Quote from Blas89 :

7 my friend.

Gracias Corrected

Quote from Zachary Zoomy :

EDIT: or you could reset and round up or down to the nearest level.

Which I think actually contradicts your initial comment. Rounding down my status doesn't reflect the hard hard work I put in. Each year your profile would contain data such as license status achieved in each class, ranking overall, by country, region, etc. An annual reset would generate a repeatable cycle of racing through the different levels each year as well as giving a chance a new comer to be noticed.

You could argue this leans more towards a league, which is not what the CTRA is about. I would say it is more of a race season which achievements.

Quote from Zachary Zoomy :

Reset points? No. I've worked really hard to get where I am and I don't want my work thrown away.
EDIT: or you could reset and round up or down to the nearest level.

Michael Schumacher has 7 world championships, yet each season he started with 0 points... I understand how attached people are to their license status, but there is no long term future. You would still have evidence of your hard work, it would be a history of high achievements year after year.

Infact I would feel more rewarded if I had achieved Platinum status every year instead of just getting a mass of points which then led nowhere. Plus I am not suggesting people wipe their total overall points, simply each year reset the licenses so that you again have a fresh challenge.

Last edited by yeager, Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:33. Reason : Wrong amount of championship wins

I've not been on CTRA servers as long as most here, but i've been thinking a lot about license points and server usage and wanted to discuss an idea.

Why not every year reset all points accrued for licenses? I think that having a system that perpetually increases total points will eventually become stale. The license rank of "unobtainium" already exists and the more people that get close the less incentive to race for points (assuming most do, I know some don't)

I think reseting these points each year will have several pro's

• Those who have already achieved a higher status will have the chance to relive going through the system again, which I think is a lot of the fun and challenge.
  
• Fast newcomers to the system have the chance, on an annual basis, to become one of the top racers.
  
• Activity will increase across the range of servers

Let me expand on my thoughts for the last bullet. I recently went to National B and was excited to then be able to race on SS2. However, i've had in the past month maybe 2 races because of such low use on the server. I think that if you had an annual reset, you would be more drivers getting a new license status around the same time. Therefore a flood of drivers will be heading onto the higher servers.

Now this would also raise the issue of thousands of racers all on copper trying to get access to servers to race. So I would therefore suggest at the start of the race year, have 3/4 race 1 servers for both regular and single seater classes. Then, as racers approach the next level of licenses, add in the next class of server, Race 2 and SS2. Newly licensed racers will be pounding these servers to achieve the next level of license status.

So basically as the year progresses, you reduce race 1 servers to 1 instance and then end up with the existing broad spectrum.

At the end of the year, winners are announced and prizes given. So people don't feel like they are loosing their status, their profile would have "Single Seater 2008 Gold License" holder. So you record their achievements for each year. You would also retain a total overall race and lap history, with a annual counter. So my overall might be 4000 laps, but in July 2009, half way through the season, I might have only raced 300 laps.

It would also create a frenzy of racing in the last months of the year as people tried to get to the top. Weighting the points system in someway so that new years Gold/Titanium etc license holders had an incentive to race on the bigger classes of server would keep a good spread of racers across the system.

There are downsides of course. More coding involved, possibly the funding for more servers (although I would gladly fund a single server for a year) and also frustration for those at the start of the year having to race with all the "newbies". Maybe the initial set of Race 1 servers could be limited per server. So you have a Race 1 for those who did not finish the previous season, then have a Race 1 for Bronze and Silver licenses to and a Race 1 for Gold and above. Still allowing those with higher licenses to race on any server, but preventing new comers to racing on some servers.

What would people think?

There seems to be a problem with SS1, it is stuck changing tracks and not starting the race.

Ahh I didn't know there were ways to collect points before the X system. Shows what I know That also explains why people with similar lap totals as mine are able to have way more points

I was just browsing the top racers on the CTRA site and found this guy...

http://www.raceauthority.com/stats/?licence=BRAVUS

Quote from CTRA :

Tony Romero, from Spain, has competed in 5 races and driven 8,430 laps since the launch of the CTRA X-System. In this time, he has caused 1,005 yellow flags, which is a ratio of 11%. This is a good yellow flag ratio.

Tony has won 0 races and reached the podium, in second or third place, a further 0 times in 5 races, while retiring from an additional 4 races. This means Tony has completed a very worrying 20% of the races in which he's participated. During those races, Tony has achieved no fastest laps. Tony is currently ranked 5th internationally and 0th in Spain. He does not currently hold any lap records.

55,910 in 5 races in which he has won none? Something not quite right here!

Quote from SamH :

Overall licence progress is the larger dial.. so mine is about 1/4 full on the CTRA licence because, in terms of points I'm only about 1/4 the way to Titanium.

