ITEM 1 - General Issues
a) Handicapping
It really depends on what is the intention of handicapping in a given division. Is it to give the field equal chances of victory by letting driving skill decide the races? Is it to slow down faster drivers and speed up slower drivers to close the gaps? Is it to force everyone to use all (or most) different chassis throughout a season so we see more variety in races?
Personally I've always liked the system that was used in Masters and is currently used in Historic - slower cars for those higher up in the championship standings. It makes for a closely fought out championship as long as you ignore bad luck, retirements, driving mistakes and personal performance. It gives chances to those who either missed a race or had a bad result, but then are able to take a faster car. The problem and question here are - have we grouped the cars properly in terms of performance and what is really considered when doing these groups? Is it down to engine power or chassis handling? More on this later.
The other system I support is the one we had back in D1, with pitstops. It makes driving skill the only factor in deciding the outcome of a race, and it makes it possible for anyone to take any car and still have a chance for victory.
The problem I see with the tokens system is that it defeats the purpose of single-chassis teams or in the very least, it makes it much tougher for them while others take whatever car they want. You may disagree based on Hiki-Waza results, but that's all down to the efforts of the team drivers and sometimes bad luck of competitors. If we had drivers of equal ability (i.e. clones) and a group of them would only use a single (slower) chassis, they would stand no chance against those who make the best use of their tokens and take the best cars possible.
I'm against the single chassis handicapping system for 2 reasons:
1) There are no clear differences between the chassis overall and what only matters is the track they're being driven on. For instance, on a track like Spa, the engine plays a huge role and even if a slower car has better handling, it won't be enough to compensate for the lost time, but on a track like Monaco, it's quite a different story. Of course, if you go by WRs, there's a lot more consistency in this, but we're talking about racing here and in racing, you're not driving alone on the track. Whatever you can gain in corners alone is totally gone if you're stuck behind a car with a better engine that is driven by a driver who is going slower in corners, but then on the straight the latter takes full advantage of their machinery. I can't possibly count the number of times I've started from pole in the BT7 and dropped down to 5th or lower on the start, before even reaching T1. Then it becomes a real struggle to pass faster cars because of the reason I mentioned above and it's only through other drivers mistakes that I could go through.
2) Driver's ability is not constant, it changes throughout a season and even if the assigned cars seemed reasonable at the beginning of a season, it is not so anymore once someone steps up in his game. This is especially true in Novices. Another problem in relation to this is a new driver joining up, without any previous results in the league to be used as information for his/her car assignment. The problem of course is - do you give them a slower car and compromise their championship before it's over, or do you let it go on until the end of it, and then take measure for the next season.
b) Race nights
I'm up for keeping Sundays and Tuesdays for the divisions we have at the moment, and throw in another division or two on Fridays. How about F2 when it's released or GT? Or Both?
c) Season length
Are we happy with a longer winter season (10 races - October to March) and a shorter summer season (8 races - May to early August) with some fun events in between.
I'd prefer to stick with 10 race seasons, with 2 worst results dropped. It feels neither too short or too long, actually it feels perfect. It has almost always produced closely fought out championships.
d) Team Liveries
The problem with this is that everyone has to be available earlier than currently, and that's a problem for many, including me sometimes. There are many occasions where people come a bit late and join midway through qualifying, or right before the race begins. What is also an issue with this (I think) is people disconnecting and rejoining later. I'm not sure the server keeps their assigned numbers if they haven't turned any laps.
Another problem is the joining process itself. Unless you give plenty of time between each driver to join up, you'll have situations where one driver has some connecting issues (i.e. temporary time out) and another driver joins before him/her in the meantime.
Personally I don't really mind liveries, but I would prefer if I can join the server at any time, without such obligations. If it's not mandatory that's fine to me, but it may be confusing for those who use the liveries as they may be confused or falsely led to believe who is who on track.
e) Driving School
I think Driving School is a wrong way to call it. Why not call it Driving License Committee or something. And I'm totaly up for this because nobody wants to have their races and championship affected by a newcommer who has barely driven, who lacks car control or is experienced but overly aggressive, and is overall unsafe to race with. I think we've had such a situation last season or so.
