24 Hour Le Mans challenge pt.2

[Not yet read the first part of the challenge? Best correct that, son.]

LOG ENTRY 019
Monday June 16, 19:10
I found my problem with the hard tires. It’s not the tires themselves, but how I accelerate after getting out of curves; I have to be a little more gentle on the pedal than with other tires. Once I figured that out, I started catching up. Got into the lead in lap 112; now, by the end of lap 121, I’m 3 minutes ahead of the second position. A good chunk of that lead was built up while running low on fuel, light as a feather. Or maybe the guy behind me took a pit stop at some point. Yeah, that might have been it.

I wish I could have done 2 laps in that way, but I got the ”low fuel” warning a little too uncomfortably early during lap 120, so I didn’t want to push my luck and go for 2 laps like I did previously. It’s safe to do so if you get low on fuel near the end of a lap; that way you can complete the following two (going to the pits in the last of the two) without problem.

I’m going to give those hard tires another try.

LOG ENTRY 020
Monday June 16, 20:13
It’s real hard keeping the lead when your nemesis is lighter than you, but with my ultimate mastery of the hard tires I still have a solid minute and 20 seconds ahead of him. I even beat my own lap record on lap 124 with a belly full of fuel and a time of 3 minutes, 41 seconds and 78 milliseconds.

The game’s default track record to beat is 3 minutes 30 seconds. I have no idea how to get remotely close to anything under 3 minutes 40. This must be only possible with some super-car that can be unlocked somehow or, I dunno… black magic. It’s got to be black magic.

Speaking of black magic, something strange happened around lap 132: an asshat slammed me on the railings and made me do a full 360 spin, but we were going so fast that I stayed in 5th gear, yet my RPM dropped around 1000, and stayed there, with my speed closing in on 6th gear shifting point slightly slower than normal.

I thought I had lucked out at first and killed my engine, but then realizing the speed shown was my true speed, I then thought I could have used that exploit to try to save on fuel consumption.

Alas, as I resumed the game after having taken one of many screenshots (which, in case you haven’t noticed by now, are taken with my cellphone. And no, I’m not good at it; I must have lost 5 minutes so far to the mistakes I make EVERY GODDAMN TIME a capture is attempted. NOTE: DO NOT TAKE PICTURES AND DRIVE AN ACTUAL LE MANS. I’M PRETTY SURE THAT IS AGAINST REGULATIONS), the RPM meter went back to normal and the engine was revving with the sound of a totally-fine engine. Oh well, I guess there’ll be no exploiting the game this time!

LOG ENTRY 021
Monday June 16, 21:14
My fingers hurt now. At lap 140, I had to start using my right ring finger for acceleration. GETTING OLD SUCKS. Nothing special happened, really, other than passing a bunch of slower cars. As I was running low on fuel at the end of lap 143, I switched back to soft tires since the weather appears to be permitting it. My. God. Are they awesome or what!?

Now I might have a hint of how to beat that default track record: soft tires + low fuel. But I don’t want to go in the pits just to get a new set of soft tires at the time I’m low on fuel but good for one more lap JUST so I get a track record. Screw that… especially since, even with mad skills, soft tires will wear down to less-than-100%-efficiency by the time you reach low fuel.

Also feeling a small headache kicking in. I might be hungry, or tired, or annoyed by the volume of the game right now. I’ve lowered it a bit. I guess it’s time for MORE FOOD! Also, some water. Water is good. Come on, Guillaume, you’re ALMOST HALF WAY THERE.

…

Bummer, I might have to do SOME dishes before getting more food done. It looks like that will delay things a bit.

— THE ‘LE KOREAN MANS’ FEAST —

Did YOU eat all your ‘Le Mans’ Ration?
Did YOU think you would survive with only that?
Are you SURE you can handle the next 12 hours without food?
I think NOT! So here’s another quick meal.

The ‘Le Korean Mans’ Feast is a multicultural journey for your TASTE BUDS that will leave you wanting for more… once you’re done with your 24 hours Le Mans!

