The Automation Gamer Challenge [NEW THREAD]

Automation Pass Challenge™️

3 Likes

I can host… I would like to actually!

Only two more passes and you’ll be there

If people are having issues finding time to host I might be able to do it, though I can’t guarantee I’ll get the balancing down.
I’ve been working on a thing since yesterday, here’s a rough draft if you wanna take a look: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IfAXDzsHJfcm1SB7HHw12FA3k5SfjPC4m3CK645XMrU/edit?usp=sharing
(commenting is turned on so feel free to put in suggestions)

if by some bad luck it does pass next to me, i will have time just have to think of an idea that works well

I’d love to host, but I’m just in the middle of a busy period. Won’t be home most of this week and the weekend…

1 Like

Alright, I’m gonna do it; just need a bit of time to write up a post…

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AGC4: “Look mom I’m a race car driver!!1”





Background

The year is 2003, and MicroSim are working on their latest magnum opus: the world-class racing sim Autosport Championship. Featuring highly advanced (well, for 2003) vehicle dynamics and AI, the game lets you hoon around in anything from lightweight open-wheel kit cars to full-blooded GT1 race cars. What is missing though is an entry-level class for new players to get into the groove. Because of this, the dev team decided to add the Superhatch Clubsport Championship.

The Superhatch Clubsport Championship (SCC for short) is an accessible motorsport aimed at novice drivers getting their first taste of racing. As the name implies, the cars are restricted to 3- and 5-door hatchbacks, and are essentially modified production cars. Since the sport focuses on low-cost racing it’s most common to see used, slightly older cars racing, though factory fresh cars aren’t completely unheard of.


Rules and restrictions

General rules

  • Car model year between 2003 and 1983.
  • Body unlock year within 15 years of car model year, e.g. a car that started production in 1995 cannot use a body that unlocks earlier than 1980.
  • Body must be either a 3- or 5-door hatchback and be capable of seating at least two rows, i.e. no mid-engined cars.
  • No “Limited production”/”No mass production” flags on chassis (i.e. no fiberglass/full aluminium/carbon fiber)
  • No quality slider below/above -5/+5

Production trim rules

  • Engine:
    • Variant year 2003 or older
    • Three-way catalytic converter required
    • Recommended max PU/ET: 30/110
  • Trim
    • Trim year 2003 or older
    • No sequential transmission
    • At least four seats
    • Recommended max PU/ET: 85/95
    • Recommended max cost: A$18,000
    • At least 90 competitiveness in any of these markets:
      • City Budget
      • City
      • City Eco
      • Commuter Budget
      • Commuter

NOTE: The production trim will not be scored on, but is only to serve as a realistic-ish base for the race trim.

Race trim rules

  • Engine:
    • Must share engine family with production trim
    • Variant year 2003 or older
    • Maximum displacement:
      • NA 1600cc
      • Turbo 1000cc
    • Must share VVT configuration with production engine, i.e. cannot add or remove VVT.
    • Premium Unleaded (91 AKI/95 RON) only, no bonus for going lower
    • No race intakes
    • Max loudness of 60
    • Catalytic converter NOT required
    • Recommended max PU/ET: 45/120
  • Trim:
    • Trim year 2003 only
    • Must share body variant with production trim
    • 2WD only
    • Must share gearbox type and number of gears with production trim, changing spacing, final drive and differential type is allowed
    • Electric LSD is not allowed
    • Sports tyre compound, max 175mm width at zero tech points
    • Max one (1) rear wing, no front wing; no other restrictions on fixtures
    • No interior restrictions
    • No power steering allowed
    • No traction aids (ABS/TC/ESC) allowed
    • 30 safety minimum
    • Recommended max PU/ET: 85/85

Judging

As stated, I will only be reviewing the race trim; the production trim isn’t important as long as it doesn’t break any of the rules.
The cars will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Styling (combined body and livery): 20%
  • Engineering suitability (i.e. how realistic are the design choices for the kind of car you’re submitting): 15%
  • Costs (price and service costs combined): 25%
  • Driving characteristics (in BeamNG): 20%
  • Lap time (5 consecutive laps on Hirochi Raceway Short): 20%