Gotcha, might wanna add an AltText to those images to make it a little clearer. Being right at the bottom of everything mine look pretty inactive

I've never been sure what the big dials are underneath the heading Current Rankings. Below them are another set which show the needle reflecting your % complete in each license... yet the bigger ones always seem static. Are these redundant now or just not working?

I'm in... with Track IR I can't tell the difference between LFS and real life!!

Oh yes... actually in real life people are not as rude when you ram them off the road

Quote from Darkone55 :

Oh that's very easy to avoid. Just life slightly when shifting. With 0% throttle it doesn't shift, and with 100% it doesn't. With everything in between it works like a charm.

And therefore confirming i'm just not very good at driving this car yet

Quote from SamH :

The biggest obstacle at the moment is an LFS bug that makes the FJR impossible to drive.

Anyone able to describe this bug? I find the FJR a nightmare to drive, but I thought I was just a bad driver I've searched the forum and can't find any info.

Which is why I want to race on SS2, but SS2 is empty most of the time and therefore I can't get the fun of raising points and driving a new car. No point in having the SS1/2/3 combination if everyone has no incentive to race on SS2/3

Quote from pauliaK :

Both SS2 and SS3 are almost always empty...

I know I was really looking forward to some FOX action, esp. racing on a server with another SS type. CTRA should allow only copper on SS1 for a weekend and see what the opinion is of people racing on SS2 and 3 it's odd that people complain of the quality of racers on SS1 yet why don't National B drivers race on SS2 instead?

I've recently got my National B license and found that SS2 is mostly empty. But I know there must be times people race on it...

Would it be a lot of work to have a graph depicting activity over 24 hours so I could see when certain servers are busy? Then I can make time on a Saturday morning, or wait until a week day evening to go racing when there is a bigger chance of a server having more people on it.

Quote from SamH :

A couple of times, now, I've seen people in Race 1 suggest that it's okay to drive badly in that server.

In any race on any server someone actually saying you can drive badly is pretty silly. CTRA does a good job using the X System to enforce some rules which everyone abides by and provides an excellent arena for great racing. Of course when that system isn't there a temporary sense of anarchy sets in

However Race 1 is always going to have a certain degree of unpredictability due to those who are not fully versed or bought into the CTRA license mentality. So I don't expect the same level of professional driving that i'm hoping to engage in when I get to silver I've noticed that first corner pile ups are now rare on the BF server where as I enjoy the challenge to avoid the less experienced drivers on Race 1

I treat Race 1 as unorganised street racing where you don't really know who you are racing against and have to drive appropriately. Most of the time I don't commit fully on the first few turns, avoid everyone and then pick my way through the definite mess that ensues. Most of the time i'm driving from the back of the field to the top 8 places simply by being careful. Sometimes I get a massive shunt from the back and I have to just count to 10 and rejoin and have a practice race. On the UF BR server however i'd never have a chance with that attitude.

EDITED:
And to add Sam in direct response. What the rules are defining and what I expect are totally different. The rules are accurate and clear and in Race 1 people should be driving to their best abilities, however what I expect from people most of the time is very different

Last edited by yeager, Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:04.

Quote from Viper93 :

On race two these types of manuvers are encouraged, to a degree, and on race two drivers are expected to handle these situations a with reasonable level of control.

And the STCC broadcasts are full of drivers making defensive moves on the line... surely if the "top" drivers are driving defensively, then us mere mortals are allowed to follow suit

I totally agree with Race1, you can't really expect any level of respect or understanding and take everything with a pinch of salt.

Quote from NoPistons :

i see people weaving all over on SS1, especially on the longer straights and it drives me round the bend. I know this is to break the draft, but it also creates a certain level of uncertainty in the car behind, is he gonna swerve back now, or now, maybe now, oh crap, he zigged when I thought he was gonna zag.

I remember a while ago in F1 they mandated that the lead car was allowed to make one decisive move off the driving line to try and prevent the car behind from getting a decent draft. To be honest I do the same... as I lead onto the straight, I make at some point one clear move off the line and then return to the line as I approach the corner. Nobody's ever complained... mostly because they usually pass me when I make the move

Todd, I have a feeling what he means is moving to the middle of the racing line in the braking zone to defend any overtaking, not just braking on the track itself. I hope that's what he means anyway!

Nice to know it isn't just us mere online racers that have problems with overtaking, blocking racing lines etc. You guys might find the following an interesting article.

http://atlasf1.autosport.com/99/san/tytler.html

I also found the following on a site defining rules in a Caterham 7 series.

