, this disgusting matchmaking system doesn't help either. Stuck spending ages looking for races, getting disconnected, lagging - there's some cleaning up to do in all areas.

 

But back on topic, definitely buff the racing payouts, along with everything else.

 

#buff,notnerf

It's sad when you think about how great the races could really be. I know it's GTA and GTA promotes blah blah blah behavior; but really in races, all it does is turn angsty pre-teens into impetulant, blood-thirsty chimpanzees. Each race really is a roll of the dice. You can own first place for the majority of a race, only to have catch-up allow the two lucky children who managed to pull away from the retarded pack, slip stream each other until you've been overtaken into 3rd at the last few hundred feet. And even that isn't nearly as frustrating as having a complete a**hole pit you in the final stretch because he can't win it clean.

Catch up on, 16 player lobbies. I won 4 races in a row, and came 2nd in the fifth race.

 

Completely debunks what you're saying. All this whining about catch up is from sore losers who aren't good enough, period.

[ash-274]

To all those who said "races aren't meant to make money, that's what missions are for, races are for fun", well, I sure am glad none of you are game devs. What the hell kinda mentality is that? Making one game mode for grinding and all the others for fun? How about making every game mode fun, which is what any game developer should strive to do, AND make them pay fairly, since that's simply... fair? It really horrifies me how people treat this sort of crap as normality, as if having fair payouts for all modes, not just missions, is a concept from some fairytale. It's not. It's perfectly attainable and not at all hard to accomplish with what GTA currently has. The fact that one game mode, missions, pays acceptably, is absolutely no argument for why other game modes wouldn't.

 

And for those who say that higher payouts would mean pricier items, do open your eyes, please. Items are getting pricier as they are. Someone already noted this. Used to be that cars that cost over 1 million were a rarity and that pricetag was well earned. Now damn near every new non-super car costs close, if not more to what actual supers used to, and most of them aren't even competitive in racing to be worth that pricetag. As for supers, most cost close to 2 million. And that's just the cars. Hell, even things like simple jackets can now carry 5 digit pricetags. Prices HAVE gone up. But the payouts haven't. And just so you're aware, I'm not asking for payouts to unanimously increase. I know what that means for the economy. The mission payouts should stay the same, but the other modes should be up to par with them with the time spent=rewards got ratio. That was the entire point of the original post.

 

Not that I would cry if they increased payouts across the board... but hey, one thing at a time.

Your misinterpreting what what was said (at least what I said).

Rockstar set the racing payout 32 months ago and hasn't changed them despite changing contact missions' payout system.

 

We (again, at least I) aren't in agreement with Rockstar over what the rewards should be for anything in the game, especially when you compare the prices of similar items released from launch-2014 and 2015-now. There just doesn't seem to be any momentum on their part to change them. If you want to shout at an unlistening object, go ahead, but complaining here isn't going to be heard over there. Many of us in this thread are just telling you what the situation is. Not that we like it or are happy with it.

[It'same]

 

 

Yeah, though I'd say buff the payouts on everything.

 

But especially this - when each race is essentially turned into a roll of the dice (thanks a lot catch/lack of non-contact), then we could do with better payouts.

 

Quite frankly, this disgusting matchmaking system doesn't help either. Stuck spending ages looking for races, getting disconnected, lagging - there's some cleaning up to do in all areas.

 

But back on topic, definitely buff the racing payouts, along with everything else.

 

#buff,notnerf

It's sad when you think about how great the races could really be. I know it's GTA and GTA promotes blah blah blah behavior; but really in races, all it does is turn angsty pre-teens into impetulant, blood-thirsty chimpanzees. Each race really is a roll of the dice. You can own first place for the majority of a race, only to have catch-up allow the two lucky children who managed to pull away from the retarded pack, slip stream each other until you've been overtaken into 3rd at the last few hundred feet. And even that isn't nearly as frustrating as having a complete a**hole pit you in the final stretch because he can't win it clean.

Catch up on, 16 player lobbies. I won 4 races in a row, and came 2nd in the fifth race.

 

Completely debunks what you're saying. All this whining about catch up is from sore losers who aren't good enough, period.

 

And I've had similar results. However, what I said happens. You can't negate that with your attitude or your "rock solid" statistics. Children, and yes they are mostly screaming pre-teens, pull pit maneuvers. Catch-up? It's a design element specifically to allow non-competitive players a chance to win. Nothing more.

Edited July 14, 2016 by It'same