Got A New Idea! Our Own League!!!!!

[ThaMaskedGamer]

I think Darwin first hinted at this, maybe instead of creating our on TEAM we can create our own league. Use this site, VGR as the basis for a league. Here is the proposal. We start a league, but unlike the other leagues, our league will more resemble a real motogp season. Here is the run down. The real motogp competition is based on TEAMS, which are based on Manufacturers and Riders. The other leagues don't really follow this, they have teams with scores of members, all riding basically only two bikes. Also, there races are too long, 20 or more laps.
Here is what I propose for our league.
1. A Full Season 2. 10 lap races 3. Sim Settings 100% 100% 50% 4. Real Weather 5. Team Based With Restrictions On Teams 6. Race times ALWAYS the same for consistency(for example Qualifying and then Race on Sunday Nights at 11pm Eastern Time)
Here is how the team restrictions work, sorta like the real thing. The TEAMS must have a minimum of 2 riders and a maximum of 3 riders, but only two riders from a team can race the actual race. The third is for redundancy. For a given season, there can only be TWO teams that use the same bike. So only two of the teams can use the HONDA RC, or the HONDA NSR. Of course, the team members must use the same bike. No new teams can enter the season, unless there is a vacancy. For example, there are 16 riders in a race, so that means we can have 8 teams in the league. Each team has 2 or 3 riders. So if we had 6 teams when we start the first season, another team wants to join, they could only choose a bike that isn't already used twice. Also, each team MUST have a team name and a custom paint job, and use custom riders.
This will ensure more varied bikes, shorter convenient races, more friendly races(cause the league will be closed in a sense), and resemble real manufacturer based racing.

[ThaMaskedGamer]

Here are problems with this idea, and also possible solutions.
1. Not enough VGR members own the game to field 8 teams. We would need 16 to 24 riders.
Answer. We have four members already, we can recruit the rest from LIVE. There are a lot of guys who arent doing MOTOGPXBL, cause it is just managed poorly and too wide open. KennyD, Kruza, Project7, CoolGForce, are all guys I know would enjoy this idea. Plus we wouldn't need all 8 teams for the first season. I would say we could start the league with 5 teams, and more could join during the season.
2. Teams would argue about who gets which bike.
Answer. Raffle the manufacturers. Remember this is about fun and it will be fun to race with all the bikes. Plus I wouldn't mind trying to win in a Proton. Each team would rank their four choices in order. The first season, every team should get either their 1st or 2nd choice. After the first season, we can choose to decide based on reverse standings where the weakest team gets first choice, or some other critera
3. Race times! What is best? And why always the same time.
Answer. Always the same time because of regularity, no need to wonder and inquire about when the next race is going to be, and it wont favor anyone. Time, 11pm is too late, most people work monday. I would say 8pm we start qualifying, with a 10 minute qualifying period. Then race starts at 8:30. The whole thing would be over by 9pm. This way the league wouldn't take up too much of our lives or hog our xbox gaming like the other leagues do.
4. Who runs the show.
Answer. Nobody, I could handle the administrative end, with maybe two back-ups. So we would host the room, record the results, and post them here, and keep track of season standings. Other than that, no crazy rules or racing codes. No repercussions or penalties or fights. Obviously, the league will be closed with a MAX of 24 riders in a season, 8 teams, 16 riders in a race. So we would be a close knit community, i'm sure everyone would race as cleanly as possible. And everyone would be understanding of an accident. Sure there will be arguments, but everyone should be able to put it past them.
5. Who will the teams be?
Answer. The teams are ideally 2 members, but a third makes sense, this way it will be easier to make sure at least one rider can show up for that team. If there are 3 members on the team, it will be up to that team to figure out which two rides in the race if all 3 do show up. It is up to you to find teammates. It could be Me and Massy, Darwin and KennyD, Glockstar and Massy. Who ever wants to ride with whom. You could find your team mate on LIVE. But obviously, they would have to sign on here.
6. Why Sim Settings?
Answer. We want skill based racing, we want to bring out the different attributes of all the bikes, we want people to properly negotiate other drivers, we want a sense of accomplishment. I think we should also have random weather on, because that makes it more fair for the weaker bikes. Maybe a proton handle better in rain than an RC.

So, what do you guys think. I also have some webspace through Verizon. So if we do this, I could also create a website for the league, but this forum would be our main source of communication, especially for the first season. Okay feedback and more ideas?

[Darwin]

I'll tell you why I like this idea better.

