@terrordog1490
It was late when I saw your post last night. So I'll try to answer now...
And hopefully this will also help the other couple of new members who will be looking here too.
👍
First... 5.5 million.
The Retro list is pretty cheap - less than half million.
Of course we will soon be unveiling 3 more lists.
But you can always check the schedule and just buy the lists as they're scheduled, for events you plan to attend.
Anyway, important to get the oil changed in all cars, since the testing of the cars has all been done assuming oil will be changed.
In case anyone doesn't know this ... you can go into GT Auto, and then use the Start Button Menu to switch cars as you give them oil changes. If you have your garage sorted by the purchase date, that really helps if you've just bought the cars.
(Tip: Don't use mileage sorting in the garage - it's flawed.)
When I buy a bunch of new cars, I "get in" the cars, and then I have my garage sorted by "recently used"... so then they're all at the top (the recently purchased cars, because I "got in" them all when purchasing them.)
And here is our spreadsheet with the cars...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...t_AXGvJY6Hh-J2OSK-IOFSooM/edit#gid=1988929993
You can sort these by the different columns (for example, put them in order by car).
This can make purchasing and oil changes a little easier.
I see you're signed up in the Community/Clubs already. 👍
So from there, to sign up to let us knowing you're coming to a scheduled event... You go into
Community / Clubs / Makeshift Shuffle / Events
Pick the event, and hit the "sign up".
Almost everything is covered in detail in the OP.
Most important is the Race Procedures & Rules.
Also to make sure you have the cars and your cars are fit to enter the track under "tuning prohibited".
Otherwise you can purchase tires if necessary or ask questions in the lobby.
The important thing is to have the car lists in front of you nearby during the event, so you can refer to it.
I use pieces of paper with the car lists on them. Others use a tablet or smartphone with the car lists on it.
If you're planning to Race Thursday and/or Friday evening you will just need these lists so far:
Traffic, 90s Sports, Vintage
(So you're all set with that for this week.)
We also have a Sunday afternoon series.
You don't have to participate in every event in a series to come. You can just come whenever you can. 👍
We also have no problem with late joining or early departures, if that's what your schedule allows.
(You'll see that we have a lot of "daytime" races too scheduled... those races are European evening. So just take note about the scheduled time for YOUR time zone. If it's US Eastern... that's the first listed in post #2 because that's MY time zone too.
)
The point about signing up is to reserve a spot, and so we know you might plan to race.
Mostly this now is about the room settings for participants. We limit it, so we want to make sure I don't set the room so that someone can't join who wants to.
Also... you want to sign up to show people we're racing and attract others to join up too!
Right now we have just been having 4-6 on evenings US, but several people have asked me about evening races recently, so I expect more will join if people realize it's HAPPENING.
RE: Car Assignment system
We actually have TWO systems.
One is normal shuffle.
The other is parity shuffle.
Normal shuffle
(explained in the OP)
You just see what position you finished at in the prior race... and then pick that car on the list with the corresponding number.
Don't worry if this seems confusing at first, and if you're unsure at first, ask in the lobby. Others will help. 👍
Parity shuffle
(explained
here)
We have a system in a spreadsheet that tracks drivers' finishing positions in prior races. And based on your finishing positions in the most recent races, you're given a Parity Car Assignment.
http://bit.ly/shuffleparitycar
(Obviously you won't have one of these until you participate. After you do some races, then you will see your name & assignment in that list.)
(This system makes for closer racing among varied speed drivers in longer races where ordinarily the grid of racers would get spread out. So it's kind of like a handicap system - just less obvious.)
And... if you have any questions about the actual car lists or how they are put together, I'll direct you to our Time Trials Testing thread:
http://bit.ly/makeshift-timetrial
That's where we discuss the actual cars and their performance, and make plans for lists, etc.
The reason this is kept separate is because not everybody is interested in that and we go a little crazy discussing the cars, and that would make this thread too confusing with too many conversations that are not relevant to just participate in racing.