Where are we these days?

We all want a change ,but maybe the change shouldn't come from that zone,because Jose is right,even If we want a lot of things,some can make the igp to not make a profit anymore,and If we think we all want profit for igp,because If there are more money,they can make the game better in other zones and make more players to play,without leaving the game,and we know that they invest the money in the game,and not do like big companies which doing everything for the money and not even interact with the players
I think we should be more happy and not complain that much,it could Have been a lot  worse than this
The Devs,the community managers,the moderatori,CEO,are doing their Best on making the game better,but they need the money too,and we Have to understand this

very true, but all the suggestions are to try and make the game more successful and therefore more profitable.  To say that motivating players doesn’t pay the bills is not only wrong its also a little disingenuous to the player base.  No motivation = less players = less profits = no game

No one posting wants the game to fail.

obviously a miscommunication here since most of the posts relate to ideas for level & league structure and nothing about freebies

Everything is a matter of management.

You are only competitive if you have a plan of how your development will be in the league. You don't need to invest heavily, spend another 200 toknes at once to win.

In my humble opinion. Many managers are inactive or left because of this. The game has become more complex and many cannot evolve and be competitive.

My tip is: be patient. try not to spend for nothing. try to evolve your thirst. "designer and technologist" first. and if your parts are few, then evolve parts and so on.

So true. No players, no profit.

I’m really sad to see my beloved game in this state, and it’s absurd given the popularity of F1 at the same time. I feel the need to add my voice here.

I believe I was one of the most enthusiastic players of this beautiful game since 2018, having 17 accounts. All but one inactive now. Back then the racing was fine: in 2D (still the real deal for hardcore players) and that was perfect as it was, no fancy tech.  Because, hear me out, what has always been the strength of this game was not the depth of the engineering, as has been said already. The real strength that made people come back was the interactive leagues, the social aspects on the boards and banter that made this game great and stand out. Great battles live against other players.  This is a big lesson we have to take: forget about wheel to wheel racing and visuals (for now), that’s not the addiction. It's not about the tech: it’s about the players.  And they’re gone: the fun has gone.  Leagues are dead and muted. The cause: the 30 levels. And sucking the fun out with sky high token prices for anything competitive or other, a team name change, a colour change, special abilities. HQ upgrades taking weeks or pay hundredths of tokens… and meanwhile running at the back without prospect.

It's a broken record, I know but it takes way too long for new players to be competitive, and even existing players can’t afford to take a break or they’re running behind, resulting in burn out and tiredness from the game. Half empty leagues, no banter, no competitiveness, more people leaving.  Honestly I don’t know if it’s too late to stop this snowball effect. I do know we need some pretty inspired decisions and clear priorities right now. With all respect for the hard work on 3D and wheel to wheel racing, that’s not the solution if there are no players left.  We need less expense and endless patience to be able to compete, of course it’s boring running at the back, what sane person would tolerate this for years even months without any progress or reward. Seriously, I have been saying exactly this for years now. I’m just trying to help, I care. 

I’m not sure myself how to fix this situation. I would say: an easy and elegant fix could be to greatly augment the research % for lower levels: make the gaps in % substantially bigger. This even involves some cleverness of the manager, an art we have lost having less % and completely relying on design points for us experienced managers.  And why not make bigger leaps in XP every race.  Another change I would suggest: no more cooling and reliability stats: they’re useless. Instead: make a slider-button that the manager can adjust to prioritise performance over reliability and back. And this time: make it count. If you push the performance too far, you might retire. (that’s realistic, right?) I feel this would be an extra strategic element and make the  races less predictable. AND: gives more chances for lower levels to get points if there are DNF’s in front. I think we need more DNF’s and more drama, really.  And this way, the manager can choose the risk himself so no complaints.  Just some ideas. 

In short:
1)     something drastic needs to be done to make lower levels continue playing.  
2)     Token prices are ridiculous and should not give a competitive edge

Thanks for being this open to our feedback and ideas.

I have another more extreme idea to close the gaps, and I’m not sure how I feel about this myself but just throwing it out there. Planting a seed.

