Racers Island Battle Car racing is ON!!!

Racers Island Raceway blog
Racers Island in-world (+TPer to all tracks)

It's not like regular racing. It's not like racing with pitstops. It's not like derby racing.

It's something you've never seen before, and that's why you got to come and see. Next Tuesday is okay - yes, this event will take place each Tuesday from now on, at 5 PM SLT. And this is a great way for everyone, from a beginner to a pro racer, to vary your racing life.

At first,I was going just to watch, to take pictures and notes, as always - but when I've seen the track, it became obvious that it's going to give you an experience you'll never get anywhere else. Inspired by Mario Carts, it is an exact replica of a Mario Carts track that Eddie Mathieson, who confessed he had the idea of bringing Mario Carts kind of racing into Second Life for many years, has built by himself. There also was an announcement about another track that is still under construction - it's going to be more of a big field, and the conception of the race itself will be different too, closer to demolition derby.

And Yuriko Nishi, one of the best scriptors you could ever meet in Second Life, who does all the scripting at Racers Island, has built amazing toying cars for that. Nella Boccara, one of Racers Island hosts, kindly escorted me to the mall where I, like most of racers, bought a fatpack that contained all the cars (when you see them, you realise you want to try them all). After unpacking, of course, I've tried a couple. 

So, the point of the race is basically to find the best use for the power-ups you're picking up at the track, to use the boost pads and avoid the obstacles. Typical arcade race - well, nobody makes you take it serious, but still, you'll figure out that some strategy has to be developed. My personal favorite power-up is a rocket that you can shoot right to your opponent's back, and if it caught him, you never know what effect it will cause - but it will, and trust me, it's so much fun to watch him while passing him by! The problem is that this power-up makes sense only if there's someone ahead of you in a visible area, also requires a good aiming skill - otherwise you better drop it and pick up another.

And of course, this kind of racing is not for setting up the best time, or finish first - it's for fun at the first place! And the company of positive, cheerful racers is just what you need. It's not about the points, about the  grid position - like Eddie stated, "it's the race you don't have to win". It just can't be the other way!

I could hardly resist the desire of joining them in the first race, but this event deserved shapshots - so I've joined them after 2 races. And I have to say, it's way different from what I got to know about racing during my pretty short second life. There's no such a rage, such a competition you usually feel during the race - and when someone passes you by, you just laugh and say aloud: "Well, you just hold on, I'll get your ass in no time!", it will be said with a friendly smile. It's not about calculating when and where it's best to leave a puddle of a suspicious green goo just to drive in the same one right behind the next turn. After the race, everything will be laughed out together, and the point will be reached - to have a good time with people you never knew before, but you can swear they're the funniest ones to be around! 

Get a car yourself and see you next Tuesday - you won't regret!

UPD 8/1/12: forgot about adding who built the cars - self fix is done!

RIR announces NEW mesh cars - Super Car racing series coming soon!

Yesterday I couldn't go to bed too early - but it turned out not to be a bad thing, because I got an opportunity to join racers at Dover Speedway for the test race on the new, mesh cars! Looks great, even with demo textures :)

Like it was mentioned before, badguy Boozehound spend a lot of time getting the script to work with the mesh - but, in my opinion, the result paid off!
I even checked the car out myself, even though I'm a veeeery average racer. RIR racing cars always take some time to accustom to, but I suspect this one might become a new start for some racers. This car was confirmed as more sticky than others (and heavier too, I would add), so even the best racers had to bust a cut to handle them!

The event, of course, included the fun race. There were both RIR patrons - Eagle Clawtooth, Killan Sandalwood, then JP Paneer joined them - and newcomers, also Miku Hatsune, Racers Island champion, dropped by for the 2nd race. Sadly, I can't put their names because I simply forgot to write them down and my memory plays tricks with me, so I can't remember them right now - but if they remind me of themselves, you'll hear about them, too!

Racers cluster

What I want to say is that newcomers totally surprised me - they've showed a great driving skill and an ability to compete with those who's name are well-known for you. Probably the mesh car confused pro racers a little, because they were doing better at the 2nd race (a bigger one, when Hatsune and Paneer joined).

Before the second race, a funny thing occured - due to the fact cars were temporary, they... simply disappeared right before the race, when racers have lined up. Yes, at the certain moment of time racers found themselves staying on the ground, without a slightest hint of car around. After laughing that out, they grabbed another demo each and it all got back to normal.

So I can conclude the Super Car season, when its time comes, promises to be not very predictable!
Testing seems to be still in progress - but I asked Badguy and he said that it's going to be done in 2-3 weeks  and RIR will start the season with them! So, competitors, you've got time to try them out - drop by at RIR store, grab a demo and give it a try!
Let's wait together for the season! Stay tuned for further notices!