My opinion is that if you are attempting to overtake, then you are the one who must make a clean manoeuvre whist the person being overtaken should not be restricted from continuing at race speed. i.e., just because you get 1/3 way past, it doesn't mean you can continue into the corner knowing the lead car is going to need the space that you are now blocking. If the speed difference between the cars isn't enough for a clear pass, then unfortunately the guy at the back has to stay close and pressure, without (much ) contact the lead car into a mistake allowing for an over take.

Quote :

Driver Etiquette:
Your driving is expected to be the highest standard for the protection of everyone involved. Drivers will be observed and judged for safe driving by the events Race Chairman, Chief Steward, course officials and peers. If any driver is driving in a careless, unsafe or erratic manner, they will receive a black flag. They must immediately report to the hot pit area for a conference with Chief Steward or his designee(s). If given a second black flag, the driver will report to the hot pit for another conference with the Chief Steward and then return to the paddock for the remainder of the scheduled track season. If given a third black flag, the driver will return to the paddock and be excused from remainder of the weekend. If there is any car contact with another car or other object, the responsible driver will be excused for the remainder of the weekend. They may also be subject to further review and possible additional penalties.

Unacceptable driving behavior includes chopping, blocking and car to car contact. Chopping occurs when an abrupt return to the racing line is made after passing another car. Driver should provide a comfortable margin before moving in front of a car they have just passed. Blocking is intentionally moving away from the normal driving line in order to prevent a passive maneuver by a pursuing car. This is not acceptable. Along that same line, passing maneuvers should never force another car off the racing surface. When making a close pass, the overtaking car should decelerate enough to be in control enough to allow side by side racing through the next corner of necessary.

In addition, the car in front has the right of way and need not yield to the car behind. However, if the car ahead is clearly much slower than an overtaking car, as a matter of sportsmanship, the slower car should yield the right of way to the much faster car when it can be done safely. The responsibility for the decision to pass another car and thus for the safety of the pass, lies with the overtaking car. Pass must be completed without requiring the overtaken driver to take evasive action to avoid contact with the overtaking car. This does not relieve the overtaken driver for any responsibility. Both drivers must be alert (i.e., constantly checking frontal field of vision and mirrors) and be observant to what is occurring around them at all times. It is the responsibility of the overtaken driver to maintain a consistent and predictable line of course of travel so that an overtaking driver will not find himself committed to the passing line only to have the overtaken car suddenly swerved into that line, resulting in unavoidable card contact.

Last edited by yeager, Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:36.

Quote from SamH :

I wonder if we should revise the track list to offer ONLY the most challenging tracks!?

Would get my vote...

I gotta add my few pennies in...

I think the CTRA system works excellently, having servers limited by license ensures some people can race with a known quality level of drivers. The rules are clear and simply and well enforced on the server.

However with respects to over this weekend when the X system died and restrictions could be removed, some people were just way over the top.

For 10 minutes it was a free for all. Some people left restrictions on, some didn't. For 10 minutes it was anarchy and mayhem... it was kinda fun For those wanting people to keep the 45% restriction, do they REALLY think out of 25 people, nobody is going to set it to 40, or 30? Thats why the server limits... when there are no limits, people abuse them. Its human nature...

Then the system came back online and all was resumed, racing was normal... some people however couldn't relax and seemed very much offended by the incident. I was amazed at the anger and nasty remarks...

For those that are filing 100+ reports for all the "infractions" during those 10 minutes, will probably spend 30 minutes doing so. Come on guys, what is worse? A complete n00b asking for help and wondering what the restrictions are? Or a bunch of hitlers (sorry for the repeated German reference!) shouting out about rules?

What amazed me was the hypocrite who complained and complained about people during the outage, then when the system was back online and I was leading the race, he rammed me off the track because I had "abused the rules" during the outage. Stunning...

It's a game! We all love it, hell i've been racing on and off since it was first released. (I registered 8th March 2003) But some people really do get so aggressive and angry about the simplest things.

I had a race a week ago, I was going side by side into a fast corner, he had the outside line, as we turned in I drifted wide and sent him into the grass. This guy goes crazy, shouting about rules, the driving line I "should've" taken. Then eventually quits the server. I wonder... did he then go beat up his sister? Smack his father in the face before leaving the house and racing his car down the street? I hope not...

Then there are the people who scream blue flag as soon as you are in their sights. I once moved OFF the racing line to let a guy past and he chose to try and overtake off the racing line. He went ballistic, I thought he was about to murder someone.

CTRA should come with a blood pressure monitor and deny people onto servers when it's too high

Good racing all, 99% of the time LFS and CTRA is by far the most accurate computer racing system there is. I should know, i've been racing/rallying a variety of cars for years in real life. I swear I see elements of Silverstone, Snetterton and Brands in these tracks.

I do think that having at least a Bronze license for the UF-BR server would be a good idea.

Last edited by yeager, Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:21.