GPG-rFactor-League?

Hey there.
When viewing GPGs Manager-Series of the GPx-games, i got an idea. How about doing such a league in rFactor? Because of this i'm posting here. I'd like to propose the idea of an rFactor-League for GPG, with both a Manager-mode and a driver-mode. It was planned already but as the only other admin didn't answer anymore, this was cancelled at first. So this is, what my absolutely favorite is:
Quick facts:
100% race-length
Black flag enabled, no AI-Safety Car
human Safety-Car Driver
Live-RaceControl
(Live-Stream)
Technical failures on
Damage 100%
Tyre-Usage on
Fuel-Usage on
Recon-Lap activated, Formation Lap, too.
!Different perf-files for different cars!

Yeah, these are the quick facts. Of course there is 100%-race length, with normal Tyre-Usage and Fuel-Usage, so you have to pit. Damage should be clear as well, make it realistic and the crashs good-looking :-p
As the AI-Safety Car is quite bugged (just search for it on Youtube and you will find some funny things), it won't be used. However, Black Flag is enabled to automatically give penalties upon lapping problems or speeding in the pitlane. The AI-Safety Car is replaced through a human Safety Car Driver, and this one is (if nobody volunteers ) already clear. Would be myself. The same is with the Live-RaceControl, I would be one of them. The RaceControl views mainly the crashes, as most other problems are handled through the game itself. Additionally, Safety-Car-Phases are it's decision.
The recon-Lap add realism, and can be used for the Live-Stream-commentators (if existing) to check things, talk to Drivers or whatever. It's a nice feature, so i think, we should use it.
Another thing that could be added is the "rF-Highvoltage"-Plugin. It enables DRS and Kers on the track and can lead to very interesting races. As there are compability-problems with the DVD-Version (the version i own), this could lead to problems for certain people.
The best plugin to add would be rFactor Enhanced, better known as rFactor Weather Plugin. It enables rain, tyre-flatspotting and changing tyre-textures when pitting. While the plugin could make the racing WAY better than it is, nobdoy can find information about it, which isn't outdated. It seems, as if this plugin was, simply said, dead. If you are interested in doing such a league, i'd try to get the developer of the plugin to give a statement.
Ok, these are the non-special facts about my idea, general information and all. The unique thing of this league is the manager-mode, together with the possibilities to have an actual career.
The manager-mode is very similar to that one of the GPG-leagues. You manage the driver contracts, buy motors, chassis, brakes, whatever. You send in the livery of the cars, choose the focus on test sessions (much more possible than only reliability and pace, like in F1-manager; setup-possibilites, tyre-usage, fuel-usage, aerodynamics, engine-power, gearbox, ...), and do much more. Also you can help the drivers to get good setups, and be their strategy-guy within the races. It's a fun thing to do, and as seen here in this forum, some of you like it
The drivers get special contracts with the teams, they drive for it and try to improve. Maybe get a contract-offer of a better team, or whatever. The aim has to be the championship of course

What would this league be without multiple series? There are many possibilites: F1, GP2, F3, DTM, WTCC, Nascar, Indy Car, Nascar Bush Series, Porsche Supercup, BTCC, Formula BMW, and much more. If there are enough people to join the league, be administrators for the servers and such, this could become true. It's great to imagine being a pilot starting in Formula BMW, winning the title first season, and get an offer for F3. Start there, and get a testseat for F1. And so on, until you win the title. I know, this is way too big to be possible, so please don't post that. But maybe a league with 3 series or 4 is also really good. For drivers and managers and admins.

