The Legend that is AtomicF1...
This shit is legendary and beyond awesome. We're a fun and friendly bunch of racehead retards and we've figured out a pretty cool way to do good racing. Some of us take this very seriously, some fairly seriously, and a few are in it just to burn some fuel - and that's ok as long as you are a decent driver with gentlemanly track manners and keen to give it a red hot go.
Our home base is the legendary Australian games site Atomic Maximum Power Gaming. Many racers come from there, many others found their way here and thus we grow.
Atomic F1 is a community project, and is not affiliated with Haymarket Media, the publishers of Atomic magazine and its website.
GP1 is the original league and is for racers who take it all far too seriously.
GP2 is for slightly less obsessed racers, and possibly infrequent occasionals, too, but mostly for a bit more love than you'll find in the premiere league.
The current season threads are:
GP1
GP2
If you want to join in you are welcome - provided there are available slots. We are looking for commitment - both from existing drivers and rookies. It’s a long season with set weekly races and it’s expected that you will participate in all events, but of course things like family and work emergencies may take priority.
This is for you if you want a fully rewarding pretend F1 experience. With that comes the entire spectrum of F1-ness. That means team and driver battles. Amazing moments on the track. Long periods of 110% zen-deep concentration. The quest for perfection. The thrill of competition with diverse drivers, each with strengths and weaknesses.
It's part living the dream, part cool gaming, part engaging in a long season against a spread of quality racers and people.
It's not about winning at all costs. It's about getting into it.
The game:
Codemasters F1 2011 (PC)
Up to 16 players are supported. Approximately a dozen or so spots are expected to be claimed by drivers from the season just-passed, and those drivers have an automatic right to entry.
The schedule:
Every Sunday night at 8PM AEST.
First race April 1st, then every week thereafter until we work through the full season of tracks, which will take us to sometime near August.
Allow about an hour and a half to complete qualifying and the race and to accommodate for a degree of dicking around.
We'll wait impatiently til about 8:10 or so if anyone is late because their neighbour’s house was just hit by an asteroid.
There's a chance we may not race on some public holidays if enough people are unavailable as a result and that's common consensus.
Apr 1 - Melbourne
Apr 9 - Malaysia
Apr 15 - China
Apr 22 - Turkey
Apr 29 - Spain
May 6 - Monaco
May 13 - Canada
May 20 - Europe
May 27 - Britian
Jun 3 - Germany
Jun 10 - Hungary
Jun 17 - Belgium
Jun 24 - Monza
Jul 1 - Japan
Jul 8 - Korea
Jul 15 - India
Jul 22 - Abu Dahbi
Jul 29 - Brazil
The racing:
A qualifying session to determine grid order, followed by a 50% race distance event, following the circuits as they are determined in the game as based on the real 2011 season.
Race points are awarded based on in-game scoring, which is based on real-world scoring.
DNFs get no points.
The game will automatically apply penalties for all the usual reasons. It's assumed you're familiar with how it all works.
We may do occasional 100% race distance if there's sufficient interest.
Cars are set to 'equal performance'. Individual handling characteristics remain modelled, but all cars have the same shot at a win with the same general laptimes possible in any car.
Penalties are enabled.
Driver aids are disabled.
Automatic gearbox is disabled (this is new, and a surprise FIA announcement. There's no valid controller-based reason to not use manual, and it imposes an even skill requirement across the field, and really what the hell are you doing driving an automatic F1 car, so it's good).
The championship:
A Drivers and a Constructors championship will be run, as per previous seasons.
The FIA:
Ben Mansill aka 'Flouncy' is the FIA, because every organism needs someone to manage the rules, make the hard calls, do the official announcements, and remind drivers not to exit the pits irresponsibly before every race. It's not his comp, we came together 4 seasons ago when Atomic Lambo started it all, and he was the FIA then. It is, and has always been, a mostly democratic free state. he is paid in coke and hookers and as a result is rational, evenly tempered and deeply contemplative.
Comms and connecting:
A mic is essential to co-ordinate connecting, talk shit, warn of impending disaster on the track, boast manfully or make excuses after the race. We use Ventrillo. Details will be supplied to new drivers.
We join up in-game via Games for WIndows Live (which is integrated into the game, for better or worse...).
