Zezo forum: Proposals for New FAQ

Proposals for New FAQ

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-02 | 20:59:41

Certain questions get asked repeatedly, and eventually get answered here. Some of them are answered in the Q&A tab also, but that tab is somewhat outdated. With Vendee coming up in a few months, I'm wondering if Cvetan would like assistance from the users to write a new FAQ page.

I can help to write some content if he'd like help. I'll start with just some suggestions for topics, though...

(And, to be clear, if Cvetan would rather not do this, that's fine with me)

WHO'S WHO
-Who is Cvetan, what is Zezo, and a bit of history.
-A simple and polite explanation of Zezo's relationship with VR. Disclaimer here that this FAQ is not about VR itself. Questions about how VR works should be answered in VR's Help and/or Forum.
-Dashboard and mak08.
-toxcct and his polars.

ZEZO MECHANICS
-Basics of the routing line, dots, and isochrones
-Options (choosing start and finish points, turning options on/off, timeshift)
-The buttons that turn colored lines on and off, and the meaning of each of those lines.
-Timing of wind updates. The orange isochrone. How to see how much of the forecast has been processed. When the full forecast usually finishes processing.
-Gates and the Ignore Gates option.
-Discrepancies between VR and Zezo, particularly when the new and old forecasts significantly differ and/or when a rapid windshift occurs.
-Limitations to keep processing reasonable (such as refusal to sail backward, difficulty with accuracy near land, no function to route through intermediate destinations).
-How/when new events are added.
-What happens when a wind update fails, and how to recognize the situation.

RECORDS
-Ability to specify the Timeshift
-Predicted Times tables: Columns, rows, and colors.
-Uncertainty on Day 1 because Cvetan can't see exactly what VR is doing until the event opens.

DASHBOARD
-How to install. What it can / can't run on.
-Description of each button and tab.

VR GAME MECHANICS THAT ARE ONLY EVIDENT WITH DASHBOARD
-Deviations between VR client and server data, and implications (includes... actual vs. shown TWA angles, inaccurate differences between your own boat's shown speed and other boats in your area, and autosails behaviors).
-How to set TWA courses with 0.1 degree accuracy. And when it is or isn't worth the effort.

OTHER STUFF USERS HERE HAVE FIGURED OUT
-Formulas for calculation of VSR rankings and credits, etc (BGSteMarine)
-Foil behavior math
-Polish factor.
-Autosails tolerance and Bad Sail tolerance.
-General Classifications for multi-leg events (Mcfly BSP). What can/can't be seen and when in the game. What Mcfly can determine and publish, and when/where. Unknowns (like how many jokers will be involved).

I'm guessing I'm missing some... But I think that covers most.

42 Comments

Post by LinusVanpelt | 2020-05-02 | 21:47:51

Very good idea
I'm a 'young skipper', I read as far as I can the forum, Q&A (a bit outdated sometimes) but this update would be welcome.
If my help could be useful, it's ok but I doubt it on these technical subjects, for re-read ?? ;)

Post by GeGaX | 2020-05-02 | 21:51:51

+1 YourMom

Post by toxcct | 2020-05-02 | 22:33:25

I'm fine with this.
It seems to cover the majors questions, and if some are missing, well, we can always let that FAQ grow...

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-02 | 23:02:15

Just remembered... I was going to included in the Dashboard section...
-ERT
-Invisible gates in the map. With a side-note that VR will occasionally change these during a race, which is arguably ok because they're invisible anyway.

I'm not sure if toxcct's polars need a FAQ section or not. They seem pretty self-explanatory, but perhaps an inexperienced user would need some explanation.

Post by toxcct | 2020-05-03 | 15:10:04

I already provide a help section in my polars site (http://toxcct.free.fr/polars/help/), but it may not be intuitive or fully exhaustive, so maybe some questions are missing...

Also, most of the questions I get are regarding the polars generator, not the polars chart itself.

Post by dverona | 2020-05-08 | 09:53:45

I really appreciate your polar site. Do you think it could be possible to add an additional feature to display the VMC and not only VMG?

Post by toxcct | 2020-05-08 | 22:06:21

Hello, and thanks for your support.

This feature has already been requested, but if not much or interest when navigating with a router on long routes IMO.

