iRacing Practice Pals 2.0

[Kenadian]

I believe we've laid a solid foundation within our iRacing Practice Pals program however issues remain that hinder widespread viability such as:

• Practice Pals often was chaos in Turn 1
• Pit Parties were poorly implemented and non structured which oftentimes led to spending more time in Pits than on track
• Drivers waiting in Pits oftentimes delegated the programs pace
• Practice Pals was completely unusable for longer stints
• New Drivers often confused about where and when to Pit out

This time around we'll start from the basics that work and slowly integrate additional rule sets to make the program truly work for everyone.

We'll also break the program down into sub-sections which should allow us to embrace changes more quickly than before. In order to do so we'll need some level of Driver Classification which I'll outline below.

Practice Pals Speed: These are the Drivers whom are looking to get faster. The emphasis here is how to gain those precious tenths without turning into a hazard.

Practice Pals Endurance: The Endurance Program is meant solely for those looking to run longer stints. These people need to be respected as they've a lot more invested than any other Practice Pal on the road so look out for them.

Practice Pals Racecraft: These are the guys who aren't comfortable in traffic and there are a lot of them.

...

The above are simply proposals but one of the glaring issues previously was no clear distinction between Drivers which led to frustration. Think of it, if you're there for the longer run only to get wiped out by a Turn 0 Hero who constantly laughs it off, it can get frustrating over time.

Frustration is the most highly contagious issue we face and it affects ingame comms rendering a Stream uncomfortable to watch.

...and boring if you add in all the Pit time.

The overview remains the same and that is close proximity practice however this time around we'll make sure the focus is on clean.

In previous sessions, many Drivers thought it was fun to simply kill one another, and it is fun to be honest but it makes for bad TV.

It's important that all Drivers know that Practice Pals is a door into our League and if we drive like n00bs then the only Drivers we'll attract are n00bs.

If we can't clean it up with this new way of thinking we'll be forced to implement a penalty system for avoidable wrecking.

Thoughts?

 

[Fromthenavy]

Agreed

Good write up, I think you hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately I'm usually not available for Monday night practice but have seen similar issues in our Friday night league, not as severe but cases that can be worked on.

One thing I'd like to add is the participation level, this more pertains to our League R&D as we have had a low car count the last few weeks but ultimately have really great clean racecraft and usually a few drivers of similar skill levels which makes it more fun and entertaining all around.

I know I'm not the only one that can be found in the pits to do laps by myself to get a feel for the track. Once my confidence level goes up that I won't be a hazard to other racers close with me while I'm still learning the correct line and braking points.

Should we have something similar to a roll call when pitting out? We usually announce it when pitting out but some drivers may not have enough time to react or get out quick enough.

 

[Daunt]

In my opinion, every session should be treated like a race. If you're in close proximity to at least 2-3 other PP drivers you should be racing as if it's official and make every effort not to crash out. It sounds like a no brainer but sometimes we all get carried away.

The only time you should be practicing to get fast (your definition of speed) or find the line is if you're with maybe 1 other driver or by yourself (could be in the same session, just drive on your own for a little)

 

[Noodleguitar]

In my opinion, every session should be treated like a race. If you're in close proximity to at least 2-3 other PP drivers you should be racing as if it's official and make every effort not to crash out. It sounds like a no brainer but sometimes we all get carried away.

The only time you should be practicing to get fast (your definition of speed) or find the line is if you're with maybe 1 other driver or by yourself (could be in the same session, just drive on your own for a little)

This is pretty much the same as what I was going to write. If you're looking to improve your line and speed then Practice Pals is not a good environment, solely because it promotes driving in a pack.

I do like the Endurance group, for people who would like to do a full stint in "traffic". Because of the nature of Practice Pals, mistakes happen frequently and this can easily end an endurance run so it would be nice to identify drivers who are doing such a run and have "unsure racecraft" drivers drive more safely around them. An example is avoiding a 2-wide attempt in a difficult corner if both drivers are not sure they're going to make it.

Does the original procedure still stand? Meaning everyone leaves the pits as a group and then whenever somebody crashes out they merge back into that group as it comes around depending on their pace?

 

[Kenadian]

The procedures are still the same but work needs to be done to distinguish between groups hence speed and endurance.

I know you guys don't agree but we have 2 guys here who constantly belittle themselves in Teamspeak because they're not fast.

To address one group of Drivers and not the other isn't a good idea.

Us 3 are looking for close clean racing but keep in mind that is based off where we are as Drivers and our abilities. Not everyone is at our level of comfort and as such are looking for different things in a Practice Session.

Close proximity practice only works if you can keep up with the cars in front of you (or catch up to them).

 

[Daunt]

I'm still confused then. Why would someone in the speed group be ok to drive a little less than official-type racing in a pack setting? I expect every driver, no matter what they're trying to accomplish, to race as if it's an official session, when you're in a pack of 3 or more drivers.

I understand some drivers might not be as safe as others, whether due to talent or recklessness. Accidents happen and in the end, it is practice. But if iR 1000 John Doe, who is not as safe as most, is still racing his best as if it's official, I won't be mad if we wrecks me on accident. But if he's dive bombing or doing other reckless things, it's another matter entirely.

 

[Kenadian]

I'm not really sure whats so confusing to be honest? If a person can't keep up to the pack then how are they expected to race within one?

To this day I still have to tell people when to Pit out and that's because it's still not clear to some. This will only become more prevalent the more Drivers we add and it needs to be addressed as it was never addressed previously.