General recommendations

  • Since this is a lower-tier racing class there are essentially no factory teams, only privateers. Keep this in mind when designing your liveries.
  • The basic interior is the closest equivalent to a stripped-out race car interior, at least weight wise.
  • Although the vehicle category implies FF drivetrain layouts, you are allowed to use FR or RR (if you’re crazy enough) layouts; keep in mind though that this wasn’t exactly common, to say the least.
  • Even though I don’t specifically score on reliability, having engine parts pushed beyond their limits will count towards the engineering score.
  • I will mostly ignore Automation stats; the important thing is how the car drives in Beam.

Submission

Send me three trims:

  • The production trim, which does not need fixtures
  • The race trim without fixtures except the optional wing
  • The race trim with fixtures and decals

Name them like this:

Model Trim Family Variant
Production trim AGC4 - [username] Production car name AGC4 - [username] Prod. engine name or whatever
Race trim without fixtures except wing AGC4 - [username] Beam AGC4 - [username] Race engine name or whatever
Race trim with fixtures AGC4 - [username] Race car name AGC4 - [username] Race engine name or whatever

Submissions will OPEN on Tuesday 10th at 00:00 AM, CET (GMT+1); if you have any questions or comments let me know before then.
Submissions will CLOSE on Monday 16th at 23:59 PM, CET (GMT+1), unless something major comes up.

Let me know what you think! And yeah, I know this is quite a lot like the challenge Strop just hosted, it’s what I could come up with on such a short notice.

15 Likes

Perfect, guess I can keep on working on that slalom car for that CSR 111 which vanished…

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By Recommended Max ET/PU/Costs, do you mean that they’re not hard capped?

Do we require a minimum of 1 or 2 seats in the race trim?

Do lips and spoilers count as wings?

As lips and spoilers are not called wings, and only wings do anything in Beam, I can assure you with certainty that Chipskate only means to call wings by no other name than wings.

4 Likes

Are these Advisory scores or maximums? right now it’s quite vague

Front lip doesn’t works in beam ? That explain a lot of issues I encountered :thinking:

I’m interested in joining this challenge but I’m a newbie, so if I may ask some questions:

So which one is the Beam version, and why don’t two need fixtures? Could I just make a road car with fixtures for lore purposes and just make clones, or should I go just all out on the race version?

What do you mean by recommended?

Back from work, time to answer some questions!

That’s correct, but you probably won’t hit them if your design is sensible; they’re mostly there to prevent quality spam.

Only one seat is required, AFAIK you don’t need a codriver for circuit racing.

No, since they don’t have any effect in Beam.

They’re minimums/maximums unless they’re specifically stated to be recommendations.

I’ll be testing the race trim in Beam, and the reason I don’t want any fixtures is because detachable fixtures (e.g. mirrors, some bumper bars/trim pieces, license plates, some light fixtures etc) add extra weight and makes the cars heavier. The production trim doesn’t need them since it’s only there as a “sanity check”; you can put as much or as little effort into designing it as you wish.

It means I won’t insta-bin your submission if you’re 0.1 over the limit, but if you’re way above the mark your car is probably over-engineered.

Regarding the PU/ET limits, how do you guys feel about them in general? Are they too high or just about right? Also, should I implement min/max allowed tech points, e.g. from -3 to +3, or just leave it at PU/ET?

3 Likes

any minimum weight requirements? because if there isn’t any you could get many many kei cars if people were to think about it.
I’d also advise restricting the tech points. Some tech points don’t even use engineering time or production units very largely until you hit about +10 or so.
(I only just saw the tires thing…I’m not at my best right now considering I have to get ready for college in a few hours…)

1 Like

If I’m being a bit honest, the PU/ET are kinda restrictive. It’s not like I can’t build a car under those rules, but I suspect you’re not gonna see much variety this way. Maybe open them up a bit more? Especially for Production Engine and Race Trim?

Is the emissions requirement also applied to the race engine, or can we delete the catalytic converter?