[MRc] Michal

Hello racers,

we understand, that the upcoming E-Challenge championship contains a lot of new, possibly confusing stuff. And there is nothing worse than being unprepared, right?

Therefore we created a handy user-friendly competitor manual to help you grasp the new racing concepts. In the attached files you can also find the archive with three pre-made scripts, that will help you with your potential pit stop planning (more on that in the guide).

Hope you find this guide useful, if you still have any questions, don't hesitate to ask

Full set of official rules is around the corner as well!

Hello racers,

we understand, that the upcoming E-Challenge championship contains a lot of new stuff. And there is nothing worse than being unprepared, confused and disappointed.

Therefore we decided to run an unofficial test race this weekend. Regardless of whether you are already registered, yet to register or just considering, you are welcome and encouraged to join us for this event. We will do our best to help you learn and we will appreciate any kind of feedback from you as well.

Full info below:

Round 0 - 7.1. - Mexico City E-Prix alternate circuit (LA1)
Server: [MRc] E-Challenge

Preliminary event schedule:
17:00 UTC / 18:00 CET Official qualifying session 1 (10+2 minutes; 2 hotlaps)
17:15 UTC / 18:15 CET Official qualifying session 2 (cca 15 minutes; top 8 from qualifying 1 compete in head-to-head duels)
17:40 UTC / 18:40 CET Official race start (36 laps*; standing start)

* in case of Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car the race distance will be adjusted accordingly to ensure the energy lap target stays in reasonable bounds.

The test race layout has been loaded on the server for practicing.

During the test race we want you to encounter all possible scenarios (in terms of weather changes and/or SC/VSC periods, as well as the expected broadcast-related stuff). Therefore the race progression will be scripted by the organisers and for this special occasion we will let you know ahead of the race about the specific planned weather changes and SC/VSC deployments (unless they occur naturally before that) and how to handle them.

Should you have any questions, let us know!

Looking forward to see you on the grid this Saturday.

To sign up for the MRc E-Challenge 2023 championship, make a post here giving your requested car number, LFS license name, your real name, your nationality, and your team name (team name optional).
Separate each field with a /, no space between the text of the field and the /. Example:

47/michal 1279/Michal Málek/Czechia/Master Race car

Numbers 2-99 are free for selection. Number 1 is reserved for the winner of the previous edition of the E-Challenge - Jimi "gemini" Virtanen

Signups are open NOW.

Licence Requirements for Drivers:
You will need S3 LFS License to participate in ALL rounds.

Current Entry list attached.

Last edited by dekojester, Sat 25 Mar 2023, 20:36. Reason : updated entry list

Hello racers!

The planet Earth has made another orbit around the Sun, and once again, the Master Race car team is pleased to bring back to you an event, which brings an unique racing experience into LFS. Strongly inspired by the FIA Formula E championship, E-Challenge is an event, where the strategy and clever use of available resources will play a big factor on your way to victory.

The letter E in "Formula E" stands for "Electric" and thanks to the just recently released LFS mod system we can enjoy some electric racing fun as well. "Efficiency" however is still a vital part of the race strategy, as the amount of usable energy is limited and the finish line is quite far. Do you have what it takes to navigate the new 350 kW beast through the city streets?

We worked really hard to bring in something even better and more exciting than before, from more races, new car, new track replicas, new event format, to new tactical elements, enhanced weather system,... very few stones were left unturned as we tried our best to deliver an exceptional racing series.

Official rounds:
R1 - 15.1. - Mexico City E-Prix circuit replica (LA1)
R2 - 12.2. - Berlin E-Prix circuit replica (LA1)
R3 - 26.2. - Singapore Grand Prix circuit replica (LA1)
R4 - 12.3. - New York E-Prix circuit replica (LA1)
R5 - 26.3. - Adelaide Grand Prix circuit replica (LA1)

(Each layout to be released at least 7 days prior to the respective round)

Preliminary event schedule:
Prequalifying session (if necessary)
17:30 UTC / 18:30 CET Official free practice session (20 minutes)
18:00 UTC / 19:00 CET Official qualifying session 1 (10+2 minutes; 2 hotlaps)
18:15 UTC / 19:15 CET Official qualifying session 2 (cca 15 minutes; top 8 from qualifying 1 compete in head-to-head duels)
18:40 UTC / 19:40 CET Official race 1 start (cca 30 minutes*; standing start)
19:25 UTC / 20:25 CET Official race 2 start (cca 30 minutes*; standing start; grid order by race 1 finish, top 10 reversed)
20:00 UTC / 21:00 CET Estimated end of the event; interviews

* in case of Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car the race distance will be adjusted accordingly to ensure the energy lap target stays in reasonable bounds.

