What is the psychological make-up of a "Crasher / Wrecker" Genuinely interested

Forza Motorsport Legacy Motorsport
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For those of you with chronic attention deficit issues, for whom reading more than a paragraph is akin to being water-boarded, I’ll sum it up for you as succinctly as I can:

What goes through a Crasher’s / Wrecker’s mind whilst driving their car in the same way that I would if I’d just dropped a beaker of Sulphuric acid into my lap. What enjoyment do they get? Genuinely interested and not a rant. If someone could explain it to me, that would be great, because I’m just not getting it.

For anyone else remotely interested, I’ll expand a little. Having just completed a harrowing 2 laps of Yas Marina in a 24 car lobby, I counted that I was hit 23 times. 23! It started me wondering why anyone in their right mind would spend 50 pounds on a game they have no intention of playing properly and whose sole intention appears to be to wreck the enjoyment of others. What possible long term enjoyment can that provide. I am sure that if I was 9 years old, it would have been hilarious to smash into every car in view as fast as possible, and no doubt that enjoyment would have continued for no small amount of time, possibly even until I turned 10 years old.

However, having heard some of these people speak, it’s clear that being 9 is a dim and distant memory for most of these people. Which leads me to conclude that there are actual grown-ups who revel in the enjoyment to be gained out of ruining somebody else’s game play. So my question to you, is why?

My line of work leads me to meet with a variety of people who for the most part display sociopathic tendencies. If I sat them down to play Forza, my guess would be that a significant percentage would have a similar play-style to those I have just “raced” with on Yas Marina. So, is Forza 6 a magnet for the world’s sociopaths, or do you do what you do for reasons you can justify?

If I hit someone whilst racing my reaction is normally to apologise for taking them out and then to pull over and let them past so we can carry on racing. It’s an instant - and for me, natural - reaction. Can anyone give their reasons for not doing so? How do you feel knowing you have ruined someone’s game deliberately.

Anyway, interested to see if anyone replies.
The games great by the way, even with the crashers but the races could be a little longer. I mean to say 1 lap of Spa in the rain and race over? Really?

Thanks

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Some people are born as [Mod Edit - Abbreviated profanity, profanity and profanity that is disguised but still alludes to the words are not permitted - D], and some work at it on a daily basis. I see it in almost every game I play. There’s a game on the mobile platform called Racing Rivals…it’s a drag racing game. You’d simply shake your head in empathy / sadness if you were to witness some of the things that go on in that game. It’s disheartening, for sure.

That said, if you’d like to add someone to your list that attempts to race as clean as possible (forgoing any lag or latency issues, which are unfortunately an inevitable part of online racing), please, add me. Gamertag is Roush Sport. Would love to race!

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I think a big part of it is that most people don’t care that Forza attempts to reflect real motorsport. Most gamers come from a world of GTA, Driver, Burnout, Blur, etc. These games allow (and some even encourage) crashing into your opponents. Since Forza doesn’t really penalize you for hitting your opponents, I’m guessing that most players don’t realize they’re doing anything wrong.

I think the only one’s who have a morbid fascination with crashing are the trolls who deliberately go backwards and will run themselves off the road to take someone out.

I think a lot of people think “Oh a car racing game. I’ll just smash everybody off the road”. I know when I play Split/Second, I don’t hesitate to slam into the guy next to me and wedge his car into a concrete barrier. But that is how that game is played. I think most gamers don’t realize that’s not really what is supposed to happen in Forza and they do it just because racing games have typically allowed this kind of behavior.

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Pretty much this. I would bet that a very small percentage of people have ever actually raced seriously online, let alone seriously at all. There is a distinct separation between driving skills (i.e. being smooth, hitting marks, etc.) and racing skills (spacial awareness, judgement, wreck avoidance, reflexes) so they think that since they win against AI and do well in rivals they are good drivers when in reality, they have no more racing skill than a monkey. This is the kind of thing learned over years and years of practice and learning from mistakes ,and that’s only if someone cares enough to actually want to improve which is unlikely seeing the state of public races. Also, most of the wrecking is honest mistakes being made. You shouldn’t expect someone to pull over for you just because they are “sorry”, I know I won’t.

If anyone wants to add me I’m a pretty clean racer, GT is the name of my profile.

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Very much this. What’s more, the AI in the game is just as aggressive as online players anyway, running into other cars, spinning others out, crashing into tyre barriers which explode in spectacular fashion, it really does feel like a demolition derby to the average gamer. Who can blame them for taking the behavior they see offline into an online lobby?

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That is laughable and very passive aggressive of you…

There are lots of reasons why…

Age and lack of maturity
Revenge over a perceived slight, real or imagined.
Lack of skill.

One thing is certain, it is annoying as heck.

