Why don't youparticipate in On-line Racing?

[Der Alta]

In a recent conversation related to the Nine Boards challenge and a few other OLR competitions, the question came up regarding how tough it is to find people who participate in OLR.

So the Idea for this thread came up. To those of you who tried it, and don't race again, haven't tried it, or do it regularly...

Why don't more people participate in the OLR challenges?

In the nine boards challenge, GTPlanet was asked to field a team of 10 members to go up against 8 other forums. Other forums had tryouts, and cut people from the team, and rejected others. GTPlanet has had a very tough time putting together a group of ten racers to compete.

Why is it that we have one of the best forums, with loads of members, and avid participation, but can't field a ten racers.

Thoughts please?

AO

 

[duo17]

I can speak only for myself, but the reason I don't is because I suck, plain and simple. There is no way I'd be able to keep up with your times. I also don't have a sharkport to prove my times. I would try, but right now, I don't have much free time. That's my excuse atleast.

OA

 

[Viper_Maniac]

I would but it seems I cant produce good enough times like other people can.

 

[miata13B]

I like it when I get into them, but the thing is, without a sharkport, and not willing to send my only memory card, is the reason I don't participate more often. It isn't a matter of producing the numbers or not, it is a ranking system and I gotta figure I am not the best out there likewise not the worse. Once I get the sharkport, I will try more often to participate.

 

[Duke]

Well, I have a number of reasons why I have only limited participation:

1) Time constraints. I get a total of about 2 playing hours a week. Even worse, this is not usually at one sitting but spread over a number of 30-60 minute stints, at unpredicatbale times. This makes it difficult for me to commit to an organized and formal OLR program.

2) Practice/skill. As everyone should be aware, it takes a while to really settle into a good rhythm in a particular session, particularly when you are driving to optimize fractions of a second on your lap time. My playing schedule interferes with this rhythm, and so my driving on a particular car/track is never terribly well honed. While I'm not ashamed to lose, it does mean I'm not terribly competitive and my place would better be filled by someone faster... assuming there is anybody willing to fill it.

 

[Viper_Maniac]

Originally posted by miata13B
Once I get the sharkport

Thats another reason why I dont.

 

[boombexus]

Let's take the Sharkport/Xport out of the equasion here. Most of the OLR competitions do not require you to have a replay to verify.
Knowing this, would that change anyones mind about competing in general?

 

[duo17]

I'll give it a shot at the end of this week then? I have exams this week, so I won't have much time to play. If I don't need a Sharkport, I'll try, but like I said, I just don't have the skill as some of you other guys.

OA

 

[Viper_Maniac]

I might give it a try then. I doubt I'll be any good.

 

[DGT]

I would participate If I had a way of veryfying my times,but I dont....

 

[Gil]

I've noticed that more people play during the summer when other commitments aren't as pressing. I would compete, even though I don't think I'm that fast. I race fair, but don't have a shark-port...yet. And currently my PS2 is acting up. It won't load anything reliably. Have to convince the wife that repairs or a new PS2 are in order.

 

[Red Eye Racer]

Not to knock the board or anything,... but I don't see this place as a major attraction when it comes to OLR.

I surf almost every GT3 forum out there, and I'll tell the one major difference between the succesful ones (full of bad-asses) vs. the less successful ones.

DEDICATION OF THE DRIVERS TO THEIR BOARD

At the smaller sites, drivers interact with eachother much more freely than in a large enviornment like this one. Here, there is a large potential for flamage and an overabundance of information. When a new driver enters a small site, his/her questions are usually answered quickly and approprately. At the larger ones (back to flamage), a nOOb can be frustrated very quickly. For example: I was here not more than one day and I was flamed numerous times for only expressing my opinion. Though, I'm experienced enough to shove those twerps asside, it can turn off a nOOb in a second.

Also, the large sites that do have good participation are limited to Racign Line and GT3times,... because they have a record book to shot for. That in itself, will keep a driver interested long enough to get the balls to race in a comp.

If you havent already,.. I recommend starting a weekly comp series. The winner of that week gets to choose the next weeks race, and you can't win twice in a row. That's how we do it at my origin site (small group of 10 guys) and it's been going for years, week in and week out.

 

[miata13B]

I would love to get invovled. I have about an hour or two a night to go ahead and strap down to play, especially with the recent release my girl had from teh hospital. I will definately give it a shot if someone is willing to take a decent driver.

 

[Viper_Maniac]

Originally posted by Red Eye Racer
I recommend starting a weekly comp series. The winner of that week gets to choose the next weeks race, and you can't win twice in a row. That's how we do it at my origin site (small group of 10 guys) and it's been going for years, week in and week out.

I like that idea. 👍

 

[Der Alta]

As Boombexus said, not all the races require verification.