Be in the game at 8 and you’ll get an invite from me, we all join up and we go. If you're confirmed as a new racer in this season go ahead and add me as a GFWL friend, tell me here if your GFWL name is substantially different to your atomic forum name.
The game does not accept new players once a session has been started, and once we get underway that's it.
The game is somewhat dodgy if you have a dodgy connection, as well as dumping players randomly from time to time even if their connection is apparently fine. It's not the greatest net code game in the world, but generally speaking a fast and stable connection will see you through, many players have never had a drop. Just make sure your net is fast and unencumbered.
If a player drops after qualifying is over we proceed regardless. Sorry.
Your mad skills, or lack thereof:
Rookies are welcome. That's what this is all about. This is a recruitment drive and an incredible opportunity for you. We thirst for new blood to challenge and enjoy your company. We expect racers to have practiced a track before a race and be able to drive consistently without coming off. Much.
Rookies are expected to show honest respect to other drivers and not drive in a manner that endangers anyone and fuck up their points battle when every point is critical, and wreck hours/days of practice, but in general and most importantly reduces the fun factor for others. In return we'll help you learn if you need it, be a mate, and will put on a hell of a spectacle that you'll love being a part of.
There's a race for everyone, at every event. You may be battling for the front, mid or back, and that's beautiful. You'll find yourself, via natural selection, grouped with similarly fast drivers in a race and that's where the joy lies. Pushing with them, and maybe moving closer to the front. Awesome.
Yet, it needs saying, that there are some drivers who have been with us regularly in the past who haven't shown any improvement despite being in many races or even seasons, who don't practice, aren't enjoying close racing and cause more than their fair share of incidents. The FIA hopes to see a greater commitment for the new season if they choose to stay on.
More on track ettiquette HERE. It's a must read.
That said, don't be intimidated, we were all rookies once and the vibe is fun and friendly. There is a healthy variety of talent on the grid, so there's real balance going on that reflects real-world talent variables, and thus is awesome.
The reward from this whole shebang comes from enjoying fantastic close and competitive racing, so if you're not at least semi-obsessed with getting good and earning a reputation and some respect you probably should be playing something else.
The teams:
The game supports two of each car, and before the season starts we will form up in teams to compete for the Constructors Championship. Teams are also great to help each other with practice before a race, setups and strategy.
Any driver is free to form up with any other, except any of the top 3 finishers can’t be together.
Drivers and teams from the just-completed season have first dibbs on the car they drove in season 4. Watch this thread and the OP, which will be updated.
Teams will form up quickly so it will be clear pretty soon what cars are available.
Rookies may nominate a car they are interested in up front, but if an existing racer who raced that car last season chooses to remain in that car they get it, so it's a good idea to nominate at least a couple of cars. We will do our best to accommodate you.
Remember - all cars are set to equal performance so it doesn't really matter in terms of balance.
Participants are free to sort themselves into whatever team they want. If you are new and don't know anyone we'll help you form up if needed.
How hardcore?
Somewhere between ultra, somewhat, and not at all.
You do this because you may love driving, racing, F1, fantastic competitive gaming as well as to make some quality new friends. We do it for all these reasons.
On-track ettiquette is the most important thing. And is supremely important. Don't come in thinking you're the world's most incredibly gifted undiscovered f1 driving talent. First, you're not. None of us are. Secondly that kind of thinking tends to bring on the red mist and make you go for crazy passes that take people out. And that's the worst thing you could ever do.
But don't be scared :} We're kind and lovely and welcoming.
See AtomicF1:
We’ve recorded 88 shitloads of videos. They’re spectacular and beautiful.
Get in the cockpit with-
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/AtomicF1Championship"]Atomic Lambo[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/et1965"]ET[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/bobaj0r"]bobaj0r[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/AtomicF1Modz?feature=mhee"]modz[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/YouBenView?feature=watch"]Flouncy[/url]
Others here do vids too, but these guys get it all. See amazing races and learn the fast lines, as well as enjoying the other various personally embarrassing vids these guys host of their other lives.
The technical:
Disable GFWL chat by clicking the mute button so there's no crossover with Ventrillo.
Almost all of us use a wheel and pedals, and this is a great place to get advice on that stuff. A control pad seems to work well in skilled hands.
Driving with the keyboard is not allowed.
