i have noticed on the ctra servers i have had like 1/20 races that were good that i completed on the lead lap because i get into the server and i start near the back of the pack. the front 4 guys always seem to be really good and should be advanced to the next ctra level but i guess they decide they dont want a challange and just like to make it extremely hard for people not as fast as them get points. the people i get stuck racing with usually spin infront of me in t1 or t2 or slam into me later in the race. i think there should be something that made these racers that should advance to the next level not be able to race in the lower level as much or have more restrictions in the lower level racing. and the people who spin out and crash other people get temp bans (like 1 hour to practice in single player on that track) for crashing people alot.

/rant

Quote from DAG00BER :

i have noticed on the ctra servers i have had like 1/20 races that were good that i completed on the lead lap because i get into the server and i start near the back of the pack. the front 4 guys always seem to be really good and should be advanced to the next ctra level but i guess they decide they dont want a challange and just like to make it extremely hard for people not as fast as them get points. the people i get stuck racing with usually spin infront of me in t1 or t2 or slam into me later in the race. i think there should be something that made these racers that should advance to the next level not be able to race in the lower level as much or have more restrictions in the lower level racing. and the people who spin out and crash other people get temp bans (like 1 hour to practice in single player on that track) for crashing people alot.

/rant

I agree about the restrictions for the fast racers. It is very annoying to try to get points, when platinum or gold racers race with a pace 1second off the WR...
But not for the temp ban, this is what happens IRL with low-level drivers, so they'll learn after time

Quote from DAG00BER :

the front 4 guys always seem to be really good and should be advanced to the next ctra level but i guess they decide they dont want a challange and just like to make it extremely hard for people not as fast as them get points.

Or they just drive on Race 1 because they like the XFG/XRG. Imagine that. Shocking, I know, but I heard there are people like this. How dare they drive the cars they want.

im not saying dont drive them, i mean give them some restrictions. i have seen alot of races where the same people were winning by a half a lap. it gets really really boring wen you keep racing (if you manage not to get crashed into by some tard) and just keep coming behind all the really fast people. it just gets rediculous wen you come in the front of the majority of the pack and there are these 3 people who are half a lap ahead of everybody. the only good races that i've had on there are wen there are only arround 5 people on the server and we all race at the same level. it would be alot better, closer racing with some restrictions on the people who are rediculously fast.

"the people i get stuck racing with usually spin infront of me in t1 or t2 or slam into me later in the race."

I wonder if you might find this useful reading? http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=45729

DAG00BER:
If you only race with beginners you will not learn to drive faster and cleaner.
Change your point of view and spectate / discuss / get sets and tips from the faster drivers, that will help you tremendously.
It can indeed be frustrating not getting points for a race, but what would be the value of the higher license it is was easy to get?
In order to get silver and above you must demonstrate that you can compete cleanly with the faster guys on track, it is not automatic and some never get there - stick to it and you will progress.
The system works - I got past race1 and learnt a lot in the process, close racing, T1 madness, respect... and I even picked up some pace even if I am still not a match for the fast ones.
Remember that CTRA rewards clean racers even more than fast ones, and starting to learn how to race cleanly will get you there faster

Best way to become faster is race faster drivers, they are not your problem.

If your angry and frustrated while racing your times will suffer, which in turn makes you more frustrated ... and so on , try and relax and enjoy it.

I'm making no presuppositions, but I'm seeing no complaints lodged by the OP against other drivers for wrecking. I can only assume that the situation being described, therefore, is what the rest of us consider to be normal competitive racing. Being at odds with normal competitors, competing in a race, and experiencing good races only 5% of the time, it does beg the question "what the hell are YOU doing wrong?".

It's my observation that more often than anything else, these complaints arise from drivers who completely fail to anticipate.

You're barrelling towards T1, surrounded by people who, for the last 3 races, finished up crashing out early in the race. What do you do?

It takes some people a LOOONG time to learn to anticipate, and they remain at the back of the grid far longer than they need to.. but they gotta learn somehow, I guess. If it has to be the hard way, that's their choice. And it is a choice, at the end of the day, to learn or not to learn, and to apply those lessons to their racing.

Becky's How-To is a good place to start. Consume it and use it.

Quote from Zen321 :

I agree about the restrictions for the fast racers. It is very annoying to try to get points, when platinum or gold racers race with a pace 1second off the WR...
But not for the temp ban, this is what happens IRL with low-level drivers, so they'll learn after time

This seems a bit stupid to me. I started in April this year, having never ever raced an online sim in my life, and in addition, having only played the demo for about 3 or 4 days. 6 or 7 months on, im a gold racer with with every CTRA pb (in XFG) being within 1s of WR. I started just like u guys, struggling to get points. If it wasnt difficult, would we be having fun? i think not.

With regards to the crashing, sure the back of the fields are crash pits, but thats where the beginners are, if you race on hte sim, like you'de race in real life, you'de probably take 2-3 races to get into the top 10, from the back of the field in a full server. So why try and do it in 1 race, no wonder you gonna get caught up in prangs. sim racers who havent raced IRL, generally dont understand the concept of backing out of a mood or backing out of a corner and continuing the fight at the next corner, they'de rather go all or nothing, and 50/50 whether they and their opponant live another day.

I seriously considered a "how to progress section" because im a RL racer and started off as a total noob beginner, then i found becky's section, and she's covered everything possible, so take the advice, it'll allow you to progress, trust me!

restricted XFG...can imagine that , i would prefer wheelchair...it goes faster.

The guys that are faster than you are faster for a reason, handicaping them because they have a skill advantage is not a solution.

