Stunts Forum

ZakStunts - the Competition => Competition and Website => Topic started by: dreadnaut on December 20, 2014, 01:02:27 AM

Title: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on December 20, 2014, 01:02:27 AM
I'd say: F40 and Lotus out, Skyline and Speedgate in.

Although I would love to drive that Subaru (http://forum.stunts.hu/index.php?topic=2815.0) :D
Title: Re: Cars for 2015
Post by: BonzaiJoe on December 20, 2014, 04:32:29 AM
I think the big question is: When can we ride JTK's van?
Title: Re: Cars for 2015
Post by: Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister on December 20, 2014, 08:21:52 AM
I'd say: only original cars in 2015.

But if some other cars must remain: I'd vote for Melange in first place, the traditional custom car, then F40, because I like it since my victory with it, Skoda, because it is fun to drive it and GT3, since it is not too bad. So Skoda instead of McLaren and nothing more.
Title: Re: Cars for 2015
Post by: CTG on December 20, 2014, 09:23:20 AM
Quote from: BonzaiJoe on December 20, 2014, 04:32:29 AM
I think the big question is: When can we ride JTK's van?

Well, I have the 3D shape... ::)
Title: Re: Cars for 2015
Post by: CTG on December 20, 2014, 09:27:38 AM
I think we should rotate the custom cars. We haven't used Xylocaine and Zapper's Porsche 911 so far (the two Toyota cars are way too slow for the competition).

Absolute no for Ford Ranger, Superkart and Nissan Skyline.
Neutral about F40, Lotus, McLaren and GT3.
Supporting Melange, Xylocaine, Speedgate, Porsche 911 and any fast newbies.

I also have some "almost ready" custom vehicles, but the chance for finishing them in the following two weeks is quite low. However, if I find some motivation, one of them can be done (most likely: Dodge Challenger).
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on December 23, 2014, 12:16:59 PM
What about public replays in the first half of the month?  It would be newbie friendly and make for more interesting leading time battles.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: alanrotoi on December 24, 2014, 01:24:32 AM
So 15 days/track is discarded?
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on December 25, 2014, 03:51:36 PM
Quote from: dreadnaut on December 23, 2014, 12:16:59 PM
What about public replays in the first half of the month?  It would be newbie friendly and make for more interesting leading time battles.

Why not? A great chance for middle class pipsqueaks to earn some LTB points. Top dogs won't show their tricks in the first two weeks.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister on December 25, 2014, 05:27:11 PM
Good idea. It would make r@cers think whether it is worthy to go for LTB with a very strong and early replay or to hide tricks and win the track. It would make it a lot harder to get all 12+2 pts.

Another idea to keep remaining leading time hours - if someone has 47 leading time hours, I think he would deserve to need only 1 hours to secure his +1 pts.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on December 25, 2014, 05:30:47 PM
Quote from: Akoss Poo on December 25, 2014, 05:27:11 PM
Another idea to keep remaining leading time hours - if someone has 47 leading time hours, I think he would deserve to need only 1 hours to secure his +1 pts.

/me is supporting this idea.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on December 28, 2014, 09:37:49 PM
Duplode is watching this topic, böff!
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Duplode on December 28, 2014, 11:03:37 PM
Quote from: CTG on December 28, 2014, 09:37:49 PM
Duplode is watching this topic, böff!

Just to add my two cents before the year is over. I have no strong opinions on any of the proposed rule changes. In any case, two weeks of public replays could be an interesting experiment; I'm still not convinced that two week races would work well at this moment; and Akoss' suggestion about LTB, though slightly complicated, sounds like a nice little improvement. (I suppose it would work through a counter that would be reset every time the pipsqueak reached 48 hours of LTB in a race?) As for cars, I would like Melange and F40 to stay, while Lotus might be let go for a while. Bringing Speedgate back would be nice as well, though that might make the pool too biased towards fast cars. And the Challenger would be fun if it existed...
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on December 29, 2014, 12:51:59 AM
Quote from: Akoss Poo on December 25, 2014, 05:27:11 PMAnother idea to keep remaining leading time hours - if someone has 47 leading time hours, I think he would deserve to need only 1 hours to secure his +1 pts.

