I can't believe no one has suggested a Race/Circuit revamp, yet.
Ah, well...
I tried to make it look a bit like the Mario Kart series (recent). It's rushed, and a bit clunky, but it works as a concept, right?
Place/number of players
1st: Gold
2nd: Silver
3rd: Bronze
4th: Marble or whatever is 4th
5th and so on: Generic
Last: Reddish? I don't know.
Keeping track of places could be done by placing invisible things on the map that go along with the path (numbered somehow), of course only the checkpoints would matter for
completing the lap.
Laps
Map
The larger head is
you. That's how it is in the recent Mario Karts, anyway...
This is where the Map to SVG thing could come in handy.
Rings (0 would flash red and white of course)
Total Time
Lap Times (Lap Time refers to the current lap's time and it rolls with the time until you complete it)
Best lap should be highlighted, but the race hasn't been finished yet!
Score
Lives
Items... which I hope will come to SOME use in the levels. Either timed, one-time use, or ammo, while having the special rings on the map regularly. (Ripped from a random 1.1 beta screenshot on some random person's sepwich account)
A player... card, thing, that should show up above the other players' heads as you get near them (fade in) like Mario Kart Wii! The color would be based on, I guess, the color you first chose when registering for that SRB2 Live thing, and your avatar would show up on the right. You could also add region and country if you wanted, as well as ranking, etc.
Well? Plausible or not?
Edit: ARGH. 2nd/4, and yet I only put three players on the map. Sorry.
x_X
Edit: Oh, and I believe that there should be some sort of key that allows you to open the extended display, regular display, and simplified display.
Extended: Everything
Regular: The lives, place, map, places, laps, rings, items, and time.
Simplified: Lives, place, laps, rings, items, and time.
Allowing the player to customize their display (turning certain features on/off) would be great, too.