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The FFRL is a
PG-13 league and the overall goal is to bring friends
and family together, have some fun, make new friends and
experience some good, competitive racing. The
FFRL hasn't forgotten that drivers are here to compete
and race hard against each other. That's a big part of
the fun of sim racing and it's encouraged in the FFRL.
These rules are not intended to muzzle drivers'
instincts or discourage hard, clean racing and
respectful competition. Just the opposite, they are here
to ensure that drivers understand what is expected.
The admins and members of the review
committee are here to enjoy sim racing, too. They are
volunteers who have lives and better things to do than
review replays for cautions and argue with drivers over
grievances and penalties. In an effort to minimize their
work and the impact on their time, all drivers are
reminded to exercise discretion, race with respect and
remember the rules.
Come Ready or Don't Come at
All - This is probably the 1st rule of
driver etiquette and the key to everything that follows.
"Come to the track ready to race." It sounds
simple enough, but it is probably the first rule broken
by new drivers. Before logging on to race you should
have practice time on the track. Know what setups you'll
use. Practice running the lines - high, middle,
and low through the entire fuel/tire run. Know
your pit window and learn the pit entries and exits
under green flag conditions. Find the ideal
passing zones, both to overtake and be overtaken without
jeopardizing your fellow competitors. Practice
getting off the starting line and through the 1st turn
on cold tires. Good simulation racers don't depend
on luck to run competitive races, they come prepared.
Balance - There is a fine line between being a passive driver
and an over-aggressive driver that you need to balance on.
Passive drivers rarely win because they are unwilling to take the
risks required to make a critical pass. On the other hand,
over-aggressive drivers rarely win because they make foolish or
untimely attempts to pass and usually take themselves and their
fellow competitors out of the race in the process. Learning to
balance between being passive and aggressive is the key to being a
better sim racer. Before making an on-track decision, learn to
analyze the situation and ask yourself the four W's - who, where,
what, and why. Who are you giving or taking from? Where
are you trying to give and take on the track and am I in traffic?
What condition is your car in and how many laps are left? Why
should you give or take a position now? League racers may
consider adding these questions as well. Where am I in the
points and how many league races are left? If you can't answer
these questions, it's time to be passive and wait for another time
to be aggressive. Remember this - when it doubt, back out.
Control Your Temper
- NASCAR Racing 2003 ships equipped with
autochat messages that can be used during the race to
communicate to your fellow drivers. The autochat text
can be altered from the NASCAR Racing 2003 player info
screen. These messages can be flashed during the race
using the numbered 1 through 10 keys, followed by the
enter key. As a minimum, you should use these messages
to announce when you are entering and exiting the pits
to notify other drivers in the arena to move to the high
groove and give you room. Many online drivers also use
the "pass high" and "pass low" messages to communicate
where they prefer to pass or be passed. The "Sorry" and
"Thank You" messages although not required, are good
tools to thank a driver who has allowed you to pass and
accept blame for your mistakes.
Hold Your Line -
I spoke briefly about lines in the "come ready..."
section, but I would like to cover this in more depth.
Each track has three distinct lines a driver should be
able to run: the preferred line, the low line, the high
line. The preferred line or normal line is high against
the wall on the straights, low in the turns, back out to
the wall exiting the turn. The low line is racing with
a driver on your right side, low or in the middle of the
straights and using a low corner entry and corner exit.
The high line is racing with a driver on the left side,
riding against the wall on the straights and using a
high corner entry and exit. Proper etiquette requires
that you know how to run all three lines. Spend time in
the practice period before each race finding the brake
and acceleration points for all three lines until you
are comfortable with each.
Settle In -
The initial reaction when an online racer hears the
spotter yell, "Green, green, green, Go!" is to stomp the
gas and fly into the 1st corner. Fact - you can't win a
race in the first lap, but you can certainly lose it.
The first lap is for getting the cars sorted out,
settled in, and for warming cold tires - not for
racing. You must fight the urge and instead hold back
for that 1st turn. Remember, causing a wreck in the
first turn will not just take you out, it will normally
cause a huge pileup wrecking much of the field and
ruining many drivers' nights. Your goal should be to
make it through the 1st lap in one piece and go from
there. Save the hard racing for later in the race.
