Document GP-DOC-13: Racing

IGC: Certified Genomic Index

The IGC (Certified Genomic Index) is the Performance Trials Division's answer to the question "what is this genome capable of." It is a vector of 10 sub-indices, one per season-1 biome, displayed as a radar on the Specimen Sheet. It is deliberately never a single scalar.

Why a vector, not a score

A single "power score" would be an implicit price tag, and a wrong one. A tripod that posts 940 on ice and 200 on flat ground is not a "570 creature": it is a Glacius specialist, valuable one hour per rotation and mediocre the rest. Collapsing ten terrains into one number would erase exactly the information that makes the meta rotate and makes freaks tradable. The radar preserves the per-terrain reading; no listing, card, or in-game surface ever displays a single aggregate rating.

The one derived scalar permitted is the peak, always accompanied by its biome: GLACIUS SPECIALIST 940, never a naked number.

The formula

IGC_biome = percentile × 10                      // ∈ [0, 1000]

Each sub-index is the percentile (×10) of the creature's simulated optimal time (perfect pilot, closed-form effort allocation) against a reference population frozen at the balancing snapshot, over a fixed homologation battery:

The computation is a pure function of the genome, run by the same engine that runs every race; there is no second model. Same genome, same snapshot: same vector, bit for bit.

Unboostable by construction

The IGC is f(genome) and nothing else. Consequences:

• It does not move with race results: no amount of playing inflates it.
• It does not move with money: there is nothing to buy that changes it.
• The genome is public on-chain and the engine is open-source, so the vector is a verifiable fact: anyone can recompute it and check the label on the sheet.

What can change it is a balancing snapshot: the battery and reference population are versioned per snapshot, and the whole population is re-indexed in batch when the engine's constants change. The vector measures the genome against the current game, which is the only honest thing it could measure.

Terrain signature per biome

Each world biome expresses itself as a mix of engine terrains; the homologation maps for a biome are drawn from its signature pool:

Glacius is dominated by ice, Stagnis by mud and water: the radar's shape follows directly from the terrain × morphology matrix applied to the creature's stats.

Display

The Specimen Sheet shows the 10-axis radar plus the peak tag. A hollow radar with one spike is not a defect; it is a legible specialist, and legibility is what gives niche builds a market.

Homologation & the three objects

A creature is marked NOT HOMOLOGATED until it has completed 3 official races (free tier included, ~10 minutes of play). Homologation grants class I; classes run I → V from there on race performance.

Three distinct objects live on a specimen, never to be confused:

The IGC informs the market and the choice of mount for the hour's map; the Race Record informs the price; the class, combined with the account grade, decides where the entry races. See Ratings, Grades & Creature Classes.