The online racing simulator
#1 - Tomi
blue flags
Being shown the blue flag in a public race (GTR@AS3) on your servers, I let D.I.M.O. pass me by lifting and braking smoothly and earlier while opening the door completely (I was on the extreme outside in the braking zone) but D.I.M.O. still found a way to bump me while passing me.

I was then bored by 2 Conedodgers members who shouted at me to respect the blue flags because I supposedly didn't got out of the racing line.

So, just for the record, because I said I used to obey to the FIA rules and some people told me I didn't read them, here is what the FIA rules says :

Quote :
d) Light Blue flag:
This should normally be waved, as an indication to a driver that
he is about to be overtaken. It has different meanings during
practice and the race.
At all times :
- A stationary fl ag should be displayed to a driver leaving the pits
if traffi c is approaching on the track.
During practice :
- Give way to a faster car which is about to overtake you.
During the race :
- The flag should normally be shown to a car about to be
lapped and, when shown, the driver concerned must allow the
following car to pass at the earliest opportunity.

source :
ANNEXE H AU CODE SPORTIF INTER ... TERNATIONAL SPORTING CODE

Nothing says the lapped driver should get out of the racing line. It just says it has to allow the leading driver to pass. This is just what I did, in the same way as the real drivers do in the real races, by keeping the outside and breaking earlier and lighter to allow the leader to pass on the inside.

So next time one of you just do a stupid thing then shout at the other to respect the rules, just make sure you have a full knowledge of them.

I may not be a fast racer compared to you guys, but I always try to be clean and respectful.

Thanks for the races though, that was fun
We have enforced the blue flag rule on ConeDodgers servers. Our servers our rules.

We have very fast drivers on CD1, from many different teams and even 'freelance' drivers, people who can do 1:39.xx or low 1:40.xx laps and D.I.M.O. is one of them. Check the !top command.
For doing such fast laps these guys are always driving on the edge and sometimes, not that often but it happens at least 2-3 times a day, the final gap between the guys on the podium at the end of a 17+ minutes race is less than 0.05.

There are some critical places on AS3 such as T1 and the last chicane where you can win or lose a race and where there is only one fast racing line, this is the reason why we ask people under blue flag to give the racing line to the faster drivers.

We have nothing against slower drivers, everyone is welcome on ConeDodgers servers as long as they have a clean and fair driving, but yes, we ask them when they are under blue flag to give the racing line to the faster drivers.
Just so you are aware, At the time i am posting this your best time on AS3 in a FZR was 1:44.18 so to [CD] standards you are quite slow.

You had done 132 laps, yet Dimo has a PB of 1:39.95 and has done 14281 laps.

As admin we get fed up with the constant visiting drivers who have done just a few laps that do not respect the blue flag on our servers and it is normal that we say something or ban those who do not obey.

WE pride ourselves in trying to help anyone but to those who are new that dont want help, but just want to TELL us we are wrong, please give us a break.

I an sure when you have done 14000 laps of AS3 you will find that obeying the blue flag is a must.

Our rules are available on our website, in the forum

Our blue flag rules are

Blue Flag
One or more competitors are about to lap you. You must hold your course and allow them to pass UNIMPEDED. You must make sure you change speed and leave room to be passed. DO NOT RACE A CAR THAT IS A LAP AHEAD.

Should you pass a slower car and then find you get a blue flag warning you can carry on but MUST NOT IMPEAD THEM IN ANY WAY.

In both the LFS: GTR League and the ConeDodgers servers, not obeying the blue flag is considered unsporting and anyone doing so with have points deducted or may be forced to leave the server.


You i would say to you that you did not allow Dimo to pass UNIMPEDED so did not obey the blue flag.

Please understand those who do not obey our server rules will get a ban.
#4 - Tomi
I know I'm slow. I don't have the time to train that often at the moment

I just wanted to point out that your rules were unclear.

you say :

Quote :Blue Flag
One or more competitors are about to lap you. You must hold your course and allow them to pass UNIMPEDED. You must make sure you change speed and leave room to be passed. DO NOT RACE A CAR THAT IS A LAP AHEAD.

I did all of this :
I was on the extreme outside of the track, I lifted the gaz early and smoothly and braked earlier so that DIMO could pass while letting him get the apex correctly. It's not like I was trying to block him or not obeying blue flags.