Racers Island - Stock Car Series - Round 12 @ Sunset Oval Track

Racers Island Raceway blog

Racers Island Pro-Stock Car Series Results

Racers Island in-world (+TPer to all tracks)

(race of 7/29/12)

The last round of the season - it's a crime to skip it! That's why, right after the Sprint Cup racing at RIR, I rushed at Racers Island, where the practice was almost over, and only Valo Emsbury was still doing laps - others were chilling at the gallery and the track. Eddie Mathieson has requested practice times though, at it showed that most of them are pretty equal in their driving skill.
To be true, it all depended on how racers handle the traffic. As you all know, it might cause difficulties during  making efforts to catch up with your opponent if there are several cars between you and him, you simlpy might lose some speed nuzzling at them.Also, there was another distracting moment during the race A... But let's begin with the qualifying round.
Mystic Upshaw did a great job during her qualifying round, and everybody was sure she's going to have the pole postion - but that was before Miku Hatsune did 0.004 seconds greater job. Also, some racers were just literally equal:

[18:20] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: P 3. Valo Emsbury,  8.111, -0.046
[18:20] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: P 4. Andrea Von Brokenhymen,  8.111, -0.046
and

[18:29] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: P 7. Yuriko Nishi,  8.156, -0.091
[18:29] Racers Island  Sunset Oval Gate shouts: P 8. miller Tomcat,  8.156, -0.091
, what, as you know very well, is pretty frequent at Racers Island. But today was a special day, and before I move to the race, let's have a look at the table after 11th race, the one I coudn't manage to attend - just to see who's winning by points. So, Hatsune (Doll Kabuki) got 1st position by points, and basically didn't matter what position would it be yesterday, same with Emsbury, who's got 2nd. 3rd place was more interesting - Mathieson and Mystic Upshaw (Audion) have a difference in only 1 point, and that meant they both stood a chance to be in a Top 3. Who got it? Let's find out! If you did already, let's find out how!
There was a vote: 3 races 4-6-6 or 2 races 6-8. Of course, to my delight, almost everybody voted for 2 races!

The grid for the Race B was:

P 7. #69 Yuriko Nishi,  8.156, -0.091
P 8. #2 miller Tomcat,  8.156, -0.091
P 9. #3 Cole Bishop (loadcoil), 8.201, -0.136
P 10. #427 Nella Boccara,  8.245, -0.180
P 11. #34 Kert (Upshaw34),  8.330, -0.265
P 12. #2 1/2 Harleybeth28 Amoufhaz,  8.445, -0.380.
As usual, first laps were the most crusial for racers. Nishi, of course, pulled ahead through the clean track, Tomcat got the second place at first, but gave it up to Boccara after a 3 laps battle. The rest - Bishop, Kert and Amoufhaz - have obtained the 4th, 5th and 6th positions as follows.
From the beginning and till the 60th lap, they maintained their positions and weren't going to let anyone else to take them, but at the 60th lap... it certainly wasn't Boccara's day, she got into an accident and dropped down to the 5th position. So Tomcat got the 2nd. And that was an order they've finished the race in, so Nishi and Tomcat moved up to continue the competition, to the race A.

And the Race A grid was formed by:

Pole Position. Miku Hatsune (Doll Kabuki)  8.065
P 2. #54 Mystic Upshaw (Audion),  8.069, -0.004
P 3. #92 Valo Emsbury,  8.111, -0.046
P 4. #75 Andrea Von Brokenhymen,  8.111, -0.046
P 5. #88 David Wetherby,  8.135, -0.070
P 6. #00 Eddie Mathieson,  8.153, -0.088
Race B P 7. #69 Yuriko Nishi,  8.156, -0.091
Race B P 8. #3 miller Tomcat,  8.156, -0.091
- and I can claim that was the hottest race of the season!
There was an accident right after the start - Upshaw's finger slipped onto S (breaks) and she ended up in the wall, and Von Brokenhymen bumped into her, so they got lapped at the very first lap. Hatsune left the pile behind, Mathieson managed to get out of it very soon too. Basically, they've spreaded out at the 1st lap, but the fun was just about to begin!
Von Brokenhymen stayed between Mathieson and Hatsune not letting Mathieson to have a battle for the 1st place. Mathieson began losing his time, and Emsbury, after catching up with him, battled him for the 2nd place. Apparently Mathieson and Emsbury have a pretty equal driving skill, so that battle was very intensive.
And, as two competitive souls, none of them would give up easily - so it was a long one too. They were trading positions at each lap, increasing the gap and decreasing it again... it needs to be seen!
Mathieson got lucky - at the lap 20, when he was ahead, lapped Tomcat and then lapped Von Brokenhymen got between him and Emsbury, it caused a hard time for Emsbury to get any chance to catch up, and Mathieson began getting closer to Hatsune. His patience paid off - after 18 laps, at 38th one, Hatsune lost a few seconds in a little accident, and Mathieson got dangerously close. The battle became unavoidable. But there still was traffic between them, and it took Mathieson a dozen more laps to have it done. Halfway there!
Mathieson began diong longer laps though and still couldn't manage to catch up with Hatsune. So he just kept on going behind her, only 1.5 seconds down. But another little accident Hatsune got into turned into another intensive battle between her and Mathieson - it was 70th laps!
Eddie was leading during the battle, but Hatsune stayed right behind him not letting him relax for a moment. On the lap 90 he still was 1st. Last laps, way more crusial than 1st...
Lap 94. DING DING!!! Spammer's message in the group chat caught racers all by surprise. And apparently, distracted them too! Mathieson made a small mistake that costed him half a second - and the 1st place. Then another - minus 3 second and giving up his position to Valo. Moreover, there was no opportunity for a battle, due to 2 other cars between them.
In this order, the race has complete.

