Do you have any suggestions for the next challenge? The 2015 Ford Mustang or one of the Lotuses could be good. Maybe the Porsche Panamera?

https://www.humblebundle.com/arma-bundle

JUST ONE DAY REMAINING!

For $1 you get:

Arma: Cold War Assault (Operation Flashpoint with a different name and some updates)
Arma: Gold Edition
Arma Tactics

For $13.85 you get:

Arma 2
Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead
Arma 2: British Armed Forces Add-on
Arma 2: Private Military Company Add-on
Arma 2: Army of the Czech Republic Add-on
And the Arma games in the lower price range

For $15 you get:

Arma 3
Arma 3 Karts Add-on
And the Arma games in the lower price ranges


You get to choose what percentage of your money goes to Bohemia Interactive (the developer of Arma), American Red Cross (almost every time a different charity for different bundles) and how much goes to Humble Store.

You won't get the more expensive DLC for Arma 3: Apex, Helicopters or Marksmen, but at $15 just the base game along with pretty much all previous Arma games is a very good deal.

But what DLC should you buy? I can give you my take.

Dream Pack #1

Alfa Romeo 4C
Alfa Romeo 155 Ti V6 ‘93 (the first AWD car, fun to drive)
Alfa Romeo GTA (fun little car)
BMW M235i Race Car
GM Corvette C7r GTE
McLaren P1 (one of the three big "hypercars")
McLaren F1 GTR (used to be the fastest production vehicle for decades until Bugatti Veyron came along)
Mercedes-Benz C9
Mercedes Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II (great old racing car)
NISSAN GT-R NISMO 2014 GT3 (I don't like it very much, it's rear-wheel drive while the street version is AWD)

Nurburgring Nordschleife and its variations (very long tracks, very demanding, rewarding and punishing)


PORSCHE PACK VOLUME 1

Porsche 911 Carrera S (a more powerful version of the basic 911 Carrera, a great car to drive)
Porsche 918 Spyder (one of the three big "hypercars")
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 (an old race car, tricky)
Porsche 718 Cayman S (one of the least powerful Porsches, but still a lot of fun)
Porsche 917/30 Spyder (old race car, make a mistake and you'll spin into a ditch)
Porsche 935/78 'Moby Dick' (old race car, make a mistake and you'll spin into a ditch)
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport (a new race car, easy to drive)

The other two Porsche packs have lots of racing cars, as well as the 911 GT3 RS and the 911 Turbo S. Not essential in my opinion, but if you do think of buying two of the Porsche packs, you may as well get the Porsche Season Pass that basically gives you three packs for the price of two.


JAPANESE PACK

- Features Mazda MX-5 2015
- Features Mazda MX-5 CUP
- Features Mazda RX-7 Spirit R + tuned version
- Features Toyota Supra MK IV + time attack and Drift version
- Features Toyota AE86 Trueno + tuned and Drift version
- Features Nissan 370Z NISMO
- Features Nissan GT-R R34 Skyline V-Spec

All of them are great cars to drive. The AE86 is the slowest but still has its moments. The Skyline is a modern classic.


I've got all of the DLC but you should see for yourself what cars and you'd like. Dream Pack 1, Porsche Pack 1 and the Japanese Pack are the best ones in my opinion. If you like Italian Formula 1 and other racing cars, maybe the Red Pack is your thing. If you like the Ford GT40 and the Lamborghini Countach, maybe Dream Pack 2 is your choice.

The contents of each DLC can be found on the Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/244210/

The free content from Wikipedia means the free cars from updates. Before that we already had lots of free cars to use. I found a list from a different forum. I'm not 100% sure it has all the cars in it, but it looks like it.

