World Grand Prix Organization: OOC Discussion Thread

[Liventia]

Also, as harsh as this sounds, if you have no time for RPing, don't expect any team to sign your drivers and to play a major role in the season.

[Third Asopia]

Also, as harsh as this sounds, if you have no time for RPing, don't expect any team to sign your drivers and to play a major role in the season.

Well I'll try anyways.

[Third Asopia]

1 more day till the deadline of host bids. Can't wait for everything to start. Might not have time for Ring tho.

The deadline doesn't mean much if nobody has bid.

THATS exactly what I'm afraid of.

[Lisander]

Sometimes I think we raised the bar too much with The Racing Scorinator 2.0, since:

The Racing Scorinator 2.0 works, but one false move and it can fall apart completely.

I admit that I may be wrong, but I think these TRS bugs are one of the reasons that are scaring potential hosts. Maybe lowering the bar a little and admitting a simpler scorination method?

Looking in another way, it seems to be a recurring problem, it seems like we're running out of hosts in various sports. I personally would not want to do it because I could realize how difficult it is by contemplating the work of Mattijana during the last WGP2.

[Mattijana]

The WGP2 was certainly a much bigger undertaking than expected. Most of the issues were due to scorinator unfamiliarity as well as a few bugs, but I have a massive amount of respect for people who can host big events and make it look effortless as a huge amount of work goes in.

We seem to have plenty of hosts for smaller, shorter and more manageable tournaments, but getting them to make the step up to things like the Olympics and WGPC is a challenge, mainly because the gulf in workload between the two types of event is immense.

Having said that, once version 2.0 beds in, I think it will be easier and quicker to use than the current options, so there's hope for us yet.

[WGPC]

Wheels are in motion.

Just to address a couple of the points made in the posts above: The current iteration of the scorinator, while with some bugs that have to be triple-checked, is quicker and simpler to use than previous excel racing scorinators. I think only the xkoranate racing scorinator is simpler to use. I'd be fine with a potential host using that instead, though there are limitations.

An idea I've floated to Liv/Aels recently has been to partially decentralize hosting of the WGPC in the future. In short, this would mean that everyone entering a track would also host/scorinate one round of the season. Perhaps their own race, perhaps another user's race. I could feasibly offer a super-simplified version of the scorinator, wherein the only necessary inputs are RP bonuses, qualifying positions and track data. The main host would keep drivers/teams up to date and would transfer temporary access to the scorinator from race host to race host, also perhaps checking the file's input history to ensure that no funny business has occurred (a host scorinating forty times until a desired result is found, for example). It's an idea that could be road tested in WGP2 later this year, if people are on board. By that time, the kinks in the current version of the Racing Scorinator should be ironed out. Touch wood.

This season's plan, thus far, is for me to set everything up and scorinate the first round or two of races before another user takes over. One user has expressed an interest in hosting. They'd be shown the ropes over the first few weeks and then they'd take over. If anyone else is interested in fulfilling this role, please let me know.

Invitations for team entries to the coming season will be sent out in the next week or so. Any questions, put them in this thread.

Cheers,

Audio

[Starblaydia]

Just wanted to make my interest in participating in this again public - been a while since I was in the WGPC, but woo Drivers Champion in the 8th edition. Team, drivers, back to the Azure Harbour track for the GP of Starblaydia, all that good stuff.

[Vangaziland]

Awesome Starblaydia. Glad to have you here. Did the Olympiad spark your interest at all? There was talk among the WGPO about potential new (or in this case return) drivers coming after the Olympiad.

[Starblaydia]

Awesome Starblaydia. Glad to have you here. Did the Olympiad spark your interest at all? There was talk among the WGPO about potential new (or in this case return) drivers coming after the Olympiad.

Actually, the Starblaydi delegation absolutely sucking (mostly thanks to my lack of RP and not pulling my STDev down far enough, I'd assume) made me consider quite where I was spending my free time, and that I should focus on certain hobbies I enjoy and drop others that I don't find quite as fun.

At this point Jai Kardaeri is probably old enough to be a team manager, I dunno.

[Vangaziland]

Starblaydia

Here is a chart you may find interesting. Your driver is first in a few categories. Your character will drop into an interesting storyline. Quite a few drivers will be looking for their second championship.
viewtopic.php?p=34097831#p34097831

The one thing I would say about the chart is that we should definitely not institute a points system before the bugs are worked out.

[Starblaydia]

Oh hell, Kardaeri was racing for 5 seasons? Awesome, I need to go some research on him and see who owns him at the moment.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Hi, Starblaydia! You probably won't know me, so for introduction's sake: I'm Nimbus. Always happy to meet one of the old guard; I look forward to seeing and competing with you in WGPC 17!

Decentralising scorination, at least to my ears, sounds like a major step in the right direction. I trust that it would only be the UI that would be simplified for transfer, not the actual systems behind it? Either way, it's definitely worth a test in my view.

