LEAGUE INFORMATION - AOR F2 2017 Leagues - Season 14

[Justin || Taz]

This thread contains general information about the AOR Formula 2 Leagues on all platforms (XB1, PS4 and PC), such as league structure, assist restrictions and lobby settings.

General Information:
● League setup: Each platform runs a set amount of leagues, depending on the amount of drivers signing up at the start of the season. The leagues are tiered, with the aim to have the faster drivers in the higher leagues and the slower drivers in the lower leagues.
● Race format: Each race night will consist of 2 races. Both of them the grid will be set in their own way.
Race 1: The grid will be set by a one shot qualifying session and then will have a 25% Race
Race 2: The top 8 finishers from Race 1 will be flipped whilst 9-20 will stay in the same positions (this will be done by the grid editor) So for example, whoever finishes 8th in race 1 will inherit pole for race 2. The race distance again will be a 25% race.
● Driver placements: Drivers will be placed in a league in accordance with where they are currently placed in the F1 tiers.
● Day/time: All league events will take place on Saturday nights from 8:00pm (UK time).

Notable Dates:
● Sign-up opens: 28th December 2017
● Initial Sign-up closes: 12th January 2017
● Driver placement announcement: 13th January 2018
● Car selection begins: 13th January 2018
● Season begins: 20th January 2018
● Season ends: 18th March 2018

Important Links:
● League Rules
● Race Calendar
● Sign-Ups:XB1 / PS4 / PC

Detailed Information:
Below you will find more detailed info about the leagues. Click the links below or scroll down to get to a specific part of the thread.

Tier Structure & Assists
● Overview of how the league tiers are structured
● Overview of which driving assists are available in each tier

League Setup
● Driver placements
● Joining mid-season
● Reserve drivers
● Mid-season driver moves

Car and Team Selection
● How cars and teams are decided within each league

Lobby Settings
● Overview of the settings that will be applied for the league races

Race Classification
● Points system
● DNF / DSC / DSQ / DNS
● Championship standings

Disconnection Guidelines
● Disconnections
● Mass disconnections

Who to contact
● Overview of the members involved with running the leagues

 

[Justin || Taz]

League Setup:

● Driver placements:

When setting up the leagues for a new season, we always aim to make the leagues as close and competitive as possible, by placing drivers where they best fit into the league structure in relation to their pace.

There are no fixed promotion & relegation spots, meaning it's up to the league coordinators to make a determination of the placements, with the intention to make the tiers as competitive as possible.

All drivers will be placed in a suitable league based on various factors; the current tier they are in as part of the sign-up process, league experience and performances from the previous AOR season(s).

Each league will generally allow a full grid of 20 drivers (plus reserves).

● Joining mid-season:

It is possible for new drivers to sign up while the season is ongoing. They will still have to complete the regular sign-up template, and will then be placed into an appropriate league based on their pace. However, drivers will only be able join mid-season if there is a space available in an appropriate league. If there isn't, they will be placed into a league as a reserve driver - or on the waiting list - until a space opens.

● Reserve drivers:

Drivers who are assigned to a league as a reserve driver will not have a guaranteed spot in the league races, but will be able to step in to race in place of any no-showers.

Due to table limitations, reserve drivers will not be visibly listed in their league's standings. However, the table keeps record of their points in the background, so that if they later get promoted to a main race seat (if one of the main drivers pulls out or is removed), points scored during the reserve driver period will be added to their total points count.

Reserve drivers can choose to race with any of the cars that have been left open by a no-shower, however since they are not a permanent part of a specific team, the points they score will not count towards the Constructor Championship.

Unlike main drivers, reserve drivers are not required to be online at the time of the races, but this is obviously appreciated. It's a good idea to keep an eye on the league forum before the races to see if any no-showers are announced.

If a main driver spot opens up within a league, that league's reserve drivers will be first in line to fill that spot (in order of who has been a reserve the longest).

Note: We will not be accepting drivers signing up with the intention to be a permanent reserve. Drivers who are not able to race regularly may take part in social races as an alternative.

● Mid-season driver moves:

Drivers may be moved between leagues while the season is ongoing if it's clear that they have been misplaced. This could be that they are clearly too fast for their league, or that they are unable to experience close racing due to being too slow.

