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TWD Roster Regulation
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After playing one full year of Trench Wars (without “retiring” in the middle) and taking part in my first TWL, I feel like the game needs some competitive stimulus that will reignite the competition. With people quitting and newer games such as World of Warcraft in the picture, we have to push Trench War’s strongest selling point in order to attract more players and keep our current ones interested. Personally, I think that keeping our existing players happy is more important than the “fresh blood” that is brought in through our advertisement campaign. To keep things simple, two things we must do is to increase the competition of the zone and at the same time build a stronger, tighter community. Both can be accomplish by creating a roster limit.
Having a roster limit will cause the bigger squads in TWD (squads with around 40~ players) to be more selective about who they want on the squad. Inactive players and players that are unable to match up to the particular squad’s competition level will become less valuable to the captain(s) of the squad if he or she needs to adhere to a roster limit. The removal of the lower tier players from each squad will make those players join squads more suitable to their skill level, or even better, stimulate the creation of NEW squads thus creating more options for TW players in terms of squads to play and squads to join. The increase in the number of new High, Mid, and Low leveled squads will equate to a greater contest, making this game more attractive, sharpening our dull competitive edge.
The second big advantage of having smaller squads is that players will start to build a stronger relationship with one another. People constantly say that the “community” from this game is the strongest selling point of Continuum. A smaller, more intimate roster will give people a bigger opportunity to get to know one another. Players will feel a greater sense of belonging as opposed to being just 1 player in a crowd of 50. This will also be a blow to the ever annoying “squad hoppers” because the limit will put more pressure on the captain(s) to NOT recruit a player that will be more likely to leave into their squad. Idealistically, this will cause the “squad hoppers” to eventually settle down and become a true part of a squad. The more a player is attached to their squad, the more he or she will want their squad to do better, thus again promoted competition.
The way I envision the roster limitation is very different than the one brought up before. Instead of the limit being 25 players static, the limit will change depending on activity within multiple leagues. This is how I see it:
Each single division squadron will have a roster limit of 25 players. The squad’s main division will be the one with the most games played in. For every additional division the particular squad is active in, the roster limit will increase for them by the number of (5) players. Thus, the absolute maximum for a roster will be 35 players, assuming the particular squad plays TWDD, TWJD, and TWBD. In order to be considered “active” within a division, the squad must play at least (2) games of that division per week. If a squad attempts to bypass the system by not meeting the quota of 2 games per week after they had their roster limit increased, the squad will be frozen from TWD until they fulfill their quota.
For example, let’s say Rape squadron is a new squad that is starting out within the TWDD. After I (captain Valholy) recruited my full roster of 25 players, I still want to recruit a few more members. I then go on to make my squad play the two require JD (or BD) games to increase our roster cap to 30 players. All is well until, hypothetically speaking; one week I don’t meet the quota of two JD games that lets me have a roster max of 30 players. At this point, I’ve only played 1 JD game that week but I have a roster of 29 members, thus Rape squadron is frozen from playing within our main division, which is TWDD. I am faced with the choice of whether playing another JD or axing 4 members. As the good captain I am, I play another JD and keep my 4 extra players.
On a side not, to prevent havoc and chaos, there would be a "Grandfather Clause" allowing squads who are above the limit at the time the rule begins to keep their rosters. However, if they wanted to add a player, they must trade another player off the squad (or something, I haven't really put much thought into it yet but we can work this out later).
After reading that, most of you will probably react like “WOH WTF IZ DIS GUI THINKINZ”. This is actually an idea that is meant to pwn two birds with one stone. First of all, this will obviously cause captains AND players to be more selective with their squad, buy raising the opportunity cost on both sides. Also, this will lead to more squads eventually being three league squadrons. Captains will want to recruit more players so they will have more incentive to try out the other divisions. Personally, the only reason why I started to enjoy basing is because a few members of my squad forced me to play. Basing is fun. Warbirds just don’t give it a serious chance. Since I picked up basing, I got to know some of its players, learned the strategies (cram, don’t kill mid sharks, etc) and found a new aspect of this game I enjoy. Hopefully, the same thing will happen for me in the Javelin division.
To further my point, this is a conversation I had with a player while I was writing this:
Valholy> do you like basing?
little bud> Im not really experienced in basing
Valholy> do you enjoy it though?
little bud> yeah, it's okay, kinda cool
Valholy> how often do you base?
little bud> havent done a lot of it
little bud> hardly ever..
Valholy> do you think you would enjoy it more if your squad based more?
little bud> yeah it would be cool
A common theme I see amongst basers is their mission to introduce more players into basing. Ultimately, that goal is to have a more diverse experience within basing games. An effortless method to gain that diversity is to give more incentive to the squads that do not BD. With the new roster rule, Warbird and Javelin squads will most likely play more basing games to gain the benefit of 5 extra players onto their roster. Once those squads play a few games and get a hang of basing, they will genuinely start to enjoy the division. I often see the same 5 or 6 squad playing BDs against each other, there is not much diversity. I'm not much of a baser, but speaking from TWDD experience, I find it more enjoyable to play different squads throughout the day as opposed to playing the same players. I'm sure the same concept applies for basing. The top active basing squads would want to have more choice and more competition within their competitive field.
One of the main reoccurring complaints that I’ve heard this season in TWL is the lack of competition. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first year in TWL that has swayed from the traditional “16 squads per league status”, largely due to the lack of TWL caliber squadrons within each division.
Less people per squad will lead to more squads. More squads will lead to more diversity, different bonds will form. If a captain wants more players, he has to make his squad play in more than one division. More multi-division squads will thus increasing the competition in leagues. My ultimate goal is having more squads that play in all three leagues. I predict that by this time next year, if we implement a roster regulation, we will see 40 TWDD squads, 35 TWJD squads, and 30 TWBD squads.