That was a very astonishing end of the Stock Car series. It showed the competitors pushing it to the limit, making a great last perfomance, like a final chord that is responcible for the last impression the listener has of the composition he just had listened - and the racers made this chord sound loud and rich.
I'm looking forward for the next season after 2 or 3 weeks break, according to what Mathieson said. And I thank each of the racers for the delight I had watching and writing articles about the races. Keep yourselves in shape for the next one, racers!

Another announcement is new kind of races - Battle Cars, that are pretty simular to Mario Carts, with different boosts randomly appearing for racers to pick up. The first race is tomorrow, on Tuesday - come over, it promises to be fun! And a good chance to have a healthy break off the series races.

All the stats for this race are available in the Pro-Stock Car Series Results blog (all the links are in the head of this post). Feel free to have a look at them!

RIR Sprint Cup Race @ Dover Speedway

(race of 7/29/12)

Pro Series has come back to town! To RIR even. The previous season has finished, the new one has blasted off today!!!
Beautiful Dover Speedway greets all the racers -  with its beautiful green meadows all around, a comfortable lounge for spectators - and, of course, the track that you simply can't resist to drive.
But what's the point of driving the track without the competition? And racers are always ready to bring some!
I got there when the practice was on the go. Sharon was leading by the best lap time - 9.377, the closest one to her was Eagle Clawtooth - 9.468. She seems to put all her free time into racing, and it proves itself more and more - she got the pole position today again (wasn't such an impressive time, but still). Grosmanteau DeCuir, the racer with a long history, was 0.013 seconds behind her!
That allowed her to have a great headstart leaving DeCuir behind, with 1 second gap though - DeCuir is not the one who lets you cool down even for a minute. Behind them, as always, racers have piled up in a fight for the 3rd place that has revealed the one who handles herself surrounded by the traffic best - that was ZZ. Badguy Boozehound, FFred Koolhoven and Eagle Clawtooth remained the battle for the 4th place, that was eventually won by Clawtooth, and he began decreasing the gap between him and ZZ.
Then there came the time for the first pitstops. Racers, who were at the last positions, made them first, and the leaders of the race all made them almost together.
Clawtooth was the first one of the leaders of the race who made it, then Densmith followed by DeCuir (they they were going 1st and 2nd as follows and pitted at the same time), then Boozehound - a lap after. Clawtooth, due to making the quickest pitstop, got the lead. Sharon had a long pitstop, what costed her the whole lap - and she dropped onto the 4th. DeCuir was luckier and he got back at the track 2nd. Boozehound has managed to get back at the track before Densmith, and he got 3rd position. Behind them, with 2 laps gap between him and Densmith, Koolhoven and Cyberstar were trading the 5th and the 6th positions.
The following order remained till the halfway, though DeCuir was very close to Clawtooth. Bit by bit all the racers expanded the gaps between each other.
After the halfway, DeCuir began getting closer to Clawtooth - and soon gained the lead.
Densmith had her 2nd pitstop at the 62nd lap and Koolhoven, who drawed away from Cyberstar (almost lapping her), became 4th. Then Boozehound - who got a got pitstop and dropped onto 5th, letting Cyberstar  gain 4th position and Koolhoven - 3rd. And Clawtooth, who's pitstop was not as short as the 1st one, managed to come back 2nd with 3 laps gap - due to Koolhoven was 4 laps behind the leader, DeCuir! Koolhoven had pitted at the next lap - and it costed him 2 positions (got back to the race 5th). Meanwhile, Boozehound got the 3rd position back, dropping Cyberstar onto 4th.
DeCuir had a perfect pitstop and didn't lose his position - the gap between him and Clawtooth has sharply decreased though. The truth is, they have traded places at the next lap - and DeCuir, despite his efforts, had a hard time regaining it due to the traffic between them. All he could do is decrease the gap to 2 seconds.
The rest remained their places - gaps between them were big enough to let them maintain their positions. Boozehound on 3rd, Koolhoven on 4th, Cyberstar on 5th.
Everything was pointing on Clawtooth to have the 1st place... But there's always that one, the last, 110th lap. This time, it was a tough luck for Clawtooth who wrecked into the pit wall! Grosmanteau DeCuir decided not to wait for him and get the 1st place.
During the race, some racers had to retire due to the black flags at the pitstop - that were Sharon Densmith with 1 flag and SweetTooth Firehawk with 2 flags.

Special thanks to JP Paneer, who helped me to be tuned with what's going on at the track - highly appreciated, JP!
It was just an amazing start of the new season - thank you very much for this, racers, I wish you nothing but compete hard and fair. And don't underestimate the practice, of course! Everyone has done well, congratulations winners, and see you all around!