1) First of all, it simulates what really happens in a racing league. Take a look at F1. Each manufacturere has two drivers. Even the FIA World Rally Championship has only 3 official drivers per manufacturer. These leages keep track of the individual championship points as well as the manufacturer championship points.

2) Everybody gets to race who wants to race. With MOTOGPXBL, you get loads of guys qualifying for only 16 spots, so you could practice all week and still not get to actually race. I like it that everyone gets to race. (Well, as long as no more than 16 guys show up for any given race.)

3) Even if we weren't able to get all 24 people, the league would still work. Even with, like, 8 or 10 regular racers, it would still be interesting.

4) About ****ing time we see races with bikes other than the NSR and RC211. "What are you talking about Darwin? I though Honda was the only motorcycle manufacturer in the world."

5) This idea translates over well to the other upcoming racing games. SegaGT online and especially Pro Race driver also have a wide variety of vehicles to choose from and we could follow this basic format.

Here is a suggestion that I have. Perhaps we could have two identical races each weekend. One on Saturday and one on Sunday, but both will be the same track and same weather conditions. This could help solve several problems. First of all, if more than 16 of us are in the league, it would allow everyone a chance to race. Second of all, if someone happens to be busy on one day, they could race the next day. Let's say that a person wants to race in both races, the posted results of the weekend could be the average results of the two races.

I like this idea indeed. We would also use VGR as the signup place for each week's race. We could then have volunteers sign up to be the host and one or two backup hosts should the main host have technical difficulties.

MUFFler Kings forever !!!!!!!!! :-)

[ThaMaskedGamer]

That's a good idea, two races, but do you think we will have that many people the first season? The following season, as word spreads we probably will definitely have to do this. But, i'll be happy like you said if we can just get 5 teams the first season. If we do, that is only 10 - 15 riders.

Also, I wonder if this site can give us our own room? If not, I guess posting here won't be bad, its not like the content is gonna be overwritten, a lot of these threads will be around for months. So, I guess we should give a name for the whole league. How about, dun dun dunnnnn, THE VGR MOTOGP CHAMPIONSHIP

What u think.

[Glockstar]

Interesting. (Isn't that what I said about your posts on the the other racing league though too?)

I like it, I really do. And I can actually see this going places.

But do the two different "leagues" have to be exclusive? I mean, can't we try to set this one up while we race in the other one?

[ThaMaskedGamer]

First, we'd all have to get our bikes in top shape in order to even not get lapped on a 27 lap race. But before you even get through to the race, you have to do qualifying. Since there are hundreds of people the qualifying is held across several days. Then you'd have to be fast enough to qualify in the top 16 just to make it to the race, which is held on a different day.
Not trying to discourage you, but I got to thinking about it and said there must be a better way. If you want to enter some of those races you must be in a team, but some of them don't require that you are in a team, so find one of those and give it a shot. As far as starting a team of our own for motogpxbl, i don't know if I can devote the time needed to even get to a race. You could spend a few hours in qualifying, then have to come back and race a 20 lap race. Then after that, there is no guarantee that you will race the next week, because you may not make the cut. Actually, we could enter a team, and NEVER even qualify.
With our league, there would be 8 teams for the entire season. So every team races every week. There wouldn't be 20 people teams, only 2min 3max per team. So each week almost everyone would race. Qualifying(for position)would be a half hour before the race, a 10 minute session. Then a 10 lap race could be finished in 20 minutes or less track depending. Now, of course none of this is set in stone, we change it to qualifying on Sat, or qualifying for 20min session, or 15 lap race. My concerns were that it would be hard for people to commit both Saturday and Sunday. Most people party on Saturday or hang with family. Qualifying before the race for 10mins allows everyone to be ready, know the track, and warmed up, so races will be less sloppy. I though 10 laps cause 20 is too long, 5 is too short(if there is a crash, too hard to make up time). 10 is perfect(too me) long enough to test one's indurance and consistency, long enough to recover from a crash.
For time frame, all we need is 10 people minumum for the whole league, we already have 4 assumming Massy joins. We could easily get 6 people from online, I know a few, sure u guys know a few people too. Then we could decide on the bikes, choose hosts and administrators(record keepers), and start the season. It could be our goal, to this week recruit people, and next week start Suzuka!

[Glockstar]

Well you got me all fired up about MGP again!

So... make it happen, cap'n!

[Darwin]

<div class=\"smallfont\">My concerns were that it would be hard for people to commit both Saturday and Sunday. Most people party on Saturday or hang with family.</div>

My suggestion was that having two races per week would give people an option. They could race either Sat or Sun or both. If they chose to race in both, then we would average their results.