If a league ends up in a situation of severely lacking driver numbers, appropriate drivers from the league(s) below may be asked to move up to balance the numbers.

Preferably we want to avoid having to move drivers between leagues against their will, but in extreme situations this can be a necessity for the sake of keeping the leagues competitive or sufficiently filled up. In the event of a driver being moved to a higher league with tougher assist restrictions, the driver will have to adapt accordingly.

 

[Justin || Taz]

Tier Structure & Assists:

The leagues on each platform are placed into a tier structure, with the higher tiers aimed at the fastest and most skilful drivers, and the lower tiers aimed at slower and less experienced drivers.


Note that the amount of leagues in each tier will depend on the amount of drivers signing up at the start of the season.

The structure applied as a result of the amount of sign ups will be announced on the 13th January, alongside the announcement of the tier placements.

 

[Justin || Taz]

Car and Team Selection:

Cars and teams will be decided individually within each league at the start of the season. When the car selection begins, a thread will be created within each league's subforum with more information about how the process is carried out.

● Selection order:

For this season, the order in which the drivers will pick their cars is decided based on first come first served basis? Help?

● Teammate selection:

The drivers who end up in the same car will form a teammate pairing and represent their team in the Constructor Championship.

During the selection process, it will not be possible to reserve a car for a preferred teammate who is further down in the picking order. It will however be possible for drivers to modify their car pick during the selection process, should they choose to sacrifice their preferred car pick in favour of ensuring they get their preferred teammate.

● Conclusion:

The car selection process concludes when all drivers within the league have a car and teammate assigned.

Once the first race has taken place, no car changes will be allowed at any point during the season. Intentionally using the wrong car in an attempt to benefit yourself or others in a race will see you disqualified from the results of that race.

If a new driver joins the league at a later stage of the season, they may pick any car that is available at the point of being assigned to the league.

 

[Justin || Taz]

Lobby Settings:

The following lobby settings will be applied for the official league race sessions.

Session Options:
● Era: Modern F1 Cars
● Maximum Participants: 20
● Practice Length: None
● Qualifying: Race 1: One shot Race 2: Grid Editor
● Race Distance: 25%
● Quick Weather: Dynamic
● Session Start Time: Official
● Session Privacy: Invite Only

Race Settings:
● AI Driver Level: 90 (Master)*
● Car Performance: Equal
● Parc Fermé Rules: On
● Collisions: On
● Vehicle Damage: Full
● Safety Car: Off
● Rules and Flags: On
● Corner Cutting Stringency: Strict
● Formation Lap: Off
● Race Starts: Manual

*The AI Driver Level might be adjusted individually within each league depending on the general pace of the drivers.

Assist Restrictions are dependant on the league's tier - refer to the tier structure here.

Notice: We ask the lobby host to not save these settings, but instead manually put them in each week, as it's possible that this will produce identical weather settings every round.

Recommendation for PC & XB1:
We recommend that the 'Online Championship' mode is used to set up the league race lobby, for the following reasons:

● Unlike a normal 'invite only' lobby, this will allow drivers to rejoin the lobby and re-take control of their car in the case of a disconnection or game crash, even if they don't have an usable backup invite.
● Unlike the normal 'friends only' lobbies, this mode should also lock the field of drivers to those that were in the session at the start, meaning any unwelcome visitors that may sneak in during qualifying will not be able to jump into a car on the grid.
● A fresh one-event Multiplayer Championship lobby must be set up for each league race.

 

[Justin || Taz]

Race Classification:

● Points system:

The following points will be scored for race 1's finishing positions.

1st = 25
2nd = 18
3rd = 15
4th = 12
5th = 10
6th = 8
7th = 6
8th = 4
9th = 2
10th = 1
11th-20th = 0
With 2 points being awarded for the fastest lap of the race of the top 10 finishers.

The following points will be scored for race 2's finishing positions.

1st = 15
2nd = 12
3rd = 10
4th = 8
5th = 6
6th = 4
7th = 2
8th = 1
9th-20th = 0
With 2 points being awarded for the fastest lap of the race of the top 10 finishers.