For the record, I may have a little number of race distance in LFS and be slow on most tracks/cars, but I'm quite a veteran in online sim racing. I race online since 1999-2000 (GPL) and I have organised several national championships (NR2003 and rfactor).

To me there is just a misunderstanding between what your rules says :
you must hold your course and allow them to pass unimpeded


and what your members says (Lotesdelère for example) :
but yes, we ask them when they are under blue flag to give the racing line to the faster drivers.

The racing line is always crossing the width of the track, and a lapped driver can't just disappear from the track to let a leader pass. So while still obeying a blue flag, you basically ask lapped drivers to lose 5 seconds in the straights to let the leader pass without losing a tenth of a second.

That's fine to me it as long as it is clear. Just note that it's completely different from regular FIA rules, so you should expect people to not always be aware of your rules (afterall, I joined a random public server from the lobby, I wasn't directed from a webpage showing your specific rules), so don't be too angry if someone explain his view. In real life, lapped drivers never loose several seconds in the straights to let a leader pass if he is not in the slipstream. They just open the door like I did in the braking zone.

So discussion closed to me. I will act like you ask in your servers and not try to do as in real life or in other servers.
#5 - col
Quote from birder :

Our blue flag rules are

Blue Flag
One or more competitors are about to lap you. You must hold your course and allow them to pass UNIMPEDED. You must make sure you change speed and leave room to be passed. DO NOT RACE A CAR THAT IS A LAP AHEAD.

Should you pass a slower car and then find you get a blue flag warning you can carry on but MUST NOT IMPEAD THEM IN ANY WAY.

In both the LFS: GTR League and the ConeDodgers servers, not obeying the blue flag is considered unsporting and anyone doing so with have points deducted or may be forced to leave the server.


These rules are contradictory and therefor impossible to uphold!

There are many places on many tracks where it would be impossible to 'hold your course' and 'change speed' without impeding the driver behind.

on a straight, either you change course then slow down, or you hold you course and slow down which means the following racer will have to move off the optimum line to pass you - you rules forbid both of these options ! the first because you're not holding your line, second because you're impeding the following driver.

approaching a corner, its better not to change speed but to brake later and take the turn wider allowing the following racer to take the inside without losing too much speed - your rules forbid this...

The real problem is that you are being much too specific in your rules, the reality of racing means that for rules to be this specific and not contradictory, you need pages and pages of 'small print' specifying every single exception to your rules for each part of each track and for each car type...

Thats why in real racing and in most sensible sim racing organisations, the rules are more general...
e.g. "let the lapper pass at the first safe opportunity...."
OR "keep your line and speed but do not block or 'race' the lapper"
OR "let the lapper pass safely before you are shown three blue flags"

Rules like these are general enough that the guy being passed can use their experience and common sense to make the correct move depending on the current situation...

From reading how you've replied to the OP in this thread I think the rule you really need is :
"If you get a blue flag, you MUST tele-pit immediately using SHIFT+S"
This is the only rule that will ensure the leaders are not impeded in any way! All other rules are either contradictory like your existing ones, or they will sometimes involve the leaders having to slow a little while waiting to pass - like real racing (shock horror)

FWIW, I'm not a regular on your servers, and you can ignore me if you like, but you would be foolish to ignore the fact that your existing rules are contradictory and that contradictory rules are worse than no rules at all !!

No offense intended

cheers

Col
No offence taken.

For several months we have been writing some new server control software but Patch X has put a stop to it.

We are now 2 months on and the long winded Patch X is still not here but once it does arrive our rules will change to.

Blue Flag
One or more competitors are about to lap you. You must allow them to pass UNIMPEDED.

DO NOT RACE A CAR THAT IS A LAP AHEAD.

Should you pass a slower car and then find you get a blue flag warning you can carry on but MUST NOT IMPEAD THEM IN ANY WAY.

In both the LFS: GTR League and the ConeDodgers servers, not obeying the blue flag is considered unsporting and anyone doing so with have points deducted or may be forced to leave the server.


Our new system will award points for race positions against time. CD1 will become our only public server and to race on CD2, 3 and 4 you will have had to gained points on CD1.

This will simply take the faster drivers away from CD1 making CD2, 3 and 4 cleaner driving.

Lets face facts a driver doing 10 laps of AS3 in a FZR in 20.00 will get in the way when Dimo is doing it in 17:08

blue flags
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