Get a coffee m8, this might need a minute
With reference to the suggestions thread that was so healthily subscribed during the off-season, our seasons underway now for all mods so it's probably high time i/we clarified all of the points raised by our members.
There were, as you'll probably recall, many many suggestions and points raised, covering the whole range of mods offered by UK Dirt and i'll try to clarify (or indeed confirm, seeing as the racing has started) some of the queries raised. To aid with the process, we compiled all of the suggestions and dealt with them according to the number of people who voiced that request. Some were heavily subscribed, while some were from a single person, but all of these points were considered during 3 admin meetings over the winter period, while other points were also discussed and clarified that hadnt been raised by members, but were still felt to be for the leagues benefit. The points raised were split down between 'formula-specific' and 'general' categories, and of course the majority of decisions regarding the different formulae came about from the suggestions and questions raised. Most of the formula-specific changes will now be apparent of course (all graded races in F2, a new points structure in F1 as well as changes to meeting formats etc) so i'll try to answer the more general points that were raised about the league
Jolt 3
Several people inquired about a third Jolt, to give us a facility of 3 heats at a time and/or 3 different formula practice servers, but the financial constraints would have forced a price rise for all members for this. In the main, it was felt that the subscription fee (more of which later) should be restricted. There was an option to increase the number of connections to the server, but the 24 limit appears to be a game restriction rather than server capacity (according to previous tests) so, while this is still in mind, we're staying with the current configuration for this year at least.
More stringent rule maintenance in the leagues.
Again, a popular enquiry that brought on a healthy debate while reflecting on past incidents. Rule maintenance is an important issue that covers both on and off-track activity, and requires no little vigilance from the forum moderators, league admins and RMs as well as all of our members. We realise that the environment in which we race can become ermm.... charged, but obviously the rules regarding conduct are available on our website, and we always try to strike a logical balance, rather than over-policing given situations. We do also remember, however, that this is a family show, and we remain committed to ensuring that we're here to provide an environment in keeping with that view.
It should now be apparent elsewhere in this forum that we're paying more attention to 'messers' and will continue to supervise this where possible, to ensure that everyone who wants to race can do so without the heats becoming 'unbalanced' due to repeated non-appearances.
Double-header meetings were raised, and this is a format that does work on occasion. While it would also allow us to possibly expand the formula range, it does have its time issues, which do often arise when (for instance) you're only doing 1 formula and miss a set of heats, so this is being left to the discretion of individual formula admins to prepare as they choose.
Help or guidance documentation for new members.
Not really a topic of admin discussion, but this is a project in itself that could be undertaken by a working group. I'd be interested to hear peoples views on this.
Subscription fees.
There were various suggestions regarding the Jolt fee discussed, and obviously you're probably aware of the results already. The decision was made to offer the £5 'loyalty' discount for renewed subscription, with the new member subscription retained at £25 for 12 months. We are considering other options for subscription at the moment and any new initiatives will be announced in due course.
Meeting start times and MI posting times.
Meeting start times of 8pm were discussed, but it was felt that 8:30 was a reasonable to time allow our members to prepare for meetings, given the other commitments that we all have away from the PC. Earlier publishing of the Meeting Info was also requested, and this was broadly agreed upon. While the same commitments previously mentioned apply, some of our formulae are attempting to move to closing bookings at 6pm, to allow the earlier preparation of MI. This is being left at the formula admin's discretion, however, and we are also offering software to admins to allow preparation of grids, though this is still at a relatively early stage and will be made available to all RMs in time.
With reference to the time taken to start races, obviously we will continue to use the '3-minute' method. A request was made as to whether this can be automacially controlled by the server, it is felt that the 'human' touch should be continued, in case we have a scenario where a racer needs a little extra time for any reason. While this can be the cause of a short but unavoidable delay, its worth remembering that if anyone asks for a few extra seconds for any reason, we're usually more than happy to accomodate this.
Free trial meeting access.
While we realise that this is sometimes a contentious issue, it was felt that the best way to attract new racers was to offer the whole experience at trial, therefore there are no current restrictions on trialler access.
Use of Jolt by non-UK Dirt mods and the winter period.
This is an area that was felt to be slightly under-used, and we realise of course that various new mods that interest our members do appear from time to time. Primarily, it was felt that during season time (March to November) we remain committed to the mods currently on offer, but during the winter period it is felt that we do have an opportunity to support new initiatives (the Brisca Heat winter league being one example) and therefore this remains an open issue for discussion through the season.
Control on the number of applicable league downloads.
This is a subject that has become more focused recently, with the continued introduction of several new models into different mods. While we realise the timing of release of certain models seems a little 'ad-hoc', we still feel it is better for all of our members that we make the models available to the leagues at the first possible opportunity, rather than holding on to them until a new patch is made. The administration of this will therefore continue to be maintained by the relevant formula admins, in combination with the modellers and testers. Further to this, its worth a mention that there was a call for more people to be involved in the chassis tests, but its very difficult to control the car model versions when theyre still in development. Therefore, from the administrators point of view, a tighter group is usually required, and these groups should continue to be recruited as and when required by the relevant admins.
Finally, an overview.......
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.... we're all members of probably the worlds largest Nascar Heat-based league and even now, barely a day goes by when i don't find myself marvelling at the level of voluntary input we receive, from the admins and RMs, to the modellers, the painters and even the 'garagistas' (lol the setup kings) who all chip in to make this such an absorbing pastime, so hats off to you all from me.
Our league isnt run for profit, its run for fun and its the contribution of all of those mentioned above, plus of course EVERY racer who takes part that makes this happen. As administrators, we are always looking for the next step to make the experience better, from physics and speed tests to new meeting formats and the suggestions we received last year have contributed to this process of course, so thanks to everyone who took the time to air their views.
Many thanks for talking, asking and above all listening, but primarily.....thanks for racing
yours, in the wall ......... Wrighty (on behalf of the Admin team at UK-Dirt)