BTW, I'm not sure how I could implement this without complicating the UI way too much anyway...

Post by Hardtack | 2020-05-03 | 15:40:37

There is also the Zezo Route Chrome Extension by GeGax. It's worth mentioning in the FAQ too.

Post by Hardtack | 2020-05-02 | 23:26:24

Your list is a really good start and I'm taking this opportunity to finally document the Dashboard. I've been taking screenshots all night and I'm cursing the guy who added so many columns to it...

I'll come back here and ask a native speaker for review when I have a first version.

ps. I got rid of 'mak08' which was kind of an accident and re-registered at Zezo as Hardtack, in case anyone wonders.

Post by BGSteMarine | 2020-05-03 | 08:42:23

Hi. i�m in ! Will be happy to contribute for my little portion

Post by zezo | 2020-05-03 | 16:08:18

I don't mind at all. Any help will be much appreciated. The documentation is about 10 years out of date and I can't get to fixing it. Having a day job AND a 4 year old daughter does not leave much free time ;-)

BTW I there is a French user guide by MTZ8493-EZ & Co. and was going to ask if I can link/share it. Maybe the two efforts can be combined - it seems to answer roughly the same questions.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-03 | 18:10:30

Trying to compile a plan...

-Cvetan would need to write most of the "Who's Who" section. Hardtack and toxcct could add a bit for their parts.

-I'll try to draft some content for the Zezo Mechanics and Records sections. I'll post that in a couple hours. But I think Cvetan will need to edit it for accuracy, and may want to add some images, etc. Of course, anyone else who wants to contribute is welcome to, and if MTZ8493-EZ's content is better, that's fine. I won't mind at all if my content is adjusted or discarded in favor of someone else's work. I tend to be brevity-impaired.

-Hardtack is writing up the Dashboard.

-I'm not sure who should write the part about game mechanics only visible with Dashboard... I understand the difference between the client and server and the impact on gameplay, but I'm not sure why it happens or how to explain it... And I understand how to set a precise course with programmation, but am not certain of when it's most worthwhile to actually do it. And i'm not sure what else should go in there.

-BGSteMarine will provide content about VSR rankings.

-I can write up the stuff about foils, polish, and autosails. I'll just be pulling stuff from other forum topics, and will try to attribute the analysis to the original authors. I think I'll do this first.

-McFly could provide some content about multi-leg rankings if he'd like.

-Once all content is ready, Cvetan will of course have final editing work and then will need to post it to the Q&A along with whatever else he wants to include.

One other thought is to use links to other resources whenever it makes sense, instead of trying to explain it all here. For example, toxcct's section can simply be a link to his own FAQ page.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-03 | 19:25:49

Foil Behavior (Credit to Hardtack, previously known as mak08, for extraction of data):
-Foils add 4% to boatspeed when the windspeed is at 16-35 knots and the wind angle is TWA 80-160 degrees.
-Benefits begin at 11 kts windspeed, and progression to 4% at 16 kts is linear. For example, at TWA 90 in 13 kts windspeed, you would get a 1.6% speed gain from the foils. (13 is 2/5 of the way from 11 to 16, and 2/5 of 4% is 1.6%).
-Similarly, benefits begin at 70 degrees TWA, and progression to 4% at 80 degrees is linear. For example, at TWA 75 in 20 kts windspeed, the foil benefit would be 2%.
-Therefore, at TWA 75 in 13 kts windspeed, the foil benefit would be 0.8%.
-The same pattern applies when foils degrade at high windspeeds (linear from 4% at 35 kts to 0% at 40 kts) or deep angles (linear from 4% at TWA 160 to 0% at TWA 170).

Hull Polish (Credit to Inicio for data extraction):
0.3% boatspeed improvement.