Anyway, not to steal thunder from the main event but…

SIGNUPS

This, then, is the signup announcement post for the World Grand Prix Imagination League, an upcoming WGP Tier 3 series to be held within the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System, home to WGPC 15 Drivers’ Champion Ryker Lane and Nexus Racing. As recommended by Audioslavia, signups of drivers and teams (the circuits have already been decided upon, though I’ve unfortunately ultimately decided against making five entirely new circuit images to represent them; a description will have to suffice) should be posted in this thread. For details, see below:

The WGPi is a template-spec series, meaning that each team is supplied with two complete monocoques and additional bodywork (modelled after Nexus Racing’s first Ultra High Speed Ground Vehicle but incorporating Gertrude Thompson’s DIADEM), a full complement of Brutus-In Motion tyres and a budget of and capped at one million pounds with which to develop a powertrain and to use as they wish elsewhere. Each team will also have access to a single Imagination convertor and a small supply of Imagination.

This supply of Imagination is not enough to power both cars; moreover, petrochemically-fuelled cars are banned from the WGPi. Most teams’ cars will therefore run on either batteries or possibly hydrogen fuel cells and use electric motors to deliver power to the wheels, though other solutions on either end are encouraged. Refuelling, in whatever form it may take, is allowed so long as it is not excessively dangerous. No Tesla towers, please.

There will be six events in the WGPi’s calendar. The first five will feature a Qualifying session followed by two Race sessions, with the starting positions of the first determined by the Qualifying session and those of the second by the results of the first with the first eight positions reversed, as in the Formula 3 Euro Series, while the last will feature a Qualifying session followed by a single, double-length Race session, for which double points will be awarded. Points will be allocated for each Race result as such:

1st: 46
2nd: 36
3rd: 30
4th: 25
5th: 20
6th: 16
7th: 12
8th: 9
9th: 6
10th: 4
11th: 2
12th: 1
13th-24th: 0
In the event of fewer than 12 cars finishing, no points will be awarded to those who did not finish the race, regardless of distance completed.

Though the WGPi is primarily a Nimban competition, the Wardship’s arms are open to talented drivers from around the world who wish to participate. Each user may only enter TWO drivers at most to the competition and this does not guarantee selection.

To sign a driver up, please compete the following:

Code: Select all

NAME:
NAME TRIGRAM:
GENDER (/SPECIES):
NATIONALITY:
NATION TRIGRAM:
PREFERRED NUMBER:
R/A/Ting: (enter three numbers which add up to 12)
EXPERIENCE POINTS:
PREFERRED TEAM:
BIO:

NAME is what your driver is called, in full. Nicknames in addition to surnames and forenames (if you’re following that particular naming scheme) are welcome!

NAME TRIGRAM is a group of three letters identifying your driver. Normally these are taken from the driver’s surname – that of Ryker Lane might be ‘LAN’ or ‘LNE’ but not ‘RLN’, for instance. Exceptions may be made if two drivers have the same surname or a driver has no surname, either by lacking one or being named in a different way.

GENDER is your driver’s gender identity, if they have one. If you’d like, you can go further and specify the driver’s SPECIES; otherwise, I’ll assume that they’re human.

NATIONALITY is the demonym of the nation that your driver is part of. A driver from the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System is ‘Nimban’, for example.

NATIONALITY TRIGRAM, separate from the name trigram, is a group of three letters identifying the nation listed above. For instance, the Wardship uses ‘NIM’.

PREFERRED NUMBER is the chosen number of your driver, which can be any integer from 3 to 99; 1 is reserved for the reigning Drivers’ Champion while 2 is reserved for their teammate, should either want them. In the event of a dispute, a driver who has used a number in past WGP series will be given priority.

R/A/Ting describes your driver’s racing characteristics and consists of three numbers, each from 1 (low) to 5 (high) and all three summing to 12, representing your driver’s Reliability, their ability to keep a car on the track; Aggressiveness, their ability to get on the power or the brakes quickly; and Technique, their ability to navigate tight corners and gaps. More Aggressive drivers will fare well on circuits with long, wide straights and sweeping corners and more Technical drivers will do well on tighter, twisty tracks, whereas more Reliable drivers won’t have as much raw pace on either but are more likely to make opportunities everywhere count.

EXPERIENCE POINTS are a record of your driver’s recent successes in WGP racing and are calculated according to the guidelines set out in this thread’s first post. If your driver is new to WGP racing, don’t worry about this part.

PREFERRED TEAM is an indication of the team that you’d like your driver to end up on. Since I’d like to try to keep the WGPi to a brisk pace, we won’t be doing a standard negotiation period (though you can roleplay that if you’d like); instead I’ll try to assign drivers to teams by request, so please put them here!

