Feedback Thread

[Skeet_Tong]

I've noticed on the Sexbierum results thread that there have been a few comments about the short length of some meetings and subsequently, a lack of enthusiasm/spirit from some members. I know that admin usually fire up a thread at the end of the season for suggestions towards the next season's racing but if you're like me and have the memory of a goldfish, unless you write something down you never remember it when you need to! Therefore, rather than clog up the results thread, feel free to post something here between now and the end of the season and you never know, admin might give one of your suggestions a trial before the end of the season provided it does not interfere with the National Points/Shootout systems.

 

[Skeet_Tong]

I'll start things off...I like the idea of running a split format at every meeting regardless of car turnout, as the reduced car numbers in the heats would allow a bit more margin for error (and bad luck!), and thus put more emphasis on the larger grid Final whether it be all-in or via top scorers and Consi qualifiers. However I can have no complaints about the all-in system but rather than extending the meetings to split formats, perhaps some additional races pre and post meeting could be considered such as:

 

Non National-Point scoring Whites & Yellows races at every meeting for a separate championship with the points perhaps counting towards a White & Yellow championship race, but still have the bona-fide W&Y Championship being determined by National Points scored over the whole season.

 

Non National Point scoring Blue & Red top races at every meeting, perhaps counting towards a Ben-Fund style championship race.

 

Non National Point scoring "Accumulator" race at every meeting, where scores are multiplied x4 for white tops, x3 for yellow tops, x2 for blue tops and normal scores for reds, again counting towards a separate championship and indeed an Accumulator Championship Final.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Skeet_Tong

[Pusher_2]

From my perspective work and lifestyle dictate that 1 night a week racing is easy, 2 or more is a struggle. Therefore I have to choose between F1 and F2 racing.

 

So with meetings being run quicker nowadays a suggesion of mine would be to hold F1 nd F2 meetings on same night so that you get more drivers a each.

 

Just a thought

 

Pusher

[Johno3]

No problems at all Skeet. We always try to listen to what the members want and try to incorporate their ideas where possible, especially if we feel they benefit the league.

 

I will pin this at the top of the forum so people can use this.

 

I can confirm though we are looking into doing something between now and the end of the season.

 

Cheers

 

Johno

[Skeet_Tong]

Mixed meetings gets a vote from me too, but don't forget the Saloons in any potential double or even triple header!!!

[MoR137]

Just thought I'd add my views whilst they were fresh in my mind:

 

1/ I would opt for a shorter season length. This season started incredibly early (February?) with record numbers that have dwindled since. Where the real life season is flying by, it seems like an age since this online one started. There were a only a few weeks off at the end of the last season before the winter series started, and then only a handful of weeks after that ended before the new season started. The mod, and it's more dedicated drivers never really got a break from it. I'd rather revert back to a late-March to early-November season, with less 'filler meetings', with around 4 week gaps before and after any winter series. And maybe the winter series could use a different mod? Perhaps the popular NZ mod could take this slot, with the resulting champ being allowed to wear the gold stripes in the F1s? Whilst I appreciate the need to provide racing all year round for paying members, I think the mod and it's members would benefit from a yearly break - less is more, as they say......

 

2/ I'd like to see more track variety. Whilst I think it's good to keep championship fixtures reasonably close to real life, I'd like to try the F1s around some of the other tracks they don't visit in real-life (from memory, how about Crimond, Nutts Corner, Taunton, Mildenhall, etc?). I'd much rather have a nice variety of tracks to race at rather than the usual 3 or 4 meetings at some of fixture staples like cov/kl/scunthorpe. (Note: I haven't actually counted fixtures here as I'm typing in a rush on my lunch break so sorry if the cov/kl/scunthorpe assumption is just my imagination!!!). For me, that will help the season feel a little less stale. We're getting to the point where they are tons of tracks available, just like there was on heat, yet the F1s don't fully take advantage of that.

 

3/ Keep up the effort with the meeting posters, dirters and championship previews. Whilst a massive chore, these are still effective - I've lost count of the number of times I've been reminded it's nearly Thursday by a poster! The dirters are great, much more digestable than the old monthly mags and do the job nicely - please don't let these slip.

