The Back Porch

[Blooze]

Yo, and welcome to the new digs.  I decided to move the kitchen out of the shop to make it less handy and because I needed the space for an office.  Mine, actually.  My former spacious office with all the windows and such has been turned over to the Yard and Shop manager, and the prospective bookkeeper, soon as I can find one.

Anyhow, my back porch is pretty snazzy.  Big - the full length of the house and 24' wide.  It has 3' high walls and large screens that can be storm windowed come winter.  There's 3 large ceiling fans spaced along the length of it and there's a large Ben Franklin stove smack dab in the center along the house wall.  Got a sink, some cabinets and refrigerator too.  That's the area with the big old kitchen table and chairs.  Some are old wooden straight backs, but theres a handful of folding chairs over in the corner if they're needed.

I can look out across the back yard and the drives and see the shop, into it if the bay doors are open.  A few of them always are, first thing in the morning until pretty late at night usually.

There's a cheap ole Mr. Coffee over on the counter by the sink, and there is almost always coffee available.  We got about a dozen mugs (or you can bring your own, but you gotta keep it washed out - I ain't your momma.) in the cabinet above the pot, and there's coffee and filters in there too, handy.  So I better never catch somebody emptying the pot and shutting it down rather than make a fresh pot.  Hell, I been known to tie a can to a guy's ass over that...

Stop by anytime, grab a cup, tell us what's goin' on.  We usually got a BS session goin' about some damn thing or another...

$

[Blooze]

Well, here's what I got on the New Deal so far.  I come up with 27 environments for the circuits, five new ones and three old ones gone missing.  The Circuits leaderboard has five fewer ribbons than last time, 98 now.  I haven't checked to see if that balances yet.  I think there's a couple screw ups in their track list so I'll have to wait until I get the game to get confident with those numbers.  But I haven't let it slow me down - I have all of my leaderboards in place already.

The number of drag strips has doubled, almost.  It will be interesting to see how they work that into the Career.  With the new tire compound and significantly increased Launch and Accel numbers, Drag Racing may be fun to mess with this time around.

The Muscle cars thing has me almost giddy.  In fact, I just moved the toilet from my extra bath into the office, that's how excited I am.  I got that goin' in another thread so I won't talk about that much more here.  Only to note that I will probably be messing with the GICheeze account and the Muscle cars quite a bit more than the Blooze46 account and the World Tour to start out...

Because spreadsheets is about 50% of how I deal with Forza, I am pretty much playing Forza IV (Fm4, F4, 4za, 44 I haven't decided yet) now.  The database is all initialized, and because I have the time now, much of it has been streamlined and automated where possible.  I'm into it enough now that Fm3 has pretty much gone the way of the purple goose around here.  I could move its directory to my off box storage now...

That's what I got goin' on... what all you guys been up to?

$

[DirtDriver]

You got a back porch?!

I didn't even know they made those anymore. But I wish I had one, for sure.

I hope to be hanging out here a lot messing with whatever contraptions you concoct for FSRA. I like the idea.

On a side note, I kinda put in for a transfer today. Willow Springs is about half way between where I live now and Springfield, MO. We hope to open a new place there and I told the boss my hat was officially tossed in the ring if there is a ring for such tossin' to be had. Gotta figure out housing as I cannot sell the house here because my mother is a permanent fixture.

I am sure it will be twice the work since it is a start up but it will get me away from southeast Missouri and off the daily two hour commute. Hell, I will get a raise just by not having to fill 'er up twice a week.

Anyway, wish me luck and pray for my sanity!

DD

[Blooze]

Mercy!  I bet that is gonna make for some wide eyed staring at the ceiling in the wee hours time...  (kind of like what the New Deal is doin' to me right now.)  None of my bidness, but is your Mom able to help with the Mortgage a little or are you going to have shoulder both places?  Or, will the Willow Springs (like the name) place's function be primarily a mid-week camping spot and not too high end?

Anyhow, getting in on the top of the ground floor sounds exciting!  I'll be rootin' for you!