The grid:
Pole Position. Sharon Densmith  9.655
P 2. Grosmanteau DeCuir,  9.668, -0.013
P 3. Eagle Clawtooth,  9.756, -0.101
P 4. FFred Koolhoven,  9.780, -0.125
P 5. Saphyre Cyberstar,  10.000, -0.345
P 6. badguy Boozehound,  10.022, -0.367
P 7. MidnightRambler Frostbite,  10.156, -0.501
P 8. Clifford Market,  10.323, -0.668
P 9. 'ZZ Bottom' (foneco Zuzu),  10.335, -0.680
P 10. ⓢ ⓦ ⓔ ⓔ ⓣ  (SweetTooth Firehawk),  10.445, -0.790
P 11. Garth Moonites,  10.557, -0.902


Final Results
1st. Grosmanteau DeCuir, 110 laps. Total Time : 1237.909
2nd. Eagle Clawtooth, -13.027 seconds.
3rd. badguy Boozehound, -2 laps.
4th. FFred Koolhoven, -6 laps.
5th. Saphyre Cyberstar, -9 laps.
6th. 'ZZ Bottom' (foneco Zuzu), -11 laps.
7th. Clifford Market, -16 laps.
8th. Garth Moonites, -18 laps.
9th. MidnightRambler Frostbite, -21 laps.
10th. ⓢ ⓦ ⓔ ⓔ ⓣ  (SweetTooth Firehawk), -24 laps (retired)
11th. Sharon Densmith, -38 laps (retired)

Fastest race lap: Grosmanteau DeCuir, 8.555

RIR Nationwide Nascar Race @ Dover Speedway

(Race of 7/28/12)

I have missed the end of the last season - but I got just in time for the next season that had blasted off yesterday!
This is the first report you read about Nationwide race, one of the most serious races on the grid. Pitstops, black flags, tough opponents - they've got it all.
Nevertheless, it seemed to attract some new faces to RIR. And the race has showed that we're having one hell of a season ahead. Vickster Freiin von Kühn (Vickster Kuhn) was the one who grabbed my attention since the qualifying round - she got 3rd position on the grid.
But, if there's a pitstop, plenty of things are determined by your pitstop strategy.

Saphyre Cybestar did a pitstop... at the lap 7, a minute after the race has started! Turned out she had problems with fuel milage and that pitstop was essential, but whatever it was, she turned out to be 2 laps down. But let's follow the race.
As always, a battle for the Top 3 took place at the first laps, but as it always happens at first, racers were trading positions frequently, passing each other by and getting into accidents. Cyberstar pulled ahead, other racers have separated into 2 groups: first group was battling for the 2nd place, second - for the 6th. JP Paneer was in 2nd, and when Cyberstar pitted - inherited 1st position and held it halfway. That racer, according to his profile, got back into racing in Second Life only recently, and so far he has proven himself at RIR as a great competitor.
Right behind him, Ffred Koolhoven and 'ZZ Bottom' (foneco Zuzu) were battling for the 2nd place, with Koolhoven winning. Behind them, racers have spreaded all over the track with Sweet on 4th, MidnightRambler Frostbite on 5th and Eagle Clawtooth on 6th.
Closer to the 20th laps, racers began to make pitstops. Meanwhile, ZZ and Koolhoven have traded positions, Cyberstar began to catch up.
A couple of them made one only when they ran out of gas. I doubt it's worth it... A few racers deserve to be given an "Iron Gas Tank" title, Cyberstar for example, who made a pitstop with almost empty gas tank along with JP Paneer (and came back at the track next to him, gaining the 2nd place and after a battle - 1st).
So, after pitting 1st time (Cyberstar - 2nd), when positions have been established again, Cyberstar and Paneer were in a battle for the 1st place, and Clawtooth was 3rd. Bit by bit, Cyberstar got behind and Paneer became an absolute leader of the race. Then - 3rd pitstop for Cyberstar with losing her position again. ZZ took the 3rd position being 2 laps down, Clawtooth - 2nd (almost 1 lap).
At the 52th lap, Clawtooth had to make another pitstop, therefore Sweet (was 4th) obtained the 3rd position, with ZZ before him. But that just preceded a battle with Cyberstar for it, that she won.

The race was getting closer to the end and everything was depending on what pitstop strategy racers are going to use. There wasn't a big necessity for it though, so I was already setting the camera and waiting for Paneer to finish... and it turned out that, as he confessed after the race, he thought this race is 100 laps (when actually it was 80) and went to the pitstop at the 79th lap! Behind him, there were Cyberstar, Clawtooth and ZZ in a battle with Vickster Kühn, that surprisingly was won not by ZZ but by Kühn. Fortunately, Paneer had a gap between him and the rest big enough (2 laps, approx. 20 seconds), made a quick pitstop and got back at the track before Kühn passed by, so he managed to gain the 3rd position. They were the ones who made the Top 3.
Pitstop strategy works. But that's important to have one. And, of course, calculate it for a certain race with a certain amount of laps.
Thank you very much everyone, that was an awesome race and fun to watch also! And congratulations with a great start for the new racers - Vickster Freiin von Kühn and Snuffy Smith, you've done a great job yesterday!
If the text and the pictures aren't enough, Badguy Boozehound, the race director, also shoots video footages of the races, and here's the yesterday one. Feel free to check it out!
A few announcements were made, too. From now on, all racers at RIR last a specified amount of laps, particular for every type (80 laps for Nationwide, for example). Also, they'll be having fun races for everyone  on new mesh cars (Badguy admitted that took him a lot of time to get them going) on Sundays, they will be before Sprint Cup races (something around 4 PM SLT). Don't miss that chance! 
Have fun, compete hard!