Pro Winches (Credit to Inicio for data extraction):
-Basic winches reduce boatspeed by 50% for 300 seconds after every sailchange, tack, or gybe.
-Pro winches reduce boatspeed by 50% for only 75 seconds per sailchange, tack, or gybe.
-A good rule of thumb, when using Pro Winches, is that a sailchange, tack, or gybe will cost you, in distance, about 1% of your current boatspeed. So, if you are doing 10 kts, you will lose about 0.1 nm. (More precisely, you will lose 50% of 75/3600 of your boatspeed, which is 1.042%).
-Basic winches apply the 50% speed impact four times as long, so the distance impact of a tack, gybe, or sailchange would be ~4% of your boatspeed instead of ~1%. Therefore, the benefit of Pro Winches, in distance, is 3% of your boatspeed each time you execute a tack, gybe, or sailchange.
-The impact of these penalties can be compounded. For example, a sailchange at the same time as a tack will reduce your boatspeed by 50% x 50% = 75% for the required 75 or 300 seconds. This is actually preferable to taking each 50% penalty independently.

Autosails (Credit to M63 for data extraction):
-Autosails (if active) will execute a sailchange whenever the new sail's speed would exceed the current sail's speed by at least 0.3%. This provides a small tolerance to avoid repetitive sailchanges in unstable wind conditions.
-The sailchange is executed based on Server data, which is what actually matters, so Autosails will not cause you to use an incorrect sail. However, because the Client can present you with different data from the Server, it can occasionally appear that you are using the wrong sail when your sail is actually correct. It is best to either trust the Autosails or check the Dashboard for Server confirmation.
-The "Bad Sail" message uses a tolerance of 1.0%, so under normal circumstances, you should not incur a Bad Sail message unless you have Autosails turned off and have sailed significantly beyond where Autosails would have made a change. However, this message uses Client data. In rare weather unstable enough to cause significant client/server differences, you can temporarily encounter conditions where an invalid "Bad Sail" message can occur, despite the correct sail being used based on Server data. In this situation, the message should be ignored (but Dashboard should be checked to confirm).

Post by toxcct | 2020-05-03 | 19:38:22

Hi Mom, are you sure you're not confusing Hardtack and Mak08 ?

[EDIT] Oh, just noticed you mentioned that he changed his nickname...

[EDIT 2] BTW, I think it's worth noting that the foils, hull, winches and autosail tolerance factors and values are not hardcoded in the game engine, but are provided within the polars.
That means that potentially, VR might publish someday a new boat (or change some already used polars) with different values.

Post by WildWassa | 2021-08-29 | 10:48:37

Thank you for your in depth posts Skipper. You have answered many finer points that I've been working through, somewhat unsuccessfully, until now.

Your excellent sailing is an inspiration.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-03 | 20:32:20

Zezo Mechanics: (Cvetan will likely need to do edits for accuracy, and anyone is welcome to replace descriptive content with images)

Basics of Routing:
-Zezo allows you to specify a starting point and a destination. It calculates the fastest route from A to B, based on the most recent wind forecasts and shows you that route. (The game and the router both ignore current and wave conditions).
-The black line is the route recommended using the latest forecast data. Each black dot represents a course change (or sailchange). Hovering your cursor over a dot will provide details about the recommended course, wind, and sail at that time.
-To specify your starting location precisely, enter your boat's latitude and longitude and click Go. A less precise starting point can be specified by right-clicking and choosing "set as starting point".
-To specify a destination, right click, and choose a destination from the menu, or choose "set as destination" to route to the location of the right-click.
-The top-right corner contains a drop-down menu where you can specify a number of days for your route. If the router can get you to the destination within your specified number of days, it will. If it cannot, it will route you to the the closest point to the destination it can reach in the specified number of days.
-Another drop-down menu shows a percentage with + and - buttons. This controls the zoom level. Zoom in for close tactical decisions, and zoom out for larger strategy decisions.
-The drop-down menu showing Hours with < and > buttons controls which wind forecast is shown. Clicking on a black dot along the proposed route will trigger this to shift to that dot's wind forecast time.
-The blue lines radiating from the starting point are Isochrones. They represent all possible destinations for each fixed time in the future.
-Thicker isochrones represent the 6-hour increments related to GFS wind forecast timing.
-The thick orange line shows the "great circle" route to the destination. Also known as the "rhumb line".

