Hi,
last weekend I drove a couple of races in SO and AS3 and I noticed that many racers seem to have problems when being lapped or want to lap someone. As I don’t know if there are gentlemen agreements for lapping in LFS I just would like to write my thoughts about his. Maybe the points are completely wrong and sorry if they were already discussed:
When you are being lapped:
- hold your line..imho the most important thing..line changes confuses and have enough potential for a crash
- -just drive a bit slower on a straight or drive a wider turn to give the racer a chance to lap you without loosing to much speed or forcing him/her into risky maneuvers
- Use a kind of ‘body language’..ex: when you are driving on a straight and the racing line is on the left site of the track, drive a bit further to the left to give a signal that you want the racer behind you let by and slow down a bit

When you lap someone:
- be patient: everyone drives his/her own race and sometimes you just oversee the blue flag..
- watch for ‘body language’ from the driver you are going to lap
- give the diver in front of you the chance for completing the turn
- when the driver in front of you gives you room for lapping..pass him

- don’t ram him/her off the track

As I said these are just my thoughts about this topic and they might be completly wrong
Happy racing
h

Oh and if someone does accidentially make contact... please dont spam the damn screen with:

IDIOT
IDIOT
IDIOT
NOOB
IDIOT

ARGh that drives me mad, and I hate the 'POP' sound that goes with messages (is there a way to change that noise?)

Quote from Robster230 :

ARGh that drives me mad, and I hate the 'POP' sound that goes with messages (is there a way to change that noise?)

Theres a couple of files you can rename/delete to kill the noise.
Can't recall which ones though, sorry.

Quote from Bean0 :

Theres a couple of files you can rename/delete to kill the noise.
Can't recall which ones though, sorry.

It can be done? Never though of that tbh
But I don't like that sound while I'm racing, ty

To remove those aweful beeps :
message.raw
invalidkey.raw
sysmessage.raw

found in data/snd


Regarding blue flag, it's an age old debate, basically regular forum readers are familiar with the regulations and mostly get on and do the job properly. The problem is the pick-up-and-play not-quite-addicts that dont read the forums..!

Their view is:

When lapping, make no consideration it's their responsibility and if they dont get out of the way spam blue flag messages and hurl abuse.

When being lapped, very rarely does somebody do anything wrong when being lapped. Almost all problems are caused by the above, although there are exceptions.

I hate gettting blue flagged!!! It always seems to happen in a spot that's not very safe to pass to begin with. Holding my line, I don't think is really fair to the guy lapping me seeing how that's usually their line too. and since
I bring on the blue flag myself (joining mid race) I just pull over or try to just pull over and let them by

uh this is kinda off topic, but what does a blue flag with a yellow diagonal stripe on it mean? I saw them use this flag quite a bit at the Houston GP.
I noticed they used it the same way we use plain ol blue flags in LFS. Is it the same thing?

I can't think of that flag from FIA or MSA regs, it must be specific to the series, what series was running at Houston when you saw that flag?

Quote from Racer Y :

uh this is kinda off topic, but what does a blue flag with a yellow diagonal stripe on it mean? I saw them use this flag quite a bit at the Houston GP.
I noticed they used it the same way we use plain ol blue flags in LFS. Is it the same thing?

Nascar blue flag with diagonal stripe.

Wow that was quick! thanks Gunn
@ becky: I don't know enough about real racing to know exactly
They called it GT series. They ran I think four classes of cars at once
GT 1,2 & 3 and prototype cars.

BEING LAPPED
If you aren't eating or writing an essay when racing, and the track map is enabled, the blue flag shouldn't come by surprise. If you can drive the car/track even at reasonable speed, you have plenty of time to make a good plan how to let the leaders pass. If you can't drive the car/track then theres propably no competition to lost anyway and you can easily pull aside when blue flagged.

TO LAP
I can't remember where I read it, but it was some IRL regulations that said that the driver being lap must let you pass within 3 corners after the blue flag is shown. So be patient. Attempting a risky pass can ruin yours and his/her race. Those who don't let you safely by at first possible place (for whatever reason), propably do that in the second, when they see you in the mirrors and a big BLUE FLAG text in their screen.

I hate complaining hotlappers who think the end of the world is coming when they lose few tenths in a RACE due to lapping.

Quote from frokki :

TO LAP
I can't remember where I read it, but it was some IRL regulations that said that the driver being lap must let you pass within 3 corners after the blue flag is shown. So be patient. Attempting a risky pass can ruin yours and his/her race. Those who don't let you safely by at first possible place (for whatever reason), propably do that in the second, when they see you in the mirrors and a big BLUE FLAG text in their screen.

I hate complaining hotlappers who think the end of the world is coming when they lose few tenths in a RACE due to lapping.

I'm pretty sure the blue flag rules depend on the series.

