NAMT Truck Settings Open Beta

[DannyMackey]

With the open beta for the NAMT trucks being uploaded, I would like for you all to provide any feedback and suggestions in this thread.  The trucks are still subject to change and feedback from everyone will contribute to future changes.

 

[DannyMackey]

 Yesterday there was a second update to the pack as well as a new survey for you guys to fill out (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejPdkoCzCHCNyqvT1o01Ib74aIvmWS2R8BjvKC80RgWdL-IQ/viewform).

I wanted to take some time and go over what the overall plan is for these trucks as we move towards NAMT.

Since the beginning of this community, we have been striving towards making the most realistic trucks possible.  The trucks went from expanding on the Box5 pack to 100+ truck pack releases, with each iteration improving the trucks.  However most of these improvements have been visual first and handling second.  Sure the trucks don't have 3 gears anymore and aren't going over 70 mph, but they still weigh over 22,000 lbs. yet can clear a stadium floor at quarter throttle.  Back when I hosted SSRS, the lack of realistic handling was an afterthought, competition was king and the V4 pack was all that there needed to be.  This may well have been the general consensus at the time, though I am sure there were plenty of people looking for better.  It's only been more recently that leagues like SMRA tried to enforce more realistic settings on their trucks to a mixed success.  The trucks were an improvement, but really didn't go far enough, and NAMT was the only other league to make any use of these settings (to my knowledge).

When it was decided that NAMT would run again this year, I wanted to reconsider the settings of the first season.  There was more that could be done to the trucks and I wanted to see it happen.  As we stand now, I am very proud of how the trucks have come along and expect the progression of these settings to continue after this season of NAMT.  I do think it's important to explain what I would want to do with these trucks and settings.

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Phase 1 (Special Event and NAMT):

Once we are set on the 8 trucks in the pack, I want to provide everyone a good base to build upon.  This includes providing aligned and propped models for each chassis type.  I would like to see fully propped chassis, but I know most people dread dealing with aligning everything below the chassis, so that will be a priority.  If all can be done, I want the final pack to contain fully propped trucks, possibly with some preset bodies and maybe a few custom paints included.  I want to make this as a base for everyone to use, obviously a pack like V5 is impossible these days, but a solid base should make truck building easier for everyone.

Now I am not going into too much detail, but we are planning on hosting a special event just before NAMT starts.  This event is going to require trucks using these settings.  We are planning this event to allow as many people as possible the chance to compete, like more than normal.  Depending on what you all want and what we think is reasonable, tuning options will be determined before this event and will probably be used for NAMT.

The final part of Phase 1 is NAMT.  A full season with everyone competing with these trucks will further aid future changes that may be needed for these trucks.

 

Phase 2 (More chassis and suspension options):

After Phase 1 the trucks will have seen use in a special event and a 14 event season.  We can look back and figure out what we think is most appropriate for these trucks.

At the time of writing, we haven't decided how to deal with various axles and shock mounting points.  If you look at any monster truck the mounting points for fourlinks and shocks varies greatly, this impacts handling greatly.  We want to have the trucks reflect such changes, but our dilemma is whether to restrict these changes to just whatever we approve or allow everyone to do as they please with mounting positions.  The problem is that the trucks currently emulate bump stops by using a shock that restricts the travel length of the actual suspension, by opening these mounting points to everyone, handling will change dramatically and could lead to unrealistic settings and/or poorly handling trucks.  With the feedback we will have seen through Phase 1, I want to make a decision regarding this issue.

Once this is resolved, we can consider custom chassis types, and more importantly, directly associating props with their impact on the trucks handling.

 

Phase 3 (The future of these trucks):

By now, the trucks should be very realistic, with options for refined suspension settings and handling that relies on the visual props of the trucks.  More changes and revisions may go on at this point, but that's something that time will tell.

Now I can't force everyone to use these trucks for every league, but I am hoping that by this point the improvements made will encourage more people to make these trucks the standard for use across leagues on or off the site.

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So that's the idea here.  There have been a few failed attempts since V4 to dramatically improve the trucks we use, but I think this is the opportunity do finally get the job done.  I want to thank you guys for testing and giving us feedback for these trucks.  I ask for your patience, these trucks will take some time to get right, and settings will be more restrictive for now than usual, but eventually you all should be able to tune these trucks how you want to (in a realistic manner of course).

If you want to help us out, there's a fun run to test these trucks this Saturday.  Come out and see how it feels to compete with them and help us make the trucks better.