Box Box Box - Sim Racing Players Club [Now Hype Train Enabled!]

[bcredeur97]

Status update on The 100 Bullets League: http://the100bulletsleague.com/pages/forum.html

General discussion > is the league dead? If it brings you to the wrong page.

But the league isn't dead like I was beginning to think it was

[chaozbandit]

Status update on The 100 Bullets League: http://the100bulletsleague.com/pages/forum.html

General discussion > is the league dead? If it brings you to the wrong page.

But the league isn't dead like I was beginning to think it was

 

Are you still racing with them? I'll be honest, I had forgotten I signed up (oops).

 

I don't think I can commit anymore. AOR already has me busy enough (~3-4 hours) and PCDC adds another 7 hours per week, with pCars Friends starting up it's calendar again to boot. Also planning on joining the Reddit AC GT3 league since its US based (9PM EST races) as well as book time off for any potential LTT races.

[bcredeur97]

Are you still racing with them? I'll be honest, I had forgotten I signed up (oops).

I don't think I can commit anymore. AOR already has me busy enough (~3-4 hours) and PCDC adds another 7 hours per week, with pCars Friends starting up it's calendar again to boot. Also planning on joining the Reddit AC GT3 league since its US based (9PM EST races) as well as book time off for any potential LTT races.

Ehh I don't know probably not lol. Just don't really have time, I'm one of the ones who disliked them moving to Sunday instead of Saturday lol, I'm usually doing things on Sunday.

[MEC-777]

Status update on The 100 Bullets League: http://the100bulletsleague.com/pages/forum.html

General discussion > is the league dead? If it brings you to the wrong page.

But the league isn't dead like I was beginning to think it was

 

Sunday races I might be able to do. Only problem is when I click on race schedule it takes me to the 2015 season. Can't find the 2016 season schedule...

[MEC-777]

Last night found a good server in Pcars hosting open lapping of Nordschliefe with "road cars only". Managed to pull off a 7:58 in the Mustang GT.

[MEC-777]

Ok, so I downloaded and installed the mods for PCars to do multi-class races. Also installed Crew Chief v4 which was a nice improvement over v3 (also doesn't cause crashes anymore and actually works 100% of the time now ). My write up won't be as detailed and thorough as @chaozbandit's but I did save the replay and snatched some good screens.

 

I setup the race with a mix of GT3, LMP2 and LMP3 cars totaling 26 including myself, at Monza. 15min practice, 30min qualifying and 1 hour race. During qualifying I was consistently about 1 second behind the fastest in my class (LMP2) which put me near the middle of my class. After some tuning and tweaking, the only real major change I made was significantly reduced downforce for higher straightaway speeds. Since monza has plenty of straights, this paid off and I qualified 1st in class by about 1 second. AI difficulty was set to 80% BTW. 

 

The line up for the rolling start. That's me in the Oreca LMP2 spitting fire.

 

The start of the race was fun. The LMP1's took off like rockets leaving a little open space in front of me. Unfortunately, I misjudged the braking point for the first corner and overshot it. Just ran around the tire barriers and took the track cut penalty. Figured that was better than trying to get back on the track just as the rest of the LMP2's came barreling through. That set me back to 3rd in class, which quickly became 2nd on that same lap. Slowly but steadily I reeled in my opponent, finally getting by him at lap 8. 

 

After that, it was just a mater of running consistent fast laps and to grow the gap as much as possible. At times, I'd go a few laps alone, only to have the odd LMP1 blast past me, out of the blue. Was nearly disastrous a few times as I'd hit my braking point then turn in to the corner at 100% on the limit, only to have the crew chief tell me "Car right"! Luckily the AI is smart enough to know not to ram you and back off. I'm not easy to pass though. I stick to the line and if you want by me, you have to work for it. Most of the LMP1 cars were fairly aggressive, sticking their noses right down the inside on corner entries at which point, I'd give them the line, but they never "pushed" by me. Usually they just rolled by on the straights.

 

At other times, I found myself weaving through a line of GT3's. At least for the first 1/2 of the race. Deep into the 2nd half, they seemed to spread out quite a bit, which is more indicative of a real race. With about 10mins to go, a GT3 I was following around the first right-hander after the 2nd chicane, decided to tap his brakes mid corner. I bumped him which caused me to slide and tap the inside wall. Luckily, it only did minor aero and suspension damage but nothing that really affected the handling of the car (steering wheel was still straight, thankfully - I hate it when that happens). There was the odd bump or tap but nothing major. The odd mistake on my part as well, but again, nothing major and only took 2 track cut warnings.