BIO is a description of your driver’s life up to this point. Length is relatively unimportant; just make it interesting!

As an example (refers to the WGPC, not WGPi; illustrative only):

NAME: Ryker Lane
NAME TRIGRAM: LAN
GENDER (/SPECIES): Male/Human
NATIONALITY: Nimban
NATION TRIGRAM: NIM
PREFERRED NUMBER: 94
R/A/Ting: 5/4.5/2.5
EXPERIENCE POINTS: 4.285714
PREFERRED TEAM: Nexus Racing
BIO: -insert backstory here-

Of the twelve teams entering the WGPi, three will be chosen from outside the Wardship. Each user may only enter ONE team to the competition; this, again, doesn’t guarantee selection so, with one slot already taken, be sure to make your profile count! Note: please do not enter a current WGPC or WGP2 team (though entering a current WGP3 team might be interesting).

To sign a team up, please compete the following:

Code: Select all

NAME:
NATIONALITY:
NATION TRIGRAM:
BANNER COLOURS AND FONT:
R/A/Ting: (enter three numbers which add up to 12)
EXPERIENCE:
PREFERRED DRIVERS:
BIO:

NAME is what your team is called – ‘Nexus Racing’ and ‘UFCRT’ are both examples of team names.

NATIONALITY is the demonym of the nation where your team is based. Nexus Racing, based in the Wardship, is Nimban, for instance.

NATION TRIGRAM is a group of three letters identifying the nation listed above. For instance, the Wardship uses ‘NIM’.

BANNER COLOURS AND FONT are parameters for the banner that will accompany your team’s results rather than a picture of a car (since I don’t plan on designing nine liveries from scratch). Nexus Racing’s, for instance, would be ‘dark blue text in Arial Rounded MT Bold with a sky-blue background’.

R/A/Ting describes your team’s car’s racing characteristics and consists of three numbers, each from 1 (low) to 5 (high) and all three summing to 12, representing the car’s Reliability, its ability to complete a race without falling apart; Acceleration, representing the sum of the car’s power and aerodynamics enabling it to achieve high speeds quickly; and Turning, representing the car’s braking, suspension and chassis’ combined ability to get through corners while losing a minimum of momentum. Cars with better Acceleration will fare well on circuits with long, wide straights and sweeping corners and better-Turning cars will do well on tighter, twisty tracks, whereas more Reliable cars won’t have as much raw pace on either but are less likely to render their successes obsolete by blowing up halfway through the race.

EXPERIENCE is a measure of your team’s knowledge of and practice with the ins and outs of WGP racing and is calculated according to the guidelines set out in this thread’s first post. If your team is new to WGP racing, don’t worry about this part.

PREFERRED DRIVERS is an indication of the drivers that you’d like to end up on your team. Since I’d like to try to keep the WGPi to a brisk pace, we won’t be doing a standard negotiation period (though you can roleplay that if you’d like); instead I’ll try to assign drivers to teams by request, so please put them here!

BIO is a description of your team’s existence up to this point. Length is relatively unimportant; just make it interesting!

As an example (refers to the WGPC, not WGPi; illustrative only):

NAME: Nexus Racing
NATIONALITY: Nimban
NATION TRIGRAM: NIM
BANNER COLOURS AND FONT: Dark blue text in Arial Rounded MT Bold with a sky-blue background
R/A/Ting: 4/5/3
EXPERIENCE: 2
PREFERRED DRIVERS: Ryker Lane, Jean Mercer-Daly
BIO: -insert backstory here-

R 4.5 A 4.5 T 3

Name Jade Matic
No. 4
R 5
A 2
T 5

Ern Brockley Name
55 No.
5 R
3.5 A
3.5 T

The University of the First City Racing Team is made up of students, professors and other staff from the massive University of the First City, the oldest, most reputable and most powerful higher education institution (of two) in the Nexus Wardship; even if the WGPi will undoubtedly be a valuable learning opportunity for their young engineers, physicists, computer scientists, Imagination scientists, graphic designers and mathematicians, it is also a battle on which their honour is staked. Their cars, driven by four in-wheel electric motors in fine Nexus Racing tradition, are piloted by students Jade Matic and Ern Brockley, both combining their studies with junior racing careers which they hope will continue into the WGP2, Conti-Rally or other larger competitions after the publicity that the WGPi will undoubtedly generate for them.

R 3 A 4 T 5

Name Baxen Aurora
No. 85
R 3
A 4.5
T 4.5

Olivia Stone Name
3 No.
2 R
5 A
5 T

The University of the Second City Challenge is the WGPi programme of the Second City’s university. Much younger and smaller than that of the First City (being founded with the city to which it belongs under a decade ago), the institution is fast becoming known for being maverick and dynamic even by Nimban standards. This shows in its team’s car design, running on hydrogen fuel cells, the less common of the two main power sources of the competition, and held up by a radical and experimental suspension system. Driving it are students Baxen Aurora and Olivia Stone, both known from their karting and quad-biking days respectively as fast, daring and more than a little reckless, especially in the latter’s case.

