www.stuntschallenge.net, automatic .RPL handling and competing

[wind]

There is a new Stunts web site opened at
www.stuntschallenge.net

It is a site where users can create an account and send RPL replays made with Broderbund 1.1 version. The replay is then turned by the web server automatically into a video that can be watched with flash player or downloaded as MP4 file. The times and stats of the replay are stored under the track so users can compete who makes fastest time in which track. The tracks are taken from the RPL file so there is no need to upload new tracks separately. Users can also download the tracks for trying to beat the time of another user. Replays can be commented and also DNF replays are stored separately, so funny crashes and clitches can be uploaded for others to laugh at as well.

Technically, it was all possible by running Stunts in modified DosBox by the web site as a background batch job.

The site was made with my friend. Maybe some of you like to check it out and see if it will become fun. It is not heavily tested yet so there might be some clitches but it seemed to work with 3 people so far.

There are no other social functions besides commenting and profiles, so it is in no competition with any other Stunts web sites or forums,  just a new idea.

[BonzaiJoe]

Wow - amazing job! This looks like a lot of fun. We need to think about how to use it best.

Can you introduce yourself? What's your name? Where did you get to know Stunts? Ever participated in online competitions? Who's your favourite opponent? What would you do on a date with Helen Wheels?

[wind]

Yes, for now it can be taken as something fun to try out, but it might need some changes and additional features to become better for wider use. We hope you like it. It is hosted for now on a steady virtual server and domain.

My real name is Jussi and I'm from Finland, 29yrs. I played stunt first in 1994 I think, when I got it to my 486 PC. Before that I liked playing Test Drive 3 on my friends 386 and Stunt Car Race r on my C64. I haven't taken part in any Stunts competitions on the net but few years ago I first read about them. I always liked playing Stunts even when it had became an old game. I also like other new racing games like Forza 4, but Stunts always has its own fascination and I think it is still the best game for making fun tracks and competing in them.

My GF says I can go on date only with her and there are no buts. I imagine I had talked about racing and her perspective to it to begin with and what is her favorite track part like a bridge jump or a loop. I don't have a favorite opponent because they're all too easy and the best guy (Skid) keeps siding with the car messing my line and then he crashes soon into something anyway. I found the portraits in japanese Stunts (FM Towns version) fun though. They look as if real people tried to cosplay the stunts opponents and then someone took photos. It's where my portrait in this forum is taken from. Though he is missing the glasses.

[Duplode]

Wow - amazing job! This looks like a lot of fun. We need to think about how to use it best.

Two words: LIVE RACING

(Though there are many other cool things that can be done with this! There is lots of potential in having an easy way for informal racing and replay sharing)

One initial question: does the Stunts running on the server have any custom cars available? (I would test it myself, but I don't want to risk making the batch job choke with my experiments.)

And welcome wind! Cheers from a fellow former 486er 

[wind]

Two words: LIVE RACING

(Though there are many other cool things that can be done with this! There is lots of potential in having an easy way for informal racing and replay sharing)

One initial question: does the Stunts running on the server have any custom cars available? (I would test it myself, but I don't want to risk making the batch job choke with my experiments.)

And welcome wind! Cheers from a fellow former 486er 

Feel free to experiment with the server, if it crashes or gets owned its better to fix now than later, so we don't mind down time if the bug was ours. There are no custom cars so it'd either drive wrong in the replay giving DNF or the replay is rejected (like done with wrong versions of the game.)

Cheers, and hope to compete with some times there

Oh, and as is the case with some competitions on the net already, there is no way to prevent continued replays so the competition is really done with replays where people do their best and rewind back if they drive bad. One friend is working on binary patch which would remove the feature from stunts and obfuscate the replay for the kind of competition where rewinding is not possible but there is no saying what comes out of it if anything. I am sceptical myself because people always find ways to cheat so its best to stick to what would be done anyway and make all out of that.

[Duplode]

There are no custom cars so it'd either drive wrong in the replay giving DNF or the replay is rejected (like done with wrong versions of the game.)

Would you consider adding a limited number of them - maybe the ZakStunts set (F40, Lotus, Skyline, Speedgate, Superkart) plus Melange? Please? 

Oh, and as is the case with some competitions on the net already, there is no way to prevent continued replays so the competition is really done with replays where people do their best and rewind back if they drive bad. One friend is working on binary patch which would remove the feature from stunts and obfuscate the replay for the kind of competition where rewinding is not possible but there is no saying what comes out of it if anything. I am sceptical myself because people always find ways to cheat so its best to stick to what would be done anyway and make all out of that.

