rFactor for PC

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 4:05 pm

I'm up for it, but I have a driver qualification session at that time also. Depending on how long that goes I may or may not be able to make it.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 5:04 pm

I'm always down for a DSP rFactor poker night, but if Gurantsu's qualification test is for our Crossfire league, I'll probably be there at 6. Mine was done by like 6:15 or 6:20, so it should be pretty easy to make it by 6:30.

I'm so partial to the F3's v1.2 it's not even funny. Takes a lot of ability to keep those tires cool but also keep the car fast.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:04 pm

Yup, it's for Crossfire. I just downloaded the files I needed this afternoon, and I'll load them all up tonight after my daughter goes to bed. If the test goes quickly then I'll definitely hit the DSP servers. I can't wait to try the new F3's, sounds like they will be a hoot to drive.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 8:18 am

Tried the new F3's last night, wow, what a blast to drive. You're not kidding about the tires, it sure makes you pay attention to how hard you brake.

I figured out the problem I was having with terrible frame rates online. All I'll say is I'm an idiot (and I work in IT for a living too...

)

Oh, and my qualification is at 9:30PM Eastern. I'm sure I'll log in earlier anyway, but that was the time Joel gave me.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:44 am

Well, did my qualification last night and got invited to join the series. I must admit I was a bit nervous at first, but the other guys really know what they are doing and it made it much easier to drive smart. A few goofs and spins on my part, but over all it went well and by the end I was very comfortable running with them.

I had planned on heading over to the DSP server following the qualification, but ended up staying at crossfire a while because Corey gave me a bunch of setup tips which were much appreciated. I had one lap in the 1'18's, but most were in the mid 1'19's. Next time I practice I'm going to concentrate on my line, I know of at least 2 spots where I'm totally missing my entrance (turn 2, and the left hander at the end of the long straight). I'm sure I'm losing lots of time at both of those sections.

Oh Corey, I'll send you a PM with my e-mail so you can shoot me the replay file of the Birmingham race.

And thanks again to Corey, Terry, and all the guys who helped crowd around me during my qualification. I'm looking forward to Saturday!

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:22 am

Damn, this Crossfire league sounds great. Do they only run on Saturdays? What time? Unfortunately, my schedule is really tight right now, but I would love to get into a league or at least have an informal DSP poker night for rFactor. I was there last night for about an hour, but no one showed on the servers.

Just an FYI, the DSP F3 server has now been updated to v1.2 - I really like the changes in v1.2 - Even if I can't join you guys in the Crossfire league, I would love to get some driving tips and setups from you all. The F3's are a blast. I even get much better frame rates using them.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:41 am

Don,

I tried to join the F3 server after his qualification and a bit of MotoGP poker night but didn't see anybody there.

We have a racing night conflict....MotoGP3 is on Tuesdays and so is rFactor lol. We might have to rethink this.

As for Crossfire, yes they run their series on Saturdays. There's a required "driver's meeting" at 5:45 on Ventrilo voice chat, then the qualification starts at 6PM PST. It's really a hell of a group...I've never been so impressed by a series of real drivers, and I've only been there a week.

And I have to thank Cory too...once I got some setup help from him and watched him turn a few laps, I realized I had a huge flaw in my driving style. I was always "on the gas/on the brake"; very little dead time as far as pedals go. Once I started braking a little less and coasting the car through the corners, I shot my time down to a 1:16.2-.7 consistently.

You really should look into Crossfire, bud. If for no other reason, they have a dedicated F3 server that's up 24/7 (and they don't allow non-series drivers to run on at any time) for practice. You can hop in there at practically any time of the evening and find guys to practice with and compare lap times and lines with. The community always makes a racing sim, and these guys rock.

www.crossfiremotorsports.net

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:39 pm

I agree! Grt in NOW DON! He is going to close openings soon if not within the next day or so (maybe today) There was one guy that didn't show up lastnight to trial out with Grant so you MAY be able to get in. Regardless, send him an email ladanyi@bellsouth.net his name is Joel, and sign up on the site www.crossfiremotorsports.net

Mention our Terry, Grant, and I and hopefully yo will be good to go. That is if you want in.

You two are welcome for the help, I know I will need it some day and don't want to be stuck in the cold.

Terry, I knew that as soon as you started to watch my lines etc that you would pick it up. I sat and watched you and could tell you were going into the corners pretty hard with a lot of brakes! I wrote it off to diference in driver style. But obviously you adapted to the changes to make things better! See y'all tonight!

