[Essential feature] Scheduled server sessions

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Esteve Rueda, Feb 25, 2014.

  1. vali

    vali Registered

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    I don't think it's a bad idea to be able to set up things like that. I think the reason most servers are empty is because you never know if you will have to wait to race or not. In fact in public servers joining, calling a vote almost instantly and then leaving after the first lap crash is a (unfortunately) common practice.

    This way you can schedule races like iracing and all people know what to expect. Just put the starting hours in the server name...
     
  2. Esteve Rueda

    Esteve Rueda Registered

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    Of course you didn't :rolleyes:. 28 months today. I saw in all this time too many leagues dying becauase to run a championship in a good way is impossible with less than 3 or 4 really active admins, something that could be easily avoided with this feature. I also saw, as me, too many people leaving rF2 tired of joining a server to wait for 25 mins looking at the screen while other people race, and finally everyone leave the server, or you need to wait for 1 hour until there is a decent amount of people to race. I'm sure you know what I mean.

    When I join a league, I can fully enjoy rF2 racing, but we need more activity. rF2 is by far the best sim we can drive in our home, best physics, flawless netcode, tons of cool features, just need to make people enjoy It online more often and not only in closed and unknown leagues.

    In January 2010, I joined a league (now dead...) where a guy, just a single guy with some FREE TIME after his job made in 2 years for rF1:

    -A championship manager where championship results were automatically updated. User and admins management, iRacing style. With license points and stuff affected by results, accidents, penalties...
    -Anticheat system.
    -Mod sync system, synced with champ manager (1 account for all).
    -Automatic access control for our servers, synced with manager account.
    -Anti cut track system, with autopenalties, also synced with manager.
    -Contact detection system (iRacing style), hit points system, every race you could win or lose points automatically updated in the manager.
    -And more...


    All this stuff was made by one guy, in his free time, for free, he NEVER asked for inscription fees in that league during 8 years league was alive (2008 - early 2016). Making a Server scheduling system, a decent server manager with information synced to server list in rF2 default interface is just a ridiculous amount of work compared to what this guys did from nothing.

    What is the point? a "small" amount of work, could make rF2 weakest point, the online side, a new appeal for old and new users. Just analyze that, please ISI, MAKE RF2 SHINE, I want to see people online, I want to see social media talking about how good is rF2 to race and compete, I want to see people uploading good quality videos of their races as iR users already do... and as I do, you do, It's your product, I'm sure you want It to be known, to be enjoyed.

    Work on this, open 3 or 4 official series/server with rotating tracks by week, supported by yourselves, scheduled with this system to make human work unneeded. And I am completely convinced that you will achieve full race grids in days, encouraging people to come again and search for leagues.

    Just that, MAKE RF2 SHINE AGAIN, It has no rival in the driving side, just look at effort VEC is doing, and how good racing is there, make It bigger.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 25, 2016
  3. Woodee

    Woodee Registered

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    There are plenty good rF2 vids Look here.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 25, 2016
  4. Euskotracks

    Euskotracks Registered

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    That's your opinion. I pretty much agree with Esteve. Please go and organize your charity events or your dummy lists and let others ask for their wishes.

    Enviado desde mi ONE A2001 mediante Tapatalk
     
  5. Christopher Elliott

    Christopher Elliott Registered

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    To everyone - Your feedback is always welcome, your free to voice your opinion and to disagree on things - but please try and avoid getting personal it serves absolutely no purpose here on the forums.
     
  6. WiZPER

    WiZPER Registered

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    Thank you for that :)

    Without dedicated people like our founder/admin/race director, Jimmi Allison - Great coders/scripters as Noel Hibbard and Marcel Offermans - Plugin Creators like Gerald Jacobson - MOD creators as Ales, physics nerds as Miroslav Davidovic (URD) - Track creators as the VLM guys and others - Individuals to slightly modify and trim components to suit the series (myself *awkward*) - Full blown simracers and teams - The major support, serious communication and reactions on feedback etc. from ISI - VEC would NEVER have risen to achieve the high standards and awesome level of endurance racing!

    My point being: Nothing comes easy, single features and automization don't do it alone... A brilliant simracing-loving community which chips in where ever possible is KEY, angry and needy comments does not contribute, at all.

    Okay, this came to be a longer post than intended, and even slightly off-topic - lets ALL make RF2 shine, still! ;)

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 25, 2016
  7. Will Mazeo

    Will Mazeo Registered

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    That's true however some stuff does not seem to be too hard for a dev team that kows every bit of their own software :)

    Does rF2 support scheduled full course yellows btw? Like real life brazilian Formula Truck that has a FCY at mid race and points are given at that moment, then everyone line up and restart
     
  8. WiZPER

    WiZPER Registered

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    RF2 supports plugins and scripting, and these can control alot - so again, the tools are there but it takes a handyman and a bit of talent to open the tool box and create these things. You don't get the same amount of modability in ANY other sim of this standard. Even the source code to to Stock car rules and Knockout Qualifying has been made available.
     
  9. Will Mazeo

    Will Mazeo Registered

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    This is good and all but for the average Joe having to wait someone create this is a pain. xD


    On the scheduled server sessions if I remember right GTR2 could do something similar
     
  10. Woodee

    Woodee Registered

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    Admins can throw a caution whenever they like, just needs a "live steward".

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
     
  11. Will Mazeo

    Will Mazeo Registered

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    Not all leagues can have a live steward (how many of them can even have one tbh?) and sometimes we just want to sit and drive you know... already did a league with mid race FCY (in Stock Car Extreme) it was annoying to keep an eye on the laps, specially when you are away of the leader... plus it is a issue if the admins can't be in the race
     
  12. Esteve Rueda

    Esteve Rueda Registered

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    I mean regular activity from online, as iRacing streamers. Online activity calls Youtube activity, and Youtube activity calls for online activity, a win win. I'm in rF2 since the first day of life, I'm with rFactor since January 2010, and I'm still here, I know how to search a video, I know how to search a league, I know how to make a video (I did some), I know how to manage a league, I know how to manage a plenty variety of tools, plugins, set up good servers...