However, now that I think about it ... until we get a larger group of people committed to this, then this two races per week is not going to be necessary.

I do not work on the weekends. So either Sat or Sun night is fine with me.

Since Glockstar and I are on Live a lot at the same time, I'll volunteer to team up with him. And, I'm ready for a bike change. I'll be willing to race with the Yamaha YZF 500 like he's doing right now. Whoa, a 2 stroke, hey. Should be interesting.

[ThaMaskedGamer]

Assumming he accepts, which I'm sure he will. Now, all you guys have to do is pick a team name, and with all the creativity and color coming from you guys, i'm sure that it will be very witty indeed. Also, with Glocky and his artistic abilities, i'm sure you guys will have the coolest looking bikes in the league.

But, what are we going to call the league? VGR MOTOGP Championships
Or VGR MOTOGP GRAND PRIX? Or something else?

And where da heck is Massy? Is he still having problems logging in I wonder?

So, what about race times. I think Sunday is better, for the reasons I stated above. I never know what i'm doing Saturday night, and i'm sure its like that for a lot of people. But Sunday night, i'm usually home. At first I was thinking 11pm, then I said well most people may be on their way to bed(me i'm usually up at this time), and to devote an hour on Sunday at 11pm will be too late, plus the administrators will need time to record everything so they will be up even later. Then I was thinking Sunday at 6pm, but then people may still be out or coming home for dinner. So I would say something like 7:30 - 8:30 EST. Or anywhere between like 7pm and 10pm. We will only need an hour: 10 minutes to qualify, and a 10 lap race should finish in 20 minutes, throw in another half hour to get things organized and gossip.

Also, what do u feel about real weather, I figure it may take away some of the advantages of speedy bikes and racers. If you guys are online in the next few days, ask some decent riders if they are interested in joining. Also, settings what do guys think we should stick with 100% 100% 50%, collision on: forward only

[Glockstar]

... and to RANT A BIT!!!

First off, a few things:
- S*** yeah, I'll race with Dw.
- League name? Howabout... "VGR Championship Racing League" or VGR Championship Racing Series"? (Leaving the MGP out leaves the league open to future racing games - like PRDO.)
- Massi's on the west coast AND he's a Canadian... he's got all kinds of problems! jj :p
- I like Sunday racing - but you better recognize that the football season is about to start! That means football from 11:30 am to 11:30 pm, baby! Still, I usually am pretty tired by the ESPN Sunday Night Football game, I'll admit... so racing at 10 or 11 would fine with me. Just as long as the Packers aren't on!
- Using the real time weather sounds good to me. I mean, is that a cool feature, or what? Let's use it!
- Yes, stick with the settings 100/100/50; collisions forward... aka The 100% Sims. :)

Second off, BEGIN RANT!
Okay, so NOW I see why everybody's all about the Honda RC 211. And NOW I SEE WHY YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN BLOWING BY ME!

After getting absolutely fed up with every single one of my custom bikes (they're all done, topped out, can't get any better, that's it, maxxed-out - NOT!), I finally decided to try the RC 211. (Yeah, I'm slow - shut up.) Okay... I get it now... THIS FREAKIN' BIKE is, easily, TWICE what all of the other bikes are! I had only completed the first 4 training sessions and had gotten only halfway thru the Amateur season (without even touching ANY of the challenges), when I could tell that this bike could already blow away ALL of my other bikes! Sh!t, Darwin's heard me exclaim my joy when I got up to 182 mph on my other bikes - THE VERY FIRST RACE OF THE AMATUER SEASON THE RC211 got up to that!!! Are you kiddin' me!?! At 10/11/7/10 the RC211 is already better than the Yamaha YZF 500 at 38/20/42/40! NOT "Almost as good as"... NOT "As good as"... BETTER! You think I'm jokin'?!? C'MON!!!

Upon completing the first season and then the one-star challenges (and the one-star challenges ONLY) I then took the bike ON-LINE to see what it could do. AND PROMPTLY WON ALL 3 RACES THAT I PARTICIPATED IN! With a bike that measures out at only 24/30/11/14 , I was winning races on-line!!! Ahhh...!

Cheaters! All a ya!!!