By now you should be close to, or slightly past, half of your race. But chances are you are also hungry. Again. I’ll keep the explanations short here because I take it you just want to eat FAST. (Also, I want to eat fast. And go finish this race too. How much time have I spent so far writing this log?)

The INGREDIENTS are simple, again, for everyone’s convenience. Well, except maybe 1 or 2 of them (of 3):

-SPAGHETTI

-VH KOREAN BBQ SAUCE

-BLACK BEANS

Simple preparation, yet again: Cook pasta, dump sauce & beans in. Mix everything up. THE END.

Now EAT!

—– RACE RESUMES —–

LOG ENTRY 022
Monday June 16, 23:41
Dishes, cooking (4 meals, gonna have some ‘Korean Le Mans’ Feast for a couple days), eating and a bit (read: a lot) of chatting with girlfriend done! I think I should go race if I want to finish this challenge of mine at some point this MONTH! Headache is a little stronger than before, but I think with enough water I should be fine. Gotta keep hydrated.

LOG ENTRY 023
Tuesday June 17, 00:44
I’m feeling weary. A little dizzy, but not sleepy really. Just… easily distracted. My limbs feel light, and by lap 158 I could feel myself paying less attention to the track; I’d even start catching myself daydreaming once or twice per lap! It doesn’t help that I’m untouchable in the lead right now, even if it’s nowhere near the 3 minute lead I’ve had before, instead oscillating from 1 minute 20 to 1 minute 40.

Nothing is happening and it’s the dead of night in-game, with the time being somewhere after 01:00. The closest thing to entertainment for me are the occasional but now non-eventful passes of cars lagging far behind. This is where the true test begins.

LOG ENTRY 024
Tuesday June 17, 01:45
Lap 165: the lap where I started using my right thumb to accelerate. I think I could pull this off normally while using only one finger, but I want to minimize the risk of damaging myself here. Something ”fun” happened soon after starting lap 169: someone had the bright idea of coming out of the pits at low speed, while fully engaging himself on track without yielding to the incoming racers. +1 potentially lethal accident avoided. Instead, I tackled his behind with such unrestrained thrust that George Takei must have felt a disturbance in the Force and yelled Oh Myyy!” in the middle of whatever it is he was doing at that time.

Starting lap 173 with 2 minutes and 18 seconds of lead. Gotta love it when everyone but you stops for a bit of fuel at the pits. I think once the sky brightens up a bit in-game it’ll give me a bit of energy. SO. TIRED. Must keep at it, though.

LOG ENTRY 025
Tuesday June 17, 03:08
This is getting worse by the minute. From lap 182 to 187, I’ve fallen asleep at the wheels around 20 times, more than half those times would have lead to certain death hahaha. It’s so hard right now to stay awake, still, despite all the botched maneuvers… I’m still in the lead! I have a… 4 second lead now. Things are looking grim. I MAY finish the race, but I’m no longer in a position to assess that I’ll be able to finish FIRST. I’ve got about 9 in-game hours left to this Le Mans.

LOG ENTRY 026
Tuesday June 17, 04:12
Struggled like a mad man, but I kept the pole. What’s more is that, by lap 195, I’ve gone back to a cozy 1 minute 37 seconds lead. I really can’t wait to see the sun rise. Expect progressively shorter entries from now on.

LOG ENTRY 027
Tuesday June 17, 05:18
My head feels like it’s gonna explode. From lap 202 onwards I’ve fallen from 1st to 4th, with over a minute behind. I crashed head-on into 5 walls. At least, those I remember. I can’t make out what I’m seeing; I know the track, but upon registering the images from my eyes, my brain does nothing. Not because it omits to send inputs to my fingers, but because I don’t even think the thought of wanting to move the fingers in the first place.

I feel neither awake nor asleep.

I’ll go get a quick shower, that ought to help me out.

LOG ENTRY 028
Tuesday June 17, 05:59
You know what? I don’t get why it’s still night in-game. We should have a sun as bright as the one outside right now but no, instead it’s pitch black. I’ll just go park this machine facing East and wait for the godforsaken sun to rise already. Tired of racing at night.