The last point to tell is about the perf-files. As in real F1, we could have different perfs, to actually get teams way back and teams fighting for the championship. Of course we have to make little differences, like we see in current F1-season (with the exception HRT, Caterham and Marussia). But to have a working career we need different perfs. Sadly i didn't find a willing coder yet, who wants to make formulas to get a good system for upgrades within the season and reasonable starting-perfs. This is one of the biggest problems.
To avoid copyright-problems, i'd like to use custom teams and liveries, only the vehicles remain the same ones. It's like the GPGSL with their teams

I hope, i have explained this idea in a good way, and i hope to get a positive feedback of you. Ah, and no, you don't need to tell me "this won't be possible." "You're nuts." or something like this ^^ This already was told to me, when discussing this idea in a german forum, and i know, i will have to get simpler rules and regulations for the start. But with your help and experience, this whole concept could work better.
Greetings
Silverman

One edit, i was mistaken in the part about DRS and Kers. The developers have released a crack for those who don't own rFactor. Additionally there's now compability with the DVD-Version, so everyone can use it.
Greetings
Silverman

If i've read it all properly (my heads a bit mixed up at the moment) this is basically the GPGSL but on rfactor, with all the little tweaks that F1 has (DRS, Kers, Weather, Tyres etc) and also where the drivers actually drive.

My questions would be:
1. Is this effectively an online race where everyone needs to be online at the same time, or more like an offline league where everyone submits their race time.
2. What would the system be for drivers who are using different things. The driving with keyboard is almost impossible especially compared to a steering wheel.
3. What would happen with driver aids, which can be on, off etc

Certainly interesting though...

_________________________________________________

For a list of EVERY download for GP4, look here: [docs.google.com]

hmm, why is there always a person that explains in one sentence, what i try to explain in numerous paragraphs? O.o

Yep, your description is corret, minus the part with weather and tyres. This plugin doesn't exist, i had to ask the developers.

1: Online Race, rFactor is capable of it, and it's the most fun for all. So everyone at the same time, i'd propose Saturday Evening or Afternoon, depends on whatever ^^
2: Drivers driving with a keyboard have a significat disadvantage. Well, that's it. I can't do anything against this problem, so i won't try. But of course everybody drives with the same rules, we can't make different rules for keyboard-drivers and wheel-drivers.
3: Driver Aids, i forgot them :-p
"Traction Control low level"
"Antilock Brakes disabled"
"Stability Control disabled"
Auto Shift enabled
Aut Clutch enabled
Invulnearbility disabled
Opposite Lock disabled
Steering help disabled
Brake help disabled
Spin recovery disabled
Auto Pit disabled
Auto Lift enabled
Auto Blip enabled

it's pretty difficult to drive with those driving aids. It is possible to change the ("" marked once to a higher level, the rest should not be changed, as i don't want an arcade-league ^^
Spin-recovery and such is not fun to drive with. A good driving-aids-level would be Traction Control Full, ABS Full, Stability Control Low. It's like an upper limit, but easy to drive and a bit slower.
Greetings
Silverman

So, one update on the cars:
I'm going to view every good or average rated F1-mod from rfactorcentral and some others. For the physics i'll test the ability to drive the car (difficult, but not undriveable), for the models, how they look like and how they look like after they crashed. Of course, i'll hear the sounds, but these won't get too much attraction
I'd like to set the time, where to take F1-cars, from 1995-2008. As i didn't find any mod for 1995 or 1996, the total area to take models from is 1997-2008. The reason is that in this time the rules for those F1-cars didn't change too much (1995 higher cockpit-walls; 2009 complete re-design), so it allows having numerous cars of different years fighting. Of course, the model wouldn't affect the performance, so a 1997-Ferrari is able to win a race against a 2004-Williams, and vice versa. As i've written before, there won't be a Ferrari or a Williams, of course, the skins should be different
When i'm finished sorting out the really bad ones, i'll give you a link-list, so you can test, too, if you like. The list will include: The mods purely taken for the models; the mods who are in discussion to be the base-performance. Double-notations are possible and have happened ^^
Greetings
Silverman

EDIT says: I forgot to include that obviously i'll ask every developer for the allowance to use the cars. I'll ask for each mod, and will specify exactly, what i would like to take.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2012 02:38PM by xSilvermanx.

I remember in the 2nd or 3rd year of w300 and the main series where I talked to some people regarding getting that working in rFactor, converting the car and textures we had made for GP4 already. Unfortunately only one person at the time actually looked into it and he did convert the Gp4 car but since he didn't know much else he just left at that, never sharing the car (which was fine since we had no sounds, physics, etc).

