Quote from Tukko :

.. keep it plain and simple

Quite. I think the following are all needed in a new points system:

1. Simple points system - score points in a race, and they all count towards championship

2. No end-of-season points juggling - what you see is what you get, so that you can see where you are in the championship all the way through the season

3. Standard grid sizes - it's frustrating to try to get into a higher pool with more points potential, then find you're not in that pool because the grid sizes were smaller for that event (perhaps need a standard grid size, but increase by 1 or 2 from the first pool downwards if the slowest pool has too few drivers) - at least make the rules for calculating the grid sizes known

Hope this helps

Copied from the Jinsim class descriptions ...

The InSim.txt documentation doesn't say much about the definition of a "node". My guess that it is pieces of the track that compromise each "split". When you get to the end of a node, that's when it records your split time.

That looks just about right .

Whilst watching a replay of Pool 4, I noticed one racer got hit from behind twice in the first 2 laps. In both cases the other driver carried on racing, whilst the racer in question lost places as he recovered his car.

In general, what should happen in these circumstances? I thought the offending driver should slow and let the offended driver re-pass. That's what I would do - but perhaps I'm too polite .

I would also like to apologise to Phoenix 127. We had a coming together on the last lap - I misjudged where on the track you would be as you brought your car back on line. Then when we sat facing each other, I kept trying to engage reverse, but ended up driving towards you. There was nothing intentional in that - I was just trying to go backwards and get back on track.

Very nice website. I suspect this league will be popular.

I did like the 'over 65' category on the registration form ... makes me wonder who is the oldest driver in LFS

Quote from Blackout :

I got him! Buahahahahaa

Nice one,

I tried tracing, thought that too much effort, so applied some original thought instead!!!!!

There are existing racing games that allow for the development of AI car control. RARS has been around for many years, enabling some good academic research, see http://rars.sourceforge.net/

TORCS has now replaced RARS, see http://torcs.sourceforge.net/ - not sure how popular this is though; some of the more recent test events don't seem to have attracted any participants!

If you start digging around the research in this area, you'll find that developing AI control of a racing car is no simple matter. Apart from the constraints of a real-time environment, there are huge challenges working out a fast racing line, compounded by complications like overtaking and defending your position on track.

However, when you look at events like Robocup you'll see how collaboration between the teams (code is made freely available after each competition) has aided the development of multi-agent systems. As an existing game with a good following, I'm sure if a car-control interface was provided for LFS, there would be a small number of researchers interested in developing their own AI drivers.

Thinking slightly bigger, Robocup succeeds because it has a grand aim ... developing a humanoid football team that can beat the 2050 World Cup winning team (Brazil vs the robots!). Perhaps the racing equivalent would be an AI Sim Driver winning a race against F1 drivers by 2050. Given that F1 cars are already largely controlled by electronics rather than mechanical devices, maybe that wouldn't be so hard to imagine ... just would need sufficient resources working on the AI side.

Food for thought.

I've installed Teamspeak ready for tonights racing. Thought I'd try the added dimension that others enjoyed so much on Tuesday.

Question though, what is the server address that I should use when connecting Teamspeak? Are there any other settings to worry about?

Thanks.

I'm looking for a teammate too. This looks like an interesting format, and I enjoy driving the LX4. The only day that I wouldn't be able to make is the Saturday.

I'm not the quickest, but if anyone wants a consistent teammate, let me know.

Sorry for the delay, but results, final standings, replay and gallery are now available on the website for viewing ... www.racelfs.co.uk

Congratulations to Vince for another fine win in the last race, and for taking the league title. Also thank you to all other racers who have made the Road Race Summer Cup such an enjoyable experience.

Lots of screenshots in the gallery for this race ... I learnt how to control the camera . I saw some amazing displays of car control when taking the shots, especially Rumiko's overtaking of Jeep on the penultimate lap, managing to brake with 2 wheels on the grass, take the corner and recover from a sideways moment after the 2 battling cars made contact. All captured in the gallery, hope you like it.

Thanks again, hope to see you all on track in the Autumn ...

