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Our not-so-great tournament scoring system Options
TimmerB123
Posted: Friday, February 5, 2021 7:45:58 AM
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Darth_Frenchy wrote:
I don't think it matters if you get to 125 if your opponent was at 120. If we were going to make any change to scoring I think margin of victory scoring would be the direction to go. Otherwise you really are just giving points for playing fast, which appears to be a key complaint in this thread. As opposed to the Margin of victory, points killed/Gambit scored compared to your opponent.

Example: point difference between you and your opponent
0-29 points: 6 points winner/ 5 points loser
30-69 points: 7 points winner/ 4 points loser
70-109 points: 8 points winner/ 3 points loser
110-149 points: 9 points winner/ 2 points loser
150-200 points: 10 points winner/ 1 point loser

If not that then I could also be for 4-3-1 scoring. As I do not think a loss should be half as valuable as a tie breaker win or partial win. This is just at a glance however, I would need to spend more time on this to formulate a proper opinion. There could also be something to 4-3-2-1 scoring. Have to look more at it.


Shouldn't this have been done before the (complete non-) ruling?
Darth_Frenchy
Posted: Saturday, February 6, 2021 10:17:36 PM
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It wasn't posted in the thread for the BC to consider or brought up within the last 6 months, that I am aware. Unfortunately Richard Allen has been in hiding, so it is impossible to know if a change to the tourney tracker is easily doable or if he is even willing.
TimmerB123
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 8:31:16 AM
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Darth_Frenchy wrote:
It wasn't posted in the thread for the BC to consider or brought up within the last 6 months, that I am aware.


The fact that it wasn't on the BC roster to discuss is INFURIATING!

There was active discussion on it for months in multiple threads. I for one intentionally stopped talking about it because I had said my piece, as had many others, and I was personally told by multiple members of the balance committee that it would be specifically discussed. So I set it aside and waited.

The fact that it was entirely blown off is mind blowing. Right when I was calming down about the whole thing, the balance committee directly tells us that they didn't even consider this. That is insulting beyond belief.




Balance Committee - as past president has told us - when a non-ruling came out that really upset some in the community - the BC had an emergency session to discuss what had not been properly addressed

I implore you to do so now.
TimmerB123
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 8:36:03 AM
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Darth_Frenchy wrote:
Unfortunately Richard Allen has been in hiding, so it is impossible to know if a change to the tourney tracker is easily doable or if he is even willing.


He always responds quickly when I talk to him. We have a good relationship. That is a SUPER easy fix that could be done in less than 10 minutes for him, FYI.
TimmerB123
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 8:38:27 AM
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Darth_Frenchy wrote:
If not that then I could also be for 4-3-1 scoring. As I do not think a loss should be half as valuable as a tie breaker win or partial win.


Just do this. Super easy, common sense ruling.
thereisnotry
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 9:48:43 AM
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TimmerB123 wrote:
Darth_Frenchy wrote:
If not that then I could also be for 4-3-1 scoring. As I do not think a loss should be half as valuable as a tie breaker win or partial win.


Just do this. Super easy, common sense ruling.

I think I need to point something out here: there are specific reasons why a high-engagement loss can be half as valuable as a low-engagement win. Basically, this is on purpose, because we want to reward engagement and punish non-engagement. In a 4-round event, you SHOULD be able to rank lower with a 4-0 record (all partial wins) than high engagement players with a 3-1 record (all full wins). Nobody (or almost nobody) wants to play a kiting game. There was a significant--rather, a major--problem with non-engagement and slow-play several years ago, when we adopted the 3-2-1-0 system. It wasn't adopted willy-nilly, but was very purposeful. The 4-3-1 system would adjust things just enough that non-engagement strategies and tactics would start to pay dividends again, and I think that would be a very bad thing for the health of the game.

Nevertheless, as I said often in the other thread(s) I do see where Tim and others are coming from. I think the answer lies in adjusting how Gambit works, rather than adjusting how tournament points are scored. (And there, too, things become clear when we go back and remind ourselves of the purpose and history of Gambit in the first place.)

If the Balance Committee is going to address these matters then I hope they'll look carefully at the reasons why these rules/structures were made in the first place.
Darth_Frenchy
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 10:35:18 AM
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TimmerB123 wrote:
Darth_Frenchy wrote:
If not that then I could also be for 4-3-1 scoring. As I do not think a loss should be half as valuable as a tie breaker win or partial win.


Just do this. Super easy, common sense ruling.


Unfortunately it isn't so cut and dry. I understand your frustrations with this system. After all, this has been something you have not liked since we first started talking about implementing 3-2-1 scoring.

It does serve its purpose as TINT pointed out. It is not a system that rewards players for "playing fast", but playing to completion. This in and of itself encourages aggression, action and discourages slow play.