It's nice to see the league has continued to today, we had a shaky first few years as GP4 proved to be a bitch many times, and mortal decided he'd rule it as he wished driving me and a few others away.

I don't want to convert those Skins and Textures, it's more a new league keeping in mind the GPGSL. If the existing teams get into rFactor, it's great, but not necessary.
Ok, the thing, i wrote before about Formula 1, is now also existent for GP2 and Formula 3, so we have two additional series, if they are needed.

How about the general interest? I promise to do most of the work, and you don't have to help, if you don't want. Please answer the question, i'm not willing to do something, where the people aren't interested in.
Greetings
Silverman

Post a link of this on the topic for the GPGSLGGODLSAJF League

Guimengo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Post a link of this on the topic for the
> GPGSLGGODLSAJF League


Grand Prix Games Super League G? G? O? D? L? S? A? J? F????

I would love to participate silverman, but unfortunately i have no wheel so i would spend most of a race spinning in circles. Pretty but not very helpful

_________________________________________________

For a list of EVERY download for GP4, look here: [docs.google.com]

I'm interested in this - I haven't raced on line for years, since Gui pwned me into retirement

It really comes down to the timing.

---

yep, i'm interested in this link, GPGSLGGODLSAJF League ^^
truecrysis, do you have rFactor? If yes, you are able to participate. You only need a little bit info about Formula 1 and good judgement. The possible thing is Race Control ^^
Other possibility would be being a track-editor. Is mainly editing the start-finish-line to show the GPGSL-logo, sometimes doing a bit more, depends ^^
Designers are always fine, it's like: "I can't design well, can you make me a livery?" ^^
Best option would be coder for the performance-files and the physics. But i don't think, anybody here is useful here, including myself. It's really complicated to understand, even more complicated to get a good physics yourself, and formulas for the performance-changes are really difficult, too, because we don't want worse vehicles (which could happen, if something went wrong).
If the driving aids come as they are atm, i think, you could control the car. Could be entirely wrong, but the best option is to test it. Would be willing to set Stability Control to high, together with high traction control and Antilock Brakes on high.
Best option: being a team manager doesn't involve driving. Why did i forget about that part completely? O.o Just seeing this option at the end ^^

senninho: Timing? I forgot to include a GMT-number to my first time-suggestion, it's atm GMT+2, will change to GMT+1 in winter. I think, if it was possible to have Americans racing together with Europeans and Oceanians, i would take this time. But if nobody wants to volunteer for awkward racing-times... ^^
Make suggestions, but please take in mind, i'm not willing to have awkward racing-times. But the best solution would be the following:
The race starts at 2 PM. The indicator for the GMT is the position of the track. So for racing in Australia, Melbourne, it'll be around 2 PM in Melbourne, when the race starts. In England, Silverstone, race will start at 2 PM Silverstone time. Get what i want to tell? :-p
Greetings
Silverman

I'm interested.

hmm, I have seen, I'm not able to do this on my own. Wouldn't of posted anymore, tbh, but it's better, if i just post the list of links of the mods, I wanted to test.
Sadly, I'm not able atm to access my GMX-mail (something is bugged, can't read one single mail), so the list is locked ^^
Will post asap.
Greetings
Silverman

Mails are going now, will copy the list below.
What to look for? The physics-only-mods have to be tested for damage-realism and a good driving-style. Not too easy, not too difficult. The mods wanted for the models have to be tested for the above AND the models. How good look the models, are there any bugs, and how do they look, when they crash.
If anybody wants to have this league, every single one needs to be tested. I'll do it myself too, if i get people helping, but will be offline soon, as we are driving to holidays on Friday.
If you are testing mods, please post a review to every single one. Everyone may test of course
Greetings
Silverman

For nearly every mod you need to be registered at rfactorcentral.com . This is not a big problem, as the registration goes fast and is without any cost.

