Board Thread:Game Discussion/@comment-26521061-20160922100710/@comment-28753807-20160928122253

RR3-AG wrote:

I've entered in the details for Michael P (non wiki), because I found it very strange that he is an Elite and I am not, but my stats are way better than his. The level 111 is not a typo :-(

Could be that IAP lowers the level for the Elite status? I know I did not do IAP and Michael P (non wiki) made one IAP.

Maybe it's just FM having a big laugh and we're chasing our own tails :-P

I'm sorry to hear that the details from Michael P (non wiki) are valid game stats.... are you sure the device has been granted Elite Driver, and there's no mistake about, maybe having unlocked the Elite Career, or something like that? (hoping)

Maybe we can let this entry be the exception... Anyway, I'm not sure why FM isn't releasing the criteria for attaining Elite Driver status, but I must comment on your comment that FM is having a laugh at our expense. I'm sure things happen in their game that they hadn't planned on, such as the goal in Tour Auto, that when you quit it, you get the 'completed goal' green banner. And some of those things probably seem humorous to them, but I'm guessing that whenever they fail, either to the players advantage, or in the favor of the game, if they laugh, they are nervously laughing, hoping that their employment, is not in jeopardy. Their livelihood probably depends on them getting it right. If we put the shoe on the other foot, and our job was to keep players, most players, happy, how difficult a job would that be? We display, right here on this wikia a myriad of personalities, and goals in the game, and level of driving ability. Sisyphean comes to mind. Add to that the task of keeping their employer, EA happy and responding to their demands, I wouldn't want that life... Alas, we all do, don't we? We all have people above us and below us on the food-chain and it seems all we do is try to keep all the plates spinning... I don't see FM as any different than any one of us.

My guess as to why they won't say what the criteria is -- they are not proud of why they have the criteria set the way they do. Maybe they wanted six months to fully vet the release, but they weren't granted the time they wanted. EA forced them to release, players demanded the release. We demand cars, tracks, features and we want them now... So they had to put something out they knew would not be fair, because it wasn't ready, but they put it out and they are collecting data to fix it later. It seems like a big beta test, to me, but not because they want to be entertained by the hands that feed them above and below them on the food-chain, but because given all the different pressures on them that's what they had to do, at this time.