One of the things about the FSRA is that everybody can concoct their own contraptions.  The history of how my Muscle Car baby got to be this way should be fairly unique amongst the troops.  At least, the history will have a great deal to do with which class you'll run in.  Like, I doubt like hell that somebody with ported Edelbrock big valve heads and a 2 quad tunnel ram is gonna convince us he should get to race in the SS shootout out down at the Muscle Inc. Test Pad next month.

Some of those stories are gonna be worth the ticket I suspect...

$

[DirtDriver]

Nope, no help with the mortgage. College will have to help me figure that one out if they want me to move.

Oh, and about that double tunnel-vision Edelbrock port-hole thingy...damn, that is exactly what I was going to do! hehe

DD

[Blooze]

Ah, October 1^st, now the month names are the same!  October 1, October 11... October = October... get it?   It's getting closer.  It is.  It really is... 

Pills... Pills!  I need my pills!  Nurse?

The thing I've been crankin' on the most, besides my spreadsheets, is how best to bring my two accounts up.  This would be the point where the Profile is established and Credits can be accrued.  Presumably, it is at sometime before the program wanders off to check your Fm3 files.  That act alone is supposed to get you 15,000 Cr.  In turn, the Import will have to either already have a garage to write to, or will have to take care of creating it.  And, to create a garage, you have to buy one of the startup cars. (this pisses me off, btw).  They say you have to run a race.  I suspect that first race in your startup car is the one they are looking for.  Anyhow, that is the point I am looking for in both accounts before I set back, take stock, and begin to strategize.  How many credits in the accounts?  Which of the myriad cars show up in the garage as opposed to the dealerships.  Can they be sold for cash?  Most likely not.  Can they be gifted?  More light weight Auction fodder most likely.

So, the Strategy

Even though the Blooze46 (B) account is primary, it has almost 6000 MS points associated with it and I buy all the DLC from there; I'll pick up the Season Pass from there as well...  even though, I will be starting up the strategy from the GICheeze (G) account.  Because of a misconception once, I sort of wound up with a fist full of MS points associated with the G account too.  About 2100 of them to be eggzack.  I don't know if they are transferrable or not, but these Car Tokens have given me an idea...  I mean, what the hay?  Once you turn real money into MS points, its history as far as being real money is concerned.  Might as well play it...

So, first thing I'll do is buy a 6 pack of them tokens for the G account.  And having done that, I will go and buy the Shelby Cobra with the tokens.  It should just cost one, but if it's two, I may go ahead and buy the Shelby Daytona instead.  Information on how these Token purchased cars behave is a little on the short side.  Some of the Daught Gnetters want 'em marked with a scarlet "T" and worth nothing but gathering dust in the scoundrel's garage.  What I am looking for is, Can they be Gifted?  I do not think you will be able to sell them to the game for more than a 100 Cr, nor do I believe that they will be allowed on the Auction house.  If that is the case, then kiss the Economy goodbye.  But there is no reason why someone should not be able to give them to someone else.  If they can not be gifted, then I'll pickup a few muscle cars with the remaining tokens and be done with it.  Maybe buy a DLC pack with the left over points some day, if I can remember that I got 'em.

But, if a Token car can be gifted, then I will run right out and spend the rest of those points on more tokens.  Then I will buy the 5 most expensive cars in the game.  This is a 50 point achievement, and 50,000 Cr. is enough to get you going without goofin' around with the startup car anymore.  The GICheeze Muscle car Project will be up and going.

Then I will gift all of those expensive cars over to the B account, and he'll get the whatever achievment too.  I plan on the B account hosting the museum so this will be cool.  The museum starts out with the 5 most expensive cars in the game and 50,000 Cr for expenses and all I've run is one goofy little race.

As you all know, I got me an agenda goin' with the Muscle Cars and the G account.  And for the most part, it don't agree with 44's agenda.  I don't want to be a world traveling race car driver.  I want to be a high school senior with a muscle car graduation present.  I want to run out to the Drag Strip on a Friday night and run my baby in the bracket races.  Maybe even run it in one of those track races that Muscle Inc. puts on every now and then.  I want to take it on a slow rumblin' cruise up Cottonwood pass and down the other side, just listenin' to the pipes back off the canyon walls and checkin' out the scenery.  And I need to make some money and XP points while I do it. 

