Design System - Your Ideas

Indeed that is a thing for exploitation, but making the higher levels only able to help the lower levels and have a limitation and a minimal cost of selling equipment.
The two teams must be in the same League and the same tier.
IN return the High level team gets Reputation and Money.

I don't know if everybody just ignored my idea or didn't understand it or thought it was crap. Nevertheless I want to post it once again and hope for some reaction now, positive or negative.

What if we get away from that current 100% limitation that everyone can easily accomplish by spying or designing. There should only be one 100% component "worldwide" (or in that league for practical reasons).
Let me try to explain it: the team that puts most of its effort (designers and time) and money into one component should be the benchmark. Every other component of every other team is compared to that benchmark and therefore is "weaker". But it could of course also become the new benchmark if you keep developing. I'm not sure yet as of how to make that work when you join or leave a league, but maybe someone else has an idea for that problem. Maybe limiting it to a two year design span per component (could be due to rule changes every 2 years...), current season and next season before you start at 0% with a new part.

That idea also works would work with most of the former suggestions. Feel free to destroy my idea or ask for further details.


- As for the idea of buying and selling technology: rather than having teams selling and buying components (gearbox, engine, ...)  from or to other teams, it should be more like an indepent iGP company (or more than one) that could provide certain parts like shocks and springs, seats, radio systems, eg.... Every company with certain strong and weak points for a given component and lets say various levels on a part (like cheaper or high-end shocks), of course with changes throughout the seasons.

I think this is getting way to complicated. Design should be keep in its current way but cut down into more parts and more pathways. So chassis you get different pathways, you can have High Grip so gets warmth in the tyres or med grip, low grip and so on that but high grip get more downforce med is medium downforce, low is low downforce but doesnt use the tyres as much so there is a bit of a trade of. I think that F1 is all about 2 things weight and downforce so I think design pathways should be evolved around this.

I think it's good to have a complex system. Obviously one that is not so hard to grasp for new players, but one that allows variation, and eliminates, or at least diminishes the system we have now, that means you can either be very competitive every other season, or above average every season.

Having just read over the posts again, I think a lot of people (at least those here) favour components having different parts to them.

E.g. Front wing - Downforce, drag, reliability.

So, maybe each component should should have parts that you can focus on, like downforce, drag, reliability, weight and perhaps cooling on parts like sidepods. It would definitely make it more difficult to design a car that would be very good overall. The drag and downforce would obviously be based on a ratio, because though you can made advancements in both, you can't have the best of both worlds. Reliability would also be a major factor towards whether people can finish races. We've seen in the past that even teams that can build very fast cars, they aren't always the most reliable. The McLaren in 2005 comes to mind, as do the Red Bull's in '09 and '10. So, in short, you'd have to design these components, and then decide what your designers should focus on most.

Plus, from this system, I reckon you could revert back to David's idea of designing certain parts for certain tracks. It would be tricky for seasons that have races every day, but everyone would be in the same boat, and it would mean that a manager would have to decide what they want to do in terms of their design path for the season.

Do they want to focus on downforce and reliability the whole season, or do they decide to design some parts that would benefit at other tracks?

This is pretty much re-iterating David's idea in a slightly different way, but I think if all the kinks are worked out, then it could work well, especially since it would fit quite nicely with your idea, Jack.

Complicated discussion, Stefan and others mention it, but the whole 100% being thrown out is actually quite a good idea, something "needs" to carry over to next season, to give some kind of long term development

Engines were mentioned in other threads[given x amount of points to distribute, then every season + x amount of cash allowing 1 extra point somewhere, or reduced weight], but taking a lot of the other components into consideration as well e.g. rear wing from earlier, even if only available on a 1-20 scale at the end of each season allow a redistribution of the points or an extra point/reduction in weight[for x amount of cash]. so every season you could make slight adjustments to components [alongside them still being on a level/% basis]

That's an interesting idea. What would be the determining factor of how many points you can distribute in a season, and would you distribute some pre-season, and then be given more allocation every so often during the season?

The money idea isn't a bad idea either, as long as it didn't cause a Ferrari/McLaren type situation, where teams can just buy their way into race-winning cars.