The grid:
Pole Position. JP Paneer  9.978
P 2. Eagle Clawtooth,  10.057, -0.079
P 3. Vickster Freiin von Kühn (Vickster Kuhn),  10.135, -0.157
P 4. FFred Koolhoven,  10.155, -0.177
P 5. 'ZZ Bottom' (foneco Zuzu),  10.268, -0.290
P 6. Saphyre Cyberstar,  10.291, -0.313
P 7. ⓢ ⓦ ⓔ ⓔ ⓣ  (SweetTooth Firehawk),  10.401, -0.423
P 8. MidnightRambler Frostbite,  10.490, -0.512
P 9. Clifford Market,  10.692, -0.714
P 10. Snuffy Smith (Snufman),  11.179, -1.201
P 11. Dougie Bellic,  11.223, -1.245

Final results:
1st. Saphyre Cyberstar, 80 laps. Total Time : 918.528
2nd. Eagle Clawtooth, -0.596 seconds.
3rd. JP Paneer, -13.092 seconds.
4th. Vickster Kuhn, -2 laps.
5th. foneco Zuzu, -3 laps.
6th. MidnightRambler Frostbite, -3 laps.
7th. FFred Koolhoven, -3 laps.
8th. Clifford Market, -6 laps.
9th. SweetTooth Firehawk, -8 laps.
10th. Snufman Resident, -10 laps.
11th. Dougie Bellic, -11 laps.

Fastest race lap: Saphyre Cyberstar, 9.288

TXT Racing Series Summer 2012 - 8th race!

(race of 7/28/12)

You could notice I'm pretty idle while the laptop is still being repaired. That's why it's such a big pleasure to write an article again. We're back at 2RAW, at the Track 6, another multilevel road course that has tiny barriers in addition - accidents are inevitable!
The more racers, the more fun - it always was that way, today it wasn't an exception. We've had some new people there, also was great to see PhiloSophical Vervain back, and it was a great surprise to find out he ordered a custom paintjob from Tudy, a very nice one. The pot was bursting with prize money, too!
Before the race, some racers were concerned about narrow barriers, of course the newcomers had some hard times with how it all works. With a little help, they've learned very quick though.
After the longest qualifying at 2RAW (not only because of a big amount of participants and taking time to explain newcomers how do we race here, but also because it's one of the longest tracks at 2RAW), the grid has been formed. Ready, steady, go!
Grosmanteau DeCuir, of course, promptly took advantage of the clear track ahead, Brave Ashbourne was a little behind him. The rest piled up in the battle for the 3rd place, and that was followed with acrazymanルナ falling down from the track and therefore losing the whole lap, Sharon Densmith got into an accident too, but recovered herself quicker. The competition for the 3rd place has been won by Eagle Clawtooth who pulled ahead leaving others to battle for the lower places. And they did!
PhiloSophical wasn't this lucky though - he fell off the track and passed the gate. Twice. So, he decided to retire himself from the race, along with bradock Randt, the another racer who concluded he can't compete with others after being lapped.
Densmith and Millenium Sands were battling for the 4th position at first - and I must say they're worth each other as competitors! But the driving skill matters too, and Densmith took the lead.Halfway, they've spreaded out. Not all of them though - Ashbourne held up with DeCuir though the whole race, not giving him a single change to relax. However, DeCuir handled himself perfectly, even with such a pressing we could witness there - and successfully finished 1st again.
Fastest lap time, even though it was DeCuir's, was set during the practice session - 78.463. And even the best racers barely could get under 83!
But what I really want to remark, is an impressive job of the newcomers - despite the obvious toughness of the track, they've managed to set some very good results! Of course, it's all about practice, nobody should forget that. Thank you very much racers, congratulations Eagle Clawtooth with his 1st win here at 2 RAW! That was a very spectacular race - and next week it will be Track 15, we're waiting for you there!

The grid:

Pole Position. Grosmanteau DeCuir  79.871
P 2. Brave Ashbourne,  80.024, -0.153
P 3. Sharon Densmith,  81.513, -1.641
P 4. Millennium Sands,  84.980, -5.109
P 5. Eagle Clawtooth,  85.266, -5.394
P 6. PhiloSophical Vervain,  86.937, -7.065
P 7. acrazymanルナ (aCrazyMan Aries),  87.343, -7.472
P 8. Foreman Farshore,  87.568, -7.696
P 9. bradock Randt,  89.189, -9.318
P 10. Ρσмρσηία ﾚεΜσгţ (Excess Lemmon),  89.662, -9.791

Final results:

1st. Grosmanteau DeCuir, 15 laps. Total Time : 1210.444
2nd. Brave Ashbourne, -4.270 seconds.
3rd. Eagle Clawtooth, -48.816 seconds.
4th. Sharon Densmith, -59.696 seconds.
5th. Millennium Sands, -1 laps.6th. acrazymanルナ (aCrazyMan Aries),  -1 laps
7th. Ρσмρσηία ﾚεΜσгţ (Excess Lemmon), -1 laps.
8th. Foreman Farshore, -2 laps.
9th. PhiloSophical Vervain, -7 laps.
10th. bradock Randt, -10 laps.