So, what has changed about the Private Multiplayer races and how does the new AI difficulty system figure into the mess?  I don't think I have ever quite gotten a handle on how the Private Race difficulty settings are influenced by my own difficulty settings.  Like for some of my little Kaido cruises, I don't want a bunch of cars crashing around me.  I want peace, serenity, and that stuff.  So I usually assign the AI a 110 Pi POS and keep them out of my hair.  I don't want the busy body game to upgrade the whole bunch of them and destroy my zen.  But in other cases, I am looking for a race.  Getting aquainted with how the Private Race system works will be the next priority.

One thing to remember is that a major portion of the events are unlocked from the git-go this time.  I won't have to level up to get to the C Class No Am races in the Class Championship like I had to in Fm3.

Affinity points.  What about them?  Is there a leader board somewhere keyed by Manufacturers?  Is it private or local?  Is "just drive nothin' but a Ford" the sum of it?  Or will we be able track and maybe influence our progress in some way?  Us spreadsheet mechanix want to know - need to know!

And what have they done with the Physics?  I so hope they haven't gone and made RWD untenable again for the sake of somebody's reality.  That is the reason one of my first Forza 4 acts will be to drive a stock muscle car with no assists set over the Cottonwood pass road.  If it is the greased hell of Forza II, I will have to recalibrate.  That will be enough for me to shut the Muscle Car Project down altogether.  I hate dealing with manufactured complexity when realistic is supposed to be the goal.  These muscle cars were not that difficult to drive.  If I can't take off easy without spinning the tires, if I can't apply a bit of throttle exiting a normal corner with whipping around in some ersatz donut, then I won't mess with it.  I'll go buy a Golf R32 and have at it.

And there's the upgrades... got to look that over.  Does the Bias stuff all work the same?

As I sit here plotting and planning, trying to get a schedule up, a process in place, I keep reminding myself that I need to set aside some time for meals, and sleep.  Maybe even taking a shower now and then.

Why does everything have to be so complicated?

$

[Blooze]

Here's a couple things that were posted near the end of the Bench thread that will figger into what is about to be posted here...

I Posted...

That said, when I've run Pirellis on a road car, I've generally found them to be very grippy but shorter-lifed than other makes.

I went off and done me some research F4-wise this weekend and changes to the Accel and Launch stats for all the cars (that I checked) would seem to bear this out.

My search/research was mostly based around the Muscle Cars.  Here's what I have so far without having actually seen the Shelby garage.

• Class structure appears to be the same, with the same limits.
• 16 of the Fm3 cars made the transition to Fm4.  Gone is the '68 GTO.  Included is the '60 Vette.
• So far, there are 11 cars included in the base set.  This includes the '78 King Cobra and the '77 Trans Am.  Both of these have strange Pi values.  Also included is the '57 TBird.
• Then there are the 10 cars from the American Classics pack.
• Plymouth returns as a Manufacturer
• 3 new Chevies, 3 Dodges, 5 Fords, and 5 Pontiacs.  Most others just got a single entry.  The Corvette count remains the same.
• All of the carry over cars received a substantial increase in Pi, putting most up into the mid/low D Class.  The biggest mover (so far) is the '60 Vette with 79 Pi points, the '69 Z-28 is next with 73.  The smallest increase was the '70 Challenger with just 4.  Many were 69, with most in that neighborhood.
• The Accel and Launch stats all show a substantial increase.  Handling gernerally took a tenth or two hit.  The drag racers are doing their happy dance, no doubt.
• All in all I make it 37 old American cars (so far), 30 of which can be considered legitimate Muscle Cars.

Now, on to what has developed into a steaming issue over on the Daught GNet.  The AWD Pi change.  I have only looked into one car, but it was enough for me to see the lay of the land in the New Deal.  The car I checked is what used to be the best car in the game, the 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS.

