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Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ

well, i entered my first race last night. and i must say, i'm more than disappointed in my performance. it was as if i wasn't even there. the field broke into two packs, and i was at the tail of the second. i was right on the bumper of the car in front of me and was thinking of the best place to pass would be. but the whole pack just pulled away from me like i was dragging an anchor behind me. and i was out of the draft in less than half a lap. i was driving straight and true and right in the same line as the leaders but it didn' mater. i hung in and when the first pack came around i figured i'd let them push me untill a caution or pits came up. and stay in the lead lap. but they just blew right by me and again, i couldn't even fall in and stay in the draft. so i bailed out. although not at this level, i've been playing this game for a long time and know when the problem is my driving or my car. i'm more than sure it's my car. there's something missing in my settings or my setup. i didn't think i could change the setup in normal mode. but i'd love like hell to know what! also, other than my car, and the lead car, all the others were all red and no paint. the only way to see who they were was on the score board on my screen. is that normal? i'd sure like some help figuring out what i'm missing here. cause i'd like very much to keep racing with you guys. thanks, Fordly56 Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford

Fordly56 | Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 11:02am EDT

Rookiesrock Contributor Offline   Message   Posts: 99 Joined: May 1, 2010 Location: Hayward, Wisconsin	I can answer the paint question. When you see red cars it is because those drivers have custom paints which need to be downloaded from the leagues website and inserted into that mods folder.
	Rookiesrock | Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 11:09am EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ

thanks for the reply, i get the red car thing now. so when i go to the ARL site and get the paint, where do i install it? i don't see a mod file in the heat file, but maybe it's in a sub folder. or do i just install it into the general heat file? also, maybe you can help me with the new hampshire track download. i got it from the mod squad site and it said it included miami, mich, and n bristol. i got maimi and mich, but didn't get NH or nbristol. is it there and i don't see it? or am i sending it to the wrong place? again thanks, Fordly56 Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford

Fordly56 | Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 7:36pm EDT

DusterLag Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 8108 Joined: May 1, 2010

Fordly56 wrote: thanks for the reply, i get the red car thing now. so when i go to the ARL site and get the paint, where do i install it? i don't see a mod file in the heat file, but maybe it's in a sub folder. or do i just install it into the general heat file? also, maybe you can help me with the new hampshire track download. i got it from the mod squad site and it said it included miami, mich, and n bristol. i got maimi and mich, but didn't get NH or nbristol. is it there and i don't see it? or am i sending it to the wrong place? again thanks, Fordly56 You can get our Cup Series paints here... http://www.arcaderacing.info/paints.php?l=1 Car paints are .tex files such as car301.tex or car 943.tex, these files go into the mod folder for which they belong. In the case of the ARL Cup Series we run the COTPlatinumG3 mod therefore these paint files go into the COTPlatinumG3 folder within the NASCAR Heat Folder. In general your racing was good for a first time online racer. Keep in mind that Daytona is a draft track, if you do not keep in the draft you will drop off and not be able to keep up on your own just as happens in NASCAR. When you only have a few cars all it takes is one blip of the throttle for too long and you've lost those few cars. Your correct that there are no setup changes in Normal mode with the exception of Wedge and Tire Pressures which you can change when pitting only (F8 Menu). All four of these tracks are installed at the same time and there is no reason why you would only receive 2 out of 4. Are the files in the run folder? If they are in the run folder but not showing up in-game be sure to check if they are added via the "Track Manager" within the Mod Launcher.

DusterLag | Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 7:53pm EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ

ok, i think i got that part solved. i uninstalled and reinstalled all i have learned so far, and now i've got new hampshire SP and n bristol SP. also i think i've got the drivers mods. i looked in the track manager and have 19 g3 tracks in the out side of the window. should i move them to the in side? if someone who has a custom paint, would like to log on and do a couple of laps at NH, i would know it's working. thanks Fordly56 Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford

Fordly56 | Monday, July 14, 2014 at 5:44pm EDT

DusterLag Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 8108 Joined: May 1, 2010

Fordly56 wrote: ok, i think i got that part solved. i uninstalled and reinstalled all i have learned so far, and now i've got new hampshire SP and n bristol SP. also i think i've got the drivers mods. i looked in the track manager and have 19 g3 tracks in the out side of the window. should i move them to the in side? if someone who has a custom paint, would like to log on and do a couple of laps at NH, i would know it's working. thanks Fordly56 Did you save the replay from Daytona? If so you can load it and will be able to see the cars if you downloaded them properly.

