The STCC was the main reason why I bought LFS. I remember with rFactor sitting in front of me and me thinking and going back to this small independently developed software titled Live for Speed. I had no idea what sim racing was, and I had no idea how professional it could be.
Then I ran into the STCC and my mind was made up.
In fact, the STCC has the potential to reach people outside of the Live for Speed community. I've used the STCC videos multiple times as a pitching tool to help sim racers buy LFS.
Bring it back Becky. I would love to compete myself but I would also love to watch as well
I'd watch if it was available as an archived download, I doubt I'd watch live (I don't even watch real races live). Honestly what with replays and such it would probably be a lot easier to not have it as a live deal.
Hmmm ... live broadcasts ... that would be cool ... but I hope you record them as well, cause people like me here in north america may not be able to enjoy it live since it may be happening too early in the day for me. But other than that, I really enjoyed the old STCC broadcasts, so I look forward to seeing this happening soon.
Yes. A random youtube search lead me to STCC and that lead me to LFS. Honestly a milestone for me since sim racing is a big part of my life ever since.
LFS needs something like STCC and live coverage would just be one better.
Look at when that vid was uploaded, then take a look at my join date! (11th December 2007)
Okay, that's not quite right, I had found LFS a while before I found the STCC videos, so I didn't find LFS through that, but it did persuade me to buy an S2 license, and I went on to the forums when I did! So thank you Becky!
I can't say for certain that I'll watch the live stuff (though I will certainly try) but I will watch the downloadable stuff. Definately.
Watched the video all the way through, sounds very interesting, but I doubt if I would be able to afford a whole Saturday to sit and watch the proceedings, too much other family stuff going on. Having said that, I used to think I wouldn't be able to find the time to watch the Inside Sim Racing programmes on Youtube but actually I do. Whether that has anything to do with Jessica Lopez is another matter .
I think I would be more likely to try and find time to tune in to as much as I can, if there were some people racing I know or can relate to. So if one of the Inside Sim Racing guys was taking part for example. Or a reasonably famous real life or ex- racing driver, that kind of thing. Either way, full driver profiles, photos, race history etc. for all participants on a supporting web site would be essential, so you really know who you're watching. As opposed to just watching a load of driver names moving up and down the list.
I'd watch this, and it would also generate lots of interest in racing again, as lots of people seem to be looking elsewhere because of LFS' development speed.
By holding 2 STCC events a day, if we followed last seasons format, you would get 10 heat races and 2 feature races during the afternoon of proceedings with live driver interviews and race control interviews and decisions all happening there and then.
That's a lot of racing ! Of course the feature races are the main events and the event would run to a schedule so you could tune in just for those if you wished.
To run support races aswell would take a very big race control team in the nerve centre and add a lot of work, I think heat is already likely to be an issue with equipment and 3-4 bodies all frenetically doing their job and I only have a little flat now not the big house I used to have, so I think no to running any additional series alongside the project: One bite at a time.
Firstly i'll say all drivers from the original series who wish to take part would be welcomed back. I said this back then and i'll say it again now - I love you guys.
I know there was some stuff between myself and one team that's well reported, as far as i'm concerned it's a fresh slate. All forgiven, no discussion necessary.
One of the things i've found with my rather slow and lacklustre Blue 2 development is that i'm just not inspired by LFS at the moment. For me broadcasting came before the desire to build grand licencing systems, working in television has always been a passion of mine ever since I was first exposed to the industry. I know that sounds odd given that I dont actually have a TV, but that's me I like to create I dont particularly consume. I have had a number of jobs in and around television and very much enjoyed them all, I was even a failed actress once .
What appeals to me about this project, is despite that i've not done very much racing in LFS over the last few years, is it interests me. I'm excited by the prospect and the challenge and it gives me enthusiasm to get it done.
Whereas Blue 2 at the moment just feels like a chore - I develop software for a living already, and i'm not particularly enjoying putting it together.
STCC always inspired me because I love the whole concept, the thought of doing it live gives me goosebumps. It's a project I can throw myself into and hopefully really enjoy.
Regarding workload, it was always clear to me I could not do everything I took onboard to do in season 1, I need other people, and with online gaming it can be a pretty casual thing for some doing the less glamarous work.
By getting everybody into the recording studio and getting them involved, making them part of the whole experience, I hopefully give them a more enjoyable role that will enthuse them to really get involved too - and with everybody right there, it's kinda hard to shirk responsibility and take a few weeks to respond .
Well technical problems can occur live this is true. If I can I would like to get dedicated machinery for the duration of the season but I dont know if I can pull it off. Certainly, i'll be happy to take off from work a day before the event to get everything set up and tested and working. Preperation is the key to everything running smoothly, and i'd hope if I can put a team together that there will be a dry run on a 4th day - probably the qualifying events - to get everybody up to speed with their roles, and to team bond (I live next door to a pub afterall ).
What I can say is I will have a lot of proprietry tools, possibly even some hardware (there is some specifics I have not worked out - particularly relating to sound), it wont be like other broadcasts at all. I'll use In house bespoke technology to deliver something new and fresh.
I'm absolutely thrilled to see you're thinking of bringing back STCC. I remember watching the videos and enjoying the commentary and action. The iTCC broadcasts (although very different in a lot of ways) are inspired by those videos you and your team produced for STCC.
