GRM Project Cars 2 - Series 8: Not bitter at all...

Oh yeah, I think you are right.  So, if no AIs is not a choice we want to consider, then we could leave things as they have been, as Dean suggested, or keep things the same but with damage off.

Maybe we could just have a small number of AI drivers. If there were only one or two of them, the chances of encountering one on the track after the first lap or two seems like it would be fairly small.

Either way (AIs with damage, AIs without damage) I'm ok with it. Now I am tired of listening to me whine about it.

What about the time progression though?

5x per our usual settings (that will simulate a 12 hr race) or 10x (to simulate a 24 hr race), or something slower (real time perhaps) so we don't have to race at night time?

I'm ok with whatever, but I figure I'd like to do some laps in the dark before the race if we will race in the dark.

In reply to T.J. :

I'm open to leaving it at 5x or bumping it up to 10x

In reply to BradLTL :

10x would let us see sunrise and finish in daylight. 5x would have finish at 2am. 

I think 10x may be better. Darkness will come sooner, but won’t last until the end. 

I’m out for tonight. Gotta get some brake issues solved on an old Rolls Royce before Friday. 

I forgot we were racing tonight. Hummmm. 

The race last night was a bit underwhelming.  It was looking like a dual match between Darkwing and Sauce and Dean and I.  Dean got a huge jump at the start and spoiled that run away, but Sauce got a bit close in the chicanes (visibility issues) and caused Dean to inspect the wall at high speed (then bounce back on track and get some serious body work done by an AI car).  Dean must have been in the pits at least a minute.  

No way I was keeping up with the twins, and Dean was so far out at that point I never saw him, so I just did laps.  Oh well.

First are foremost I need to apologize to Dean.  I thought I was clear, had no indicator and my spotter didn't say a word.  Since I thought I was clear and Dean said he got hit from behind I thought it was Dark who had done it, but in post-race discussion it turns out that I was the bad guy.  The spotter being mum was rather odd in this case because the entire rest of the race he wouldn't shut up any time Dark was even within sight of me.  At one point I was actually wondering if there was a way to shut off the spotter mid-race.  If the stewards want to add some points to my license/move points around I'm fine with it, I ruined his race and likely the season and that isn't cool.

I was bent last night more because it means an hour of just making laps instead of having fun racing you all.  But stuff happens just like the real world. 

As for my take.  I got a fantastic start.  The car hooked and I was gone passing 1st and 2nd and getting well clear of everyone well before the braking point in turn one.  I had to make my car a bit wide for the next couple corners until my tires came up a bit more in pressure and temps. 

As for my take on the crash.  I knew both sauce and Dark were itching to get by me but there really is no good place to do that until we get to the ftont strait.  Coming into the sweeper I purposefully took the low line as I can carry more speed there and it is the shorter way around.  I saw sauce come up next to me in the corner way out wide but I was able to get power down better and sooner so from the apex out he faded back.  I also saw him bobble a little.  It was also at this moment that I told everyone that trying 2 wide in the esses was a bad idea.  With no sauce in view  ( I looked using the buttons on my wheel) I assumed he was not there and I  thought that he would not try and push the issue since I had the position.  It turned out that as I came to the first apex (really a strait if you are on line on the right side of the track) someone was there and hit my left rear quarter or door.  This sent the car in to a slide with the tail going to the right.  It then snapped back to the left sending me head on into the wall on the right at WOT in 4th gear.  I bounced off the wall back across the grass and back on track and was pummeled by at least two more cars that were haling the mail.  I had 100 damage to the front and 80 in the rear with 3 of four suspension's in the red.  I could do no more than 10-15 mph or the car would spin.  It took me more than a minute to get back to the pits and I was in the pits for more than 4 minutes.  When it was over I was 2 laps  down and half a lap back from the leaders so about 5 minutes away from the leaders.  

If it means anything I did not get any proximity warnings either.  Am I disappointed?  Yes.  Not so much about where I finished I was irritated that I spent quite a bit of time trying to dial in a car for this that would at least let me dice it up with you all.  I may not be a contender for 1st place unless sauce and Dark have a mishap or if Darks pit crew can be bribed again.  But instead I spent an hour and a quarter just making laps. 