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 3:39 pm

Thanks for the info guys. Unfortunately Saturdays (and weekends in general) are completely out for me now for consistent gaming. Tuesday is my only relatively open night. I guess I need to get back up to speed in MotoGP 3. My gaming is so limited right now its just hard to pick anything else besides rFactor.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:39 am

Well, I practiced online a bit more last night. I'm now running consistantly in the mid 1:18s, and had one lap at 1:17.6 (no idea where that one came from!) It's cool to be able to just hop in and work on your car while having other guys out there to offer setup tips and advice. All the guys I've met online so far have been more than helpful, a great group. I have a friend at work who just picked up rFactor and says he'd like to join once he gets used to the game (and if there's room!)

I've been running laps in my race setup, carrying 15 laps worth of fuel. Is this what most of you guys are doing, or have you been working on your qualifying setup first?

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 1:12 pm

Grant, I am developing a race setup first. I think I will then be able to change fuel load only for qual. Both Joel and David said thats what thay did, no changes only fuel

Terry, the 1:14's you saw were their low fuel loads. CRAZY Though huh! I went with a low fuel load and only shaved a couple tenths (got in to HIGH 15's barley) A few of these guys are crazy fast! It gives me something to shoot for, and it will make finishing well that much more rewarding as you stated last week. You are used to being the guy all are gunning for, now you are doing the aiming! Makes for a frustrating but FUn challenge IMO. Tire strategy will be interesting to say the least. Also go full downforce on both wings now. I am working with that now. I don't have to work near as hard and think it MAY help tires last a little longer (I HOPE)

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 10:04 am

I just saw that there is an Australian V8 Supercar mod out for rFactor. I'm downloading it as I type, I think that series is awesome. You can get it from www.ausorc.com.

Practiced a bit more for Crossfire last night, now running in the mid 1:17's. Had a setup that got me into the 1:16's, but once the tires got heated up the times dropped off, so I'm sticking with the 1:17 one for the race, unless I can get the other to last longer. Cory said last night that he heard some of the guys were going to try to make the race with only one stop! I don't know how they are going to pull that off, after 10 I'm getting slick, and I'm hoping to milk it for 15 laps with my current setup.

I was messing around with the replay editor, and did a short video of my qualification session to test. I was able to make the video and play it on my DVD player on my TV, very cool. I like messing with that, I plan on making DVD's of all the Crossfire races I run. The look on my wifes face when I put it in was priceless, but hey, my daughter thought it was cool. I pointed at the screen and showed her which one was Daddy's race car, and she kept saying "No, MY race car!" Hmmm, is 2 years old too young to get a go kart?

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:31 am

Congrats to Cory on his podium finish Saturday night in the Crossfire F3 race. 23 Drivers started, and after some strange glitches with the race start it finally got underway. There was a big wreck in the chicane on lap 2 that collected about 5 cars (one of the guys got lag and when it cleared up he was in the middle of the track getting pummelled). I was able to pick my way through the wreckage OK, and ended up with a 10th place finish. I had a couple bouts of very close racing too, in fact I was only a few feet behind the 9th place car at the finish.

It's very cool running with these guys, they are very good and I didn't see any stupid moves at all (even from me!) They make it very easy to be comfortable and race close. I got an offer to join the PCRacers team, so that will be cool, they have some custom cars all painted up. Can't wait for the next race!

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 12:31 pm

Very cool. I had to take my family to the Fresno Zoo, and that's 2 hours away. I left early in the morning and didn't even make it back until about 7:30PM my time, so the race would have been over for about 30 mins at that point.

Glad to see Cory get the podium. How many stops did people end up making with the new 1.2 patch?

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:00 pm

I ended up making 2, as I think most guys did. The winner made 2 but had a pretty unique strategy. He had a full load of fuel, and only changed tires when he came into the pits. Since the tires take only a couple seconds he was in and out fast, a very good idea that paid off. Of course, the fact that he was fast helped a bit! I think we may be seeing that srategy come into play again next week.

My tires held up better than I expected, which most likely shows that I'm not driving them near enough to their limit. My driving style is one of the main things I'll be working on this week.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 10:27 pm

From the official rFactor website:

10.11.05 - Progress of first rFactor update

Here is a quick list of some of the things we are currently working on and hope to provide shortly in our first rFactor update.

-Reduced video memory usage, and automatic texture reduction if video memory is filled to capacity. An in-game usage meter is also provided.

-Many graphics optimizations including shadows and headlights. Go ahead, try Max Shadow Detail.

-Basic administrator features for the dedicated server. Additional features in future updates.

-New information displayed in Replay Fridge (driver names, lap times, speed, etc.).

