At the moment [dSRC]Chris noted to me that the track usage statistics for servers online shows that BL is now once again the most common track being used Seems like the oval has died off (sigh of relief), and BL is still a good ol' classic Aston National following closely behind.

1. BL gp -----------------------15,855,522 Miles
   
2. KY oval ---------------------15,578,403 Miles
   
3. AS national -----------------14,287,063 Miles

I guess that is due in part to Redline's BL FOX server, and the common GTR AS Nat servers.

Quote from Tweaker :

Seems like the oval has died off

Excellent :clapclap:.

Now if only FOX useage would die off also.

Quote from Tweaker :

I guess that is due in part to Redline's BL FOX server

DAMMIT! :irked:

Quote from farcar :

Excellent :clapclap:.

Now if only FOX useage would die off also.



DAMMIT! :irked:

I think the fox is fun to race, maybe not a big challenge, but I always had good races in it, mainly because of the reason it's so easy to drive

Yeah I've noticed the oval's only had a handful of die-hards in there lately.

We need a few more thousand people to buy S2 before we'll get regular crowded races in the RWD production cars though I think.

Quote from Tweaker :

At the moment [dSRC]Chris noted to me that the track usage statistics for servers online shows that BL is now once again the most common track being used

/me takes a bow


It's what happens when I get bored of waiting, i look at random stuff and find interesting things out... LFS World was my victim of that random looking tonight

TOP3 is still dreadful to read... of course that damn KY "Oval" but also AS Nat

AsNat is horrible. It's got a bloody silly double hairpin intestines section (A la Indy Road). There are plenty of great Aston configs - just that National isn't one of them.

Club is good for GTR's (nice short lap for public server racing), North is a little longer than National but has more variety and Cadet is good for TBOs, FOX, GTR2 (UFR/XFR), MRT, UF1 ...

What we need is a patch to disable use of those 3 tracks to see what would happen. I think a lot of people would get really confused and go nuts

Quote from Dajmin :

What we need is a patch to disable use of those 3 tracks to see what would happen. I think a lot of people would get really confused and go nuts

Most would probably hate having to learn a whole 'new' track. Because it seems a lot of players play only that -one- usual configuration and that's all they know because it is the only track they are best at. Lots of practice pays off, but good lord.... try something else for a change

Quote from Dajmin :

What we need is a patch to disable use of those 3 tracks to see what would happen. I think a lot of people would get really confused and go nuts

KY1 can be fun - with FO8 or XRR (UF1 draft battles also rock).
Aston National is turd, but if people want to drive it it's their issue.
BL1 is good for GTRs, but for FOX it is rather horrible.

I had been following the track usage for a while, noticed last week I think that Blackwood went past the oval. Kind of nice to see Another one I've been keeping an eye on is the LX4 vs LX6 use. LX6 was about 20,000 laps behind the LX4 for a long time, then it got a lot closer quickly, now the gap has spread further, and the XRG jumped above the LX6 also.

Kyoto GP Long for President!!!

And the award for the three dullest tracks in LFS goes to:

Quote from Tweaker :

1. BL gp -----------------------15,855,522 Miles
   
2. KY oval ---------------------15,578,403 Miles
   
3. AS national -----------------14,287,063 Miles

got some things to add here:

1. everybody knows blackwood from the demo so its perfect to start with and get used to all the others cars so these stats makes sense (at least i did so and i think, many or maybe most of the people do/ did the same but theres no statistic to proof this )

2. it needed 2 servers in the past for quite a long time from RR to catch up which brings me to...

3. in general, there are and has been much more blackwood server then oval servers

4. Who else, except FM is running the oval in a professional way for such a long time now?

5. most people realized that the oval isnt that easy and it needs much more time (then they think) to get good laptimes (not only alone but also and much more important in a group/ field of vehicles) which is, in my opinion the main reason people dont race there that often compared to other tracks or in this particular case, blackwood



About the oval in general id like to split the users in three groups:

Group 1: People without passion & knowledge

Those people mostly think the oval is just a simple track with three corners/ turns you name it, they try everything to be the fastest and get mad when they realize that its not that easy. -> hate & frustration followed by a disconnect after a few laps/ races or less is the consequence (some people give it up just too quickly)


Group 2: People without passion but knowledge

At least, they try to learn the track, they improve more or less and possibly cultivate some passion for it (yes it is a track believe it or not ) which mainly depends on the rest of the field and their skill levels


(With "knowledge" is meaned either general experiences and/ or for this specific track)


Group 3: experienced people with passion

"Oval Junkies" (for example (not only FM members)) Depends on which group you belong (1 or 2) they can bring you quickly at a level where racing the oval can be a great experience. Having in your mind that those people are very rarely these days it can be very hard to reach a level of high quality racing at all time. Its an exponential progress, the more people with experiences are online, the more people could learn how to behave on this track. This is one of many unique attributes this track offers/ demands. Sadly but true, most people tend to race on their own, trying to get rid of everybody else asap (which is surely the goal but not at all time &/ or asap) which is the main reason of the bad quality at non FM servers (not in general but mostly imho) or even at our servers without FM member or other experienced drivers online. Funny thing is, people join to race together but the reality is what i have described above. Fact is, oval is about teamplay which doesnt exclude battles for positions but to understand this it needs more then a couple of laps/ races.