Fastest race lap: Grosmanteau DeCuir, 79.627
Fastest lap of the whole event: Grosmanteau DeCuir, 78.463

TXT Racing Series Summer 2012 - 8th race - the points

A big race it was today! Thank you everyone, thanks 2RAW patrons, thanks racing veterans, and of course, thanks everyone who just has joined the amazing world of Second Life racing - surprisingly, you've showed a great competitive spirit and an awesome skill for the new ones. Keep on going, you have a great future in racing ahead!


8th race of the series - 7/28/12:
Grosmanteau DeCuir - 50
Brave Ashbourne - 45
Eagle Clawtooth - 40
Sharon Densmith - 36
Millennium Sands - 32
acrazymanルナ (aCrazyMan Aries) - 28
Ρσмρσηία ﾚεΜσгţ (Excess Lemmon) - 25
Foreman Farshore - 22
PhiloSophical Vervain - 19
bradock Randt - 16



Total series points (up to the present day,  7/28/12):
Millennium Sands - 328
Ρσмρσηία ﾚεΜσгţ (Excess Lemmon) - 205
Grosmanteau DeCuir - 200 
Brave Ashbourne - 180
Sharon Densmith - 148
Eagle Clawtooth - 112
Cameron Geordie - 102
PhiloSophical Vervain - 100
flea Fang - 81
Dalton Aiten - 45
Durron Sockington - 40
Rosie Varnish - 40
Stoney Maloney (Hagbard Hyx) - 32
acrazymanルナ (aCrazyMan Aries) - 28
Foreman Farshore - 22
bradock Randt - 16

Ichtyo Broome: "When we finally achieve the target, we are definitely too tired to fight"

Here comes the first exclusive interview for Compete With Me!
Let me introduce a great Second Life vehicles scripter, who's name is well-known to those who values the freedom of adjusting your car for themselves, because his scripts allow you to adjust, without exaggeration, everything in your car to make it a perfect ride for you. And today Compete With Me! got an opportunity to get to know him even better.
Ladies, gentlemen and racers - Ichtyo Broome, the one who made one of Lindens contact him directly, who knows what Second Life lacks, who scripted cars for Racers Island and who writes each of his script with all love he's got.

How it all began
- How long have you been working with programming languages at all? Or was the LSL the first language you've learned?
- Well...I am involved in Programming languages and Formatting (like HTML... never say to a RL programmers that HTML is a programming language...they Are Picky and get ANGRY) languages since 1995... starting with HTML, Java Script, Action Script (FLASH)..and then Java.. AJAX... etc etc..as I am a web designer in RL. Last programming language I've met is LSL.
- And comparing with other languages, could you say it was easier or harder to learn LSL?
- LSL has a syntax similar to C...then is a very useful base to learn the way programming languages works. Actually, complexity is just a matter of how long you talk that language every day....as for every kind of language..as for english..or russian..
- I see :) How long have you been into scripting in Second Life?
- Since I started in 2007.... I immediately...tried to break things.... opening prims....and breaking....reopening and rebreaking.....I remember once... (ages ago) when I tried to create a physical chain of one hundred of rings... and physics engines of SL still did not allowed that amount of physical prims... well the sim crashed..and Prospero Linden in person came to me and said: hey Guy..if you wanna my attention no need to do this mess..just send me an IM.
- Oh wow, one of the Lindens himself? That was really serious, I believe.
- The sim disappeared from the Map... they restarted it... and then he came to me.... but he was kind.
- Definitely, after crashing the whole sim :) Are many of your experiments this risky?
- Well sometimes..but as you can see from the results... in my cars engines..sometimes worths too... As often programmers write at the end of the coding in the comments...."who dare wins"
- True. The script in the last one is outstanding. Are all your cars this detailed in options?
- Well, actually the GT3 series will use a gran turismo car as for the real one... so ..like a main stream car... sport version obviously... like a Porsche or a Bmw...or an Audi...a little enhanched.... and well the "Basic" I sell will have a lot of tuning setting avalaible, as a real race sport car should....but to avoid tricksters, the GT3 exclusive version we will use in 2RAW will have the tuning settings locked. [Yes, Ichtyo provides the cars for the next series at 2RAW! - Kay T.]  Of course we tested them for weeks with the best sl drivers and found a proper tuning that will give a great sensation of driving, along with the option to select among several cinematic camera styles to provide the real driving simulation emotions for the drivers. So, all the pilots will have the same chance as the car is the same for everybody, just some options like camera or chassis color.
- And how much attention you pay on making it closer to realistic ones? As we all know, there are different rules for real and digital racing, different conditions...
- On this specific engine, the drift race one, I've spent 4 years to find the best compromise possible between sl physics engine...(this is not Playstation you know) and the limits of LSL and a real cool fun driving simulation.

