Alrighty, I thought it was time for another whinge, so here goes :D
I don't like the format of the server!! :angry:
I don't even know if that's the right word, actually, so allow me to explain.
Right now it goes like this:
- practise/quali session of 15 minutes or thereabouts
- 7 lap race
- track change
Now, it's possible that I'm a minority here but I don't know any of the tracks in the rotation (save for Laguna Seca that I know from various other sims). So that means that I have to completely learn each track from scratch in the 15 minute practise session. For me, that simply is not enough time. So by the time the race starts I only have a vague idea of the track. Keeping up with the faster guys like Moose and Deetz is out of the question, but if I'm lucky I can keep up with Ron and stick behind him. I learn a track much quicker in a "race" if I'm following another car than when I'm doing laps on my own in practise.
So by the time the race nears its end I'm usually starting to feel confident enough to start pushing it a bit more. But then... the race ends, a new track comes on and I have to start from the beginning again :sad: "What's the problem," I hear you say, "the next time that track comes on you'll know it and you can really race." No. Right now there's 13 tracks in the rotation. By the time a track comes on that I have raced before, I will addmittedly already have a vague memory of how it goes, but nowhere near enough to be competitive. I also think some tracks look similar to one another, but that is undoubtly due to the fact that I don't really know any of them really well. I think this will also be true for the people that are about to embark on this wonderful adventure that is the HistorX mod (Gnomie, Sean, maybe others?). Keep in mind that it's not only new tracks we have to learn, it's also a completely different sim from the one(s) we're used to, with a very different interface and very different cars.
So my suggestion is this: leave the server on one track for a day, then change it the next day. That way people can have race after race on the same track, giving them the chance to improve their skills and tweak their setups a bit more, thus hopefully resulting in closer racing. It doesn't have to stay on for a whole day, if people are tired of a track and everyone agrees then by all means change it. But not after every race. And if the practise session could be disabled, that'd be grand :) If it's going to be the same track for a day there's not really any need for a practise session before each race IMO. Also, the 7 laps is just a tad bit long, I find. Especially on the longer tracks. I think 6 would be better.
In conclusion I would like to thank Ron for taking the time to set up this server on his own private machine, to search for tracks on the internet and add them to the rotation after having checked them, and all the other troubles he deals with that come with being Head Racing :) It's greatly appreciated by all of us, even if we sometimes seem like a bunch of whining ingrates :D
Voila, that is all :)
You're taking it all too seriouly.
I agree with Doorz that this is something we do for fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously. But Obsolum's point still stands. Personally, I have the most fun when I've learnt a track and become confident enough to be consistent and race close. So yeah, I'm in favour of not switching tracks all that often.
But of course, this is no big deal. I'm sure we'll all adapt with time. :)
And no, the cursed CD didn't arrive today either. :sideways:
Quote from: Doorman;274726You're taking it all too seriouly.
Why is that? Isn't the whole point of simracing to race? Of course this is for fun. Fun is one of the main pilars the whole of dMr, or indeed dMw, is based on. And I'm all for fun. And... I think the way the server is currently set up is kind of restricting the fun. At least for me. I'm never competitive in a race due to not having had time to learn the track properly. Hell, most of the time I can hardly keep it on the tarmac for more than 1 lap! Yesterday you said there was some close racing going on in the first lap between me, Moose and Deetz. That was great fun, indeed. But I honestly had no idea where I was going and was incredibly nervous because I was up front and if I messed up there was a good chance I'd take both Moose and Deetz with me. Needless to say it wasn't even a full lap before I went off the track and had to make a pitstop for repairs. After which I crashed into you right after you spun, setting your engine on fire in the process :lmfao: Good times :D
I'm definitely not taking this very serious. Hell, I love to just
cruise around the tracks in these cars. I don't have any goals with this, I'm not aiming for a podium finish or a fastest lap or anything. I hardly bother with tweaking the setup because of that. I just love driving these cars, and preferably with other people. I just think it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave it on a certain track for a little longer than just one race *shrug*. Hey, it's your server, you do what you want with it :) I'll be on it regularly this week either way.
I must say that sometimes i also wish we continue to race on the same track, but on the other hand this is more challenging. 7 laps races look like just about right to me, wouldn't like them to be shortened. Maybe a timed race would be better solution, but somehow impractical, because it's easier for a driver to see what lap he is doing, rather then estimated time till the end.
As for going for the next track, i wouln't like to drive the same track whole evening, maybe twice in a row.
It won't be a long time till you learn them all, most of these tracks were also un familiar to me, i did see them sometimes, (in some other sims), but never raced on them competitively.
As for the setup thing, during past days which i've been on deadmen racing server, i was creating setup during practice, for every different track, and when next track would be loaded, i would use the same setup as a base, then it would evolve and evolve. Now i have setup i use for every track, with really minor or no differences - i found the one thats just comfortable for me to drive. There aren't really many parameters to change, and as i learned these days most important ones to get right are the dampers.
We do do repeat races anyway if we want to. Did last night anyway. :)
Well I really like the race distance. Long enough that you have a chance to catch up if you made a mistake, and also long enough that the car balance changes over the course of the race, while not being so long as to get too fatigued.
I think that mostly we where running two races at each track before moving on for the races this weekend, and this works well. I dont know if it is possible to automate this on the server, but I doubt it.
I'm still learning how to drive both the cars and the circuits, though now at some tracks the increments are getting smaller.
Having said that, its better to get these opinions out there for debate, if the majority want a change then so be it.
:D
I like the current format :)
Quote from: lovretta;275111I like the current format :)
We have a format? :blink:
Quote from: Doorman;275130We have a format? :blink:
Of course we do, Ron. The format is: just drive and have FUN!! :D
I think I've sorted out the car selection thing. :) As per Lovretta's suggestions, cars are sorted into TC-1 TC-2 GTC-1 and GTC-2. Owing to the way the mod is structured it's difficult to be precise with the selection so you'll see, for example. a Porsche 911 of one variety that is slower than another variety. It's up to you to pick the right one! Also the list isn't complete. If, for instance, you want to drive a Mercedes 300, you can't! I have no idea which category it would go in. Lets take it nice and easy and add cars as we discover more about them.
Quote from: Doorman;275196I think I've sorted out the car selection thing. :) As per Lovretta's suggestions, cars are sorted into TC-1 TC-2 GTC-1 and GTC-2.
Good Job Ron! Hope to be there tonight too.
Quote from: Doorman;275196(...) so you'll see, for example, a Porsche 911 of one variety that is slower than another variety. It's up to you to pick the right one!
Hmm, a slower Porsche and a faster one... now which one would be the "right" one, I wonder :g:
:narnar:
You can now join mid-race...as a spectator. :)
Quote from: Doorman;275809You can now join mid-race...as a spectator. :)
No you can't! :doh: 'Join as spectator=1' means you can join as a spectator and you don't appear in the client list. You still can't join mid race. Which is OK...I guess. :)
EDIT: If I'd have RTFM I would have seen this
Quote from: rFactorManualYou should also check the current Session that the game is in. You cannot currently join a game that is already in the Race session. The Laps Remaining and Time Remaining show you how much longer the current session will last (unless the participants or server choose to change sessions before it ends).
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Argh, server is on Le Mans and the session is closed. It's gonna take forever before they complete a 7 lap race on that one! :angry:
I don't think I know anyone who's as impatient as Obsolum. :D No offense, it's just kinda funny.
Hehe, no offense taken. I'm probably the most impatient person I know, too :lmfao: