BATracer Rally If you've not seen it yet, we have a new Rallying offshoot of BATracer taking shape over at rally.batracer.com.



It represents a novel take on the sport where you make decisions at every corner - and battle for every yard - to come out on top. It's quite different from the classic BATracer experience and hugely competitive - but expect to spend some time in the trees on your first forays!



Like BATracer Classic, this game is free with rewards for financial contributions.



Posted by Jules. Account and Game Updates We have made a handful of small - but not insignificant - changes: is now free with any new KT account, forever! Constructors games no longer automatically recreate themselves when sign-up is complete. Similarly, the latest GP games no longer automatically recreate themselves when sign-up is complete. The Constructors and GP games can now be requested to appear using the "E-Mail Me" function in the game join queue. Remember, the more people that request the game type the more likely the game is to appear. Because there are no longer any games that are created by default, only player preference decides which new games appear. Academy games have been abolished. Academy games were originally introduced early on in BATracer when hoardes of new players would flood games and often break up teams, only to go AWOL. There have been many changes since then had greater newbie retention prior to the introduction of (e.g. password protected teams). Historically we also had higher new player retention prior to the introduction of Academy games so we consider this a positive move.



Posted by Jules. Carset Restrictions Relaxed The single public-game restriction on the following carsets have been relaxed:





Previously players were only able to compete in one championship of each type at a time, now they are classed the same as all other carsets and can be joined as long as you have a free slot.



Posted by Jules. GP 2013 Released The latest GP 2013 carset is now available.





Huge thanks to: Mariusz Pilarek, Sam Crawford, Matthew Allington, QuikSilver, Erick Kacino, Aaron West, Ivaneurope, Auke Groenenboom.



Posted by Jules. GP2012 Collision Adjustment A small change has been made to the GP2012 set with the introduction of minor collisions. Used elsewhere in BATracer, these collisions allow the cars involved to continue with only minor bodywork damage and minimal loss to their race. Being an open wheel series the benefit is smaller than in other championships but should be welcome nontheless.



Posted by Jules. Influencing the Carset Queue Pro Players are reminded that they can influence which carsets appear next by using the "E-mail Me" feature on the join game page.



These act as "votes" for each carset and are weighted by how long it takes a carset to start (i.e. votes for fast-starting carsets are worth more).



Posted by Jules. Get BATracer Constructors for Free Want to play BATracer Constructors as team leader but are unable or unwilling to stump up the cash? Well now you can get it for free!







Refer 4 new players who get Kool Tools after 3rd February 2012 and we'll add Constructors to your account. This is in addition to the existing promo schemes, so doesn't replace any previous incentives.



Get your referal web link here and post it to your friends, on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or in game forums letting people know how awesome BATracer is.



Posted by Jules. Constructors Hall of Fame We have added a table showing Constructors victories on the More Stats page. Are you a better engineer than a driver? If so then this is the equivalent of drivers world ranking for you!



With the top Constructor player scoring just 3 wins at present this is something you can challenge for right away - all you need is a Constructors account to start challenging to be the #1 builder.



Posted by Jules.



( More news in-game... )





GP2013 Updated The GP2013 set has been updated with the latest stats.



Posted by Jules. Tyre Cliff We are experimenting with an enhanced model of the "Tyre Cliff" behaviour for GP 2012, first introduced in GP 2011 B-Spec which would significantly influence laptime. Latest changes should reduce collisions against cars whose tyres have became useless and make them easier to pass.



Drivers currently trying to stretch out a strategy on very worn tyres may have to rethink their approach!



Posted by Jules. GP 2012 Released The latest GP 2012 set is now available!





With thanks to Mariusz Pilarek, Joni Hyttinen, Robert Mathershaw, Sam Crawford and Lewis McCoy.



Posted by Jules. GP 2012 - Coming Soon Yes, GP 2012 is in the works - so stop nagging me to ask if/when!



Posted by Jules. Clan Scoring Breakdown Added We have released a simple break down of clan scoring for each clan, hopefully increasing the competitiveness for the top spot. This is accessible from each clans public page.



The most successful clan will be one where each member is competing for top results in each race (think wins and podiums), and where the clan has fewest penalties. Penalties are typically applied to small clans that do not have enough active members or do not race enough. Larger clans however may suffer from a poorer base score if some of the members are not competing for good finishes, bringing down the average score per race for that clan. These figures can now be studied on the clan scoring page and compared with other clans taking a different approach.



Thus, a small tight dedicated team can more easily challenge for the top spot, but larger clans if more properly disciplined can be a more consistent challenger able to more easily absorb one players bad season.



Posted by Jules. Logos are back! The site has been a little less colourful since we removed logos. Following the work of many contribuitors headed by Timo Mabbutt, we have now reintroduced them to the game! A quick sample is shown below: Full Credits: Timo Mabbutt, Mariusz Pilarek, Matt Dawson, Michael Adenenkan, Tom Hilmann, Allan "AMO" Ogilvie, Matt Simons, Joni Hyttinen, Thomas "BAS" Andersen, Marcel Schot



Posted by Jules. Quick Enhancement Following user feedback a couple of minor tweaks:



The My Games page now lists the number of runs both you and your team mate have left to complete, aiding those drivers involved in many campaigns across many championships.

You are now sent an e-mail when you receive a PM even when online (beforehand an e-mail would only be sent if you were logged out, meaning some PMs gone unseen for up to 24 hours).



Posted by Jules. Post Constructor Updates Ongoing updates will be listed here...



Points Patch The points for Constructors: Stateside have been corrected.



Constructors: Stateside has been added to the Constructors stable. This uses a champcar-style championship with points down to 12th place. This occupies the same slot as Constructors and it will appear in an alternating fashion on the join game page with the regular Constructors set.



Results The "Standings-Season" and "Race by Race" pages have been made more clear to separate test session results from race results.



Vote for your Favourite Design A new feature has been added as a bit of fun on the Car Comparison page in Constructors - Vote for your Favourite Design. For those that take pride in their cars appearance this could be an important addition! It's not possible to vote for yourself but you do receive a free vote when you take part.



Mid-season Contracts Change It is now possible to change suppliers mid-season! Whilst this does come at considerable cost to your constructors points, it does allow a team that has made a poor suppliers choice to get out of the contract by diverting funds away from car development. Equally, it is possible to move to one of the previously unused suppliers if they have improved their product enough to become appealing.



Suppliers Page Minor update to make the page more clear. Your suppliers now also shown alongside rivals.



Constructor Points The number of constructor points is now shown on the "Results: Race by Race" page alongside the number of laps.



Manufacturer Logos (this effects all carsets not just Constructors) Volunteers are trying to get these back in the game. We have reinstated the "Manufacturers" tables in the race results and also the season standings in text form, hopefully these can become graphical in the near future.



Tyre Sets Tyre sets have been boosted from 3 to 6 in Constructors.



Restriction Lifted A restriction in Constructors forcing you to do one lap on a tyre before changing suppliers at the start of a season, has been removed.



Bug Fixes

A problem restricting use of unusual characters in Constructors has been fixed.

A bug on the season standings page involving results and homerace positions with the Constructors carset has been fixed.

Constructors playing as a #2 driver no longer use up a Constructor slot (so can now go on to play another game as team leader).

The correct length of the Constructors set is 37 - not 35 - days and will be updated on the Join Game page in due course.

The weather was displayed incorrectly during the first 2 test sessions of the season. This issue has been resolved.

A bug/exploit that allowed you to artificially change your car shape at will (but with no performance gain) has been fixed.

The tyre suppliers page is now more accurate in terms of the size of the bars for "Race" and "Durability" performance.



Posted by Jules. GP 2002 Rerelease GP 2002 returns to the game!



Many thanks to all those that contribuited to the updated version:



Templates/liveries/shading: Lachlan Fayle

Wheels: Christopher Beaton

Logos: Robs Workshop, particularly Shae Thompson and Lachlan Fayle



Posted by Jules.



( More news in-game... )



