HRV - RVH
A new player coming to the market. Prototype is done. Road version, official premiere and description coming soon!
3 Likes
“If I hear one more taxi engine joke…”, Rodin Gumprov, Mara’s chief engineer and lead driver for the rally, muttered under his breath after the official pre-race exhibition had concluded. After all, what could he do? While - after some revisions - the ‘official’ V8 in Archana finally had stopped overheating after longer intense pursuits, Rodin knew best that that V8 was far from being suitable for a 7 day endurance race. The 2.5L OHV I4 was the next best thing he had available, and it was already fitted to the Irena’s limited-production GTC variant anyway.
On paper, the Irena GTC was far behind some of the other entries on the exhibition, but Rodin hoped he had an ace or two up his sleeve for the rally beyond raw performance output numbers. On the way from Mara to Highport over the winding Northern route, the car had behaved pretty well, even on the rugged shortcut between Zlisa and Lewiny that he had deliberately chosen over the more comfortable - but longer - central highway between Wazduk - Willburg - Bad Neusund. Rodin wondered what worse than typical Archanan Hinterlands roads could the rally possibly throw at them?
View from the highway north towards Zlisa*. The rugged coastal road towards the border and Bad Neusund can be seen on the top left, looking already more like gravel than asphalt right outside Zlisa. The bridge on the right is part of the road towards Mentash.
After arriving in Highport a few days before the opening event, Rodin had focused on his ‘other’ official job besides lead driver and mechanic and got a good intensive look at the car technology that was standard on Gasmean roads. He also saw to it that he could spend a fair amount of time during the exhibition scrutinising the other entries to the rally.
He was both impressed and slightly worried about the other entrants and at the speed of innovation in the other countries in general. Still, his main business back home were bread and butter cars, and unlike his compatriots Vulpe and Stoica he could only afford to be eccentric when the next special state project was suggested forced on to his company. With these thoughts, Rodin retired for the day. He hoped that is co-driver Jakub Bondov - who had virtually disappeared from his sight since during the very first press interview immediately after their arrival in Highport - would show up on time for the start tomorrow. He wondered what the next days would bring for all of them.
[OOC: *As some of you might have seen on Discord, I have begun building the #gameworld map in Transport Fever 2. While I had to pause with that a while ago due to RL, I should be able to resume with small daily updates over Easter. Luckily, the part around Zlisa was already mostly done. The image shows a quick mock-up of a port and train line as well as upgraded houses and roads with traffic as they could look in-game in the 1970s. At the top centre of the picture on the other side of the bay behind the road and trees would be Bad Neusund - but that part of the map doesn’t exist yet.]
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https://i.imgur.com/P53oBb3.jpg
The main driver of the team, (then) 24-year old Gasmean rally driver Natalie Holbert. She is well known for her races in several rally championships, including a win the famous 1976 Trans-Gasmean rally. The ZKF is actually her daily driver, and apparently she joined the race by an invitation from ZKF.
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Well, my somewhat limited english and lack of time make it difficult to make it as amazing as You guys can do, but well I tried 
This is the first challenge I participate. Lets see if dont end up on the last place 
Let the adventure begin
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Down to the last 4 hours, it is now or never.
It should go pretty fast from their for the initial scrutineering and then about one stages per day posted until the final judging.
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Scrutineering & Poll
by Giorgio Diola and Jacques Dupal
April 10th 1979
The last competitors are in and the judges are ready to inspect all entries
JD: And now it is time!
GD: Indeed. This is very exciting. We had a few last minutes entries from HRV, Mistral and Tiburon, three great looking machines.
JD: So, to recap the process for everyone. The first step will be scrutineering. The judges will inspect all entries and make sure they are following the rulebook to the letter. Those that are found non-compliant will be relegated to the Exhibition class.
GD: I see the judges are already out on the field and ready for inspections. Some teams seems a bit nervous. We will let them do their job and we’ll reconvene afterward.
The judges, chosen from all around the continent by the organizers, are making their way car to car and inspecting all of them thoroughly. Tension is palpable from each team as they check every nuts and bolts. They take notes after notes, staying silent and nodding to each other.
This is nerve racking for some, while many veterans are confident. Finally, after what seems to be hours, they get on the stage, have a quick discussion and one of them, a large black-haired man, steps forward.
“Unfortunately, we have found some irregularities and we will need to relegate some teams to the Exhibition class - they will be able to participate and show what they are capable of, but will not be amassing any scoring and will not be judged.”
Another smaller blondish man then steps forward. “First team to not pass inspection is Flaner and their Bruler 2+2. Unfortunately, they generate way too much aero at the rear. Flaner will be relegated to the Exhibition class.”