General rules and changes from previous season:

• Success ballast dropped from qualifying
  
• Two races per evening instead of one (R2 grid based on R1 finishing order + top 10 reversed)
  
• Races are lap-based instead of time-based
  
• SC and VSC active
  
• No mandatory pitstop (unless forced by weather)
  
• Recharging NOT ALLOWED (and will be disabled, so we don't even have to disqualify you from the event)
  
• Dynamic weather active in ALL official sessions (slick tyres for dry, road tyres for wet conditions)
  
• Three activations of the Attack Boost strip during each race
  
• Each competitor can select one race, where he can use full 350 kW of power (instead of capped at 300 kW)
  
• Points for top 20 finishers
  

Full set of rules and guides will follow soon, stay tuned!

Last edited by michal 1279, Mon 2 Jan 2023, 23:22. Reason : Added the series trailer link

I assume the boards are character-painted from one side, if that's the case, we could use the back of any board as a space instead.

Or am I missing something that does not make it possible?

Assuming we would want to recreate F1-style lights (1-2-3-4-5-0 red lights) it would probably be handy to control them individually.

Understood, thanks for clearing it up

I got to ask one question regarding the concrete objects:

Is it possible to make them procedural/parametric? So the users could select own length/height/possibly radius and other geometric parameters instead of relying on few predetermined sizes and shapes the editor currently offers. Making a long straight eats up so many 16m wall objects and creation of a smooth curve with many short walls also cuts deep into the object count limit. I got into replicating some real life street tracks recently and this became a huge bottleneck in what can be made.

Or would that require complete overhaul of the layout editor system for this kind of object?

Quote from Scawen :

Would the kerb objects like you see at Blackwood do the job?

This would be perfect as concrete-based kerbs are a real headache to get right (mostly due to placement and orientation limitations in the editor).

Quote from Aleksandr_124rus :

Electric vehicles are now technically ready. They are on average faster than ICE cars. They have a 2 or 3 times higher efficiency. Range is now comparable. The only thing is the scalability of production. Thats Why manufacturers are building more factories and increasing supplies.
Where do you see problems here?

I see problems in things you (maybe deliberately) didn't mention. And those you mentioned are skewed anyway.
Do I care about 'faster than ICE' when buying a family car? Not really, Noone does unless they are buying an actual racecar. Faster than ICE is not an argument to buy EV for 'normal people'.
2-3 times more efficient and comparable range - cool, what is the EV efficiency after 7 years of service at temps around 0°C (freezing point of water)? Not that impressive, right? Batteries don't like too cold or too hot environments.
I'm more interested in scalability of usefulness before diving into scalability of production

Quote from Aleksandr_124rus :

Yes, that's how it works. If you need a new car and you see that only electric cars are being sold, then you buy an electric car. I didn't think it needed to be explained.

What argument is this?
And if they ban EVs then you simply ride a horse, right?
I'd prefer to make my own selection instead of being told (and forced to) what they think is right.

Quote from Aleksandr_124rus :

All you're doing here is making an analogy. An analogy can be used if you want to explain something to the interlocutor but not when you want to make a argument. I don't want to attack you, but I don't like analogies and I'll explain why. Analogy is not argument by default. So I don't even have to answer it. Because an analogy is a comparison of two things by one or more properties.
I, too, can compare electric cars with Ford's car revolution for example, when in 20 years America turned into a car country. So what it means? That electric cars same like ICE cars? (But at least this analogy was understandable because we are talking about cars here and there.) Or I can compare a finger and ass. These are 2 different things. They both have skin and have blood in it, and sweat cells for example. Does this mean that a finger and an ass are the same things? No. So what analogy means? Nothing. Anything can be explained by analogy simply by comparing one with the other. It has no argument.

Analogy can be a great argument if you understand the point why the analogy was used (which apparently didn't happen here). In this case, the analogy was used to prove, that setting hard deadlines without having secured the path (technological, infrastructural, social,...) usually does not lead to a success, at least not it that early highly optimistic timeframe. That's why NASA dind't get to Mars by 1980s and that's why I think the car market wil not be fully electric by 2030/2035 and if it does, it will be a disaster.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - that's why we use examples from past, so we don't fail the same way again

But when we are at analogies, I will gladly borrow your Ford's car revolution turning America into a car country in 20 years. When that did happen, did someone ban horses by 1915 and execute remaining horses by 1920? (I'm exaggerating a bit, but maybe that will help you understand my 'argument'). Did the market transfer on its own once people found out the Ford is more practical mean of trasport than a horse? Or did the government force them to use it by 1915? Why can't we make the transition from ICE to EV the same way?