 

I pitted at the half way mark around 30mins. and made a similar refueling mistake as chaozbandit, only I had it put in too much fuel. I don't know why that isn't more straight forward, it should be you set the gauge for where you want the tank to be filled to. Regardless, that didn't seem to affect my pace anyways. Set some of my fastest laps of the race shortly after refueling.

 

Ended up finishing P6, which had me scratching my head because the front spot in the LMP2 class was and should have been P7. It wasn't until I went back and reviewed the replay when I saw one of the LMP1 cars overshoot the entry to the 2nd chicane, lunch into the air and be flipped by the LMP2 car they were trying to pass! Needless to say, that car was a DNF. lol.

 

All in all it was a really enjoyable experience. Far more interesting than just a typical "same class" single player race against the AI. I know next time to set the AI difficulty a little higher as I finished with a significant gap between myself and P2 in my class. Still, navigating the slower GT3's while being mindful of the LMP1's flying up behind, certainly kept me on my toes. Will definitely be doing more of these. I may post up a few recordings I took during the race, but you'll have to excuse the PCper podcast playing over the audio in the background. These long races are great for catching up on missed podcasts, WAN shows, etc.

 

Performance of the GTX 980 was excellent. Running on ultra settings 1080p with DS6X AA and 26 cars, there was no significant frame drops at any time. Even at the start. Most of time it hovered in the 60's and well into the 70's or 80's at times with no other cars around. Weaving through a pack of GT3's it would dip into the 50's, but it remained butter smooth. No doubt the 1500mhz OC boost clock helped out I'm sure.  Will see what happens when I attempt a much larger field of cars, say maybe 50 or so, on a larger track? Though I think at that point if there is any kind of bottleneck, it'll probably be my locked i5. (Time for an upgrade to an i7 maybe?)

 

Anyways, here's a couple more screens: 

 

As some of you may know, I like to use "all" of the track, especially the curb at the apex's. This race was no exception. This is 4th gear, foot to the rug, hop'n the curb.

 

This is towards the end of the race (looking a little dirty):

[chaozbandit]

Glad you're enjoying the mod, @MEC-777! They don't call Monza the Temple of Speed for nothing - FYI the fully trimmed out aero (0/0 on the wings) that works out so well for GT3 cars, doesn't work out very well on prototypes lol. You get a big boost in top end but you take a huge hit in braking performance and mid-corner stability, which is where messing around with final drive and slow rebound comes into play. Mech grip > aero grip when prioritizing setups for multi-class racing. 

 

I too was shocked at the sheer speed differential between the two LMP classes - it's especially pronounced on shorter tracks with large braking zones that permit heavy regeneration, something the R18 is better suited to take advantage of over the TS040 (which on V8 power alone isn't much faster than an Oreca with a longer final drive). Above all, a consistent pace will do you more good than making aggressive overtakes - keeping the car damage free is the name of the game for class wins!

 

Nice to see the 980 is fairing well; once you get past 40 cars, you do hit a bit of a CPU bottleneck but you only really notice it at the start. Given you're seeing 70+ fps at 1080p now, I expect it to dip to just shy of 40 at the start which imo is more than playable (you'll only have to endure it for a lap, or less). Of course this depends on track selection but for long races when ever car is spread out, I dont imagine it to be a hindrance. 

 

I wish I'd had more time to do multi-class racing but alas it looks like my week will be spent in lecture, and practicing Leh Keen's rain dance between lectures. Whoever thought a night race at Hockenheim with light rain was a good idea... thanks. (though I'm feeling more confident after having driven both nurburgring and zolder in the rain - my tire management is fairly decent now)

 

[MEC-777]

Glad you're enjoying the mod, @MEC-777! They don't call Monza the Temple of Speed for nothing - FYI the fully trimmed out aero (0/0 on the wings) that works out so well for GT3 cars, doesn't work out very well on prototypes lol. You get a big boost in top end but you take a huge hit in braking performance and mid-corner stability, which is where messing around with final drive and slow rebound comes into play. Mech grip > aero grip when prioritizing setups for multi-class racing. 

 

I too was shocked at the sheer speed differential between the two LMP classes - it's especially pronounced on shorter tracks with large braking zones that permit heavy regeneration, something the R18 is better suited to take advantage of over the TS040 (which on V8 power alone isn't much faster than an Oreca with a longer final drive). Above all, a consistent pace will do you more good than making aggressive overtakes - keeping the car damage free is the name of the game for class wins!