R 4 A 4 T 4

Name Cel Balfour
No. 11
R 4.5
A 4
T 3.5

Wilma ‘Lash’ Lee Name
67 No.
3 R
4 A
5 T

Parker-Woods i-Racing carries over racing experience and drivers from its sister team in the Atlantic Division, even if they didn’t do very well there. One of the oldest motor companies in the Wardship, husband-husband joint founders and owners Henry Parker and Danal Woods no doubt hope that they will do better in front of a home crowd, especially given their ability to utilise their well-known expertise in electric powertrain design here. While Cel Balfour, seemingly energised by the new challenge of the Atlantic Division, is looking forward to the coming weeks, Wilma ‘Lash’ Lee has seemingly fallen into something of an obsessive spiral of technical proficiency in attempting to outdo her teammate and emulate her idol, the mysterious ‘Zip Lash’ from the Nimban origin universe.

R 3.5 A 4.25 T 4.25

Name Xavier Bakerson
No. 10
R 5
A 3.5
T 3.5

SARP-v.3.4.28 Name
99 No.
4 R
3 A
5 T

The Sabre Motor Company, born at around the same time as Parker-Woods, is known for exacting design. Many were surprised when it was the Sabre Research and Development department that entered the WGPi, the company seemingly wanting to use the competition as a testbed for new projects. Their power source is easily the most unconventional of all of the Nimban teams, relying on a hyper-dense block that is heated to incredible temperatures and then releases its energy throughout the race – at least, that’s what the spokespeople say it is; unsurprisingly, they’re keeping tight-lipped about the whole thing. Their 32-year old test driver Xavier Bakerson fills one seat; the other is covered over, the car driven by a so-called ‘Sabre Autonomous Racing Programme’ suspected to be intended to market autonomous vehicular technology to foreign markets.

R 4 A 5 T 3

Name Sara Valens
No. 54
R 3
A 4.5
T 4.5

Steven Valens Name
57 No.
4 R
4 A
4 T

When prodigy racing drivers and twins Sara and Steven Valens found themselves unable to find a place in any professional scene due to their firm desire to drive alongside one another at the same outfit, they looked to be out of a drive. When this happened to be brought up at a council meeting of the Community to which they belonged, the sympathy and determination aroused was significant. Thus was born Haven Community Race Team. Staffed entirely by a massive volunteer corps of engineers, mechanics, designers and social leaders and operating on a shoestring budget supplemented by dozens of advertisement deals with local businesses, the team and its drivers have won a large Nimban fanbase thanks in large part to a blog started by one of the team’s members documenting a classically inspirational story. Whether any of that translates to success remains to be seen.

R 3 A 4.5 T 4.5

Name Henry Dinkins
No. 13
R 3.5
A 5
T 3.5

Janne Laukkanen Name
17 No.
3.4 R
4 A
4.6 T

The Garage Gunners predate the WGPi by over two decades – or, at least, the group does. The team is made up of several hobbyists and ex-engineers who used to meet weekly (now considerably more often) to work on various projects in one of their garages, from which the group’s original name, ‘The Garageers’, and now their racing name, was taken. Having put their name into the running for a WGPi slot mostly out of humour, the new team has adopted a no-nonsense approach to car design; their Imagination, for instance, has been allocated to a KERS-like boost rather than anything more complex, while their electric motors have been salvaged from… Somewhere. Henry Dinkins, ex-Cityprix racer, drives their first car, with Janne Laukkanen of Nexus Racing's WGP2 young drivers' programme taking the second seat as practice during his off-season.

R 2 A 5 T 5

Name TBC
No. –
R –
A –
T –

TBC Name
– No.
– R
– A
– T

The high-performance Chariot brand from Talbot Cars has always been niche in the Nexus Wardship and the company has marketed it as such: fairly quietly, letting the product speak for itself. Nonetheless, it was only a matter of time after the WGPi’s announcement that someone in advertising noticed the obvious pun and set in motion the chain of events that would lead to the formation of Talbot Chariot Racing. Nobody seems to have planned much beyond the name, though, and as of now the team barely has a working chassis and powertrain and still doesn’t have any drivers. Whether the latter is a cunning ploy to hire overseas racers and appeal to foreign markets or simple oversight or understaffing is so far unclear.

R 4 A 3 T 5

Name Farel Quilton
No. 45
R 3.5
A 5
T 3.5

TBC Name
– No.
– R
– A
– T

Farel Quilton has been known throughout her life for her eccentricity, canny business sense and hard-working attitude, so it was no surprise to anyone around her when her genetically-engineered meat start-up exploded, got bought up by the government and, between that and the business’ operational profits, earned her enough money to retire comfortably at 27. What was surprising was when she turned around and used that money to start a racing team – with her, totally lacking experience, as a driver. Jolt i-Prix is an enigma to most; its car seems conventional enough by Nimban standards, using rear-wheel electric motors as drive on what is apparently a very good chassis, and rumours now abound that Farel has actually been practicing hard on tracks around the world and achieving more than a little success. With a second seat still empty, this squad might be worth watching.

