The Great Automation Run | Chapter 16 and final results!

The weather was getting worse, Otis was familiar with driving in snow… deep snow… on a dirt road… in the mountains… with a 4x4… but trying to maintain 100+ mph on a paved icy mountian road… not so much.

Jake had been watching the car approaching for some time, barking left… right… right behind depending on which side of the seat he was standing on while looking out the back. This left Otis not really needing to look back too often and focus on the now tretcherous road ahead.

Otis knew the kiito was gaining even without looking, Jake was telling him in his own way what side they were coming up on. With the two being so closly matched it took several miles pass with the Kiito flitting back and fourth trying to find a gap past the truck before one finally opened up that was almost big enough as Otis had over committed to a turn sliding wide. The Kiito had also over committed to the turn, but on purpose using the side of the truck to help them make the turn and get by.
“Rubbing is Racing” Otis commented as the Kiito made it by proudly wearing black streaks down its side. Of couse there are surely blue streaks up the side of the truck. Watching the Road cat slid off the road into a snow bank, Otis was reminded to take it a bit cautiously followed by seeing the cannonerro burried deep in the snow with its hood up.

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Team Angus - Chapter Six

Team Angus - Chapter Five
GAR - Chapter 6

8Th of October, 2:20PM, The Pyrenees, South France

As we rocketed across the border it became clear that the snow was here to stay. Visibility was poor and the road was very slippery, ice was everywhere and large snowbanks had formed at the sides of the tight, twisty roads. I couldn’t believe just how sketchy the Bushrangers handling had become, every prod of the throttle elicited bulk oversteer and braking started massive understeer which was almost terminal at times!

Then it clicked. I had to find the rhythym just like on Dirt Rally… I replicated the easy slide, catch, slide of the ice racer and found myself able to increase my speed substantially. This meant that we caught up to the Chevallier a number of times through the pass but I was unable to translate my new found driving skills into a successful passing manoeuvre. We sliced and diced through the tight, technical roads with the Chev an ever present, yet tantalisingly out of reach, target to keep me focussed. My only regret was that we were unable to stop at that little village near the border, I bet they made delicious croissants and coffee…

Both Valeria and Ben woke up near the end of the stage. Ben was initially startled to have a grey cat in his lap but Sooty licked his nose, purred loudly then settled on his shoulder. Ben decided that, since Sooty was such a nice cat, Valeria could stay as well. Ben and I discussed how well the Bushranger was handling and Ben began to prep himself for taking over driving duties somewhere near the Riviera towns and villages. At this point Valeria pointed out that she had friends in the area and therefore we’d have somewhere we could lay low if required. Having agreed to a plan of action, I mentally steeled myself for action then planted the hammer down, determined to beat that damn Chev, once and for all…

TO BE CONTINUED

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cough 1995 cough, Team Angus are time travellers confirmed :stuck_out_tongue:

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It’s indeed 50 drivability! I divide the drivabilites by 100 to be able to keep the data in an easier to control format.

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Ah, Dirt Rally - didn’t even notice that one.
Anyone else thinks that @HighOctaneLove should place one timeline mess-up in every Chapter post as an easter egg of sorts?

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I think Angus meant Sega Rally Championship 1995, to give it its full title (one of my favorite arcade games) - Dirt Rally would not be released for two more decades.

Something I’m curious about, will high altitude affect power output? Thinner atmosphere in reality would cause issues. Something that would be mitigated with turbocharged cars and to a lesser extent, computer controlled fuel injection. But I would think the older carbureted cars would run into issues requiring manual adjustments.

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Well, that could be represented with an special rule in a high altitude segment. I’ll have to see if I can come up with something though.

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yay my guess was right then :stuck_out_tongue:

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Wouldn’t the cold, more dense air help make up for the altitude change to some degree?

No because the higher up you go, the less oxygen there is, meaning the air is actually less dense as it is less oxygen rich. And thats why forced induction is a thing. It was developed for aeroplanes with the logic; Force more air in, therefore more oxygen, thus reducing the loss of power at altitude.

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Yep, and I’m running NA. Though I’m not running radical tires, medium compound I think so the cold won’t affect them as much as semi-slicks though it depends on how much the host wants to throw at this.

