In
this thread I talked about how the current stats system based on kills, deaths and kill ratio, doesn't really reflect the true skills of the players. I suggested a level system, but it would be hard to script and maybe confusing to players. However, here I suggest another solution that, besides of being much simpler, would also be really fun and exciting for players: a championship that would be held from time to time, for example once or twice a month, like an event. Players who want to participate would join the championship, and then a list of the players would be made. The order of this list can be random or made with a certain criterion. In this championship, players would play against others in a series of 1 vs 1 matchs, that would take place in a parallel world to avoid external interference. The first player of the list would first play against the second, then against the third etc. until he has played against all players. In that moment, the second player of the list plays against the third, then against the fourth and so on until he has played against everyone too. Then the third player of the list would play against the fourth, then against the fifth etc. This way we ensure that everyone plays against everyone. When all players have finished playing against all their rivals, the championship ends and of course the winner is the one with most victories. If there's a draw, then there are extra matches between the drawn players.
I will show an example of these player lists. Imagine a championship joined by Miczi, Jets, me, Benny and Scott, and the list is like this:
1-Miczi
2-Jets
3-Gryphus (me)
4-Benny
5-Scott
At first, Miczi would start playing against Jets, then against me, then against Benny and finally against Scott. Then, Jets would play against me, then against Benny and finally against Scott. Then, I would play against Benny and then against Scott. And finally, Benny would play against Scott. Imagine that there's a draw between Jets and Scott, so an additional match would be played between them to decide who wins the championship.
To get the highest possible number of players joining the championships, they should be announced in the forum and in the chat several days in advance. Like the events, this would probably increase the number of players in the server at the time of the championships.
These championships might be about anything: duels, races, air combats, vehicle stunts, destruction derbies, tank fights, boxing, dm in whole SA maps with vehicles and all the elements found in the normal world, etc.
Of course there should be prizes for the best classified players (or even for everybody, this way even noobs would join the championships).
And now you may say:
"what does this all have to do with stats?" well, my idea is removing the current kills, deaths and kill ratio stats, and change them for the ratio of won and lost matchs in those championships, and also a record of the maximum ratio ever achieved in a single championship. For example, you can have an overall match ratio of 70% in all the championships you have played in, but there can be a concrete one in the past in which you won 9 matchs out of 10, so in that specific championship you had a ratio of 90%. This would be your maximum ever achieved ratio.
With this system, stats would be much more useful to tell how good or bad a player is, because he has had to play against all the other players that joined those championships, and there almost isn't the possibility of him playing only against newbies to get better stats.
The rest of the time, when they are playing in the normal gamemode world, I guess pros would fight other pros and newbies vs newbies, because they would be training for the championships, and for a pro there would be no benefit in killing newbies since that wouldn't train his skills as much as fighting other pros, even if this implyies dying sometimes (these deaths wouldn't count to the stats so who cares).