@Jamie if you still have a basic 1-100% or lv1-20 per part and then a breakdown within that [so you can develop parts to be lighter/last longer/give more straight line speed/better cornering etc] 

Based on working on working on next seasons car[as this seasons i totally different i suppose & also avoiding engines as there a supplier]

Still have the level of the part based on designers used [with some sort of cap based on the level of your tier/chief designer/budget] if there was e.g. 3 or 4 different choices to begin with say [top speed, cornering, average, low-light weight]

A - Top Speed +2, Cornering 0, Weight 0, Compatability 1 (how well it works with other parts of the car) Wear 0, etc [and whatever other attributes would apply]
B - Top Speed 0, Cornering +2, Weight 0
C- Top Speed +1, Cornering +1, Weight 0
D- Top Speed 0, Cornering 0, Weight -2

Each complete season allows u to increase 1 of the above attributes by 1 point, which does not affect the overall level of the part, but instead the actual performance "attributes"

Meaning that the person who has the highest level parts will not dominate every race [as present] and even if e.g. every1 had the same level 15parts the performance difference could/would be massive as the above would technically be multiplied by the 7 existing parts [or have this as a subsection for each of the 7 existing parts]

I had to read that post a few times, but I don't think I understand lol. I get the whole being able to choose the different parts to develop etc.

However, I think the parts that contradict are being able to develop parts, and the fact that you can increase the attributes of the parts after one whole season?

Say Front Wing [this is between level 1-20] as an overall level[which is developed and changes every season similar to the way development works just now] and allowing the substats to be increased once per season [during off-season]

1st Season - Front Wing [LV10] - with substats say between 1-10 Speed 2, Cornering 0, Weight 0, Wear 0
2nd Season - Speed 2, Cornering 1, Weight 0, Wear 0
3rd Season - Speed 3, Cornering 1, Weight 0, Wear 0 etc etc
allowing you something to continually develop [the same way you improve design/technical staff at the moment] but once per season rather than every race

Make more sense now? the same way that a level 10 designers ability will differ based on the "staff skill" 1-20 but bringing this to parts of the car as well

I think so lol. If I assume I have it right, then how would in-season development differ from how it is now in this system? I apologise the information is hidden in plain sight ;) 

^ In season, or next season working as however every1 see's fit lol, just as something to "compliment" however is decided the actual 1-100% or lv1-20 will work to bring some variety into the mix

The New Design System for Sir Jack!

Note that: All values are ceptable to change due to the developer's discretion if used. This is just a general idea the system works.

The Speadsheet here details on the Components, it's attributes and what R&D you can do to each component.

Research and Development
[list]
[*]Each component requires 5 Designers to Develop.
[*]Each component can only have one active R&D at any time.
[*]Research Time on values such as Drag, Weight, stability etc increases as the Development continues, at the same time the improvements get smaller as you continue to develop on that part of the component. Researching things like DRS, KERS and ABS have a fixed time frame.
[*]Designers Skill increase the quality of result you get back per research.
[*]Chief Designer Overal reduces R&D Time.
[*]Wind Tunnel reduces research time on Drag Research and Stability on Body Parts.
[*]Test Rig reduces research time on Brakes and Suspension
[*]Research Center is required for researching KERS, DRS, Traction Control, ABS and Power Steering.
[*]Any Model can be researched at any time.
[*]Weight Reduction has a minimum cap.
[*]% reductions or increases are not additive, if you already had 20Drag and you get a 10% decrease, that would bring it down to 18%, if you got another 10% decrease, that would bring it down to 16.2% etc
[*]All upgrades from R&D on each component is permanent and carries on to the next season or league.
[/list]
League Limitations
[list]
[*]Pre-season you must designate your season's Model A to F on each component for use that entire season. This cannot be changed.
[*]The league can limitation on what models you can use on your car.
[*]During League Intervals, a Certain Model can be ruled illegal for that Season if a high number of wins is completed on that model.

[/list]

Spying
[list]
[*]Spying on a component increases the result of your current developments.
[*]The Equation would work like this:
BonusResult=((targetTeamLevel*SpyingTeam'sLevel)/100)+1.

