rec.autos.simulators

I have a question.  I started a new account, mostly to race with the
lower level guys so it didn't get my main account in bad races.  I have
raced about 15-20 races and I'm already at a level 7.  I NEVER expected
to go that High that fast.  My other account is an 11.  I gained +80
points on a dega race I won.  All it would take was a few good finishes
by idiots to get from a 4 to 7 with no problem.   I did 3-6 in about 5
races.  I think you should have   to prove yourself a bit more before the
big jumps.

Pup

I think ths skill system is unfair because there guys whohave a skill of
11+ but only race at dega.  Maybe you should limit the total amount of
skill points for a track and limit to our overall skill.  say they master
dega and have a track skill of 10 you should only make it a percentage of
what the skill equals.  maybe make it worth only a 2 so if people keep
only racing dega the highest there going to get is a 2 thus making them
race other tracks...

--
Chuck Stuart - Mesquite TX USA

The way Papyrus has engineered the skill level system for NRL will
probably make even the 13s and 14s cry.  To give you an idea, there are
only 2 Amateurs at this moment.  Everyone else is a Rookie.  There are 3
levels above Amateur.  I've heard arguments in this thread about
removing the skill level ceiling.  In NRL, the ceiling will never be
reached.

If they are going to do anything to the system, they should change the
system to make it easier to fall, but NOT because of incidents.  The way
the system is now, the higher up you go the harder it is to climb AND
the harder it is to fall.  It should be easier to fall.  Force drivers
to have to consistantly finish higher in the standings to keep their
rating.  Since you drop the lowest 2 scores anyway, the 10s and 11s will
hardly ever have a negative average.  Consider this comparison.

Level     Move Up    Move Down Now     Move Down Should Be
 0-3        +3            -3                    -3
 4-6        +6            -6                    -1
 7-9        +9            -9                     1
10-12      +12           -12                     3
13-15      +15           -15                     5

I know this is a drastic change.  The 'move down' averages can be
adjusted to work the best.  The interval still widens as you go up, but
not as quickly.

David Martin

Dave (davids) Sparks
Late Night League
http://www.sequoia-dev.com/Hawaii/latenite.html

I agree I just dont think a person should have a skill of 12 when you look at there
stats they have 350 starts at dega and maybe a handful anywhere else.  I mean there
really is not alot of skill at dega compared to tracks like Darlington C***te Pocono
and Dover etc...  So when I nominate a race at Darlington with skill set from 9-15 these
guys can get in there and they suck there because they usually run at dega.  and usually
aint the word.  Any way you guys know what your doing your doing a great job up there
keep up the good work..

     Howdy!  hey!...did you fall into another LNWD pothole at Loudon?

     As far as the ratings system goes...I believe that the newly
instituted higher penalty for incidents...i.e. -4  for every incident if
you're a 9 - 11, oughta slow down the meteoric rise of some, at least for
the forseeable future.
     Is this ratings by track issue a fact based on info from Papy, or
is it just speculation at this point?  I was at the MP info site
yesterday, for the first time in quite awhile, and noticed that it had
all been changed. I really like the ranking by track idea, and am curious
myself, if this is the future, will it replace the current system, or
will the track ranking and a personal skill level go hand in hand?
     Keep in mind too that we're still going thru uncharted territory
with the HAWAII experience and I have no doubt that PAPY will continue to
refine the system as time goes on. I'm not sure about a ceilingless
rating system though, a couple years from now you could be a 232 but what
would that mean? that you're *really* fast or that ya just been doing it
a looooonnnnggg time<g>.

      As a footnote here....this is my first post to RAS. I have been
reading here on and off for the last couple months and occasionally find
something interesting to read. I also have questions I'd like to ask but
I'm afraid of getting tore up by someone who's been here longer and tired
of hearing the same question asked over and over. Hate coming into the
theatre in the middle of the movie too<g>.

    tom

I heard, forgot where, that you will have a different skill rating at each
track.  As for the personal rating, I believe that will be eliminated.

David Martin

It is a fact that Papyrus is working on a new skill system. As I understand
it, the tracks will be divided into 5 categories: Superspeedways,
Speedways, 1-Mile Ovals, Short Tracks and Road Courses. You will have a
rating for each category. However, you will not necessarily start out as a
zero in each category, some of the skill rating will "spill over" into the
other categories. They haven't mentioned it specifically that I remember,
but I'd like to see an overall skill rating, perhaps just an average of the
rating from all categories.

Dave (davids) Sparks
Late Night League
http://www.sequoia-dev.com/Hawaii/latenite.html

It is a fact that Papyrus is working on a new skill system. As I understand
it, the tracks will be divided into 5 categories: Superspeedways,
Speedways, 1-Mile Ovals, Short Tracks and Road Courses. You will have a
rating for each category. However, you will not necessarily start out as a
zero in each category, some of the skill rating will "spill over" into the
other categories. They haven't mentioned it specifically that I remember,
but I'd like to see an overall skill rating, perhaps just an average of the
rating from all categories.

Dave (davids) Sparks
Late Night League
http://www.sequoia-dev.com/Hawaii/latenite.html

Dana Bailes

Right now, people can race talladega only (& they sure do), and have a
very high skill level.  In the updated/NRL system, they would only
have a high skill level at that one track, but they'd still be 0's at
all the other tracks.  Like David Martin pointed out, that person
would be a Rookie.

The other peice of the puzzle is the incident points.  Yes, I know
it's somewhat controversial, but trust me, it works & does what we
want it to do.

BTW, we keep the data on ALL races run on Hawaii & run any skill level
ideas against that data.  In other words, we run our ideas against
thousands of races and thousands of users to model the effects.

The bottom line is that it will take a VERY long time for anyone to
become a 15 at any 1 track, never mind a 15 at all the tracks.  

With the NRL skill system, we have grouped all tracks into 5
"classes": super speedways, speedways, mile ovals, short ovals & road
courses.  In order to qualify for the Pro division of the NRL, for
example, you will have to have a minimum skill level of 12 on at least
1 track in each of the classes.  Additionally, you will have to have
raced a minimum number of times on EVERY track.  In other words, you
will have to be a well rounded racer & you will have to have done a
few laps around all the tracks in order to move up.

What this all comes down to is that the 0-15 system works great.
There is NO WAY that people will "gravitate" to 15's in the NRL...
just like there is NO WAY that every racer in NASCAR will gravitate to
Winston Cup.

Ed Martin
Producer, Series Director
NASCAR Racing League
Papyrus / Sierra On-Line, Inc.

KenH

My 2 cents,

David Martin