2018 RD Touring Car Championship (R3E)

Patrick Fournier · Dec 6, 2017

We could still attempt a test with a club race? Like this Sunday's GT3s at the Nurburgring, just add the reserves if we have them?

Wayne Douglas · Dec 7, 2017

mod-edit: please copy paste the sign up form and include the five links to your recent events please thanks

Bram Hengeveld · Dec 7, 2017

Patrick Fournier said:
We could still attempt a test with a club race? Like this Sunday's GT3s at the Nurburgring, just add the reserves if we have them?

We have increased the slots to 46, good tip.

If Sector 3 Studios / RaceRoom are smart they send some soldiers to the front as well so they can experience any problems first hand and take the feedback on board to fix things. @Robert Wiesenmüller

Patrick Fournier · Dec 12, 2017

Have you guys started talking about potential solutions to our little problem? It seems pretty obvious now that 42 cars won't be happening if 36 appears to be the highest number of cars for a stable experience (which seems true enough, I think Joseph started reporting problems starting with 37 cars). I've thought about it yesterday and here are a couple of possibilities:

Go through the registration and enter the first 36 drivers to register, and redistribute cars accordingly;
Create two divisions just like what was intended for the RDGTC. Since we're short on time, determine a qualifying period during the holidays where drivers have 1-2 weeks to post their best times on the leaderboards, and split the divisions based on thoes results (I think some other leagues do that);
Take all the 42 registered drivers, put them in a hat, and randomly pick them out. Put the 6 that are left out in order of priority in the reserves.

Those are not exactly ideal solutions (I think the second option is the best of the worst), but offer an option. Thoughts?

BBKing212 · Dec 12, 2017

Patrick Fournier said:
Have you guys started talking about potential solutions to our little problem? It seems pretty obvious now that 42 cars won't be happening if 36 appears to be the highest number of cars for a stable experience (which seems true enough, I think Joseph started reporting problems starting with 37 cars). I've thought about it yesterday and here are a couple of possibilities:

Go through the registration and enter the first 36 drivers to register, and redistribute cars accordingly;

Create two divisions just like what was intended for the RDGTC. Since we're short on time, determine a qualifying period during the holidays where drivers have 1-2 weeks to post their best times on the leaderboards, and split the divisions based on thoes results (I think some other leagues do that);

Take all the 42 registered drivers, put them in a hat, and randomly pick them out. Put the 6 that are left out in order of priority in the reserves.

Those are not exactly ideal solutions (I think the second option is the best of the worst), but offer an option. Thoughts?

I think option 2 would be best and we could pull in all from the reserve list.

Bram Hengeveld · Dec 12, 2017

Thanks for thinking with us. As always there are solutions to the problem but whatever we decide some drivers will be frustrated and disappointed unfortunately.

Lets hope it doesn't have to come that far and Sector 3 puts in all the efforts to fix what's currently broken. It's 2017 and there is no real good reason why 42 cars shouldn't work online.

We had clear communication that big grids were a realistic thing with the 64bit version and so far the new patch really doesn't live up to the created hype.

We'll discuss internally first what to do and update the drivers once we have a workable solution.

Christian Moreau · Dec 13, 2017

I think there's been some confusion regarding big grids. One big benefit of the 64-bit update was that it was going to bring better stability in most situations, but most particularly on tracks like the Nordschleife where the limits of the game were already being pushed. Previously, even just 24 cars on the Nordschleife with 32-bit executable was causing some instability issues.

I have no idea how the Raceroom "netcode" works, but it's clear that at this point in time it is unable to handle any load that involves 40+ cars on a server. During practice, as soon as the 40th player joined, everyone disappeared, the odd flicker here and there, only for everyone to reappear once 1 or 2 people left the server. At this point in time, it's simply unrealistic to expect 42+ people on the same server.

Though a 64-bit executable might exponentially increase the available memory, it doesn't change the fact that your actual infrastructure / coding on the back-end has to be able to handle all these simultaneous connections to the server and be able to upload/download this data to and from the clients.

To be honest, I don't remember hearing any "guarantees" from Sector 3 that 64-bit would bring much bigger online grids that what we've seen before (I could be wrong, let me know if I am). There were beliefs that it would improve server stability, especially with situations where you have 28-36 players racing on bigger tracks like the Nordschleife, and as far as I'm concerned, that has been the case so far.

I guess you could contact the devs and see what they have to say about it. Though with the league being months away, I don't think there's any other option but a band-aid solution for the time being.

Deleted member 387850 · Dec 13, 2017

Just thought I would add that I really enjoyed the format we ended up having on Sunday evening! I was sitting in P23 for all of qualifying and I thought the cut off was going to be 23 (I think it was 24 in the end) and being right on the cusp made it very exciting. When the clock was counting down and I couldn't improve my lap time I was anxiously waiting for everyone else to cross the line before I could breath a sigh of relief!

I'm not sure how practical it would be to run different qualification heats in R3E but it would be great if it worked. I used to do radio control car racing and there were usually 10 car finals after a series of qualifying heats. Points were awarded from 100 down, so obviously if you were in the "B" final you could only score a maximum of 90 points, but it was still very satisfying to win a final and it also meant you were competing against opponents on similar lap times.