The Pi hit was rather substantial.  From E256 to C358, that is 108 points!

Changes to the stats:
OLD:  5.7   5.0   3.7   4.8   4.7
NEW: 5.5   4.7   5.4   6.0   4.5

The issue wasn't so much the default AWD cars, but more the ones with the AWD conversion and the Pi point break that they recieved.  It is funny to note that RWD conversions received the same break, but somehow that never got mentioned in the crying sessions.

The Civic VTi has recieved a rather substantial increase to its Pi as well.  Up 97 points from F163 to E260.
OLD:  4.3   4.8   3.0   3.8   4.6
NEW: 3.7   4.5   5.0   5.4   4.4

I think most of the changes are the result of resolving the ludicrous wheel spin off the line.  This has been wrong forever and is one of the primary reasons I have run with the TCS engaged.  The wheel spin was such an obvious kiddy ploy that I just couldn't stand to deal with it.

To which Spiny Responded...

I think a large part of the increase in the PI is down to the fact that the range is still 100-999 yet the slowest cars in FM4 are slower than the slowest cars in FM3. So, particularly at the lower end the cars have had their PI increased from that alone. I'm blatently nicking this from another site, but here's a list of PI changes captured off a video:



Particularly noticeable on that list are the Mk1 Golf/Rabbit which has increased from F100 to F182 which gives us an idea of where the FM3 baseline falls in FM4. The other one I noticed was the LFA which is the highest rated car and also the only one to undergo a drop in PI which suggests that in the highest classes the PI changes are tinkering at most.

Okay, I think that has us caught up...

$

[Blooze]

I think a large part of the increase in the PI is down to the fact that the range is still 100-999 yet the slowest cars in FM4 are slower than the slowest cars in FM3. So, particularly at the lower end the cars have had their PI increased from that alone.

Ah, but if that were the case, I would expect to see the increases across the board.  Every car that I have checked, the Handling and Braking values went down with Forza 4, and in most cases, so did the Speed, and all three just a tenth or so.  However the Accel and Launch went up significantly, usually by more than a whole digit.

And, my experiences with the Cougar in the Demo this morning seem to me to fall in line that observation.  Wheel spin without TCS was managable and you could "feel" the car leave.

For myself, I suspect very little is going to change about the steps I take to tune a car compared to Fm3.  Just lighten up on the shinanigans required to get around the Maple Valley and Catalunya sweepers is all...

$

[BarbecuePete]

Nice Porch Blooze... Thanks for the coffee.

Affinity points.  What about them?  Is there a leader board somewhere keyed by Manufacturers?  Is it private or local?  Is "just drive nothin' but a Ford" the sum of it?  Or will we be able track and maybe influence our progress in some way?  Us spreadsheet mechanix want to know - need to know!
$

I found this you tube video about the bowling
(looks kinda pointless, but I guess it might be a bit of fun for 5 minutes)
http://youtu.be/zghs-9-htsM

But at the end it goes through the end race screen and shows the driver and manufacturer affinity levels. Looks like it's pretty much the same as FM3's driver / car level, finish a race - earn XP, so many XP to next level etc..

The manufacturer affinity looks to be just a reworking of previous Forza car level but all your cars from one make build up one manufacturer level rather than each having its own individual car level.

Also shows you getting a manufacturer bonus for leveling up, 1000cr for finishing level 1 and 25% off all upgrades for the manufacturer as well. Probably not far wrong saying something like 2000Cr for level 2, 3000Cr for level 3 etc. and I think I remember seeing somewhere upgrade parts are free over level 5.

A local leaderboard of some sort would be handy so you know where your at with each make... but apart from upgrade parts being free after level 5 and the credits for leveling up there doesn't look to be much more to it than that...

[Blooze]

Nice Porch Blooze... Thanks for the coffee.

You're more than welcome, Sir!  There were some day old Bear Claws earlier, but I got hungry... 