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Contributing factors, I’m sure. But ultimately a player would assume the rules - or lack of rules - in the single player game would set an example for the kind of gameplay to expect when playing online.

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Exactly!

I had a Drivatar the other day who pitted me and instead of backing of like a normal driver would, he kept pushing until I hit the wall and spin out! I ended up getting slammed by three other cars behind me and had to start the race over. I actually have the replay of it saved on my profile and shared it so people could see.

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There are just people hardwired to get a kick off of others grief and the internet has given them a remote outlet to be able to do such. Before the internet these people were kept at bay by consequences like getting punched in the skull. Now they roam the e-halls freely and with 0 consequences to their actions. The best thing you can do is not show them they’ve given you any grief at all and let them deem you boring and move on.

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It’s pretty much what I do, to be honest. It doesn’t wind me up into a furniture smashing rage or anything. I just find the whole concept of paying quite a bit of money to then not really play the game, bizarre.

Mainly the reason for the post was to see if anyone who does follow this behaviour, would take some time to justify why. I mean if the game was free, I could get my head around it. But it’s 50 quid. That takes some dedication, to pay that and then act in this way.

Thanks for the replies.

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By taking away your enjoyment of the game, they exercise control over you. It’s a power thing, for people who have some need to feel that way, probably low self esteem or maybe they have a crappy job. In short, losers.

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For some reason I read the last part of your comment in Donald Trump’s voice and it made me lol.

Not disagreeing with anything you said. Trolls troll to get under people’s skin. They get a thrill out of annoying random people. They want you to yell at them and they love it when people rage quit because of them.

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A fairly damning, accurate and slightly dismaying commentary on a significant proportion of the online racers.

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I think you are correct in that there are no penalties for negative behaviors. I would also include those that have come to the understanding that they cant run with the leaders and so since they cant enjoy a victory they look to spoil others. In this same category of people are the ones that fully believe that they should win every race, to include screaming at any contact no matter how minor.
I am a very competitive person. Losing is not always fun. In my case I look at it as a chance to get better. The real sad part of all of this is the fact that so many have forgotten why we play games. If some have had this happen to them allow me to refresh your memory…ITS A GAME FOR FUN…FUN…FUN. I like to win as much as the next guy, but its not a requirement. I wish more people would go into this game focused on its intent. Race, Tune, Paint, Compete, and most of all…HAVE FUN. (STEPPING OFF SOAPBOX NOW)

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The fact that there are no consequences in a game marketed as a racing simulator is crazy. There are severe penalties for cheating or unsafe driving in the real races that Forza emulates. I understand that they’re trying to appeal to the masses. I’d just like to see a hopper dedicated to clean racers, with severe penalties for ramming and cutting. Then the crashers have their version of Forza and proper racers are represented as well. Leagues are great in theory, but I still see cheaters in Elite. Last night I was stuck in 6th because the same racer kept ramming me at every corner. I recovered, but I couldn’t advance because I spent my time trying not to get taken out. After fighting just to keep on the road, I got disconnected on the last straight because Forza. The point is that like many clean racers, I don’t feel adequately represented in online multiplayer. No collisions is stress-free and viable, but it’s not racing in the traditional sense. I should have to alter my line for the physical cars during the race. I just want a challenging and realistic online hopper with other clean racers. Organizing private lobbies is an option, but it takes time.

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Sadly, given that we are on number 6 and these features are still absent it looks unlikely that will ever happen. I did used to like the public user-created lobbies on 4, and found that for the most part the people running them wanted exactly I wanted. Racing that was as clean as possible. Unfortunately, there are an alarming number of people who have bought and paid for Forza with a completely different mindset. It’s akin to me buying Fifa16 and then trying to play rugby with it. I can’t grasp that logic.

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I have to believe people who act this way do not for the most part belong to a forum… Highly dought you will get any insight from them.

But this has been like this since forever.I honestly dont notice anymore or less going on of it now.I go into a game knowing there are wreckers and drive accordingly.I can tell right off the bat whos out to wreck and I enjoy having them miss me and slam into a wall.I drive defensively…I assume everyone is out to wreck me and drive accordingly.

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Some are.
You would be surprised.

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I’m too mature to attack innocent vehicles. However, if several people complain about the same driver and/or that driver hits me more than once… The cop car comes out and I dedicate the rest of the race or the next one to remove that Driver’s will to stay in the lobby. Most people appreciate it but occasionally I get in somebody else’s way in the process.

I get enjoyment out of racing but I also get enjoyment out of wrecking the pricks. There’s no other solution to this in the hop in lobbies so I do what I must.

I started playing the series at Forza 5 so I am only accustomed to racing with ****heads haha. If I wanted to race clean and properly only, I’d make a private room with my friends.

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This bitmap vs. bitmap violence has to stop.

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