DusterLag | Monday, July 14, 2014 at 5:50pm EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ	no i didn't save it. it was too ugly for me! lol Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford
	Fordly56 | Monday, July 14, 2014 at 5:53pm EDT

DusterLag Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 8108 Joined: May 1, 2010

Fordly56 wrote: no i didn't save it. it was too ugly for me! lol Be sure to save them for all league racing you do, in some cases it can get you out of penalties. If there was some kind of game glitch on your end your replay will show it while the admin's replay may show something that get's you in trouble. (You were fine, no violations at the Daytona race) but it's just good practice to protect yourself.

DusterLag | Monday, July 14, 2014 at 5:55pm EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ	do guys get pentalties often? i try to race as clean as i can. Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford
	Fordly56 | Monday, July 14, 2014 at 5:58pm EDT

Donaldson Contributor Offline   Message   Posts: 546 Joined: May 1, 2010 Location: North Carolina, US

don't get discouraged fordly, watching your replay it was just an unfortunate incident where your pack caught a slower car and basically all of ya just pile drived into each other. if you don't have anyone behind you to push you'll lose the draft easily having to get out of the gas like that. it's happened to me before and probably to all of us at some point. plate racing is a different animal from what a normal track would be..But do you see what i mean with the keyboard/analog stick? Instead of your car driving smoothly and in line, your kinda of bouncing back and forth nonstop and that cost 's you a lot of time, try to get a wheel asap and you'll see a huge difference..start practicing for new hamp, like i said don't worry about the daytona finish, i think i finished like 8 laps down my first race online so don't worry about it man. gotta get a good 20 or so races under your belt for experience.

Donaldson | Monday, July 14, 2014 at 6:16pm EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ

thanks donalson. i think i'll try the stick once or twice at different tracks. i'm sure the wheel is better, i just don't like the idea of more gear on my desk. i know what you mean about the draft. i thought i was close enough to the pack to stay in it, but i couldn't. by the way, my stick is supposed to be digital. it's a logitech wingman extreme digital 3d. i also have a brand new one, but it takes too long to work it in and not be so stiff. i prefere the older one. what make and model wheel do you use? maybe i'll get one to have when i figure it's time. << Edited on Monday, July 14, 2014 at 6:36pm EDT. >> Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford

Fordly56 | Monday, July 14, 2014 at 6:22pm EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ

since i never got that far, i have another question. what about shifting? what settings should i have, or is that set by the host? in other words, i don't know what to expect when i pit, or on the pace laps during a caution. in the race settings. do i set the pit rule to auto, or is that controled by the host? and in the general game settings, do i check the box for auto shift, or not? i had the auto shift box clicked on saturday, and the car did shift. but in hindsight, i didn't know what would have happened during a pit or caution. thanks. Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford

Fordly56 | Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at 5:36pm EDT

Spike Contributor Offline   Message   Posts: 464 Joined: September 15, 2010 Location: United States