 

Nice to see the 980 is fairing well; once you get past 40 cars, you do hit a bit of a CPU bottleneck but you only really notice it at the start. Given you're seeing 70+ fps at 1080p now, I expect it to dip to just shy of 40 at the start which imo is more than playable (you'll only have to endure it for a lap, or less). Of course this depends on track selection but for long races when ever car is spread out, I dont imagine it to be a hindrance. 

 

I wish I'd had more time to do multi-class racing but alas it looks like my week will be spent in lecture, and practicing Leh Keen's rain dance between lectures. Whoever thought a night race at Hockenheim with light rain was a good idea... thanks. (though I'm feeling more confident after having driven both nurburgring and zolder in the rain - my tire management is fairly decent now)

 

 

 

Yeah, I didn't go too crazy on reducing the aero on the Oreca, just dropped the front/rear to 6/7 down from the 9/9 default. I still wanted some aero grip for the high-speed corners and this seemed to be a good balance. I noticed on this car, if your brakes have cooled they don't work nearly as well (foot to the ground and not even locking up). But after about 1 lap, they get enough heat and start working good again.

 

I like the fact that you could use the draft from the GT3 cars to leverage better lap times.

 

Thinking of doing an old-school event with Gr.5's, Gr.A's, GTO's, old school DTM's, and maybe some of those Merc/Sauber monstrosities (can't remember what it's called) as well. I think that would be a lot of fun. I would, of course, be piloting a Capri in this one.

 

An all open-wheeled multi-class could also be pretty interesting as well. 40+ Formula A, B, C, R & G. Could also do an old-school formula 1 event... Oh man, I'm getting way too many ideas with this... hehe. And yes, I am aware of what happens when open-wheeled cars make contact...

 

Hockenheim is one of my better tracks. I used to hate it, then got used to it. Now I like it.  Racing in the rain is never easy to begin with, let a lone at night. Sounds like that will be a challenging race, no doubt. Good luck! 

 

 

 

EDIT* just realized I used way too many smiley faces in this post... lol

[chaozbandit]

Off topic, but Yorkie posted an unlisted video about the Autosport International rig SMS had set up. I trust you all not to spread this info too quickly before the next patch hits.

 

Anyways, the full motion simulator is made by Vesaro Simulations (http://www.vesaro.com/), a company that tailors it's products to open wheel teams. Ontop of a custom chassis, each corner has it's own (assuming hydraulic) piston to simulate g forces, enabling a full range of motion on all axis. I imagine the displays and PC are up to the user's choice, but as just the driving cockpit itself they are asking  £50K british pounds, or $70,000 USD ($100,000 CAD) at today's exchange rates.

 

A few members from the WMD forum were there but were not at liberty to divulge any details about Patch 8.0 or the upcoming DLC, as a show of respect for SMS' wishes. They did comment though, that the pedals were equipped with load-cells and that both ABS and TSC were enabled to allow the general public a chance to have some fun. That being said, the 1M SW does still slide around a bit and has one of the best aftermarket digital dashes available - guess we have something to look forward to, then.

 

 

And a short blurb from Yorkie:

 

I had a go on the same rig, and actually going to be very very cheeky and release my video of it on here early so please don't share it anywhere else until gone 7pm GMT tonight. Yet to do all the video description and a decent title with thumbnail, but by watching the vid you get the idea. 

 

Basically BMW 1M Stanceworks, around Brands Hatch Indy with 7 laps to get a decent lap in. Lap 1, forgot about the cold brakes at the start and also testing the limit a little hence the offs. The load cell isn't something that I was used to either (in practice) so I probably wasn't braking anywhere near as effectively as I should have been for the first lap or two. Either way, it was a ton of fun, looked like it was on the dev build as I noticed a number of cars in the car list that we are yet to receive (like stuff that will be coming in the next few months) and also the rear left tyre over-heated a fair bit too. 

 

 

Edit: heres Ben Collins and Nic Hamilton on the rig! Note how quickly they downshift coming into the first corner - something essential to make use of the engine braking but keep the turbo spooked up in the higher RPMs.

 

[MEC-777]

Set up a new multi-class grid last night but didn't have time to test it out (will hopefully be doing that tonight). 