Options:
-I think someone else will need to explain the Toggle Tracks and Wind Barb buttons. I understand them, but can't explain them in proper meteorological / navigational terms.
-In the game, you can buy sails, winches, polish, and foils. To tell the router which of these you are using, right-click and choose the options from the menu. If you are using all of the options, simply choose "Full Pack" (which will activate all options and suppress them from the menu).
---Note: Polish is not an option in Zezo. It is active with Full Pack and otherwise inactive. It is assumed that the impact of polish is smaller than the impact of forecast uncertainty and therefore not particularly relevant in routing.
-Normal races (not Records) will include a "Timeshift" option in the right-click menu. This option will cause the router to start at the same time as the start of the event, instead of at the time of the route execution. This is only relevant until the race starts. It has no impact after the race starts.
---Note: VR will occasionally postpone the start of a race. When this occurs, the Timeshift may be inaccurate until Zezo is adjusted to align.
-Sometimes, "gates" are programmed into the router to intentionally constrain its possible routes. For example, if routing to the second buoy of a race, before passing the first buoy, a gate will be used to block the router from bypassing the first buoy entirely. This is evident when all isochrones stop at the gate. However, sometimes, the true best route to the first buoy may be beyond the gate. In this situation, to see the true best route, you must route to the first buoy and choose "Ignore Gates" from the right-click menu.

Post by saltante | 2020-05-03 | 20:39:24

"The "Bad Sail" message uses a tolerance of 1.0%, so under normal circumstances, you should not incur a Bad Sail message unless you have Autosails turned off and have sailed significantly beyond where Autosails would have made a change. However, this message uses Client data. In rare weather unstable enough to cause significant client/server differences, you can temporarily encounter conditions where an invalid "Bad Sail" message can occur, despite the correct sail being used based on Server data. In this situation, the message should be ignored (but Dashboard should be checked to confirm)."

Hi Mon, a little contribution

When Autosail is turned off, and te boat is in tolerance 1.0% span of time, Bad Sail message appears. If you check de sail, yo will find the sail out is correct in the sails windows and no other different sails is set as better, but there are two sails with same speed under the sail, you change the sail by selecting the other sail with the same speed and after some seconds the message goes away.

Post by mtz8493 | 2020-05-03 | 20:48:19

Good evening,

My English being far too limited, I rarely participate in this forum and I regret it. I am forced to go through the Google translator which does not facilitate exchanges.

I wrote my guides to help all players and they can be distributed freely. They are available on a small website that I created at: https://martinez58400.wixsite.com/navigationvirtuelle

I am fully aware that it is not perfect but I am available to take it back and improve it. With the help of an English speaker it would also be desirable to have it translated into English.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-03 | 21:37:48

If anyone who is strong in both English and French would like to work on translation, I am open to any of mtz8493's content being used in place of mine.

Post by Velaska | 2020-05-03 | 22:31:58

Hi Mtz8493, thanks you for your work ! It was really useful to me and, because I know no french, I did translate in english some time ago
It is an automatic translation, but it worked for me.
I uploaded three PDF here, they will last for about a week ...
thank you again !

and.. by the way.. YourMomSA this is a great initiative !

https://wetransfer.com/downloads/4cf1f5135590b5fed232d2a1fb9d71f520200503222734/f3564e28b48d4efc72827ff85ccbfefb20200503222808/c42965

Post by mtz8493 | 2020-05-04 | 22:11:00

Hi Velaska,

Thank you very much for your contribution. I put the 3 guides in English online.

Post by Velaska | 2020-05-05 | 14:12:21

happy to hear that ! cheers !!

