VWSR S3: Virtual World Series by Renault (F3.5)

Simon Christmann · May 19, 2014

I don't know if that could be a solution. If 30 drivers are racing in 3 classes its the same like 10 in only one class. You have a bit more actions on the track but you are racing only against a few others.

I think one of the main problems is that most series start with 15-20 or even more and the longer the seasons the less drivers are left. And mostly you end around 10 drivers in the last races.

So one big question is how to keep all motivated to keep racing instead of quit a running series.

Frederic Schornstein · May 19, 2014

Yes, you have less opponents, but it is so much more enjoyable to be not alone on track and you can choose the car you like the most. It seems to me that a lot of people are interested, but then after 2 rounds realize they can't make it into the top 10 and leave, so there must be something to level the playing field a bit.

The most radical thing would be to introduce fixed setup and big success balast, which adds up to a very high value maybe up to 250kg in a GT car. That would be again more work on RD side, but I would be happy to help working out a system that works.
I personally don't have a problem with it. I know there are a lot of people out there, who give me a real run for my money when I have 50 or 100kg onboard. The current situation is, that you have 2 to 4 drivers, which are 1 second ahead, then a 2 to 4 drivers and then the rest of the field.

I really would love to see something like that. I enjoy wins and podiums, but what I most like is close racing and currently most of my races here were not that exciting and with such a system a lot more drivers would have a shot at the win.

/edit: Just saw you can apply up to 255kg of weight penalty as an admin. Maybe it can be done in a mod so you have the car in 4 or 5 weight specifications so drivers with weight have at least a possobility to check it and less work for the admin. Just checking if everybody used the correct car.

April Dillon · May 20, 2014

It's easy to check upgrade packages after the race, definitely. Plus, implementing it as upgrade packages lets drivers select it and practice with the ballast too, rather than worry about setting up a dedicated server just to practice with the ballast.

I think another mistake was races every 3 weeks. People spend too long away, this slips their minds. Every 2 weeks would probably be better, and save 3 week breaks for a few occassions, IE mid season or for public holidays conflicting.

Simon Christmann · May 20, 2014

I asked sometime ago in the ISI forum Tygernoot, how wrote a welcome message plugin, if he can modify his plugin. Then you dont need to modify the cars in the mod.
I asked him if its possible to store somewhere an ini file or something like that and the plugin checks inside the file the name with the player name and assigns a stored value as weight to the driver. Here is his answer. But its already a while ago he said this.

Hi,

Sorry for the huge delay. I haven't checked in here for quite a while.

I can definitely make something like that, it wouldn't take too much time. I think other leagues could be interested in something similar as well, would be a nice plugin to have. I will have a look at this soon

Best regards,

By weights you need to be careful. Because to much can make it very frustrating. I checked it once for a league with the dtms. If you have weight and are in the slipstream and the one without weight simply pulls away its no fun anymore

David O'Reilly · May 20, 2014

Relevant Club Events spawning leagues.
I have noticed over 3 years and about 5 seasons in RD that there is always an attrition rate (dropouts) and it’s usually about 40-50%.
Newer drivers figure “oh great I’ll do this league” and then reasons like life getting in the way, level of difficulty/skill, other games, distractions lack of pace, new partners, old partners. It seems that it’s easy to sign up and many overlook what it means in terms of time and commitment.
It seems to me that a strong club scene will support a strong league. For example a bit like WEC seems like it will spawn a strong league although given that there was already a VWEC before. We have in GT3 and WEC club events 28-30 cars turning up.
If a league grows out of club events you have a sorting out period. So kind of a “club event pre-season”. This way drivers get into the groove, those that fall away will fall away and the ones that remain may stay the distance. Admins will then know if there is a critical mass to run a league.
In my opinion after say 4-6 club events you could probably rely on halving the drop out rate for the subsequent league.
This is what we did in Xbox in F1 2011 with practice races in the build up. 4-6 races and the drop outs dropped out, the stayers stayed.
So maybe we need an open wheeler club that attracts drivers to run Skippy, F2, FR 3.5, F1 as a feeder. It would also be a training ground. For in truth for many of us RF2 is much harder than many other sims. Running around at the back can be demoralising. We all need a bit of close racing and to have even the smallest of victories to keep us coming back. This is why the reversed grid race 2 is so much fun for me. There is no “rubber banding” in the game so we need to be creative in the club scene in the open wheelers to create some fun close racing for all standards. Otherwise once they’re gone they’re gone and you are on your own. It’s less of an issue in multiclass endurance racing as you are lapping/being lapped, pit stops, rain. Darkness, fuel strategy.
So Club events with handicap can be considered. It was hugely successful in RD F1 Xbox league “Pro Am” series. There we put the top drivers in the slower cars (bit like Fred mentioned above with ballast) but there it was using the 2011 performance vs equal performance. We did it at that weeks league race track so everyone turned up. Ballast is not a necessity as we can simply handicap drivers by X seconds. EG Dino P would start about 1 min after me. Gaps created in a formation lap off the start line. When done well the whole grid closes up and will be in the same sector in the final lap.
As you improve your handicap changes which is a measure of success.
I suppose timing is another thing, Asseto Corsa seems to be busy for the moment.
Another thing is synergy of tracks. I’ve mentioned before a “track in focus” concept where say a certain league is practicing for a certain track, even if its GT3 or Endurance those drivers are possible more likely to have a spin in an open wheeler at that track for a change. Also the Open Wheelers seem to attract less drivers.
Positives to be remembered. We have many top drivers who like this sim. We also have top admins who can help get the best from the sim and a strong community. Unlike Xbox there won’t be a new game every summer so we can build gradually.
Summary: Open Wheel Club Events on variety of cars on a relevant track. Fun handicap events. Building to a strong league.
Just some ideas.
Thanks Out.

