UPDATE: 9/26/2005 - The forumula for the Starter level ratings, and the Profile Page display contained inaccuracies which have been corrected.

We’re introducing revised Rankings and Ratings, as well as a new Scoring system, to be a better representation of Racing prowess and to make it more fun to be a racing superstar.  Scoring tallies a Racer’s best efforts every day, and publicizes the highest achievers.  And we’ve revised the Rankings system, to make it more fun for starting players and more challenging in the long term for experienced ones.  We’re starting with Buggy Races, but this is just the first phase, and we hope coming phases will expand to other sports too.

We hope to have these changes in the next release, scheduled for the latter part of this month.

SCORING, AND HOW SCORES ARE DETERMINED

We are introducing scores, which will be a daily calculation of a player’s five best races, regardless of their ranking.  We will be displaying the following best scores on the racer's profile page:

Today's total score

Highest Daily Score in this month

SUMMARY

For determining scores, we’ve put together a detailed formula, based on a points pool for every race that is determined by characteristics of that race:  the number of players, their rankings, and other factors.  More points will be awarded for higher placement (of course), and the points pool will be determined by:

- The rankings of the participants (ie,. higher ranked participants will create a bigger point pool).

- The number of participants (the more the merrier- bigger races will mean more points also).

- The number of laps (longer races are more challenging).

- The distance of the race (greater race distances will have more points also- but it’s the competition that can really drive up the winner’s points).

THE DETAILS OF POINTS AWARDS 

The points added to a player’s ranking will be based on a formula that applies to each competition, based on the particulars for that competition- primarily the ranking of the lowest participant, and the number of participants. 

First, all of the ranking scores for all of the participants are placed into a “points pool” – this will be the basis for determining how many points will be rewarded to the finishers in the race.  Ie,. a race between 2 people with 1500 ranking each would have a starting pool of 3000 points (1500 + 1500).

This will encourage larger races, to create bigger starting points pools.  The points pool is modified in the following fashion:

Multiplied by 10 – this creates a healthy number for awards to the winners.

Add the Ranking Bonus – The ranking bonus is based on the lowest ranked participant – and the higher his ranking, the greater the bonus.  (The exact formula is to divide the lowest ranking by 2000, and create a percentage, which will be higher if the rank is higher.  This percentage is applied to the points pool, to get the ranking bonus.  The ranking bonus is added to the points pool. This bonus has a maximum of 100% of the original points pool.)

Add the Player Bonus – The player bonus is created by multiplying the number of players, as a percentage, to the original points pool (before the Ranking Bonus has been added).  So, with 8 players the Player Bonus is 80% of the original points pool.  This is also added to the points pool. (This bonus has a maximum of 80% of the original points pool.)

Add the lap bonus – The Lap bonus is also created from the original points pool, with 1% of that number added as a bonus for each lap (max 3%).

Add the distance bonus – The Distance bonus is also created from the original points pool, with 1% of that number added as a bonus for each 100 m/lap (max 5%).

And the sum of these numbers is the total points pool, which is divided among the participants (weighted to the winners, of course). 

Example:

Players with rankings of 1592, 1779, 1911, 1729, 1448, 1712, 1483, and 1450 get together for a race.  However, everyone is having such a good time joking around, that the first three Thereians decided to do a quick race without them.  So, for the three of them, their Points Pool starts at 52,820, and totals 129,564 after all modifications. 

(1592 + 1779 + 1911 =) 5,282 * 10 = 52,820  is the starting points pool

The Ranking Bonus is based on the ranking of the lowest participant, in this case 1592

(1592 / 2000 =  .796 * 52,820 = 42045)

Then add the Player Bonus (3 racers = 30% of the points pool or .30 * 94,865 = 28,460)

It’s a 3 lap race, so the Lap bonus is 3% of the starting points pool, or  .03 * 123,324 = 3700

And the Distance Bonus is .02 in this example, so that gives us: 

.02 * 127,024 = 2,540

Adding all this together gives the total points value for the race:  129,564.

The three race, and the player with a ranking of 1592 comes in first, wins the highest percentage of points, and walks away with a score of 47,720.9 (the second placed player – ranking 1779 – gets a score of 43,188.1 for the race, and the third finisher gets 38,653.4).

The rest of the players are ready to race now.  They do so, and because the field is much larger, the points pool starts at 131,040, and reaches 427,219 after all the calculations.  The winner takes 66,859.8, with the eighth place finisher getting a score of 39,945.0.  The player who came in sixth in this race gets a score of 47,635 – almost as many as the winner of the three person race.  To get the higher scores, you really need to have as many in the race as possible.

We hope this will create a more challenging and fun experience for all levels of racing skill!

RANKINGS AND RATINGS CHANGES

Starting Level, 1200-1400

We’re changing the system for people just starting out.  The new system will reward all participants in a race – though race winners will get more points.  The new system will add points to your rating for every race, based on the formula:

Ratings increase = (9 + (number of racers)) – finish place

So, if you finish first place in a race with eight people, you’ll get 16 pts ((9+8) -1) but if you finish 8^th, only 9 ((9+8)-8).  These points are added to your overall rating.  Note:  a player who races a lot will be able to achieve a respectable rating, which reflects their dedication and experience.

However, above a ranking of 1400, a different points plan takes over, which will reflect the needs of the experienced racers for a consistently meaningful competitive system. 

Intermediate Level, 1400-1500

From 1400-1500, the system will work as it does now- with winners gaining points and those who don’t finish as well losing them.

Advanced Level, 1500+

Above 1500, the system will work as it does now, with points being distributed to the winners that come from the losers’ accounts.  However, we will also be doing a nightly decrement of scores, to keep the challenge fresh for those with high rankings.  Above 1500, the ranking will be adjusted by 1500-yourscore/30 – so someone with a ranking of 1530 will have their score adjusted by (1500-1530 = -30)/30 or –1.  Thus, a player who is inactive for an extended period will find his score dropped back to 1500 (but not lower).

Special thanks to the MAB and the Racing community for your feedback on these changes.  We have put a lot of thought into the design (with your help) and hope this can make a better experience for everyone!

And there's a lot of information to digest here- we will be posting a spreadsheet document with more detail shortly.  And if you have questions, please bring them up in the forum, and we will answer them as quickly as possible.