Training

I think a 3% boost would be a good compromise. The old 5% was really nice, but you could really min-max that in an absurd way. 2% seems sort of low, and unless you train it after every race (as well as doctor training), you'll not be able to get your driver's heath back up in any decent way.

Hi,

Apologies if some of these have been mentioned already but I thought it easier to give my view as a fresh, unconnected post rather than needing to refer to others.

This is a great game and my league are thoroughly enjoying it; we played seven seasons on www.gpmanagerpro.com and are much preferring iGP as it was too easy in GPManagerPro to 'manage by spreadsheet', there were no random factors and success bred success such that after three or four races into a season it was very hard to catch the leader...

I have also played tabletop and computer-based RPGs for nearly 30 years and this live and die by the success of their skill/attribute generation and improvement systems.

I see six main points needed here:

1) SKILLS CAP: There does need to be a secret 'cap' to each and every skill (except 'talent' which is surely innate and unchangeable and which I will come to later). This cap doesnt need to be a maximum, but rather the natural skill level for that driver, beyond which it takes two, three or even four times as long to improve the stat. These need to be secret to stop the best drivers being automatically snapped up by the biggest and richest teams which (although probably realistic) doesnt make for a funand competitive game. Even the lowliest team needs to be able to discover that 'diamond in the rough' :o)

2) TRAINING: I like the idea of training in the way we do now - picking an area and then receiving randomised increases in those skill areas. However, to avoid us ending up with all 20 stats... it shoudl take two, three or even four such 'increase events' to actually increase a stat past it's Skill Cap. Maybe the highest skill cap even possible is something like 15 or 18, meaning that skills in the high teens and 20 are actually very rare even if a driver is capable of achieving it? With a decent training facility/simulator/training manager you could perhaps specify an individual skill to increase but again it would  only be a +1 'increase event' and you obviously run the risk of other skills atrophying due to such a single-minded focus :o)

3) LEARNING ON THE JOB: I like the idea that how you ask a driver to perform/how they actually perform should affect their skills. This is probably the area I am woolliest on but it could either be down to how aggressive you make them drive (faster may add to Attacking or Speed, Slower may add to Technical or Mental etc. as I think someone else cleverly suggested in this thread), or actual incidents in the race, i.e. for every 5 cars you overtake (on the track, not in the pits) you have a percentage chance of gaining an 'Overtaking' point, limited to only one per race... etc.

4) SCOUTING: I see this as another memeber of staff. The better this member of staff, the more accurate the information you get when you click 'scout' on a driver. I see a limit to how many you scout per race, maybe modified again by Scout ability. Scouting will give a level of feedback on that driver's secret Skill Caps. A poor scout could actually get this wrong!

5) YOUTH DRIVERS: Youth Driver programmes are one way that teams are able to grow their own talent the way they want. I dont know if this is an extra member of staff (Youth Manager) or Facility (Youth Training School/Programme) to setup, but I would hope that you could choose one to three of the skill areas (depending on skill/level of Manager and/or School?) to focus on, i.e Attacking, Speed, Physical etc. - these stats could start at up to half the driver's Skill Cap perhaps or just have two or three skill increases as if trained in those areas.

6) INJURIES: Injuries although far less common in F1 than in decades pass are still an ever-present threat and a great 'random event' for mixing up the standings, adding excitement, unpredictability and a great challenge for the team manager. Injuries should affect statistics and/or case the driver to be unavailable for x number of races, which should see them continue to atrophy as well. e.g Serious Head Injury; out for 6 to 10 races, all Mental attributes halved, may not train at all. Minor Leg injury, unavailable for 1-2 races, unable to train 'Physical' during this time, etc. Different types of collision could affect their driving style too - Collision during risky overtaking = -2 Bravery, -2 Overtaking (although you could argue they may be better at judging overtaking and could equally make this -2 Bravery, +1 Overtaking!).
I am sure Injuries are on the development roadmap but would like to see some more detail in them. Could injuries also be somehow 'saved' to the driver for all to see?

7) TALENT: I see this as a completely immovable, permanent and innate level. It may even be done away by Skill Caps which are surely the same thing under a different name. Maybe it is simply an average of all Skill Caps and a number that excellent scouting or an excellent Youth Driver Programme can discover.

All of these suggestions hopefully add some extra level of realism and gameplay/management for the managers whilst keeping it random enough that even the richest team with the best staff and facilities can not control everything and simply churn out Vettel clones :o)

Just my 12 cents worth :o)

Matt
A very Happy iGP Subscriber