Again, we will be using [DSRC] Battlegrounds 3 (thanks to them), race info has just been sent out by email. Should you not receive it, password should be be simple to guess.

Any problems, PM me and I'll see what I can do

Sorry to hear that Kev.

I'm expecting a good race tomorrow. I've seen quite a few practicing on the public servers the last couple of evenings, and there's been some very close racing. Even I have managed to be a bit competitive in my little old FZ50, although blowing a tyre on lap 3 last night did suggest I needed to learn a smoother driving style!

Quote from MrSkill :

If there's any free spot left, I would like to race.

We've got your joining details via the website, and there are still a few spots left. So yes, I think you're in ... welcome!

I'll be getting some practice in either tonight or tomorrow, and will look out for you on the public servers.

Enjoy!

We will be using [DSRC] Battlegrounds server again on 27th - many thanks to Tinyk. Password details will be emailed on Thursday morning.

The 'official' weather forecast is a light wind, and as the sun is setting earlier these days, looks like it'll be cloudy dusk conditions.

Nice to have a new face in the race Kev. I'm sure you'll enjoy the racing as much as we have been.

Good luck all.

We have the final race of the current season at Aston National on Thursday 27th July. As grid numbers have reduced with the holiday season, we have a limited number of places open to try out the league for those who may be interested in joining the next season.

In addition to enjoying a one-off race with a tricky but fulfilling car/track combo, and racing with the friendly and clean regulars, drivers who compete in this last race will have priority for a grid slot when the new season starts in the Autumn.

New drivers, please sign up here for this race: http://www.racelfs.co.uk/Join.php (and read rest of the site for rules etc).

Regular drivers should note that their places are guaranteed for this final race, and any new entrants will be checked to ensure the responsible driving that we have seen in the league so far this year will be maintained.

By the way, I haven't had a detailed weather forecast yet, but do bear in mind the sun is setting earlier these days .

The Tesla looks very interesting. They've done well to get 250 miles per charge, if that turns out to be valid.

Within the FAQs they do state "Tesla Motors is an American car company with a UK subsidiary". It's not clear if they're referring to Lotus as a 'subsidiary' (which obviously is not correct), or whether they do have a subsidiary that may sell the cars this side of the pond.

I suspect it won't be cheap, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. If only a big manufacturer was bold enough to make a mass produced version of this type of car, concentrating more on efficiency rather than the sporting credentials that Tesla are plugging.

Quote from Vain :

I propose some shots of me and NukeLane for the galery.

Vain

I got lots of screenshots into the gallery last night, and sent it off to Dan. Not sure exactly when he's back, but I should get a chance to add a few shots before the gallery gets loaded onto the website (ie I didn't get any shots of your battle with NukeLane first time round Vain - although I did watch your moves up from 8th to 7th, and then 6th ).

I struggled massively in the race due to a lack of practice, thanks to work and tiredness . I managed 1 hour of practice just prior to the race though, and somehow beat my pb by 2 seconds in qualifying (but I was still 2 seconds off the pace of the next driver!).

I've achieved one of my season's objectives now though - to finish a race in the top 10 . My objective for the last race will be not to finish last ...

Quote from P1lot :

Got an e-mail informing me delivery had failed

If anyone needs the password, PM me. Thanks.

Again, we will be using [DSRC] Battlegrounds 3 (thanks to them), race info has just been sent out, should you not receive it, password should be be simple to guess

Have fun all.

The penultimate round is coming up on Thursday. I hear that it should be a fine day, with a light wind. That's the forecast .

Danowat is enjoying himself in a sunnier place this week, so I'll be sending out the email with server details on Thursday. We've had a lot of close and clean racing so far in the league, so I'm hoping that we'll have a good turnout.

I am again struggling to get a set-up that suits the car and my driving ... perhaps my eternal struggle for competitive laptimes should be telling me something about my driving ability . Or maybe I'm sand-bagging until the final round .

Enjoy!

Yes, we saw an excellent display of driving this evening, throughout the field.