The game is bandwidth-intensive - particularly in respect to upload speed. You will need at least .8MB's upload speed, more is better. Anything less, or marginal, causes drops and warping, so to be realistic you should determine in advance if your connection can handle it. You can do this by joining random games in the game lobby, as well as joining our semi-frequent Friday night practice muckaround sessions.
Some racers with good connections but in remote-ish areas have had warping issues, so again, a test is something on the must-do list before committing.
Warping means cars appearing on the track where they aren't so you drive into each other, obviously bad. It also means suddenly jumping into a different position, also bad. Bad connections have been our single biggest issue through it all, so make sure you've got that shit together.
Be sure nothing will impact your connection during a race. Ban the family for the duration and kill your torrents. It really is a hyper-sensitive pain in the arse sometimes, so take this bit seriously.
Test your setup before each race to make sure your controller is working by jumping onto a single player track first, which you will have done anyway, of course, in your practice and pre-race warmup.
Forward these ports (essential):
Port forwarding must be enabled on the TCP port 80.
Port forwarding must be enabled on the UDP and TCP port 3074.
Port forwarding must be enabled on the UDP port 88
Port forwarding must be enabled on the UDP and TCP port 53
Port forwarding must be enabled on the TCP port 443
Using a static IP (if able) is also recommended.
Voice chat
Ventrillo
Hostname: cainers.ath.cx
Port number 33333
password will be PMed to new drivers.
What should I do now?
Post here and say you're keen.
That goes for existing drivers from last season, and what car they’re in (if carry over, or if switching to something new that’s available).
Tell us what car you'd prefer if you’re new. Remembering you probably won't get it but say so anyway. I'll do my best to update this post as often as the drivers form up, and what cars are available.
Watch and wait, it will probably take a few days for the current drivers to make their call and we know what's available.
And if we don't know you, feel free to tell us a bit about yourself :}
Game on racers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATOMIC F1 S5 TEAMS AND DRIVERS:
Red Bull
McLaren
Tim
tof
Sauber
Flouncy
ET ROM
Black Lotus
Lambo
Modz
Williams
Mark84 (Eradicator)
sora
Green Lotus
Ghost
Toro Rosso
Jasegp
Steve088
Force India
WebbyMoto
loose_89
Ferrari
desmo1098s/OZ
Mercedes
HRT
Virgin
Our home base is the legendary Australian games site Atomic Maximum Power Gaming. Many racers come from there, many others found their way here and thus we grow.
Atomic F1 is a community project, and is not affiliated with Haymarket Media, the publishers of Atomic magazine and its website.
GP1 is the original league and is for racers who take it all far too seriously.
GP2 is for slightly less obsessed racers, and possibly infrequent occasionals, too, but mostly for a bit more love than you'll find in the premiere league.
The current season threads are:
GP1
GP2
If you want to join in you are welcome - provided there are available slots. We are looking for commitment - both from existing drivers and rookies. It’s a long season with set weekly races and it’s expected that you will participate in all events, but of course things like family and work emergencies may take priority.
This is for you if you want a fully rewarding pretend F1 experience. With that comes the entire spectrum of F1-ness. That means team and driver battles. Amazing moments on the track. Long periods of 110% zen-deep concentration. The quest for perfection. The thrill of competition with diverse drivers, each with strengths and weaknesses.
It's part living the dream, part cool gaming, part engaging in a long season against a spread of quality racers and people.
It's not about winning at all costs. It's about getting into it.
The game:
Codemasters F1 2011 (PC)
Up to 16 players are supported. Approximately a dozen or so spots are expected to be claimed by drivers from the season just-passed, and those drivers have an automatic right to entry.
The schedule:
Every Sunday night at 8PM AEST.
First race April 1st, then every week thereafter until we work through the full season of tracks, which will take us to sometime near August.
Allow about an hour and a half to complete qualifying and the race and to accommodate for a degree of dicking around.
We'll wait impatiently til about 8:10 or so if anyone is late because their neighbour’s house was just hit by an asteroid.
There's a chance we may not race on some public holidays if enough people are unavailable as a result and that's common consensus.