The man steps back, while a very stoic woman moves forward. “Second team to not pass inspection is Turból and their Darlington. Unfortunately, they used cheap seals, gaskets and have a chassis that will not stands the elements enough to the satisfaction of the judges. Turból will be relegated to the Exhibition class.”
Another woman with dark glasses takes over for the next annoucement. “Third team to not pass inspection is IVERA and their Alkonost GT8. Unfortunately, their front aero were over the limit. IVERA will be relegated to the Exhibition class.”
The woman rapidly moves back in rank while the main judge steps forward to address the teams. “To our surprise and delight, many teams submitted cars that were at the limit of current technologies. This is a great feat of engineering from many teams around here, a testament to the great skill all nation possesses. However, much to our chagrin, one team specifically submitted a car we could only describe, after a lengthy discussion, as a supercar in GT clothing. This entry is so far above all others that a new class will have to be created in the future for such incredible machinery - the Supercar GT. Unfortunately, this is not a valid class for this year, and thus we cannot accept the Sovernator Chronos into the main competition. We are however very excited to see what it is capable of achieving in the Exhibition class.”
Binned to Exhibition: Sovernator Chronos
Reason: Ended up with 9 inspection flags for GT authenticity and technology, while the average was 3-5 for other entries. I had to draw the line somewhere, and this went way beyond it into supercar realm. I would have happily accepted a mid-transverse GT, but not with that many flags.
The main judge jolts down a few more notes silently and join back the group as they leave in orderly fashion. Many high fives are given while a few long faces unfortunately breaks the celebratory mood. All car slowly gathers to the starting line in the order assigned to them.
JD: …
GD: Some very surprising and heartbreaking disqualifications. We were very excited to see team Sovernator in action.
JD: Yes, always hard to see these kind of calls from the judges. However, we can still see them in action over the whole race, but I now know that Bernard will be very disappointed. At the same time, this is a consecration for them in a way - their entry was simply too advanced for this competition and I think they found a way to make a supercar that is as comfortable as a Gran Turismo, an incredible feat.
GD: Indeed. They will still have a well deserved holiday and will not face all the pressure. They can also enjoy a few extra bathroom stops along the way. As for the other disqualifications on technicalities, there are always a few team trying to find loophole or that were simply not thorough enough to make sure they comply. Now the judges will follow the participants, gather more info, and do a final judging round at the end of the event. They will also have to determine the best looking and most pleasing entry.
JD: So let’s get them all on the starting line and we’ll be able to soon let them go one by one for the first Stage of the International Gran Turismo Rally!
GD: Let the Rally begin!
The Exhibition Class
Those relegated to this class will still be ranked for each stages, so you can compare yourself to others, but will not count in the scoring and will not amass any points. Feel free to still post lore/flavor as we progress if this is of interest to you. It was not an announced class because I did not want exhibition specific entries to be submitted.
Qualified entries
@TheAlmightyTwingo
@Riley
@Prium
@SolidSnake
@HighOctaneLove
@cake_ape
@Der_Bayer
@AndiD
@SenseiB12
@th3maldonado
@Xepy
@Aruna
@Mikonp7
@BannedByAndroid
@Arn38fr
@Harvester
@Tzuyu_main and @chiefzach2018
@Kyorg
Congrats to all qualified entries and good luck.
Aesthetics Poll
The Aesthetics vote counts for a total of 8 points, please vote for the best looking entries, you have until the last stage to do so (around 7-8 days until then):
11 Likes
Excuse me, did I actually break any rules or not?
If you are arbitrarily excluding me because I followed the rules and used the same tricks as everybody else, except I did it too well, then that is complete bullshit. The goal of a challenge should not be to build the second best car to meet the rules. If there were “flags” you should have highlighted them before we spent hours building cars.
I demand points.
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Scrutineering criterias
Many commented I should post the scrutineering criterias outside the hard instabin rules to be fully transparent, so here they are. Individually they are fine, and many real GT had outliers in there as well.
- No quality spam (e.g. average +6 to +8 everywhere)
- Coupe body
- No light truck monocoque
- Front engine longi
- Less than 25mm tire staggering
- Tire width below 250
- Profile above 45
- Rims below 18 inch
- No maxed 3-pistons/vented disc front/rear
- No fully clad
- Above 25 engine cooling
- Below 50 brake cooling
- No benches
- Standard suspension
- Less than or equal to 1.5 absolute combined camber
- Minimal amount of oversteering
- 2 valves per cylinder max
- Realistic GT engine combination (V8 had a lot of leeway, but pushrod V12 or I4, or high perf low displacement iron casted V12 triggered this flag for example)
Honestly I feel like more challenges should post something like this for when they do their binning rounds. It would be helpful to know exactly why people got binned and such and the reasoning behind it further than “things weren’t realistic enough”.
