CENTRALIZED Band of Others iRacing Programs and Information

[Skid_Marc_]

Ugh, damn these "Internal Server Issues"...

This is what it looks like when you open the server in two tabs, btw. I couldn't include it in the post above..

 

[Noodleguitar]

We might also want to look into the whisper function of TS. It allows you to map a button which will only transmit to a specific channel when pressed.

Team mates/Streamers could use it to inform somebody in the quiet channel, and the driver in the quiet channel can ask questions to the team directly, without being distracted by their conversations.

TS does give you an annoying pop-up when somebody whispers to your location but that can be turned off.

 

[Kenadian]

This is really interesting stuff guys.

I'm not a personal fan of the whisper function simply because of the stupid prompt you get when receive one. I'd much rather hear comms instead of have to Alt + Tab to read something.

Is it possible to have 2 channels open and hotkey one so as to hear it only when said hotkey is depressed?

That would be awesome!

 

[Noodleguitar]

The whisper function is not only text, you can use it for speech. I don't know if it's possible to mute a selected channel.

 

[Skid_Marc_]

Make sure to click "Show Advanced Actions at the bottom of the "HotKey Setup Dialog" box.

Yes, you can set up a key to switch between tabs.

You will also want to bind a key/button to Activate Microphone when you switch your tab. (As I said, your microphone can only be active in ONE tab at a time.) Otherwise, you'll have to hit this button at the top every time you want to switch to talking in a new tab.

I also recommend mapping the "Toggle Microphone Mute" to a key/button. Use that if you want to talk to chat (or family, if you're like that) without interrupting TS, or when eating, etc...

I would also recommend mapping a "Toggle Speaker Mute" key/button, so that if things are getting too busy in TS, you can get peace and quiet at the push of a button!

 

[Kenadian]

I'm going to have to get @Deb to explain this to me. When it comes to settings in Teamspeak she has no equal

 

[Deb]

I would recommend that you look under "Settings" and then press "Mute", that should solve the problem

Please put me down for 4 - 6 hours in the Aston. I am not sure about times, perhaps I can fill in where needed. Again, would prefer single stints but will do doubles if you need me to.

I would put Bedo in for 3 - 4 hours in the Aston, but he probably won't know for sure what times. He usually can drive early in the morning or late at night, so you might put him there and we can play it by ear as his new situation unfolds.

Reid Westphal, another Fusion driver that drove with us at Daytona, wanted to drive two hours in the Aston. He said morning or afternoon. He can single or double.

 

[Kenadian]

I would recommend that you look under "Settings" and then press "Mute", that should solve the problem

Do I do that when I'm hovering over your name?

 

[Deb]

Sure, if you want, but for some reason I have a feeling you won't

 

[Kenadian]

Will Band of Others run League X?

After numerous queries in this regard I feel it's best to create an official response.

This response is not aimed at any one person, more to put to rest questions that inevitably arise when iRacing releases new Cars/Series, etc.

The "TLDR version" of this answer is No, Band of Others will not host any other League in iRacing for the foreseeable future.

The "Your going to have to read on to understand version" of this answer is Maybe which comes attached to very long strings.

The Band of Others Blancpain Sprint Series League for iRacing (B2O-BSS) is the product of nearly 2 years of the same core group returning week in and week out to prove or disprove the viability of the current system.

This equates to 48 annual Fridays generously donated by a small number of passionate B2O Members.

Given the tremendous time and effort invested in this League another will only exist if the current remains.

To be clear, the B2O Blancpain Sprint Series League will NEVER fold in interests of a replacement.

The only way a new League will be embraced is if the following minimum criteria is met:

• Enough long-term Membership is present willing to manage the series; this requires between 5 - 10 people weekly. I sadly cannot be involved due to time constraints.
• Enough drivers are consistently willing to grid. My guess is this is a minimum of 10 - 15 Drivers present weekly.
• It faithfully represents Band of Others in a manner consistent with our "fun first" social gaming structure.
• It is SINGLE CLASS ONLY! We'd require 300 iRacing Members here to make multi-class and B2O-BSS viable this assuming 10% of Membership is regularly active (usually the number is far lower).
• It is held on a night that does not interfere with B2O-BSS or #PracticePals (Mon, Wed, Friday).
• League is run by long-term active B2O Membership (minimum 1 year Membership and 100+ posts). *

If the above minimum criteria can be met then I'm willing to Register the League and cover all session costs.

* Community Membership is base criteria used to gauge commitment via historical data.

 

[Skid_Marc_]

iRacing's "Teams" option allows iRacers to share cars and participate in long 4, 6, 12, and 24 hour endurance events throughout the year. It is a very cool system that promotes team work and fits well with Band of Others social iRacing community! These events can bring in over 1000 teams per event, with team sizes varying from 2-16 drivers, per event.

However, because of the unique nature of these events, registering for these sessions are a little different from registering for the usual Official or Hosted sessions.