Apr 1 - Melbourne
Apr 9 - Malaysia
Apr 15 - China
Apr 22 - Turkey
Apr 29 - Spain
May 6 - Monaco
May 13 - Canada
May 20 - Europe
May 27 - Britian
Jun 3 - Germany
Jun 10 - Hungary
Jun 17 - Belgium
Jun 24 - Monza
Jul 1 - Japan
Jul 8 - Korea
Jul 15 - India
Jul 22 - Abu Dahbi
Jul 29 - Brazil
The racing:
A qualifying session to determine grid order, followed by a 50% race distance event, following the circuits as they are determined in the game as based on the real 2011 season.
Race points are awarded based on in-game scoring, which is based on real-world scoring.
DNFs get no points.
The game will automatically apply penalties for all the usual reasons. It's assumed you're familiar with how it all works.
We may do occasional 100% race distance if there's sufficient interest.
Cars are set to 'equal performance'. Individual handling characteristics remain modelled, but all cars have the same shot at a win with the same general laptimes possible in any car.
Penalties are enabled.
Driver aids are disabled.
Automatic gearbox is disabled (this is new, and a surprise FIA announcement. There's no valid controller-based reason to not use manual, and it imposes an even skill requirement across the field, and really what the hell are you doing driving an automatic F1 car, so it's good).
The championship:
A Drivers and a Constructors championship will be run, as per previous seasons.
The FIA:
Ben Mansill aka 'Flouncy' is the FIA, because every organism needs someone to manage the rules, make the hard calls, do the official announcements, and remind drivers not to exit the pits irresponsibly before every race. It's not his comp, we came together 4 seasons ago when Atomic Lambo started it all, and he was the FIA then. It is, and has always been, a mostly democratic free state. he is paid in coke and hookers and as a result is rational, evenly tempered and deeply contemplative.
Comms and connecting:
A mic is essential to co-ordinate connecting, talk shit, warn of impending disaster on the track, boast manfully or make excuses after the race. We use Ventrillo. Details will be supplied to new drivers.
We join up in-game via Games for WIndows Live (which is integrated into the game, for better or worse...).
Be in the game at 8 and you’ll get an invite from me, we all join up and we go. If you're confirmed as a new racer in this season go ahead and add me as a GFWL friend, tell me here if your GFWL name is substantially different to your atomic forum name.
The game does not accept new players once a session has been started, and once we get underway that's it.
The game is somewhat dodgy if you have a dodgy connection, as well as dumping players randomly from time to time even if their connection is apparently fine. It's not the greatest net code game in the world, but generally speaking a fast and stable connection will see you through, many players have never had a drop. Just make sure your net is fast and unencumbered.
If a player drops after qualifying is over we proceed regardless. Sorry.
Your mad skills, or lack thereof:
Rookies are welcome. That's what this is all about. This is a recruitment drive and an incredible opportunity for you. We thirst for new blood to challenge and enjoy your company. We expect racers to have practiced a track before a race and be able to drive consistently without coming off. Much.
Rookies are expected to show honest respect to other drivers and not drive in a manner that endangers anyone and fuck up their points battle when every point is critical, and wreck hours/days of practice, but in general and most importantly reduces the fun factor for others. In return we'll help you learn if you need it, be a mate, and will put on a hell of a spectacle that you'll love being a part of.
There's a race for everyone, at every event. You may be battling for the front, mid or back, and that's beautiful. You'll find yourself, via natural selection, grouped with similarly fast drivers in a race and that's where the joy lies. Pushing with them, and maybe moving closer to the front. Awesome.
Yet, it needs saying, that there are some drivers who have been with us regularly in the past who haven't shown any improvement despite being in many races or even seasons, who don't practice, aren't enjoying close racing and cause more than their fair share of incidents. The FIA hopes to see a greater commitment for the new season if they choose to stay on.
More on track ettiquette HERE. It's a must read.
That said, don't be intimidated, we were all rookies once and the vibe is fun and friendly. There is a healthy variety of talent on the grid, so there's real balance going on that reflects real-world talent variables, and thus is awesome.
The reward from this whole shebang comes from enjoying fantastic close and competitive racing, so if you're not at least semi-obsessed with getting good and earning a reputation and some respect you probably should be playing something else.
The teams:
The game supports two of each car, and before the season starts we will form up in teams to compete for the Constructors Championship. Teams are also great to help each other with practice before a race, setups and strategy.
Any driver is free to form up with any other, except any of the top 3 finishers can’t be together.