[ThaMaskedGamer]

There is always going to be distractions that may force a person to not race that week. This is why teams can have a third member to increase the likelyhood that at least two riders from each team can show up. As far as time goes, 10pm may be too late. Remember most people will be working early Monday. I would say the latest we could start is 9pm EST then the race would be finished by 10pm EST. Or it could be earlier, but if we make it too early, the west coast people may be offended. One great time might be 7pm. Football ends at this time, and ESPN is only doing the football highlights, there is nothing on TV yet(except 60minutes), most people have ate dinner, the Sopranos or other tv shows won't start till 8pm. So, 7pm maybe good, we'd be done by 8pm, and for people who still want to hang around and race more, it won't be too late.
There is only one problem with keeping the name generic, what happens when both leagues are going at the same time? People just perusing the threads by subject could be mislead. Other than that minor problem, VGR Championship Racing League sounds good.
As far as bikes, yes the RC211 is a beast when it comes to top speed and acceleration. But overall the Honda NSR seems to be a better bike, so u might want to try that one out too. It is quicker through the turns and most of the top 100 rankings on a given track are by people using the NSR. I like the RC211 cause it just looks cool.
So now that you are Darwin are dating, lol, what bike are you guys going to use? Being that you are one of the first teams you got first dibs, I would say. I really don't care what bike I get stuck with, I think it might be fun actually racing the Proton or the Aprilia in a competition.

[Darwin]

So, you've seen the glory of the RC211, huh? Can't say I blame you. I've raced with that from the beginning.

The only reason the top guys are using the NSR is that a 2 stroke bike is easier to powerslide (because it's a lighter bike). On 100% sims, their advantage is mostly negated, though.

I don't have a problem trying another bike. However, I would prefer sticking with a 4 stroke bike (999 cc, the heavier bike) rather than a 2-stroke (500 cc, the lighter bike). That Yamaha YZR that you mentioned, that is a 2-stroke bike. I've gotten so used to using a heavier bike than going to a 2 stroke would negate a lot of my months of practice at the game. I'll be willing to switch to a non-Honda bike, but I would really prefer a 4 stroke bike. Hey, I raced several times using Max Biagi, and he uses the 4-stroke Yamaha. It's weight is very similar to the RC211, and I (or anyone who likes the RC211) wouldn't have many problems switching over to that bike. You have to realize that the braking points for a 2-stroke are significantly different than the 4-stroke.

So how about the 4-stroke Yamaha, Glock? You wanna pick that as our bike? I would recommend continue using your RC211 to build your stats, but take the Yahama 4-stroke out on the track a few times and tell me if they feel the same.

I took Masked Gamer's advice regarding Legendary mode ... and you know what ... I'm actually winning races. After my initial frustration, I decided to do some quick races with Legendary AI guys, to get a feel for how they work. Indeed, if you stay on your line you won't get knocked off nearly as much. You kind-of have to have blind faith going into those corners that the other guys won't touch you. I've now won races on the first 4 tracks on Legendary. My rider is now 48/20/47/47. The last race took me only one attempt.

[Darwin]

BTW, any time in the evening of Sunday is OK with me. So, whatever is most convenient for y'all. Remember that Mass is 3 hours behind us, time-wise.

In regards to the random weather. You may want to rethink that. Have you ever raced 10 laps in the rain with 100% sims? Maybe we ought to try that next time we're on together. I don't think you realize just how annoying it is to race in the rain with 100% sims.

[Darwin]

Sup everybody. Tonight Glockstar (a.k.a. Mr. Unlucky) and I were doing some MotoGP 2 online and I started talking with some of the other racers about this site (VGR) and us starting up a league. Several of them sounded interested, particularly because we're a) proposing a 100% sim league, and b) they feel it's too hard or too time consuming to get into the racing teams on MOTOGPXBL. Some of them added me to their Friends list, so they could find me a little easier. I figure that once we get a league started, we'll need to make sure everyone is on everyone's friend's list and we could post a comprehensive list on VGR of their gamertags.

First things first. Glockstar, MaskedGamer, and Mass: I think it would be a good idea to put your XBox Live gamertag in your signature lines. That way, if any newcomers who are looking to join our league happen to stumble onto our threads, they'll know instantly who we are.

With any luck, some of you I met online last night have found your way here. I am Methadone Man when I'm on Live. The only reason I don't post on this site as Methadone Man is because I've posted here so long under the name Darwin. For any newcomers,

Darwin = Methadone Man
Glockstar = Mister Unlucky
ThaMaskedGamer = Phaze Velocity

Any newcomers who are interested in possibly joining our new league, feel free to post. Just sign up for a free account and post to this thread. There is no minimum ranking or skill level to join. Any questions, concerns, suggestions?