I really don't see a problem with evaluating someone in a test race or just a test practice run, with one of us observing. It doesn't take long and it can give better indication for the driver's level of ability, awareness and aggression. It helps to handicap them better as well, otherwise you see situations like AA in Novices this season who is vastly superior in pure speed than anyone else. No disrespect to AA of course, it's not intended as that.
f) Moderating team
I think UKGPL is probably the best GPL (if not simracing) league in terms of moderation and administration. No bias in 99% of the situations and in-detail observation of cases. One thing I would like to see though is having the moderation of each race posted on time, as sometimes they're delayed for weeks or even months. I know of course it's down to the people having spare time and desire to do it, so no demands here, just a wish.
On one hand I would like to get involved with some moderation work, but on the other hand my spare time is little, I'm also not a very responsible or dependable person, so it's not a position I'm fit for. Not at this moment in time anyway. I just like to show up for races and drive.
ITEM 2 - The Divisions
Any ideas on changes in general or replacing/changing divisions.
One school of thought, in view of the declining popularity of the Spec races, is to replace these with a GT series (see note below).
I'm not a big fan of the GTs. Bad mirrors, vastly different cars in terms of cornering and straight line speed, very underperforming default setups (even if realistic according to JR) are just some of the main issues that go against the idea of close and fun racing, at least in my eyes. I'm yet to have a decent race in the GTs where I can race someone for longer and enjoy a battle. It's usually a lonely race with everyone for himself. So anyway, I'm not rooting for a GT division. It's just not the typical single seater closely contended race format and I would hate to see any of the current single-seater divisions being dropped for a GT division.
a) Amateurs - 65 (Tuesdays)
Stick with the chassis allocation system or adopt an alternative handicap?
Are we happy with the race length at 50 minutes?
Do we stick with Pro damage?
Should there be automatic relegation/promotion between Am's and Novices?
- I'm up for dropping the single static chassis allocation and trying something different. Already posted my thoughts on handicapping above.
- 50 minutes seems ideal for the moment. Remember we went from 1 hour, 1 hour and 5 minutes, down to 50 minutes. It's not much on paper, but it's noticeable when you race and it feels more balanced. If we were racing just a single division I wouldn't mind even if we run GP distance races, but with so many different divisions and races in a week, it becomes a burden to have anything longer han 50 minutes + 30 minutes qualifying.
- Pro damage by all means!
- I'm not sure what you mean by automatic. What is the line which when crossed promotes a driver up or down? Is it 107% difference in speed or what? This is related to the handicap system obviously, but I think any relegation/promotion should only happen after careful observation of said driver's performance and results, plus their own desire of which division to race in. No forceful decisions on this, you don't want to lose/chase out any drivers from the league.
b) Novices - 65 (Tuesdays)
Stick with the chassis allocation system or adopt an alternative handicap?
Are we happy with the race length at Long?
Do we continue with the existing Shift/R system? ; or Only one Shift/R - A Stop and Go regardless of fault
Continue running alternative tracks to Amateurs for the more difficult ones?
Should there be automatic relegation/promotion between Am's and Novices?
- Again, I think a different handicap system should be used or attempted, for at least a season. All my thoughts about it already up above. In addition to that though, one particular factor someone brought some time ago about this is that in Novices, engine power plays a bigger role than handling characteristics, while in Amateurs it's both. I'm not really inclined to agree on that, because as much as power is only comparable if the engine is fully utilized (especially on acceleration), so is handling only comparable when the car is close to the limit. I think neither is the case in Novices, so whatever handicapping holds true for Amateurs should hold true here as well.
- As I commented recently in a race thread, I think any Shift-R should automatically lead to a mandatory Stop/Go, regardless of fault. It makes for a much easier job for the moderators and it prevents race results being adjusted outside the track. It also prevents any possibility for friction between drivers or between a driver and moderator due to differences in situation interpretation. There is too much at stake in races and the pressure is too high to make a sound and immediate judgement of a given situation regarding if you were a victim or not. Even if you have extreme awareness of what's going on around you, it's still not with 100% certainty that you saw everything clearly, especially when warp/lag is involved. As in real races, pitting after a contact, whether it was your fault or not, is typical and desirable. In fact, in real races you would have to retire in situations where you shift-r in the game, so a stop/go is a small price to pay for continuing with your race.
