Thunder Alley Gentlemen's Rules

[Khrono Fujiwara]

So I thought of doing this topic after hearing about the horrible time someone had in a Thunder Alley (TA) lobby from someone on discord. They were rammed and punted about from behind and there was a language barrier so he had no way of knowing if it was on purpose. This was the persons first time trying the game mode and this experience left such a bad taste in their mouth that they have sworn off the mode completely in the future even though I strongly suggested it could be fun with the right group of people as has been my experience. However the damage was already done and they would just rather avoid the mode entirely. Which is a shame and unfortunate. So how this applies to the subject of this topic, I believe some discussion needs to be done to sort of setup an "understood" set of gentleman's rules to make the game mode easier for new players to enjoy. Said "understood" rules should be discussed in the room before the race begins so everyone understands. This will prevent anyone else from being pushed away from the mode like the person I talked to on discord.

Ok I will start things off from what I remember.

1. There used to be a way to manually change the quick chat phrases. I remember we would change one just for TA that said "Pitting." This would allow someone to let everyone else in the race know they were pitting so they knew to look out for their slowing down car that would be to the inside leading to the pit lane. I don't know if it is still possible to change the quick chat settings. If not I'd like to see that brought back.

2. Passing, Now I've heard 2 different examples of this. One that I remember we did in Heat Online and one that I've heard from others was done in Level-R. The method I heard about in Level-R was the car in front giving the draft was to move to the side and let the car behind through and then catch the draft so that both cars were faster. Now my own experience we had a different rule. the passing car who had the draft did the passing, not only that but we had an understood rule such as "always pass on the right." I personally think this is better than the idea they did in Level-R. Reason being the car in front can not as easily see the car behind as the car behind can see the car in front. It is much easier for the car in front to just hold their line and the car behind slingshot around them. Now the only part of my memory that is fuzzy on with this is, it could have been "always pass to the left" as this would mean if the car behind caught up in a turn they could still get the pass done, as right side only makes it really hard to get the pass completed as you have to go the long way around. Either way the end result of this was 1 lane was for drafting the other for passing. Because we kept this understood rule in all of our races, we had some clean races and some really fast lap times.

I'd like to know others thoughts on these and if anyone else has others to add to this. I want this thread to be an open discussion, maybe even in the future we can get it pinned with a finalized rule set edited into this original post. I really don't want more people to be pushed away from this mode due to bad experiences and I hope this discussion leads to preventing that.

 

[BlackPanther59]

Hey Khrono

this post is a great idea. The TA community had and has a "Code of honor" indeed.

1) The quick chat phrases can be changed. The number 6 to 0 are free. You can change them in the options.
As you said, it's recommanded for the Pitlane or to say that you wait for the car who is behind you, for example.

2) The method of TA-drive can be resumed with the following picture:


Von René Kretzler - own work basierend auf dem Bild kreisel.gif von Benutzer:Head aus de.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1144472

PS: Sorry for my bad english

 

[Khrono Fujiwara]

Your English was fine. Yeah that Gif shows exactly what I was talking about in my 2nd point. thank you for posting that. A visual reference is always helpful.

 

[Noeat]

long, long ago.. when i first time play TA i had similar issue in first race
i was rammed from behind.. and u know what? after i see how this race work.. i apologize them, tell them its my first TA.
because it was my fail when i block them in left line

ppl obviously send something like <---overtake / drive--->

maybe is better, when someone have no idea how to play some mode.. ask.. im sure its better than screw whole race
language barrier.. i think..everyone talk english or german lang.

ad 2) rules are overtake left, ride right and dont ram

and for sure.. everyone should practice TA at least few laps, because sometime is needed change settings of controller or learn how to play this mode on keyboard
and when someone have bad latency, then his car for other ppl jump around, disappear sometime, etc..

in fact TA community is and was always mostly friendly and when u ask, then help you


0) :-DD try TA in practice mode and set properly your gamepad / K+M / wheel
1) "M" is for mirror
2) overtake left
3) drive in right
4) its your job move to right and leave left line for overtaking, when is someone behind you
5) dont ram

edit:
here is more tips..
for example when u try overtake and ur not so fast for that.. slow down a bit (when isnt anyone behind u), catch draft and try it again
or when ur at right side and someone is short, slow down a bit and let him overtake
even u can use 5th gear for overtaking, not 6th
all of this tips depends on situation

and ofc.. make sure when ur first (drafter) its comfortable catch draft behind you.. dont drive wild
when ucatch draft and overtake, be sureč u dont go right too early and touch car in right line
sometime is better just keep left line when ur first until car behind u go for overtaking.. but it need know your "partner" behind you and lot of focus.. again, its not easy and it depends on situation

sometime it maybe looks like TA players are elitists, but.. no ..TA just need more focus than other mods (from my point of view) and you really need focus things in front of you and behind you, watch when other ppl use pit, change strategy for that and drive preciselly

when u go from pit, be carefull and check where are others, dont cross their way, when they are faster..
if u see group what is close, just drive in your line from pit and dont try turn right to left line or right line.. let them pass
if they are not too close, u can go to right (slow) line and let them overtake you.. and then, if ur fast, catch draft

all is about dontscrew other ppl

and ofc,everyone fail sometime.. last time i forgot drive in pit :-D and unfortunatelly i was in left line.. it was my fail, when ppl ram me, when they try go to pit in 10th lap

 

[WheelSmoke]

Is the penalty for hitting someone wide open working in this version of TA?