In the meantime, I’ll just rest my eyes a little. I’m so ahead of 5th and 6th, I bet waiting 10 minutes won’t even let them catch up with me. Maybe this power nap will even allow me to plow through the pack again and get the lead. Hmmmm, would sure be nice.

On a side note, the shower sounded like my Audi. Come to think of it, having cut all music from the game to enhance the immersion, I ended up with pretty much only the sound of my engine as background noise. Now it’s as if I hear it glued onto any constant and loud sounds. I’m haunted by the ghost of my machine. GOOD TIMES.

LOG ENTRY 029
Tuesday June 17, 10:10
??????????????????????????????

LOG ENTRY 030
Tuesday June 17, 10:20
I am awoken by construction workers cutting some tiles outside my apartment (they are remaking the floors), distortedly positioned on my bed and spooning one of my pillows. In the background I hear a faint sound of cars passing by. Racing cars… I then recall what I was in the middle of doing before ”the collapse”.

It would appear my car moved on its own. I guess these types of car don’t come with a parking brake. My car is now sitting on the side of the track, opponent cars zooming close by. It’s a miracle I’m not further than my original position. Though I take it I must have been run into a couple times (stupid AI)…

It’s bright out and my position is 24th of 24. Lap time looks similar to the one I left my car parked to, when looking at the pictures taken… except, wait. It’s not the same at all:

Lap time on picture taken before the collapse:
4:40.325

Lap time on picture taken after the collapse:
4:02:28

Lap 209 has so far been going on for hours – for me at least. For 4 hours. For a little over 4 hours, to be more accurate. Well… shit.

NO MATTER. Am I conscious? Yes. Is the game still running? Yes. THIS LE MANS WILL BE COMPLETED REGARDLESS OF THE END RESULT.

I will finish this.

LOG ENTRY 031
Tuesday June 17, 11:33
51 laps behind 23rd position. I think we know what this means. It means it’s time to look for my buddy in â„–9 car and PLAY TAG. And by tag I mean run into them!

I found him around lap 222, along with two Nissans and a Porsche. The end of lap 222 and most of lap 223 was surprisingly crowded; it was great! I must have tagged EVERYONE there at least twice! My teammate must hate my guts so much right now.

I just noticed I haven’t had breakfast or drunk since I woke up from this nap. Maybe I should get on to that as I prepare to make my last (vain) stand in this Le Mans. And what better than fuelling up with some already-prepared ‘Le Korean Mans’ Feast?

LOG ENTRY 032
Tuesday June 17, 12:38
It’s GO TIME!

LOG ENTRY 033
Tuesday June 17, 13:39
Spotted my teammate again, around lap 232. Played tag with him a bit up to lap 234 before passing him. Gotta find ways to keep me from napping at the wheels. It’s really boring right now; nothing’s happening! Weather is clear but I want a thunderstorm. Not even sure if they include ‘overcast’ in the types of rainy weather that we can get, but I’d love to see it.

LOG ENTRY 034
Tuesday June 17, 14:42
It’s now noon, in-game, and the race hasn’t ended yet. I should have paid attention to the in-game time when it started rather than waste it getting distracted by the weather. I’m feeling drowsy at the wheels yet again. From lap 245 to 249 I’ve had trouble staying on track, let alone passing cars. Who’d have thought that a four hour nap wouldn’t be enough to recover from over 24 hours of being awake?

I’m now 39 laps away from 23rd place. Woohoo.

LOG ENTRY 035
Tuesday June 17, 15:48
Managed to beat my own Best Lap time twice in a row between lap 255 and 258. Got pretty annoyed by a couple of Dodge Vipers at several points between lap 260 and 262. For the first one, I figured I’d try a PIT maneuver. It took a bit of grinding, but it didn’t take long before he had to go for a curve heading on the same side to which I was applying pressure. This worked perfectly to send him spinning off track! I think that, had I pulled this off in reality, this would have gotten me banned from the event for life!