BBKing212 · Dec 21, 2017

Unfortunate I will not be able to attend all races

. Please sign me out and give my place to someone else.
Wish you all happy holidays.

Christopher Vrettos · Dec 22, 2017

Unfortunately I have to sign out of the league because of unexpected circumstances. Please may you give my place to someone else.
Thank you, and hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year.

Dan ONeill · Dec 23, 2017

Is there any indication on what a fast laptime around Suzuka is? I mean this game is new to me and it feels like I'm pushing the limits but I have no reference to any real driver times opposed to the AI.
Seeing as it is a league and not a club race are we allowed to talk about lap times?
I mean in real life when I get to a new track I always ask the other drivers what a decent lap time would be. You'll always get those who bullshit you to put you off but generally it's not considered a secret or anything.
Cheers

Kenny Paton · Dec 23, 2017

Dan ONeill said:
Is there any indication on what a fast laptime around Suzuka is?

The leaderboards should give you a rough idea, but remember a couple of things, tracks on there are optimised for grip and that there is a vast difference between hot lapping and racing

Dan ONeill · Dec 23, 2017

Thanks, and yeah, understood.
Just wanted a ball park figure to aim for so I can get some practice in.
Cheers

UMC 22 · Dec 23, 2017

Dan ONeill said:
Thanks, and yeah, understood.
Just wanted a ball park figure to aim for so I can get some practice in.
Cheers

Take the best leaderboard time and subtract a second or so for a qualifying time, to allow for track/tyre temp differences between hotlapping and online modes. Race pace will be slower still due to fuel weight and tyre wear.

If you know some of the guys racing in the league, perhaps try and get them online together for some proper online practice? The RD test server is up 24/7, though will be temporarily down for a few days after new year for maintenance.

Lorenzo Bonder · Dec 26, 2017

@Ross Garland or @Bram Hengeveld
I'm signing out, have to work all weekend long on Round 1 and Round 2 I'll be still in Japan, so if I do sign up it's mid rounds.

Good luck on the series.

Bram Hengeveld · Dec 27, 2017

Race Details:

Date - Sunday January 7, 2018
Circuit - Suzuka
Server Name - RACEDEPARTMENT.COM TCC
Server Password - See conversation message
Live Broadcast - Twitch

Session Info

19:30 GMT (20:30 CET) - Free Practice (15 minutes)
19:45 GMT (20:45 CET) - Qualification (15 minutes)
20:00 GMT (21:00 CET) - Race (60 minutes)

Server Settings

Difficulty: GetReal
Fuel Usage: Normal
Tire Wear: On
Visual Damage: Realistic
Mechanical Damage: On
Flag Rules: Complete
Cut Rules: On, Drive Through Penalty.*
Mandatory Pitstop: Yes, with a minimum of two tires to be changed.

* Game cutting rules are overruling RD League Regulations.

Audi RS5 DTM 2016

BMW M4 DTM 2016

MERCEDES-AMG C 63 DTM 2016

Commentator
@Joseph Wright
@pjlee1998

Andrew Harper · Dec 29, 2017

@Ross Garland

I know Dan has kind of asked this already but what level of AI do you recommend to get an idea of where I am pace wise (and to run a practice race or two).

I usually hot lap until I get a good time on the leaderboard but that doesn't always mean much in a league on RD.

I usually leave it on adaptive AI but in this case would 108% be a good starting point?

One small tip for those not used to this title, make sure you practice the pit stop system, even now it catches me out occasionally!

Thanks

kedy89 · Dec 29, 2017

Bram Hengeveld said:
* Game cutting rules are overruling RD League Regulations.

I meant to ask this before already, does this mean more than 2 wheels over the white lines is allowed?

Andrew Harper · Dec 29, 2017

kedy89 said:
I meant to ask this before already, does this mean more than 2 wheels over the white lines is allowed?

It kind of depends on the circuit and how Sector3 have built in the cutting rules.

Thinking about how this circuit is, if you cut most corners you're on the grass or into a wall!

I would imagine the areas where you'll have to watch it are, the exit of Degner 2, exit of Spoon curve, exit of 180R and the kerbs in the chicane.

I suppose the exit of 180R is going to be the most troublesome, because you could go over the white line by accident (avoidance for example) and get a penalty/warning for it.

However when I did the last GT3 league race at Spa, I got the odd exciting moment through Eau Rouge and into Blanchimont, the game warned me but didn't give me a penalty so I assume it will be the same deal for this league.

Yes, in most cases you need to place all four wheels over to get a warning/penalty.

The game is slightly more forgiving than it was, I remember Zolder penalties were really fierce for kerb hopping originally.

UMC 22 · Dec 29, 2017

Andrew Harper said:
@Ross Garland

I know Dan has kind of asked this already but what level of AI do you recommend to get an idea of where I am pace wise (and to run a practice race or two).

To be perfectly honest I have no idea, I'm afraid. I very rarely run with the AI because online racing is what it's all about for me. Trouble with the AI also is that it varies so much. I've yet to see a sim that has an AI which is consistent across all tracks. On one you may be unable to keep up at 100% yet on another you may be leaving them in your dust.

I do wonder why people really need to know their relative pace anyway? It wont suddenly change your ability level or magically teach you to drive faster. Just drive as fast as you are able, and race those around you.