I hung back a little at the start, hoping to pick off any spinners as I had in the lag start, but nobody had any major difficulty at the start of the real race. C'est la vie!

Later on I had some good battles with Octane, and Vain eventually overtook us both following his earlier forays into the kitty litter.

Most interesting feature for the photo gallery this time was Octane's pirouette - do we have a closet ballerina within our ranks? Watch out for that when Dan updates the web site.

Quote from danowat :

1:57 are pretty easy with this set I developed, 1:56's arent far away if I can keep the backend under control for more than a few corners!!!.

Dan,

Thank you for sharing these Dan. I was hoping the laptimes wouldn't be quite so fast; I've got some more practicing to do now

I had a quick few laps last night (quite why I watched the Swiss game instead of more practicing with the FZ50 I don't know ). I'm into the 2:00s quite comfortably, but haven't studied good racing lines yet. I'll check out your replay Dan, and hopefully emulate!

Quote from P1lot :

Of course, the RAC has the advantage in the twisty bits and the FZ50 has the advantage on the banked straights

Yes, but it may be a bit nerve-racking trying to overtake an RAC around that banking. The consequencies of an error could be terminal!

Quote from AtomAnt :

If we had an award for most improved driver it would have to go to Bozo.

That implies that I must have been 'really bad' in previous races

Thanks for the comments Ant. I had a good race, except for the off on lap 2 or 3 that put me back in 11th, the fact I hadn't practiced pit stops (could have made up the 0.01 second that separated 2nd from 3rd place), and that final chicane where I took it too easy and gave Solar the chance to take me with his extra momentum.

I didn't give Solar much room to overtake in the final straight, but I wouldn't have felt good if I'd blocked him. I chose my line and stuck to it. I nearly made it to the line in front anyway ...

Let's hope the next event is as much fun, but I'm hoping not to be the rabbit in somebody's sight near the end of the race!

I've not driven Kyoto National before, but found it quite appealing on my first practice at the weekend - especially the banking which will be difficult to master.

Does anybody have a view on what the laptimes are likely to be? At the moment I'm doing 2:02s, but hope to get down to 2:00s with a bit more practice, and maybe less. The WR is a tad quicker than 1:55 in both RAC (well done Misko) and FZ50. Any views on race pace (ignoring wind that may have an impact)?

Also, in previous rounds I have suffered through a lack of practice races, during which I would normally learn/perfect racing lines. Does anybody have an FZ50 replay for Kyoto National that I could use to study the lines? It'd be much appreciated ... give me a chance to move away from the back of the grid :spin:

Quote from Bean0 :

... but I was pretty sure Bozo had regained control before I hit his rear corner causing the spin.

I've seen the replay, and I did slow down a lot on hitting those tyres, so I'm not surprised I got hit from behind. It was a nice gesture for you to wait though, thank you.

Fantastic report Dan. I thought I'd seen most incidents when I took the screenshots, but you've rooted out more! There certainly was an awful lot going on.

By the way, it's only 1 week before the next race. We're at Kyoto National next Thursday. Hopefully we'll have a lot more of the same ... actually, hopefully we'll see more FZ50's at the front of the race .

Looks like everyone enjoyed the race tonight - I certainly did. I had some close racing with Bean0 to start (although he soon passed me when I ran wide in a corner), managed to avoid Col's spectacular 'flight' in the bridge section (which is captured in full glory in the image gallery - take a look at the website when Dan has loaded up the new files - www.racelfs.co.uk ), then spent a few laps later in the race trying to prevent Col from overtaking, not realising he was a lap down and trying to unlap himself

Looking through the replay (which will also be posted on the website) there were quite a few battles throughout the race. It was very enjoyable to watch.

Well done to Kaizaka. First race, but you were very diligent in letting faster drivers past. I'm sure that you'll quickly improve. The FZ50 is a difficult car to drive, but with practice it can be half-tamed (apparently, not that I manage it so well ).

I'm really looking forward to next weeks race, especially as somebody mentioned that the FZ50 is better suited to the next 3 races . I hope that's true.