- I'm against running alternative tracks, but instead of saying Novices should run the tracks that Amateurs (Pro next season?), I'll say let Amateurs run the same tracks as Novices. This would make it easier for teams to share tips and help between their Novices and Amateurs drivers, and you can also compare results between the divisions and spot any odd driver's performance. On the other hand, I really like Tim Mutram's choice for tracks in the AMs, and I would hate if we have to run conventional mostly Papy tracks. I don't really see a problem with the Novices racing the same tracks as AM, it's not like Novices are automatically more busy and don't have time to practice a track they don't know, or that it's not the same situation for everyone in the division. As a conclusion, I'd stick to different tracks for AMs if the tracks choosen for Novices are too conventional, but I guess we don't know that well in advance, do we?
- About promotion between the divs, same thing I said above for the AMs
c) Historic Trophy - 66 (Tuesdays)
Stick with the chassis allocation system or adopt an alternative handicap?
Are we happy with the race length at 50 minutes?
Do we stick with Pro damage?
- I like this handicap system the best. An issue here is the grouping of the cars. I'm not quite certain the cars are properly grouped in terms of performance. For instance, in 3 liters, I've definitely noticed some group 1 cars being faster than some group 2 cars. I can't comment on the cars in the other groups because I've not driven them, but there's probably something wrong there too. Given the level of skill in the division, it's rather odd to see a driver in a faster group car struggle against a driver of equal ability who's running a slower group car. Observing race results over the past 2 seasons should give a good indication of what needs to be adjusted with the grouping of the cars.
- 50 minutes is perfect!
- Pro damage is perfect!
d) Graduates - 67 (Sundays)
Continue with tokens system?
Continue with PRO damage for Works?
Continue with one Shift/R and compulsory Stop and Go for Privateers?
Are we happy with the race length at 50 minutes?
Should there be automatic relegation/promotion between Works and Privateers?
Do Privateers want to run alternative tracks to Works for the more difficult ones?
- As I said in the beginning, I'm against the tokens system because it works against single-chassis teams.
- PRO or I'm not racing.
Unless it's pitstops handicap system like former D1.
- One shift-r sounds OK, though I'm not racing there so can't comment. I don't see a problem with having any number of shift-rs, with mandatory stop/go for each shift-r. But only a single shift-r per lap allowed, or maybe if you do 2 (or 3-4 etc.), you need to do stop/go in 2 (3-4 etc.) consecutive laps.
- 50 minutes is the holy grail of race length!
- Same thing as what I said about Amateurs/Novices promotion/relegation earlier.
- Same thing as what I said about Novices tracks up above.
e) Spec Challenge (Sundays)
Numbers have dropped significantly. Should we replace this division with something else next Season?
Why is it no longer popular - has it run it's course for now?
Maybe;
Mods other than 65's put drivers off?
Too many add-on circuits rather than purely Papyrus tracks?
We turned it into a championship and made it matter where you finished and how many points were scored?
It goes on a bit too late with two races?
I think that before we rush to scrap the division and replace it with something else, we need to have a good understanding of why the number of drivers has dropped recently. I'm inclined to believe it's because of some addon tracks and because of Xmas coming up, but until we get definitive answers, it's just a guess. Why not make a separate thread and ask Spec div drivers to give their own answers why they have been missing races recently? It's possible that everyone has a different reason and it has nothing to do with the format.
Personally I really liked it, with or without full grids. We had some fantastic races in this and last seasons. If it turns out the addon tracks are the main cause for drivers skipping races, then that's easily fixed. As for mods being used, Billy has been mostly running 65s and 67s, so I don't see how that can be a factor. We could also run 2 liters 66s which are just about the same as 65s.
Turning it into a Championship is a positive thing IMO. It gives you a higher purpose than just turning up for races and not caring about the result. Without any other aim than just driving, it's not really racing. Racing for fun is an illusion, the real fun is competition and racing feeds on comeptition. When was the last time you just drove around without a direct competitor and said "that was a fun race"? And if someone wants just that, they don't need to pay attention to championship points to have their fun, it doesn't change anything.
I do agree it drags a bit late with 2 races, but the reason is the 20 minutes qualifying for each. The races themselves are at least 30 minutes, so (20+30) x 2 = 1 hour and 40 minutes of racing minimum. Add to that time delays in Igor and it easily becomes 2 hours, and that's longer than any other division. Perhaps 10 or 15 minutes of practice would work better.
Continued in the next post (otherwise it exceeds the limit of 20000 characters for a single post)...