R 5 A 3.5 T 3.5

Name Arren Tharshebloze
No. 81
R 3
A 4
T 5

TBC Name
– No.
– R
– A
– T

The company behind the Q-series of budget cars might not seem like an obvious candidate for WGPi entry; that would be because it isn’t. Nobody’s exactly sure what Q H₂ Racing is or is doing, other than being one of the two teams on the grid to use hydrogen fuel cells and having a seat empty. Its modular, rapid-switch cell technology does look pretty cool, though, and at the very least they’ve got former Cityprix driver Arren Tharshebloze back on board; it’ll be good to see him in action again.

R 4.4 A 2.8 T 4.8

Name Rachael Lyndroem
No. 88
R 3
A 5
T 4

Isaac Rhodes Name
10 No.
3 R
4.5 A
4.5 T

Esmerel has had an affinity with the Wardship for more than a little while now, so it isn’t a shock that theirs is one of the three foreign team entries to the WGPi. The Esmerel Collegiate Motorsport Team, an offshoot of Cygnus University’s Future of Engineering project, seeks to be a vehicle for the success of Esmerelian youth. That shows with Rachael Lyndroem, the racing prodigy of nineteen years who looks to break into foreign motorsport for the first time with the WGPi after notable karting success; she is joined by the somewhat caustic Isaac Rhodes, drawn from Scottish noble stock but now making the motorsport-loving Atlantic nation his home.

R 3.7 A 4 T 4.3

Name Elise Ekholm
No. 52
R 3.8
A 3.5
T 4.7

Max Westermark Name
53 No.
3.8 R
4.4 A
3.8 T

Overglade University is Vangaziland's most prestigious college and its WGPi race team, Overglade University Power, is considered both a class project, led by Professor Rikard Ekgren and its drivers two students selected after class members completed a time trial competition, and a school sport, with said competition using VMR HQ simulators and team advisors drafted from professional Vangazi racing. The OUP cars are simple in their design and garishly bright, painted in neon lime; two diagonal red stripes cut the car in half, running across the roof and down the sides to form a box. Of their drivers, Elise Ekholm, the more defensive and refined of the two, placed first in the trial, while second-placed Max Westermark brings a more determined side to the team.

R 5 A 2 T 5

Name Robbie Moren
No. 20
R 3
A 4
T 5

William Garner Name
6 No.
5 R
2 A
5 T

The AMD or Alternative Motors Division is a new branch of National Motor Company, the second largest car Xannerian company behind Knox, designed as a platform to test alternative power systems for use in foreign markets. With the WGPi fitting the project well, NMC has decided that they will run a team under their "Baker" brand, forming Baker AMD Racing; not only the highest selling brand of NMC cars in Xanneria and the most likely to be exported immediately when NMC decides to start doing so, Baker has racing pedigree in Xannerian stock and championship series, though this is its first international foray. Robbie Moren, AMD's test driver, gets a chance to redeem himself in their first seat after a promising early career was scuppered by a string of financial difficulties for his teams, while their second goes to William Garner who has come out of karting with an unusual amount of maturity and focus for somebody of his age, even by Nimban standards.

There is, of course, a great deal of Nimban talent other than that listed above. All of the following racers are skilled in their own right and would be thrilled to receive drives from the foreign teams entering the competition.

NAME: Natalie Altwood
NAME TRIGRAM: AWD
GENDER (/SPECIES): Female/Human
PREFERRED NUMBER: 74
R/A/Ting: 3/4/5
BIO: Natalie was a huge fan of racing long before Nexus Racing entered the WGPC and actually followed Terho Talvela all the way through to his Drivers’ Championship in WGPC 14. (The next two seasons did rather play with her emotions.) Seeking to follow in his footsteps, she first tried to match his driving style in her karting but couldn’t seem to make it work. It was only by abandoning those limits that she has found success on her own terms; she seeks to take that further now as she enters the WGPi.

NAME: Vera Celica
NAME TRIGRAM: CEL
GENDER (/SPECIES): Female/Human
PREFERRED NUMBER: 89
R/A/Ting: 3/5/4
BIO: Vera is an exceptional driver of exceptional talent, with a single-minded determination truly unlike anyone else in motorsport and the optimism to match. Born blind but able to see thanks to artificial eyes, the result of Nimban medical advances, she has elected from her earliest racing days to wire her sight into the cameras around her car to gain a competitive advantage. Formerly a Cityprix driver, she now looks to make inroads into single-seater racing through the WGPi – though, of course, she isn’t going to start taking a conventional route to success now.