A 2 point "win" is not a win. It is at best a partial win and at worst a tie breaker bonus point as Lou used to say. After giving it some thought the bigger issue with the scoring system may be that it values tie breaker "wins" equal to full completed wins.

If one person has two full 3 point wins and a 1 point engagement loss while another has 3 tiebreakers then the person with the real wins should definitely place higher, imo. The more difficult subject is which one deserves to place higher when they both are on 6 points, one with 2 Complete wins and one with 3 tie breakers.

I think a good argument could be made that the guy with completed games should rank higher, but I'm fine with how the system works currently. We did talk about scoring though.

I am mainly going back and commenting on these things because I haven't been on the boards much. For a long time it became a toxic place and not good for my mental health. Especially as a balance team member.
Darth_Frenchy
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 10:49:09 AM
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thereisnotry wrote:
If the Balance Committee is going to address these matters then I hope they'll look carefully at the reasons why these rules/structures were made in the first place.


Definitely will and have, I was pretty vocal when both 10 point Gambit and 3-2-1 scoring were put into place. I believe there implementation is one of the reasons we have had such a good meta over the last year.

I discussed margin of victory scoring with some BC members and that would be interesting to continue to theory craft more over. Maybe run a practice tournament with it and see how it shakes out. Not really sure it would help, hurt or be neutral. If either of the latter it's not really worth it.
thereisnotry
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 2:36:10 PM
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Darth_Frenchy wrote:
thereisnotry wrote:
If the Balance Committee is going to address these matters then I hope they'll look carefully at the reasons why these rules/structures were made in the first place.


Definitely will and have, I was pretty vocal when both 10 point Gambit and 3-2-1 scoring were put into place. I believe [their] implementation is one of the reasons we have had such a good meta over the last year.

100% agree.

I have not had an un-fun match in a very long time, even though there have been a number of games where I've lost pretty badly.

Darth_Frenchy wrote:
I discussed margin of victory scoring with some BC members and that would be interesting to continue to theory craft more over. Maybe run a practice tournament with it and see how it shakes out. Not really sure it would help, hurt or be neutral. If either of the latter it's not really worth it.

The thing with using margin-of-victory for tournament ranking is that it would encourage people trying for blowouts. If, midway through the game, I'm outplaying my opponent and expect to win the game, then I'd rather just play it out and finish the game, rather than slowly ping away at his last pieces while hoping to prevent a killing blow on some of my heavily-damaged attackers. I think we'd see a lop-sided match turn into a contest of points-denial rather than a full-on battle. It seems to me that trying for a high margin-of-victory would only serve to rub salt in the wounds of the player who lost the match.

I've played in games that were won by a significant margin, and also in games that were nail-biters right to the end...I've always enjoyed the nail-biters far more, whether I won or lost.

If we're looking for more granularity in the tournament ranking, then perhaps keeping track of total score (ie, 600pts after 3 full wins) would be a good way to do it; we're doing something like this in the current NU League so we'll see how (or if) it impacts things.
FlyingArrow
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 4:01:57 PM
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Margin of victory shouldn't come into play. It adds unnecessary confusion to the scoring system, and as tint indicates, it adds bad incentives.

A 2-pt win that doesn't get to 200pts can often be the fault of the opposing player. It only takes one squad/player to prevent a game from completing in time.

One thing that isn't explicitly punished, though, is a game where neither player gets to 100pts. That sort of thing will generally be the fault of both players. I still prefer this scoring system, mentioned earlier in the thread:

4pts for a win
1pt for reaching 100pts (win or lose)
2pts for reaching 200pts (win or lose)

You won't have players with losing records ranking ahead of players with winning records, but a 90-50 win will score 2pts fewer than a 200-150 win.

So wins could be worth 4, 5, or 6 pts. Losses would generally be 0 or 1pt, but even opens up the rare 2pt loss if both players reach 200pts in the same round (a very high-engagement game).

I'm also fine with the idea of switching to 5pt gambit (still requiring a 10pt piece to gain gambit), which was mentioned earlier.

I'm also okay with how things are now, even though I think my suggestions (or many but not all of the suggestions in this thread) would be a bit of an improvement.
Darth_Frenchy
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 4:06:25 PM
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Yeah that's a good point, it would also be more beneficial for extreme squads, hard counters and mismatches. Not sure it's a good direction, but it does reward meta calling. Depending on how you do the margin of victory.
Darth_Frenchy
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2021 5:37:53 PM
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Off topic, but I think changing gambits points back to 5 would be a massive mistake. It had little to no impact on games at 200 before it was changed to 10. Changing it back and also making it so only a 10 cost character can get it? It would be even more irrelevant than it was.