 

It's a shame the numbers are low at the moment but hopefully seeing that doesn't make everybody not bother, else it will become hard to build it back up. From a personal point of view, my racing has been drastically reduced this year due to a new job and new commitments, and partly due to the fact I was extremely worn out with the mod after a big season last year, with a stressful shootout at the end. I hope to get racing regulary again next season.

 

MoR

[drumbstick]

I have not planned any of this, but as I bitched on the other thread I should comment here. Warning though so it may turn in to a bit of a brain dump.

 

1.) Respect: I think for me this has been summed up by Johnos recent appearances in ftooz. For the first two or three meetings he commented each week about how much respect there was between the drivers.

 

Now for the last couple of years I have moaned every time I have done an F1 meeting that some of the standards have been appalling, but maybe I have been barking up the wrong tree in some respects and really what is needed is generally more respect. How this is achieved I don't know but I would like to see it promoted much more.

 

2.) Community Spirit: Where has it gone, when I first started racing here there were lots of forum posts, banter in chat and talk about real meetings but now its dead around here. Perhaps UKdirt on a the whole needs somebody who is responsible for organising meeting up at meetings(Lets be honest I could stand next to 80% of people who read this and not know who they are), forum events that get people chatting, competitions anything to bring the buzz back.

 

I keep coming back because I get dragged back by my mates whenever I wander away, how many other old drivers could be tempted back if there was a UKdirt presence at meetings, they could chat to about old times.

 

3.) Joint meetings: Can only be good really, if we were getting 30 + drivers to normal domestic meetings it might not work, but the truth is were not.

 

F1s to be on server 90. Fooz to be on server 91 when a server is not being used for racing it is set for practice.

 

21 F1s booked in and 25 ftooz (numbers for illustrative purposes only)

 

Start the F2 meeting at 8 run the three tooz heats in the first 30 mins.

 

Start the F1 meeting at 8:30 or when the tooz heats finish whichever is later.

 

Run the F2 final at 9 or when the F1 heats have finished whichever is later.

 

Run the F1 Final at 9:15 or when the F2 final has finished whichever is later.

 

Run the F2 GN at 9:30 or when the F1 final has finished whichever is later.

 

Run the F1 Gn at 9:45 or whenever the F2 GN has finished whichever is later

 

All finished by 10PM, meeting take approximately 2 hours and still finished by 10PM

 

You will get more drivers racing or at least trying other formulas, and again more drivers in chat at once to get talking.

 

4.) Promotion: Yes the meeting write-ups and posters are a great idea, and might tempt people reading the forum to book in. But lets be honest here most of the people reading the forum know what's going on here, and will choose if they book in or not the people we need to reach are those that don't, both on the internet and at real life meetings.

 

Prime example here is the Brisca 50, when it was first advertised they were advertising for sponsors and it was only £100 a go, for this you got among other things

 

2 VIP tickets to the final(What a great prize that would have been, to the winner of a WF or W&Y championship)

 

A listing in ALL the BriSCA '50' Series programmes and on the BriscaF2 website, how good an opportunity was that to get the word out, and we have some great artists here who could of knocked up a cracking advert. I doubt we will ever get the chance to advertise at that price again.

 

On top of this there are two very strong Kiwi leagues, have any drivers from these been invited to the world final to try and give it a big meeting feel (Other than those who tried to qualify through the UK system)

 

Add to this all the very strong US leagues out there running short oval stuff, there must be a way to get them involved to give the world final a world feel.

 

A number of people racing here have also raced at non stockcar leagues, surely there is a way to push in to those, invite drivers to race have an open meeting here maybe the regular drivers have 1 set of heats and the new drivers another meeting for a closed grid final. Or have a meeting just for new drivers with a huge push, most of them might only do that meeting but even if 5 or 6 stay around and tell there mates it can only be good.

 

5.) Other promotions: Now I know moves have already been made in this area by the admin team, But There must be some way to get the promotions to work together. The facts tell the story I don't really need to add anything.

 

Across UKDirt, Sim-Stox and GB Sim Racing 68 individual drivers raced F1s in August alone how awesome would it be to get them all together?

 

6.) Season length: I agree with Craig here, you really can have too much of a good thing and asking people to race 46+ odd weeks of the year is a bit much, run the NZs on a Thursday out of season give people a break.