Next, on lap 262, I used the other Viper as a cushion to slow myself before a sharp curve. Another thing I’m sure would have gotten me banned, provided it hadn’t killed me first.

Lap 262 ended with what seemed to be cloud formations building up (at last). The clouds definitely look like rain is about to hit us, as I head further into lap 263, but will the rain fall before the end of the race? I want to race in the water one last time!

LOG ENTRY 036
Tuesday June 17, 16:50
Near the end of lap 268 the track was blessed by rain. Lucky for me, I thought, I won’t have to suffer from those worn hard tires for long – I was just about to reach the pits.

I may have been too eager, as it turns out to be light rain and, right now at lap 274, the track hasn’t gotten properly ”wet” yet. It’s all good though; my new set of wet tires handle themselves just fine for the moment. Besides, I’ll be good to go when the track gets flooded! Oh and yeah: I fell asleep at the wheels again around lap 271 and ‘killed myself’ in a wall at a speed close to 300 km/h.

I don’t know if I’ve spent less time playing than I thought, or if this log is completely wrong, but if we include the 4 hours I’ve slept, parked in the middle of nowhere during lap 209, and exclude the time I’ve taken to eat and do non-Le Mans related things… I’ve been racing for 26 hours. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT, GAME?! END ALREADY!

…

Wait. Let’s see: I think I wrote up the in-game time at some point, early in this log. Surely I can work something out from there. OK. So 5 hours give-or-take into the game, it was 20:15, meaning the race must have started around 15:00, in-game time. Oh good, I’m almost done. I guess I spent time with the game paused or trying to take screenshots for longer than I thought.

LOG ENTRY 037
Tuesday June 17, 17:56
It took until lap 283 to get a good soaking wet track, dammit. And by the time things started looking like perfect surfing conditions, my first set of tires were already worn and my fuel was low. Too low to make it to the end of the race (45 minutes left with almost less than 1/3rd of a tank? Not gonna happen).

The good news is that the moment I switched to a new set, I beat my track record on lap 286.

Less than half an hour to go (I think). Let’s see if I can beat this record again. Not much else I can do!

LOG ENTRY 038
Tuesday June 17, 18:54
Uh… the in-game time is 15:05 and the race hasn’t finished yet. Maybe it started at 15:15? I was pretty sure the race started at 15:00. Ha, can you imagine the QA report?

”Progression stopper: can’t finish a 24 Hours Le Mans when attempting to do it in one sitting. WAIVED, Will Not Fixed – as designed. Dev’s reply: who in their right mind would ever do that anyway?”

LOG ENTRY 039
Tuesday June 17, 19:06
In-game time: 15:16. Still racing. Might have started at 15:30 yesterday after all?

LOG ENTRY 040
Tuesday June 17, 19:27
At lap 301. Time in-game: 15:31. Still racing. Why.

LOG ENTRY 041
Tuesday June 17, 20:05
Lap 304 – New Best Lap record established, in pouring rain no less. I really do love it when it rains!

Lap 308 – FINAL LAP. I never thought I’d see this. Looks like the race started at 16:00, in-game time!

Wait… I could have just taken a look at some of the first screenshots I took. Good job, Guillaume. Good job.

LOG ENTRY 042
Tuesday June 17, 20:14
24 Hours Le Mans race completed. 34 laps away from 23rd position. Dreamcast turned off after having been on for over 38 hours (it’s just a little bit hot).

—– RACE END —–

So this is it. I’ve done it. Not entirely in ONE sitting, despite taking considerably longer than I had planned.

I guess being distracted by many things in the process of doing a 24h Le Mans race (on the Dreamcast) will lead to it being considerably extended beyond the ‘default 24 hour time limit”.

I’ll leave you with some post-race shots…

Special thanks to… my Dreamcast! For not having failed me during this ungodly trial in my rather warm apartment.

[And with that, Guillaume promptly passed out. We tried to make sure his car was pushed off the track before he did so.]