Developer Chat

Welcome to the first dev chat following our major Clutch relaunch. We are starting off with 13 questions in the queue...

I have two questions: 1. Can it be possible, with this new version, to make set-up changes more like the real thing, with possible changes every 10 laps or so during practice sessions, instead of using the same set-up for 50 laps? 2. Will we have to buy all new tools and upgrades, or can we retain what we have already paid for? (itbracer31 - Pro - 11:04 AM)

In the re-launch, there hasn't been any fine tuning for individual practices by lap. However, we did re-do the entire design for scheduling practices. There are now limits between races and the track is based on the next track you'll be racing on except during the preseason and the midway point at the lower levels. There's also a different cost based on the track length and/or number of laps. As far as upgrades go, we've added some capacity upgrades so you can't have an infinite number of garage upgrades without expanding. Upgrades also wear out during the season now and cascade, so if one upgrade relies on another and the other fails, all those below it can't be used until the other is repaired.

could you add RecruitingCompare List? (enchant11 - Veteran - 11:06 AM)

We removed the recruit compare functionality now that we have the ratings listed all at once on the crew search. We may bring it back in some fashion at some point, but we thought showing all the ratings within the search was a huge step forward.

My associate sponsor has a qualifying requirement in which we have to beat another sponsor to collect the bonus pay. I've noticed that there are 2 teams that have this particular sponsor that we need to beat ( one as a primary and the other as an associate sponsor). Do we need to beat both teams to collect the bonus or just one. Thanks. (tomq - Hall of Famer - 11:07 AM)

You just need to beat the one sponsor, not both. They should be marked differently so you can tell which one you're gunning for.

Will this game version be harder than the first. (shipguy55 - Rookie - 11:08 AM)

"Harder" is tough to say. We can assure you we fixed quite a few loopholes in both game play, race logic and aging. That makes the game much more realistic. And we've opened the race results up so everything is much more transparent now. The competition should be tougher in this version.

I see that the owner stats located in the owner porfile are still double what they should be. Will that be corrected soon? (tillyman1 - Hall of Famer - 11:09 AM)

This has since been corrected.

Are there more players than starting spots? Will some fail to qualify? (flyinglugnut - Veteran - 11:09 AM)

There can always be more teams that starting spots, so qualifying has much more of an impact in that situation. We'd love for each world to reach this scenario.

Can we make it so the teams that make the chase after 23 race are "locked in" to the remaining races, and the rest of the teams qualify for the 14 other positions. Even if a team DNF's in the chase they get 85 or so points..... a DNQ would give them 0 pts. (tillyman1 - Hall of Famer - 11:11 AM)

This has been added to the suggestion list. If it's a NASCAR rule, we'd like to get it in the game.

Recruiting seemed to be filled with a lot of problems for all owners. It is hard to know if the employee would be interested and a lot of time you have to give an employee all the money just to sign him which is not at all realistic. We need to negotiate or at least recruit like Hoops Dynasty (xubrad - Hall of Famer - 11:13 AM)

We agree that the negotiating process could take a step forward in the mold of HBD (since we're talking money which is illegal in HD/GD). It's on our future improvement list for sure.

Which crew chief skill ratings other than engine have an effect on the hp and durability of an engine he builds? (alhammer - Rookie - 11:18 AM)

Engine is the only individual crew chief factor in building engines. There's then the make of the car and crew upgrades and garage upgrades that play a role in quality, durability, time and cost.

There were some non Clutch questions in the queue, so we're out of questions at this point. I'll monitor the flow of questions for the next couple hours. So, if you have a question, fire away. ( Moderator - 11:19 AM)

TZ have you guys changed the engine in regard to how set ups from the old version work vs the new version? (h0tr0d - Hall of Famer - 11:51 AM)

Well, we corrected quite a few mathematical flaws and logic flaws. We also improved the Run Settings page so you can now see how the general and advanced settings correlate to one another. We didn't make any changes other than fixing and improving some obvious shortcomings in the previous engine.

TZ so you're saying a CC's exp., pit skill, and work ethic does not affect the how much hp his engines have? Just so I'm sure I got this right. Also, what does the work ethic affect? (alhammer - Rookie - 2:58 PM)

Work ethic has to do with how the crew member will improve in his career and hold off declines. So, in a round about way, it does impact his ability to build an engine. Experience has more to do with how quickly he can put together an engine and how much it will cost. Pit skill is more to do with how quickly and effective the team can handle a pit stop during the race.

Thanks for the questions, everyone. We'll do another dev chat next month after many of you have your first few races under your belts.