One thing I wonder if you've considered - your internet connection. Obviously, when you're producing a video for download/streaming, you can go to a lot of trouble to get the format and bitrate just right. The quality of your live broadcast will depend on your upstream bandwidth (hence the relatively low quality of iTCC's broadcast - my bandwidth is 440Kbps - to achieve a smooth streaming experience means I'm uploading at about 220 Kbps). So maybe you've already thought about this, but I'd just like to offer that piece of information if it helps.
On the same point, although perhaps there are other streaming providers, the two that are free that spring to mind are Zaplive and Livestream(formerly Mogulus). iTCC uses Livestream, which place a bandwidth limit of 500 Kbps on their free streams. 500 Kbps should be enough for a good to very good stream provided your internet connection is up to providing it (I'd hazard a guess that you'd need 1Mbps upstream for a smooth 500Kbps streaming experience). Other options include Multi-BC, who have some very good hardware, and of course, buying Flash Media Encoder for a server (which is very expensive!)
Anyway, I hope I've been of help.
Lastly, with regards to feature races and the like, when are you thinking of bringing back STCC? This summer/autumn? I can't speak for the rest of the iCON team (I'll PM them later) but personally I'd love to involve a league series as a support championship to STCC ran as part of the broadcast..(I could broadcast the race). I'm thinking specifically of restricted XFRs (Clio Cup style racing) or a multi-car championship with most ROAD cars or (lastly) an LX4 championship.
This is something that does indeed worry me a lot, i've had a number of ideas regarding the internet connection. My main connection has 448 Kbps upstream, I hope to make this dedicated to the broadcast by using secondary connections.
Details have to be worked out, wine has to be purchased for neighbours, and i've got to check the speed of the teathering on my new mobile when I get it to see if I can use that for race control or ancillary web tasks or some such.
I'm also considering trying to arrange something a bit special, but i'm wary that I have a very small budget to work with and I may need some new machinery.
Regarding streaming services, I know there's a few out there now and I havn't picked which one that I will go with. I do not plan to host the streaming server myself, i'm hoping the audiance will be bigger than my ability to fund the bandwidth, I want to promote the series outside of LFS before it airs and bring in viewers - which means a lot of shouting loudly from rooftops. I'll be picking a streaming partner based on their capacity to handle viewer quantity.
I've not decided if yet let alone when, it could be 2010, it could be later this year, it might not even happen. Once the decision is made i'll be doing some development work, when that's taken shape i'll seek out the crew and figure out dates and then announce entries being open.
I think initially i'll say no, it's going to be a complicated setup already and I dont want to make it even more complex, for instance the scheduling of events alone would become more intricate and I cant imagine the implications if you had a delay or a server outage and that impacting on STCC or the broadcast, it adds variables that are better done once the operation is running smoothly and more rehearsed.
Later on, I can see how the format might expand to others broadcast teams for an even more packed 'afternoon' of racing, but two critical things need to happen for that. Firstly, we need spectators and secondly we need competitors and broadcast teams and a league centred around giving spectator action - and if you can find these people for your league then I want them in the STCC for the come back season :P
As I've learned a thing or two about this broadcasting thing, I'd firstly like to wish you good luck with the mountain you're about to climb - This will sure be one hell of a workload.
Then secondly, 448 kbps? I know it's sufficient, but since we are in 2009 already, that should be the low-res option. Taking into account the amount of hardware you will need additionally - allthough I don't know if you've already got it, it could be that you have about three gaming-spec computers which you will inevitably need for yourself - would some extra bandwidth, even though it might sound expensive, be expensive at all after all?
Blame the current UK telephone network. A lot of our 'high speed' broadband packages provide 8Mbps down / 448 kbps up. You can get 24 Mbps down / 1.5 Mbps up but it's not available in all areas.
Yep, 0.4mbit upload (1.8mbit down) is the best that is available in my area. I live in a village but even in town I would not get much better.
I am going to try and pull of a bit of a coup regarding the connection - but it's a long shot - otherwise i'm affraid that's the best I can do for the live stream, i'm already paying through the teath just to have unlimited monthly data.
Regarding machinery, I do not have enough at the moment and I have a very limited budget. I may actually have no budget at all. Again, if I can blag it somehow I will, or maybe one of the crew (should I find any volunteers) will be able to bring a laptop or something.
Currently I have one medium spec PC that needs repair and a gaming capable laptop, it's simply not enough, I have 1 camera, a video switch box, a DVD-R for recording it all for later encoding of a HQ stream, and various other ancillery things, but I know I will need to obtain more PC's.
It's going to be on a budget, I am not wealthy, what little money I have this year I am hoping to have a holiday with. Currently i'm in a dispute with my old landlords over my deposit which if I loose I will be hamstrung on getting equipment as I have debts to pay off with it, so yah, it's going to be the creation of enthusiasm and love and not limitless budget
Yes, i would love to watch it, but even more: I'd LOVE to drive in it!
If you want a show, I'll be a good person hehe I drive with risk, but nice and fast
I hope you're really going to start it up again Technology has made a big improvement in the last couple of years, so everything became much better. In LFS and outside LFS
Edit: I've also got a teammate :P (Though you said to not reply yet :P I couldn't NOT do it )
A raining champion? That would be a suitable description for an English lad, but not so for a Hungarian I reckon. But at least we have a half-official `announcement` on who last season`s champion was.
rev: I have some interest from my teammates in joining the STCC, so that`s a no-go right now. I don`t want a faster teammate anyhow. You can be our test driver though.
But other than that, I really enjoyed the old STCC broadcasts, so I look forward to seeing this happening soon.
(11th December 2007)
Not only to watch, but also to participate. Start in STCC is one of my last personal goals, i want to achieve in LFS.
