Quote from Hyperactive :

Basically the ELO rating wouldn't work in a racing sim as such. Unlike in fps games in LFS people don't have equal starting grounds to the race. Grid position is one huge factor. In racing it takes very small error to ruin a race while in fps games you need to basically shoot quite a few team member to make it really to have an effect. Another thing is that there are always people who will disconnect from a race if they see that finishing would hurt their rating. There are also people who will do anything to win.

That one should be easy to take care of if you scale the expected result (The 1 or 0 value) based on grid position. So divide grid start position by grid size and scale the expected result by that. This then takes into account stat position.

Quote from Hyperactive :

It will also need to look at the car speed differences, it is not as straight forward as it sounds first. If A drives FZ50 and B drives LX6 on SO4R the LX6 the car will have huge effect on the points. If the points are given without looking at the cars people will choose the winning car even more than they do now. Also the experience on that chosen car is a big factor. More experience = faster, just like with the combos, ASnat nut is always fast in fzr on asnat but useless on ky3r in lx4.

The car one is easy again. It would make sense that you lock servers down to a set car class TBO, GTR etc if you run a system like this. If not just apply rating comps when more than 3 people in same class and just rate them on their own in the same way you can have a race with multiple class cars.

As for experience, that is the whole point of the ELO/rating system in the first place. If little Timmy is good in the LX6 and not in other cars they will not get a good rating over time unless they ONLY race that car. The better you are in a higher range of cars and more races you finish the higher you will rise. The rating is just rating you against overs, nothing more. Only those that are consistent rise to the top and those that have a high DNF ratio will sink like stones.

It could also expend so you hold a rating for each car per person and theirr overall ating is an average of that. This way you have to be good in EVERY car to have the best rating.

The ratings build over time. Its not just a single race in the same way a race is not about T1. Its a long haul to make you WANT to finish every race.

Quote from Hyperactive :

And to be honest, a rating system is just a ladder in the end if you make it completely based on speed and finishing position

I admit that the automated system would defenately solve the most biggest issue with the system - to get people to vote

Yep, ladder like but so is the ELO system. But its more subtle than that and most of all its automatic.

I like CTRA but if everyone raced enough they would all have highest rating. Here you get a bell cure that shows your true position compaed to others

Quote from F.Rizzo :

Hollywood: I can totally see where you are coming from and that is in no way what I am trying to achieve! It is purely another way of offering serious race servers to elimiate trouble makers. It's not like this will be used on every server.

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I wanted to create a system like this to help improve the level of racing on public race servers. I realise that Wreckers Barricade already does this to some extend and this is not to compete with WB or take away their system - it's just another added level of protection. The main problem with Replay based systems is that someone needs to watch replay, and it's that person's sole opinion that decides if the accused should be marked as a trouble maker or not.

I see your vote system as being a great idea but as with ebay feedback you get people giving you negative feedback when you have done nothing wrong and a bunch of mates could gang up on someone, giving them negative points just for the fun of it

One way you could cure that is only allow trusted "listed" players to vote. In other words you have a file "birder,F.risso,someone_else" with all the people you trust in it and only they can vote.

or

Only allow players with points higher than X to vote

On ConeDodgers CD1 (Public) the racing is manic due to all the newbies, yet cross over to CD2 (Licensed) and the racing is great so such a system does work.

F.risso: I have PMed you about our system, if you can help (or anyone else - please)

Personally I'd rather not be tagged, as some people have said.

Theres always a few people who get angry at you for no reason, or, for example, a small collision in a full field which means a small contact, but results in that person losing xx places, or having to retire means that you'll get a poor rating.

People often mis-understand the racing rules, and will just see it as purposeful wrecking.

People could get their freinds/other accounts to give you multiple poor ratings, affecting your ability to race on servers with your own freinds.

If its going to be done like this, I'd rather it be done by distance. Most wreckertype people have 0>1500 miles. From above around 5000miles is when people have learnt the cars, some of the tracks, got a general gist of the idea of racing rules, what to do and so on.

Something like that CTRA report system, where reports are stored (with replays) then INDEPENDANTLY viewed by a neutral party, upon which his/her rating of said player is then accepted or canceled.


s14.

Thanks for all the feedback.

Firstly, a single rating isn't going to mark you as a wrecker.

With regards to people spamming other driver's ratings, this is unlikely to happen as you can only rate each driver once, and you can only rate 1 player after every race. The idea being you rate the player that you felt had the most influence on your race. Good or bad.

I have released a very early Alpha version of the add-on. Feel free to give it a try and let me know what you think. Any feedback is appreciated. You can download it at http://pos.lfs.marcomark.net