Mille Monti 1953 [CLOSED - PROCESSING]

Community Challenges & Competitions
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Mille Monti 1953


Introduction

The Mille Monti was a legendary road race all across western Fruinia, its winding coastal roads, narrow city centers and treacherous mountain passes. It was a race for everybody - you could run your average family hatchback and enjoy the ride or bring your fragile sports racing car and fight the most prestigious brands in motorsports history. All of that on public roads, lined with enthusiastic spectators, always on the edge between glory and tragedy. The race became known for its prestige and difficulty, attracting top drivers and manufacturers from around the world. Can you build one of the iconic cars of the era, successfully overcoming the hurdles the Mille Monti will put ahead of you?

The Route

Ahead lies a picturesque route of 1132 kilometers through beautiful Fruinia, with the starting area in Meranio, the heart of Pierona at the foothills of a vast mountain range. There, cars will be sent on their counter-clockwise journey one by one in 1 or 2 minute intervals (depending on number of entries). The first starters in the very early morning will be the smallest touring cars, followed by the smallest sports cars, and then class by class, with the smaller engines starting first. The big 2 liter + machines will get going at daylight and chase down the other cars already on their way to the west.

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Leg 1: Meranio > Bongato (60.5 km)

Leg 2: Bongato > Marena (95.0 km)

Leg 3: Marena > Porto Castelfranco (233.0 km)

Leg 4: Porto Castelfranco > Piancossato (136.8 km)

Leg 5: Piancossato > Terso (152.0 km)

Leg 6: Terso > Doriana (224.2 km)

Leg 7: Doriana > Monte Vias (67 km)

Leg 8: Monte Vias > Meranio (163.8 km)

Download link of the Test Tracks in a scale of 1:30 (1 km track equals 30 km fictional world km) here:
Mille Monti Tracks.zip (5.3 MB)

Extract the zip file to C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\AutomationGame\Saved\UserData\Tracks and you’ll find them on the Test Track tab.

The Trophies

There are many different winning conditions - choose your goals according to what is fun for you! In each category the top 3 cars will be honoured.

  • 8 x First to arrive in any city
    For the first car (independent of class) to arrive in the respective city. So choose a smaller capacity class if you want to start ahead of the pack! The Trofeo di Terso is very prestigious because of the huge crowds waiting for the cars in the capital. But the Trofeo di Meranio is also very important, as the winning car will be the first one at the finish and thus the buffet. And there is no alternative for the hordes of journalists in the parc ferme - your car will be noticed!

  • 16x Fastest Leg Time
    One trophy for each fastest sports and touring car per leg.

  • 10x Class victory
    One trophy per class for the quickest car from start to finish.

  • 2x Corso d’Eleganza
    For the most beautiful and period-correct sports and touring cars.

  • 1x Overall victory
    The overall victory across all classes for the quickest car from start to finish.

The Rules

Rules have been determined to allow for creativity and many different kinds of cars.

Game version: stable (no beta)

Car Model Year <= 1950
Car Trim Year = 1950
Engine Family Year <= 1950
Engine Variant Year = 1950

Naming Scheme:

  • Car Model: MM53 - <your name/nickname>, example: MM53 - Der Bayer
  • Car Trim: , example: Cisalpina Rivetto 1100 MM
  • Engine Family and Trim name are up to you
  • Car Body Year: 1940-1956
  • Mod Car Bodies: allowed, but no open wheeler and meme bodies. When in doubt please ask.
  • Car Livery: not allowed, period-appropriate colours preferred. Two-tone paint is ok.
  • Sponsor Decals and racing numbers: not allowed (will be applied by the hosts)
  • Aero Fixtures: no wings, lips or spoilers
  • Body Tech Pool: +6
  • All other Car Tech Pool: 5 (default)
  • All Engine Tech Pool: 5 (default)
  • Tire Quality: 0
  • Tire Type: Cross Ply (the road tires, no Cross Ply Race)
  • no use of Tire Diameter slider in Advanced Trim Settings to obfuscate running tiny tires
  • Suspension toe is limited to values between -1 and +1 degree (both front and rear axle). There are advantages to be gained with regards to cornering when you go to these extremes.

Wheelbase (as displayed in body selection screen)

  • <= 850 cc: at least 1.8 m
  • <= 1100 cc: at least 1.9 m
  • <= 1300 cc: at least 2.0 m
  • <= 2000 cc: at least 2.2 m
  • above 2000 cc: at least 2.3 m

Tire Width

  • <= 850 cc: 135 mm or less
  • <= 1100 cc: 145 mm or less
  • <= 1300 cc: 155 mm or less
  • <= 2000 cc: 165 mm or less
  • above 2000 cc: 165 mm or less

Car Category: Sports or Touring (you decide)

Sports Car Regulations

  • Chassis: no Monocoque
  • Body Panels: no Steel
  • Fuel Type: 98 RON
  • Seats: 2 full front seats. Having more seats is permitted.

Normalized Desirability: 80 or more in at least one of the demographics (do not change the active countries to calculate the demographics score, i.e. leave all 5 countries activated)

  • Sports (Budget)
  • GT
  • Track (Budget)
  • Light Sport (Budget)

To get the right desirability score, the sales price in the Market Tab must be set to the max. budget for your category and engine size (see Approximate Cost Limit below).

