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Racing Etiquette

Alright, this is the last thing that we need to touch on before we get into the nitty-gritty of settin up the cars to go fast. This section isn't going to make you faster, but it just might help you avoid making an enemy out of the guy that CAN help you find that elusive last .1 of a second in your setup. The online DTR community is a pretty close-knit group that has an understood, but rarely talked about code of conduct. Most of this is very subjective, but from my experience, here are a few of the things to remember. The first two are guaranteed to get you....at the very least, yelled at.....at the worst, banned from racing on that server, but yet you see newbies doing them almost every day.

1- Profanity------ To be blunt.....Don't!!! In games like Starcraft & Quake, I know it's commonplace. However, it is NOT tolerated in DTR. A short true story to make my point. When I first started out, some idiot started cursing the host on a server. Thinking that I was defending the host, I really let the idiot have it with some exceptionally good locker-room profanity, if I do say so myself. Did the host appreciate my help........Nope!! Did I get banned from his server......You Betya!! Turned out that the host was the Pastor of a Church....Ouch!! We've since straightened it out between us, but it taught me a lesson. Think about it. You just never know who is on the other end of your computer. You may be sitting alone in your room staring at your monitor, but the person on the other end might have his daughter sitting with him. He does not want her exposed to your trash talk!!

2- Driving Backwards----- At first glance, this one seems funny. You just got spun out in the first turn of a 10 lapper. Well, "Haha", you think, "I'll just run around the track backwards and smash into everyone else". Again, think about it. The guy leading that race may have been trying for weeks to finally win a race at that track. Do you think he's going to be happy that you ruined his chance? Would you be thrilled if some fool took you out while you were leading a race? If you're out of the race for whatever reason, pull to the infield as quickly as possible and hit "Esc' to exit the race. Everyone else will appreciate the fact that you didn't interfere, and the next race will start in just a minute or two. Take a couple of deep breaths...count to 10. You'll have more friends than enemies this way. It's really just basic politeness. It makes everything more enjoyable for everyone.

3- Off Pace ---- Believe it or not, most of the faster drivers don't mind at all if you're slower than they are. They remember all too well when they were that slow. They are really open to helping you get better. The trick here is to stay out of their way. On most tracks, the fast boys are going to be running on the inside of the turns. Watch your mirror and pull to the outside if you see them coming. They'll appreciate the courtesy, and they'll help you figure out how to get up to speed because of it.

4- Slam Passing ---- This is when you can't get by the guy in front of you cleanly, so you don't let off the gas, run up inside of him, and body-slam him into the wall. Works great in wrestling...is not appreciated in DTR. If you can't get by cleanly, follow him and figure out why.

5- Driving Line ---- This is also known as "Pinching". You go into a corner low and a little too hot, slide up the track a bit, and when the guy behind you pulls up beside you, you slam back down on him, spinning him out. If someone has you beat on the inside, hold your outside line and let him by. Lots of times you can sling-shot back by him in the next turn.

6- Lag Starts ---- We have a much more in-depth discussion of "lag" and "warp" planned for here, but this is a big problem with newbies. In very basic form, here's what happens. When you make an input on your controller, say, hit the throttle, the signal passes through your computer, down the Internet to the host computer, the host processes it, and sends it back down the Internet to your opponents computer, his computer processes it, and only THEN does he see your car accelerate. Now this happens very quickly, but it is NOT instantaneous. There is a LAG time involved between when you do it and when he sees it. This is most obvious on starts where everyone is jockeying for position. It can result in some truly monumental pileups. However, it usually calms out by about the second turn. The point is....go easy on the starts and give the lag a moment or two to settle. Most races aren't won in the first turn anyway, and it gives things a chance to settle out so you can enjoy some serious racing.

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