NPCs are not included. Only human players with callsigns take part.
It remains to be seen how useful that feature is, because you generally can’t dare random players. Currently everyone has the same points, so you can dare anyone, but as the point gap increases you’ll only be able to dare (I’m guessing) 25-50 players max.
Daring inactive players is of limited use due to how points are calculated (see below), but we’ll see if it becomes a problem.
The system is loosely based on Elo rating system - Wikipedia . The higher someone is ranked (as compared to your ranking), the more more points you gain when when you beat them. Currently, the maximum you can gain per victory is 10 points by beating someone 50 points above you, and 1 point if you beat someone 50 points below you. It’s not possible to dare players beyond ±50 points from your own points.
These numbers will of course be tweaked.
P.S. Still no crash? Impressive.