On topic, an increase in points gained decreases the value of 1 point losses and decreases the incentive to engagement.

A 2 point tiebreaker is a consolation for not finishing the match. In an ideal world all matches would play out to completion. Since we have time constraints and a true tie isn't an option there has to be a solution. That solution does not mean it is worth more than a full win. Personally, I think someone that gets 2 full wins should rank higher than someone that got 3 tiebreakers. However, I am okay with how it currently works out.

When you finish a game you leave no doubt who won. A 2 point tiebreaker has doubt on the outcome and should lack the same value as a full win. Not just in the points scored, but in tie-breakers.
imyurhukaberry
Posted: Monday, February 8, 2021 11:31:11 AM
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thereisnotry wrote:
If we're looking for more granularity in the tournament ranking, then perhaps keeping track of total score (ie, 600pts after 3 full wins) would be a good way to do it; we're doing something like this in the current NU League so we'll see how (or if) it impacts things.


ThumbsUp
TimmerB123
Posted: Monday, February 8, 2021 11:47:01 AM
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thereisnotry wrote:

I think I need to point something out here: there are specific reasons why a high-engagement loss can be half as valuable as a low-engagement win. Basically, this is on purpose, because we want to reward engagement and punish non-engagement. In a 4-round event, you SHOULD be able to rank lower with a 4-0 record (all partial wins) than high engagement players with a 3-1 record (all full wins). Nobody (or almost nobody) wants to play a kiting game. There was a significant--rather, a major--problem with non-engagement and slow-play several years ago, when we adopted the 3-2-1-0 system. It wasn't adopted willy-nilly, but was very purposeful. The 4-3-1 system would adjust things just enough that non-engagement strategies and tactics would start to pay dividends again, and I think that would be a very bad thing for the health of the game.

Nevertheless, as I said often in the other thread(s) I do see where Tim and others are coming from. I think the answer lies in adjusting how Gambit works, rather than adjusting how tournament points are scored. (And there, too, things become clear when we go back and remind ourselves of the purpose and history of Gambit in the first place.)

If the Balance Committee is going to address these matters then I hope they'll look carefully at the reasons why these rules/structures were made in the first place.


Just want to point out a major assumption made here that is not always correct.

Lower score does not always mean low engagement.
One easy example is a player with a 100pt piece vs a player with lower costed pieces. The player with the 100pt piece races to gambit and locks the other player out. The player with the lower cost characters desperately tries to engage while the player with the 100pt piece sits in gambit. Whenever they do get into gambit, they do some damage and then die. End of the game the player with the 100pt piece has 10hp left, and an R7 in the back, scored 8 rounds of gambit, and runs away to save his 100pt piece. The other player has 80pts of pieces left, all full health. Final score 200-92 (3-0), even though the lower score player was fully engaging all they could. (This is not a hypothetical by the way)

You end up intentionally "punishing" players that should not be. Heck - if anything the player with the 100pt piece was the one attempting non-engagement.

It's not as clear cut as you seem to think it is, and that's the problem. Players have learned to game the system by playing more for gambit than for attempting to defeat the opponent's pieces.

I think adjusting how gambit works is a great step in the right direction. Heck that may be all it takes. I personally think 1pt being 1/2 as much as a 2 pt win is not what the ration should be.

I find that it's rather simple to lose and get 100pts if that is your intent. I don't know why we encourage that to this extent. I have lost count how many times a player just mentally concedes the game and rushes at the opponent essentially handing them the game in an attempt to get 100pts. That shouldn't be encouraged. I believe both players should be trying to win the whole game. It ends up painting a false narrative. A kamikaze rush at the end does not necessarily mean a player is more engaged.
TimmerB123
Posted: Monday, February 8, 2021 12:03:07 PM
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Darth_Frenchy wrote:
A 2 point "win" is not a win. It is at best a partial win and at worst a tie breaker bonus point as Lou used to say. After giving it some thought the bigger issue with the scoring system may be that it values tie breaker "wins" equal to full completed wins.


I'm so tired of this propaganda. It's simply not true. It's a win no matter how you cut it. You can call it a partial win or a 2pt win or anything else - but it's still a win. Several players started using this language with the intention of shaming others, and it wasn't and still isn't productive for the game. You get a point less for not finishing. That is incentive enough. You don't have to call it something it isn't.

There is also an irony here.

Our tournament score tie-breakers when we had a 3-2 system was this:

1. Score
2. record
3. most 3 point wins
4. head-to-head
5. strength of schedule.


It was kind of silly at the time to have #3, because since there were only 2 ways to score points (a 2 or a 3), mathematically it was already factored in. If 2 players were tied on score and record - they automatically had to have the same number of 3pt wins no matter what.