Pass or be Passed -
Proper etiquette requires that an online driver
know how to pass and be passed cleanly. Like I spoke
about in the "Come ready" section, you should already
know the passing zones prior to logging in to a race.
We also discuss track techniques on our forum boards.
The ideal pass should be initiated on the corner exit,
racing to get position on the straight and then running
a low line into the next corner. You should know if you
can make the pass shortly after you come off the
corner. If while you're racing for position down the
straight you end up barely having position when the next
corner comes up, consider backing off. Many times the
leading driver won't consider himself passed unless you
get side-by-side on the straight and he'll maintain the
preferred line - thus turning down on you. Be prepared
for it and be ready to back out. If you are the lead
driver, watch your mirrors and understand your blind
spot. If the passing car disappears he's most likely on
your left rear fender and you should allow room on the
low side. Most passing accidents are the fault of the
overtaking driver, but that's no concession when you're
behind the tow truck.
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If you're new to online
racing more than likely you have questions about what
you'll encounter in the arena. I'm going to use this
section to answer several of the questions I initially
had and to field any questions that you might feel need
answering.
WHAT IS
LATENCY AND WARP?
-
One of the initial adjustments an online racer has to
make is learning to deal with warp and latency issues.
When as many as 43 drivers connect to a host computer to
race, it takes time for all the signals to be sent
across the country or world and to the other racers
computers so that they can see where your car is. This
time is known as your latency and is measured in
microseconds. When things get bogged down on the
internet, information can get delayed or lost and the
program has to guess where your car and others are
headed. The computer generally does a good job, but
sometimes it's off and cars disappear and reappear in
different positions then where they really are. This is
known as "warp".
WHAT IS "THE BOOT"? - The boot occurs when your
connection to the race host degrades to a point where
the computer no longer sees you. You will be
disconnected and find yourself sitting back in the
pickup race screen. One of the things you can do to
avoid getting the boot is to ensure that you have all
background programs shut down prior to logging on to
race. There is a handy program called "End It All" that
I use to do this for me. As a minimum, turn off your
screen saver, instant messengers, windows updaters, and
virus protection. They're serious bandwidth killers.
WHAT DETERMINES MY CHASSIS?
- The chassis you'll be racing online is determined by
the car you select when you initially log into the
multiplayer screen. The chassis you race with in NASCAR
Racing 2003 doesn't matter though. There is no
difference between the chassis except for their
appearance. They don't effect the car's handling or
performance.
WHAT'S A FIXED SETUP? - Fixed setups come shipped
with NASCAR Racing 2003 and are protected against
tampering. Think of them as IROC setups forcing the
field to race using the same settings. The race host
can determine if the drivers will race using one of the
fixed setups. You can adjust the steering lock to fit
your personal taste. However, for the FFRL Magnum Cup
Series, we do use OPEN setups. This option allows you
to customize how your car handles for your own
preference and may be used for the online events. The
FFRL Sportsman Cup Series, CSCS, Diamond, and IROC does
use the Fixed setup option.
WHAT VIEW SHOULD I DRIVE IN?
- Many new online racers feel more comfortable using the
Arcade view versus the in-car view. Although this gives
a "fun" view of the track, it is actually very limiting
to the driver and can be hazardous to other racers.
Using the in-car view allows you to steer a straight
line and spot your brake and acceleration points. As
well, the in-car view gives you the mirror view that is
critical to safe online driving. You should constantly
be monitoring the mirrors to see what the drivers are
doing behind you and this can't be done in the arcade
view.
I'VE BEEN LAPPED, NOW WHAT? - Every car in the
racing arena has the right to race. When you find
yourself in the position of a lapped car you don't have
to immediately start pulling over allowing other cars to
pass. It's still the faster cars responsibility to
execute a clean pass - as well as your responsibility to
allow yourself to get passed cleanly. Normally this
means getting into either the high or low groove and
maintaining the line until the faster car is clear. If
you find yourself more than one lap down in the waning
laps of a race with the leaders behind you, consider
pitting to clear the track for them to race for the
win. It's a courtesy that you may want returned in the
future.
Initial "Etiquette Guide" drawn up by
Team Lightspeed. Edited for use with the FFRL. |