 

Here's the list:

6 - BMW E30 DTM's

9 - Mercedes Evo2 DTM's

6 - Sierra Cosworth 500 Gr.A's

2 - Audi A90 GTO's (because there's only 2 liveries, this is the max allowable )

8 - BMW 320 Gr.5's

9 - Ford Capri Gr.5's

 

Total car count is 40 + myself. AI difficulty will be at 90%...

 

This ought to be interesting. Will have to test as to which class I want to run in. I'm curious to see how the E30 and Evo2 DTM's mix with the Sierra Gr.A's. The Sierra's should be faster, but it will depend on how the AI handles it. I like the idea of running in the "middle" classes as you're both passing slower cars and being passed by faster cars. With @bcredeur97 driving the A90, I could not catch him in the Capri, even with full boost. So the GTO Audi's are thrown in there just to make it more interesting and as a challenge to see if I can keep up to the AI driving them. If the Sierra is a good mid-pack runner among this group, I may drive one of those instead. Testing will tell... 

 

Not sure which track to run on either. Has to be something that can handle 40+ cars and one that I know fairly well. Or maybe I'll to do a track I don't know very well and force myself to learn/like it. Really wish PCars had Hungororing and a few others, but eh what are you gonna do.  

[MEC-777]

Was able to do some testing with the old school multi-class last night. Didn't have time to do a full race but was able to experiment with a few practice and qualifying sessions.

 

Made some interesting observations I did not expect. As it turns out, the Audi A90 GTO's are competitive, yet do not dominate the Gr.5 class like I thought they would. One was usually in the top 3 while the other was back around P5 or so. Additionally, the Sierra Cosworth 500a competes right in the mix with the E30 and 190Evo2 DTM's as if they were DTM's as well. This then, has basically created two big classes.

 

As for the AI difficulty levels... At 100% I just cannot keep up, no matter what car or class I choose and no matter how much I tweak the settings. I'm always near or at the very back of the class. I've settled on 90% as the sweet spot for being able to keep up with the front runners, but having to work really hard to do it. lol.

 

First tested at Road America where I was able to qualify in the top 3 in the Capri. Tried the Sierra Cosworth which proved to be a tricky car to drive and I struggled, running somewhere mid-pack in terms of pace. Jumped in the 190E and did a little better, but still not great. I'm definitely far more comfortable and used to the Capri.

 

Next, I moved over to Watkins Glen and stuck with the Capri. This was a challenge to say the least. Not only was it raining (weather set to real) but this track is narrow and passing is not easy. With 40 cars I found it very difficult to get in a clean lap without being slowed down by traffic. Managed to qualify P8 and decided to start the race as I knew I was faster than what qualifying suggested. Also wanted to see how my CPU and GPU would handle this kind of load. Well, it was certainly CPU bottlenecked, but not as bad as I expected. GPU usage dropped into the 80-90's (Usually stays pegged at 99%) and frame rates dropped down to about 40. Still, the game ran smooth and didn't cause any problems. It was hilarious watching the AI's get squirly off the start in the rain. I passed a number of cars off the start and climbed to about P4 going into turn 1. Towards the end of the first lap, I was keeping pace with the front runners without too much struggle. It was then that my stupidity ruined the race. Glancing down at my tire indicator I realized I had set the race fuel load to 30L instead of qualifying fuel load. Derp! That would only get me about 6 laps in! It was getting late and there was no way I could finish in the top 5 if forced to pit an extra time, so I just ended it there for the night. 

 

All in all the testing was successful. I think I will stick with AI at 90% and with Watkins Glen for this one. I just hope it's not raining next time I start the event.

 

Next will be testing open for wheel multi-class. Just have to figure out which classes to include. Maybe all of them? Would be funny, but the speed difference between the Formula Rookies and Formula A/Renault could be quite dangerous/problematic... 

[chaozbandit]

pCars Patch 8.0 and DLC News!

 

Yup, it's that time of month again. In true SMS fashion, they have released Patch 8.0 to the masses (PC and PS4 first) exactly a week before the new January DLC drops on the 26th (EU got the patch first). There was much debate about whether the engine would be re-worked to better accommodate Mad Mike's drift car, but alas it looks like that car will be using a specialized tire compound and the only changes to the current tire model is an adjusted heating model for underinflated tires - which means, all our setups from Patch 7.0 are rendered useless again (accelerated/uncontrolled heating and incorrect pressures using the old setups)! Hooray! 

 

It's a bit of a minor patch, but here are the notes.