I've thought that the reason why some may not participate is because of the verification issue. One point coming up is the other that I had figured on. Some of these others on the site, are almost inhumanely fast. And I have no hope of beating them. The only way I could beat them is for them to not show up.

So would it help to say that I've lost every single OLR that I've attempted? I think I've got likely 20 or so under my belt. If I raced for a sponsor, I would be looking for a new job.

But here's something that OLR has changed. I've gotten faster. Much faster. Something I couldn't have done when racing against the AI.

These other racers have nothing more than two hands and one controller. The same thing you've got to work with.

If there was a Challenge posted that was centered more towards getting everyone who participated to post a faster time, and the secrets to do it, would that change a few minds?

I suppose that after a while the AI does lose it appeal, and you'll have a tough time losing to them. SO I'd like to get more people involved in the OLR, not only to race, but to improve their skill and enjoyment.

From reading Red Eye's response, it does seem that board dedication is one that would bring more people into the OLR. Now my question to Red Eye, is how did that group get started? Could something like that happen here? What needs to be done to cull the flaming which is affecting board participation?

AO

 

[Cobraboy]

I can never get my car set up properly, so my times are affected. I've never really compared myself to others around the world, so I've got no idea if I suck or if they're too good. I'll give it a bash, but most of the time I'm more likely to get beaten.

 

[Red Eye Racer]

"Grom - P & G admin"]We run a competition once a week. The winner of the comp sets the next one of his/her choice. You may keep the rules we use generally(under rules for racing) or you can make up your own, but do specify what you intentions are on the post if you're the host. You can not win your own race. However you will recieve 1st place points if you have the low time for the all important league series! There are also splits in the race specified T1, T2 and T3 The comp host is responsible in telling the competitors if the may post any of these splits or full lap if you chose. We have been doing the start of the comps on Monday's and ending on Sunday evening 9:00 pm pac time.

These are our rules in a nutshell. We run 4 season series' a year; spring, summer, fall, winter (suprise, lol).

We've also found that people are more inclined to run if you make it a little interesting. hints:

Give your comps a catchy name like, the NO RULES comp, or the James Bond comp,.. stuff like that. People want action and adventure, not to run that same TS020 around mid-field every week and call it a 'SPOT RACE'.

You get my point,.. make it fun and worth while,. rather than just racing

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by Cobraboy
I can never get my car set up properly, so my times are affected. I've never really compared myself to others around the world, so I've got no idea if I suck or if they're too good. I'll give it a bash, but most of the time I'm more likely to get beaten.

Well, that's what we're talking about - an OLR format where the emphasis is on learning with a side order of competition. The OLR teams help each other internally when they are gearing up for a competition against other teams. So what if we do the first part by comparing notes and having serious discussion of the project at hand, without worrying about beating the rest of the world?

 

[Red Eye Racer]

Well,.... establishing a 'community' is main priority We do share settings and info relating, we try to avoid making it a competition and more like a gathering.

Helping eachother and showing compassion is the main reason we've stuck together. When a new guy comes along, we all welcome him/her and imediately offer assistance if nessecary. Basically,.. we've lasted this long because we're nice guys

I'd almost try to descriminate the series from the rest of the OLR activities. Making specific rules that must be followed, #1 being proper edicate. This way, the slower drivers dont feal overwelmed by the ego's of the faster drivers JMO

 

[duo17]

I'll be able to do this by the end of the week. Is that alright with everyone?

OA

 

[Duke]

I think something may be in the works, but its too soon to make any announcement (if there is one to be made), especially since I'm not on the staff here. But some people have been doing this kind of thing for a while and hopefully there will be official support for a Racing School board so that people who would like to be involved but need advice rather than intimidation have some place to learn.

Again, I'm not making any promise and I'm not an official here. Hopefully the idea will have some support.

 

[Mr P]

Originally posted by Red Eye Racer
Well,.... establishing a 'community' is main priority We do share settings and info relating, we try to avoid making it a competition and more like a gathering.

Helping eachother and showing compassion is the main reason we've stuck together. When a new guy comes along, we all welcome him/her and imediately offer assistance if nessecary. Basically,.. we've lasted this long because we're nice guys

I'd almost try to descriminate the series from the rest of the OLR activities. Making specific rules that must be followed, #1 being proper edicate. This way, the slower drivers dont feal overwelmed by the ego's of the faster drivers JMO

Great words from a great racer

hence the reason why i took my OLR activities to a more dedicated forum , dont get me wrong i still nosey in here (dont I team GTP ) and i still interact with the very small amount of racers GTplanet has ( hi Lotus )
anyway maybe GT4 can bring some life here coz challenges have been getting posted here since GT3's release and they go down like a dead duck there's hope yet anyway

 

[made in holland]

I've been racing OLR since March 2002, and i can say from my experience that battling against other players instead of A.I.cars makes you faster.

You can learn a lot from an experienced driver ( Mr.P in my case ), from settings to cornering properly.