How would this work exactly? Does it carry from one race to the next one? And what if another pipsqueak has 48 hours all in the current race, which one would get the point?


I've got optional public replays working. I'm going to upload the changes after the end of ZCT161 for safety though, stuff might explode as usual :P

And when Zak is back we'll see what he thinks about the 15-days idea.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister on December 29, 2014, 10:34:48 AM
Quote from: dreadnaut on December 29, 2014, 12:51:59 AM
Quote from: Akoss Poo on December 25, 2014, 05:27:11 PMAnother idea to keep remaining leading time hours - if someone has 47 leading time hours, I think he would deserve to need only 1 hours to secure his +1 pts.

How would this work exactly? Does it carry from one race to the next one? And what if another pipsqueak has 48 hours all in the current race, which one would get the point?


I've got optional public replays working. I'm going to upload the changes after the end of ZCT161 for safety though, stuff might explode as usual :P

And when Zak is back we'll see what he thinks about the 15-days idea.

It would be carried from one race to the next race, until it would be worthy for a point. If one collects 46 hours in four races, it would be carried to the fifth one. Only two hours is needed then, but only if this 48 hours is the second longest leading hour data at present (on the track, including carried times). Of course if this pipsqueak is collecting for example 10 hours, but for the 58 hours isn't worthy for a point, he would carry 58 hours to the sixth track. With this, no leading time would be in vain.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on December 29, 2014, 11:12:27 AM
However, it would not mean a real change if an addict sends a fuckin' strong lap on the first day of the race.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on December 29, 2014, 02:33:05 PM
Quote from: Akoss Poo on December 29, 2014, 10:34:48 AM
It would be carried from one race to the next race, until it would be worthy for a point. If one collects 46 hours in four races, it would be carried to the fifth one. Only two hours is needed then, but only if this 48 hours is the second longest leading hour data at present (on the track, including carried times). Of course if this pipsqueak is collecting for example 10 hours, but for the 58 hours isn't worthy for a point, he would carry 58 hours to the sixth track. With this, no leading time would be in vain.

Sounds nice: it would prevent races ending with only +2 LTB, and no-one getting the +1 bonus.

Public-15-days could have a similar effect though - how do you see them working together? or are they alternatives?
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on December 29, 2014, 02:35:57 PM
Quote from: dreadnaut on December 29, 2014, 02:33:05 PM
Public-15-days could have a similar effect though - how do you see them working together? or are they alternatives?

Together.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Shoegazing Leo on December 29, 2014, 03:05:43 PM
Volkswagen Beetle [:P]
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on December 29, 2014, 04:26:36 PM
Quote from: Shoegazing Leo on December 29, 2014, 03:05:43 PM
Volkswagen Beetle [:P]

Build it.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: zaqrack on January 04, 2015, 03:56:02 PM
Hi All,

apologies for the delay. I have avoided the forum for a whole month!  :o
Have read through the rules and here is my opinion. Up for discussion, would love to start the season by mid-January.

Cars:
This is really up to you. I am all-in for more custom cars, but I know the coefficient system cannot handle more properly. So we will keep the current number of custom cars and prefer to rotate 2 or 3 from the current set. I will NOT include the Skoda though, and would love to see a new, formerly unused car.

Bonuses:
2014 was the last season with PTB. I prefer not to use this bonus anymore
Keeping remaining LTB hours: I do get your point, but this would be an additional layer to code as LTB is currently not stored in the database. I think the whole idea of not giving LTB under a certain threshold period makes no sense with public replays, so I would cancel this rule altogether and let pipsqueaks earn LTB even with one hour of leading.