 

7.) Discipline: I know I said above maybe I have been barking up the wrong tree a bit, but I would still like to see swifter and harsher action taken when needed. Do this for a short period and everyone will soon shape up.

 

8.) Fun meetings: Everyone knows I am a rodder at heart, but recently we had a Sunday meeting in tooz that turned in to a bit of a fun meeting due to the format and I have never laughed so hard at some crashing as I did that night. Takes the tension away and lets everyone exact some retribution outside of a normal meeting or when people are trying to practice(which is just as annoying, if not more so).

 

9.) More in race stewarding: If you have a driver being an idiot, boot him; If the grade gaps are wrong, call of the start till they get it right; if damaged car sat on the racing line then remove it; F1 has the opportunity to do this in every race and it should be made use of.

 

10.) Give more awards for things, something like a monthly award for the driver who has raised there average the most in that month with a cumulative end of year award, anything that any driver can shoot for and encourage people to race.

 

I think that’s all for now, if you made it this far well done, and if your not well you won’t read this so sod ya lol

 

 

[Lee]

Perhaps running once every 2 weeks alternating with NZ's would be a good idea. As it shortens the series which is what the majority? want, but it also allows another mod to be utilized at the same time.

 

Harsher, stricter penalties for doing gay rear wheel shots/spins, forceful fencings and what not. One offence, miss a meeting. Double it each time, soon have things in order.

If gaining respect means sending setups to those who arent as fast, so be it. I will happily send setups to people, just ask. Although I have had people be all nicey nicey then once a setups sent put me up a post which destroys my whole idea of helping one another.

 

Driver respect is there, just the majority of the time ego's/attitudes etc get in the way of it. Buxton I find gives a good example of it all, as you can neatly punt someone who is slower wide but because they may not be as fast they HAVE to fire you in/fence you just to maintain a position. To me that's not necessary and if people used their brains they would figure out racecraft provails over outright pace 9 times out of 10.

 

Less title meetings/wqr's etc, whether this can be as a result of a shortened season I dont know. But looking over the fixtures there are meetings which in my eyes are stupidly planned out. An example to me being from the 12th of May onwards, in a space of about 10 weeks we had a lot of "serious" meetings, and no domestic style ones where you raced for fun. The example below being taken from said date (12th May) Onwards week by week.

 

WCQR

UK Open

WCQR

Normal meeting @ Wimbledon.

WCQR

Scottish Championchip

WCQR

Normal meeting @ Ipswich

WCQR

 

Now, im not moaning about having title meetings as such. But the planning in my eyes was poor for them. Think of it this way, you get taken out by some lossy driving by a individual whilst leading the UK Open final, you turn up next week for another serious meeting which has a outcome at the end of the year. You then get payback on him, this just results in you handicapping one another in some of the most highly contested meetings we do per year?!

 

I mainly havent bothered with any form of stock cars on rfactor recently due to it being too "repetetive" and at the end of the day the fixture list forcing me to race week in week out has taken its toll on my enthusiasm. Yes nothings better than winning, but theres more to a GAME than winning, it's about having fun whilst being competetive.

 

Perhaps cut back on title meetings/wcqr's as a whole, then replace it with a new system? Perhaps instead of 13 wcqr's run 7/8 and have best 5 meetings count.

 

Basically this is what Drumb said, but i've written it in a less educated manner.

 

[Johno3]

Just going to unpin this for now as I want the World Final stuff pinned at the top. Will repin it after the World Final.

 

Cheers

 

John

[matthew413]

Fair bit of criticism above. Constructive, but still criticism, so I wanted to say this:

 

I still sit in wonder every so often at just how good this game looks with everything turned up, and how brilliant the racing can be when you get a few people racing with respect.

 

Some weeks it's bloody frustrating and I don't bother racing for a while. Always down to a lack of respect by certain people and there's nothing the 'league' can really do about this. But there are moments when it's absolutely superb and I finish a race with a huge grin on my face, even if it was just over a battle for 10th place.

 

I don't know how some of you guys find the motivation to race every week, there's no way I could, I need a break now and then. When I'm enjoying it though, it's the best game in the world.

Edited September 2, 2010 by matthew413