An open letter to Milk4Coffee Forza Competitors…

 

When I started my little ‘beer’ league in 2020/2021 I hoped it would be something fun and I am honestly taken aback by how much everyone is invested and enjoying themselves. Countless times in a season I just sit there listening to the chat; people having good races and battles, laughing or getting frustrated or simply forgetting about their day and letting it all wash away to spend a few hours racing. I hope you feel the same.

 

The championship has inevitably become more competitive. I know some people are here for fun but in some capacity, everyone is competitive here. To me this is a default to be a proper driving enthusiast. Sure, having money on the line fosters competition, but I think it also brings motivation to have some ‘skin the game’. It does take some leg work and thank you again to Mat for helping me with some of the logistics and organization.

 

In years past (but mostly this past season) a lot of competitors have voiced their concerns directly to me about the controller versus sim wheels scenario. The leaderboard in FM7 showed an advantage to controllers for outright lap times. Forza Motorsport seems to be trending the same direction when looking at leaderboards and reviews. I won’t get into why, but the best way of summarizing is that a manual car is for the pure enthusiast but there’s no denying that a twin clutch electronic gearbox shifts faster and thus produces a faster lap time. It’s just science!

 

There has been a lot of chat about limiting the championship to just those with steering wheels. Let me point out two goals I had when starting this league in the first place:

1. Fun with Competitiveness (hence my Balance of Performance with PI handicap)

2. As big of a league as we can handle (more the merrier principal (and a bigger prize pool))

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So, after months of thought and waiting to see the new Forza Motorsport I have officially decided not to exclude anyone from being able to participate in the championship: no matter what they use to play the game.

 

The simple fact is that we have a fairly even split of controller and wheel participants. Some show some more dominance in their playing style that is natural and could technically happen no matter what medium of play is used. The whole advantage of Forza is being open to many mediums. There are many reasons (not limited to just fiscal) that someone may not get a wheel or a PC etc etc.

 

Going back to my main goal of fun with competitiveness. It is not lost on me that there has been some dominance in the past. So, from now until December I will be contemplating how to adjust the M4C “Rules” for this season. I do firmly believe that the Balance of Performance with PI will deliver an even better experience of equality and competition this season with the new penalty system in place from Forza. At minimum though I will be revamping the handicap again for the season.

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Wednesday December 6th 2023 will be the start date of this season.

 

Until then I am deciding on a few different ways to equalize the controller vs. wheel scenario. These are undecided, but you should know what I’m contemplating:

1. Do nothing at all

2. Handicap controllers by an extra 25PI only at the start of the season

3. Separate “POT” for controller participants

   1. This would be either all in the same cars starting same PI

4. 1. Controllers at a different PI to make it “multi-class racing”

5. Main Event Races worth more points and ovals

   1. A longer race (like the mid season and end of season endurance) would be more points.

   2. An addition of Oval Tracks to the season where wheels have clear advantage.

 

I appreciate everyone understanding and being patient with me. I have heard a lot of opinions and suggestions, but now I ask that you leave me to figure it out. Honestly, I spend more time thinking about this “beer league” than I should. Rest easy knowing I have everyone’s interest at heart.

 

Sincerely,

David