Make a good product and people will be happy to buy and use it, instead of forcing them to use it because you said so

Quote from Aleksandr_124rus :

The analogy is also bad because it does not get me closer to understanding why you think that electric cars technological readiness not ready or something.

I'll recap some of my concerns:

- Range is not really that much comaparable, esp. with older car and when it's too cold/too hot. EV is a great small city car, but once you need to get across a country, it is a nightmare.
- Accumulators significantly degrade with time and charging cycles, further reducing the range and usefulness. By the time ICE is still perfectly fine, the EV is ready for scrapyard (because buying new EV is more viable than changing the battery in old one).
- Charging rate is not very impressive and the fast charging increases the battery degradation even more.
- EVs on fire are very difficult to be put out, they even tend to reignite hours or even days after.
- The electricity cost in Europe is not very friendly lately, and might get even worse with green agenda shutting down reliable nuclear power plants. This can make EVs very pricey in the future unless you have house with massive solar panels.
- More... (not into writing long essays atm)


Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of EVs (after all I'm the only one in LFS community running a major EV championship) and the day EVs are actually viable I'll be happy to buy one, but that is still a bit too far and the 'mandatory' approach in transition from ICEs to EVs makes me kinda upset about the whole thing.

I'm talking about technological readiness of EVs.
Just because EU and other organisations that are completely out of reality ban ICEs, it won't suddenly make EVs viable option, they'll just ideologically kill the other means of transport. And leaving EVs as the only option won't suddenly make it viable - it will just be the only option. A painful one to take. And all the subsidies, taxes and bans won't change that.

In Apollo era the NASA planned to send human expedition to Mars by 1980s. 40 years later still no footsteps in martian soil. The only difference is in thier case it was a non-binding estimation, not a hard target they'd aim for no matter what the reality is. Guess what, they figured out they need more technological advancement to fulfill that goal and also there are other programs they could/should concentrate on.
Now it is technologically realistic that we can put human on Mars in 2030s; but EVs are still in their "1980s" stage - setting a goal in highly specific timeframe, but only hoping that the technological (and infrastructural) advancement is made within that time instead of being backed up by it already.

LFSW name: michal 1279
In-game name: [MRc] Michal
Full team name: Master Race car
Nation: Czechia

EV is certainly a future of mobility. But there is one important word in that sentence we have to pay attention to - the future, not the presence. Electromobility simply is not ready for the mass use yet. And neither is the infrastructure or the society. As a mechanical enginner I see EVs truly viable in about 50 years from now. That is also the point when the smooth transition from ICE-powered cars should happen.
Unfortunately the green lobby is trying hard to push and mandate the EV while actively disrupting the ICE market. But this will only lead to the destruction of both means of transport as one will be effectively banned (and its supply chains destroyed) while the other will prove unfit at given point in time and we will enter the dark ages of transportation.

47/michal 1279/Michal Málek/Czechia/Master Race car/Fraud Wheeler E2 RX

Quote from shehab277 :

https://youtu.be/LW4EMtpv4uA
is this look RACING simulator for you?

Not at all!

Yes, that's the best possible improvement that can be made in a RACING simulator.

TeamName: FERAT Motors
Number: 47
TeamManager: {michal 1279, Michal Málek}
TeamLeader discord user: [MRc] Michal#0970

Drivers:
- {michal 1279, Michal Málek, Czech Republic}
- {TBA}

Quote from iiiiil :

Mesh explodes in wire mode.
All i did was going to wire mode and click "reload textures". Some times LFSE crashes, some times i get this weird result

Haha, nice find.
I can confirm following your steps this happens to me with any car loaded (even original LFS vehicles).

Hi there,

only noticed this thread just now, I can offer a helping hand in recreating your dream course. I have experience in recreating tracks with very high precision from satellite images, so assuming you have meaningful pictures to work with, it would be quite easy task to do actually

Here's an example of my work:
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thre ... rk-E-Prix-circuit-replica

Let me know if you're interested.

I just want racecars... maybe I'm asking bit too much for a racing simulator, idk...

LFSW name: michal 1279
In-game name: [MRc] Michal
Full team name: Master Race car
Nation: Czech Republic

Quote from BeNoM :

Not sure if it counts, but LFS on the front page of Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/wtw7xu/scented_tree_peripheral_for_racing_games_that/

Damn, this is perfection. So useless yet so immersive, I love it

From what I remember hybrid powertrain is much harder to properly simulate than electric motor is (which has pretty simple power and torque curves). Also there probably wouldn't be even EV's in LFS if the E-Challenge championship hadn't exist.

You should not have access to mod vehicles with a demo account in first place.