http://www.racedepartment.com/threads ... car-and-track-list.52638/

All Cars
Abarth 500 SS
Abarth 500 Assetto Corse - Dream Pack #3
Abarth 595 SS
Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV
Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV Launch Edition
Alfa Romeo 4C - Dream Pack #1
Alfa Romeo MiTO QV
Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI - Dream Pack #1
Alfa Romeo GTA - Dream Pack #1
Audi R8 Plus (2014)
Audi R8 LMS Ultra (2014) - Dream Pack #2
Audi S1
Audi Sport Quattro
BMW 1M
BMW M3 E92
BMW M3 GT2
BMW M3 E30
BMW M3 E30 Group A
BMW M3 E30 DTM
BMW Z4 E89
BMW Z4 GT3
BMW M4 Coupe - Dream Pack #2
BMW M4 Coupe Akrapovic Edition - Dream Pack #2
BMW M235i Racing - Dream Pack #1
Corvette C7.R GTLM - Dream Pack #1
Corvette C7 Stingray
Ferrari 312T
Ferrari 458 Italia
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2
Ferrari 488 GT3 - Red Pack DLC
Ferrari 488 GTB - Tripl3 DLC
Ferrari F138 - Red Pack DLC
Ferrari F40
Ferrari FXXK - Tripl3 DLC
Ferrari 599XX Evoluzione
Ferrari LaFerrari
Ferrari SF15-T - Red Pack DLC
Ford Escort Mk1 - Dream Pack #3
Ford GT40 Mk1 - Dream Pack #2
Ford Mustang 2015
KTM X-Bow R
Lamborghini Aventador SuperVeloce - Red Pack DLC
Lamborghini Countach - Dream Pack #2
Lamborghini Gallardo SuperLeggera - Dream Pack #3
Lamborghini Gallardo SuperLeggera (Step 1) - Dream Pack #3
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 - Dream Pack #2
Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo - Dream Pack #3
Lamborghini Miura SV - Dream Pack #2
Lotus Evora GTE
Lotus Evora GTE Carbon
Lotus Evora S
Lotus Evora GTC
Lotus Evora GX
Lotus 2-Eleven
Lotus 2-Eleven GT4
Lotus Exige S
Lotus Exige S Roadster
Lotus Exige 240
Lotus Exige Scura
Lotus Exige V6 Cup
Lotus Elise SC
Lotus 25 - Dream Pack #3
Lotus 49
Lotus 72D - Dream Pack #3
Lotus 98T
Lotus Exos T125
Maserati 250F 6C - Red Pack DLC
Maserati 250F T2 12C - Red Pack DLC
Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 - Red Pack DLC
Maserati Levante
Mazda MX-5 2015 - Japanese Pack DLC
Mazda MX-5 Cup - Japanese Pack DLC
Mazda RX-7 Spirit R - Japanese Pack DLC
Mclaren MP4-12C
Mclaren MP4-12C GT3
Mclaren 650S GT3 - Dream Pack #3
Mclaren P1 - Dream Pack #1
Mclaren F1 GTR - Dream Pack #1
Mercedes AMG SLS
Mercedes AMG SLS GT3
Mercedes AMG GT3 - Dream Pack #3
Mercedes 190 Evo II - Dream Pack #1
Mercedes C9 - Dream Pack #1
Nissan 370Z NISMO 2016 - Japanese Pack DLC
Nissan NISMO GT-R
Nissan NISMO GT-R GT3 - Dream Pack #1
Pagani Zonda R
Pagani Huayra
Porsche 718 Boxster S Manual Transmission - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche 718 Boxster S PDK - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche 718 Spyder RS - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche 718 Cayman S - Porsche Pack #1
Porsche 908 LH - Porsche Pack #3
Porsche 911 Carrera S - Porsche Pack #1
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 1973 - Porsche Pack #1
Porsche 911 GT1 - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 2017 - Porsche Pack #3
Porsche 911 GT3 R 2015 - Porsche Pack #3
Porsche 911 GT3 RS - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche 911 R - Porsche Pack #3
Porsche 917/30 - Porsche Pack #1
Porsche 917 K - Porsche Pack #3
Porsche 918 Spyder - Porsche Pack #1
Porsche 919 Hybrid 2015 - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche 919 Hybrid 2016 - Porsche Pack #3
Porsche 935 Moby Dick - Porsche Pack #1
Porsche 962C Long Tail - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche 962C Short Tail - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
Porsche Cayman GT4 - Porsche Pack #2
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport - Porsche Pack #1
Porsche Macan Turbo
Porsche Panamera G2 Turbo
Praga R1 - Tripl3 DLC
RUF CTR Yellowbird
RUF RT12R RWD - Dream Pack #2
RUF RT12R AWD - Dream Pack #2
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus P4/5 Competizioni
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG-003 - Dream Pack #2
Shelby Cobra 427 S/C
Tatuus FA01
Toyota AE86 Treno - Japanese Pack DLC
Toyota GT86 - Japanese Pack DLC
Toyota Supra MK IV - Japanese Pack DLC