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-03 | 21:07:16

Wind Forecast Updates:
-VR and Zezo both use NOAA's GFS forecast. (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/model-data/model-datasets/global-forcast-system-gfs)
-The full GFS forecast is published four times a day, at 0500, 1100, 1700, and 2300 UTC. (https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/timezone/utc)
-However, shorter-term forecasts generally become available 90 minutes prior to the official GFS timestamp. VR and Zezo both begin processing the shorter-term forecasts as soon as they become available. As a result, the updates begin 0330, 0930, 1530, and 2130 UTC. Therefore, during these four 90-minute windows each day, the game and the router both adjust as the new longer-term GFS forecasts are published.
-Zezo does not adjust using the same algorithms as VR, so when the new forecast significantly deviates from the old forecast, discrepancies will occur between Zezo and the game. Over time, the two will eventually re-align. How much time is required depends on the severity of the deviation. It can range from being unnoticeably quick to an hour or sometimes more.
-When is the best time to check? How often do you need to check? Do the top racers ever sleep? That depends on the stability of the forecast and the length of the route, as well as how seriously you want race. In stable conditions, checking can be infrequent and timing is noncritical. In unstable conditions, it becomes necessary to check more often. Some top racers wake up during the night, but many sleep through one forecast update most nights and only wake up if they're serious about a race and sailing in volatile conditions.
-How can you tell when the update has started and how much of the forecast has been processed? Two ways...
---In the bottom-right corner of the screen, you'll see a box that says "GFS: xxZ", where "xx" is the timing of the model that is in effect. When the update starts, the "xx" will shift to the new model's time, and a "+" will be shown. If you hover your cursor over that, it will show exactly how many hours of the forecast have been processed. (The full GFS forecast is 360-384 hours, and the "+" will be removed when it has been fully processed).
---During the duration of the update, an orange isochrone will be shown. The orange isochrone shows the end of the updated forecast. Everything beyond that isochrone is using the old forecast. This isochrone will disappear when the update is complete.
-----Note: Before a race starts, the orange isochrone fails to account for the timeshift, so its position is inaccurate until the race starts.
-Occasionally, a wind forecast will fail. When the problem is with NOAA, it will impact both Zezo and VR. Both will continue with the prior forecast. When the problem is with Zezo, it will cause Zezo and the game to temporarily deviate. Either way, it will be evident because the indicators discussed above will fail to update. There is no strategy for managing this situation, other than to patiently wait for resolution.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-03 | 21:36:25

Limitations:
Most of these limitations are meant to keep processing times reasonable, rather than due to inability or refusal to build solutions.
-In most cases, the router only considers angles with 5-degree TWA increments, plus the optimal speed and optimal VMG angles. Therefore, when the optimal route is between two such angles, the router will show rapid fluctuations between angles it's willing to consider. It is usually better to sail a route that smooths Zezo's recommendation rather than trying to replicate the fluctuations.
-The router will not consider routes that involve sailing away from the destination. This can cause it to ignore the true best route when very long optimal routes require some "negative VMC" sailing, or when the route requires sailing around a headland, and similar situations. In these cases, the user must select a custom destination if they want to force the router to consider such possibilities.
-The GFS model and the router both have diminishing precision with time. [Cvetan or someone else will need to provide more detail here... I'm referring to the fact that for the first X hours, Zezo considers route changes every 10 minutes, and then the next Y hours, every 20 minutes, and so on... Which means that courses requiring precise steering far in the future can have issues]
-The GFS model and the router have a maximum duration of 16 days. This means that if the destination is more than 16 days away, the router will send you to the closest point it can reach to the destination after 16 days. The true optimal route doesn't necessarily pass through that point. Therefore, on long legs, it is sometimes necessary to consider routing to alternative destinations.
-The router doest not know which sail you are using, nor which tack you are on. It may therefore recommend immediate tacks, gybes, or sailchanges that are not actually the best immediate move.
-The router can struggle with accuracy near land. It won't consider shorter timeframes for course changes than 10 minutes, and the accuracy of the landmass itself can be inaccurate (particularly when racing away from Europe, near land where past races haven't caused inaccuracies to be observed and corrected). Also, the router will sometimes believe a boat can jump over a narrow strip of land, or will fail to notice a narrow gap to sail through. In these situations, manual navigation may be preferable.
-The user cannot specify intermediate destinations, nor timeshifts to start from a future location at a future time. It is therefore impossible to force the router to consider complex routes. It is sometimes, but not always, possible to specify an alternative starting position that would pass through the desired intermediate destination at the desired time. Aside from that, the user must rely on imagination and experience.
-Zezo will not consider intentionally using incorrect sails to avoid sailchanges. This is rarely a good move, and is currently impossible with the Full Pack because VR turns Autosails on permanently with FP, but is occasionally desirable.
-New events require manual effort to establish and publish the event. Repeating an annual event is easy, but establishing a new event takes more time. Timing of Zezo readiness depends on Cvetan's availability. Remember this is something he does in his spare time in addition to having a full time job and a family.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-03 | 22:03:17