 

Project CARS – PC Patch 8.0 – Release Notes 

 

Vehicles

• McLaren F1 GTR - adjusted cockpit exposure, fixed visual clipping issues.

• Radical RXC Turbo - Fixed typo in statistics file. Engine now correctly displays as V6 not V8, Fixed asymmetry typo in default setup spring rates.

• Lotus 51 - Fixed a typo giving 100 steps to rear fast rebound damper settings instead of 10. Default values were unaffected.

• Renault Megane RS265 - Fixed typo causing asymmetry in default setup springs.

• KTM X-Bow - Fixed clipping on the roof camera.

 

Tracks

• Cadwell Park – Fixed an issue where cars while on the main straight would hit the pit wall at a certain spot and be disqualified. 

• Ruapuna all layouts - updated the position of the pit exit trigger so it's after the start line trigger. Full optimisation pass done on all the layouts to improve performance.

 

Physics, Tires and Setups

• Further adjustment of heating on under-inflated tires where it was reduced as part of the discontinuity fix. 

• Fixed issues with players not being able to save setups to DLC tracks, if they started their profile with older versions of the game.

 

Controllers

• Fixed OSW / DIY sim wheel driver crash in PID.DLL. 

 

GUI

• DLC cars and tracks will now remain selected between game sessions. 

• Fixed a bug where some tracks with forced rolling starts was locking out the rolling start option after moving to a different track.

 

UDP

• Extended joypad and dpad bitfields to include some extra buttons on steering wheels. Added 'same class as player' flag in participant info mSector field. Fixed a couple of issues with packet types 1/2 not sending at the correct rate.

 

Render

• Fixed bloom not working correctly on any MSAA mode on PC.

 

Oculus Rift

• Updated to Oculus SDK 0.8 SDK

 

 

With that out of the way, we can get onto some exciting DLC News! First up is the upcoming Stanceworks DLC with a full preview courtesy of Stanceworks themselves. You can read about it here: http://www.stanceworks.com/2016/01/preview-the-official-stanceworks-x-project-cars-dlc-car-pack-coming-jan-26/

 

Given what was possible with the Madness engine, Stanceworks tasked themselves with creating two iconic BMWs in just seven days, each with their own signature design flares. Those would of course be the 2002 SW and the 1M StanceWorks, the latter being a fictional but capable track car. With Ed Mas' completed, we can finally enjoy these HD images that have been rendered in game. The motivation SW had with these two stablemates was to create something that was true to heart, and that they themselves would build in real life and enjoy "given the time, money, and opportunity."

 

The 2002 design took inspiration from the historic Gr.2 cars (as expected) and features "wider, boxier fenders, nixed bumpers, and subtle trimmings such as M1 ProCar inspired mirrors... complimenting both the aesthetics and the performance of the car is the use of Fifteen52's forged 3-piece Integrale SC wheels." The interior is completely stripped out with a no-frills yet fully functional cage with appropriate bucket seats. Under the hood, they took the "dream big" approach and opted to swap out the M10 4-cylinder for the legendary M12, a powerplant originally designed for Formula 2 and is rated for 260hp at 8,000 rpm.

 

 

As for the 1M, touted as the spiritual successor to the 2002 turbo, much of the work was spent in collaboration with BMW Team RLL, aka the factory North American BMW GT3 team that ran the Z4s. Bodywork is pulled from both the older E92 M3 and E85 Z4 GT cars, as well as some thought from the upcoming M6 GTLM. The aero package, consisting of a front splitter, rear diffuser, and carbon wing supposedly delivers ~350 lbs of downforce at 150 mph (210 kph). The rest of the car saw the same treatment as the 2002 - stripped interior, better cooling, new exhaust, bigger brakes, new H&R suspension, and Fifteen52's Formula LTW wheels. The overall package is rated at 460 hp.

 

 

You can click the spoiler below for an expanded gallery.

 

Oh, and Mad Mike tweeted a picture of his own car as well. Check out that steering angle!

 

 

 

 

The DLC news doesn't stop there. Yes friends, the February DLC is nearly entirely confirmed at this point and features a lot of long-awaited cars, with the release pretty much confirmed by SMS themselves.

 

 

 

Pulling information from their instagram and facebook feeds, one can quickly speculate that this will be a very North American focused DLC, or as some are jokingly titling it - "The Freedom DLC Expansion" or something similar. 

