Hello there, I'll apologize in advance if this post is a bit confusing and ideas are not thought through, but somehow I feel like I won't be able to sleep before having put down what's going on in my head. Quickly, my situation summarized: Yesterday, RaceRoom announced the top 100 people (active drivers, by rating) will get access to the livery tool to make their own custom liveries for the DTM eSports championship. Sitting around position 120 of active drivers at the moment, I might have chances to get in there, but depending on how many inactive drivers with higher rating return to RaceRoom and the deadline (which is not known yet), I will not be in there. Now don't get me wrong, that'd be fine - the rules are the rules. However, with a wide range of ideas and years of experience in making liveries, I feel like I could really do something special - maybe not for first split and the broadcast, but for split two or three, which should be entitled to experience a similar special 'eSports championship atmosphere' than the top guys as well. So, I feel like some things could be different to unfold the full potential of this idea. The goal of opening up the livery tool for the top 100 drivers is to get a top split with custom liveries, which will look good in the broadcast. That's fine, eSports has had custom liveries in the past as well and as the corresponding eSports teams have the knowledge to make good-looking liveries, this will be a big plus for the series. However, eSports liveries don't release the full potential - which lies in the hands of the community, as seen in Assetto Corsa (Competizione) as well as Le Mans Ultimate or iRacing, where you can see legendary Formula 1 liveries on GT4 cars or daring designs on Hypercars. Another thing that bugs me at the moment is that among the top 100 people there will be drivers not taking part in the championship, which, in reverse, denies others to have their own car. In addition to that, making a nice livery is not necessarily super easy and done in five minutes. It needs creativity, skill and motivation. So, what should be changed in my eyes? Not only for this championship (citing Kimi: 'It's to *** late now!'), but also possibly for future ones? Option A) - Livery Showcase series I think something like this has never existed before and fits especially well for DTM eSports. In addition to the main event, in this case the 1 hour race of the pro drivers, there is a 15 minute sprint race beforehand. The only class allowed in this race is the 'DTM Livery Legends' class. Cars in this class are regular GT3s, but you can't buy them. Similar to the previous DTM eSports classes, only certain people - livery designers - will have access to this class. You apply as a livery designer on this forum or discord by posting some your personal details, pictures of liveries you made in the past and - most importantly - your idea for a new livery. In our case, you state which legendary DTM livery you want to put on a GT3. Quick examples: a Hasseröder R8, a D2 AMG or a Deutsche Post M4. After a deadline, people from RaceRoom and/or the community can assess which ideas should be realised, giving the best applicants access to the livery tool. Those people (let's say around 30 in number) can work their magic and show their liveries in a short race on the broadcast. A bit of nostalgia in the stream before switching to pro racing. Option B) - Return of regular custom livery contests Some time before the start of a new championship, the livery tool is made available to everyone for a specific class or car. Simply let them cook - the top 5 liveries will be added to the game for the five lucky ones. Option C) - Pros request liveries RaceRoom could partner with pros who do not belong to an eSports team (like Jack Keithley?). The headline of the announcement could be 'Design the livery for driver X for the DTM eSports series!' - The pro drivers can set some framework and share their wishes for how the liveries should look like. The community can start designing, and after the deadline, the pro drivers themselves can decide which livery they want to race with.
Of course I don't know the details, but I am under impression that strict limitations to liveries allows Raceroom to get better licensing deals, so "realising the full potential" of custom liveries was never a goal or even an option in Raceroom, so the best we can get are paid custom liveries (rumors are, prices are in the range of hundreds of euros for one livery) and these temporary/occasional liveries for specific situations like esports championships.
Of course I'm not talking about making custom liveries available for everyone and completely unlimited. That's what I tried to express with naming this thread 'Not another custom livery thread'. What I tried to point out in general is that on special occasions such as championships used to promote RaceRoom as a platform, letting well-chosen people do something nice within the strict limitations that licensing sets. With partners like BBS, JBL, TrackTime, ST suspensions, KW automotive, the RaceRoom logo or Rokit, there should be enough sponsors to fill an hommage of a livery. If not, creating fake sponsors should be a way around the licenses (See Project Motor Racing). Everything stays in control of RaceRoom/KW if it's only certain events and a limited number of entries. When there was the OverTake livery contest for the Audi A4, you could even use all the sponsors used on the original livery contained in the template. There is a way to handle that topic. It can't (and shouldn't) be applied to everyone all the time, but it could (and should) be able to do it time by time.
If you are in the top 100 on the ranked multiplayer list (by rating) when the dtm esports rulebook is realeased you are allowed to make a dtm esports custom livery. But also, to take the wind out f the sails immediately: current P100 has a rating of 2105, so good luck and happy grinding
Please don't get me wrong: did you read my post? Honestly, just a question. I know the rule and I think that should be clear from my writing as well - if not, my fault. Well, I'm not too far off, but I just lost Rating for being second even though I had the second highest Rating - that doesn't give me a lot of hope.