NAME: William Garner
NAME TRIGRAM: GAR
GENDER (/SPECIES): Male/Human
PREFERRED NUMBER: 6
R/A/Ting: 5/2/5
BIO: The son of two leaders in the Church of the First Builders, William absorbed the values of expression, self-apotheosis and harmony from a young age. Though not a member of the Church himself, he still finds significant meaning and utility in those values and can often be found contemplating in a corner. His sharp, calculating mind makes him a worrying prospect to overtake, though he isn’t particularly known for his daring either.

[WGPC]

EDIT: Audio here.

Decentralising scorination, at least to my ears, sounds like a major step in the right direction. I trust that it would only be the UI that would be simplified for transfer, not the actual systems behind it? Either way, it's definitely worth a test in my view.

The actual scorinator algorithm would either be the same or better*. The only thing that would need to be simplified is the RP bonus system. If we keep the RP bonus system the same but allow individual users to scorinate individual races, then when a user scorinates they'd be able to see the RP bonus points that other users had given them in previous races. I'm not comfortable with that. I think it'd cause friction. A 'simplified' RP bonus system might mean that, rather than every RP being graded out of 10, each RP is given a base score and bonuses would be given for the best three RPs that week. Kind of like the Fanboost system in Formula E? Only it would carry over a little from race to race too? My reasoning is this: "I think my RP was better than X's RP, grr" would lead to a more productive discussion than "You gave my RP a 7.5 but I think it was worth an 8.5, grr". I might be wrong. Tell me if I'm wrong.

* I *may* have the opportunity to program in a proper Safety Car mechanic, rather than the current Virtual Safety Car thing, which works well but adds less randonimity to the scorinator. Having a safety car in real-life formula one is a great way to cause chaos in the field. We don't have that in the NS scorinator yet. I'd be interested in putting the option in for a real safety car feature and seeing how everyone feels. It's a fair bit of work though (ie it took a *long ass time* to program in the current function wherein the driver positions are calculated at 25, 50 and 75% race distance, wherein previously only the final standings were outputted. Having a Safety Car funciton would mean I'd have to have the scorinator output the race positions at the end of every single lap, which would take Time (capital 'T') and make the scorinator slower.)

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

EDIT: Audio here.

Decentralising scorination, at least to my ears, sounds like a major step in the right direction. I trust that it would only be the UI that would be simplified for transfer, not the actual systems behind it? Either way, it's definitely worth a test in my view.

The actual scorinator algorithm would either be the same or better*. The only thing that would need to be simplified is the RP bonus system. If we keep the RP bonus system the same but allow individual users to scorinate individual races, then when a user scorinates they'd be able to see the RP bonus points that other users had given them in previous races. I'm not comfortable with that. I think it'd cause friction. A 'simplified' RP bonus system might mean that, rather than every RP being graded out of 10, each RP is given a base score and bonuses would be given for the best three RPs that week. Kind of like the Fanboost system in Formula E? Only it would carry over a little from race to race too? My reasoning is this: "I think my RP was better than X's RP, grr" would lead to a more productive discussion than "You gave my RP a 7.5 but I think it was worth an 8.5, grr". I might be wrong. Tell me if I'm wrong.

* I *may* have the opportunity to program in a proper Safety Car mechanic, rather than the current Virtual Safety Car thing, which works well but adds less randonimity to the scorinator. Having a safety car in real-life formula one is a great way to cause chaos in the field. We don't have that in the NS scorinator yet. I'd be interested in putting the option in for a real safety car feature and seeing how everyone feels. It's a fair bit of work though (ie it took a *long ass time* to program in the current function wherein the driver positions are calculated at 25, 50 and 75% race distance, wherein previously only the final standings were outputted. Having a Safety Car funciton would mean I'd have to have the scorinator output the race positions at the end of every single lap, which would take Time (capital 'T') and make the scorinator slower.)

That seems intuitive enough to me; maybe even doing away with ratings altogether and just selecting the best three for each week would work.

Then again, I also get the feeling that RP bonus is inherently controversial. I, for instance, value theme and narrative arc above most things, to the point that I frequently find myself deliberating over whether individual words fit the current tone well. The result is a tendency to produce shorter posts that often don't have a lot actually going on in them outside the characters themselves, a great deal of which have very little to do with actual racing and which occasionally become somewhat experimental in terms of writing style but, I would hope, do have a lot of interpretative depth and emotional power if you've read the posts leading up to each one. Depending on what different people see as good roleplay, that might be well-received or poorly-received and there isn't really any way to avoid disagreement over that even if there is broad agreement on the fundamentals of things like writing with coherent grammar. It might be better to keep the current system in the knowledge that conflict will arise and with the expectation that people act maturely about it.

