RENO RACING - Exploit - [ Active Pause ]

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Not so brief description of the issue:

The goal of this topic is to officially request the restriction of the Active Pause feature prior to the first lap in both Time Trials and Group Racing qualification. After the lap timer starts I do not believe there is any harm in retaining this feature for administrative purposes like camera adjustments etc. as I believe this was the developers intended use. The use of Active Pause should always invalidate the ensuing Time Trial results due to the potential to improve the “best lap” anytime in the trial run. (Please correct me if my logic for retaining this function is not sound). Full disclosure, I am one of the worst offenders of this practice in Time Trials but I did not discover it, I simply employ it. :innocent: The best example comes to mind of one really fast player that does not utilize this feature/exploit in Time Trials, he is usually ranked in the top 10 and is an absolute beast, however he will never be first on the Time Trials leaderboard without some performance enhancing practices. The fastest players using active pause now will still be ranked similarly after its restriction, the resulting times will just be much closer and reflective of reality.

To further illustrate the Active Pause exploit, I present to you an extreme example of a Time Trial attempt with many performance enhancing features present. Aircraft in the image is actively paused.

The performance enhancements displayed above are as follows:

  1. The aircraft is paused at a downward pitch resulting in a starting airspeed of 470 kts.
  2. The fuel capacity has been reduced significantly over the duration of the pause, resulting in a reduction in aircraft weight (and a beautiful sunset).
  3. The aircraft is paused at an advantageous angle towards pylon 1.

(Fun fact) the air brakes automatically deploy at 473 kts.

I think it fair to assume that this is not the intended use of this feature.

:checkered_flag: :japanese_ogre: :checkered_flag:
I have recently used this strategy to achieve a 1st place result in both race time and best lap on the time trial leaderboard [ at the time of this posting ]. A reset of the leaderboards would be most appropriate following the resolution of this exploit.

In my vast experience of vehicular competition over the last 40 years there is one constant among all racers (sim racers are no exception). Competitors will attempt to exploit every factor available to them to gain an advantage if allowed to do so.

This exploit has been mentioned in previous posts, my apologies for creating a new topic. My logic in doing this is so that the specific issue is listed in the topic title and can be referenced easier in the future. [Reno Racing] followed by the specific issue will be my format for addressing additional issues.

To the MSFS team: Voicing acknowledgement of the issue and consideration of the proposed solution would do wonders for overall morale in the Reno Racing community.

Thank you for your consideration., we look forward to hearing from you.

:kissing_heart: :heart:


If we would not do this, we would not be racers to the heart :grinning:

But I understand your intention on the point. This is cheating IMHO and should be banned ASAP.
OK, ASAP in Asobo time-scale means something around 12 months

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@EnsiFerrum666 I believe it important to focus on the distinction between Cheating and Exploit. If the technique is allowed to be employed it is technically an Exploit. However, I agree entirely that its use is against the spirit of fair competition. That is one of my goals in presenting it. We don’t want anybody [ ME ] :innocent: banned for its use, correction of the exploit and resseting of the leaderboards would be ideal.

Cheers

1 Like

I also am an avid user of the Active Pause exploit. I find it exhilarating to take a plane flying at its maximum speed pointed at the ground and manage to make it around pylon 1 cleanly and quickly. However, I would also be the first to want to see Active Pause abolished in order to better level the playing field. I’m sure someone out there is saying “just stop using it” or something similar. Once you’ve used it to set a time, there is no way you’ll ever beat that time without using it again. It’s kind of like a bad drug, once you use it you can’t go back. As such, I agree with @ChilliGrible, get rid of Active Pause at the beginning of time trials and qualifications.

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@ZBumpkin I too agree that the Active pause exploit is a ton of fun, it is a game within a game. I also agree that the overall cost to the community at large is negative. It can be left in the game but should invalidate the Time Trial attempt in relation to the leaderboards.
Good stuff, we are going to get this fixed. :wrench: :hammer: :nut_and_bolt: :straight_ruler: :triangular_ruler: :crossed_fingers:

I currently have the best lap time on the T-6 Time Trial leaderboards as well.
I present to you another visual representation of the Active Pause exploit.
Aircraft in the image is actively paused.


Let us break this down.

  1. 219 kts starting airspeed
  2. Aircraft rolled towards pylon 1
  3. Propeller Pitch set perfectly
  4. A small bit of fuel expelled ( the T-6 does not respond like other aircraft to the fuel reduction exploit ). It experiences fuel starvation below 35% fuel capacity.

:checkered_flag: :japanese_ogre: :checkered_flag:
I currently have the fastest lap on the T-6 leaderboards as of this posting.
Let me give myself a little bit of credit, I am reasonably fast but not that fast. :muscle: :innocent:

I do not mean to disrespect other players or the development team, my intention is just to clearly illustrate my point.
:kissing_heart:

Lets fix it. :hammer: :wrench: :nut_and_bolt: :triangular_ruler: :straight_ruler:

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Look very closely, there is a biplane down there. :eyeglasses:


“Fun fact” , the Biplane uses 1% fuel per lap and can go into fuel starvation under 10%. This resulted in a failed run.