 

[Noeat]

Is the penalty for hitting someone wide open working in this version of TA?

here is penalization for raming - driving thru pit

 

[Khrono Fujiwara]

That was another issue the person I spoke to had, he was rear-ended and he was the one who got the red flags and was forced to do a drive through.

 

[TheYellowKitten]

Sir,you just described my first TA experience back in the day. I remember taking my first shot on it in Level R. The race started,everyone started ramming crazy. Well,I've find it a totally mess while I was raging,and stupid enough to never touch that mode again. That's really true,in fact after that I never raced TA again until now,in the 'new' PT.

 

[Noeat]

Sir,you just described my first TA experience back in the day. I remember taking my first shot on it in Level R. The race started,everyone started ramming crazy. Well,I've find it a totally mess while I was raging,and stupid enough to never touch that mode again. That's really true,in fact after that I never raced TA again until now,in the 'new' PT.

i hear that about LevelR ..in PT was rare meet rammers, but sometime it happens, Heat was ok too.. but LevelR was cancer

Post automatically merged: Oct 24, 2019

That was another issue the person I spoke to had, he was rear-ended and he was the one who got the red flags and was forced to do a drive through.

blocking is penalized too i think (in fact sometime is penalization rly weird, but in lot of times is ok..) i get penalization when right in front of me ppl crash.. i cant do anything in my speed with that, when it happens right in front of me.. i ram them and get penalization for that :-D
happens

 

[WheelSmoke]

If I did not earn that penalty then lag probably did it for me on the other guys game.

 

[Khrono Fujiwara]

Main point to this thread was to raise awareness. I know not everyone will see the forum and not everyone here will even see this post but if it isn't out there then no one will see it. As an added note, if you are hosting a room and you want some clean TA racing like we are talking about here, take the time to make sure everyone in the lobby knows to drive right, pass left. Can't expect everyone who enters to know. I would also ask if I joined a room if the room could follow it. Spread word of it and hopefully eventually it will just be a known rule that only newcomers will need to be told about.

 

[Lord Tourettes]

The method you're talking about, where people at the front occupy the left and shift to the right as someone is passing, was referred to as "slide drafting". It was the most used drafting method in TA Intim races by far, and it carried over into HO in Dominator and Thunder races. It's faster than having to move over to pass as you are drafting. You lose a little bit of the speed you could have been gaining just by pulling out of the draft. When the person in front slides over as you are approaching, they can do so much later and allow people drafting to gain more speed. Apply this technique to many people and it gets incredibly fast with no congestion.

 

[Khrono Fujiwara]

The problem with that is the driver in front would have to be looking backwards to see you are there and trying to pass or risk moving too soon and you lose the draft or too late and get rammed. It is much easier for the car that is approaching at the faster rate of speed to move because they direction you are driving is the dame direction you need to be looking to move. Yes what you said might be "faster" but it is also more likely to end in a crash or fail unless both drivers are dead on accurate for laps and laps on end which idc how good you are, you will eventually fuck it up. Much safer to go with the slightly slower but much safer choice.

 

[Lord Tourettes]

The problem with that is the driver in front would have to be looking backwards to see you are there and trying to pass or risk moving too soon and you lose the draft or too late and get rammed. It is much easier for the car that is approaching at the faster rate of speed to move because they direction you are driving is the dame direction you need to be looking to move. Yes what you said might be "faster" but it is also more likely to end in a crash or fail unless both drivers are dead on accurate for laps and laps on end which idc how good you are, you will eventually fuck it up. Much safer to go with the slightly slower but much safer choice.

That's why normally it was only done in high level TA races where you could have the luxury of being able to glance back, estimate the timing, and slide over without looking again. I remember NNC were pretty much unstoppable in TA because of their teamwork on this.

 

[Khrono Fujiwara]

Yeah its a method reserved for private rooms and events imo. However when racing with randoms whom you don't know what their skill level is, it is best to stick to the person who is passing to do the moving. You shouldn't always assume someone else is going to be good enough to handle a high level method like that.

 

[Noeat]

you both are right
but ocupy left line and move right in last moment is for rly skilled ppl
im still scared do that with more than one ppl and i need know him andeven that im still nervous to move too late or too early
usualy i prefer ride in middle and then i can move right faster and he can just littlebit move to left, or catch only 3/4 at end

 

[Kenji]

german

Ich kenn eure TA regeln .. .ich fuhr und fahre selbst gerne TA .... aber ich hasse diese TA regeln "der vordermann fährt nach rechts an die seite und lässt überholen"
Es ist schlicht keine Racer regel, sondern eine Regel die aufgestellt wurde damit man im Pulk bessere Bestzeiten fahren kann!