In F1, the slower driver is meant to let the lapper past within 3 blue flags. But in GT racing the flag is purely to let them know faster traffic is approaching, with the onus being on the lapper to make a clean pass and the 'lappee' to continue on their normal racing line.

As long as common sense is used, then there are rarely problems. Quite often I continue with the blue flag message for a lap or 2 if the faster driver isn't catching me very quickly, but will ease of the gas on a straight to let them past if I'm not fighting for position myself.

The 'hotlappers' are probably the worst culprits, possibly because they don't really know any other lines than the ideal racing line which they have practiced over and over.

Quote from Bean0 :

The 'hotlappers' are probably the worst culprits, possibly because they don't really know any other lines than the ideal racing line which they have practiced over and over.

That seems to be the key problem right there. Any change in the racing line and the 'hotlappers' freak out. So they bust out with the "Get out of my way." screen spam.

I usually take a wide line to let the fast car pass in a corner and NEVER let up down a straight. That seems to cause more problems than it solves. If the faster car catches me, they can use the draft to get by. If the corner is approaching, they passing car need only move inside to make a pass as they would any other time.

P.S. I once had a faster car try to pass me (I was a lap down) on the outside on the final hairpin on AC2. illepall

Quote from frokki :

I hate complaining hotlappers who think the end of the world is coming when they lose few tenths in a RACE due to lapping.

:ices_rofl..+1

:iagree:

SD.

i usually do a "" or bip my horn twice, sometimes giving them a flash and looking over, although sometimes people take this the wrong way!

The blue flag is treated differntly by alot of people (And to some people not at all as they don't know what it means)

The way I see it is, if your inn say a 30 lap race and after 20 laps you catch the last group of cars, then they should only let you pass when it is safe to do so, without comprimising there race.

But if someone joins midrace and gets a blue flag I beleive they should move completely off the line without slowing the down driver who is trying to pass, it's not a rule but I beleive it's just courtesy.

And yeah, same as Kev, i usually put up a "Ty" or a couple of peeps of the horn.

Quote from Bawbag :

..
The way I see it is, if your inn say a 30 lap race and after 20 laps you catch the last group of cars, then they should only let you pass when it is safe to do so, without comprimising there race.

But if someone joins midrace and gets a blue flag I beleive they should move completely off the line without slowing the down driver who is trying to pass, it's not a rule but I beleive it's just courtesy.
...

I totally agree with you.

Quote from hurler :

:ices_rofl..+1

haha +1

For the U.S. for most forms of sports car and open wheel racing.

http://home.earthlink.net/~mrmo/the_flag.htm

very interseting flag piccy

I allways thought the white flag (waved at start finish) meant 1 lap to finish , maybe just a european thing

SD.

Quote from Jakg :

i usually do a "" or bip my horn twice, sometimes giving them a flash and looking over, although sometimes people take this the wrong way!

FYI, I have noticed due to internet lag, if you give a friendly two horn toot to someone, it sounds like a single angry blast of the horn. I use to do this as well until someone did it to me and all I heard was a single blaring blast.

Then again, I'm on dialup, so I may have some lag myself causing it.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Oh, and: Bind "Thanks" to a button. While the idiots often spam "BLUE FLAG!!!1 MOOOOOVEE NOOOB!" at slower cars, they rarely get a thank-you for moving over, so I always thank drivers who let me pass safely.

A nice point, Kev.

I wonder how much we could tell about someone's race personality by looking at what their chat bindings are? I'd be leery of anyone whose chat bindings include the word "noob" (double points if in all-caps), any more than one exclamation mark, or indeed the phrase "blue flag".

Quote from jtr99 :

A nice point, Kev.

I wonder how much we could tell about someone's race personality by looking at what their chat bindings are? I'd be leery of anyone whose chat bindings include the word "noob" (double points if in all-caps), any more than one exclamation mark, or indeed the phrase "blue flag".

Oh no, don't do that... you could think that i'm a wrecker, because i've binded: "I hope you have a good car insurance". It's just funny if any idiot is wrecking some cars at T1 or if a friend just don't get the corner while fighting

Greets,
Warper

Quote from mrodgers :

FYI, I have noticed due to internet lag, if you give a friendly two horn toot to someone, it sounds like a single angry blast of the horn. I use to do this as well until someone did it to me and all I heard was a single blaring blast.

Then again, I'm on dialup, so I may have some lag myself causing it.

I've noticed that in replays too, ADSL here. So now, either I make two very slow and deliberate beeps, or just a smiley. Not always tho, spam sucks, and I crash lots if I reach for the keyboard :doh: You can thank them in other ways tho

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Oh, and: Bind "Thanks" to a button. While the idiots often spam "BLUE FLAG!!!1 MOOOOOVEE NOOOB!" at slower cars, they rarely get a thank-you for moving over, so I always thank drivers who let me pass safely.

I've had it since I got S2. I'm still waiting the first time someone says thanks to me. (thanking for a setup doesn't count)