Donaldson wrote: don't get discouraged fordly, watching your replay it was just an unfortunate incident where your pack caught a slower car and basically all of ya just pile drived into each other. if you don't have anyone behind you to push you'll lose the draft easily having to get out of the gas like that. it's happened to me before and probably to all of us at some point. plate racing is a different animal from what a normal track would be..But do you see what i mean with the keyboard/analog stick? Instead of your car driving smoothly and in line, your kinda of bouncing back and forth nonstop and that cost 's you a lot of time, try to get a wheel asap and you'll see a huge difference..start practicing for new hamp, like i said don't worry about the daytona finish, i think i finished like 8 laps down my first race online so don't worry about it man. gotta get a good 20 or so races under your belt for experience. That would have been me Fordly lol was having a usual lousy Daytona race. Had a wasp trying to land on me and sting me and trying not to wreck anybody while trying to swat it away. With draft tracks you have to have a partner to work with and stick with throughout the race. If you are using the keyboard to drive at least buy a controller or if you have one already use it. A controller might not be as good as a wheel but at least it would be better than the keyboard. I use a Wingman Rumblepad myself. As for setups ARL uses normal mode so you can't make setup changes, however you can make changes in the pits to wedge and tires pressure. Have to do offline practices or online when others practice. With the new ARL variable wear rate I usually just practice in 6x wear and calculate fuel and tire wear when the wear rate for races are mentioned on the forum. Do manual shifting if it all possible and set manual pitting as well, it's always manual online whether you have auto pitting set or not. << Edited on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at 8:34pm EDT. >>

Spike | Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at 8:33pm EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ

hey spike, thanks for the reply. yeh, i don't use the keyboard, i use a wingman digital joy stick. i've never used a wheel, but when playing the older heat, i raced online with a guy who smoked me and my mates. but, he had been at it a lot longer than us. i'm not defending the stick, but i'm used to it. and it's easy to use and easy to store when i'm working at my desk. one of the main problems i'm finding with the stick, is it's floored or no gas at all. i'm guessing the wheel and foot, would let me lift but not all the way. when on a pace lap, i have to keep getting on it and then off. if i get too carried away, it over heats on me! anyhow i'll try the stick once or twice more and see how it goes on different tracks again thanks, fordly56 Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford

Fordly56 | Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at 10:32pm EDT

Spike Contributor Offline   Message   Posts: 464 Joined: September 15, 2010 Location: United States

Fordly56 wrote: hey spike, thanks for the reply. yeh, i don't use the keyboard, i use a wingman digital joy stick. i've never used a wheel, but when playing the older heat, i raced online with a guy who smoked me and my mates. but, he had been at it a lot longer than us. i'm not defending the stick, but i'm used to it. and it's easy to use and easy to store when i'm working at my desk. one of the main problems i'm finding with the stick, is it's floored or no gas at all. i'm guessing the wheel and foot, would let me lift but not all the way. when on a pace lap, i have to keep getting on it and then off. if i get too carried away, it over heats on me! anyhow i'll try the stick once or twice more and see how it goes on different tracks again thanks, fordly56 That's good. Some guys can race extremely well with a keyboard, there was a guy @ Speedsims that used a keyboard and won a lot of races. Since you are using a plane sim joystick set the throttle and brake to buttons if you are using the stick for steering and throttle. I'd use buttons on the base if it has them that way you could use your left hand for gas and brake and right hand for steering and setup the buttons on the stick for selecting gears. Just takes a lot of patience and practice. I race heat with a controller, took me about a year or so before I got a win. I have a wheel just not enough space to set it up at the moment.

Spike | Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 9:14am EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ

hey spike, using a controller, you must use buttons for the throtle. so you might have the same problem as me. i use the triger on the stick. it mostly works great and it's easy to use. the problem is, it's all or nothing. meaning i can't run at half throtle. it's not a problem except during the pace laps. i have to keep goosing it and ziz left and right to stay in line. and if the caution goes too long, it wants to over heat on me. i've tried it at different gears, but that doesn't help. when my friends and i race we set the pits to auto. then the game takes over untill the green comes out. we are mostly older guys. so that's also nice cause you can take a smoke or head break. i also hope that doen't cause grief for the cars behind me. thanks, fordly56 Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford

Fordly56 | Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 10:32am EDT

Spike Contributor Offline   Message   Posts: 464 Joined: September 15, 2010 Location: United States

