KRF Formula K World Championship

[GROOV3ST3R]

They don' change Wheelbases however xD That would cost them approximately... ooh, I don't know, 100 million dollars? With a change as radical as that they'd have to pretty much redesign the entire car.

But yeah, for us it's okay ^^

[NQMT]

$100 million is an exaggeration

Note: Any design change has to go through both myself and GROOV3ST3R first. If you wish to show us a redesign, show us: a) the original spec car and the updated one. Send it as a PM with both of us in the recipient box.

[CaptainGiblets]

Thanks, and also I'm taking a holiday for two days so I won't be able to race

~CaptainGiblets

[GROOV3ST3R]

I am working on a prototype truck for the upcoming Truck Racing league - and trying to define some ground rules at the same time. It's actually quite possible to make a truck that doesn't flip instantly but they do need some careful and steady hands.

Here is what I got so far:

Truck Racing Construction Rules (preliminary)

1. A Truck (heavy haulage vehicle) MUST be capable of attaching a trailer and/or be able to carry a pre-specified load (the contents of which will be made public in the entry package for everyone to either base a trailer or truck bed around)

1.1a If Semi-Rig structure, the connection must NOT be rigid

1,1b A matching trailer must also be designed and submitted along with the truck - it must be able to carry the Large Cargo Item (an item made by me that must fully fit on or in the trailer)

1.1c Connector hinge MUST to be part of the truck - it's design is entirely up to you.

1.1d The hinge must allow for connecting AND disconnecting a trailer - most likely through use of docking ports. Method is unrestricted.

1.1e Truck is NOT required to pull a trailer during the race (and is in fact banned from carrying a trailer in a race, due to additional wheels, power etc)

1.2a If Bed/container design is preferred, the truck must be capable of securely delivering it's cargo

1.2b The container/bed does not need to be enclosed, however it must have side walls of height at least EQUAL to the height of the cargo

1.2c Truck is NOT required to carry cargo during race, however the structure for carrying cargo must remain intact, including sidewalls

(These rules are there to make things interesting. If you choose to make a trailer, you will need to be clever with use of landing gears and little wheels for your connection, forcing you be much more creative but ultimately ending up with a truck with a much lower CoG. Flatbeds/container trucks will be much simpler, however you are forced to leave all the superstructure on the truck, leaving you with a much higher CoG.)

2. Truck specifications:

2.1 Cab:

2.1a A Truck must have an enclosed Cab for the driver, with two (2) side windows either side of the truck and at least 1 (one) large windscreen (windows can simply be left as empty holes since we are yet to have a custom built pane of glass available, I will get onto that soon)

2.1b The Cab must be placed ABOVE the wheel level - it may be placed behind or over the front wheels (and front wheels only), however it must NOT be built below the top edge of the wheel in it's compressed state (so basically, your Cab must sit ABOVE the edge of your wheel even when the springs compress)

2.1c The Cab must have enough space for at least 2 (two) Kerbals, spaced out so that they are not clipping through any part of the vehicle or themselves (so you must make it fairly large, with all other limitations this means your CoG placement will be fairly high unless you can do something about it)

2.1d The Cab MUST protect all Kerbals present inside from the following scenarios:

- Rolling the truck on it's side/roof

- Crashing into a wall

- Vehicle breaking apart due to over straining the chassis

- Hard landing in case of a jump (or falling off the runway/launch pad for example)

2.1e The Cab MUST remain intact in at all times, even during a crash (or otherwise a ''sub optimal vehicle/ground interface event'')

2.2 The Chassis

2.2a The chassis must have a MINIMUM length of 2 (two) Long I Beam Bars stacked end-to-end.

2.2b The chassis must have a MINIMUM width equal to the length of 1 (one) Long I Beam

2.2c The chassis must have a cargo area/trailer mount at the back

2.2d The overall vehicle height must be at least equal to or greater than the length of 1 (one) Long I Beam

2.3 Overall Truck rules

2.3a Trucks will qualify to race by weight - split into Class-6 and Class-12, for vehicles with a minimum dry weight of 6000kg and 12000kg respectively.

2.3b The truck must look like a truck. No cheating! We will notice!

2.3c The truck must have an enclosed engine compartment, you may have a visual ''engine'' - it does not have to serve any purpose, but the compartment has to be there and it has to have something inside.

2.3d You are not required to have any opening doors, hoods or other similar components

2.3e The style and design of the truck and all vanity components is unrestricted. You may have a European, American or a Hybrid design - or anything you can think of really, as long as it looks like a truck.

2.3f There are no restrictions on Vanity Parts - visual parts which serve no function other than to add weight and coolness

2.4 Wheels

2.4a You may have 4 or 6 wheels - 6 wheels are better for spreading 12 tonnes around on and give you some extra power, but 4 wheels will be much easier to handle in the corners so it sort of naturally balances out.