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The ambient temperature changing with altitude does in fact increase (or decrease if you are descending) air density, but that effect offsets only about seven or so percent of the change in ambient pressure, assuming a standard atmosphere (which almost never exists) and being at or near sea level.

If you want to find out more, come play my Aero Challenge once we can export engines in UE4! :wink:

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I also opted for normal aspiration, and fitted sports tires instead of semi-slicks, with my reasoning being that such specialized tires would be much less effective on slippery tarmac.

Not that I am in this, but I want to ask, will you be doing another of these. This seems very fun and I missed out on the chance to do it.

Probably not for a while. This thing will be going on for another month or so

Fairly certain we will see one of these in the future, the format has seen success and these could turn into Mr.Computah’s signature challenges. Actually I think they already did. But as to “WHEN” - we will likely know it only when it happens. Challenges are a great stress on the host, especially epic ones, so a downtime would be in order after this is done.

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The downtime is going to be until next year, hopefuly UE4 will have advanced a lot more by then. So yeah, there’s going to be a second part of this.

By the way, I’ll upload the next chapter in a few minutes.

Chapter 7: after the storm…comes the calm? (Intermission Pyrenees - Sète)

South France, 14:30. 8th of October 1995. 4444km to Athens.
The google maps route can be seen here.

“Looks like the Evo is not dissappearing, no matter how hard I try…and I’m gonna run out of fuel soon” - Thought the driver of the Bonham, sweeping the sweat on his forehead with his arm. He took a look at the rear view mirror, and he saw not only the Evo, but the Chupacabra getting closer and closer as well.

Musical suggestion by @Zabhawkin!

(Note that the road is not being rebuilt lore-wise)

With the turns of the mountain pass getting faster and less twisty, the cars were regaining speed. However, the road was still narrow, and nowhere near as straight as the highways the group had encountered before. Some of the drivers opted to grip the turns; others drifted or powerslid them. The group rapidly reached Fontpedrouse, its old, full of stories and aged buildings covering both flanks. Quickly accelerating through the upper street, the Friala was having a drag race against the T-25, its guardian dog barking at the classic sedan. Fearing that he’d crash trying to maneuver inside the narrow street, Otis decided to let the Friala pass him, but not letting the purple car outrun them just yet.

A sucesion of two quick turns. Tyres squealing. Civilians swaying out of the road as fast as they could. The group swarmed through the town like a lightning. The road was finally getting wider, allowing the racers to once again start applying more throttle. Some of the racers took quick peaks at the landscapes present at both sides of the roads; pine trees, mountains, and a ravine. The sun was shining again, slowly melting the snow that was before covering the road. It only covered a part now, and the racers could regain the grip lost during the entrance to the mountain pass.

The Bohrs kept drafting behind the Kanata, until the black coupé found an opening; not wasting the opportunity, they got on the inside of the turn, overtaking the gray sports car. As soon as they reached the Pont Séjourné acueduct, the end of the mountains became visible. They managed to get through the border, with the rest of France finally visible!

As they lost altitude, the pass became narrower again. With a quick drift, the NRZ-986 overtook the Interval on the inside, which was not expecting this overtake to take place.

The racers soon reached Ria, which the swarmed once again as quick as they could, trying not to get locked up by a possible police ambush. No police ambush took place, though, and the racers could exit just as they had entered the town. They were finally out of the mountains.

Following the N-116 through the plains, the group soon reached the highway. The Chevallier and the Bushranger had had a battle for a long time at that point, with the Chevallier ultimately leaving an opening the Bushranger used to draft and overtake. However, they remained close together, the Chevallier still threatening to overtake any second.

Joining the A-9, the racers finally floored it. The Guardsman drafted behind the Barracuda, overtaking it as soon as it was up to speed, keeping the place for the time being. The roads were getting closer and closer to the coast, the sun shining strong and confident. Following the stablished route, the racers took a detour from the highway into the Marseillan Plage. As they reached Sète, the next city, they slowed down…they wanted to keep a low profile this time.

To be continued.


Times spreadsheet:


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