First off, Let's welcome two new clubs to the AADA:
Champaign Ursine Dept. of Autoduelling (CUDeAD)
Newfoundland Autoduelling Association (NADA)
Corey Locke, President
PO Box 622
Grandfalls/Windsor, Newfoundland
Canada A2A 2K2
And did you know that Car Wars has one? His name is Grady Elliott, and he lives in Champaign, IL. Grady answers rules questions (both over the Internet and through the mail), helps us look over Car Wars submissions and is one of the people we listen to as we decide what to do in the future of the Car Wars line.
If you have a question or comment for Grady, you can reach him at:
Grady Elliott
The VictorMaxx folks had a two-player demonstration version of their Autoduel computer game up and running at GenCon at the Steve Jackson Games booth, and it sure looked good. I drove around an abandoned steel mill, playing hide-and-seek (and blast) with the player at the other computer. Every feature in the Car Wars boardgame is being programmed into Autoduel as I found out when I tried to launch myself off a pile of coal at top speed! If you want to know more about Autoduel (or maybe even sign up to be a beta tester), check out their web site at www.vmaxx.com.
The 2046 AADA World Racing Championships were held at GenCon in Milwaukee, WI, with Norman McMullen of NOVA running the show. His report:
Round 1 was held at "Mini-Muskogee" (the racetrack from Car Wars Classic); the north-south hourglass configuration was used. The field was split in two, and deployed to opposite ends of the track. There was a moment of panic for Don Jacques in the first corner; he skidded into the grass, but recovered. Jason Walters was less fortunate he botched the center corner, hit the wall, and eliminated himself. There were a few more spins into the wall, but nothing serious resulted from these. Eight drivers advanced to the second round.
Round 2 was held at Dumbarton Slalom, with temporary interior walls erected to prevent course-cutting. Mike Garrity joined the field on one pole position (he had won last year's Midwest Racing Championship); David Kopf started on the other pole after winning Round 1. The start was clean, and even though weapons were armed after the first lap, combat was rare. Again, Don Jacques provided the first interesting moment; he tried to catch Garrity and Jacob Abrams at one end of the course, lost control while passing Garrity, and "became one with the concrete." His debris screwed up one choke point. Abrams pulled away from Garrity over the next lap. Garrity attempted to catch Abrams, but lost it at the same point as Jacques, with similarly fatal results. The debris closed off that choke point but good; Chris Groesbeck had to ram his way through the safety area to complete his lap. Meanwhile, Shushank Maris uncorked his incendiary-loaded RL at Sumit Sarkar's rear; two shots later, Sarkar's car had no rear armor and a barbecued driver. The wreck splashed itself all over one wall. The finish order: Abrams, Kopf, Groesbeck, Maris, Sarkar, Garrity, Jacques.
While the top five were eligible to race in the finals on Sunday, only three Kopf, Maris and Sarkar showed up to take on two-time defending World Racing Champion Daniel Sloan. The final was held on a street course drawn on all six Midville maps. The quartet stormed down Kazango at 100 mph, then made a hard left onto First; Sloan barely maintained his lead over Kopf, while Sarkar edged ahead of Maris. Sarkar skidded badly on Oak St., but remained ahead of Maris, and pulled away. Kopf passed Sloan as he entered Elm St. Sloan passed Kopf back in the Parking Lot Curve heading onto First. As the time limit for the session neared, both drivers pushed their engines. Kopf eked out a half-car-length lead, but Sloan cut under him in the turn onto Maple, taking the lead for the last time. Daniel's victory interview was short and to the point: "I hate those curves," he said.
Final Positions
1st: Daniel Sloan2046 Rick Wilson Memorial Trophy (for Most Spectacular Wreck): Mike Garrity's chokepoint-closing crash in Round 2.
Sloan is now a three-time winner of the AADA World Racing Championships, and the AADA Competition Committee is seriously considering retiring him from racing events to give other racers a shot at the big prize. The Competition Committee also wants to extend a thank-you to Norm McMullen and his NOVA friends for the fine job running this year's event.
NOVA correspondent Chris French posts this letter:
The report of the results of the NOVA Club Duelling Championship is not accurate; the actual results are rather more embarrassing. To wit:
Due to a misreading of the rules where Mine Damage and Remote Detonators cross over, Tim Jacques's mines committed the patently impossible act of sending their explosion slithering along the ground until they came under Don and Norm, then performing a 90-degree turn upwards into their Underbody armor. This foul-up was exacerbated by a tired referee, and a player who was not willing to speak out. The kills of Don and Norm had to be disallowed.
Chris did abandon his vehicle when explosion was imminent; however, the report of his "not being in cover" is flat-out wrong. His driver was outside (by 1/4" in all cases) of his car's vehicle-explosion damage radius, Tim's vehicle-explosion damage radius, and the explosion radius of Tim's mines. His efforts to point this out at the time were not heard in the ensuing chaos. While the vehicle kill was legitimate, the driver was still active (see below).
Chris's driver was quite ready to take on (and likely take out) Tim's crew; between the HAVR, the BA, the Flak Jacket, and the UBGL, Chris's driver was more than a match for Tim's crew's remote-detonated grenades.
The die rolls to determine whether or not Tim's vehicle would explode were not made at the time. Later, the rolls were performed; the result was that Tim's car exploded shortly after stopping, and Chris's followed suit the next turn.
The upshot of all this is that Don and Norm were not killed, but were still around and in position to influence the results; Tim blew himself up after trashing Chris's car; and Chris's driver survived the blasts. Result: no clear winner. The results were trashed.
Some good has come out of this, though. The writer has spent several evenings cataloging Car Wars Rules Incongruities, with an eye towards the publication of a "bug-free" Car Wars game.
Hoping that you will publish this,
Chris FrenchThanks for the clarification, Chris. A "bug-free" Car Wars game? I wish you the best of luck and eagerly await the fruits of your labors.
