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NASCAR Driver (Pro V)
 
Posts: 7810
Joined: 08 Apr 2002, 9:45 am

Post 29 Apr 2015, 7:30 pm

Let me start by saying I had no business finishing this race, much less coming in 4th. I was incredibly lucky in my dice. To recap the rolls:

T22: Brake w/ 1sp (modified 5)
T28: Top Speed (naked 7)
T28: Forced Pass w/ 2sp (modified 8)
T29: Brake w/ 1sp (modified 7)
T30: Chance w/ 1sp (modified 6)
T32: Chance w/ 1sp (modified 5)
T36: Brake (naked 6)
T37: Brake w/ 1sp (modified 7)
T46: Brake (naked 8)
T46: Chance (naked 8)

Of my ten dice rolls, three were on the chance table with only one bad outcome. Nor was the ‘bad’ roll all that bad – a spin in a situation that did little harm (to me, anyway). Lady luck was shining on me.

As this was the final race in the 3-race grand prix, I set my ultimate goal to winning the GP. Fabio and I went into the race in a dead heat on points. The only other driver with a chance to win the GP was Chris, who would’ve needed to win or place combined with a disaster from both Fabio and I. Basically, I had my sights set on Fabio the whole race and that is what drove many of my in-race decisions.

Lap 1: I was ok starting in the 5th spot but I made my first error in not pushing the start speed. If I’d done so I would’ve gotten through the first corner on turn 2. I ended up stuck in the corner and couldn’t make that first break. I spent 1/3 of my wear catching up to the chase pack and right after I did I made my second error, in Fagnes this time. Once again, I got myself stuck in the corner and was not able to keep up with the leaders. At this point I wasn’t sure how I would prevent Fabio from beating me.

Lap 2: I started to drop wear like it was going out of style. I needed to catch the chase pack to have a chance. By turn 23 and after dropping massive wear, I was only 2 spaces behind Fabio – however, he did have a six-wear advantage. I figured if I could somehow get in front of him, I might be able to stay ahead of him by rolling on the chance table. If I crashed in front of him, there would still be a possibility that I would roll Fabio up in the crash and end up tied for the GP. My opportunity came in the long back straight where my 180 top speed (with a push to 200) allowed me to jump in front. Yay for me! My first chance roll went well in the Bus Stop, luckily for those behind me... this time.

Lap 3: My second chance roll through La Source was also successful. By the way, at this point in the race those two chance rolls represented the only thing that could’ve tripped Randy up and stopped him from winning (hey, collateral damage – it happens). Once he passed me, he was in the clear and finished in impressive style. I caught a small break when Fabio missed a racing line but he did eventually catch back up. Unfortunately, he hit some bad dice and got stuck in the Paul Frere. That gave me just enough of an edge to gain inside position going into the Bus Stop chicane. Cody was a wild card here and, throwing caution to the wind, rolled his own dice to nail down 3rd place. His spin pushed me to the outside where I also spun, effectively blocking the track and setting up the drivers for that catastrophic T47. I knew the Bus Stop chicane would eventually bite! At this point, Fabio would need some luck on both the passing and chance tables to get back in front. His bad dice continued ensuring a GP victory for the red car. Inexplicably, I screwed up on the last turn, letting Cody grab 3rd in front of me.

Although I didn’t win, I felt this was both my best (& worst) run race. The early mistakes put me in a hole and catching up was not easy but I did it and even ran in first place for half a lap. Speaking of which, I don’t know if any of you had issues with me rolling on the chance table from the front spot but please consider my goal – staying ahead of (or crashing) Fabio was my primary goal and those dice were thrown in service to that goal. Sorry, Fabio - this was not personal and I think I played the game in the spirit it was intended to be played. I also set up future expectations for the field: The #25 Marines car will not be predictable in season 2 (yeah, Cody set those expectations too)!

I look forward to reading perspectives of this race from some other drivers. While not required, these post-race analyses (or EOG's in Diplomacy parlance) are both enlightening and entertaining. What was your best moment? Worst? Did you learn anything? Any new rivalries? We want to know!