All Tracks
Barcelona GP - Dream Pack #2
Barcelona Moto - Dream Pack #2
Black Cat County*
Brands Hatch GP - Dream Pack #3
Brands Hatch Indy - Dream Pack #3
Drift skid pad*
Drag strip (200m, 400m, 500m, 1000m, 2000m)*
Imola
Monza
Monza 1966*
Monza 1966 Full Course (sopraelevata)
Monza 1966 Junior Course
Magione
Mugello
Nurburgring GP
Nurburgring Sprint GP
Nurburgring GT
Nurburgring Sprint GT
Nurburgring Nordschleife Tourist - Dream Pack #1
Nurburgring Nordschleife Northern Loop - Dream Pack #1
Nurburgring Nordschleife Endurance (24H Layout) - Dream Pack #1
Nurburgring Nordschleife Endurance Cup (VLN Layout) Dream Pack #1
Red Bull Ring (A1 GP Ring) - Red Pack DLC
Silverstone
Silverstone International
Silverstone National
Silverstone Historic 1967*
Spa Franchorchamps
Trento Bondone Hillclimb*
Vallelunga
Vallelunga Classic
Vallelunga Club
Zandvoort*
*not laser scanned



Vanilla Cars

Abarth 500 SS
Abarth 595 SS
Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV
Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV Launch Edition
Alfa Romeo MiTO QV
Audi R8 Plus (2014)
Audi S1
Audi Sport Quattro
BMW 1M
BMW M3 E92
BMW M3 GT2
BMW M3 E30
BMW M3 E30 Group A
BMW M3 E30 DTM
BMW Z4 E89
BMW Z4 GT3
Corvette C7 Stingray
Ferrari 312T
Ferrari 458 Italia
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2
Ferrari F40
Ferrari 599XX Evoluzione
Ferrari LaFerrari
Ford Mustang 2015
KTM X-Bow R
Lotus Evora GTE
Lotus Evora GTE Carbon
Lotus Evora S
Lotus Evora GTC
Lotus Evora GX
Lotus 2-Eleven
Lotus 2-Eleven GT4
Lotus Exige S
Lotus Exige S Roadster
Lotus Exige 240
Lotus Exige Scura
Lotus Exige V6 Cup
Lotus Elise SC
Lotus 49
Lotus 98T
Lotus Exos T125
Maserati Levante
Mclaren MP4-12C
Mclaren MP4-12C GT3
Mercedes AMG SLS
Mercedes AMG SLS GT3
Nissan NISMO GT-R
Pagani Zonda R
Pagani Huayra
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
Porsche Macan Turbo
Porsche Panamera G2 Turbo
RUF CTR Yellowbird
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus P4/5 Competizioni
Shelby Cobra 427 S/C
Tatuus FA01


Vanilla tracks

Black Cat County*
Drift skid pad
Drag strip (200m, 400m, 500m, 1000m, 2000m)
Imola
Monza
Monza 1966*
Monza 1966 Full Course (sopraelevata)
Monza 1966 Junior Course
Magione
Mugello
Nurburgring GP
Nurburgring Sprint GP
Nurburgring GT
Nurburgring Sprint GT
Silverstone
Silverstone International
Silverstone National
Silverstone Historic 1967*
Spa Franchorchamps
Trento Bondone Hillclimb*
Vallelunga
Vallelunga Classic
Vallelunga Club
Zandvoort*
*not laser scanned

So far it's been just me and Viper racing around Spa. We had really close times, about 0,2 seconds apart. But then I went through Eau Rouge at a horrendous speed and gained about 2 full seconds! I'm not sure if I'm able to replicate my lap time or get any faster than this. It's a really good car and a great track, so doing lap after lap is no problem. The characteristic Porsche handling makes it a relatively easy and fun car to drive.

