Proposal for changing TWDT lineup requirements

[zidane]

The ratings are being worked on, should take a bit more time than usual given the rule changes. Obviously will be done before the draft on the 13th.

Still need that last captain!

[Kim]

Total star cap makes sense to me. If there is no difference between a 9* and 10* player, they shouldn't be rated differently, other than to separate them for dick measuring purposes. Clearly 9* and 10* are vastly different, and this way there is flexibility in the lineups as well. Not having your 10* show up and going with a more balanced line could still be viable, rather than playing exactly the same line with a 6* but without your star player.

[afghan]

I would imagine that borrowing could be scrapped since there would be much more flexibility in making a lineup. You are not solely dependent on having a 6* show so less likely to borrow. You would be more likely to be forced to benching your 8* for two 7* players rather convincing other GM to allow you to borrow a 6*.

[Mythril]

What about the borrow rules? Are only 6 stars allowed for borrowing still or what? Should def clear this up before season starts. Also are player ratings made for this season yet? Where can we see ratings? Remember last season there were illegal borrows allowed to stand that pissed off a few squads.

That's a good question that I haven't really considered. I think afghan is right. Ideally we would get rid of borrowing altogether. But I think we have to remember this is an experiment we haven't ran before and a few rosters might come across problems with show rates.

Warbird/jav shouldn't be much of a problem, but base might become an issue. A safety net for all teams should probably be provided until we know how this actually runs week to week. Borrowing anyone above 7* will most certainly be illegal though.

Ratings and rules will be posted by sunday night.

What about lineups that don't use the maximum allowed number of players. E.g. 10/10/10/10
Such a lineup (if someone was pro enough to draft it) would smash any 5-player valid lineup.

Didn't even think of that. We'd have to get rid of the rule "Playing down a man counts as a 6-star slot." Which needs to go anyway. But yeah, that lineup should be valid.

I think the probability of any cap hoarding four 10*s is close to zero, but it's a fun thought experiment. I don't agree with you though. I think that team is slightly disadvantaged against any of the other lineups assuming their teaming is solid. But they would certainly win some games and it'd be incredible to watch.

All of the caps will be battling out their draft philosophies for the first time, so it's going to be really interesting. My prediction is the most powerful lineups will be the ones who aren't as top heavy. The 10* players will most likely have to be at the peak of their powers to win the title. 8*s and 9*s are now just as valuable. It's gonna be fun.

[Rasaq]

Any thought put into possibly extending the season since it's in fact our biggest league and most exciting league? Keep people interested long term, not short term.

[ogron]

Do not get rid of borrowing.

It is one of the most fundamental and successful ideas in TWDT. Anyone who is a 6* or lower in a league, and not a 8-10* in anything, should be allowed to be borrowed. I can't emphasize enough how crucial to the success of the leagues borrowing has been, and should continue to be allowed at every stage of the season.

The amount of forfeits when the game had a SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER player base was still very high. It has been practically non-existent since 2014 with borrowing.

[afghan]

Any thought put into possibly extending the season since it's in fact our biggest league and most exciting league? Keep people interested long term, not short term.

I agree with this. Season should be doubled and you should play everyone twice.

[ogron]

I agree with this. Season should be doubled and you should play everyone twice.

We expanded the seasons to 10 games, from 7, years ago.

And you already play everyone twice...

[Rasaq]

So instead of finishing the season in 7 weeks, not including the postseason, we changed it to 5 weeks with 3 additional games per week and that's considered an extension?

[ogron]

The issue with a longer TWDT season is that you're not necessarily playing with the people you want to play with.

People generally increase their tolerance levels for draft tourny and give their team/cap some leeway and try to do right by them, but the longer you make the season, the more you're pushing that goodwill.

Usually at least 1 team falls apart after 4 weeks, you'll end up with 1-2 teams that forfeit the last 5-6 weeks of the season if you make it 10 weeks long.

I'm all for a longer season, BTW, I have no issue with playing 20 games instead of 10. I'm just not sure it's a good idea given the format.

Up to Mythril/Henry/whoever though, they're the ones you have to convince.

[Mythril]

There's no plan to extend this season. By the end of each TWDT, no matter how successful/awful my team was, I'm about 100% done with it. There are many more reasons to not do so. I've been reminded on a daily basis through trying to get signups that TWDT isn't an all inclusive league. It's also not the most prestigious league. Both ends of the talent pool are sacrificing key elements that have motivated us to play for so long.

I think what people are actually craving is an active game, and in recent memory, that has been synonymous with an active TWDT season. TWEL and TWL were last hosted in 2016. Since then, pretty much all competitive leagues have been consolidated into TWDT (something it was never intended to support.) Even this year, with the changes in lineup caps, it's going to be impossible to satisfy everyone who has signed up. There are still only six teams.

The game was 100% dead last march. I wrote my parody of how dead the game was on March 4th, assuming TW was beyond saving. Then somehow a very high level basing cup was hosted, then mastersword brought back the novelty of elim and made TW worth playing 24/7. We parlayed that momentum into a very successful DT season full of active veterans.

And then we didn't capitalize on that at all. We lost nearly every single player and the game quickly died again within a month. It has taken a somewhat colossal effort by the community to revive this game for another DT season. We've somehow done it (125+ signups a week before the draft), but we can't let the game stagnate again. We have to break the TWDT or bust cycle that this game has suffered from for the last two years.

Once qan gets back, we're going to try and replace elim (the novelty has already worn off from last season), to a new 2v2 league that is mostly individual-rating based and runs 24/7. But whoever decides to join the league team after this TWDT season needs to consider hosting another competitive league that can be rotated with TWDT with very little downtime. This is how HZ has sustained their zone. Maybe that means 4v4 leagues, or another TWL if the top players make a pact not to stack rosters as heavily. There will be options, assuming this TWDT is a success.