Frederic Schornstein · May 20, 2014

Simon Christmann said:
I asked sometime ago in the ISI forum Tygernoot, how wrote a welcome message plugin, if he can modify his plugin. Then you dont need to modify the cars in the mod.
I asked him if its possible to store somewhere an ini file or something like that and the plugin checks inside the file the name with the player name and assigns a stored value as weight to the driver. Here is his answer. But its already a while ago he said this.

By weights you need to be careful. Because to much can make it very frustrating. I checked it once for a league with the dtms. If you have weight and are in the slipstream and the one without weight simply pulls away its no fun anymore

That would be an interesting tool.
I think with weight you need to do some real testing before and it is depending on the car as well. In a Formula car the weight will have a much bigger effect than in a GT car. You could just get some quick guys together and let them try diffrent weights and see how much it affects the laptime.
Of course the system needs to be dynamic. So for example, if you finish finish first you get 50kg and then you win again and gain an extra 50kg and then you finish outside the Top5 and therefore your weight gets reduced by 25kg.
I think with rF2 offering success ballast of up to 250kg and a good weight penalty system you can create a field, which is within 1 second from P1 to P15.
It will be hard for the quick guys, but it will be a real challange as well, which I enjoy.

Dino Paolini · May 20, 2014

Thanks guys for racing at Bahrain.

I had a maximum shitty day in all possible regards and was actually glad that I could atleast drive around with the Renaults to save that one a little bit.

You made it too easy for me in race 2 though

Calum McLure · May 21, 2014

Sorry for not turning up guy's, been busy and had a bit of a brain fart and thought this was on the 25th, was just going to fill in an absence report because I wouldn't have been able to make it when I realized it was last week

Marco Bijl · May 21, 2014

Replays Round 7 posted.

Find the server replays here:
Qualy
Race 1

Race 2

Marco Bijl · May 21, 2014

Provisional results after Round 7.

The results for round 7.
Race 1:
Results:

Additional info:

Race 2:
Results:

Additional info:

That brings us to the current standings:

Marco Bijl · May 21, 2014

Server running Round 8 track, Sebring.

The server has been reset to Sebring. No rubber yet, will make some soon.

Have fun practicing!

Dino Paolini · Jun 1, 2014

@Marco Bijl
Will Sebring be a night-race?

From the general-information thread:

Round 8- June 8th - Sebring*
* These races are complete or partially Night/Twilight races.

David O'Reilly · Jun 2, 2014

@Marco Bijl
I want to vouch for @Maciej Cieslak who wants to join us.
He is a clean racer a good guy and has similar pace to myself.

Marco Bijl · Jun 3, 2014

Dino Paolini said:
@Marco Bijl
Will Sebring be a night-race?

From the general-information thread:

Let me check it tonight to make sure, before I answer that question with 100% certainty. (Am at work now, so cant check)

I have 3 requests for new drivers so far.

@Maciej Cieslak - Via David
@Rolf Just - Via PM
@Krzysztof Butkiewicz - Via PM

I have no objections to have them in the Sebring race.

Maciej Cieslak · Jun 4, 2014

Thanks for the invitation David and Marco for adding to the grid

Maciej Cieslak · Jun 5, 2014

@Marco Bijl which team I should pick, and I can't find the Thread for next Sebring GP. There is a saying about GP times on summer will be 1 hour earlier. Can I get more information about it?

David O'Reilly · Jun 5, 2014

Maciej Cieslak said:
@Marco Bijl which team I should pick, and I can't find the Thread for next Sebring GP. There is a saying about GP times on summer will be 1 hour earlier. Can I get more information about it?

Maceij
For BST add 1 hour, so 6:30 (18:30)GMT = 7:30 BST.

Pick any car you where you like the skin.No issue if there are doubles.

Maciej Cieslak · Jun 5, 2014

David O'Reilly said:
Maceij
For BST add 1 hour, so 6:30 (18:30)GMT = 7:30 BST.

Pick any car you where you like the skin.No issue if there are doubles.

So this will be 5.30 UTC ? Dublin