Schedule and frequency:
Two week races are a good idea but I doubt it would work (read: I doubt I would be able to perform updates so often).
Moreover, it conflicts with the current point system. This would mean at least 25 races per year - we should set at least the worst 7-8 not to count in the yearly score. Also, a change of such magnitude would need a major revamp of the site code (back-end and presentation: consider a 25-column seasonal scoreboard...), which I am not ready to do - not sure if dreadnaut is willing to do the task.
Given the usual dead period in the second half of December and the delayed season start I would opt for 4-week races starting mid-January running till mid-December, giving some time for all to rest by the end of 2015.
We could also consider 3-week cycles (a nice compromise) and 16 races.
In any case, if we increase track frequency we need to store replays on the server to automate updates - see the next point. In fact, judging from my lack of committment in the past couple of months this would be required as an added function to keep ZakStunts running stable .

Public replays in the first half of the month:
YES!!! YES!!! This is a long-time planned feature, only I was unable to code it well - but I understand dreadnaut has coded most of the required stuff so it could be possible. So let's give it a go. Submitted replays are stored on the server and accessible for all in the first 15(14) days of the race, then the rest appears upon track completion. 

Tracks:
As i mentioned earlier, I would prefer to move towards 80% guest tracks. We already have a track submission form working, we should enable it for all to be able to submit track candidates, which the manager can review and assign as a competition track with a simple click of a button.

Now: your turn. Also very interested in dreadnaut's feasibility analysis :)






Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on January 04, 2015, 05:56:18 PM
Hello Zak, and welcome back!

Speaking about code:
Personally, I think public replays would be a great addition, for a third or half of the race days. Please keep a couple of quiet days at the end too!

I feel that two-weeks race would be a bit too short, with a deadline every other week. I'm ok with monthly races, even 11 if ZakStunts starts at the end of the month.

In the meanwhile, we can host live races and we have USC. I was also thinking about writing some sort of "race-in-a-box" page, to make it easy to upload a track and start a small competition, but that would be further down the road :)
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on January 04, 2015, 07:19:57 PM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 04, 2015, 03:56:02 PM
2014 was the last season with PTB. I prefer not to use this bonus anymore

Do you mean EB?
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: zaqrack on January 04, 2015, 11:17:31 PM
Quote from: CTG on January 04, 2015, 07:19:57 PM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 04, 2015, 03:56:02 PM
2014 was the last season with PTB. I prefer not to use this bonus anymore

Do you mean EB?

yes
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: alanrotoi on January 05, 2015, 12:14:32 AM
Public replays would be great with many newbie pipsqueaks but this is not the case since years. If we are only old pipsqueaks what's the meaning of this work?
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on January 05, 2015, 12:42:11 AM
Quote from: alanrotoi on January 05, 2015, 12:14:32 AM
If we are only old pipsqueaks what's the meaning of this work?

Some of the middle class pipsqueaks (or those who have no team) can improve a lot with that - independently of their experience.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on January 05, 2015, 12:51:12 AM
Quote from: alanrotoi on January 05, 2015, 12:14:32 AM
Public replays would be great with many newbie pipsqueaks but this is not the case since years. If we are only old pipsqueaks what's the meaning of this work?

I see two advantages for (partial) public replays:
So, without new pipsqueaks we get only the first point, but the second makes it more likely for new pipsqueaks to stay :)   And we can then advertise the competition as "easy to start, learn by example!"
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: alanrotoi on January 05, 2015, 02:07:34 PM
Still no answer, but hey it's ok. It won't be my season anyway :)
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister on January 05, 2015, 02:58:31 PM
Well, I don't really think that we can count with new r@cers. It's 2015... if somebody wanted to find his old favourite game online, I think he or she already did it a long ago. So I think we should rather keep the activity of current r@cers alive somehow, or maybe call the forum-active, but driving-inactive r@cers back somehow.

The public replay thing is okay for me.

I feel sad for the Skoda, though I accept it.

In my opinion we should use less and less custom/cheat cars.

It was my first full season in 2014 and I got the Endurance Bonus for that, so I'm fine with this bonus.

I was against Leading Time Bonus for years, but I say let's give a try with the new public replay addition.

I think we don't need shorter track intervals than 1 month. The activity isn't the highest... people is complaining about lack of time... why should we organize more races?