One way to handle things might be to hide the RP bonuses of each round somehow so that people could only see the scores that they themselves are inputting. Perhaps there could be two sheets, one which holds the RP bonuses and is locked to owner view and one which is used to 'print' the bonuses to that sheet and is cleared after each round? Not sure if that's possible in Google Docs (or anything else, for that matter).

[Xanneria]

So a thought came through my head recently.

How would a NS Champ Car (Or I guess Indy Car) series sound.

I'd love to try scorinating it or at least coordinate it, what ya'll think?

[Aboveland]

One way to handle things might be to hide the RP bonuses of each round somehow so that people could only see the scores that they themselves are inputting. Perhaps there could be two sheets, one which holds the RP bonuses and is locked to owner view and one which is used to 'print' the bonuses to that sheet and is cleared after each round? Not sure if that's possible in Google Docs (or anything else, for that matter).

I don't think the fanboost thing would be a good idea, but some variation of this one sounds like it could work. Is there a way for the scorinating person to input RP bonuses for each driver however they see fit, and for the values he inputs to be averaged with the previous values out of his sight?

Sounds confusing when I read it back to myself.

Example:

I scorinate race 3. The RP bonuses so far, for each driver, are averages of their RP bonus from the past three races. I add RP bonus to each driver however I think they did, yadda yadda (although could cause a bias issue but that's besides the point) and the value I input is secretly and secluded-ly averaged with the current three race average which I can't see anyway, but exists.

[Liventia]

* I *may* have the opportunity to program in a proper Safety Car mechanic, rather than the current Virtual Safety Car thing, which works well but adds less randonimity to the scorinator. Having a safety car in real-life formula one is a great way to cause chaos in the field. We don't have that in the NS scorinator yet. I'd be interested in putting the option in for a real safety car feature and seeing how everyone feels. It's a fair bit of work though (ie it took a *long ass time* to program in the current function wherein the driver positions are calculated at 25, 50 and 75% race distance, wherein previously only the final standings were outputted. Having a Safety Car funciton would mean I'd have to have the scorinator output the race positions at the end of every single lap, which would take Time (capital 'T') and make the scorinator slower.)

I think we have to be careful with controlling the narrative of each race too much within the scorinator. Producing race positions at 25/50/75% still allows for RP wriggle-room. Doing so for each lap wouldn't.

I don't think the fanboost thing would be a good idea, but some variation of this one sounds like it could work. Is there a way for the scorinating person to input RP bonuses for each driver however they see fit, and for the values he inputs to be averaged with the previous values out of his sight?

Sounds confusing when I read it back to myself.

Example:

I scorinate race 3. The RP bonuses so far, for each driver, are averages of their RP bonus from the past three races. I add RP bonus to each driver however I think they did, yadda yadda (although could cause a bias issue but that's besides the point) and the value I input is secretly and secluded-ly averaged with the current three race average which I can't see anyway, but exists.

It is possible on Google Docs/Sheets to hide a column in a sheet and have someone else with spreadsheet edit access be unable to un-hide the column, so long as that particular sheet in the spreadsheet is locked. However, equally, there would be nothing stopping someone with decent spreadsheet knowledge from finding out the values in that hidden column through other means. That said, that scenario could be avoided if we say anyone caught trying to find out the hidden values would be penalised, and Audio and I just check the edit history of the Google Doc/Sheet to ensure everyone's playing fair.

[Audioslavia]

I think we have to be careful with controlling the narrative of each race too much within the scorinator. Producing race positions at 25/50/75% still allows for RP wriggle-room. Doing so for each lap wouldn't.

Ah, I didn't make myself clear. The scorinator would have to produce a list of driver positions every lap, but those positions wouldn't be published on the forum. The scorinator doesn't currently know who is in what position every lap. It would have to know this to be able to figure out which driver is in which position for the post safety car restart. Making the changes makes the scorinator heavier, which makes it harder to use for more people.

I don't think the fanboost thing would be a good idea, but some variation of this one sounds like it could work. Is there a way for the scorinating person to input RP bonuses for each driver however they see fit, and for the values he inputs to be averaged with the previous values out of his sight?

I understood. There's always going to be a way to find what scores other users gave without anyone else knowing you've looked. All it takes is making a copy of the sheet and removing any restrictions on the copy.

[Aboveland]

I don't think the fanboost thing would be a good idea, but some variation of this one sounds like it could work. Is there a way for the scorinating person to input RP bonuses for each driver however they see fit, and for the values he inputs to be averaged with the previous values out of his sight?

I understood. There's always going to be a way to find what scores other users gave without anyone else knowing you've looked. All it takes is making a copy of the sheet and removing any restrictions on the copy.

On the topic of implementing the safety car and the lap-by-lap standings (even though they wouldn't be published) I reckon the scorinator is at the sweet spot in terms of results right now.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Still looking for WGPi entries; even just posting a driver profile would be a help!

