One of the factors that has turned me away from iGP numerous times is that a lot of my results were very much out of my control until I eventually reach the maximum level to compete in Elite.
I've been very unfortunate with these level gaps, for example :
- I reached elite at Level 11
- When I reached Level 17 (or thereabouts), the maximum level cap had gone up to Level 30, putting me 3 levels behind everyone untill we all got to the maximum again.
I think that ultimately the main factor that keeps me from playing iGP is that the close strategical battles you would see at the front of most elite tier races isn't possible without spending alot of time in the back/midfield and getting XP for finishing races. Thats where my suggestion comes in.
What if league owners had an option to make every team in the league equal? While teams would still be able to upgrade facilities and all as normal, they would get the perks of having all facilities at level 30 (bar training & driver/staff recruiting). Users could enjoy close competition at the highest levels from the get go, allowing them to understand how strategies work better from battling other users and enjoy the process a bit more.
My confidence in the idea working comes purely from my own ventures in this game with my friends. In around 2020 we got 10 of us together and all made our accounts at the same time (each of us named after a team each). That 1st season where we were all near enough equal was the most fun season I have ever been apart of in iGP. It allowed us to focus more on creating storylines and drama than worrying about a pecking order.
One barrier/problem I can imagine is the drivers being unequal would probably be enough to keep solid gaps between teams anyways. I'm not too sure on how this could be fixed though. Something like teams can sign drivers that only exist in equal car leagues that are set to 30 all stats if the drivers would also have to be equal.
I'm not too sure on the effects equal car leagues would have to the game as a whole so if there's any barriers preventing that from happening I'd love to know, but from my perspective I think introducing equal car leagues as an option would be great for user retention and attracting more friend groups to trying a season or 2 for fun.