Approximate Cost

  • <= 850 cc: $11,000
  • <= 1100 cc: $13,000
  • <= 1300 cc: $15,000
  • <= 2000 cc: $18,000
  • above 2000 cc: $20,000

Touring Car Regulations

  • Chassis: no Spaceframe
  • Body Panels: no Aluminium
  • Fuel Type: 92 RON
  • Seats: 2 full front seats, 2 full rear seats (exception if engine <= 850 cc, then 2+2 is accepted). Having more seats is permitted.

Normalized Desirability: 80 or more in at least one of the demographics (do not change the active countries to calculate the demographics score, i.e. leave all 5 countries activated)

  • Family (Sport) (Budget)
  • City (Budget)
  • Commuter (Budget)
  • Fun (Budget)

To get the right desirability score, the sales price in the Market Tab must be set to the max. budget for your category and engine size (see Approximate Cost Limit below).

Approximate Cost

  • <= 850 cc: $7,500
  • <= 1100 cc: $8,500
  • <= 1300 cc: $10,000
  • <= 2000 cc: $12,000
  • above 2000 cc: $13,000

There is a spreadsheet you can duplicate and modify to check your entry and min-max the performance of your car:
Take a look here

Relevant for performance:

  • raw track time
  • drivability
  • car (not engine) reliability
  • comfort
  • visuals score (determined by a public vote)

Inspiration

Sports





Touring

(borderline Touring depending on rear seats)

(not a 4-seater, but a cool photo)

Participation

Please submit your entry (only one car can be entered per player) only using this Google form (Google account required): the entry deadline has passed, no more entries possible.
Entries sent via direct message will be ignored.

Deadline: April 22, 11:59 pm CEST

I expect plenty of entries and thus have automated large parts of the processing. The automation requires you to be honest with your entries. I will check all entrants with an automatic script. I will check all the top 3 winners in each category manually and repeat the track simulation and check the demographics score. No cheating at the front! I would really appreciate a nice, gentle and honest competition. If necessary I will blacklist severe rule-breakers for future challenges.

There is no chance for a re-submission and no mercy towards rule-breakers. Please check your entry before you send it.

Result Presentation

The results will be presented in two videos on YouTube:

  • one video going through the participants and revealing their stats and score in the design competition
  • one video presenting the overall winners, recorded in an app I made where all cars are moving over the map at the same time, one started after the other, so that we can see the results building up over time.

By your participation you agree that I may use images of your car in these videos.

FAQ & Clarifications

  • Q: Where do I need to put the test tracks?
    A: C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\AutomationGame\Saved\UserData\Tracks

  • Q: Are roof chops allowed to fake a convertible on a closed top body?
    A: Yes, no problem!

  • Q: Is the use of advanced trim settings allowed?
    A: Yes!

  • Q: What about using (negative) quality slider settings?
    A: There is no limitation regarding quality sliders. Go wild!

How Tech Pool settings should look like:

techpool1080
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Where to find the approximate cost of your vehicle:

buget1080
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Where to enter the sales price (approximate cost limit):

marketsprice1080
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Where to find normalized desirability (do not change the country settings under the small “world icon”, i.e. leave all 5 countries activated):

desirability1080
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35 Likes
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Rules Finalization Phase

The challenge is not open yet - I would like to collect feedback from the veterans if there are any major loopholes in the ruleset first.
The challenge will open shortly after my YouTube channel has reached 5000 subscribers (which will happen quite soon).

Thank you for your feedback and questions in advance!

3

What about body moldings that have been placed and scaled to resemble actual aero fixtures without the benefits? Are those not allowed either?

This would’ve allowed for the use of the '56 Swinger body sets (which are actually mod bodies, and hence ineligible for selection) had the vanilla version still been available (which they aren’t, sadly), given that to some, they wouldn’t look too futuristic for 1953. But why haven’t any PU/ET limits been imposed (yet)? Is it because of the minimum desirability requirements?

Also, I’d suggest limiting all entrants to no more than 2 valves per cylinder each, regardless of valvetrain and engine configuration.

Moreover, the reason why mod body sets are not permitted under any circumstances in this challenge is because some of them (including all legacy bodies) are quite broken as things stand right now.

Furthermore, if a car’s normalized desirability in at least one of its class’s target markets exceeds the minimum threshold, then it passes the desirability test even if fails to reach the minimum normalized desirability in any other target market, if I’m not mistaken.

As for wheel and tire regulations, I am proposing a minimum tire profile of 80 and a maximum wheel diameter of 14 inches.

And last but not least, are we limited to one car per class, or one car in total?

4

??? the swinger body is in vanilla, there’s just also a mod version

5

Can we /please/ have more techpool (even if fixed) and less cost to compensate? Playing at wooden barn level for a given year feels wrong now.

1 Like
6

For the livery bit, are we allowed to have something really simple, like two-tone paint done using fixtures? One or two stripes down the middle shouldn’t really be too period incorrect, and could make for a more interesting pack.