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Luckily, I gave up on rear view device with camera! 
I was really looking forward to seeing how the Turbol Darlington would perform… I’m somewhat of an admirer or that car, twas love at first sight. Of all things, I did not expect it to miss out on selection due to that stat of all things … I’d feared it would have been too robust.
(I think I’m gonna edit this into a flavor post haha)
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Journal entry April 10
Dear Diary,
What a couple of days it has been! I love being away from home, out on adventures, seeing the world and doing something. Yes, finally doing SOMETHING! It feels good. What did not feel good was the aftermath of a crabcake dinner I had the other night. Not having that again! Who thought of combining cake and crabs anyway?
These days in Highport are a bit of a blur to be honest. I love seeing all these beautiful cars, even though it makes me a little nervous about the competition. They look fast! Not to mention, many teams have professional drivers and mechanics. I am but alone. But I’m making friends with the other teams, and hopefully they can help out if I really run into trouble. Hopufully the car holds up though, and I do have several years of experience tinkering with cars myself.
Today was an interesting day. The cars were up for inspection ahead of the race. I was nervous, because I was not entirely sure what my dad had done to the stock Deimos. To my great delight, the car passed scrutiny! Such a relief. I did hear about some controversy in the paddock, and I really do feel for the teams that were found to be in breach of the race rules.
After the inspection I decided to swing by the local Mons dealer to check out the Gasmea-spec Deimos. The people at the shop already heard about the “Fruinian Deimos” in the race, and were curious to see me and the car. They were absolutely shocked by the paint job my dad applied to the car. The nicest thing they could say was that it is… “unique”. They were impressed with the replaced interior though. The stock Deimos in Gasmea gets a few more electronic gadgets than the Fruinian export, but nowhere near as much as my dad installed in his. They were also interested in the fuel injection system on the car, because the Gasmean models still run with carburetors. Well, we spent a good afternoon chatting about cars, which relaxed me greatly. Now I must try to rest - tomorrow is the big day. Let the race begin!
F.
PS: I was mighty impressed with the showroom set-up here. They had a very modern and futuristic display of the Deimos. I managed to take a snapshot of it. I hope it turned out!
1 Like
Archana takes on the World!
Workers of Gasmea
5th April, 1979
Excerpt from larger article
WoG: So, how excited are you about driving around the continent?
DV: Very excited indeed. This journey will provide us with many unique experiences and opportunities. We will also have the added benefit of making new friends along the way!
WoG: How did you like Highport? What was your best experience and worst experience since arriving here?
DV: Highport is nice, if you like ostentatious displays of wealth, but we avoided the tourist strip and found the true soul of Highport; the many cafe’s, bistro’s and parks of the Old Quarter. Our best experience was a lovely seven meat medley; a fresh baguette stuffed with sliced ham, beef and five kinds of smoked sausage! Our worst experience? The local Archanan restaurant promised authentic Archanan dining; they lied. I’m going to have to report them to the Committee of Archanan Culture when I return home! laughs That last part was a joke! laughs again
WoG: Can you finish first in the first leg of the race?
DV: Could we? Maybe, if we pushed really hard and took silly risks, but our plan is to play the long game; slow the pace, win the race! laughs
WoG: Who’s your biggest competitor? Do you have a rival?
DV: Our biggest competitor? I’d say it would be luck, entropy, providence, call it what you will but we are all united, as brothers, against a gruelling schedule and recalcitrant machinery! laughs No, no rivals, but it would be nice to be the first amongst Archanan equals, laughs if you understand my subtext. winks
WoG: Plans upon reaching Oakridge?
DV: Getting our logbook stamped, having a long soak in a hot-tub then getting plenty of rest; after eating a hearty meal, of course! laughs
WoG: Thankyou for your time, good luck and happy trails.
DV: You’re welcome; anything for a fellow worker of the world. smiles
END
OOC: Hey @AndiD, this paper would have interviewed your team as well so feel free to use the name for your own flavour post, hahaha!
2 Likes
I have discussed the issue with karhgath and we’re not seeing eye to eye. I take exception to the concept of a secret ruleset within a public ruleset. I take exception to an engine arrangement being greenlighted in the written rules, but then being of the knife’s edge of elimination from the outset.
I find it astonishing that you are given the rules and ET/PU resources to build a bygones-Veyron and then get banned for making something with 251hp + slushbox. We were told, verbatim:
“So, either go authentic European classic GT cars, or be creative and tell a story.”
“Realism is important, but not critical.”
