Minorating.com (drivers thread)

Quite frankly, but that might be part of the issue. One thing I've learned during my studies is that it often depends on the perspective and illustration you're looking at data.
The data you presented there is really a cluttered pack of nonsense, except for – as you wrote – the W graders.

I don't know what data you do have available, so I don't know what ways to analyse that data would be possible, but I'm quite certain that there are ways to improve the definition of B and C.

You're right, from the graph you plotted, you can't judge how to set the grades because everything is pretty much fluent.
However, at the end of the day, you will have to make a decision, otherwise there would be no grades. So how did you do that? Just put it somewhere and everything will be alright?
I doubt that.

You are absolutely right that it's pretty much impossible to define the grades such that really only B graders end up where B graders should be. There will always be a few people that are in there that either should be A or C.
However, right now it sometimes feels like about 1/3 of B grade is who should be in C grade. Sure, that's only my personal perception and of course I could be wrong, so I'd definitely prefer a data-based approach.
So what are (or should be?) the relevant parameters that determine if a driver has grade A/B/C/D? CP/km, how important is attack range?

I suppose that CP/km overall looks a bit like a Gaussian or Lorentz distribution, then it would be definitely hard to divide it based on that.
How about average velocity of impact (which is sort of the same as average CP per contact?)?

Overall, AB isn't perfect, but in my opinion could be improved a bit. What does bother me however is that ABC and ABCN is really really useless these days.
As a newcomer found out.
Not that you should expect the best of racing in ABC, but at least you should be able to join a server without having to fear for your (virtual) life.

 

How about my first question, is it a risk that a A-grade get downgraded if the driver is to far away of cars to long? i.e to slow/fast compared to the rest of the server or just driving around alone on a mr server.

 

I tried another race on a different server just for kicks and grins. There were guys cutting doughnuts in the pit lane taking out everybody. At least 7 guys jumped the start from the rear and took out half the field (including me, sitting in 7th) right at the start.

Still finished 9th out of 22 cars.

It's just a complete and total farce. If you're not going to moderate a server, you shouldn't run a server. There should be a reporting system. You send in a video clip of the person causing the trouble and he's banned. Done.

Accidents happen, but in two races what I'm seeing aren't accidents at all. It's just blatant and wanton demolition derby for the LOL's.

I'm now a grade C. In just 83 KM, I have a CP of 5.3.

And I haven't hit a single person. I've simply been pummeled by idiots.

 

lol, on what kind of servers are you driving. My word …

Anyway, upped to 1000km, that would mean around 60CP, which isn't good, but should get you close to B grade.
And B grade is where things start to get interesting.

 

The only ones I can.

That's my entire point. How on earth can you ever succeed as a new player when all you're allowed to play is garbage?

 

As I wrote above, I agree with you. "ABC" should be a somewhat sensible selection of drivers.
Not that you could have hours of fun joining such a server, but also not fearing to get hit every few meters.
Unfortunately it's not like that and you can't recommend ABC servers to anyone.

Once you are a bit more experienced in AC, you can get along even with ABC, because you're training your evasive skills.
But that shouldn't really be the goal of the whole thing …

 

Wouldn't that be a different rating though, based purely on speed? Where servers would then be based on a minimum lap achievable lap time. Which from how I see it is not necessarily what MR is trying to do. I'm not that fast at all (hopefully that will change in time) but I damn well try and race clean and fair.

 

That's why they make Need for Speed. People need to start getting hit with the ban hammer. It's simply deplorable how bad it is. These people aren't bad drivers. They're intentional wreckers out to have fun pissing people off and ruining their ratings.

 

I'd really suggest to ask around if somebody worth trusting is willing to go on an empty MR server that you can access and do some laps of racing.

 

it's a good attitude towards servers IMO. admin can't be everywhere at once but if a server is poorly setup and with no admin take your business elsewhere. if decent players stick away from those servers the admin would have to change their ways if they want good racers.

 

While powering the 911 GT3 R around Nords, I had a little thinking about the grades.

I think especially C grade is too broad. I don't think there have been any noticeable number of ABN servers during the last half year, so newcomers will have to choose ABCN and will experience the same trouble as Parminto above.
We should find a way around that or online driving for will be a big nogo for many newcomers.

 

I guess I am a relative newcomer to online racing having three months or so under my belt and about 4000km and MR A most of the time. To get a good experience on the public servers, I tend to join one and then make sure I start from back in the pack and try to miss the T1 gong show, dodge the ricochet's from T2, and duck the cruise missiles from the 'fast' racers who want to get back to P1 before the lap is half over....sometimes on cold tires! Then work your way up and observe who is driving decently and who are the *** hats. I turn names on and have helicorsa running and I take names down. Once the race is done, I seldom stay, but will come back a bit later and see who is still on there...often there are really good racers who want to do Spa or Monza or RBR in a GT2...once you know who the good guys are, you can join the server when mostly those guys are on, often later in the day. Ya, hassle. But it works and you get to know people who are the clean racers which makes it easier to pick and choose the races when you can just race for the win. I even had a couple races on Streetfight....late at night....lol. Cheers, guys....these thread are valuable to the newbies like me....learn a lot from you.