Drivers and teams from the just-completed season have first dibbs on the car they drove in season 4. Watch this thread and the OP, which will be updated.
Teams will form up quickly so it will be clear pretty soon what cars are available.
Rookies may nominate a car they are interested in up front, but if an existing racer who raced that car last season chooses to remain in that car they get it, so it's a good idea to nominate at least a couple of cars. We will do our best to accommodate you.
Remember - all cars are set to equal performance so it doesn't really matter in terms of balance.
Participants are free to sort themselves into whatever team they want. If you are new and don't know anyone we'll help you form up if needed.
How hardcore?
Somewhere between ultra, somewhat, and not at all.
You do this because you may love driving, racing, F1, fantastic competitive gaming as well as to make some quality new friends. We do it for all these reasons.
On-track ettiquette is the most important thing. And is supremely important. Don't come in thinking you're the world's most incredibly gifted undiscovered f1 driving talent. First, you're not. None of us are. Secondly that kind of thinking tends to bring on the red mist and make you go for crazy passes that take people out. And that's the worst thing you could ever do.
But don't be scared :} We're kind and lovely and welcoming.
See AtomicF1:
We’ve recorded 88 shitloads of videos. They’re spectacular and beautiful.
Get in the cockpit with-
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/AtomicF1Championship"]Atomic Lambo[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/et1965"]ET[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/bobaj0r"]bobaj0r[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/AtomicF1Modz?feature=mhee"]modz[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/YouBenView?feature=watch"]Flouncy[/url]
Others here do vids too, but these guys get it all. See amazing races and learn the fast lines, as well as enjoying the other various personally embarrassing vids these guys host of their other lives.
The technical:
Disable GFWL chat by clicking the mute button so there's no crossover with Ventrillo.
Almost all of us use a wheel and pedals, and this is a great place to get advice on that stuff. A control pad seems to work well in skilled hands.
Driving with the keyboard is not allowed.
The game is bandwidth-intensive - particularly in respect to upload speed. You will need at least .8MB's upload speed, more is better. Anything less, or marginal, causes drops and warping, so to be realistic you should determine in advance if your connection can handle it. You can do this by joining random games in the game lobby, as well as joining our semi-frequent Friday night practice muckaround sessions.
Some racers with good connections but in remote-ish areas have had warping issues, so again, a test is something on the must-do list before committing.
Warping means cars appearing on the track where they aren't so you drive into each other, obviously bad. It also means suddenly jumping into a different position, also bad. Bad connections have been our single biggest issue through it all, so make sure you've got that shit together.
Be sure nothing will impact your connection during a race. Ban the family for the duration and kill your torrents. It really is a hyper-sensitive pain in the arse sometimes, so take this bit seriously.
Test your setup before each race to make sure your controller is working by jumping onto a single player track first, which you will have done anyway, of course, in your practice and pre-race warmup.
Forward these ports (essential):
Port forwarding must be enabled on the TCP port 80.
Port forwarding must be enabled on the UDP and TCP port 3074.
Port forwarding must be enabled on the UDP port 88
Port forwarding must be enabled on the UDP and TCP port 53
Port forwarding must be enabled on the TCP port 443
Using a static IP (if able) is also recommended.
Voice chat
Ventrillo
Hostname: cainers.ath.cx
Port number 33333
password will be PMed to new drivers.
What should I do now?
Post here and say you're keen.
That goes for existing drivers from last season, and what car they’re in (if carry over, or if switching to something new that’s available).
Tell us what car you'd prefer if you’re new. Remembering you probably won't get it but say so anyway. I'll do my best to update this post as often as the drivers form up, and what cars are available.
Watch and wait, it will probably take a few days for the current drivers to make their call and we know what's available.
And if we don't know you, feel free to tell us a bit about yourself :}
Game on racers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATOMIC F1 S5 TEAMS AND DRIVERS:
Red Bull
McLaren
Tim
tof
Sauber
Flouncy
ET ROM
Black Lotus
Lambo
Modz
Williams
Mark84 (Eradicator)
sora
Green Lotus
Ghost
Toro Rosso
Jasegp
Steve088
Force India
WebbyMoto
loose_89
Ferrari
desmo1098s/OZ
Mercedes
HRT
Virgin