And you're always better than you think

 

[Red Eye Racer]

Thanx Mr P. 👍

Yeah,.. I really hope you can get somthing off the ground.

What I really enjoy about the system is that it's geared towards FUN I play this game for two reasons: #1 is the competition that OLR offers. #2 is to have fun. #3 is a bonus, which I never new about until I got on the net, and that is making freinds. Right Mr P. 8)

What I've presented is geared towards having FUN and learning If you want the fury and intensity of competition... it probably not the right system

 

[boombexus]

Learning and having fun will be the main focus.

I feel that alot of potential racers here might feel a bit intimidated by the OLR. Wether it be just a lack of knowledge regarding it, or feeling intimidated by a feeling that they wont be competitive. Am I wrong here?

But becoming competitive is also a great way to learn as well. Getting to know some of the better racers and being able to tap them as a valuable source of information should be the key.
Some of the ideas that a few of us here have been tossing around would address these issues and provide and experience that would welcome newer racers and get them involved, and involvement is what we are looking for, not necessarily looking for the fastest driver, but creating a fast driver and improving there skills.
I know for me at least, I was starting to lose interest in GT3 as I had conqured the game, but the OLR racing experience has truly renewed my fascination with the game, and like Red Eye Racer stated earlier, I have meet a lot of folks on this board and various other boards and have formed great relations with them. It's been overall, a great experience.

 

[Sludge Slide]

I'd enjoy the weekly competition as Red Eye Racer suggested. It could be set up like the Photoshop competitions in that there is a dedicated thread each week, and there is a deadline that everyone must abide by. I don't have a Sharkport but I do have a TV tuner card with video capture so that I can verify lap times if necessary.

 

[miata13B]

Give your comps a catchy name like, the NO RULES comp, or the James Bond comp,.. stuff like that. People want action and adventure, not to run that same TS020 around mid-field every week and call it a 'SPOT RACE'.

I like that idea to a point, there is a fine line between being corny and being cool though. Plus to add onto that, I wouldn't mind writing a few stories summing up racedays, kinda like how speedvision in the States goes through their sum ups of touring car, WRC, and JGTC.

d'oh forgot this, I have to say the major feeling around here is that being good. Until two weeks ago where I picked the game up and strated drifting a lot, I realized more and more ways and race lines on course that helped me increase my potential. I took my 350Z out onto Apricot Hill and destroyed the cureent record I had at the time by 1.5 seconds. If we can improve a lap time by just a fraction of a second everytime we race together, it would turn into a unstoppable force. Gotta stick to it though.

 

[Cobraboy]

Originally posted by neon_duke
Well, that's what we're talking about - an OLR format where the emphasis is on learning with a side order of competition. The OLR teams help each other internally when they are gearing up for a competition against other teams. So what if we do the first part by comparing notes and having serious discussion of the project at hand, without worrying about beating the rest of the world?

I've often thought of doing a competition with a pick of a certain amount of cars, all with one setup each. All tuned by GTP's master tuner, then the skill is in racing and not getting a proper setup. That way the poor tuners (like me) get a chance to compete on a fair level.

 

[miata13B]

Actually, I got a challenge that Gil presented to me that maybe we can take on for a first project. I threw some settings for a Mugen S2000 onto a thread and Gil told me about a Spot Race dealing with it, http://gtplanet.net/forum/t-17913.html Give it a try, It will be a great way to see how we stack up against each other and let each other know where we can improve and where we are doing fine. I have a small one lap write up in it already and am about to make a complete synopsis about the cars. I found that where I can write about the experience, it intrigued me more to the game.

 

[Kelly]

Originally posted by Red Eye Racer

We've also found that people are more inclined to run if you make it a little interesting. hints:

Give your comps a catchy name like, the NO RULES comp, or the James Bond comp,.. stuff like that. People want action and adventure, not to run that same TS020 around mid-field every week and call it a 'SPOT RACE'.

You get my point,.. make it fun and worth while,. rather than just racing

I agree, but don't make it too complex with a big massive set of rules to follow just nice and simple and not too time consuming before you even begin to start driving, some people just don't have enough time to really put their heart into a race and so don't bother entering ( like me )

I like the get in drive sort of challenges and I really enjoyed this challenge from gt3emp over at gt3times...The "ITALIAN JOB"...DIAMOND RUN! even though only 4 of us took part I really liked the concept of not knowing who your opponents where and trying to use logic to achieve overall best results, if I'd put in the time I would have done better than 3rd
I got into OLR over a year ago and have made the progression from AT to MT, got a lot faster and learned a LOT about this game by making it interactive with real people . I don't race to win but to show MY capabilities if I am slower then so be it , you have to be proud of your OWN achievements! Don't be scared to take part just because you think the faster people are going to laugh at your efforts, ask for help you'll get! you can only get better