Creators and their problems
- Not many games around offer the possibility to build the engine of their cars. And with LSL, even a rookie can learn variables, constans, trigonometry... and of course math and programming. So SL maybe is not like an XBox, but much more educational than a shooting game. SL offers many opportunities to the ones that have the ears to hear...
- Freedom followed by responsibility for what you've done?
- Eh, this is a good question. Well, SL is like a huge city, like in BladeRunner. You can find everything, like in a cyber novel. Many clues matter: the environment (not everything depends on us). But lots of things depend on us too, of course: the way we behave, we interact, we use our knowledge. And since we are ready to learn, well, depends how much we dedicate to the learning; of course you can just do shopping, it's always much less expensive than in real so less dangerous for ours pockets.
- With freedom Second Life offers we can change the environment around us literally every day - do you think this world (the second world) changes fast?
- Well... since Linden Lab is continuing to invest into its toy [Is the proof and the Linden Lab, has hired Rod Humble as ITS executive.Humble new chief is a veteran of Electronic Arts, where he served as executive vice president for the EA Play label and ran Sims business. He has an impressive background in games - Kay T.]., improving and updating  the physics (as they are doing) the sculpts, then the meshes...well actually SL is the most realistic game of all... the one that evolves more...so the users - follows the creator flow I guess.... they evolve too.....this is the cool thing about SL...It Moves Ahead. There is a Play Station game, called Grand Theft Auto, the cool thing about that game is that is the way the character is controlled by the player, interacts with the environment differently from many games: you can walk, drive a car, a helicopter, or even steal a car to another character and drive it or pocket too lol. Well SL is even more than GTA, and woah.. you can even create the game, or the plot of the story in here.
- Do you think such a dynamic progress is good for SL or you could say it should slow down a little to save something that doesn't require any other corrections?
- Limits actually, for an "average user" like me....remains one, the size of the sims...actually the Open Grid platforms offer the possibility to have wider than 255 meters sim. But if Linden Lab would give us the possibility to have dunno... er.. let's say 3 km side sims..... with the same amount of prims (15000).. well, I would not ask for more... And the answer is ..NO....progress is a mandatory thing, this is what I think at least.
- The lack of what hurts creators more, prims or space?
- Space indeed. Can you imagine a city..a whatever environment of 5km side instead of 255 meters? SL would bypass instantly any other multiplayer game. And I am quite sure for LL to expand from 255 meters to 5000 is just a question of vectors. Simple math: 0 lags as we can reach the 4096 meters in height, therefore we could do the same in width. To increase the number of prims.. is a hot matter. Since each object is allocated as memory in a database, can you imagine 15000 prims - let's say 6 face and 6 textures each prims, one script per prim. SL scripting time allows 0.04 seconds of timing, means 20 instructions per second * 15000, plus all the huge amount of scripted stuff and hairs and coloured textures and "30000 prims belt" some women use in here - is a lot of data, 20 times each second. So yes..just a wider sim for me would be fine and reasonable, with the same number of prims. But for now it is just a dream.


Scripting and selling
- Few cares of the number of scripts.... I remember once I sent a IM to a hat creator (as scripter I always care, you know). His hat was 150 prims, and the resizer script system he was using... was 150 scripts *laughs*. So I sent him an IM and said: hey man, your hat is great, but 150 scripts to resize it is a madness. I can do the job with one script, I'll send you for free. He replied that I was unkind and said: do your business do not care of others... no comment. And I offered a free help... some are really er... close minded.
- Yes, that's where I agree - Second Life needs to be descripted as much as possible
- The hat was really nice but it is an old question - form against structure. Shape makers don't consider the importance of the scripting part, so they don't invest (pay the scripter what it should). And scripters consider shapes a silly things. It is a war started 5000 years ago.
- I know what you mean - some good in one thing, some in another, and they should collaborate
- The hard thing.... in programming is that code is a something you do not see, like in RL. So people really hardly pay you what it's worth. While a cool hat maybe is worth, for example, 5000 L$, the script inside is not. Not fair at all.
- Do you leave reviews to the items you buy?
- Ehm.... I am a lazy boy... but I speak good with friends of the stuff if it was well done and scripted. Sometimes chat is the best advertising.
- Since we're talking about the market, do you find it hard to compete with other creators? And what is the key to the financial success on your field, in your opinion?
- Well, as in RL....competition is a cruel challenge: no rules, some would be ready to kill you virtually....and..er..I have not a key...and if I had...I would not say ... *grins*. All I can say, a basic rule is to create a product that is affordable..and cool... One of the first rules of marketing is "the sensation the customer have when he/she arrives at home and unpack the stuff"; if you tricked the customer, then he will speak bad of you to everybody.


