Fair-Play Rallyman: Dirt

[Synapses Games]

Pour améliorer l'expérience Rallyman : Dirt, l'auteur Jean-Christophe Bouvier explique le fair-play en rallye.

En rallye automobile, le fair-play est un principe fondamental qui régit le comportement des pilotes.

Lorsqu'un pilote est rattrapé par un pilote plus rapide, il doit faire preuve de sportivité et accepter de se faire dépasser. En particulier, il ne doit pas tenter de bloquer intentionnellement le pilote plus rapide.

La communication entre les deux pilotes est possible pour se mettre d'accord sur la case où peut se faire le dépassement.

To enhance the Rallyman: Dirt experience, author Jean-Christophe Bouvier explains fair play in rallying.

In rallying, fair play is a fundamental principle governing driver behavior.

When a driver is overtaken by a faster driver, he must show sportsmanship and accept being overtaken. In particular, he must not attempt to intentionally block the faster driver.

Communication between the two drivers is possible in order to agree on where the overtaking can take place.

[ODaly]

I have also seen a few times players stuck in the GT mindset of blocking at all costs.

The simple truth is that if you are too concerned about blocking, you end up ruining your own game as well since you are no longer trying to optimize your best times. At other times, it may occur that your best move just so happens to also prevent someone from passing you. When this happens to me, I feel a bit bad on behalf of my opponent, especially if it's because I'm driving a wounded car. The only consolation is that as long as you are trying to get the best result for yourself, any inconvenience to other players is just incidental.

[pabula]

I don't understand why such a thing was not designed when creating rules.
To me those double spaces are specificaly invented for blocking.
So why now asking for not using it as designed?

[JayDestroyaC]

I don't understand why such a thing was not designed when creating rules.
To me those double spaces are specificaly invented for blocking.
So why now asking for not using it as designed?

As the aim of Dirt is to replicate actual rallying, where it's not in the slightest about blocking someone off but rather having the fastest time across segment of track, these double spaces can per definition not be invented for blocking, but rather for creating the possibilities of different lines and escapes, different angles to take corners and so on. Inserting optional spaces goes a great way to achieve that as people can mull over using the additional spaces to gain more gears to have lower time (when travelling more spaces), or skipping the spaces in favour of positioning better for the next flow of corners. The need for blocking rules is solely down to the fact that you don't want to sit around and wait for other players to finish a solitaire game, but try to incorporate roughly everyone into the stage at the same time, just like it is done with real rallying, putting the people onto the stage in regular intervals. There need to be some rules so we know what happens if a player that uses the available spaces quicker catches up to the guy in front.
And that's also exactly the reason for the above mentioned fair play. It's all about having the fastest time for the track "on your own", without external interference.
Also agree with ODaly, that when someone gets blocked because it's currently your best line, no worries, it's ok, part of the game. If people go out of their way to block in some way, that's just bad sportsmanship.

[JitaKyoei]

Au tour d'une table de jeu, avec des joueurs physiques : oui, c'est possible d'appliquer le Fair-Play.

Ici, sur BGA, il n'y a pas de commissaire de piste : il est illusoire que cela soit appliqué par tous.

Je partage l'avis de pabula : il aurait fallu que cela inclus d'office dans les règles et je ne vois pas comment les développeurs de BGA pourrait coder pour que certains joueurs ne fassent pas de l'antijeu à outrance.

[kajter]

Wow I am surprised that blocking is considered unfair behavior in this game. In my understanding game has been designed this way and we use the rules to achieve the best result - for player, not for his opponents.
Also, I was assuming that blocking compensates yellow dice for the leader - especially during stages when there are no shortcuts.

Regarding copying real-life - this is not valid explanation for me. Obviously games should be designed to balance chances for every player and immitating real life conditions should be secondary priority.

[FrankCavil]

It's a result of imitating real-life that the first car has the Leader dice, so if we're already trying to simulate the disadvantage of running first on the road, it's not exactly difficult to also try to simulate not being a jerk to your rivals - but such a thing can't ever be written into rules for all the arguments already listed. How can you prove for certain whether a move was a deliberate attempt to slow someone else down, or an honest attempt to better set a car up for the next corner?

I wonder exactly what situation prompted the hint that we should show some respect in the first place, or if there was such an event. It happens much more often in GT because of the side by side nature of the racing, but in DIRT, the closest I've ever come to being blocked resulted in me having to slightly adjust my lines and wait to see what happens - after all, I didn't have to be the fastest driver on the planet, I just had to be fastest on the day.

[SquashEngineer]

I think blocking is part of the game. If the leader has a bad run going, everyone behind will also suffer (and compete) in this stage unless they can construct an epic pass.

Alternatively, for the purist stage racers, an option could be added to space the players by two turns rather than only one, at the start. This can easily be accomplished on a table game, but would need an added option here on BGA.

[Vialli]

I recently raced against two French players and I was in 2nd place after the 1st stage.
On 2nd stage I had a LOC and one of the French players on 3rd place past my car.
Fair enough. But he kept blocking me so I couldn't re-overtake him, runining both our times.
On the 3rd stage both players kept blocking me, again runining the times for us all and I wrote to them that this was not fair play.
They just laughed at me.
I'm not going to play against them again!

1. French player A - 9:39
2. French player B - 10:01
3. Me - 10:03

So the times were close, but they did everything in their power not to let me pass and perhaps win.

A way to avoid this could be having two turns between players instead of just one turn.
It would surely make it harder to catch the car in front of you unless the car in front of you really mess everything up.

[Diana Sianodel]

I think most of the time, the blocking is happening when one car is missing die.

Another solution could be, that if one car is missing die, then it can't block the track. The same way a car in 0 could not block other cars.
And this solution is a one that can be coded.