rec.autos.simulators

I have recently done a few PB's in my favourite circuits that have
given me more confidence to race online. So I tried a few times on
VROC and although I had no problems with lag, FPS, warping and so on,
I didn't manage to have one decent race.
3 of the races were similar in sense, for example: there was one guy
lapping at 1.27s, another driving a cooper at 1.48s, a Ferrari at 1.31
and another Ferrari at 1.36!
So at the start the 1.27er disappears into the distance, I had a slow
start but soon picked speed. As I cross the line for the second time I
can see that the other 3 cars are 1lap behind already, where were
they?
3 laps into the race and they disconnect, so I am about 5 secs behind
the fast guy driving on my own like in training mode until the end of
the 11 laps.
I had a number of other races in such a fashion, people connecting,
doing a few laps, disconnecting. Another came in, did a few laps, got
frustrated perhaps and drove in the track the other around, then
disconnected, how silly. I even tried having some AI cars but ended up
racing against them in the end as everyone else left or crashed, or
were 10 laps behind or something.
I believe when you host a race perhaps there should be some way to
establish what type of opponents you will be up against, as there is
no point someone that laps in Monza at 1.36s racing against 1.27s or
1.28s.
Since I only have a 56k connection to the Internet and can only have
up to 4 players, as you know, I would like to be racing against more
evenly matched competition, which would make it quite exciting.
I am sick of racing against the AI, as their behaviour is far too
predictable however you tweak the AI settings.
So I have heard of Racing Leagues and a few other things, what would
you guys recommend for online racing?
No disrespect to VROC here as I am one the admirers of all the work
and commitment those people put into it, and I am also one that
benefits from all the information they provide the GPL community.
But I just don't think it is for me.

Mauricio

I just started racing online myself, and had a similar experience. As far as
I know, when online you will only see the first 4 cars in front of you and 2
behind (I could be wrong, and probably am). The point is according to the
race report I should have lapped about 10 cars, but I never even saw them! I
finished 4th BTW in a field of 19, and that was with a 56kbps modem, no lag
problems at all.

Mind you for every race I finish I get disco'd from 10!

   Sometimes folks crash out and voluntarily disconnect, other times
it is an involuntary disconnection (ISP or net glitch).

   Some people leave comments to this effect in the VROC comment
field.

   I'd recommend joining races, so you can race against a larger field
and have a better chance of matched competitors.  Also, very few
people tend to join analog modem races (I'm surprised you've gotten as
many as you have).

   I race in GPLWS and it is a lot of fun, racing against like-minded,
serious racers that you come to know, respect, and learn from over the
course of a season.  We have four divisions, of differing skill
levels, so you might want to try our Lites division.  (For example,
our last Lites race qualifying at Zandvoort we had 14 drivers, the
pole was a 1:26, then 9 drivers in the 1:27s.  Close enough? ;)
See http://members.xoom.com/mcarverGPL/gplws.html

   I think you just need to get into the right races.  Good luck!

"But in a way, fear is a big part of racing, because if there was
nothing to be frightened of, and no limit, any fool could get into
a motor car and racing would not exist as a sport." -- Jim Clark