rec.autos.simulators

-Larry

So is that really bad?  I'm not so sure as long as you have broadband.
Just by installing the Megane or the ETCC mod you can almost always
find good racing.  It's just the idea that people keep switching from
mod to mod, and you have to follow suit just to find races.

What would be nice is some sort of internal system in rFactor for
keeping up with mods and tracks.  Seems like a lot of work went into
Racecast but it's almost worthless.

I have a friend who used to race sims a lot, but hasn't in years.  He
used to run full length GP's in concert with the real F1 season.  That
was all he did with race sims.  This was pre-online racing.  A while
back he came over and tried rFactor, and was impressed and interested
in buying it.  After looking into it he decided not to bother because
of the effort required to collect all the various pieces to put
together a full F1 season.  That kind of illustrates the problem for
rFactor.

Pat Dotson

Hit up rfactorcentral.com
Pick a mod or two that look interesting.  DL and install.
Find a league running the car(s) and install only the tracks needed.
Have fun!

RFC is a good source for reasonably stable track releases.  This
(hopefully) avoids wading through zillions of pages of RSC forum
announcements.

"Download and install track" or "Download and install Mod".

It downloads it from a central repository and installs it, then allows you
to race.

If they do that, then I'll re-visit rFactor.

-Larry

Like I said in my other post, if they would centralize the download in the
online screen, then I'm all in.

-Larry

AFAIK The V8Factor mod is pretty solid and so is ETCC and CTDT
F1-2005...  Tracks wise, well, the latest versions are usually on
rfcentral.

I think the key is league racing, that way everyone knows what they
need because it is the same for everyone.  I guess the "mix and match"
that is the rFactor community is just not too good for pick up racing.
Personally, I have had my fill of pick up racing and would rather race
with people I know and that I can trust on the race track not to
(virtually) kill me.

Jon.

OF course leagues often have their racing at set times, which may not
fit someones schedule, thus the need for p/u races. I imagine that
there are enough leagues out there to find ONE that is close to
everyones needs.

I haven't raced a p/u race in 3 yrs, and my mental well being (as far
as sim racing goes) has never been better.

What might be more important right now is a central listing for
LEAGUES. Kind of a "personal ads" for rF.

"SWM seeking rF OWR league, Fri-Sat-Sun after 7pm est." or perhaps "rF
COT league needs drivers. Fixed Sets, 50% dist., Tues 8pm est."

AutoSimSport did run a Classified's section for a while where such a
thing could have been possible, but as with the letters page, we got an
extremely low amount of interest.

I know what you mean about mental health, not sure I have ever actually
enjoyed a pick up race, but you are also correct that many people
cannot really work a league into their lives...  Of course, you are
ALSO right that there must be a league out there for everyone!

The problem with p/u races is that people use them as practice time.
Personally, if I cannot lap a given circuit with a certain degree of
competency then I won't go online on that circuit because I will just
ruin everyone else's fun.

You see, call me a selfless maniac, but I think that if I am either:

1. Trying so hard to stay on the track that looking in my mirrors is
out of the question.
2. Doing 50mph through a 140mph Corner.
3. Unable to complete a lap without a spin.
4. braking 400 metres before I should be...

Then I need to be offline.  Sure, I don't need to be on Huttu pace (Not
sure I ever am!) to go online, and pace is not the question. Being able
to be within 4-5 seconds of the pace, to drive with other drivers in
mind and to be able to complete normal practice laps without spinning
or crashing heavily (We all get carried away in races and qualifying
crashes can be understandable) I feel should be some kind of
pre-requisite for being "let out" with everyone else.

Frankly, in real life, you don't get out on track without a licence,
and the licence is all about safety, driving with due care and
attention and knowing where to put your car on the track.  Not about
being the quickest person in the world.

Of course, it's fairly unlikely these things willchange any time soon,
so I will stick with racing people I know.

/rant

And yes, rFactor could well end up being the author of it's own
downfall.

Tell that to an FPS player. Oh man, there are thousands of maps for Q3A,
I hate that game. I can't decide, which one to play! Somebody should do
it for me. Get some backbone and limit yourself to the mod you like.

Yikes!

ronny

-Larry

I have no problems with a well designed, paid service.  I'm willing to put
my money where my backbone is.

Now, don't you feel silly?

-Larry

If you have time to race pickup races online, then they ought to have
the same amount of time to run in a formal league. As I said, there are
so many leagues out there that ONE is bound to be close to a time that
suits you.

Or not. I don't know what circumstances every sim racer faces, but it's
my position that if a driver hates the pickup crowd and their less than
mature online etiquette, then either run offline, join a league with
like minded, serious racers or quit the hobby and play "Bejeweled".

Those events are at set times, I know about them weeks in advance and
can easily set aside the time to sit down and watch them, I might miss
the odd one or two, these things happen.

Of course, in a league unless you are single and have nothing in life
to do other than simrace, you may not make every event.  Unless you are
really keen on winning the championship in the league then this won't
be a problem.

You see, if my wife wanted me to do some "house maintenance" during an
F1 GP I think she knows what response she would get, also, if I tell
her a week or two in advance that between 15.00 and 18.00 on a given
Saturday or Sunday afternoon that I will be taking part in a race, she
should know the same response would be forthcoming.

As for work, well, I got plenty of that but everyone needs "happy
time!"

Of course, I say all this, and I am not part of a league because I
don't have time!  I would like to remedy this, but racing every two
weeks would be far too regular for me.

Maybe I will setup a league for busy people! :)

The big point about rfactor was it's modability, guess you missed that.

Whatever...

But in reality, (and this is me only, so YMMV) I keep a max of 3-4 mods
installed in my main rF directory. That's enough variety to scratch any
itch I may have. Stock cars, F1, go karts and Supercars, pretty varied
genres. More than that and something gets forgotten and goes unused.
It also makes "keeping up" a lot easier. I need only focus on posts
that relate to a mod I am running. If the McLaren F1 mod has an update,
then I get it. If I see the Dunebuggy mod has a huge update, I simply
skip over it and don't waste any time.

As Ronald points out above, the sheer volume of the content available
to me (for FREE) is astonishing and I am glad to be part of the
experience. There is a LOT of NR2003 stuff too, but primarily tracks
and carsets. rF gives me that, plus new physics almost on a weekly
basis. I'll tolerate a little patching and file manipulation for that
anytime.