Fordly56 wrote: hey spike, using a controller, you must use buttons for the throtle. so you might have the same problem as me. i use the triger on the stick. it mostly works great and it's easy to use. the problem is, it's all or nothing. meaning i can't run at half throtle. it's not a problem except during the pace laps. i have to keep goosing it and ziz left and right to stay in line. and if the caution goes too long, it wants to over heat on me. i've tried it at different gears, but that doesn't help. when my friends and i race we set the pits to auto. then the game takes over untill the green comes out. we are mostly older guys. so that's also nice cause you can take a smoke or head break. i also hope that doen't cause grief for the cars behind me. thanks, fordly56 Actually my controller has dual analog joysticks. I use the right one for throttle/brake and left one for steering. Now for the older Sportscar GT game I have to use buttons for gas and brake as that game doesn't recognize the 2nd joystick. Have you tried setting the throttle lever at the base on your stick as the gas? << Edited on Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 10:45am EDT. >>

Spike | Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 10:43am EDT

ltfireman1604 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 66 Joined: March 31, 2014 Location: Georgia, US

Spike wrote: Fordly56 wrote: hey spike, using a controller, you must use buttons for the throtle. so you might have the same problem as me. i use the triger on the stick. it mostly works great and it's easy to use. the problem is, it's all or nothing. meaning i can't run at half throtle. it's not a problem except during the pace laps. i have to keep goosing it and ziz left and right to stay in line. and if the caution goes too long, it wants to over heat on me. i've tried it at different gears, but that doesn't help. when my friends and i race we set the pits to auto. then the game takes over untill the green comes out. we are mostly older guys. so that's also nice cause you can take a smoke or head break. i also hope that doen't cause grief for the cars behind me. thanks, fordly56 Actually my controller has dual analog joysticks. I use the right one for throttle/brake and left one for steering. Now for the older Sportscar GT game I have to use buttons for gas and brake as that game doesn't recognize the 2nd joystick. Have you tried setting the throttle lever at the base on your stick as the gas? I would almost bet that your problem loosing the draft was due to not being able to keep throttle at 3/4, but going from 100%-0% and trying to go back to 100%. To keep in the draft you have to be able to control the throttle and just ease off the car in front of ya and then get right back on throttle again. with the 100%-0% effect ya loose to much momentum to keep up IMO The thing with the pack catching up to you is that you are probably doing 185-192-ish MPH when by yourself and the pack is moving at about 200-210MPH. almost always the pack is gonna go around ya. And its HARD, no scratch that, DAMN NEAR impossible to fall in line with them and catch the draft. It can be done, but ya have to time it perfectly and fall in behind the last car with Millimeters to spare between the bumpers LOL. << Edited on Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 11:14am EDT. >>

ltfireman1604 | Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 11:06am EDT

Fordly56 Member / Driver Offline   Message   Posts: 184 Joined: July 6, 2014 Location: Cape May, NJ

yeh, i tried using the slider. but it is too slow while racing. at most tracks i need to be able to quickly burp the throtle for a second. the triger is perfect for that. plus the slider requires me to use my left hand and that would make it tough to change other settings. i'm sure i could get it right with a ton of practice. but that would take longer than when i want to go online again. i guess the wheel is the only real thing to have. i saw on the logitech site, they have what looks to be a good one, for three hundred bucks. i'm sure if i looked around, i could find the same one cheeper. but, like you, i realy don't have room for it. Driver of the #2 Penske Racing Ford

Fordly56 | Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 2:09pm EDT

Spike Contributor Offline   Message   Posts: 464 Joined: September 15, 2010 Location: United States

Fordly56 wrote: yeh, i tried using the slider. but it is too slow while racing. at most tracks i need to be able to quickly burp the throtle for a second. the triger is perfect for that. plus the slider requires me to use my left hand and that would make it tough to change other settings. i'm sure i could get it right with a ton of practice. but that would take longer than when i want to go online again. i guess the wheel is the only real thing to have. i saw on the logitech site, they have what looks to be a good one, for three hundred bucks. i'm sure if i looked around, i could find the same one cheeper. but, like you, i realy don't have room for it. Then pick yourself up a controller. I got myself a new logitech F310 for under $20 @ Bestbuy a few weeks ago, they'll price match Amazon & Walmart prices in the stores.

Spike | Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 3:36pm EDT

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