The technology behind fair times
Deterministic Ghost Racing
Most racing games approximate their replays. Mars Rally Championship doesn't: the physics steps at a fixed 60 Hz whatever your screen does, every run records its inputs, and driving those inputs through the same simulation rebuilds the run bit for bit. The leaderboard does exactly that with every time before it posts it.
What determinism buys you
Honest ghosts
A board ghost is recorded by the server's own re-simulation of the run's inputs, not uploaded by the pilot. If it takes a jump flat, that line really was possible, and you can steal it.
Downloadable rivals
Every leaderboard entry carries its ghost and its inputs. Put any pilot above you on your track, or watch their run rebuilt from the inputs, corner by corner.
The rival ladder
The game automatically lines you up against the pilot just above your personal best — always a beatable target, never a demoralizing one.
Fair multiplayer
Online races reuse the same machinery: your physics run locally, opponents render as live ghosts, and no amount of lag can corrupt a result.
How to improve with ghosts
Set a clean personal best on any stage — start with Stage 2, the long fast one.
Race your own ghost until you beat it twice in a row. You'll find the same two or three corners give up all the time.
Then pull a leaderboard ghost a few seconds faster and watch its braking points — not its speed. Braking points are the transferable part.
Rinse and repeat up the rival ladder. Split-delta timing on the HUD shows you exactly where the gap opens.