[en] Sim Touring Car Cup - Viewing recommendation

[Angryminer]

Hello.

I want to introduce you to the Sim Touring Car Cup, short STCC, which is a racing league using an online simulator software.
I'm a driver in this racing series and we, the drivers, compete once a month on different tracks to battle out the championship. We use a software called Live For Speed (www.liveforspeed.net) which closely resembles the physical behaviour of real cars. This way drivers from all over the world can compete against each other. Regardless of their wealth, only chosen by their driving ability.
After each race a ~30 minutes broadcast is created that shows the complete race with commentary with all the action and additional information. It nicely recreates the viewing experience of normal motorsports broadcasts, but takes advantage of the simulation software to provide additional information or show otherwise impossible camera angles.

The STCC is a free project. There are no funds raised and all people drive or organize only for their own and the viewer's enjoyment.
If that got your interest take a look at the viewer's guide (http://www.simtouringcarcup.com/Guide.html) to read up on the STCC. Or, you can directly head to the download of the latest race. There are different options to watch the broadcast:
Download the high quality (422mb) version from filefront.com: Click (http://files.filefront.com//;6132050;;/)
Download the low quality (~80mb) version from the STCC server: Click (http://www.bansheestudios.com/Movies/STCC3-TouringCars-LQ.wmv)
View the medium quality (~250mb) broadcast via google-video: Click (http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-6900888707256562521) (best method, in my opinion)
View the low quality broadcast via youtube: Click (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km3H1-xhePc)

I'm posting this here because the STCC is oriented towards the viewers. We do this to promote our hobby and because we think that many people could get a lot of fun out of watching the great fights for positions on the field. We are bored by BTCC-type low quality racing and want to see great maneuvers on the track.

I hope you have fun watching it. If you enjoy it, check www.simtouringcarcup.com for additional information, interviews, and of course the broadcasts for the other races. :go:

[Edit]
Oh, if you want to root for someone, I'm Patrick Galaske, the driver of car number 9, the red-white-black themed car that is talked about in the beginning when introducing the good cause of the race. :wink:

Angryminer

[Angryminer]

Here's a teaser-video for the next broadcast. Lot's of action. :go:
Right click here (http://www.stuartbaker.dsl.pipex.com/STCC/round4_teaser.wmv) and click 'save target as' (or however your browser calls it).

Angryminer

[Angryminer]

Another teaser for round 4 is here (http://www.ukct.net/dlfiles/STCC_Round_4_Teaser.wmv) (right click -> save), this time concentrating on giving you just enough information to make you look forward to the broadcast, which is likely to be released in the beginning of december. :smile:

Angryminer

[Angryminer]

The broadcast for the 4th round was released. Grab it here (http://www.simtouringcarcup.com/Race4Results.html). Definitely the best coverage yet.
(I recommend the high quality version.)

Angryminer

[Angryminer]

Round 5 is released.
Here (http://simtouringcartv.com/videos/index.php) is the downloads-page. Medium quality is 409 mb, low quality 92 mb - you may also choose to watch it via youtube, the google-video version will hopefully soon be online. There's also a Qualifying Radio-Cast available, but you'll want to first watch the race because it'll give you an idea of the track. If you're further interested in how the start-grid came to be you can then listen to the qualifying-cast.

Some great action this round, both in the qualification races aswell as in the feature race. Though I dropped out of the race with a technical problem... That's racing. :smile:

Angryminer

[Dobber]

Hello Angryminer, I just ran across this thread this weekend! I wanted to let you know I watched the Round 3, it was pretty cool, very much like watching a regular race! Are you still the top ranked XRT driver?

[Angryminer]

Thanks for the feedback. I was already thinking no one here enjoyed it. :smile:

I could tell you the current standings, but I don't know wether you saw all broadcasts yet, so I'll just give you the link to the current (http://www.simtouringcarcup.com/champ/drivers.php) driver's championship standings (after round 5) on the work-in-progress page. Though the results-page takes away some of the excitement of the broadcasts. You might wish to watch them before reading up on the results. See the link to the downloadspage for round 5 above to get the other broadcasts.
(The results on the page are sometimes slightly different from the ones discussed in the broadcasts because the stewards sometimes award penalties. That's for example why I was classified 3rd in round 3 dispite finishing 4th.)
As said above, I had technical problems in round 5 and thus dropped out of one race, which definitely hurt my position in the championship. So no, I'm not first in my class.