Select the race session the same way you normally register for a series;

• "Select A Session" in the top right
• "Sessions" tab under the selected "Series"
• "Official Races Guide"
• "Popular Races Guide"

Registering a TEAM for an Endurance Event

If you are the first person registering for a Team Endurance event, then you need to "Register Your Team". Registration opens 30 minutes before the session starts, just like any other official session (if the session starts at 13:00 GMT, then registration will open at 12:30 GMT and close at ~12:58 GMT. DO NOT WAIT FOR THE LAST SECOND!)

The "Team Registration" window will open up.
Select "Register an existing team" and select the correct team in the drop-down menu.
Select the Correct Car for the team.
Select "Team Members Only" in the "Who Can Join My Team:" menu.
If you are driving on the team you are registering, make sure the "Also Register Me For This Session" box is checked.
If all of the information for the team is correct, click the green "Register" at the bottom.

Registering FOR a Team BEFORE the Session Has Started

If you are joining a team and want your iRating to count towards the team's Avg. iRating, then you need to register for the team BEFORE the session goes live! Just like registering a team, select the race session through any of the means listed above, and open the "Team Registration" window.

Unlike registering the team, however, look on the right side of the window under "Join Already Registered Teams:".
The team(s) you are on should be listed at the top with a green "Register Me >>" button next to it. Be sure to find the correct team name, and click the "Register Me >>" button.

You should be added to the team, and your iRating will be factored into the team's Avg. iRating when iRacing calculates and creates the splits.

Registering FOR a Team AFTER the Session Has Started

If you do not want your iRating to count towards the team's Avg. iRating, then you do NOT want to register for the team before the race session starts. Just sit on your hands and wait until after the Session Start time (13:00 GMT for most iRacing Special Events).

Once the session starts, select the "Teams" drop down menu at the top of the main page, and select "My Team Sessions".
Teams that you are on should be listed at the top. Note that a registered team will registered for BOTH the race session AND an Open Practice session, so you'll probably have two available sessions for each team.

Make sure you're looking at the right team, and then mouse over the "..." in the "Details" column. Find the session with a "Start Time" that matches the start time of the Special Event (ie: 13:00 GMT).

When you have identified the correct Team and Session, click the "Join Session >>" hyperlink on the far right.

Once you are registered for the team, you'll get the typical "Join Session" icons in the top left of the screen, and you're welcome to join the session.

 

[Skid_Marc_]

Some Random Notes:

• You MUST ACCEPT an invite to the correct team BEFORE the team is registered for an event! It is best practice to make sure you are on the correct team the night before the event, to avoid being excluded from the event.
• The Team owner is responsible for all things related to paints!
  • Make sure the car has the correct ### selected.
  • Make sure the car has the correct wheel color selected.
  • Make sure the car has the correct paint uploaded to Trading Paints.
  • Make sure the suit is painted, or uploaded to Trading Paints.
• iRacing creates the splits by the Team's iRatings at the time the session is created. If one driver registers a team, then only his iRating counts for the team. However, if multiple drivers register for a team before the session begins, iRacing will average all of their iRating.
  • Only team members registered for that event will count towards the session.
  • iRacing ignores team the iRating of team members that haven't actually registered towards the event.
  • Registering for an event AFTER the session has started obviously has no effect on the team's iRating, as the splits are already set.
  • Band of Others will often determine registering drivers ahead of time in an attempt to get two, or more, cars into a split together. There are no guarantees, but we'll do our best when possible!
• There is no limit in team size on iRacing, but;
  • Only a maximum of 16 drivers can participate on a single team for each event
  • Only 6 team members can be in a session at a time. If a 7th driver wants to join the session, someone on the team will need to leave the session to open up a spot for the new driver to fill. This limits how many people can be in a session at one time.
• iRating counts in any Official Team session, just like in an Official solo race.
  • The gain/loss of iRating is calculated for the team, and then divided across the team members based on the percentage of laps they completed. If a team of 2 gained 40 iRating; one driver completing 75% of the laps will receive +30 iRating and his team mate, who completed 25% of the laps, will receive +10 iRating.
• Thousands of iRacers registering 1000+ teams for an event can sometimes destabilize the servers.
  • Do not panic if the page won't load immediately after registration opens.
  • Do not wait until the last second to register a team, or register for a team.
  • If, on the rare occasion the website is unavailable when the session starts, iRacing will set up a new session to accommodate the teams that couldn't get into the original session. Follow iRacing Support on Twitter, and keep an eye on the forums.
• Make sure to stay up to speed with team events by following B2O [Special Event] threads!
  • Get information about Event Details
  • Get information about the B2O Endurance Teams in the event
  • Share Setups and keep up with any changes/tweaks to the setup
  • Watch for important information about scheduling and registering instructions.
• Ask questions! Whenever you're not sure about something, just ask! There are plenty of people in this community that are more than welcome to help out wherever they can. Alternatively, maybe it's something we're overlooking and need to figure out together. However it works out, team events only work if everyone is on the same page!