Becky back in action? NICE! I cant promise, I'll watch it, but I'll definitely keep a close look on it.

Quote from csurdongulos :

A raining champion?

Just in case there's a misunderstanding.. Reigning (read: defending, current) champion

Quote from csurdongulos :

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.

See you on the grid then

hmm of course I would watch it! But I prefer it have to be Big Deal

I'm still very interested to hear from anyone who would want to be in the nerve centre on race day btw, if you can get to Huntingdon, Cambs. It cannot be done live by myself and very much needs to be a team effort, so if you have transport and live near enough that you can get here, and are keen to get involved in what I hope will be a major event for LFS/sim racing, then please get in touch.

I'll start recruiting in more earnest at a later time. I'm going to do some streaming tests this weekend with my main and teathered connection to see what it can handle and figure out the streaming stuff - then I will start putting together a new 'LIVE' version of X-Cam, i've got some great ideas for it, but i'll talk more about it once i've implemented them.

And yes, the last race sadly was never broadcast, it was not a stunning race, we attempted a 1 hour long circuit race and in retrospect we should have stayed with the formula that worked. It was too much for me to handle at the time and so Victor never properly got a proper announcement, so a bit late here goes

Would be great to watch this.

i would watch it again, but i think i could possibly participate again.

maybe this time if you do go ahead with this it might be a good idea to get the rules sorted before you start, none of this changing rules 1/2 way through the league

also possibly force some things like forced cockpit, mandatory pit etc..

edit:

just an idea tho maybe to avoid one of the biggest problems (making the cars equal) possibly have a field of cars all the same, so its more down to setups and driver skill to complete a race.

Quote from NotAnIllusion :

Just in case there's a misunderstanding.. Reigning (read: defending, current) champion

I'm well over what she meant, was just trying to make fun of her spelling error

Becky, thanks for the announcement, though I always remembered my car no. being #110

I see your point on the rules changes, but there is a flip side too. The original season ran for a long period of time and changes in LFS and car balance upset the class balance system, and I think from the start of the season the tweeks to the heat system was definately a positive one and was all part of finding and tuning a system to make it fair to drivers in each of the different classes - the DRB (Drivers Representative Board) was there to ensure that all changes maintained fairness and transparency with the drivers.

Other changes came on board with new developments such as the warm up lap. It must be remembered that the entire purpose of the league is to make a good show, so when a new development comes on board such as the new starting system we had for the final round of course we where going to use it - we'd be mad not too. This is what it meens to be on the same hymn sheet regarding being a series designed for broadcast.

The new season will be shorter, 6 races on 3 event days - probably a month apart maybe 2 weeks (depending upon the nerve centre crew's ability to attend), and we have the benefit of the wisdom learned from the first season, so mid season changes are less likely - but cannot be ruled out if tweeks to the format are shown to be necessary - as before any mid-season change will be put to the DRB to ensure it is fair for all competing drivers.

EDIT: Incidentally, you'd never have been allowed to rejoin in race 3 had we not changed the drop-out rule to accomodate you :P

Quote from csurdongulos :

I'm well over what she meant, was just trying to make fun of her spelling error

Becky, thanks for the announcement, though I always remembered my car no. being #110

You're right, David Horvath was 127. Gah, I can't get anything right can I lolz.

On the subject of funding how about a small entry fee from the entrants.
Say 100 people paying £2 each would give you at least some cash to play with. Obviously 100 drivers cannot all compete so you will have to whittle them down via quali races or heats. The small payment does not guarantee any driver a spot on the grid in the STCC, the drivers must earn their place.

i would take part, if i could, aswell as watching it, i had great amounts of enjoyment watching the old STCC

Certainly I would watch it, Becky. i hope the audience would be generous for commentators: you and Tristan commenting ypu coments in chatroom

Please post a notion with respectable advance.

Quote from anttt69 :

On the subject of funding how about a small entry fee from the entrants.
Say 100 people paying £2 each would give you at least some cash to play with. Obviously 100 drivers cannot all compete so you will have to whittle them down via quali races or heats. The small payment does not guarantee any driver a spot on the grid in the STCC, the drivers must earn their place.

I won't be charging an entry fee. At the end of the day £200 doesnt go very far given that anything that needs to be bought for the series is going to cost a lot more than that - so it would amount only to a contribution, and if it's the only source of income it is easy to see how in time that might become £3, then £5... and the intentions would be right, the outcome would be wrong.

I'm hoping I can do it without spending anything. I am doing some testing soon which will let me figure out if I need a 3rd machine. I know I have to fix my 2nd machine, but that is my cost to bear. Even if a third machine is needed it may be that somebody on the team could bring one, so it might not even be necessary to spend money at all. Yes money could be used for equipment and would all make the final result better, but I don't think money needs to be seen as an obstacle - ingenuity is born out of making do with what you have.

You never know, it might be that I can get some PC manufacturer on board to donate a prize, and use the prize for producing the series with..? It's plausable - and at least would meen I would get the prize before season end this time, as the title sponsor very much dissapointed me last season with lots of "I've sent it I dont know what has happened I will check" and the prizes never arrived. (Lesson learned, nobody gets any plugging this time until the prize is in my hands).

I'm not going to mention names, but I do know that a certain peripheral manufacturer keep up to speed on these forums - and if they stumble across this post it would be really appreciated if they made good on their promise and came on board for this season too. I'm sure there was a very good reason the despatch got messed up.

Quote from Becky Rose :

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.

yay. iget to race again

Quote from dawesdust_12 :

yay. iget to race again

Yah, i'm good with that - and may I say what a pleasure it is to have read a post by you that in no way involved the Apple Mac. (i've gone and done it now ;p ).