Angryminer

[Dobber]

My eight year old thought it was "awesome"! He asked, "Daddy, can I play that game?"

I guess I will be buying a race simulation game and racing interface for the PC!

[Angryminer]

The free demo that is available is a good showcase of the game. A sum of 4 tracks (one track, two configurations, each in two directions) and 3 basic cars (from easy to learn to pretty difficult to master).
If you try it, tell me, I'll give you a few hints to give you or your 8 year old an easier start. :smile:

But the online-experience on the servers for demo-players is quite bad. There are quite a lot people behaving worse than most 8 year olds. The situation is very different on the S2-licensed servers though.
(Here (http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=6817802779372665238) is an onboard-video from a race I had when I one day randomly joined a server. I'm the driver in the heavy closed roof sportscar, driving against another driver in a very lightweight caterham-like car. Just to prove the standard of driving in daily public racing ... when both drivers are experienced. It's quite a long video though.)

And speaking about onboard-videos. You already saw the STCC broadcast of round 3. On request of other drivers I recorded an onboard-shot of me defending against Tommi Harjula, the driver chasing me down fo the last couple of laps (17 to 20). The video is here (http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=-8795763471864720622).
(I'm driving the red/white/black car in the front, Harjula is the driver of the car with the camera in it, which is a second a lap quicker than my car. So definitely a tough call :smile: . For that round I earned the nickname "The Obstacle" :wink: )

Angryminer

[Dobber]

Was that the third round? I think I remember them saying it was Harjula that was trying to take you near the end! I think he started in last and worked his way up to 5th. I recall seeing you maneuver through some turns and brake sliding to cause him to have to brake as well. I think the announcer mentioned a good piece of defensive blocking on your part! And he was in a FXO car(a faster car) wasn't he?

[Angryminer]

Yep, all correct. :smile:

I had to use some "tricks" to keep him behind, that's right. But I kept tightly to the FIA rules (the STCC uses a ruleset very similar to the real rules of the FIA) and kept the position without doing anything against the rules.

I was asked to record the scene by other drivers (among them Harjula) because the broadcast only showed very few of it, because the fight for 2nd position was also going on while the above happened.

Angryminer

[Dobber]

Yeah, I think the announcer said you pulled some tricks there but didn't break the rules doing so, although you were pushing the limit or something to that effect! :biggrin:

[Dobber]

I checked out the Live for Speed website and from what I can tell it is only an online racing simulator. There is not any ability to try it out offline I guess?

[Angryminer]

You can play offline and there are even AI racers, but the priority of development is on the online-races.
The AI-drivers aren't very good. They start out as newbies and have to learn how passing other cars works, or how to evade a car on the track - they're pretty basic. Once they got the idea (some 60 laps of driving) they are fun though. But they never get really quick (...But they are quick enough for a start, I guess) because they seldomly drive the ideal line.

The game is still in development. Some things work very well, like tyre-physics (the sidewalls of the tyres bend according to the forces acted upon them and their temperature!), and some things don't work well, like collision physics with some specific objects (...though if you race seriously that seldomly plays a role :silly: ).

Angryminer

[Angryminer]

The broadcast for round 6 is online at www.simtouringcarcup.com. Watch it via google-video from the mainpage or download the higher quality version here (http://www.simtouringcartv.com/movies/STCC6-TouringCars-MQ.wmv).
The quality of the broadcast has improved by quite a bit this time. :go:

Angryminer

[Dobber]

What happened with you in this one, Angryminer? I stepped out of the room for coffee as it was starting up, when I came back they were in Lap 6 and they gave the race positions and you were not in the 19 they listed.

Okay at the end of the race, I saw the DNQ.

[Angryminer]

I had a disconnect during the last heat-race, which decided the grid. Thus I was scored last in that heat which meant I didn't qualify. Quite sad actually, I was the second quickest XRT in the field that day.

Angryminer

[Angryminer]

The STCC took a small break to fix some tasks that were waiting behind the scenes but finally it's back.
Check the broadcast for round 7 at http://www.simtouringcarcup.com/ .
(Best broadcast yet! It's really good. Not just because I start from 2nd place in the grid. :smile: )

Vain