 

While we've had the Dallara DW12 game files in the directory for months now, no progress has really been made wrt fixing the AI or announcing an IndyCar release date. Falling into the same category was the new stock car, aimed as a replacement for the Caper Montery and intended to bring modern stock car racing into the game with a partnership from Ford. Tracks to be used with both have since dwindled to just two likely locations, those being Daytona and Indianapolis; the rest being scrapped most likely. At this point in pCars 1's life cycle, and with DLC planned to last only until April, it would not make sense to release both as separate entities if they wished to provide its user base with more content so any release would probably bundle them together, which would make sense of an American or "Indy & Ovals" themed DLC.

 

 

With the IndyCar more or less confirmed as an imminent release next month, we can now pick away at the "new GT cars are coming next month." As of January 2016, SMS have only been known to have two remaining GT3 cars left in the works. Those being the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and the new Mercedes-AMG GT3. While the former is most likely based on the GT-LM variant and not the Callaway GT3 spec, SMS are also not likely to create a new GT class for such a car, even though it is more aligned with GTE spec machinery. But wait, what of the Chevrolet connection? Chevy builds the C7.R (albeit the fact that it's a Pratt & Miller product) yet they are also one of two supporting manufacturers of the IndyCar. What track do both race on during a season? Daytona. What race is coming up soon? The Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, which means we are most likely getting both the oval and infield road course section (although ovals are likely to be excluded from single player with the AI situation and all). Yes I'm aware that the Daytona 24H is actually in January but with the release of the Stanceworks DLC, they can't really stack up nor push forward the dates.

 

This is where speculation begins to get tough. While the above 3 (4) vehicles have a connection to the Americas, the AMG GT3 is the odd child out. While it could very well fit in with a GT themed DLC in February, it could also do good in yet another European themed DLC in March. Why's that? Well, remember how SMS traded the Renault Laguna BTCC for the RS01 and Formula Renault? Remember the Aston Martin DP212 that was scrapped early on? Looks like SMS have decided to "leak" the game files for the replacement like they did for the IndyCar. The planned car is of course the AM GT12, or the track-ready version of the outgoing V12 Vanquish. No word on whether they plan to release it in a later pack, as a free car, or what stage of development it's in, but I really hope they follow through.

 

 

Oh, and I guess the Mark Cars V8 Focus technically counts as a GT car, but again no idea when they plan on releasing that. They've been in close touch with SMS ever since they got the sponsorship for the car, but with the fallout that was the BTCC license this could very well fit in anywhere, similar to the AMG GT3. With the Ford FAlcon FG as this month's free car, they've clearly opened doors with Ford for future content.

 

Of course, as of now it is still in the very early stages but I will keep you posted if anything comes up. I, in addition to many, am most excited for the next pack.

 

Edit: It appears the AMG GT3 is also in the game already, along with the GT12. Files can be found here (thanks T0MMY): 

 

"for the Aston Martin, it is in pCARS/GUI, there is a file named "display_am_vantage_gt12"

 

for the AMG GT3, it is in pCARS/vehicles/textures/customliveries, there are a bunch of files with "MERC_AMG_GT3_LIVERY" on it."

[chaozbandit]

** Unintended double post **

 

But heres another Tony talk!

 

[chaozbandit]

Oh, and because today's AOR race may or may not be delayed, here's some bonus content from the upcoming DLC! hkkaneGAME12 has been pretty spot on with his DLC leaks since the beginning, and with everything from Stanceworks confirmed I don't see the harm in leaking this now. And yes, as confirmed by Ed Mas (the guy who shot the DLC trailer for the upcoming content), Bannochbrae does have wider roads than Rouen, which should provide for some interesting racing.

 

 

From what I've seen over the past few months, he's a decent driver but LOL he spins the MX5 almost immediately.

[MEC-777]

Holy posts, Batman!

 

That 4-rotor MX5 - they did it justice with the sound, IMO. And the flames out of the wastegate pipes, awesome! Looks like such an animal. Can't wait to drive that thing. Also, really glad they allowed for the extra wheel lock n the steering as that is absolutely essential for a drift car. 

 

And yeah, I lol'd the moment he took control. Immediate tank-slapper into a slide. :lol:  

 

But... why he no drift it???

[chaozbandit]

So due to Patch 8.0 causing a buuuuunch of instability with multiplayer, even with dedicated servers. The guys at AOR decided to postpone this week's race at Hockenheim, which pushed the Pro calendar back one weak and meant that we would no longer be running the Zolder round at the end of the season (hooray!). Decided to hop onto PCDC's midweek madness to supplement the timeslot, along with dabbo and gang - man, was that ever fun. Probably more fun than driving the R8 around hock! While that renders away... here's a snippet.