Read Becky's how to and follow it, it's the best thing you can do to combat your problems on the grid, anticipation is key to preventing accidents.

I got my Silver license by starting at the rear and avoiding all the accidents on South City tracks.

Easy if you remember to slow down for the yellow flags.

Did I hear someone mention anticipation? That is one of the rarest commodities in LFS.

Quote from Doorman :

Did I hear someone mention anticipation? That is one of the rarest commodities in LFS.

I knew you'd say that.

Quote from -NightFly- :

restricted XFG...can imagine that , i would prefer wheelchair...it goes faster.

Have you seen the camber on racing wheel chairs? These bloody things can move, I'm seriously thinking about trading my zimmer in for one, anyone got a good wheel chair set up?

Oh and to the OP, my stats read 'You have competed in: 1,389 races and driven 13,654 laps on the CTRA system' and I still finish half a lap or more behind the leaders, so chin up mate your frustration at being slower than the fast guys will only get worse, best get used to it

Quote from Becky Rose :

I knew you'd say that.

That sounds (reads) like a reprimand.

i guess you guys are right. but its really anoying coming into the server and getting stuck at the back though. sometimes when the track changes i can get a spot firther up front and i'm all good then because usually theres not mad cars spinning allover the track in t1. but the back is just awfull alot of the time. its kinda funny to watch the cars all flying in every direction in t1 though lol. im really suprised not more people have posted anything on this before because i see it alot and people start yelling at the one guy who spun out or whatever wrecking the guys cars behind him. the guide helped a fair bit to.

thanks.

what about the most simple measure the human racing-world knows:

reversed starting-grid


?

then all the crashes would be up at the front and take EVERYBODY out lol.

Quote from DAG00BER :

then all the crashes would be up at the front and take EVERYBODY out lol.

goes a bit against the logic of "dangers you can spot ahead of time don't represent a risk as high as not being able to see what hits you".
In other words: just evade those bangers and drive on, then -> you'll be the leading racer in under a lap!

Quote from Doorman :

Did I hear someone mention anticipation? That is one of the rarest commodities in LFS.

Quote from Becky Rose :

I knew you'd say that.

Quote from Doorman :

That sounds (reads) like a reprimand.

Did I miss something? Is there some kind of history with Doorz and CTRA?

Quote from DAG00BER :

i guess you guys are right. but its really anoying coming into the server and getting stuck at the back though. sometimes when the track changes i can get a spot firther up front and i'm all good then because usually theres not mad cars spinning allover the track in t1. but the back is just awfull alot of the time. its kinda funny to watch the cars all flying in every direction in t1 though lol. im really suprised not more people have posted anything on this before because i see it alot and people start yelling at the one guy who spun out or whatever wrecking the guys cars behind him. the guide helped a fair bit to.

If you start at the back you really should hang back for the first lap. And I really mean hang back. Leave enough space between you and the people in front of you. That will give you a much better overview of what's going on and you'll have a better chance of avoiding spins and crashes, thus moving nicely up through the field. Once the pack has settled a bit and the over confident racers have taken themselves out you can get into a rythm and start putting down some good laps so that you hopefully start more up front in the next race.

One more very important thing to remember IMO is: DON'T THINK ABOUT THE POINTS OR EVEN YOUR STATISTICS!! Really, that's death to good fun. Just enjoy the racing, whether it's at the back of the grid or for a podium place. Don't get too annoyed when you're stuck behind someone slower than you on a track where overtaking is difficult. Just try to race closely without (too much) contact, try to find weak spots in the other guy's laps, looking for possible overtaking oportunities etc... That's what racing is about. I know it's easier said than done but you won't get very far if you wind yourself up and get annoyed People tend to get too caught up in the whole stats thing on CTRA.

Quote from Doorman :

That sounds (reads) like a reprimand.

Oh sorry, let me find a smilie one sec...





There, all better.

Quote from obsolum :

Did I miss something? Is there some kind of history with Doorz and CTRA?

Absolutely not!

Quote from Becky Rose :

Oh sorry, let me find a smilie one sec...





There, all better.

Phew!

Quote from obsolum :

If you start at the back you really should hang back for the first lap. And I really mean hang back. Leave enough space between you and the people in front of you. That will give you a much better overview of what's going on and you'll have a better chance of avoiding spins and crashes, thus moving nicely up through the field. Once the pack has settled a bit and the over confident racers have taken themselves out you can get into a rythm and start putting down some good laps so that you hopefully start more up front in the next race.

One more very important thing to remember IMO is: DON'T THINK ABOUT THE POINTS OR EVEN YOUR STATISTICS!! Really, that's death to good fun. Just enjoy the racing, whether it's at the back of the grid or for a podium place. Don't get too annoyed when you're stuck behind someone slower than you on a track where overtaking is difficult. Just try to race closely without (too much) contact, try to find weak spots in the other guy's laps, looking for possible overtaking oportunities etc... That's what racing is about. I know it's easier said than done but you won't get very far if you wind yourself up and get annoyed People tend to get too caught up in the whole stats thing on CTRA.

Listen to the man, for he speaks with straight arrow...er..tongue.

Quote from Doorman :

Quote from [B :

obsolum[/B] ](...)DON'T THINK ABOUT THE POINTS OR EVEN YOUR STATISTICS!! (...)
Just enjoy the (real) racing

Listen to the man, for he speaks with straight arrow...er..tongue.

I'l second that...
...and still If anyone feels a need of points-competition then feel free to focus on the yellow-flag count: for this is the single aspect of your ctra-license that has the ability to go up (bad) as well as down (good). I just recently got to focus on it more eagerly - and thus far I got from above te mean mark to exactly-average. So still some challenge left for me to win