Records:
-VR runs some events that are "record attempts". You can start any time you want, within the event's specified start and end dates, as long as you finish before it closes. The winner is whoever completes the course in the fastest time. You can re-start at any time, but if you stop an attempt without finishing, it will cost you some credits to return to the start. Aside from these points, the game mechanics are the same as a normal fleet race.
-Zezo adds a drop-down box in the top-right corner for these events. It initially contains "Start NOW" with < and > arrows. This menu allows you to specify future start times. The router will then run with the associated "timeshift" in place. This tool is excellent for assessing potential start times, but should be returned to "Start NOW" after an attempt has actually started.
-Zezo also adds a link at the top of the page for "Predicted Times". The leftmost column of the table shows the predicted time to a specified destination for each possible start time, using the latest forecast. The other columns show past forecasts, to help you assess the stability of possible future start time routings.
---The newest column is generally posted 15-20 minutes after the end of processing of a GFS file. Approximately 0520, 1120, 1720, and 2320 UTC.
---Note: In events long enough for the table's destination to not be the finish, the user should also consider the forecast beyond the table's intermediate destination.
-Zezo cannot be updated accurately for a new Record Attempt event until VR opens the event, and users may start as soon as VR opens the event. These events typically open at midnight UTC, which is 3 AM in Cvetan's timezone. If an event is new, or has changed since its last iteration, it will therefore have inaccuracies in Zezo until Cvetan has an opportunity to adjust. Therefore, starting immediately after an event opens is risky and requires that the user account for observed inaccuracies on their own.

Ok... I think that's all of the content I can write.

Post by Mcfly BSP | 2020-05-03 | 23:03:28

Hi !

Multi-leg rankings:

Since VRO3, the winner of the general classification of a multi-leg race is the one with the most points. Each leg earns points according to the classification at the finish. These points can be calculated using the formula found by BGSteMarine. The higher the race category, the higher the points earned.
1600 * (7 - Race Category) / (Rank ^ 0,25)

Unfortunately, this data is not directly visible. VR unfortunately does not communicate either on the number of jokers. So, we have to wait until the last leg is completed to find this information.

A few examples:
- Magellan (2019-2020) 11 legs 2 jokers
- La Solitaire URGO (2019), 4 legs, 0 joker
- The Odyssey (2018), 4 legs, 0 joker
- La Solitaire URGO (2018), 4 legs, 1 joker

Sorry for this english translated from google.

Post by YourMomSA | 2020-05-04 | 00:18:27

That English looks perfect. :-) Here's a thought... Do you intend to continue to publish standings during multi-leg events, or was it just something you chose to do for Magellan? If you intend to continue, maybe you could post them somewhere where they'd be accessible from a single static link? And then the link could be included in the FAQ?

Post by Mcfly BSP | 2020-05-04 | 10:44:29

Ok, I can continue to publish standings during multi-leg events. With pleasure !
You can view these rankings here:
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AqaJZh0p6jXAtDFGz-MRFJZbPgpM

Post by BGSteMarine | 2020-05-05 | 15:58:38

Hi !
Here is my contribution for the VR rankings system.
Enhancements and �frenglish� rewriting are welcome !
Benoit.

VR Rankings system

Individuals Rankings

Each player has 3 "counters" which measure his level, experience, and virtual cash

VSR Points

The number of VSR points of a player measure his �level� (strength). The system is (freely) inspired from the ELO rating system used in Chess, Go, Football, etc.
The number of VSR points for a player is between 0 and 5000. A new player receives 2500 points.
At the closure of a race, the player win, or loose, points depending on his result in the race. The general principle is quite simple: based on his current VSR Level and on the number of participants, the player is expected to finish a race at a specific rank.
Let�s take for example a race with 40000 participants. If the VSR level/points of the player is 2500, which means he is right in the middle between 0 and 5000, he is expected to finish the race also in the middle, ie 40000 / 2 = 20000. If his VSR level is 4500, he is (5000 � 4500) / 5000 = 10% close to the absolute top level of 5000, and he his therefore expected to finish the race at the rank of 40000*10% = 4000.
If his arrival rank is 4000, he is considered as in par with his current level, and then will neither win or lose points.
If his rank is lower (better) than 4000, he has made a �good perf�, and will win VSR Points
If his rank is higher (worse) than 4000, he has made a �bad perf�, and will lose VSR points.
See detailed algorithm below.
All players have a general ranking based on this number of VSR points.
Everyone can see the VSR rank of any player on the �record� of this one.
The full list of the first 200 players can be seen on the Global Ranking Panel (access by pressing the circle on the top left corner of the races screen).
The VSR Points are credited to the players at each race closure, and the global ranking is also updated at that time.