All I'm trying to do is establish what it is people are looking for and put Drivers that are looking for the same thing together.

Geeze, if I could identify it with different skins and car colors, I would.

All you have to do is watch any stream I've on Twitch and you'll see what I'm talking about. There are some of us whom are practicing in close proximity and others who can't keep that pace and quickly fall back.

Some Drivers I've brought into TS to turn laps with us have never returned and it's always the guys who come to practice with us but end up Driving alone.

The point is that over the course of your Membership at iRacing, did you not go through stages to get to where you are, I did?

I was not naturally quick (I'm still not), but I was consistent and practiced my ass off.

The early days it was all about finding speed because I was controlled but slow.

Once I started to find speed I was more out of control so I worked on getting the control back (first and foremost) while building on the essentials I learned in trying to find speed.

Now that I've sped up and found the control back (for the most part), I'm now looking for Endurance.

These were my stages and I know I'm not the only one to have experienced them hence the breakdown.

We're building and populating a League now that allows for a minimum D-Class Road License. This means the potential exists to allow in inconsistent and off pace Drivers.

We need to help these Drivers to be able to keep up to the pack if they're to race within it.

Honestly, I wouldn't go through this kind of effort if I didn't see it as a continual issue.

 

[Daunt]

What is making it confusing is you. Not trying to be offensive or anything; just trying to see your logic. Why would anyone do anything but race their cleanest in a pack setting? So what if people drop back or pull away... that is what happens in racing. Even with us, as close as we can be, it happens. It is going to happen no matter what. If it happens, pit out again ahead of the pack. I know I do it sometimes when I make an error.

It sounds like you are moreso trying to force pack driving over trying to excel through it. When I'm pack driving my goal isn't to stay in the pack and I can only assume everyone else feels the same way. We get good practice but my goal is to pass the people ahead, stay ahead of those behind me, and get away to the point where I can hotlap on my own. It is a lot easier than it sounds though, obviously, but it is perfect race-atmosphere practice.

 

[Kenadian]

Kyle, they can't race in a pack if they can't keep up to the pack.

Seriously d00d.

I'm losing more Drivers than I'm able to retain in Practice Pals so something has to be done.

I've a League that you expect to be live at any time yet we have no populace to support it.

Something needs to be done so I'm trying something new.

The entire Practice Pals formula isn't working as intended and it's why there's a skeleton crew remaining. It needs to change and the clock is ticking as the League will NOT LAUNCH with the Driver count we have now.

On top of this I've lost Drivers who've not been able to practice close with us so I'm addressing that issue as well.

 

[Daunt]

I thought that is a no brainer. Of course you can't pack race if you can't keep up. I'm just not sure how you making categories is going to help that? I'm just saying I don't see that as the problem. PP isn't flawed. The only thing I've noticed that we haven't done recently (that I know of) is openly invite drivers that we're running with in-session into our TS. We gained a lot from just doing that.

And I'll be honest about our league, if it's literally just between us 5-10 drivers I don't get a feck. I would put money on more people seeing the league and jumping into it... gaining more drivers as we go. But we have fun, we already run periodic races every Friday... who cares if it's just six or seven of us. The only thing we're not doing is keeping track of standings at the moment. We are pretty much running a league and having fun. Adding ten more drivers won't make it THAT much more enjoyable. It's already a blast.

 

[Fromthenavy]

And I'll be honest about our league, if it's literally just between us 5-10 drivers I don't get a feck. I would put money on more people seeing the league and jumping into it... gaining more drivers as we go. But we have fun, we already run periodic races every Friday... who cares if it's just six or seven of us. The only thing we're not doing is keeping track of standings at the moment. We are pretty much running a league and having fun. Adding ten more drivers won't make it THAT much more enjoyable. It's already a blast.

This, we have a really good group of guys. A few more drivers that run with us respectively would be good but as of now for our R&D sessions we're having a blast. Looking through some of the streams there's room for improvement but what's common between all of the league sessions we're having a blast even with a small car count. As I'm here to grow and become a better driver I'm also here to enjoy myself and have fun.

 

[Noodleguitar]

Grouping drivers together based on pace should occur naturally. I don't see a problem here. If you think you are faster you pit out behind the group and if you think you are slower you can pit out in front of it. Then, after some battling the group might separate into smaller groups, which each contain drivers with the most similar pace to each other.

However, people will be singled out if we don't have enough drivers who share their pace. So the only problem I see is that we have too few people in total.

Another way to go about it would be to yell to those ahead of the backmarkers to slow down their pace to match that of the slowest driver. But I doubt anyone would have fun running around at a sub-optimal pace while looking at the trackside environment. Nobody would learn anything either because you wouldn't normally drive intentionally slower in a race.

How to get more people interested in Practice Pals / league is a tricky one. We could maybe start posting more inviting threads on the iRacing forum?

 

[Fromthenavy]

Would like to state with as much fun prodding and joking around that we do Practice Pals will turn you into a more competitive racer. I've been with you guys less than a year started with absolutely zero road racing experience and just a little over 7 months later we're keeping up with Noels pace.

Trying to get this thread updated with newer thoughts / suggestions for the current Practice Pals format. I think it's structured enough for us to gain something from every practice session that we do (most of the time) but lenient enough where it's not over-bearing.

What do you guys think? Has practice pals helped your race craft, speed, awareness, warp your sense of humor?