7

Advanced Trim Settings? Some bodies need more track width or wheel offset.

2 Likes
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Damn, no Le Mans body. Ah well…

9

Are the prices in USD or AMU?

10

As long as the car looks like a car from the era and does not grow wings, you can do whatever you like. But don’t use aero fixtures. Stuff like a D-Type tailfin in completely fine.

I don’t want to overcomplicate things. There is a budget limit - how you spend it is up to you.

Yes, you only need to meet one of the target demographics scores.

Not necessary, as tire quality is fixed at 0. Larger tires will be heavier, there is no reason to go for very large rims, other than for very heavy cars (larger brakes), but they won’t do well on these twisty roads anyway.

Yes, two-tone or a simple stripe is fine.

If I am not mistaken, advanced trim settings don’t affect the physics. So go wild.

In-game currency.

Rule Update 1

We have had a discussion about Tech Pool yes/no on Discord yesterday. I agree that a bit more freedom is nice and that staying at default fixed Tech Pool levels would be easier for beginners. That’s why these changes have been implemented:

  • Car Model Year <= 1950
  • Car Trim Year = 1950
  • Engine Family Year <= 1950
  • Engine Variant Year = 1950
  • Car Body Tech Pool +6
  • all other Tech Pool (Car and Engine): default setting, +5
  • massively reduced budgets (approximate cost limit)
  • raised Touring Category demographics score requirement to 80
  • allowed Fibre Glass for Sports Cars, although I think it is not viable

I am not the biggest fan of the changes myself to be honest, but please let me know if this feels better to you.

Somehow +5 everywhere goes way beyond of what any sportscar manufacturer had available back in the day in my opinion. Maybe it would be better to give +5 to the touring category only and +2 or +3 to the sports category? But I also don’t want to overcomplicate things any more…

7 Likes
11

I would personally keep Tech Pool points down close to 0 for the sports cars and give the Touring cars a slight boost (to give people more of an incentive to choose a Touring car). I built a sports car test with the previous ruleset pretty easily.

Maybe +6 for Body, +2 for everything else in sportscar, +3 for everything in Touring?

2 Likes
12

I actually agree with the rule changes, if only because they give us more freedom. However, I am in favor of retaining the +5 techpool allocation across all areas for both classes, for simplicity’s sake.

And I know that with the change in year requirements, shouldn’t this challenge be called the 1950 Mille Monti?

In any case, I built a sports car test mule to the original rule set, only to have to revise it after the changes were made - but at least I didn’t have to make too many sacrifices this time. And instead of sitting on the original budget cap, it’s now slightly below the new one ($18k vs $25k).

1 Like
13

I deliberately changed the design year to 1950, as the cars were not designed in the year they raced. Again, you could argue that sports cars were pretty much up to date and only had a development time of 1 year maybe, but at least for touring cars it makes sense to move the design year back a bit. As I don’t want to create two completely different rulesets for both categories, this is a proposal for a compromise.

2 Likes
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Yeah maybe. I’ll wait for more feedback from other people and then see if we need another change. I’d stay at +5 for Touring though, to keep it beginner friendly: even if somebody forgets to go for +6 for body it would still be alright.

15

One thing i think about with techpool is that it is a measure of what the level of tech the company can make if they use all of their R&D. It’s not a direct representation of what they actively put in their cars or is expected for a certain era. It also allows them to make things cheaper because they aren’t just researching the tech at the same year the game is. +5 (or 5 years out) is decent for a challenge with a flat rate for tp across the board. If you do lower it, which doesn’t make sense in my mind and will make the budgets much harder to reach, Sportscar should be higher than Touring because that’s your split between purpose built race cars and more normal road cars converted for the race.

16

Would you accept ‘fake roadsters’ - coupe cars with the roof visually removed?

And is there a limit on negative quality?

17

Overuse of negative quality (across the entire car, or in a specific area) would be frowned upon, although more moderate use of negative quality would be acceptable.

In addition, I’m also proposing the inclusion of an additional class sandwiched between the 1300cc and 2000cc classes - this one would have a capacity limit of 1600cc, and apply to both the sports and touring categories. It would fill the sizable gap from 1300cc to 2000cc.

And shouldn’t there be a naming scheme for this challenge as well? I’m proposing “MM53 - (your forum username)” as the required model and family name.

In the meantime, I cloned my test mule and its engine, to see if a smaller, lighter 2000cc version could be viable - and it is, although this time it sits on the $18k budget cap. It’s not much slower than the original, though.

1 Like
18

I would definitely submit something for the 1600 class, so I support its inclusion if possible. (Edit: I’m guessing it was omitted because the real Mille Miglia did not have a class between 1.3 and 2.0, so I’d accept it being left out. But I’m still tempted to submit a 1500cc car for lore reasons…)

Do I understand correctly that tech pool is fixed to the numbers given, but we are free to use whatever quality sliders we like (within reason)?

19

The markets tab has a price that the car should be sold for which is changeable, should this be the same as the approximate cost?

20

I’m not sure if it would be a good idea to set your fixed price to match your car’s approximate cost - the current rules don’t actually require it anyway (yet). The Group A Racing Challenge, however, did require us to do so.