Come on Spartans, let's put out some great lap times!

I don't think the Spartans have been very active online yet. Racing with other people is very different from doing hot laps on your own; the optimal racing line may not be available at all times, overtaking must be executed when you're faster than the person in front of you (probably done using a nonoptimal race line), and of course you do need to worry about the people behind you as well! Consistent lap times are much more important than getting the fastest lap time every time. Driving off the track has severe consequences; doing hotlaps it's annoying, while racing it will cost you many positions in the race.


And back to the Lotus 49 hotlap challenge:
I think it's about time this challenge comes to an end. Maybe we should have had an open settings week or two, who knows who's the best driver/engineer combination? The last time I checked, it was Wobbly and Viper in the lead and I think I was in the third place (podium finish, high five!). Giving the Englishmen a chance with the Lotus was a mistake, they've got driving Lotuses in their blood!

I hope Taz will be able to perform his magic and provide us with a little screenshot of the current lap times. In the mean time, what's the next car/track combination? Aaaaaand it looks like I'm not the only one with a Porsche fever! I, Wobbly, Viper, Taz and Fraz all have all three Porsche packs! So we've got 23 Porsches from the DLC and 3 free Porsches to pick from.

Here's my proposal for the February challenge (maybe a bit late but we can carry on a bit until March if we have to): Porsche 911 R on Spa Francorchamps. An amazing car on an amazing track. Rear wheel drive, manual transmission and enough, but not too much power. Is this (too) good for you guys? Do you have any better suggestions? Since we all have the Porsche packs, we may as well use them. The manufacturer does have crazier and more powerful cars, but I like this one the most.

After years of only being available on eBay for approximately $100, SWAT 4 is here again!

GOG, formerly known as Good Old Games, has acquired the rights for SWAT 4 and now it's sold for $10. The older title, SWAT 3, which has realistic bullet penetration for walls instead of just for doors, a better story, but blander environments, is on sale for $2,50 (normal price $10).

I have only played a demo for one of those but I have only read positive reviews for them. As far as I know, you can have 1-4 players on both and will be punished for killing suspects instead of detaining them. Both are old games, SWAT 3 being made in 2001 and SWAT 4 in 2005, but they should still offer a very good tactical experience suitable for most clan members. The graphics will be outdated without a doubt but the gameplay should still be very good. Apart from Arma I don't think there are any new tactical first person shooters available today. At least not on a small scale like SWAT.

These should be very good games for our clan to play, at least for a little while. I'm expecting at least Spartan(0536) to show interest in them, and hopefully the same amount of interest could be shared with a few other Spartans. Getting a team of four could potentially be the recipe for success... or the recipe for a disaster. I could see myself buying both to get back into the intense and tactical action with the Spartans once again. In any case, either nor both are not very expensive.

So, is anyone interested?

SWAT 3
https://www.gog.com/game/swat_3_tactical_game_of_the_year_edition

SWAT 4
https://www.gog.com/game/swat_4_gold_edition

I bet there are table fans that spin less than I do with the Lotus. After spinning around the track I got my lap time just a bit under 2:08. Both Viper and Wobbly are slightly more than a second away in front of me. I know I could theoretically cut a second away, but not today. Taz and Fraz are missing from the leaderboards, but there's still plenty of time to post a qualifying lap time.

Wow, this really is a tricky car to drive. The brakes lock up very easily and it's easy to spin. After many spins and restarts, I got my lap time down to 2:08. Viper was 2 seconds slower and Wobbly was about 10 seconds slower. Will Taz and Fraz fly past us with unbeatable lap times? Will the Englishmen pick up the pace and show us how to drive a Lotus properly?

The Lotus is a 60s race car so it can be a bit tricky to drive, but it's fun. Very different from the modern cars with lots of electronics. Nurburgring GP is a great track. I'm fine with this combination.