Ok guys,
I have been busy with work for the past couple of days so i haven't really been able to respond to anything to much. Here goes.
I understand it is hard to learn the stages if you are new to the game. However, there are 2 very easy ways to help you here.
The first is driving in as many RallyClub events as you can. I have said it before but it is the EASIEST way to learn the stages as well as lots of fun.
The second one takes some commitment from you but after doing this myself i KNOW it is worth it. Use the Dll pacenote editor and change the notes to suit you. For me, it took 1 hour to re-pacenote one stage, but I know I will be able to do it faster as I get used to the editor. The advantage is I will not have to drive this stage ever again not knowing it COMPLETELY. I now KNOW this stage ABSOLUTELY. I do have the advantage of real life experience of writing pacenotes though and that might make it easier. I am willing to help anyone that wants it though. Even if you have only ever driven the rallyschool stage before, repace noting the stages will make you as fast as your skills will let you the first time you drive the stage, and that is a fact. If you do it right then it will also not matter what mod is being used or what car you are driving.
Car Classes: Are there too many? How many drivers should we have in each class? You might be right that most people will still drive N4/S2000 or WRC cars. I say ask yourself; are you really fast enough RIGHT NOW to challenge the top guys in these cars, or would you be better off and have more fun driving something a little slower and fighting for a win? If you are driving a WRC car and finishing 20th and crashing all the time, maybe you need to work on your skills first before moving up to something faster.
I give you the chance now to drop down to a lower car class if you find you can't compete in a higher one. But you can't complain about it, it is your choice.
Some of you might remember the discussion that took place a couple of rounds ago about the drivers lower down not getting points or incentive to keep driving. Giving more car classes and adding the driver grade system means you are GETTING that incentive. This season you should really think about how fast you REALLY are, not how fast you think you SHOULD be. If most drivers do this HONESTLY, then I think we STILL don't have enough classes. If we end up with only 20-30 drivers competing next season then you are right, we have too many choices. But with 80 drivers as with this season, and drivers that think about their abilities then I think it is right and they might even stay for the whole season.
Mandatory garde changes: The only time a madatory change will happen is if you move 2 grades at once. If you join the championship for the first time driving an N3 car and finish in the top 10 grade 2 drivers then you are obviously too fast for the other grade 4 guys. It would be unfair to leave you there. The same with grade 3 drivers, if you can get into the top 10 OUTRIGHT in a lights cup car, you are too fast for grade 3, it is unfair to the other grade 3 drivers to leave you in grade 3. The madatory changes are ONLY there to make sure the lower grades are kept fair for the newer or less experienced drivers.
Older WRC/A8 cars: First of all, let me say this rule was discussed AT LENGTH by the team. It is a compromise of different opinions. The original rules didn't include these cars at all, I wanted to keep the top cars for the top drivers as a prize for hard work and good results.
It was raised that some drivers just want to drive WRC cars and thats all. For these drivers then it should not matter if they are scoring points, they simple want the chance to compete in WRC cars. I don't understand why they need a championship in this case, the RallyClub give the same amount of fun as that. I do not want to encourage this and that is why I they compete in the same car class as the outright guys. I still think allowing the grade 2 drivers to run WRC cars is a mistake. The A8 and older WRC cars should be as fast over the stages as N4/S2000 cars though, that is why they are limited.
Number of stages/Length of rallies: For me, the perfect length of a rally is one that takes the winner 3-4 hours driving time (basicly the whole day to finish the rally) however i know most of you would not enjoy this. It is normal for me to finish a championship round, then spend an hour or more testing for the next rally or just playing with other cars/stages/mods. Maybe i'm not normal, but I also know I'm not alone:wink:.
I wanted to make the championship a bigger challenge than the RallyClub that runs 8 stages each event. One of the reasons I think longer rallies are better is a similar reason as the one raised by Yann for shorter events. As with Rd5 of this season, I made a small mistake on SS2. With a short rally, that would have meant that I was no longer going to be able to challenge. With 12 stages left, I was able to fight back, taking a little time off my rivals stage by stage, if had not made another mistake latter in the event I might have finished 2nd instead of 4th. If you are running longer events then a small mistake won't end your challenge. Yes you have to keep working and concentrating for the whole rally, but so does the guy your fighting with.
Lastly. Yes Mr. Biscuts, you are Grade 2 at the moment
While we have had a number of questions for clarification of the rules so far, we have not seen many suggestions as to what changes should be made. This could be a good thing and mean they are right, but I think some people have ideas they haven't shared yet. Lets hear them!
The one thing I want everyone to consider when they give a suggestion is we want to make sure the champoinship is fair for drivers of many different skill levels and how do we make sure they stay for the whole season.