[USS Monitor]

Still looking for WGPi entries; even just posting a driver profile would be a help!

I was thinking about posting something for that (with a puppet, obviously, since USS Monitor's crew doesn't know what a car is), but then I got distracted and never got around to it.

[Vangaziland]

NAME: Overglade University Power
NATIONALITY: Vannish
NATION TRIGRAM: VNG
BANNER COLOURS AND FONT: Neon Lime w/ Red Font
R/A/Ting: 3.7/4/4.3
EXPERIENCE:
PREFERRED DRIVERS: Max Westermark, Elise Ekholm
BIO: Overglade University is Vangaziland's most prestigious college. OUP students will work with a professional race engineer to help manage each race. Each student pit crew will also contain one professional captain. The race team is considered both a class project and a school sport. OUP cars are garishly bright in neon lime paint. Two diagonal red stripes cut the car in half, running across the roof and down the sides to form a box. The cars were simple in their design. Professor Rikard Ekgren runs the team. Two students were selected after class members completed a time trial competition using VMR HQ simulators. Besides corporate sponsors, including Vannish Motors, the Vannish government contributed a large amount of funds in the form of a grant.

NAME: Elise Ekholm
NAME TRIGRAM: EKH
GENDER (/SPECIES): Female
NATIONALITY: Vannish
NATION TRIGRAM: VNG
PREFERRED NUMBER: #52
R/A/Ting: 3.8/3.5/4.7
EXPERIENCE POINTS:
PREFERRED TEAM: Overglade University Power
BIO: One of the students selected for OUP was college sophomore Elise Ekholm. She had always been a fast, defensive driver. Elise learned to drive on her father's 1970s V10 muscle car. She had to learn to refine it's tricky power and oversteer. Her reflexes are quite quick, allowing her to outperform the other students with the fastest simulator time. She is bold, but also calculating. This makes her driving style more technical than aggressive. As any good student, she has read about the importance of racing lines. The perfectionist in her keeps her from most aggressive risks.

NAME: Max Westermark
NAME TRIGRAM: WST
GENDER (/SPECIES): Male
NATIONALITY: Vannish
NATION TRIGRAM: VNG
PREFERRED NUMBER: 53
R/A/Ting: 3.8/4.4/3.8
EXPERIENCE POINTS:
PREFERRED TEAM: Overglade University Power
BIO: Max was the runner-up in the simulator time trial. Westermark credited video games with his simulator success. Strategy guides for his favorite games went in depth about racing lines and strategy. Max didn't know it, but he had been studying racing technique since he was very young. Max also has a speedy car from the 1980s that he's tweaked to go faster. He enjoys speeding on Vangaziland's fast highways. He has more confidence behind the wheel than Elise. Max will take risks but can keep steady track's line if he tries. This is Max's senior year. Part of him hopes to get into racing if he can be successful here.

[Aboveland]

I had been looking for a separate thread for a while until I realized I just had to scroll up!

NAME: Janne Laukkanen
NAME TRIGRAM: LAU
GENDER (/SPECIES): Male
NATIONALITY: Abovian
NATION TRIGRAM: ABL
PREFERRED NUMBER: 17 (16 if 17 is taken)
R/A/Ting: 3.4/4/4.6
EXPERIENCE POINTS: 6.3? (self doubt)
PREFERRED TEAM: The Garage Gunners
BIO: Seventeen year old Janne Laukkanen stormed into the world of international motor racing, winning his first competitive outing in almost half a decade, by joining Nexus Racing in their second WGP2 season. A natural born ice racer, Laukkanen slowly migrated to driving in the Abovian Furuhøytie Virtapiiri Young Drivers Academy until a lack of funding, both personal and for the academy, forced him to pull out of the program, shortly before the closure of the racetrack itself. A shock scouting from the megaminds at Tropicorp Racing Ælund and a strong academy record attracted enough funding from sponsors to land the young Abovian a seat at the prolific WGPC squad's second division team, his rookie grand prix season spent under the vigilant mentoring wings of WGPC champions Terho Talvela and Ryker Lane. While Laukkanen proved his speed by winning the first race of the season, an early slump in performance dented his title hopes before they'd even began, and a consistent late season run was not enough to elevate him to contender status. After the season, his learning process continued to flourish back at Lintulahti under the more attentive direction of Talvela, and he heads into the inaugural WGPi season looking to sharpen his knives in preparation for an upcoming WGP2 title bid in its third iteration.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Well, you know what they say about buses! Vangaziland, Aboveland, thank you; I'll get your entries set up now.

USS Monitor, I am honoured! Things have slowed down a bit and we've obviously not started yet, so please feel free to compose an entry if you do still want to enter. Same applies to anyone else, of course!

[Vangaziland]

I meant to sign up earlier, I've just been so busy with the Olympiad and everything else in session.