Eine Racerregelung wäre, " Der Vordermann der den Windschatten verteilt, hällt seine Linie bis der hintere überholt hat, der hintere muss sehen wie er vorbei kommt ob links oder rechts egal hauptsache sauber"

Denn ich fahre auf TA Rennlinie und Rennlinie ist nicht links oder rechts sondern "in Kurven innen und auf der Geraden an der Wand aussen", heisst für mein verständnis muss der hintermann in kurven rechts überholen und auf Geraden links!

Desweiteren gibt es meistens ein Problem bei der "alten TA regelung" und zwar bei dem der überholen will.
Fahrer 2 überholt Fahrer 1 und fährt sofort nach rechts vor Fahrer 1.
Somit hat Fahrer 3 aber keinen Windschatten mehr und verhungert bei dem Überhol versuch (Skizze a und b)
Fahrer 2 muss also so lange rechts fahren bis der nächste der hinter ihm fuhr aufgeschlossen hat und ihn überholen will, dann darf er erst nach links ausweichen (Skizze c).

Spoiler: Skizze

Aber das machen die wenigsten, die meisten fahren sofort vor fahrer 2 ....
Das ist mit ein Grund warum ich diese Regel nicht mag, jeder legt "fahr rechts überhol links" anders aus.

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english

I know your TA regulate .. I drove and drive myself like TA .... but I hate this TA rules "the front man drives to the right side and can overtake"
It is simply not a racer rule, but a rule that was set up so that you can drive better times in the bunch!

A race regulation would be, "The front man who distributes the slipstream, keeps his line until the rear has overtaken, the rear must see how he comes over whether left or right, no matter the main thing clean"

Because I drive on TA racing line and race line is not left or right but "in curves inside and on the straight outside on the wall," means for my understanding, the rear man in curves on the right overtake and on straights left!

Furthermore, there is usually a problem with the "old TA regulation" and that wants to overtake.
Driver 2 overtakes driver 1 and immediately drives to the right in front of driver 1.
Thus, driver 3 but has no lee and starved in the overtaking attempt (Sketch a and b)
So driver 2 has to drive to the right until the next one who has opened up behind him and wants to overtake him, then he can only move to the left (sketch c).

Spoiler: Sketch

But that is the least, most of them drive in front of driver 2 ....
That's one of the reasons why I do not like this rule, everyone puts "driving right overtaking left" differently.

 

[Kelxo]

i have one suggestion tho.. those who ram on purpose they get driver thru penalty , if that could works as F1 game that would be awesome.

 

[Noeat]

Kenji: ye, ur right.. its obvious
as i write above.. depends on situation..and ofc first (on your picture number 2) dont move right ASAP..
on other side here will be better, when number 3 catch first draft BEHIND number 1 and THEN move left, because looks like he is rly too behind

it realy depends on situation
and ppl dont turn right ASAP after overtake in this case
and if yes, then yellow catch draft from blue, when blue catch draft from green and go overtaking green
depends on speed of cars on your example
everytime first (on your example green) need focus how fast is blue and yellow and adapt his overtaking by that

btw: even in curve is here place for 3 cars side by side, but.. its rly close

btw: dont forgot - this will be for newbies, basic rules
advanced come by practice and drive

i have one suggestion tho.. those who ram on purpose they get driver thru penalty , if that could works as F1 game that would be awesome.

yes, here is penalty system and rammers are penalized by driving thru pit

on other hand - when ur in left line and someone ram u from behind, its almost always your fail

 

[RedVirus]

I have played PT when it first came out and Heat Online after that. Let me point out some negative issues that some players deal with in Thunder Alley. First there is the lag. When I player is lagging, they most likely will not see it and think they are driving fine. But to others, their car is going subfloor, bouncing around, even flying. This issue has caused A LOT of wrecks and plenty of arguments. Secondly, we have the new drivers who are learning the physics of the cars and they make the mistakes that all of us experienced racers made in the beginning. Sure, there are going to be the risks of splitting two cars down the middle, but that takes practice and simple tap of another car can wipe out half the field. Third, you have the players who are frustrated with getting wrecked, not winning or come into a race just to wreck others on purpose. These are the worst. All they want to do is cause grief. We had a reporting system to report the abusers, but....it didn't work as it should have. Yes, they would get a ban or have their account closed, but they had other accounts and the problems persisted. Now here are some suggestions from a veteran of this game. We all want to have fun, we all want to build a strong community of friends. So, before you start getting mad because someone wrecked you, think about how or why it happened. If it's lag, let them know, if it is inexperience that caused it, then offer them advice. We did this within our crew. We recruited new players and set up private tracks and taught them what we knew. And some of those players ended up being the best to race with. Also, this was never implemented into the game, but the host of the room should be able to kick players out that are known to cause problems or have lag issues. I know what some of you will say, that good racers will get kicked too so others can win, but you have to look at it like this, will you win if you have someone wrecking others all the time? Besides, a player's name and game ethics is important, especially in this game. So with all this said, keep in mind there are still a lot of issues and bugs that I have seen that need to be fixed still. But when all of this gets straightened out, it will be time to race.