It's not that it wasn't valid to prize 3pt wins, it's that it was already accounted for through score and record. Only one way to get to 3-1 and 7pts before (as an example), two 2pt wins and a 3pt win.


Then, we went to 3-2-1 scoring. The amazing ridiculousness is that since it was pointed out before that # of 3pt wins was not necessary before, they chose to drop it at this point. Even though, when going to 3-2-1, it now mattered!!!. Now you COULD be 3-1 7pts with one 3pt win (3,2,2,0) or with zero 3pt wins (2,2,2,1).

In my opinion - the only way to access engagement is 3pt wins.

As I posted in the prior post, low score does not always mean low engagement.
Scoring 100 in a loss is easy if that is your intent.

So thereby a full win and a 0pt loss, in my opinion, should beat a partial win and a 1pt loss. If we added back the tie-breaker of most 3pt wins in after score and record - this would accomplish this.
3-1 7pts with one 3pt win (3,2,2,0) is greater than 3-1 with zero 3pt wins (2,2,2,1).
TimmerB123
Posted: Monday, February 8, 2021 12:04:45 PM
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Darth_Frenchy wrote:
an increase in points gained decreases the value of 1 point losses and decreases the incentive to engagement.


I believe this to be a false assumption. End of game kamikaze rush does not equate to engagement.
TimmerB123
Posted: Monday, February 8, 2021 12:13:01 PM
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FlyingArrow wrote:
Margin of victory shouldn't come into play. It adds unnecessary confusion to the scoring system, and as tint indicates, it adds bad incentives.


Fully agreed

FlyingArrow wrote:
A 2-pt win that doesn't get to 200pts can often be the fault of the opposing player. It only takes one squad/player to prevent a game from completing in time.


A great here. Not getting to 200 does not always mean non-engagement. Heck I've had games that went 10 rounds with both squads in gambit and engaged and still neither squad got to 200. Our game has intentionally made characters survive longer, due to higher damage output. Often this is done with saves. Saves that negate all damage make the game go longer. Bad rolling alone can make a game not finish.

FlyingArrow wrote:

One thing that isn't explicitly punished, though, is a game where neither player gets to 100pts. That sort of thing will generally be the fault of both players. I still prefer this scoring system, mentioned earlier in the thread:

4pts for a win
1pt for reaching 100pts (win or lose)
2pts for reaching 200pts (win or lose)

You won't have players with losing records ranking ahead of players with winning records, but a 90-50 win will score 2pts fewer than a 200-150 win.

So wins could be worth 4, 5, or 6 pts. Losses would generally be 0 or 1pt, but even opens up the rare 2pt loss if both players reach 200pts in the same round (a very high-engagement game).

I think my suggestions (or many but not all of the suggestions in this thread) would be a bit of an improvement.


This is an excellent suggestion. I'd be on board. Nobody can argue when a game completes under time, but there are times and reasons other than non-engagement that games don't complete. Full wins deserve full credit, but the rest gets murky quickly. There are extreme example on both ends that stink. 199-0 vs 10-9 is the exact same in our tournament scoring system. This would make a distinction between the two which is sorely needed.
imyurhukaberry
Posted: Monday, February 8, 2021 12:33:37 PM
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I have not played tournament in a long time, so my experience may be lacking there, but I've tried to keep up with the game as much as possible.

Can it be as simple as it used to be?
Someone wins...and someone loses.
Each game's points are recorded for ties.

Would go:
Record (W v. L)
Tie 1 = Points total
Tie 2 = Win points total
Tie 3 = Loss points total

If you know points are going to come into a factor at ANY point, then wouldn't engagement be encouraged anyway?

I know player's records need to be kept, so a win is 1pt and a loss is 0pts.

Maybe too simple, but why does it have to be more complicated?
imyurhukaberry
Posted: Monday, February 8, 2021 12:57:40 PM
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I'm going to reply to my own post!

After running a few tests, I think it can be simpler than that.

Total defeated points added up = players score.
Wins (or Byes) get extra 200pts (or whatever the squad point level the match is set for)
Loss = 0 pts extra
Highest points wins each round (for next round pairings) & finally tournament overall (total points from all rounds)
Tie 1 = wins total defeated points
Tie 2 = losses total defeated points

For player's rankings, highest points...period.

Talk about slugfest to get 1st place!!!

NOTE: each game's stats must be recorded, so some extra leg work...but aren't we always doing this anyway? (so simple)

PS: the extra 200pts for a win should eliminate the chances of a player who has lost edging out a player who has won.
imyurhukaberry
Posted: Monday, February 8, 2021 1:43:22 PM
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Does anyone have the per game points totals for the tournament Tim started with in the first post?
I would love to compile the standings based on a purely points based system...
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