 

there's a friday 8:30pm eastern time fun run of some US guys... very friendly and very good drivers.. it may appeal to you to race there.
"Friday Fun" search that on the time and day i mentioned, its ran by someone named "something" WIZ "something"
@Mathieu Labbé
help me here LOL
my brain fails to remember names.

 

HAha

Haha I dont think I can do better though! The name of the server definitely had friday fun in it and they said they were running different combos every week. Very good people there for sure.

There were @fatkrakr , theaussiestig (something like that) but I cant remember the others... Damn, and they say two brains are better than one

 

I know how you feel. In the north america evening hours, MR servers are hard to find and they often are a wreck fest. If you want to get up the ladder quickly, I suggest run some laps at one of the nordschleife server to get some clean km. Then if you can tag along someone that you can follow at a reasonable distance without pushing too much, that will help a lot. I'm sure someone already informed you of that fact but just in case, MR will take into account the % of session you spent close to another car. The more you drive clean in close range the most likely you are to get to AB.

 

Which seems to lead to some people trying to be in the other car.

 

I might review my grading of MR then... I have a few ABCN, but it seems that people probably have the worst experiences in them...

 

@grading discussion:

There are 8% A and 20% B drivers.
C+D+W= 28.450 drivers excluded from good racing on AB servers.
A+B= 19.711 drivers capable to fulfill current requirements.
How often do you manage to gather at least 20 of 20.000 in one server?
Do you really think your experience will get better?
I bet you are already making compromises when joining a server, like
" i hate that car but it's the only clean server that is populated"
Clean PUBLiC racing has its limits and many A graders choose league racing.

Let's work on establishing/advertising more MR-AB servers to motivate some N or C graders to take the clean route, maybe then we will be able to rearrange the grade distribution a tiny bit.

Choose/join: Server names that stick in your head + correct grade tag (like street fight does)
Guest/host: Waiting in empty servers and entertaining the first guest until more drivers join (lsfd)
Give/gain: several trusted drivers with calm temper as admins (lsfd)
Join/config: Choose content, server sessions, conditions wisely (lsfd)

@Parminio Hi and welcome to AC.

I read in your threads, that you already developed your race craft years ago.
My most valuable advices:
Stay away from low grade GT3 servers.
Choose servers with 1 or 2 guys online over full ones.
Follow the guy that has done the most valid laps.
Check Helicorsa-APP to see what grade he is and observe his driving to see if you can go from combat distance to attack distance.
He will be happy he found someone that did not dive bomb him and you both will have fun while leaving "C"-Grade behind.
Until your first bad session(s) get erased contacts are weighting more (km/contact, 1000km regarded)

 

@Parminio, I can assure you nothing really changes even in AB servers, it only gets less frequent. I have seen it all (in MR - AB servers), from overly aggressive, totally blind, vengeance wreckers, outright wreckers, weavers, Gandolf the Greys - YOU SHALL NOT PASS! - to so short sighted it worries me if they even bothered to turn the monitor on. Racing games seem to bring out some sort of absolute lunacy in a few. I race mainly on Street racer MR - AB servers, it is not because of a lack of admin that these less than honourable drivers do what they do, as the admin are there, but they are mainly there to race not to be oversight stewards. It is a show of immaturity on the drivers side (I will not call them racers as they would never be given a chance to race in real life if they caused that much damage to a real car every race), it seems impossible for some to have a care about anything but a win, even if they are coming from last place. They are not there for a race, they are there for a WIN! Nothing else will do.

All I can say is ask for someone to to join you on a quiet MR server (like previously said) and race around with you till you get an MR B rating. If that is not possible join a server and DO NOT QUALIFY AND STAY AT THE BACK. Only overtake those that have crashed out and race with the idea you will be last but keep within 10m of the car ahead. Once you are MR B rated racer do not join ABC servers, join none MR servers but avoid ABC and never join ABCDN, totally avoid anything with a W in it.

You seem like a very responsible racer (Not driver) so stick with it, you will never avoid the lunatics, but they do get less frequent once you join AB rated servers. Think of this as your initiation into a great racing future.

Good luck and don't give up hope.


P.S. Once you come across a good group of racers, that meet up every night, you will find some outstandingly fair and honest people to race with. They will help you in every way they can, and you can race side to side around an entire track without contact. It honestly is one of the best experiences you can have racing knowing you can trust the racer next to you not to take you out. There are still accidents, but they are accidents.

 

Yeah, but the percentage there doesn't really make that much sense, since the majority obviously didn't even drive enough to get an actual rating.
Which btw could also mean that 32% of the drivers are driven away by the server configs we offer (meaning both car/track selection as well as driver behaviour and rating).
(or they just accidently hit the online button, I don't know)

Apparently every day. I've been on so many servers with a full grid or at least close-to-full grid despite mostly racing on AB servers.

Maybe, maybe not. Hard to tell upfront. However, my main concern was rather that ABC is now quite useless.
Achieving C grade is the lowest grade you can get while driving alone. So that grade should at least allow for relatively decent racing.

No, not really. I pick a combo I like and drive that.