Let’s say a managers performance level and headquarters are no longer linear, it can go backwards. For example a monthly or quarterly ‘reset’.  Just like the game did some years ago with the reputation: it used to build and build. Now it resets every month. Not a complete reset, but a gradual one: everything above and below 5000 is halved every month to reduce the gaps.
Maybe it’s possible to do something similar with the performance level of an entire team? I’m not saying the talent of the drivers and staff need resetting.  Although they could require constant training to counteract regression, headquarters could require maintenance or regress. Maybe monthly is too much or you’ll never reach peak performance, but every 4 months or so. Like I said, not a complete reset, you keep a lead but it’s halved like the reputation system?  

Imagine the potential token income for the iGP staff. No complacency after reaching level 30 without having to create even more levels. 
Cheers, Elias

Edit: even this idea is pretty realistic, look at the regression at Red Bull

Or instead of a periodic reset: we could link the performance level of a team and headquarter directly to the reputation score which is reset monthly anyway.  The team performance could be increased or decreased because of the reputation score: make the reputation score an integral part of the performance formula.  In this way, reputation is not just a stat but an essential key for your performance.  And it can go up or down.  Or in other words:  team level and performance does not come from experience and patience alone, but is just as much boosted by your results on track.  So a good performing new team can reach a higher performance level than a bad performing experienced team.  And, as is the case now, reputation is built quicker if the gap is bigger to the high level teams and slower if you’re one of the high level teams, depending on who you're racing against.

Logically, the game can be revived. It is enough to introduce a handicap system. 

First of all, it is necessary to introduce a new rule: no more than three top (30) level teams in each league. That is, all other participants have motivation to at least come to the race. And not play offline. Because there is a chance to regularly earn points, and accordingly, faster team growth. In case of violation of the rule, if the number of top teams is more than three, all tops receive a handicap. Everyone will stay with their own. Three top teams will fight for the title as usual. But the rest will be able to develop their teams. Even newbie underdogs will have a chances; 

The second rule: no more than one top driver (from level 25 to 30) per team. The second driver must be up to level 25, but not higher. In case of violation, the team receives a handicap. In the form of ballast, making their cars slower;

I will not say that this new rules will attract millions of newcomers. But at least the current players will remain. Strong top managers, as well as mid-level managers and beginners.

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Elias had a great idea about the ups and downs of the team. Given how much AI is used in games, the creators could give the drivers and engineers some semblance of intelligence that influences the history of the team. This would make the game more realistic and even add intrigues inside the team. 

For example, after winning the title, the reigning champion loses motivation, starts showing terrible results. Or demands a salary increase from the management. 

The same can happen with the chief designer. He built a championship car and demands a high salary. And if the manager does not react, the engineers begin to work worse. The team gradually lags behind. 

AI can simulate even a conflict between the drivers. The second driver can demand more attention, a higher salary. Or stop obeying the orders of the management at all during the race (like Didier Pironi, R.I.P.). 

Finally, any of the drivers can suddenly lose motivation. I often encountered this with the example of one hockey manager. When I had to hire an expensive psychologist in the middle of the season. Who brought the star striker of my hockey team back to normal. 

If the creators do everything right, the game will become much more interesting and unpredictable.

Well if this was implemented within a few weeks all the level 30 managers that are still in the game will have gone 🤣

I really like your ideas. I think they deserve a forum post of their own. Put them in the suggestions forum page, I really think this could work!

This game is only for level 30? Games are usually designed to be interesting and exciting for managers of other levels. No wonder this game is in comatose. At best.

No it's not just for level 30’s but you are expecting lvl 30’s to sacrifice everything they worked hard for to the benefit of newer players. Many level 30’s have played together for a long time and under your proposal they eon’t be possible and for those who level up and reach 30 what happens then?  Who decides who gets removed and forced to find another league?  They will just quit and they are the players who have funded the game.  Sorry the proposals are impractical and would be damaging to the health of the game which already in a poor state.  The AI stuff I suppose is just down to personal taste.  Not something that interests me but others will like it 

That is, you have zero knowledge about the actual F1 and its realities.