I would like to see a chosen car for each track instead of car bonus system... but that's only an impossible dream I think.

How the new point system would work? Will we neglect the three worst races again?
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on January 05, 2015, 05:07:38 PM
Although I have already summarized my opinion, let me say a few words for each changes.

First of all: I'm okay with any kind of rules, because I think they won't really change pipsqueaks' attitude. Addicts will send damned strong replays even in the first two weeks, even if those lap will be published.

LTB: the current system is fine, working for ages. However, giving a point after 1 hour of leading... I don't really like it. Imagine if Short Cutfinder sends 1:40.55 right after publishing the track. He's leading for a single hour, then Mark Nailwood comes with 50.50 and he keeps the first place for the rest of the month. In this example, Short Cutfinder does not deserve a bonus point just for being there at the beginning. Some kind of treshold should be kept, e.g. counter starts when there are already 3 pipsqueaks on the scoreboard. Akoss Poo's idea with rolling LT is still a great idea, I'll use it in USC.

EB: missing a single race (e.g. personal troubles) makes a battle between two pipsqueaks too unbalanced. It should be erased.

Cars: custom cars are organic parts of Stunts world from the beginning (crazy cheat cars from the 90s, Melange, Zapper's car pack, etc.), we should not consider them "unnatural". 5 custom car is enough, with yearly rotation. New models should have the advantage.

Number of races: as for me, 3 weeks per race is more than enough, but a season should not contain too much races. What about a special timetable with 3 weeks/race + 1 week of a special event in each month (OWOOT? USL-like tournament rounds? Anything else?). ZakStunts would still consist of 12 races/year.

Pointsystem: 12-11-10... is okay, it should not be changed. Maybe a participation dependent model would be a bit better (something like in USC, but optimized for higher number of pipsqueaks).

Public replays: absolute agreement.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister on January 05, 2015, 08:33:42 PM
If custom cars stay, I would still vote for the previously mentioned cars. Though GT3 and McLaren would need the car bonus system to be ignored. They're so special cars. On tracks designed for them, it can be really enjoyable, but if not, they can be really annoying. 2013's GT3 track was a lucky situation, that track fitted the car.

The car bonus system's other disadvantage is the car speed/track length ratio. Situations like on last year's Bridge The Gap track can occur. A long track - slow car combination can result in annoyingly long driven times. I think when more than 1:50-2:00 have to be driven, the fun factor of the track disappears. Maybe not with the LM002, because it is a really slow car combined with a good handling.

LTB: I totally agree with CTG's sentences.

Special events: I think they can take place even besides the basic race. Maybe in the middle of the month, because it was proved that the activity is the lowest then.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on January 05, 2015, 08:40:57 PM
Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 05, 2015, 08:33:42 PM
Special events: I think they can take place even besides the basic race. Maybe in the middle of the month, because it was proved that the activity is the lowest then.

Hmmm... sounds reasonable.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on January 05, 2015, 09:59:08 PM
Quote from: alanrotoi on January 05, 2015, 02:07:34 PM
Still no answer, but hey it's ok. It won't be my season anyway :)
Then I don't understand the question, sorry :(

Public replays are not that much work anyway, because they come from storing replays in the database. And that work needs to be done because Zak is probably fed up to comb through every submission, every month, to manually find the correct replays. 162 races, 20+ replays per race, Zak has gone through thousands of replays for us!

On the other end, I am a newbie and I found starting on ZakStunts extremely difficult and unrewarding. Joining a team made it easier, but I was really lucky to race with Renato and Friker, see their laps and learn their tricks. The normal level of frustration for newbies is much higher, and I am not surprised if people appear, race once and never again.

I have friends who loved Stunts and would enjoy a race, but ZakStunts is a blind tool-assisted speed-run with monthly deadlines, not basic racing. Speed-run is fun, tool-assisted is inevitable (RH) but blind is frustrating for most people. Remove blindness with public replays, and I believe more people would be interested.

