I run an open lobby every Friday; here are a few observations made through the years

If you've ever joined the Antidote server on Friday nights, well hi! We usually have anywhere between 12 and 26 drivers, including a good 8-10 core there every week. We've been doing it for 2 years or so, and we've had noticed ways in which the multiplayer experience could be enhanced. Who knew my drivers could have so many grievances? With Reiza working on multiplayer, I figure it might be a bit late to share this list, but what the hey!

Feel free to merge into feature request/bug report, as I suppose it's a bit of both?

1. Full fledged multiplayer league options, with customized rule sets, scoring systems, ability to have AI fill in for absentees (and/or just filling up the grid), handicap, etc. I love the F1 series for that.
2. Allowing people who join server during the final minutes of quali to start from the back of the grid rather than being unable to join.
3. More consistent, predictable ghosting.
4. Allow more AI driver options for server host. For example, dynamically changing how many there are at the start of a session, or "fill up" to a certain number of drivers (so that you have a minimum of, say, 10 drivers on the grid, and AI leaves when a human driver takes its place).
   
5. Synchronized "lights out" at race start. Not all drivers get it simultaneously.
6. Safety rating meaning something, instead of being some sort of grinding achievement. I've been S forever; I'm not dirty, but I'm definitely not S tier. If RCO can do it, so can native AMS.
7. Having the possibility to vote for the next events out of a pre-made selection (see Wreckfest). Server owner could set up a bunch of possibilities in a config file, and the game would pick three at random, and drivers could have a 15-sec voting period when going back to lobby.
8. Having race presets altogether. Going from an oval to Spielberg to the Nordschleife require different settings, and a single mistake can ruin the experience (going from a 15-lap race on an oval to a... 15-lap race on the Nordschleife, ouch). Same for damage (see more below): having low damage on the Formula Junior isn't remotely the same as having it on a modern F1.
   
9. Having the option to determine if tyre blankets are used. During a quali run in an old car, getting temperature into your tires in a cold climate can take several laps, which isn't ideal for a short quali session.
   
10. Figure out a better, integrated dedicated server / create server system, with hosts having far more control than they currently have. See details below.
11. Hosts recover hosting privileges upon reconnecting.
12. Hosts naming other users moderators or backup hosts.
13. Allowing hosts to kick users without requiring almost the entire grid allowing it. I'd love for server options to include a certain threshold of other drivers allowing it, but owner should be able to override.
14. Prevent kicked users from re-joining server.
15. The ability to decide, as the server host, something like "20% chance of rain at some point". Not just "random" in pre-determined segments.
16. Weather forecast. Pitting for slicks, only for rain to randomly appear two laps later, is a bit of a downer when you can't have a clue it'll happen.
17. Car reset having more options. Enable / Enable with a 5sec delay / Off. If enabled, having better ghosting. Having it be guided by opponent proximity is subpar; currently, if two drivers are upside down next to each other, it's game over for both, but if they were 10m further apart, they could both reset. When they reset, someone can easily ram into them at high speed.
18. Pitting options should give the user a ballpark of time in pits. Will changing tires cost me 2 seconds, or 30? How about damage? With so many car models, a bit of help from Jeff on that would be sweet.
19. Adjusting content of opponents tab (number, AI, class) once the server has been launched.
20. Changing car in garage rather than leaving the server and coming back (notably for the host who doesn't have this luxury).
21. Option for full ghosting for the first sector of the race. So many T1 shenanigans in open lobbies.
22. Easier on-the-fly setup sharing. one should be able to borrow a config from an opponent (or, at least, a willing one).
23. Allow for custom grid positions for races without quali (random, high to low rating, low to high rating, performance so far this session, custom). Again, a bit like Wreckfest has.
24. Having the option for full ghosting during quali. With 5-10min sessions, it's not rare for someone's only hotlap to be ruined by someone blocking them, or in ovals' case, having the possibility of negating slipstreaming.
25. Car damage being more consistent across different cars. at the same damage level, an F1 car will get full suspension damage by merely touching an opponent, while some cars can hit the wall head on and get nothing. It's borderline unrealistic, but more importantly, drivers should have a reasonable expectation of how much damage a certain shunt will cause.
26. Having the possibility to have non-terminal damage (as in, always being able to limp to pits).
27. Allow for ghosting when racing wheel to wheel vs. high ping users
28. Ability to invite people to join to dedicated servers.
29. In dedicated servers, being able to edit server welcome message, or edit the general notice before every race for weather and the like.
30. Ability to copy/paste text. Discord invites are a pain.
31. Having the AI take over at the end of races like in quali instead of everyone ramming into each other.
32. Ability to have usable server config presets. "Real world" presets aren't bad in and of themselves, but I wish we could have custom presets instead of having to double check every setting when creating a server because the game is usung the last joined server's.
33. Ability to predetermine a certain number of cars of a given model/class/livery to be available, and people choosing their vehicle upon joining. Having a multi-class race where 12 people race in one class and a lone driver picks another class is a bit meh; same for single class driving where only one person has a car model, negating the effect of opting for class racing.
34. Fixing the bug where we're all stuck in pits at the end of quali. Host doesn't have a continue button to click, everybody's back in pits, and nothing happens until a certain user leaves the server. Same for the track not loading bug, which can only be rectified by the host CTRL-ALT-DEL.
35. Allow AI to take over for a disconnected driver (à la F1), until they reconnect, a bit like it can take over during a pit stop, but automatically.

Bonus, not for multiplayer:

1. When navigating through the "all cars" menu when selecting one, there is no scroll bar. If you want to go from ARC Camaro to VW Polo, ouch.
2. Consistent track limits. Places like Watkins Glen T1, for example, allow the driver to cut significantly without penalty... sometimes? It doesn't seem consistent.
3. Getting DQed for not serving a penalty that was given on the last corner of the race. That one stings.

 

I just let the wheel on my mouse spin for eternity

 

There's only one keyboard for simracing and scrolling any menu is a breeze. I love how Reiza tests compatibility with popular hardware.

 

Don't we all!

It's annoying also because the much shorter classes menu, on the next tab, has the scrollbar.

 

Let’s hope it gets improved with the new UI

 

Well, not only was it not improved, it was straight up removed.