Hey everyone, I’ve been pretty much on hiatus recently but now I will return to making community challenges for everyone. In the interest of consistency and of having one big thread for all my future competitions rather than a separate thread for each one, I decided to make this a racing series.
The Tom Henks Racing Series (THRS) - what is it?
This is a racing series where performance and drivability in BeamNG are king. The basic concept is similar to what I’ve done in previous challenges (you build the cars in Automation and then I race them in BeamNG against the clock) but there are some key differences that will be consistent across all seasons in the THRS. While we are still in preparation of the first season, these are still subject to change to some extent.
1. Terminology and overall concept:
Each individual competition in the THRS shall be called a season, aka the first competition in the THRS will be season 1. In each season, there will be 3 rounds and each round will consist of 2-3 races. This means that there will be 6-9 races in each season. The tracks in earlier rounds of a season will be easier and shorter than in later rounds, and after each round the bottom X cars will be eliminated. How many cars that is will depend on how many entries we have. In case there is no clear winner after round 3, there will be one last race featuring only the top cars to determine the winner.
2. Scoring:
After every race, scores are given based on finishing position, and obviously car with the fastest time is going to get top score. The maximum points and how many cars get points will again depend on how many entries there are, but as a general rule of thumb 75% of competitors (rounded to the nearest whole number) will receive points. The base formula will be: 1st place gets N points, 2nd place N-2, 3rd place N-4, etc. but it will always be set up so that the cars at the bottom get 0 points. In the extremely unlikely event that two cars get the exact same time (thus causing a tie) the points will be split. For example, if 1st place is 20 points, then 2nd would get 18, 3rd would get 16 etc. In that race, if two cars tie for 2nd place, they each get 17 points.
3. Technical regulations:
Each season will have different rules and technical regulations, but there will always be a minimum weight, aka. the car must weigh at least so-and-so-many kg. Some seasons will also mandate the use of a certain gearbox, a maximum displacement, or specific tyre compunds and/or dimensions (rather than a maximum allowable size). The idea is that by leveling the playing field in terms of some (or most) of the key components that make a car fast, the real difference in performance will come down to tuning, not only the tuning of the engine but also the suspension, the gearing, the brake balance etc. Cars with hidden aerodynamic parts (i.e. wings that are either placed inside the car or made with transparent material/“paint”) will always be banned.
4. Submissions:
Only cars submitted via my discord will be accepted. To submit, drag and drop your car file (Automation car files only) into the “community-challenge-files” subchannel. You can name your car and engine however you like, there are no naming conventions. Only 1 submission per player is allowed, no resubmissions. So please make sure your car meets all the rules before submitting the car. The deadlines will be generous enough to allow for thorough testing as well as double-checking the rules are met, and there will be no need to rush your entry. Collaborative efforts are allowed, but as stated before only 1 car per player is allowed, so if you submit a car that you built together with a friend then you (or your friend) can’t submit another car in addition to that.
5. The Races:
The races will be streamed live on Twitch (dates and times will be announced when the season starts). But for everyone who can’t make it to the live stream I will also be uploading a cut version of the VOD to Youtube and Rumble a day or two after the race.
Stay tuned for the announcement of season 1, which (if things go according to plan) should happen next weekend.