After all, I have more fun on USC than ZakStunts for exactly this reason. I can look at a couple of CTG, AbuRaf or Duplode's laps and come up with my own decent replays, learn what can be done, where to look for shortcuts, etc. Without a team, in ZakStunts, I can only facepalm when the podium replays are published.

Quote from: CTG on January 05, 2015, 05:07:38 PM
LTB: the current system is fine, working for ages. However, giving a point after 1 hour of leading... I don't really like it.
Do you think something like 6 or 12 hours would be better?

Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 05, 2015, 08:33:42 PM
Special events: I think they can take place even besides the basic race. Maybe in the middle of the month, because it was proved that the activity is the lowest then.
I like what Akoss suggestes. Live races, suprise tracks, OWOOT, anything actually. Maybe we can take turns or book a month? E.g., I'll organise something for January, CTG for February, etc?
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on January 05, 2015, 10:18:30 PM
Quote from: dreadnaut on January 05, 2015, 09:59:08 PM
Do you think something like 6 or 12 hours would be better?

Yes. Or, as I mentioned above, LT counting should start when there are already 2 or 3 pipsqueaks on the scoreboard.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on January 05, 2015, 11:31:11 PM
Quote from: CTG on January 05, 2015, 10:18:30 PMYes. Or, as I mentioned above, LT counting should start when there are already 2 or 3 pipsqueaks on the scoreboard.

That sounds like a good idea, but would be a pain to implement in the current system. Let's say 2016 ::)
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: alanrotoi on January 06, 2015, 12:01:17 AM
I mean: There aren't new pipsqueaks since years (old game, none advertising, etc) so I don't understand why to make rules for them.

It's just a comment.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on January 06, 2015, 12:06:47 AM
Quote from: alanrotoi on January 06, 2015, 12:01:17 AM
I mean: There aren't new pipsqueaks since years

Dreadnaut? Afullo?

Post-ZCT100 pipsqueaks are newbies.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Duplode on January 06, 2015, 12:51:31 AM
Quote from: dreadnaut on January 05, 2015, 09:59:08 PM
ZakStunts is a blind tool-assisted speed-run with monthly deadlines, not basic racing. Speed-run is fun, tool-assisted is inevitable (RH) but blind is frustrating for most people. Remove blindness with public replays, and I believe more people would be interested.

That's an insightful way of putting it!
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Chulk on January 06, 2015, 06:22:58 AM
I agree with almost everything you guys suggested, except for shorter races. The main reason I haven't joined for a while is that I lack the time to race seriously, so I'd rather not race at all (I hate sending listfillers). On the other hand, public replay take away some of the time needed to find the shortcuts and main line, so it could work.
This year should be a little lighter than 2014, so I'll probably join.

PS: Live races when activity is lowest would be awesome!
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister on January 06, 2015, 01:44:32 PM
Another idea: if the car bonus system stays, I would recommend to help popular cars to be re-driven again and somehow hinder the unpopular ones. For example the bonus percentage growth could be higher for popular cars and lower for unpopular ones (based for example on a car popularity index obtained from the votes of the regular non-ghost drivers of 2014).

80 percent guest tracks. Well, much better idea than using retro/mirrored/reverse tracks. I would build one this year again, dunno when exactly. I would really like to see tracks from regular pipsqueaks. Idea: guest track designing option for the best driver of the previous track who haven't built a track yet in the given year (can be refused by him/her).
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on January 06, 2015, 11:39:23 PM
Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 06, 2015, 01:44:32 PM
Another idea: if the car bonus system stays, I would recommend to help popular cars to be re-driven again and somehow hinder the unpopular ones.

I'd like a more flexible bonus system, since good cars sometimes get stuck at the bottom of the scale for months, while others are used more than once. Voting might be complicated though.

Maybe each month the designer of the track could have 10-15 bonus points and assign them to the cars he thinks the track is better suited for?

Quote from: alanrotoi on January 06, 2015, 12:01:17 AMIt's just a comment.