About the virtual world and his colleagues
- Do you think some real things can be replaced with digital ones?
- Well... let's think about educationals environments...like classrooms. Now flash...htlm..youtube are are avalaible in here, voice conferences too. Well..yes.. in some cases yes... SL can.
- How about our field, motorsports and other sport competitions?
- ...WE WANT BIGGER SIMS:::HEY MR. PHILIP:::DO YOU HEAR US? *laughs* Well, if the scripting is good, well, why not. It's still not at a game platform like playstation of course, but as I said here are many levels of game. Here you have some satisfaction PlayStation or XBox will never be able to give you, like to tune an engine, from the weight distribution, mass, downforce. To be inside the code... is like... place your hands in the matrix. Pure beauty for the brain. So..I would say yes..sl allows even a cooler racing experience. For some. For some other...less intelligent..no. *giggles* I am joking, of course.
- Have you raced a lot before?
- Well I am into races since years.. I was engine maker and vehicle..in racers island..(owner is Eddie Mathieson) for two years I did..the stock and the drift cars (I had a partner that built the chassis). Eddie teached me a lot... about the management and how to build a car, lots of hints..he is definitely a generous man. But well, to the answer. Honestly, I am definitely a better engineer than a driver.
- As I can see, scripters don't compete a lot for customers, or for work :) Or it's just you?
- Well, depends. Actually I found much more issues and envy in the shape maker field. Yes scripters are usually less.....er...Killer, and I do not know why.. maybe we should?
- True, guess it requires less effort to make a shape than to write a script.
- I think there is a thing that cool down the relations bertween scripters. Respect... too many hours on the mac or PC...too many cigarettes smoked on that deadline of code.... so when we finally achieve the target we are definitely too tired to fight I guess...and yes, respect too. But some shapes...well...mesmerizes you..isn't it? Even if the creator is a bast***.
- That's true, talented people are not always easy-going.
- Rarrely! With two R :-) But scripters are a band apart..no? a sacred circle..all calm..like Wise Oraculs.

*then we had to move somewhere else for a while - Lindens started a rolling restart.*

Searching peace of mind 
- Such dedicated people, like scripters or racers - good racers - usually don't have time for the personal life in Second Life, or do they? Like, you don't go out too much, don't party, don't just hang out... not in a relationship... don't spend time for what usually is defined as fun in SL.
- Well, I am a traveler. I am often wandering for SL new sims and old ones. Rarely I go to "party", I prefer exploring. And about relationships. Well, SL have two sides, like every story :-) I will not explain you...which ones are. Up to the reader's fantasy.
- OK, fair enough :)
- Would be too easy to say that here people often with the complicity of a monitor do not behave properly honesty. But sometimes I was wrong too. So I am inside the group of SL users not the most evil, not the most saint. We all after all hide behind the monitor: some more, some less.
- And you prefer to remain distance from such things?
- I am ready to be involved...SL offers many things. SL is a refuge, is a chance, is a hell and a paradise. And often could be even that chance to meet a person you could have never met in RL - so why to close that door? But..well.. always with ...caution! But please no random TP to DJ PARTY without even a HI..howdy?
- I hear you, so you're just not pushing yourself into it?
- Let me asnwer british way : no comment.


*then I finally got to look around me*


- What's this place, by the way?
- It is trudeau yacht home. Her shop was here, now just her house. She is the best boat maker of SL, I have all her boats. I often sail SL sea, it is very relaxing.
- And that's how you spend your free time? Exploring and sailing?
- Well, let's say 80% of time I am scripting or..taking classes in scripting from higher level scripters. And the 20% - wandering or...well chatting.

G e c k o  EVO

*He invited me to have a look at another sim with a track, Edo Japan*


- This track is amazing...a little laggy due to the huge amount of sculpts for weak computers but amazing.....
- You test cars here?
- Of course.


*The sim was beautiful indeed, full-rezzed, half-rezzed. So Ichtyo have took me for a ride around it by one of his cars, sculpted one - G e c k o EVO. When he found out I'm going to take some pictures here as well, he rezzed another car - G r e t a 3.0 a beautiful convertible, his favorited one. It felt so straight he put his soul into it, even included a getting-into-the-car animation - something vehicle builders rarely add. There even was a stereo - so we had a ride with a pleasant jazz music playing, while the sun was rising. That was just a stunning sight.
We were going to finish the interview here, but the rolling restart got us again - so we came back to 2RAW*



- Do you have any future plans for your second life? As a scriptor, as a resident.
- In October, I met a RL designer ..we found an agreement and with the help of another SL content creator we imported to SL astonishing car shapes..original designs...the thing worked for a while but as in RL happens..business partnerships...do not last always..forever - so actually my scripts/engines are without a decent shape... I am willing to meet a good shape maker for my scripts in the future, as now I do not have one.
- You work with old shapes now? Didn't know.
- Or I buy in the market not customs one..but my dream is to have custom and just made for me shapes...as my scripts are totally...personalized..each car I do is a different feeling, sounds..etc. Each one a different personality, as it should. Regarding the resident side... I have not a plan :-)
- Well, wish you'll find one you will enjoy to work together with.
- Thanks. And [to all the readers of the blog] remember not to drive when drunk!


It was a big pleasure to have you for Compete With Me!, Ichtyo. Thanks for your time, and I wish you lots and lots of creative success and wins.

Another news is - Ichtyo is sponsoring the next racing series at 2RAW with cars, personally scripted for us! I've drove it myself, and ought to say you have to search real hard to find something that handles as good as this one. Stay tuned - it starts right when the current series ends!