The different classes need some fine-tuning, there's no doubt about that.
E.g. the FXR could probably get some quicker boost. The devs will get to that, but it's going to take more than a short while to get it done.
If you meant that ballast was not a good solution to get two classes or more on the same level, e.g. the LRF down to the same laptimes as the TBO class, we're not talking about the same thing. That wouldn't work.
What does work is adding weight when the difference in laptimes between two or more cars or drivers is within a certain range, such that adding ballast would equalize the laptimes over the length of a given race, without excessively affecting anything else, such as tire wear.
The ultimate result we're looking for is equalizing racetimes, or not, which would be up to the server admins, or individual players for their own car.
What's natural about the present arrangement?
Like I said, Sapient, it seems to me you want to restrict others from a certain choice that wouldn't affect you either way.
The two leagues I'm running in have a bell curve distribution of laptimes.
In one league, I'm running at the front, and would gladly take enough ballast to be fighting on equal terms with the other players, and in the other, there's one consistently faster guy, me a bit slower, then pretty much everyone else at more or less the same speed.
In both cases some ballast would almost perfectly even the field.
Were it not a viable solution, we wouldn't use it, just as allowing the LX4 with the rest of the TBO class on certain tracks isn't always a viable solution to the "problem" of setting up a fair racing season.
Like Vykos noted, the ballast could be set in a batch, for a whole set of drivers, such as all FZRs, or for certain drivers only, such as all FZRs but a newbie player.
Since it's possible to sandbag a qualifying-time ballast, cumulative ballast for wins is the best simple solution.
IMO, the race organizers should know the drivers well enough to decide the precisely just amount of ballast for each driver.
E.g. the FXR could probably get some quicker boost. The devs will get to that, but it's going to take more than a short while to get it done.
If you meant that ballast was not a good solution to get two classes or more on the same level, e.g. the LRF down to the same laptimes as the TBO class, we're not talking about the same thing. That wouldn't work.
What does work is adding weight when the difference in laptimes between two or more cars or drivers is within a certain range, such that adding ballast would equalize the laptimes over the length of a given race, without excessively affecting anything else, such as tire wear.
The ultimate result we're looking for is equalizing racetimes, or not, which would be up to the server admins, or individual players for their own car.
What's natural about the present arrangement?
Like I said, Sapient, it seems to me you want to restrict others from a certain choice that wouldn't affect you either way.
The two leagues I'm running in have a bell curve distribution of laptimes.
In one league, I'm running at the front, and would gladly take enough ballast to be fighting on equal terms with the other players, and in the other, there's one consistently faster guy, me a bit slower, then pretty much everyone else at more or less the same speed.
In both cases some ballast would almost perfectly even the field.
Were it not a viable solution, we wouldn't use it, just as allowing the LX4 with the rest of the TBO class on certain tracks isn't always a viable solution to the "problem" of setting up a fair racing season.
Like Vykos noted, the ballast could be set in a batch, for a whole set of drivers, such as all FZRs, or for certain drivers only, such as all FZRs but a newbie player.
Since it's possible to sandbag a qualifying-time ballast, cumulative ballast for wins is the best simple solution.
IMO, the race organizers should know the drivers well enough to decide the precisely just amount of ballast for each driver.
)