When were you thinking off Becky? For petrol there and back you can have PC#2 if you want (AMD Quad Core, ATi 4830, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD).

im not generally one for watching. But i would deffinately want to take part.

Quote from Becky Rose :

You might want to watch the video before confessing that

Well, i was watching the video while i wrote that :P When you said: I'm looking for a show, i typed that. Further to the end, i saw that you didnt mean THAT much show :P I thought i deleted that, but i didnt :P

Let's just say: I drive fast, with skill, and i know what to do in weird situations

ps. Maybe a tip: Don't let the superfast-already known- teams join it (no offence) since everybody already knows them. Give the not well known drivers a chance to prove themselves to the audience. (just a thought)

I'd rather watch races with less known people and support them, than to support people in the best teams, who always win, just because of mooooooooooore experience and laps etc.

Quote from dutchshogun :

Well, i was watching the video while i wrote that :P When you said: I'm looking for a show, i typed that. Further to the end, i saw that you didnt mean THAT much show :P I thought i deleted that, but i didnt :P

Let's just say: I drive fast, with skill, and i know what to do in weird situations

So what you're saying is you're full of .... - I won't hold it against your application, you'll have the same chance to prove yourself as anyone else.

Quote :

ps. Maybe a tip: Don't let the superfast-already known- teams join it (no offence) since everybody already knows them. Give the not well known drivers a chance to prove themselves to the audience. (just a thought)

Well there are a few different ways to look at it, one of them is that the STCC was at the time it was airing the pinnacle league of it's type, another is that it's an airy fairy championship run by somebody with dubious criminal and mental health histories...

In any case, i've been quite clear about the type of driver i'm looking for. The kind that ask questions on the forum and not during the event, that know the special rules and why we have them, who keep in mind always that it's a show of a motor race that mimmicks reality as close as possible for the viewer, and some personality in interview is a good thing too. All of these are more use to the STCC than outright speed.

Having said that, I was watching some races from last season and some of those guys where taking half a second out of some of the WR's in race trim. It's unlikely that an unheard of and previously unknown LFS racer is going to take the title - but hopefully all competitors will have fun and enjoy it, I think they all enjoyed season 1.

EDIT @Jakg: Thanks for the offer, i'll have to let you know nearer the time and when things are all sorted here - would you be wanting to get involved in the running of things too?

Quote from Becky Rose :

EDIT @Jakg: Thanks for the offer, i'll have to let you know nearer the time and when things are all sorted here - would you be wanting to get involved in the running of things too?

Racing - Not really.

Admin stuff - Sure - but I'm working every weekend...

Quote from Jakg :

Racing - Not really.

Admin stuff - Sure - but I'm working every weekend...

Ack, in that case it's going to be a no on the above sadly because it will be a weekend event again. Never mind.

I do have a cunning plan at the moment, i'm a keyholder to a research lab in St Neots and i'll be there on Monday with my laptop checking out speedtest.net - if the connection is good enough i'll be seeking permission for it's use. I'm not sure if any of the gaming capable PC's are still there I think they have been redeployed, but with any luck i'll solve two hurdles with one jump.

i would definatly watch and if i was up to standard i would compete

i loved the stcc broadcasts originally so this should be even better

i dont think i can vote for any of these
yes id probably watch to feature race if they were still ~30-40 mins long and maybe some of the studio banter if its any good but a whole afternoon would be overstaying your welkome on my pc screen and much more commitment of me as a viewer than im willing to muster im afraid
also i think you screaming over the top of poor ol tristan was part of the appeal... at least for people who read the forum a bit and get the same guilty pleasure of listening to him losing to a girl

as for the drivers... i think throwing in a village idiot for comedic effect as you did in the rallycross race worked quite well

Quote from Shotglass :

as for the drivers... i think throwing in a village idiot for comedic effect as you did in the rallycross race worked quite well

Ahh yes, Mr Rowe! those were the days!

As to the question would I watch it, it would very much depend on video quality and broadcast "watchability". The original STCC series was high quality downloadable, and it made watching the STCC easy.

I've enjoyed Mr Passingham et al's commentary on endurance races, but the system that's being used there is datacentre-oriented video streaming. That's very specifically the reason why it's watchable.

I guess it comes down to "suck it and see". There's not really much point asking me if I'd watch it because I don't know what I'd be watching yet. I can say "yes" now, but if I do watch it and it's crap quality, I won't watch more than one (or part of one) event. Similarly, I might say "no" but on hearing how spectacular it is, be irresistibly drawn to tune in to every subsequent event. Obviously, by "I" I mean "a voter".

I will say, though, that before I'd commit to support the series by watching it and giving it my time (and it sounds like a lot of time), I'd want to have some assurance that, barring earthquakes underneath or tornadoes overhead, the series would run its course to completion. It's essential, and even if it kicks ass from the start, if it kicks the bucket yards from the end I'd be a very unhappy patron.

I'd really like to see a return of the STCC. I'd be happy if it was in the same format it was last time, honestly. If it was, I'd be a regular fan. The STCC did truly set a new and significant standard in sim racing broadcasting, there was nothing like it before, and everything since has in some way or another mimicked its spectator-oriented format. I think it would be possible to raise the bar significantly without changing the delivery format or moving to a live show.

I'm also concerned that in raising the bar, a new and improved version may not be able to deliver on its promise - the bandwidth limitations, financial constraints (budget cap!?) and logistics involved are clearly massive hurdles which must all be cleared simultaneously.

I really would very much like for it to happen and for it to succeed in all respects, so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best for you in the project