I found this you tube video about the bowling
(looks kinda pointless, but I guess it might be a bit of fun for 5 minutes)
http://youtu.be/zghs-9-htsM

It does look sort of frivolous, doesn't it?  Back in the olden days when I was 12 or so, I had a job setting pins in a bowling alley at the mining camp where we lived.  You had to jump down in the pit after everything settled down and put the pins back in the rack for the next set.  The bowlers would get pissed if you didn't send their ball back first.  But there were some idiots that used to try to nail ya in the pin pit if they got their ball back too soon.  That Car Bowling made me think, "I sure as hell wouldn't want to be the pin setter at that place, I don't care how big the tip was when it was over.

It looks like it will be one time to nail the gold pin for the achievement, then never to return for me...

A local leaderboard of some sort would be handy so you know where your at with each make... but apart from upgrade parts being free after level 5 and the credits for leveling up there doesn't look to be much more to it than that...

One would hope.  It seems that they have made enough racket about Affinity Level 150 what with it being an achievment and all that there would be some sort of scoreboard somewhere...

We shall see... 

What is it now, 6 and a wakeup?

$

[DirtDriver]

Blooze?  Yo, Blooze!

Ole badger don't seem to be here. Damn, coffee pot is empty. Hey, look at these old magazines. Here's one about mustangs. Wonder if he'd miss it.

Better get out of here.

DD

[Blooze]

So, your arm broken or what?  How come there's no coffee cookin'?



What can I do you out of?

[DirtDriver]

Oh, Blooze! Didn't know you was here. I was...uh...I...coffee! I was just commencin' to brew up some Joe. Yeah. That's what I was doin'.

hehe

DD

edit: I don't think he noticed that old Mustang magazine under my coat...surely he won't miss it.

[Blooze]

So Dirt, you ready for the new season to open?  Got your garage all swept out, tools sorted and cleaned... found all the half inch wrenches and put 'em back where they belong?

Have you got some fresh batteries in the controller, and a fresh set in the wheel?  Did you get an extra 6 pack of AA batteries just in case?  How about a notepad and a pencil, maybe even a calculator... you never know.

Have you decided whether you'll buy a startup car with a token rather than drive one of those shoeboxes they want you to start in?  If so, what's your start up car?  Old Muscle?  Maybe a Mustang?  I know you've running them a lot lately...

I was watching a review on Gamespot that was fairly lame, and except for one interesting little tidbit, a complete waste of 53 minutes.  The reviewer was talking about the multiple choices for level awards and mentioned the award for level 30.  He said that you had to choose between a GT40 and a 330 P4...

Damn.  I am gonna wish I had a list of the level up car arrays before starting but I don't know if one will be posted before the 11^th. 

I may end up buying at least 3, maybe 4 old cars for my GICheeze, a '65 GTO of course, and the El Camino (got to have something to pull my car trailer around in).  And since Drag racing is going to figure into my startup, maybe a 93 Mustang...  Those little rigs make for an awsome hot rod with the small block Cleveland and a Prostock hood on them.  But then, that '65 Mustang GT coupe looks pretty cool with that hood too.  I saw a picture of a '65 Mustang Coupe on Laguna Seca today, they made for pretty good Grand Am cars too.  So it just wasn't the Boss Mustang, or the Shelby Mustangs in Grand Am back in those days, There were all sorts of Mustangs in Grand Am.  And let's not forget the 71 Mach 1... that one's got a higher Pi than the Cougar.  One ... Kick ... Ass... Mustang for sure, that Mach 1.

So, what you think Dirt?  Are you going to startup with a Mustang?

$

[DirtDriver]

Oh, let's see:

2 LCE copies pre-ordered
Plan to lumber on with the MS wheel till this iPad is paid for
Got the two xboxes working alright with enough storage on both of them...just in case
Installed spreadsheet app on iPad

Looks like I am ready...oh, except for that car to start with...See, I've been thinking...I....you know, you sure do ask a lot of questions!

Anyways, I suspect there will be some activity in the shop this weekend that will answer your question. I still got some...uh...research to do...recently came across some hard to find information I got to study on a litle while...

Oh, coffee's ready...

DD