Formel 1:
Physik:
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]

Models:
2008: [rfactorcentral.com]
2007: [rfactorcentral.com]
2007: [rfactorcentral.com]
2006: [rfactorcentral.com]
2005: [rfactorcentral.com]
2004: F1 RFT 2004
2003: F1 RMT 2003
2002: [rfactorcentral.com]
2001: F1 RMT 2001
2000: [rfactorcentral.com]
1999: [rfactorcentral.com]
1998: [rfactorcentral.com]
1997: [rfactorcentral.com]

2008 Ferrari: [rfactorcentral.com]


GP2:
Physik:
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]

Models:
2008: [rfactorcentral.com]
2006: [rfactorcentral.com]


Formel 3:
Physik:
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]
[rfactorcentral.com]

Models:
2011: [rfactorcentral.com]
2010: [rfactorcentral.com]
2009: [rfactorcentral.com]
2007: [rfactorcentral.com]
2006: [rfactorcentral.com]

I'd certainly be interested in this, however seeing as the only competitve online racing I've ever done was in F1 2010 and '11 I doubt I'd be much good

Also you'd might be better off advertising this on a rfactor specific forum, I'm sure you'd pick up a lot more interest there

EDIT: I might also be able to do a bit of testing, but I'm not sure my feedback would be that helpful.

Interested in managing an F1 team? Sign up for the Grandprixgames F1 Manager game here





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2012 04:36PM by Twigster151.

everyone can test, and every feedback is useful ^^
If you classify yourself as a "slower" and "weaker" driver for rFactor, that's fine. We need people in every strength to test the mods. Of course the F1-mods have priority over GP2 or F3 ^^
To have comparable results, I'd propose 3 tracks, where you can drive a bit (or much, depends ^^) and post your best time. Please also post the driving aids, you have used, the mod, you have driven and afterwards the feedback on design and the rest, I already mentioned.
The Tracks are:
F1 Total Circuit the Challenge: [www.rfactorcentral.com]
A compilation track of many different tracks of Formula 1. A quite long track, but fun to drive.
Brands Hatch GP: [www.rfactorcentral.com]
Please use the GP-version, not the Indy-version. Brands Hatch, a really nice track and difficult to drive.
Pau 67: [www.rfactorcentral.com]
Pau is a course through a city in southern france (cityname is Pau ). A difficult track, especially for new F1-cars.

Have fun driving, and tell us everything after testing on these three tracks. I'll post reference times with the ISI-BMW-Sauber.
Greetings
Silverman

EDIT: I'm confident to find willing rFactor-drivers. The problem are the teamchefs. Nowhere I found as many people interested in managing a team as here. So the best chance to get this running is over this site.
Just think of GPGSL, GPGSL-3, F1-manager, GPG-Nations-Cup. 4 Leagues, enough people to manage a team

EDIT 2: Forgot one thing: Whenever there are different vehicle strengths (so realistic ones), please drive for the Ferrari-Team. So whenever the physics are different for one team, please drive Ferrari.

EDIT 3: Ok, was some fun driving, Pau is the easiest one of those three, you just have to be careful not to hit the sidewalk ^^
Driving aids were: Invulnerability (didn't want to have to reset every time, I crash something ^^), Stability Control low, traction control high, anti-lock brakes high, auto shift enabled, auto clutch enabled. After a few laps I've enabled the bot, so you can see, what a really fast driver can achieve. I didn't try that much (a few minutes ^^), so I didn't expect to even touch this time. The better is the Pau-one ^^

Track Me after a few laps vs Bot
Pau 1:00.008 0:59.990
F1Total 4:54.216 4:48.606
BrandsHatch 1:09.123 1:05.931



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2012 07:05PM by xSilvermanx.

Lucky I already had Brands Hatch and a couple of the mods installed, so I was able to test them straight away. This is what I came up with:

All of the mods were tested on Brands Hatch with the stock setup. I also had both TC and SC on low with all other aids disabled.