You have not heard anything about Williams. Which is a laughing stock in the 28 years since its last title. About Ferrari, which has not even able to win the Constructors' Cup since 2007. Not to mention Haas, Sauber, Alpine, Racing Bulls. Some teams change owners, names, sponsors, liveries. And all these (real) teams are not going to leave F1.

But you are seriously saying that level 30 managers will leave the virtual iGP because of a couple of new rules. Really?

It seems that I know Japanese better than you know anything about F1. If such experts create this game, then it is clear why it is in such a state.

It's a pity, it could have been a great game. The best ever in its class.

lol are you serious?  This is a game not real life and NOT REAL F1.  You seriously think comparing Williams and Ferrari to managers in a game are comparable?  Williams & Ferrari are professional racing teams who do what they do as a full time job.  Its how they earn their living.  


iGP Manager is entertainment pure and simple and everyone but you understands its not rl.  its not even based on f1 and is a formula racing game.

As for level 30’s yes if artificial restrictions like how many can be in a league or what drivers they can use were imposed then yes most would quit.  Many leagues would have to close because the majority of their managers are lvl 30. Those managers would not be interested in racing elsewhere.  Go tell the racers in Project Leyandas that the best of the best can no longer race each other.

Without needing to start bickering, I get that, we are all passionate but different individuals but we should try to agree on a few things that 1) solve the problem of the current never ending disadvantage for newer managers compared to the high level teams and, 2) things that feel logical and realistic, justified, even motivates to maintain even at level 30.  
 
I think there's a solution that fits both demands. We have lots of historic examples of real life F1 teams at the peak of their game: McLaren 1988, Williams 1992, Ferrari 2002, Mercedes 2014, Red Bull 2023...  What happened next?  Let's say they all had a struggle to stay there. They didn't disappear, they fell back suddenly or gradually. Lost motivation or attention, lost staff, lost sponsors and ultimately lost performance and needed to keep training employees en maintaining headquarters.  So yes: it is very realistic that a level 30 team can drop levels after having reached 'the peak'. That's the attractive part, is it not? It's not a given right, it's an accomplishment you need to earn and keep striving for. A level 30 team has their act together, it's winning, it's doing everyting right.  I would say it is not realistic that a level 30 team has reached their peak and then can afford to be complacent and slow down and still stay there for years and years, no way.  And a new team that does everything right gets results that are 'above their ceiling'.  Sure they can build a great car with some inspired young talent and a sponsorship coup. A young prodigy teamboss could achieve this. Wolf 1977, Jordan 1991, Haas 2016, it can be done and it is something to strive for as a new teamboss, right? I'm not talking about wins on a level playing field, let's be realistic, having a lot of experience and big factory is still an advantage,  but it’s not everything.  And yes, hungry and impatient managers will be able to do a Lawrence Stroll and buy impressive HQ and staff if they spend the money to build it quicker, that’s realistic as well and iGP will be happy with that. But if they don’t meet the high sponsors expectations, they will fall back gradually, no doubt about that.  And that just feels right and justified, you need to earn the level 30 badge on the track and be proud about it.  So this is what we need and I'm sure most of us will be quite happy with that.
 
So how could it work: see my posts above.
We have a reputation score already, it works fine but it's currently just a stat, it does nothing. It resets (by half) every month: that’s fine, it reduces the gaps by half.  And we currently have 1 performance indicator (our ‘team level’) that defines our potential performance on track and is purely based on experience alone.  What if we make 2 (or more?) key performance indicators.  One being the “Experience, XP” of a team (so experienced managers will still be rewarded in some ways), and the other is the “Reputation score”:  our 2 key elements of the performance formula ; this combined will define the effective striking power on the track.  Good performances won’t go unnoticed and will be rewarded, bad performances will have consequences and managers can’t rest on their laurels without dropping levels.   This way we’ll accomplish 1) potential smaller gaps between new and experienced teams, if deserving, and 2) make it more realistic and 3) make it more rewarding and motivating for new teams and experienced teams, and 4) more potential token income for iGP, because now after having reached level 30 why bother

Cheers, Elias

I do understand where you are coming from, but remember this is entertainment not a simulation.

yes

I guess you mean it sounds complicated? I'm sure it will be, for the developers, not for the players. We just race, and we'll be rewarded or penalised with performance instead of just stats.