There was an attempt at disabling continuations not so long ago, though it was problematic as it only worked under pure DOS. Still, your friend might find it useful to chat with Cas about the problem. Anyway, once implemented, how you see it working interface-wise? (I imagine something like: whoever submits the track marks a NoRH flag, which sends any replay submissions for the track to the deobfuscator, therefore forcing pipsqueaks to use the patched version to have a valid lap.)  (Edit: or maybe there's no need of flagging the track; the pipsqueak would choose the submission method and then there would be a way to filter the scoreboard for NoRH-validated laps.)

[Chulk]

What a great thing it would be to finally be able to tell NoRH laps from RH ones. We could have a competition when DOSBox record is not necessary so more people can join!

[alanrotoi]

Just wow! What a work! I wonder what happens if this page appeared 10 years ago.

[zaqrack]

amazing job! Was not able to try in detail, but can't wait!
  Looks like I will finally have an option to retire from competition management

[wind]

Would you consider adding a limited number of them - maybe the ZakStunts set (F40, Lotus, Skyline, Speedgate, Superkart) plus Melange? Please? 

My friend added those cars so they should work now. I'm going to DL and try them myself too since never tried custom cars yet.

[CTG]

Nuclear energy can be used in a good and also in a malicious way.

[Duplode]

CTG: weak shot 

My friend added those cars so they should work now. I'm going to DL and try them myself too since never tried custom cars yet.

Nice, thx guys!

Now all I need is to remember how to design proper tracks 

[CTG]

CTG: weak shot 

Böff!

Btw: is it possible to add a deadline for each tracks? I mean you send in the replay, the time result appears on the scoreboard automatically, but the RPL/video is locked as long as the race is active. And right after the deadline, the system unlocks the video option.

[Duplode]

Böff!

Speaking of that, could you introduce yourself at stuntschallenge.net by posting a typical very long one? (that would be an actual functionality test, I'm serious  )

Btw: is it possible to add a deadline for each tracks? I mean you send in the replay, the time result appears on the scoreboard automatically, but the RPL/video is locked as long as the race is active. And right after the deadline, the system unlocks the video option.

Expanding a bit on this topic...

<speculative-brainstorming>
Interface-wise, maybe the best place for adding such competition-esque bells and whistles would be through an extra "More options" or "Advanced upload" button besides the current "Upload file" one - that way things would remain dead simple for casual drivers, which is a really important feature of stuntschallenge.net . The extra button would lead to a page where the submitter would be able to:

• Pick rules from a set. By that, I mean ticking any number of checkboxes specifying "RH", "NoRH", "IRC", "ISA", etc. which would
  
  
  
  • for the first sent replay (which adds the track to the database) declare which are the suggested or mandatory rules for the track (which in turn would be displayed somehow at the track selection screen and/or scoreboard header) and,
  • for the other replays, declare which rules the driver claims to have followed, which would be displayed on the scoreboard in some abbreviated format.
  This scheme would allow race rules to be clearly specified if so desired, and also would allow laps driven according to multiple rulesets (with or without shortcuts, RH and NoRH, etc.) to live peacefully within the one same scoreboard, which is useful for casual driving.
  
• Set a deadline, which would cause the links to .RPL and video to be hidden until a chosen date and time (which could be anything - five minutes later, two months later, whatever). An useful complement would be an scoreboard filter which when toggled on would hide any late or otherwise nonconforming replays.
• Submit a .TRK instead of an .RPL, thus adding a track with an empty scoreboard.

One thing to keep in mind is that stuntschallenge is currently track-centric and not race-centric, and that is a good thing, as it makes casual, "permanent competition" racing easy for newbies and occasional pipsqueaks. IMO, any race management features should be done in a way that does not breaks this model, even if they add other possibilities. For instance, a desirable feature for the long term would be the possibility of holding multiple races in a single track, simultaneously or not - but that sounds tricky to implement, as it would require a wholly new backend and interface for race management in order not to interfere with the current "workflow".
</speculative-brainstorming>

[Krys TOFF]

Nice job, I also like the track maps with re-designed elements.
This website should definitively be added in the Stunts portal.

Oh, and I think I found a nice bug : my Joes' track replay shows a nice crash in the video version.