 

 

Just check out the formation lap! Forget standing starts, THIS is how organized lobbies should be done - with organized formation laps and 100kph (62mph) manual rolling starts, with multiclass (LMP900 in this case). 

 

 

Unfortunately the start didn't go so well. This was my first time driving on the new tire model and I spun the car after a few corners, dropping all the way to the back. No worries, others spun soon after and I slowly worked my way back to the mid pack. Fast forward 30 minutes, and it was decision time - pit or not? I was sitting second in class behind Dabbo, 18 seconds up the road from me. I had plenty of fuel and the tires were fine; 25 points of deg on the front left but plenty to get me to the end. Suddenly crew chief alerted me that dabbo was pitting, and wanting to take a chance I darted in after him hoping it would give me a chance to repair my brake damage (temps close to 300C but ducts closed).

 

Boy was that a mistake. Lost 2 positions to Saxy and Logger, and spent the last 20 minutes playing catchup. With fresher tires, I was closing the gap to Logger (P3 in class) at 1 second per lap in the later stages, losing a bit of time as the V12 LMRs caught up. The 18 second gap closed to 4 with 10 minutes to go, and I knew this would be close. But then it happened. SOMEHOW the V12 LMRs always caught up to me in the sweeping turns after the start finish, one of the worst places because there is no room to maneuver. Not wanting to loose time because I knew I was gaining, I tried to cut the corner before the braking zone but the bottom of the M1 rode atop the curb and I lost control. No braking, lost the rear end and side-swiped Animera in the leading V12 LMR, spinning myself (twice) immediately after and voiding all the hard work I just put in.

 

The clip is the fastest lap I clocked, after numerous 2m laps on fresh tires. I would have to suffice for P4 in class.

 

With the recent difficulties with online MP in pCars, Ive decided to go back and give AC a shot. Signed up for the RORA (Reddit) Assetto Corsa Winter GT Championship and was assigned the Z4 GT3 as my car, with the first race at Road America. To make things even better, this was a US based series and the 9 PM EST start time, which was late, was more than manageable.

 

 

From my usual 1hr league practice format. Having driven this track so often in pCars, I was feeling confident. My fastest lap of 2:12 is slower than my pace in PC, but I havent driven in AC for so long and decided to make do with a default set up (all players are assigned 1 of 12 GT3 cars so theres already an interesting BOP). The v3.1 model of Road America feels great to drive on and my pace is giving me loads of confidence, so it's just down to me not crashing into others since I wont have Crew Chief to rely on nor that great of mirrors. The race is today and I am quite excited for it.

 

Only issue with it so far is that it apparently doesnt like to save long replays. Of the 60 minute practice, the saved replay only showed 47 min and 48mb in size, with one car on track. Might have to play with the .ini files later (apparently 500mb is the limit, and it doesnt care what the minute length is set to) but hopefully I can save the replay - otherwise I'll just post the onboards.

 

Still, overall pretty surprised with my pace despite not playing AC on the regular. The lap times from the session (2:22 was my only spin)

 

 

To finish off... some old screenies with @MEC-777

 

[MEC-777]

Man... I really want to race in a league. Just wish they were scheduled for times when I'm available.  Might check out that RORA league... 

 

Last night I got lucky and found one of those rare MP lobbies in PCars with mostly good drivers that are capable of being fast and clean. Ended up with 3 new Steam friends to race with after that session.

 

We did a number of GT3 races; one at Dubai, then 2 at Watkins. Dubai I do not know the various track layouts very well so qualified P8. Then, running with the default car setup, I struggled a bit on certain corners with snap oversteer spins. Maybe it had something to do with the new tire model? I'm not sure. Usually I don't have this much trouble with the Z4 GT3. Anyways, after jumping up to about P4 after the start, I spun 3 times in a 5 lap race and still managed to finish P4. It was clear, other players were struggling with the handling as I was, so maybe it was due to patch 8... 