2.4b You may use motors in all wheels

2.4c You must only use front wheels for turning. To help reduce wheel friction and chassis stress load, you are allowed to have a limited turn angle on the back axle - UP to 0.35 on the back axle/s (you can have less to smooth it out more). Front wheels/axles are NOT limited, you may have the full x2 angle

2.4d You are not restricted to the layout of your wheels - just to spice things up. Any layout is permitted. Wheels must be arranged into Axles.

2.4e You MUST use TR-L2 wheels only.

2.4f Your truck must be fully powered by wheels ONLY.

3. MISC:

3.1 You are allowed (but not mandated) to use 2 small control surfaces for downforce at the front of the vehicle and 1 large control surface for downforce at the back of the vehicle. The rear wing MUST be attached to a non-structural part of the vehicle - i.e. on it's own pylon

3.2 NO use of SAS, NO reaction wheels/SAS extra pods

3.3 Kerbal/s must be present in the truck when racing

3.4 You can have up to 6 RCS ports, placed at the back

3.5 You will be limited to the amount of RCS fuel you can carry, however your minimum weight does not include weight of the fuel.

3.6 Your truck MUST have lights:

3.6a Headlights, Illuminator Mk2, placed at the front of the vehicle, above the ''bumper'' area

3.6b Acceptable are additional racing Illuminator MK1 lights, free placement, must face forwards

3.6c Full working Indicators/Hazard lights, 2x At the front and 2x at the back of the truck, AMBER lights from the Aviation Lights pack (included, set to toggle Interval)

3.6d Rear position lights, minimum of 2 (set to Toggle Light)

3.6e Reverse Lights, minimum of 1 at the back (toggle Light)

3.6f Amber position lights on the side, minimum of 4 - 2 each side. (Toggle Light)

3.6g Acceptable are additional warning beacons on top of the cab - Flash/doubleFlash/interval, amber lights allowed

3.6h You MUST have working Brake Lights at the back of the truck -to do this, you will be required to assign red lights to the Brakes action group to Toggle Light when you activate brakes. This will put the lights on when braking and switch them off immediately after

If I missed anything or you have any suggestions, let me know ^^

Summary of key rules:

- Minimum of 6 or 12 tonne dry weight

- Minimum dimensions: L = 2x Long I Beam, W = 1x Long I Beam, H = 1 Long I beam

- 4 or 6 wheels, must use front wheels for main turning only, must be symmetrical, no layout restriction - TR-2L ONLY

- 2 small control surfaces at the front, 1 at the back

- 6 RCS ports (tba)

- must have FULL lighting

- must be a USEABLE cargo carrying vehicle - Semi-rig OR Van/flatbed

Edited April 3, 2014 by GROOV3ST3R

[vger]

Has anybody experienced any changes in vehicle performance as a result of the ARM update?

[GROOV3ST3R]

I haven't even tried it yet.

[Lord Banjo]

If you choose to make a trailer, you will need to be clever with use of landing gears and little wheels for your connection, forcing you be much more creative but ultimately ending up with a truck with a much lower CoG. ^^

i think the "klaw" part has a pivot built in but i have not checked myself. That would make a trailer much easier.

[GROOV3ST3R]

It's certainly a thought ^^ It might work, it might not work. There are ways of getting around this. I made a fully mobile tank turret at one point, that worked pretty well using smallest wheels as ball bearings effectively. They do break easily though. Swings and roundabouts :S

Never know until you try ^^

Go ahead, you can still join Formula K or build a prototype pioneering truck for racing. I will post my screenies later today.

[NQMT]

I have a few disagreements and an addition to the Truck rules:

1. we should allow 2 small surfaces at the front and 1 large at the rear

2. shouldn't be required to carry a trailer, it's a racing truck for a reason

3. minimum height: 1 i-beam pocket edition, Min weight: 9 tonnes with RCS at full load.

- adding to this, there should be a limit to the AMOUNT of RCS, not the tank.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Kyrian

[GROOV3ST3R]

1. 2 small surfaces and 1 large will make exactly 0 difference to handling a thing weighing 9 tonnes.

2. you didn't read the rules properly. It's a truck that's ABLE to carry a trailer - but I already said in the rules it's NOT allowed to carry it during a race. But it's still a truck. So it needs to retain major components shared with it's working counterpart - that includes the trailer hitch.

3. We need tests on performance to determine whether or not weight over 9 tonnes actaully changes performance.

RCS doesn't really do much for vehicles this large, imo you might as well ahve all 4 of those tanks filled up.

[NQMT]

You'd be surprised. I ran some aero tests and they actually do make quite some difference.

[donfede]

For race #3, are contestants to all use v0.23, or is it an option to use v0.23.5?

(my pref would be the former, so contestants have equal racing conditions; but, will go with the race coordinators choice)

Edited April 3, 2014 by donfede
typo

[GROOV3ST3R]

Well, I don't know how compatible everything is with the 23.5 update so I would suggest you use version 23 until further notice.