But Alan, do you think that public replays are just useless without newbies, or that they would be a problem for everyone else?
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: zaqrack on January 07, 2015, 09:41:23 AM
Quote from: dreadnaut on January 06, 2015, 11:39:23 PM
Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 06, 2015, 01:44:32 PM
Another idea: if the car bonus system stays, I would recommend to help popular cars to be re-driven again and somehow hinder the unpopular ones.

I'd like a more flexible bonus system, since good cars sometimes get stuck at the bottom of the scale for months, while others are used more than once. Voting might be complicated though.

Maybe each month the designer of the track could have 10-15 bonus points and assign them to the cars he thinks the track is better suited for?


This is a nice idea but would lead to the bonus inflation problem we had earlier - ever-increasing bonuses lead to ridiculous amount of distortion between the driven time and displayed time amongst the top cars.
Given the fact the usual points rotation is around 40 coefficient points / month, I would say it would be a fair decision to let the track designer distribute +10 and -10 points amongst the cars. 

I also think he +1 / +2 / +3 increase system has little use. We could use +3 all the time. It really makes no difference whether the winner cars get -40 or -42 points distributed. This would make automation of car coefficient maintenance also a lot simpler.

As for the other rule changes, my suggestion is the following based on the discussion:

- 4 week track intervals, ending always on Saturday evenings GMT. Preferred start of season this weekend or next weekend.
- First two weeks (14 days) with public replays, last 2 days (Friday-Saturday) quiet days as till now.
- LTB hours do not accumulate but we lower the threshold of +1LTB to 24 hours
- no EB, 3 worst results do not count.
 



 
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister on January 07, 2015, 10:11:08 AM
'Fantastic'...

That would mean only slight changes. For me:

- 3 tracks can be missed without any penalty (no EB)
- the first two weeks can be dismissed, my only work can be to download the other drivers' replays, then drive and maybe go for +1 LTB which would be easier
- the same amount of shitty cars have to be driven throughout the year, no suitable car-track combo can be chosen
- no past drivers will come back since the format and the spirit of the competition stays the same
- programming difficulty/convenience factors are still more important than the fun factor of the drivers
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: zaqrack on January 07, 2015, 11:30:55 AM
Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 07, 2015, 10:11:08 AM
- 3 tracks can be missed without any penalty (no EB)
Should it be two tracks instead?
I think the EB is highly counter-productive and has played a significant role in decreasing the number of serious pipsqueaks joining in the midst of the season.

Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 07, 2015, 10:11:08 AM
- the first two weeks can be dismissed, my only work can be to download the other drivers' replays, then drive and maybe go for +1 LTB which would be easier
This is a true if you are result-oriented but many pipsqueaks do not shoot for the podium necessarily but come to have fun and enjoy racing - the initial days/weeks where the right car and the right shortcuts have to be found is the most fun period for them - and they do not really send replays in the second half of the month, when the fun is over. Replay sending and LTB statistics clearly show this pattern.

Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 07, 2015, 10:11:08 AM
- the same amount of shitty cars have to be driven throughout the year, no suitable car-track combo can be chosen
Not true. +10 bonus point added to a car is plenty - and the track designer can decide to add all to one car. Of course you cannot "revive" the Indy right after an Indy race, but you can pick any car in the "pack" and add +10 to make it a serious contender. You don't like the two cars with a high bonus currently? Add -5 to both. All you have to do is to be the track designer - so there goes the motivation factor to encourage drivers to submit tracks :)

Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 07, 2015, 10:11:08 AM
- no past drivers will come back since the format and the spirit of the competition stays the same
I don't think they would come back if the format would change. They may come back for the special events, live races and other contests such as something like the Christmas Cup. 