 

Watkins, I am much more familiar with and after tweaking the Z4's alignment and making a few other minor adjustments, I was battling for pole during qualifying. First race, I started P2, missing the pole by only 1 tenth. I jumped the start (I swear that final red light just hangs a little too long sometimes), but got out in front to an early lead. The Crew chief told me I had 3 laps to serve my stop-and-go. Knowing that, I pressed one for the first 3 laps in the hopes to gain as much distance on P2 and the rest of the field as possible by the time I had to pit at the end of lap 3 of 5. The front runners behind me kept pace, but luckily the rest of the field fell back quite a lot. After serving the stop and go, I was back in P5 with 2 laps remaining. This actually happened to me twice in a row on this same track only second race I qualified P4. Anyways, somehow in both races I managed to crawl back to P3 by the end. The front runners in thsi group were not easy to pass. Had to out-brake them to get by and thankfully they yielded when necessary. 

 

After that we jumped over to Catalunya GP in Formula C cars for a change of pace. I opted for a low downforce, taller final drive setup to gain as much time on the straights and it paid off with a P2 in quali. Got a good start and managed to stay ahead on the first lap, even after the P2 car accidentally bumped me from behind braking for turn 5. Somehow I didn't spin and stayed on track. Increased the lead over the next 4 laps. P2 made an incredible charge on the final lap closing the gap by a huge margin with his high downforce cornering setup, but it wasn't enough in the end.

 

Final race of the night was the Superkart 250's at Monza short. This was tricky. I first tried 0 downforce with taller final drive but it was just way too squirly in the corners. Added just a little downforce and that was the ticket. While others were hitting max speed on the straights, my taller gearing kept going. The final chicane was really difficult to get just right in these cars. Braking while turning is out of the question. After 4 or 5 laps, I finally got the hang of it and qualified P2. Remained in P2 throughout most of the 10-lap race. Towards the end, we swapped places once or twice, but when he made a mistake at the chicane, that was my ticket to victory. Uploading this race as I type. (3GB file with crappy upload... going to take all day, lol. ). Was a heck of a lot of fun. 

 

Didn't do anything with the multi-class testing last night. Planning to do some tonight if I have time.   

[MEC-777]

Here's the Kart race at Monza from last night. 

 

[chaozbandit]

Surprise surprise, Assetto Corsa only saved the last 50 minutes of the 90 minute race. Woooo. I set the ini to the 500mb limit but theres probably a setting in game that I have to change.... greaaat.

 

Pace was off, still doing 2:13s all race with some 14s in the first stint and 12 in the second; PB dropped from a 2:12 to a 2:11.5. 

 

Qualified P12 of P13, somehow finished in P5 with no spins whatsoever (had a few hairy moments, tail out under braking and whatnot). I was technically a lap down when the leader crossed the line, since he passed me on L40 and I just followed behind the rest of the race. The 2 minute gap behind is me doing the cool-down lap.

 

Currently rendering the race as we speak.

 

[Gari Ferret]

Hi, I do a lot of racing in 3 titles, Grid Autosport, Assetto Corsa and Project cars, I'm currently in the middle of a series being uploaded to youtube from Assetto Corsa where I see what cars drift well... Or not so well, I may post links to the videos after I have done a few more.

[chaozbandit]

Hi, I do a lot of racing in 3 titles, Grid Autosport, Assetto Corsa and Project cars, I'm currently in the middle of a series being uploaded to youtube from Assetto Corsa where I see what cars drift well... Or not so well, I may post links to the videos after I have done a few more.

 

Sounds interesting! Be sure to post up some links when you have time.

[MEC-777]

Hi, I do a lot of racing in 3 titles, Grid Autosport, Assetto Corsa and Project cars, I'm currently in the middle of a series being uploaded to youtube from Assetto Corsa where I see what cars drift well... Or not so well, I may post links to the videos after I have done a few more.

 

Welcome. Looking forward to checking out some of your footage.

[Gari Ferret]

Sounds interesting! Be sure to post up some links when you have time.

Indeed I will.

Need to sleep now though and then actually do some work when I get up, for my friends MCN AND both my YT channels that I create and manage content for alone. x_x

[chaozbandit]

HowGudAmI will be streaming this weekend's PCDC races! Stream location will be here if you can't make it, otherwise I will be posting my own videos in a few days.

 

[chaozbandit]

WELP. Finished P8 the first race, second race was a reverse grid which placed me P10. A lot of cars spun and I was in a good spot to stay in the pointy end of the field before ptopman went off track coming up to the last corner, and went all the way to the right side of the track while I was on the racing line and closing in on him. End result: he collides into my front and damages my suspension, but also spins my car around. I went straight to P16 and spent the next 25 minutes driving by myself. Finishing position was P14.