FSone 2009

This mod was quite a change from what I'm used to (recently I've been racing a F430 in the Endurance mod) so it took a few laps to get used to the change. However once I managed to string a few laps together it felt good and importantly it was fun to drive as, whilst not being the quickest method, you could almost drift the car through some corners. My best lap time was a high 1:08 but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Graphically wise obviously it performs very well being an FSone mod and all so this might be a wise choice plus the sounds were solid.

GP2 2011

This was also quite a jump from the norm for me. The first thing I noticed was that it didn't feel as 'natural' as FSone 2009 and simply wasn't as fun to drive. However having said that it didn't take long at all to find some consistency and I quickly got used to the physics. My best lap time I believe was a mid 1:16, again there is a lot of room for improvement.

Graphics wise is wasn't that impressive, whilst the models themselves were okay the view from the T-cam just didn't look right. The sounds however were good.

GP2 2008

The best way I can describe this is that to drive, it feels exactly the same as F1 2010. The moment you even think of touching a kerb it will spin you immediately and there is no fine line between spinning and drifting, the moment the back end starts to go you're basically screwed; but this might just be because I have no finesse at all when it comes to driving However I persevered and eventually managed to clock a 1:15.9, but trust me, it was not fun.

In stark contrast however the models were actually quite good and the view from the team cam was excellent. I personally would be in favour using this model as the one for the league, just not the physics. The sounds again were pretty much the same from the 2011 mod.

Japan F3 2007

To be honest I found this mod to be a tad to easy to drive whilst from time to time the back end would start sliding about it never really posed many problems.

Graphics wise I'm not a big fan of this mod. To me, it just looks a bit chunky, and the T-cam is too far back.

Interested in managing an F1 team? Sign up for the Grandprixgames F1 Manager game here

CTDP 2006

Well, good things are the models. They just look great. After a crash I got my Ferrari to look like the current one, it's nose was deeper, although front-wing was missing ^^
So I love the damage-model in this mod. Cars look great, as do the crashes.
The sound is average. It's a bit too weak to be realistic, so this is not that good.
The big problem in CTDP is the physics. Atleast for me, although I managed to drive a 1:01.876 in Pau. I think, it was purely luck, because I was spinning around the track more than driving. I just can't get the car to come around the corner without drifting, even with some small setup changes. This counts for both, with some driving aids (traction control full, Anti-lock brakes full, stability control low, auto shift and auto clutch) and without (only auto clutch). I think, I managed the 1:01 without driving aids, not sure here though.
I can recommend the models, it's difficult to drive. Maybe I'll get used to it, as we have this mod in a league of mine, but don't know atm.
One big plus are the big customization-options in CTDP, they modded EVERY upgrade used in 2006. It affects the car and the physics, too, also the cars look different.


On a side note: stability control on low ALWAYS means Anti-lock brakes enabled on full. This is an rFactor-limitation.

Quote
Twigster151
I personally would be in favour using this model as the one for the league, just not the physics.

Who said, it would be one model? ^^
I hope, we can get some models to choose from, especially for Formula 1. The physics will be nearly the same at the beginning of the season, but the cars needn't be. Only problem is, we need someone who is able to actually get everything together (so a modder), because I can't do anything in this direction. Also someone for coding the physics and the changes throughout the season would be great.

xSilvermanx Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Who said, it would be one model? ^^
> I hope, we can get some models to choose from,
> especially for Formula 1

I just assumed we would be :/

For example when the GPGNC allowed a free choice in car shape it just looked retarded when F1 cars from different years were side by side, just my opinion anyway.

Interested in managing an F1 team? Sign up for the Grandprixgames F1 Manager game here

^^
well, I've written it in first post.
Honestly, I don't know how it'll look like. The borders (1997-2008) was set on purpose, so the cars look somewhat similar. There were no big rule-changes during this area (forget the motor ^^). Wanted to do it from 1995 to 2008, but didn't find a 1995 or 1996-mod for rFactor.
I think, it should work out, if we stick to good models. But if it doesn't, I'll see, what to do. Maybe shortening the period, where cars can be taken.
Greetings
Silverman