I will also be updating configurations for AviationLights so just use the current set of everything. You can always have 2 copies of the game, 1 for 23 and 1 for 23.5

Okay, so Aerodynamics are a go. I will amend that in the perliminary rules. I would prefer to have a 12 ton class truck as well as a 6 ton class - REAL truck racing rules state that trucks have to weigh no less that 5500kg, but they are stripped out monsters. (they STILL have a trailer hitch though ^^)

So what do you say about splitting it into 2 classes, 6 vs 12 tonnes? These are bottom end figures, trucks can be beyond that weight.

[NQMT]

2 classes is a definite yes.

I'll enter the light truck races.

[CaptainGiblets]

Reports are saying the G&C Racing are testing a newly designed car with test driver Corsel Kerman, former K3 Champ

[NQMT]

Breaking News: Sergio Kerman has been reportedly signed to Kyrian Racing for the next Formula K season.

Also, reports of a new title sponsor, C7 Industries, have surfaced, with STEADLER being Sergio's sponsor.

Apparently the team will be renamed 'C7 Kyrian Racing'

Edited April 4, 2014 by Kyrian

[CaptainGiblets]

Also, when are next season Formula K rules coming? And nice news flash^

[GROOV3ST3R]

Prototype truck is ready for roll out:

Tempesta MK1

The engine:

The lights:

12001 KG of pure racing terror.

[NQMT]

I have a few ideas for extra racing categories:

1. something like GP2, where everyone gets the same chassis,

2. road cars with spoilers,

3. Pikes Peak-style cars,

4. unlimited class - mods, plugins, and wheel config edits (only to change maximum usable speed, i.e. speed before the wheel breaks)

Also I'll be working on the Season 2 rules, and to release a testing circuit.

[hermanberk]

ok here is my time for track 3

(MET didn't work so i used UT.)

Starting time: 5:47:00

Finishing time: 5:48:31

So thats makes a time of 1:31!

Proof:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

PS: i've also included a picture showing the dry mass for those who where wondering.

[CaptainGiblets]

If only KSP had real engines...

Prototype truck is ready for roll out:

Tempesta MK1

http://imageshack.com/a/img69/7785/m40v.png

http://imageshack.com/a/img811/6905/l0cn.png

The engine:

http://imageshack.com/a/img856/309/r1ff.png

The lights:

http://imageshack.com/a/img42/7863/bzm8.png

12001 KG of pure racing terror.

[GROOV3ST3R]

Well, it's that time again:

The GTRT Truck Racing has hit the road!

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/75326-GTRT-Truck-Racing-League?p=1068438&posted=1#post1068438

All rules are outlined in the opening post. time has come to build your vehicles!

Formula-K will carry on as normal - so please don't forget about it ^^

[donfede]

To save myself the hassle of finding it every race, below is my pre-race checklist. It takes about 15 to 30 seconds to calmly go through.

<description> (<optional notes>) [<key-binding>]

1. switch to Docking Mode [delete, or click the middle button on the bottom left controls]
   
2. toggle docking to Translation mode [space bar, look for blue "UN" icon on bottom left controls]
   
3. view switch to Camera CHASE [v]
   
4. display Resources [click on top right controls]
   
5. Persistent Trails - display controls [click on Persistent Trails footstep icon]
   
6. Persistent Trails - display race guide track (with smallest 0.1 width; edit and Save Tracks if necessary) [click on "eye" for race guide; green to display]
   
7. Persistent Trails - set High Precision [click on High Precision near bottom left]
   
8. Persistent Trails - start recording [click on create new Track near top left]
   
9. Persistent Trails - hide recorded track (to save CPU cycles) [click on "eye" for new recorded track; red to hide]
   
10. Persistent Trails - hide controls [click on Persistent Trails footstep icon]
    
11. display kerbal's name [right click on kerbal]
    
12. ensure Precision Controls are disabled [caps lock; orange good; blue for Precision Controls]
    
13. RCS enable [r]
    
14. SAS enable [t]
    
15. brakes off [b]
    
16. prepare for starting screenshot [F1]
    

Upon completing the race, Stop recording the Persistent Trails, and display the recorded track with a Line width of 2 meters. Review the run, and repeat [F5] as necessary.

[donfede]

Kendin Kerman riding in krr02F-KMk2 completed race 3 with a lap of 1:22 (11:00 - 12:22). Raced in ksp v0.23.0 .

Standing Start

Crossing the finish line

Path map, 2m line width

The word from Kendin is that there are probably two to five more seconds that could still be squeezed out of the course, but he was hungry for snacks.

Edited April 6, 2014 by donfede
added ksp version

[123nick]

If only KSP had real engines...

actualy, i think in the recent TT multiwheels versions you had engines that used resources to create torque, and the torque was then used in the wheels to turn them. so you would have a liquid fuel tank, a engine, and some wheels. the engine take liquid fuel, intake air, and make torque for the wheels. you could also use monopropelant engines which dont use intake air, or electric engines.