This means not to offend anybody rather then that it should expand the understanding of "how to race the oval".

Surprisingly there are people from group one that switches to group two but this is the exceptional case. I dont like to generalize things at all but in general and what i have experienced this group model is reality.

One last thing, im open for any constructive criticism but if this is just another senseless anti oval thread this is my one and only comment.

Cheers and btw, i like blackwood as well


Edit: http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=18875

I'm still appalled that the oval is even in the top 5.

CHOPS ran a 70 lap race at KY1 with the full-size GTR's at one point. Besides the mildly interesting battle a CHOPS member and I had for first place (I ended up finally breaking away halfway through to take the win), it was otherwise one of the most boring races I've ever ran.

Quote from 510N3D :

huge post

Specking on most people who drive in lfs, oval is so really boring so that why people drive for a few laps then leaves plus [FM] is so up there own ass

[FM] ppl are cool and Oval is the best track in lfs...that is till karts come out!

Quote from rc10racer :

Specking on most people who drive in lfs, oval is so F**CKING boring so that why people drive for a few laps then leaves plus [FM] is so up there own ass

Avoiding word filters isn't smart, try less offensive descriptors in future.

Quote from Bob Smith :

Avoiding word filters isn't smart, try less offensive descriptors in future.

Ok Bob sorry about that but most will agree with me

Quote from rc10racer :

Ok Bob sorry about that but most will agree with me

True, I was gonna reply the same but noticed you had already done it. Can't comment about [FM], but their name sounds as great as crazy frog as an avatar

Yeah the oval is definitely one of the most subtly complex and demanding circuits in LFS. illepall

Quote from Forbin :

I'm still appalled that the oval is even in the top 5.

CHOPS ran a 70 lap race at KY1 with the full-size GTR's at one point. Besides the mildly interesting battle a CHOPS member and I had for first place (I ended up finally breaking away halfway through to take the win), it was otherwise one of the most boring races I've ever ran.

yep, that happens when you have the wrong opponents, or slow ones. but that is the same on every track if there is only really one guy competing with you...

we had a x-mas event "FM vs. STCC" with TBO class which was actually very interesting. but yep, if you drive against yourself for 150 laps its just boring, but that is with every track. thats also the reason why i don't understand hotlapping at all...


the oval is a track like every other track in lfs. if you practice it alot you are fast, if you don't you are slow compared to the top drivers. the only thing is, if you are good at one circuit track, it won't take much time to tune into another circuit track and be fast there but you won't be near the top on oval. not because you drive slow laptimes, but because its just a different kind of racing.

the same with drifters, rally-track drivers, drag-racers, bangers, autoXers

its all a different kind of racing which has to be learned to be good at it. and that oval-flaming is just stupid. its like someone who likes donuts saying: "oh that damn pancakes, why do people actually like them".

it's a racing sim which offers a broad variety of racing, it even provides facilities of NOT racing like CLC, which has actually nothing to do with racing at all...

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Yeah the oval is definitely one of the most subtly complex and demanding circuits in LFS.

you are right with that sarcasm, the track isn't the problem. (allthough if you just stay at the fm oval for 15min when its full you will see how difficult the track is for A LOT of people, who didn't get to manage 2 turns, or spin out right at the start, but most of them are noobs...)
thats the difference you only get to know when you race on the oval, the track is secondary, it's more about interaction with the other drivers... sure, you have to learn the racing line, but that line is useless if there are two drafters behind you. you can drive the best line in the world, and they will catch you in a few laps just because they race together. which is actually not possible on any other track. but explaining that to someone who does not race the oval is like explaining the color "pink" to a blind.


SO
CO-EXISTENCE!!!



and btw. +1 for one more oval

Hotlapping the UF1 on SO1 or FE1 (the almost-ovals) is more exciting than any draft battle on the oval, I don't care if it's 2 drivers duking it out or 20. It's just boring as hell.

Yeah, so it means you don't drive on it. But what's wrong with other people liking the oval? Obviously people do. I find nascar a snoozefest but I don't try and tell the people who watch it they're wrong for enjoying it. Good for them. I wish I enjoyed it, then I'd have something to watch 95% of the time on Speed channel. Anyway, I don't see the point in telling people they're wrong for liking something. It's all subjective...

My Team has organised and ran 2 oval events featuring the FZR and XRR over 100 laps complete with race control and a safety car. Non stop intense action to be had and probably some of the best racing I've seen and been apart of.

But pick-up races on the oval just isn't going to work, because there's always a couple of ppl from "Group 1" as mentioned above.