“if you can make these criteria work with another engine placement configuration, you’re more than welcome”.
That is a poor way to set up a challenge. This is a poor way to treat people who enter it. If you want realism to be critical, put it as a five star category and say as much. If you fail to express what you really wan’t, don’t hold people hostage over it.
Over the PM discussion I have offered to take the extended ruleset into account. With trivial changes to the design (brake cooling, camber, etc) I could take my car down to 4 “flags”, one of which is being MR. This is still not good enough, the goal posts keep being moved.
This is not being spelled out, so I am speculating - I get the impression that I have polished my car to the point where it breaks the point system. I daresay I could have gotten similar stats from a FR, I just really liked the retrofutu Chronos concept. Either way, this is the kind of thing you are supposed to take care of in the posted rules or back end calculations. Cap benefits from a stat past a certain value for everybody, something like that. At least contact the player before the bin. Currently, to me, it is sounding a lot like “Sorry Usain, we are disqualifying you for being too tall. There’s this system of flags, you see.”
My goal is not to ruin this competition for the other participants.
I’m withdrawing altogether, both to allow it to continue and because I have no faith left in the host. I came on very strong from the start on this, and I still feel things are being done in poor form, but I’m sick and tired of fighting the machine.
Good luck to the remaining runners.
Bernard: So they’re saying we got a “flag” for having an MR car.
Alastair: Woo! Looking good!
No, a flag is a bad thing.
But they invited MR cars?
They didn’t really mean it. We’ve got another flag for having staggered tires.
But that’s the best way to make MR cars handle.
Well they didn’t really want MR cars. We got another flag for not having terminal oversteer.
But… Why would we want to go back first into a ditch like the lawyers in their 911s?
It doesn’t say. I guess they didn’t really want nice handling cars.
That’s rubbish.
There’s more rubbish in here.
So now what?
Well, we’re here. Might as well go the distance.
Exhibition?
No thanks. They’re saying our car is too nice to run with them. I see no reason to wait up.
If anyone is interested, I enclose the stats of my car.
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I’m with you on this one howler. It’s not the best form to allow an engine placement into the main ruleset and then have other secondary rules that basically rule out those engine placements from being viable. From what I see of the specs of your car, other than the fact that it’s mid engined, uses some much wider than average tyres for the era (or seems to from the pictures), and uses aluminium panels( which did exist but weren’t the most common and could easily be explained with lore) it seems mostly ok for a more pushing the envelope sort of vehicle. I personally would’ve gone with a slightly more GT friendly rear engined layout. I do partially see where the host is coming from though, since they specifically said not put in stuff along the lines of supercars like the Ford GT40. They did also however give an $80k budget, which easily lets you build such cars. Having that second list of binning criteria that wasn’t there at the outset of the challenge is slightly rude, and not letting you negotiate things back down to just 4 flags, especially when they stated that “realism is important, but not critical”, is even more so. There are some oof moments on both sides here, but still, I probably would’ve let you through.
The banter from your team members is pretty fun though. X3
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Could someone explain this to me ? Translator gives me some really wierd output 
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Difference between tyre widths.
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I believe when i was asking about entering a supercar instead of GT, the rules got slightly tweaked to allow them to enter, but not necesserily be accepted as its not true to form, 4 seats, front engine. If you go by the original rules, (which we can assume is the underlying thing that the company / competition wants) then your car would not of made it through. the rules were tweaked to compensate for some bodies having 7L cargo space, and mid engine things. Now we have your car and it all gets a bit wishy washy because while yes it can enter, its not really what is wanted by that competition, hence the flags. so now we need to draw a line.
I showed some cars that i thought would be good, and they said that isn’t what they wanted, and showed me some examples of stuff. this was on the discord a while ago. it got put into the rules bit at the top.
This came about because I tried to argue that group 4 was a GT catagory because thats what it was named from
It’s like reading the backstory for CSR, what really does the client want? A GT car, is a supercar a gt car? no.
The final rules are supposed to be what the company/competition wants. That’s why they are final.
You can’t expect everybody to know the details of discussions another person had with the host on Discord. If something is binnable, don’t change the rules to specifically allow it. Why would you ever?
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But you don’t see binning based on hidden rules or soft things such as “what the client wants” too often. In car buying challenges those things come into play later, in rally challenges I don’t recall seeing such things ever, though I admit I don’t follow them that much. Rally is an organised event in which there’s no real room for “not what we expected” - you need clear rules on what can enter and what can’t. Yes, they can be somewhat imprecise, like “our driver must be able to handle this” or sth like that, but not “should be a GT”, because that’s too vague to be any kind of rule.
4 Likes