XP Points

This number measure the �experience� of the player, as acquired along the races he has run.
A new player starts with 0 XP Points, and this counter only grows.
The XP is divided into 14 levels, from 1 (beginner), to 14 : �top� players.
The floor number of points for each of the 14 levels is as follows :
0, 500, 1 000, 2 000, 3 000, 4 000, 5 000, 6 000, 8 000, 10 000, 14 000, 20 000, 30 000, 50 000.
There is also a global ranking for all the players associated to the number of XP Points. Each player can see his own number of XP Points in the Global Ranking Panel, but he can see only the rank and numbers for the first 200 players.

Credits

This is the virtual money of VR. You can buy equipment and �navigation cards� for your boat during each race with those credits.
The number of credits you get on each race also depends on your results.
See detailed algorithm below.

Credits and Points Calculation Formulas

The numbers of points and credits you will get for a race is based on 4 elements:
- The total number of Participants in the race (the one you see on the Race History Panel, after the closure of the race)
- Your Rank at the end of the race
- The �Level/Category� of the race, from 1 for the bigger races like Vendee Globe or Trophee Jules Verne, to 6 for very short races (quite a long time we have not seen a level 6 race � )
- Your current VSR Level = number of VSR Points
Based on that, you will receive:
VSR Points = (5000 * (1 - Rank / Participants) - Current VSR Points number) * (7 - Race Category) / 25
XP Points = 1000 * (7 - Race Category) * (1 - Rank / Participants)
Credits = 1600 * (7 - Race Category) / (Rank ^ 0,25)

You can find hereunder a link to a Google Spreadsheet for easy calculation :
Credits & VSR Points Calculation

Note: The XP Points and Credits that you see in the arrival panel are the exact ones that you will get. The VSR Points are only an estimation based on the current value of your VSR Points and number of participants to the race at the precise time you arrive, knowing that this last number will probably grow before the closure of the race.

Team Rankings

All the teams where at least 10 members have started a race are ranked for this race
The number of points allocated to the team is the average of the credits earned by the 10 best members of the team in this race
The points of the team are added to its global counter for the Hall of Fame ranking

Post by BooBill | 2020-05-05 | 17:47:48

Anyone know how to get your national ranking? If you click someone's avatar (why can't you load your own?) you see their stats and their global rank by VSR points. But what if you want to know where you rank against your country, region, club?

Thought this was pertinent to last post and didn't want to start another topic.

Post by BGSteMarine | 2020-05-05 | 18:28:05

That's a good idea yes, but I am afraid we should add that to the (long) list of the nice enhancements we could dream of ;-)

Post by BGSteMarine | 2020-05-05 | 18:30:59

BTW, we have had the confirmation from VR via Pat-Rock that the Record races are no more taken into account for the Hall Of Fame ...

Post by Hardtack | 2020-05-05 | 19:46:35

Here is a first version of my VR Dashboard manual:
http://bitweide.de/vrdashboard/manual.html
Comments are welcome. If you find something missing, unclear or redundant please let me know.

I also released the new VR Dashboard version which includes the manual. Unfortunately Google has tightened the release checks and as a result it may take several days until new versions become available.

Edit:
VR Dashboard is published now.
I also made some minor updates to the manual. Comments are still welcome.

Post by Velaska | 2020-05-09 | 09:55:43

very cool, thank you Hardtack !

Post by PML | 2020-05-09 | 16:06:41

Thank you for the amazing work on the VR Dashboard.

I have a suggestion to make regarding the Fleet Tab:
. I understand that the ranking is based on DTF
. in my view, the DTU indicator has a limited interest because it does not give you any idea of how well ranked is an opponent compared to you (e.g. you can be hundreds of miles away from an opponent and still have the same ranking)
. I believe that an indicator defined as the difference between (i) DTF of your boat and (ii) DTF of your opponent's boat would be more interesting: the evolution of this indicator over time would show you whether you are getting closer or farther to an opponent (with the magnitude of the gap in ranking distance between the two boats)

Post by Hardtack | 2020-05-09 | 21:14:05

If there is general consent on removing a column I'm all ears ;-)

Meanwhile, you can sort by DTF and locate your boat in the 'FLEET' tab to see who is close to you by DTF difference. Note that you need to click on the relevant opponent boats to get their actual DTF data.