Quote from: Akoss Poo on January 07, 2015, 10:11:08 AM
- programming difficulty/convenience factors are still more important than the fun factor of the drivers
All these factors are important. If you read my above replies carefully, you can see the fun factor of the drivers has taken a role in all suggestions. Most pipsqueaks do not come to win. They come to play. The rules and system must encourage these pipsqueaks to stay.
Convenience is also important as I was seriously considering shutting down ZakStunts if not for the automatic reply-publishing engine implemented by dreadnaut. Programming difficulty is also an important factor as well, as I would rather not delay the competition start by several weeks to allow dreadnaut finish coding significant changes to the system. (would take even more time if I would need to do the coding :))

Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Usrin on January 07, 2015, 06:49:21 PM
Unfortunately I was also away from the forum for a long time - but now I'm looking forward to the new season!

My opinion about the suggestions, briefly:

- Custom cars: I still can't see them as true parts of Stunts, so I'd prefer to use them less often. But if I could keep only one, that would be Skoda!

- LTB: for me it doesn't really matter. :)

- EB: I agree that it should be forgotten. Regular pipsqueaks will be still rewarded, as they can have more weak results which do not count.

- Intervals: I agree with Akoss Poo. Some of us (like me) can hardly find time for racing even within a month. Shorter periods would mean less pipsqueaks on a track.

- Cars: it seems that the opinions are different. Can't we have the bonus system in a part of the year, and tracks designated for a given car in some months?

- Public replays: I don't really see the point of it. Especially as long as beginners (if there are any...) can race in USC if they prefer this style.

- Special events: that would be fun, but I can only hope I'll have time for participating... Long racing periods (1 month also for the special tracks) are preferred.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: dreadnaut on January 09, 2015, 10:25:18 PM
If during the season we see that public replays are a problem we can try and reduce the public period to 10 days or a week, instead of 15. But I'd rather give them a chance instead of not even trying.

Zak: tomorrow afternoon I have time to complete the changes and test them. I expect to be done before evening :)  For the public replays, I'll leave a parameter, so we can go from zero to any number of days of public replays, and you can choose the setting.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Shoegazing Leo on January 09, 2015, 10:31:50 PM
I'm trying to understand the "new" cars's system. A lot of things changeg beetween 2006 and 2015.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Duplode on January 09, 2015, 11:30:37 PM
Quote from: Shoegazing Leo on January 09, 2015, 10:31:50 PM
I'm trying to understand the "new" cars's system. A lot of things changeg beetween 2006 and 2015.

Summary: pick any car from the 16 (11+5) available. Your time will be corrected by subtracting the bonus percentage for your car in the current race. To ensure all cars are used eventually, cars in the top 3 lose bonus for the next race, while cars outside of the top 6 gain extra bonus.
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: zaqrack on January 14, 2015, 08:20:10 AM
any additional comments?

If none, we will start the race this weekend...
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on January 14, 2015, 08:44:14 AM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 14, 2015, 08:20:10 AM
any additional comments?

If none, we will start the race this weekend...

Cars?
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: zaqrack on January 17, 2015, 11:06:28 PM
Quote from: CTG on January 14, 2015, 08:44:14 AM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 14, 2015, 08:20:10 AM
any additional comments?

If none, we will start the race this weekend...

Cars?

Lotus, GT3 and McLaren out
Porsche 911, Xylocaine and Speedgate in
 
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: zaqrack on January 18, 2015, 01:37:45 AM
we also have plenty of new rules this season. Please go and read them!
http://zak.stunts.hu/rules/2015
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: CTG on January 18, 2015, 01:44:26 AM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 17, 2015, 11:06:28 PM
Quote from: CTG on January 14, 2015, 08:44:14 AM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 14, 2015, 08:20:10 AM
any additional comments?

If none, we will start the race this weekend...

Cars?

Lotus, GT3 and McLaren out
Porsche 911, Xylocaine and Speedgate in
 


YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! :D
Title: Re: Cars and rules for 2015
Post by: Duplode on January 18, 2015, 02:15:12 AM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 17, 2015, 11:06:28 PM
Quote from: CTG on January 14, 2015, 08:44:14 AM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 14, 2015, 08:20:10 AM
any additional comments?

If none, we will start the race this weekend...

Cars?

Lotus, GT3 and McLaren out
Porsche 911, Xylocaine and Speedgate in


Cool. Gotta learn to drive Xylocaine then  :)