That is what gets me really irritated. AND that I let people know verbally NOT to try 2 wide though the esses and yet I got dumped about as bad as you can get dumped in the esses.

This week I was the Bug not the Windshield.  

Weirdly that was a good race for me. I bogged at the start and lost a couple places. That irritated me, so I tried to make them back up in the first 3 corners. It was going well until I overdrive the front end and pushed into an AI, I ended up in a half spin facing away from the track. Righting myself and getting back on track took me to last, my familiar place. But I wasn't too far behind the other cars and chased after them. I got around 1 and was coming around the back half of the track and got to see Dean. 

Over the next 28 laps, I slowly picked off cars and gained more places as the AI took to the pits. I chased the 4th place car hard and made an aggressive pass, but couldn't make the next corner stick. Lost it, hit the wall and took the first real damage of the race.   I made it to the pits only losing 2 spots (6th). When I came out I was in 12th about 30 seconds behind the next place. I wish I had TJs app to see the progression on how the all caught me that fast. 

In reply to BradLTL :

The app was a couple bucks iirc. Sauce may have captured the data. 

Sounds like I missed out this week. 

In reply to T.J. :

Yes, I had it on my old phone, but didn't rebuy it. 

In reply to BradLTL :

You don't need to rebuy, just download it again and log in, the license should transfer.  

As for the delta, it's a little hard to tell as the delta is done by lap and that is also the same lap that I pitted, but it appears that the AI was relatively close together and you took almost an extra minute in the pits relative to what they did. 

Ummm... can we talk about this....

https://www.slightlymadstudios.com/fast-furious-crossroads-speeds-onto-playstation-4-xbox-one-pc-in-may-2020/

WTH, it looks like it would have been a cool game in 2003.

Read the article but didn’t watch the trailer. I’m not excited about that. 

Without the Ring being double points, I would’ve just needed to finish 2nd to ‘win’ the series. With the double points, it’s more complicated. Sauce wins the series if he wins the Ring. 

In Albany on my way home. Will need to practice the Ring a bit more before Whateverday the race ends up being. 

Are we doing it on a week night?  2.4 hours starting at almost 10pm for those on the east coast is getting pretty late.

That said, my opinion shouldn't be counted much as my participation is questionable at best.

I’m hoping for a weekend night. 

I have it set for Saturday night.

Does that work for everyone's holiday schedules?

In reply to BradLTL :

Works for me. 

When I drive on the ring I get strange artifacts that seem to change each session. Typically the rear view mirror becomes a pixelated mess and the view out the windshield seems to include some shadows and maybe piddles that stay just in front of me. It’s like a strange reflection on the inside that just stays there. Anyone else getting something like this.  When it is just thd mirror it’s not too bad, but sometimes it makes it fairly difficult to see things clearly. 

I should be good for Saturday. 

Deans screw up  last week makes for an interesting points race.  I would say it’s up in the air, but I suspect Dean has a huge advantage in such a long race.... unless he “screws up” again...

I’ve been thinking about pit strategies this morning. I think I will need tires before I need fuel, but haven’t done more than 2 laps in a stint so far, so just guessing. 

Avoiding damage and staying on track and out of the pits will be key. 

Looks like a full tank will last for 9 laps (maybe 10 but may be cutting things close). 

Race will be 17 laps  My front tires are pretty beat after 5 laps. 

Not sure if a one stopper or a two stopper is the best to plan for. Damage may change whatever strategy is planned.

I started a 9 lap practice race, but didn't want to spend the time qualifying so I started at the back of the field.

• Picking your way through the AIs without getting damage is possible, but takes some patience to pick your spots where the risk is low.
• There are a couple places where AIs rear ended me, so watch out for that if one is close behind you on the Nordschliefe and you are getting ready to brake.
• I only did 4 laps before I quit, but got useful fuel usage and tire wear data. I now have my preferred strategy worked out. Trying to noodle out how the strategy will change when I have to make unexpected stop(s) for damage repair. I do want to run at least a half distance practice race to test out my plans...maybe Wed night.