You can also watch the other boats' bearings (BRG) to see if they're catching up or falling behind.

Post by Inicio | 2020-11-06 | 21:10:38

Modificacions VR

https://forum.virtualregatta.com/topic/13542-note-%C3%A0-lattention-des-nouveaux-joueurs/

A l'approche du Vend�e Globe 2020, Virtual Regatta � sensiblement modifier l'interface du jeu et certains outils.

Il y a quelques temps, j'ai r�dig� un guide de navigation virtuelle sur la base de la version VRO3. Il est disponible � l'adresse : www.martinez58400.wixsite.com/navigationvirtuelle

L'interface �tant toujours en cours d'�volution, je n'ai eu le temps de le reprendre pour �tre conforme � VRO4. Malgr� les modifications dont certaines sont importantes, les m�caniques du jeu restent globalement inchang�es. Toutefois, il est n�cessaire de bien prendre en compte les modifications suivantes :

Les bidons c'est finis
Les cartes programmation, way point et voiles auto sont gratuites et illimit�es.
En jouant gratuitement il est possible de poser simultan�ment 2 programmations ou 2 way point
En FP il est possible de poser simultan�ment 9 programmations ou 9 way point
En VIP il est possible de poser simultan�ment 15 programmations ou 15 way point
L'ensemble des programmations ou way point pos�es peut �tre valid� en seule action
Les voiles auto sont automatique et non d�sactivables en Full Pack
Pour les non Full Pack les voiles auto sont activables par p�riode de 24h00 renouvelables s'il reste 30 minutes mais une fois enclench�es, elles ne sont pas d�sactivables
La prime de d�part est maintenue
Les cr�dits gagn�s ou achet�s peuvent servir pour �quiper le bateaux et cela m�me en course
Les Full Pack peuvent se servir de leurs cr�dits pour peindre leur bateau
Il est possible que tous ces termes ne soient pas encore trop �vocateur mais comme dans tous les jeux il est important de disposer d'un vocabulaire commun que vous allez tr�s rapidement acqu�rir, j'en suis certain.

Sur ce sujet, vous pouvez �galement consulter le topic d�di� sur ce sujet :

Le plus souvent la question que vous vous posez a d�j� �t� abord�e. Il n'est toutefois pas toujours simple de trouver la bonne r�ponse m�me en utilisant le moteur de recherche int�gr�.

Alors ne soyez pas timide et n'h�sitez � poser votre question. Notre forum est un lieu d'�change et surtout de partage. Certains utilisateurs sont tr�s joueur avec les mots et parfois m�me un peu taquin mais en r�gle g�n�rale il y aura toujours quelqu'un pour vous apporter une r�ponse.

Bonne course

Serge

Post by Herve | 2020-11-07 | 08:58:36

Bonjour,
Je ne sais pas si cette question a d�j� �t� pos�e, mais j'ai cherch� sans r�sultat.
Quand je s�lectionne la m�t�o pour la date /heure du d�part (ou � l'heure la plus proche) dans Zezo et que je clique sur "Go!" le trac� se fait avec la m�t�o du temps r�el et la date de la m�t�o repasse sur "now".
Y a-t-il un moyen de tracer avant le d�part (aujourd'hui) avec la m�t�o du d�part (demain) pour programmer les premi�res heures pendant lesquelles il y toujours difficile de se connecter au jeu.
Merci,
Herv� (bateau Hitite)

Post by Herve | 2020-11-07 | 10:00:06

Hi,
I ask my question in English too as I could not find the answer in existing posts.
When I select the meteo forecast at the date/time of the start of the game (tomorrow) in Zezo and then click on "Go", the track is drawn with the real time meteo (today, now) and the meteo windows (top right) returns on "now" value.
Is there a way to force the system at the time of the race start in order to schedule my track in advance, bearing in mind that it is always tough to connect to the game during the first hours after the start.
Thanks for your support.
Herv� (Hitite boat)