-New expanded and accurate results files which will be compatible with RaceCast XML parsers.

-Much reduced tendency for AIs to rear end the player, and many other AI improvements. They have been given a firm warning about their recent behavior.

-Blue flag and full-course yellow improvements and changes.

-In-game field of view (FOV) option.

-Improved online play including additional collision checks to prevent remote vehicles from appearing to go through walls., most notable at Joesville and the rFactor 400.

-New track layout: Sardian Long, a very challenging city course that requires patience to allow the rhythm of the circuit to unfold. Requires stamina.

-Tons of bug fixes and miscellaneous improvements.

Please note: Before installing the update, we recommend you revert any original files that you modified to the release version (1020). We will also provide an updated version of the full installer for fresh installations.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:29 pm

Thanks guys! Felt good to get my first sim racing podium

Patience is all it took and a soft foot when the tires wore. I ended up making 2 stops also, but I think I COULD have done 3 and finished just as well as I really stretched my tires and got pretty slow towards the end of both runs. I only ran 10 laps after the last stop. Joel was talking about making ONE stop and it ended up he couldn't. The guy that won (another new guy Michael Sumney) did say he took fuel every pit. Whether I believe that or not has yet to be determined. I guess if he took enough fuel every stop to get him to his next his stops would still be quick. So who knows.

I think the patch coming up may cover a bit more then that. A guy in the league is beta testing the patch right now. He is also the guy that developed the Birmingham mod. He said there would be a lot of great things brought to the game. He also spoke of some other things but I am not sure if they are making it into this patch or not. (team chat is one of them)

Wish you was there Terry, I was wondering about ya!

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:42 am

Well, are the Crossfire boys getting ready for tomorrow night? I was on a bit practicing last night, Cory is fast as usual. You were flying down the straights dude, I guess you are running pretty low wings? I was at first, but the car was just a bit too skittish for me in the infield, so I pumped them up a wee bit to F5 and R10. I'm in the 1:23's, and at this point am just concerning myself with having a car I can be comfortable driving close to other guys for a full race. My current setup feels nice, and gives me some nice control for maneuvering around other spinning cars! (That is when it's not my car spinning...) I also have to work on driving a consistant line, it seems I change it every lap. Must be my ADHD!

Lee at PC Racers did paint up a car for me, check it out:

Looks like the new carset won't be ready for tomorrow, but this is what I'll be driving once it's done.

Will you be there Saturday Terry?

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 11:02 am

Probably not. I reformatted my PC and haven't reinstalled rFactor yet. If I do it tonight I'll need some serious practice laps and a decent setup or I'll just be more of a hazard than it might be worth.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 1:22 pm

Well, like I said my setup is pretty stable, if not as fast as some of the others. I can shoot it to you if you like. There seem to be 2 main areas that guys are losing it; braking for the first turn after coming off of the oval, and the slight left-hander over the hill in the infield. As long as you can get safely past those I don't think you'll be much of a hazard.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 6:35 pm

1 and 5 on the wings

Terry, you better make it man! I missed you last week. Come on, it will put a sim smile on your face

Russ has posted his setup on the yahoo groups, guys are running damn fast with it.

Grant, 23's will be fine if you can do it for a full fuel/tire run. I didn't dip below 22's until I hit 20 laps lastnight

Then I ran afew 23's and a 25. I am still debating on my # of stops!

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 9:27 pm

Believe it or not I'm going to try for only one stop. I ran 78 total laps last night, with a couple 20+ lap stints, and while the times did drop a bit the tires for the most part felt OK. I figure with the fuel load getting lighter as the tires wear it is almost a wash. We'll see how it goes during the race I suppose.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:22 pm

oh, I believe it! I know I can do a 1 stopper, but I am just not sure I want to take the risk of spinning or losing a few seconds a lap for the last 5-6 laps of each stint.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:02 am

True, but how many seconds would that extra pitstop cost you? I think the trade off might be worth it.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:36 pm

I am running mid to low 21's for a good amount of laps. Once the tires go, the car is VERY skiddish and feels like I could crash every lap LOL! So if I lose 1-2 secs a lap for 7-8 laps that would be 14-16 secs plus a car thats tough to keep planted straight. With no pit speed limit, I might lose that on a stop, BUT keep in mind the pits actually cut out the tri oval. Its gonna be interesting man. I think my only chance to even think of winning is with 2 stops and hoping I can make time and pass the lose one stop guys.

I dunno, I may be wrong, but atleast I know I will be giving it all I have on every lap!!

Digital Sportspage

rFactor for PC

Woo hoo I'm in!

Australian V8 mod released.