First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their responses.
Everyone made a valuable contribution and gave lots of consideration to my OP.
I haven't got any specific agenda with this thread, or any specific questions or answers that I'm seeking. I just started writing and spewed a lot of my thoughts on page.
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I'd like to preface by saying a lot of what I said was based upon my transition from GT Sport to iRacing over the last two months. I've seen 'the other side' first hand, and while I knew 'the other side' was good, I am sort of stunned by how superior leagues on iRacing are over what ROOZ currently is. That is the fundamental thrust of my post: ROOZ could be dominating the Gran Turismo scene in Australia and New Zealand even more than it currently is. There seems to be either conservatism or complacency at this league. Leagues on iRacing are separated by the specific car or series they run, and there is a clear hierarchy in these leagues. I am not versed in these leagues enough to actually provide links and provide facts here, but in the iRacing community, drivers know which is the best NASCAR league, the best IndyCar league, the best F1 league, the best V8 Supercars league, etc. And by 'best', I mean 'most esteemed'. The leagues that are able to secure high quality sponsors are the ones with consistently the highest presentation, social media presence, and the fastest drivers in those respective cars/series. I fully acknowledge that an Australian league cannot compete with a 'worldwide' consumer base - I get it.
I re-iterate however, the Gran Turismo side of ROOZ (of which I am solely talking about, because I am not a part of the other communities) should be taking more notes and inspiration of what other leagues are doing. The quality of racing at ROOZ may be good, but the quality of product compared to other Australian GT leagues is lacking. That is my only point, and I remember saying at the time of GT6 that ROOZ should be evolving and expanding with GT Sport but it seems to me that GT Sport has left ROOZ behind. The FIA races have brought the spectacle and shifted the focus of Gran Turismo away from ROOZ which originally held this with the two prior entries alongside GT Academy. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that the FIA races are remotely a 'rival' league or something to compete against, but I am saying that ROOZ has been in prime position at the top of the hierarchy akin to the iRacing leagues I referred to above, yet ROOZ continues to behave like a backmarker league.
It is a 100% acceptable response that ROOZ has been successful for so long due to the no-frills and barebones service. That can be the end of the present discussion if that is acceptable to all who are reading this. The purpose of my post was purely just logging on at a whim and basically saying "Hey guys, look what's going on out in the wide world of sim racing! These rivals leagues are doing (this specific aspect) better than us, I think we should look into it and/or discuss it."
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I made a nuanced response to all the ideas suggested but I lost it all after I got logged out. I feel physically sick having lost about an hour of work.
So I'm going to be a lot shorter now with the responses:
Point 1:
Viperzed understood the idea best. It's not about the prize money, but just a nominal entry fee like any other social club, like basketball etc. It creates community and means that when you know your competitors paid to enter you show a little more respect.
I don't believe $5 four times a year is too much.
Point 2:
This wasn't addressed much or at all. I wasn't questioning the fairness, I am suggesting a central document. (gosh it pains me to be so cursory when I wrote multiple paragraphs about this and every other point)
Point 3:
Let's do it if everyone is for it.
Maybe divs 1 - 3 have lists of drivers, div 4+ don't. Drivers can withdraw from a season without penalty until x number of rounds then they are locked in for relegation.
Point 4:
Teams should allow people to race with their friends not just random rosters elected by the captain. Create a history for the teams that are meaningful instead of just names.
Point 5:
I like Stigs idea about a single round of tuning. It means a surprise winner could result, not too much work for people due to it only be one round.
Point 6:
I'm not seeking some sort of revolution with the stewarding system. The system works, just consult the community to make sure the system is still in line with community expectations because it's been 4 years since the last review.
Read my essay: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7JjwFKoQX4-VXB0VzdpYWVnWHM/view?usp=sharing
Point 7:
It helps everything. My dad raced this season at ROOZ because I sent him a livestream video of me here. Looks professional to prospective new members. Ensures talking points about the racing not just banter. Podcasts are cool - they work as they look good to have rather than the value they bring as content.
Point 8:
Wasn't all about the dual car idea but glad it was discussed. Primary reason not to have is balancing, but still think it doesn't matter if unbalanced as long as every car is best for at least on round. Provides character and talking points for pre-season and during season. Cars don't need to be balanced. Cars have strengths and weaknesses. People who pick different cars are legendary memelords: link
Link 2:
https://m.twitch.tv/emree/clip/ScaryElegantLapwingSeemsGood
Nothing wrong with having two cars available and the entire grid picks one of them.
New point 9:
Drop the drop rounds.
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I feel so ill having lost of that work.... Just know it was riveting, but probably for the best that know my post is readable and not drowned in rubbish.
I wrote stuff about the reputation of ROOZ, not having any of the answers, not even asking questions but just providing talking points, flirting with starting my own league and deciding there's not enough incentive, yadda yadda yadda.
Basically, ROOZ is great but can improve and learn lots from other leagues.
EDIT: Oh yeah, and that I listed these talking points out of convenience and not because I expect all or any of them to be implemented. Just easier to spew them all instead of introduce one by one. I still think they are good ideas. But unfortunately you won't gleam that from this cursory version of my post because I lost it all. Re. tuning, I conceded it would be a bad idea to implement for a full season and would destroy everything, for example of lots of things you will never read, lol.
Last edited: Sep 17, 2020