● DNF:
Drivers who complete less than 90% of the race distance will be classified as DNF (Did Not Finish) in the race results, and will score 0 points regardless of their final position.

Drivers who complete more than 90% of the race before accidentally crashing out or getting disconnected (without re-joining the session to resume control of their car before the end of the race) will be classified as a finisher, but will only be credited with the amount of laps they completed in control of their car, even if the driver's AI car makes it to the end. Points will then be scored as per the system above.

● DSQ:
Drivers who get disqualified from a race - whether that be due to an in-game penalty or post-race disqualification via the stewards panel - will be classified as a DSQ (Disqualified) and moved below all other drivers in the results.

If a driver is classified as DSQ within a points scoring position, they will score 0 points for that position regardless of race distance completed.

● DNS:
Active league drivers who did not attend the race will be classified as DNS (Did Not Start), and will not score any points.

Championship standings:
● Drivers and constructors are ranked in the standings based on how many points they've scored over the course of the season.
● If two or more drivers or constructors are tied on points, the higher place in the standings will be awarded to the holder of most first places. If the number of first places is the same, the holder of most second places, then third places, and so on until a winner emerges.

 

[Justin || Taz]

Disconnection Guidelines:

● Disconnections:

● If a driver loses connection during qualifying or the race, they are allowed to rejoin the lobby through a pre-session invite or via a driver on your friends list using the 'join session in progress' option, if this option is available.

● We do our best to ensure that the best available connection in the lobby acts as the lobby host, so that any connection issues are most likely a result of a fault on the disconnecting driver's end. Please ensure that your internet connection is in an optimal state - and that your NAT type is open - before entering the race lobby.

● Mass disconnections:

● During qualifying, if 4 or more drivers lose connection to the lobby and are unable to get back in, then the lobby will be restarted and qualifying run again from scratch.

● During the race, if half (or more) of the drivers in the lobby lose connection at the same time, or over a short period of time, that counts as a mass disconnection. A "short period of time" would generally mean a couple of minutes, up to a maximum of 5 minutes.

● If less than 50% of the race was completed at the time of the mass disconnection, the race will be restarted immediately, preferably with a new lobby host. The new lobby will be created without another qualifying session, as a manual rolling start will be performed in order to get cars back into their original positions. Parc Ferme rules will be set to 'Off' so everybody can load their setup. The first 2 laps will be seen as 'formation laps' where every driver needs to safely get into their original qualifying position, using the same tyre compound as they did in qualifying. A slow pace is asked for (similar to a normal formation lap), so that no accidents happen and all drivers can obtain their qualifying position safely. The pole sitter will have the role of setting an acceptable pace, in order to avoid crashes behind him and to allow everyone time to get into position. Failing to get into your qualifying position, or preventing another driver from getting into their position, will result in a penalty for the driver at fault. The race is started when the pole sitter crosses the start/finish line at the start of lap 3.

● If more than 50% of the race was completed at the time of the mass disconnection, the race will end, and the race order from the time of the first disconnection becomes the final result. Half points are awarded to all drivers.

● If more than 90% of the race was completed at the time of the mass disconnection, the race will end, and the race order from the time of the first disconnection becomes the final result. Full points are awarded to all drivers.

 

[Justin || Taz]

Who to contact:

For league related enquiries or questions, your first point of contact should be a staff member within the league you are assigned to - preferably the League Coordinator. Upon joining a league, it will be made clear who your League Coordinator is.

Example reasons to contact them could be:

● To inform them that you're missing a race
● To get information about your league
● If you are unhappy about something, either with regards to a race or on the forums

If you have an issue with your League Coordinator and would rather discuss the issue with someone else, then seek out another person from the below list and address the issue to them. Our Coordinators and Moderators are expected to remain completely unbiased, and as long as you address the situation sensibly and maturely they will be happy to discuss any issues no matter who it is with.

The following members are currently part of the team running the AOR F1 Leagues:

● General Overseers:
- @Dan Hawkins
- @BosslyGaming

● PS4 Coordinators:
League-Specific:
- @washy03

● Xbox One Coordinators:
League-Specific:
- @BosslyGaming

● PC Coordinators:
League-Specific:
- @koldo

● General Site Queries:
- @Dan Hawkins
- @FisiFan91