8 Things That Need To Stop Happening In Online Lobbies

We long for the day where racing gamers can play in online lobbies without the challenge of horrific lag, whether that’s from other players or your own car. Because it just adds a whole new element of chaos and confusion to the online racing.

2. Revenge

I’m not sure if it’s just me getting picked on in open lobbies, but an accidental touch or rubbing of wheels usually leads to you getting smashed off as revenge. So, you effectively get an arch nemesis that needs to be monitored closely, because they’ll probably crash you into a wall at some point.

3. Not moving

I’ve found in quite a few online racing environments, whether that’s a stunt race on GTA 5 or a three-lap sprint on F1 2016, there’s usually someone not paying attention at the start/not bothering to take part at all. So, they leave you with a nice, large, race car-shaped obstacle to manoeuvre around at the start of a race. Mayhem usually ensues because of it.

4. Ridiculous overtakes

We all get that there are different levels of driving talent in online lobbies, so you can expect a few newbies who don’t quite get how to play the game. But that still doesn’t stop being punted off at a hairpin or squeezed into a wall after an overtaking-move-gone-wrong any less infuriating.

That’s why playing racing games against your friends, who have similar levels of gaming experience or talent to you, is so much more enjoyable. Most of the time.

5. The loud microphone

There’s always one. That one person who has their mic turned on in the public lobbies, just shouting or talking away in their ordinary life while everyone else has to put up with hearing it. This gets especially annoying when you can’t understand a word they are saying. Please, just turn off the microphone.

When playing in an open lobby, there’s more often than not a race troll, hiding under their bridge on their PC, Xbox or PlayStation, ready to take you out or pitch you into a spin for teh lolz. So, if you see a slow-moving lapped car on track ahead of you, be prepared.

7. Mr. Defensive

Every open lobby has that one SUPER defensive driver who seems determined to hold onto their fourth place. They’ll probably deploy defensive tactics like weaving, pushing you off track, blocking you at the last minute and – if they’re desperate – taking you out altogether.

8. First corner crashes

We all want to start an online race well. It really sets you up for the rest of it. So, getting smashed off by someone not paying attention, or being too eager to make up ground, is pretty annoying. In fact, it’s very annoying, and it happens all the time.

It’s likely you’re not going to win if you end up facing the wrong way at Turn 1. We just want first corners that are clean, civilised and competitive. Is that too much to ask? The answer to that is very much “yes”, but we can always hope.

What other things do you want to see stop happening/annoy you immensely in online lobbies? Let us know in the comments.