Mike
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Indy Car Driver (Pro IV)
 
Posts: 140
Joined: 09 Sep 2014, 9:06 am

Post 30 Apr 2015, 3:48 am

I relentlessly conserved wear so that I would have a big advantage late in the race. It worked out.
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NASCAR Driver (Pro V)
 
Posts: 7810
Joined: 08 Apr 2002, 9:45 am

Post 30 Apr 2015, 4:54 am

Rando wrote:I relentlessly conserved wear so that I would have a big advantage late in the race. It worked out.

Are you mocking my 1,000 word thesis on the race?
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NASCAR Driver (Pro V)
 
Posts: 7810
Joined: 08 Apr 2002, 9:45 am

Post 30 Apr 2015, 8:12 am

I think a discussion on the rules should be moved to the Pit Row area. [IT HAS BEEN MOVED] At this point, we will be using the current rules for season 2. Note: There will be some minor changes that Kal and I will announce shortly but these are not substantial and do not affect the core of gameplay.

Let's keep this thread for race analysis only, please.
Indy Car Driver (Pro IV)
 
Posts: 110
Joined: 09 Sep 2014, 4:41 pm

Post 30 Apr 2015, 12:01 pm

The two races that I have been in in this season have been a learning experience for me, as the use of bids for pole position and the use of skill points are new to me.

SETUP

In hindsight, I overbuilt the top speed for my car, the build point to get to 180, could have been spent better on another category. Honestly, I did not do enough homework during the set up time and sort of threw my car together.

Starting position bid

I felt like I bid appropriately for the car I built for this race, I did get a favorable roll in the tie breaker and that was a huge help on the starting position.

Lap 1

On the second turn, I left an opening that I should not have left which allowed Cody to pass me, this is mistake 1 costing me 1 space and 1 position on the track. On the third turn, I hung John in the corner (Sorry John), at this point in the race my intent was to save a wear point more than hang John, but it put him a turn behind the pack.

This brings me to my next huge mistake, on Turn 11, I have probably the easiest plot of the race, and I NPR'd. If you have not NPR'd in the Redscape Formula Racing, my advice is don't do it. This cost me 3 spaces on the track, allowed 2 cars to pass me, and put me a turn behind the pack, which I would not make up until Lap 3.

Lap 2

After the NPR, this lap was about going as fast as possible using the least amount of resources. I dropped further behind this lap when I miss calculated my speed on Turn 20. Mike corrected my speed to the highest obtainable speed and replotted the move. While somewhat biased on this subject, I believe that should be rule and not have an additional penalty for making this type of mistake. Or there could be a progressive penalty where the first mistake is correct by the RM, but further errors would have a greater consequence.

Lap 3

So the most interesting turn of lap 3 for me was turn 38. I was at the Les Combes corner with 3 cars in the row in front of me and 1 car in the same row on the outside. Not being able to predict what these cars were going to do this turn I wrote a complicated set of orders to try and pass this pack. As luck would have it, my forced pass opportunity was there and I successfully made the forced pass. This set me up for a good run to catch even more drivers.

On turn 42 I was hopeful to get through the Fagnes corner, but got hung up in the corner. This delay cost put be back one turn, which was costly this close to the finish.

This brings us to the final corner and turn 47. I was on the inside of the track and with no resources (wear or skill points) I was probably going last. So it was dice rolling time. While it was a long shot (3 dice rolls required), I attempted to exceed the corner speed and make 2 forced passes. Had they been successful, I would have had a great shot at finishing 3rd, alas the dice finally failed me and I limped home in 9th place. It was a great race and lots of fun!

Kudos to Mike for a well run race!

Summary

As I get familiar with the rule set, I think I have a good feel for racing in this league. Most importantly, I've learned my lesson and getting your orders in on time is extremely important, I built a car in the Catalunya race to run up front and NPR'd my bid, so started dead last. I still managed a respectable 5th place finish and learned a lot about racing under these rules. The second NPR in the SPA race was extremely painful. The lost 3 spaces and failing to the rear of the field were hard to overcome, and still I had a long shot at finishing 3rd.

Looking forward to the next season and applying what I learned in these two races!