So if a level 4 team got a front wing upgrade while spying a level 10 team, and they got a 10% reduction to drag, then that Drag reduction will be increased to 14%

Hope you like it :D

Just to specify what Model A to F actually means.

Imagin, Front Wing A, high aerodynamics and low downforce, so it would look like this.
And Front Wing F, with lower Aerodynamics and High Downforce, like this.

Hope this helps you Jack.

That's an extremely detailed and impressive system, David. One of the things that doesn't fit though is the whole 'aerodynamics' thing. Your use of it suggests that aerodynamics is all about drag, when aerodynamics is actually more of a downforce to drag ratio. Obviously things can be done to result in less drag without losing too much downforce and vice versa.

Apart from that, I quite like it.

Some questions though:

1. Can you develop any of the A-F parts during a season, and select whichever one you want at any given time?
2. How would this work in terms of this season and next season, so that one team doesn't constantly dominate?
3. Why should any part be deemed illegal, just because a team is winning with it? O_O
4. In what Universe is a level 4 team in the same league as a level 10? :P

1> Currently in F1 you can change your car design every 4 races (note ferrari this year), but we don't have testing weekends in our league system so disallowing someone to change to a completely different model forcing them to use that type for the whole season, making them good at some tracks and bad at some is probably ideal.
2> All this season carries on toward next season, you can change what type of front wing you want to use for next season etc, and you can work on those in the current season for use next season.
3> Right now Mercedes has a front wing DRS, which is most likely going to be ruled illegal for 2013. Some changes to car parts can be allowed for the remainder of the season but will probably be disallowed and asked to be reverted for next season. Resulting in a few % loss on bonuses on a particular model. Think of it as a rebalance?
4> Demoted team? :P

As for the Drag, drag only relates to downforce which was kind of specified.
Aerodynamics is basically the wind passage around the component
Downforce is the wind capture to add downforce to the car.
Drag is the kept air inside the wind capture that impedes speed. All capture air needs an exit otherwise it's just weighing the car more, this is called drag. :P

1. That's not how things are in F1 at all lol. Teams bring updates to every race possible, to keep the edge. The only reason that the Ferrari was able to change their car, was due to one in-season test and the fact that a lot of teams plan updates for Barcelona. I really don't think that teams should have to stay with the same package the whole season. Teams use different packages all of the time. E.g. Monaco and Monza.

2. This is the part that concerns me the most. This system doesn't stop one team continuing to dominate season on season. I mean, I agree that every team should have the chance of being competitive, no matter what happened the season before, but I think you would just see some teams making better choices at the start, and then everyone else sacrificing seasons, and possibly getting frustrated, having to wait to be competitive or even have a chance.

3. Okay. What if a team is doing well, making all of the right choices, and then their parts get deemed illegal, and are suddenly really far down the order? Not only would this frustrate people, it would also be kind of a lucky draw. Who determines what is deemed illegal, and when does it become an announcement, so that every team is given a chance to build a competitive car for the next season?

1> The Pre-Barcelona Test was designated for expensive testing, actual track testing, which is an F1 event, not a Grand Prix, the team couldn't do major testing during a season. This is to spice up the car, a team can choose to have minimal downforce or alot of downforce, balanced or slightly balanced, and research it that way.
2> All Upgrades to each component is SMALL. To maintain a level competivity, There won't be a huge advantage unless it's HRT vs McLaren. People can choose what league to enter, I entered my first league against people with KERS and I won a race and podiumed early. A level 20 team who has raced for a year, against a fledgely race, the differences in technology is KERS, DRS etc and a bit better Drag reduction and cooling etc on the other team. Means their car is more efficent, doesn't necessarily mean it can win.
3> The league can disable Components for a season, like for example Front and Rear wings A, which have little downforce. Upgrades are deemed illegal and can be re-researched, think of it as a League Component nerf, these are random. Say the teams have alot of drag reduction on their components, at the season interval, that Drag Reduce can be deemed 'illegal' and nerfed as such to a more competitive level. The goal of that is to keep the teams researching and finding new ways to grow their car. Where