    I also know the good of rF2, maybe I am one of the biggests fans here. Being admin in an spanish league for years, making all the job alone for more than one year (so many hours every week), just because I like rF2, there is no better sim.

    In the other hand... I still think only Tim understand my point, and that makes me so sad.


    All work done by rF2 community is just awesome. Plugins, managers, leagues, good quality championships, mods... but... how many people can see that? only people like you, or me, only old fans know this stuff or have motivation to mess with. People, and even me now (I'm out from leagues...), only see an online that offers only the option to open a server. No information, no organization, there is not an easy way to find a good online race.

    Just think about It guys, 3 or 4 official servers, with VISIBLE information from launcher just at the moment you click rF2, big announcement, "Clio Cup Series, next race 21:00 - More info bla, bla, bla". I definitely would join, everyone I asked, EVERYONE, would join if they know there is a scheduled race and they does not have to wait for failed races. Then, after this, just think about how admins could configure this stuff... It's not hard, just go iRacing and see their web (I'm talking just about race organization).

    Races in real life are strictly regulated, including a schedule, this is a sim, not a GT series game.
     
  13. Woodee

    Woodee Registered

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    It is always "not hard" when you haven't tried to implement the system. Why do you think iRacing had significant money backing? Their web portal and backend servers running by schedule must cost a fortune, no wonder they have monthly subs!!

    I'll just leave this here: http://www.simracingsystem.com/

    http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/28051-Sim-Racing-System?highlight=simracingsystem
     
  14. Esteve Rueda

    Esteve Rueda Registered

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    iRacing is a money making machine. The cost is not to have a schedule, the cost is because they have the bigger simracing community in the world. Updates, fast developing, laser scanned tracks, broadcast, marketing, automated license and championship system...

    They have 51 series running at the same time, races every week, every day.

    What I ask for, is just a simple way to schedule a simple dedicated server, and a display, and make It visible and attractive. I'm not asking rF2 to become iR.

    And I know simracingsystem, It works? NO. How many people know It? only closed circles. We need something simple, and visible, something that a new player, or even an old player, can see as soon as they open their launcher, THAT'S IT.

    Make It easy to race. The only thing is in my mind when I open rF2 is... I WANT TO RACE. I don't want to mess with webs, tools, plugins...

    I'm sad, I love rF2, but 4 years and still empty, maybe if devs do try something new? I'm not asking to change the sim spirit. This is not a 1 year project, I worked with programmers so I know It's not hard, so many people already did similar things as a hobby for their leagues with amateur programming, I saw how a single guy worked on an entire iR style system ALONE in his free time. I'm convinced this can be done in a "couple of weeks", with no hard effort, and would completly boost online activity in rF2.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 25, 2016
  15. Woodee

    Woodee Registered

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    Well find those magic programmers that can do it in a couple of weeks, as seemingly there aren't any in here that want the same as you or are capable of this "couple of weeks" work.

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
     
  16. Esteve Rueda

    Esteve Rueda Registered

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    They can, they just don't work on It, even Tim said agreed with that, seems like only him know what I actually mean.

    I'm saying to you, I was mate of a programmer who did an entire iR style system in 2 years (well, actually less than 2 years), during his free time. And I'm not asking for an entire environment, I'm asking just for a simple way to organize a server. An automatic way to do what already can be done clicking by yourself, I know how can be done, I know It is easy. And as addition, show this in the server information. I know what I talk about.

    Two weeks, or 1 month of dedicated work to make It even better. They already have the core.
     
  17. Woodee

    Woodee Registered

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    You can keep repeating yourself, but it doesn't change the fact that you still have to find these people that are willing to make it. It would be a good addition to have an automated server.

    The dedicated server prototype was kind of a step there but to buggy. It would run a car and track combo, different one everyone you switched tracks... But far from fully automated. If the plugin code needed is exposed, then anything is possible.

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
     
  18. Esteve Rueda

    Esteve Rueda Registered

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    I already found It, It's the simracing.es founder, I'm saying to you. He left simracing world in 2014, and then his web (where I was admin too) died some months ago. Other users here in the forum (I can not find It now), already did this in their dedicated servers.

    In this thread.

    I repeat one more time, trust me, It is easy to do.
     
  19. Euskotracks

    Euskotracks Registered

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    I wonder why the 3PA philosophy is not applied to plugins and utilities to have a better ingame implementation.

    rF2 native weather support sucks. It is predefined losing all the emotion. It it wasnt for Gerald's tool we probably wouldn't use it.

    Hotlapping system needs to be external tool also.

    Championship management as well.
    Tools for making tracks dont have any native support.

    Leaving so much of your product in third party hands is too optimistic too work.

    VR support seems to be pending on someone releasing something to make it work.

    But we do have a nice 12 GB cache to help newbies. Not much in line with the rest of the required tools to properly run a championship.

    It is the problem of not having a clear roadmap of where you want to be in the near future.

    I hope Reiza fills many of these gaps when they release their latest sim. I think ISI deserves someone releasing a true sim that makes them see that they are not unique. Nothing lasts forever. Be sure of that.

    rF2 is the best sim in terms of physics and FFB. It is quite mediocre in the rest of areas.



    Enviado desde mi ONE A2001 mediante Tapatalk
     
  20. Will Mazeo

    Will Mazeo Registered

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    This has to be a system made by ISI and added to servers by default otherwise just a few people will use it.
     

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