______________
After playing one full year of Trench Wars (without “retiring” in the middle) and taking part in my first TWL, I feel like the game needs some competitive stimulus that will reignite the competition. With people quitting and newer games such as World of Warcraft in the picture, we have to push Trench War’s strongest selling point in order to attract more players and keep our current ones interested. Personally, I think that keeping our existing players happy is more important than the “fresh blood” that is brought in through our advertisement campaign. To keep things simple, two things we must do is to increase the competition of the zone and at the same time build a stronger, tighter community. Both can be accomplish by creating a roster limit.
Having a roster limit will cause the bigger squads in TWD (squads with around 40~ players) to be more selective about who they want on the squad. Inactive players and players that are unable to match up to the particular squad’s competition level will become less valuable to the captain(s) of the squad if he or she needs to adhere to a roster limit. The removal of the lower tier players from each squad will make those players join squads more suitable to their skill level, or even better, stimulate the creation of NEW squads thus creating more options for TW players in terms of squads to play and squads to join. The increase in the number of new High, Mid, and Low leveled squads will equate to a greater contest, making this game more attractive, sharpening our dull competitive edge.
The second big advantage of having smaller squads is that players will start to build a stronger relationship with one another. People constantly say that the “community” from this game is the strongest selling point of Continuum. A smaller, more intimate roster will give people a bigger opportunity to get to know one another. Players will feel a greater sense of belonging as opposed to being just 1 player in a crowd of 50. This will also be a blow to the ever annoying “squad hoppers” because the limit will put more pressure on the captain(s) to NOT recruit a player that will be more likely to leave into their squad. Idealistically, this will cause the “squad hoppers” to eventually settle down and become a true part of a squad. The more a player is attached to their squad, the more he or she will want their squad to do better, thus again promoted competition.
The way I envision the roster limitation is very different than the one brought up before. Instead of the limit being 25 players static, the limit will change depending on activity within multiple leagues. This is how I see it:
Each single division squadron will have a roster limit of 25 players. The squad’s main division will be the one with the most games played in. For every additional division the particular squad is active in, the roster limit will increase for them by the number of (5) players. Thus, the absolute maximum for a roster will be 35 players, assuming the particular squad plays TWDD, TWJD, and TWBD. In order to be considered “active” within a division, the squad must play at least (2) games of that division per week. If a squad attempts to bypass the system by not meeting the quota of 2 games per week after they had their roster limit increased, the squad will be frozen from TWD until they fulfill their quota.
For example, let’s say Rape squadron is a new squad that is starting out within the TWDD. After I (captain Valholy) recruited my full roster of 25 players, I still want to recruit a few more members. I then go on to make my squad play the two require JD (or BD) games to increase our roster cap to 30 players. All is well until, hypothetically speaking; one week I don’t meet the quota of two JD games that lets me have a roster max of 30 players. At this point, I’ve only played 1 JD game that week but I have a roster of 29 members, thus Rape squadron is frozen from playing within our main division, which is TWDD. I am faced with the choice of whether playing another JD or axing 4 members. As the good captain I am, I play another JD and keep my 4 extra players.
On a side not, to prevent havoc and chaos, there would be a "Grandfather Clause" allowing squads who are above the limit at the time the rule begins to keep their rosters. However, if they wanted to add a player, they must trade another player off the squad (or something, I haven't really put much thought into it yet but we can work this out later).
After reading that, most of you will probably react like “WOH WTF IZ DIS GUI THINKINZ”. This is actually an idea that is meant to pwn two birds with one stone. First of all, this will obviously cause captains AND players to be more selective with their squad, buy raising the opportunity cost on both sides. Also, this will lead to more squads eventually being three league squadrons. Captains will want to recruit more players so they will have more incentive to try out the other divisions. Personally, the only reason why I started to enjoy basing is because a few members of my squad forced me to play. Basing is fun. Warbirds just don’t give it a serious chance. Since I picked up basing, I got to know some of its players, learned the strategies (cram, don’t kill mid sharks, etc) and found a new aspect of this game I enjoy. Hopefully, the same thing will happen for me in the Javelin division.
To further my point, this is a conversation I had with a player while I was writing this:
Valholy> do you like basing?
little bud> Im not really experienced in basing
Valholy> do you enjoy it though?
little bud> yeah, it's okay, kinda cool
Valholy> how often do you base?
little bud> havent done a lot of it
little bud> hardly ever..
Valholy> do you think you would enjoy it more if your squad based more?
little bud> yeah it would be cool
A common theme I see amongst basers is their mission to introduce more players into basing. Ultimately, that goal is to have a more diverse experience within basing games. An effortless method to gain that diversity is to give more incentive to the squads that do not BD. With the new roster rule, Warbird and Javelin squads will most likely play more basing games to gain the benefit of 5 extra players onto their roster. Once those squads play a few games and get a hang of basing, they will genuinely start to enjoy the division. I often see the same 5 or 6 squad playing BDs against each other, there is not much diversity. I'm not much of a baser, but speaking from TWDD experience, I find it more enjoyable to play different squads throughout the day as opposed to playing the same players. I'm sure the same concept applies for basing. The top active basing squads would want to have more choice and more competition within their competitive field.
One of the main reoccurring complaints that I’ve heard this season in TWL is the lack of competition. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first year in TWL that has swayed from the traditional “16 squads per league status”, largely due to the lack of TWL caliber squadrons within each division.
Less people per squad will lead to more squads. More squads will lead to more diversity, different bonds will form. If a captain wants more players, he has to make his squad play in more than one division. More multi-division squads will thus increasing the competition in leagues. My ultimate goal is having more squads that play in all three leagues. I predict that by this time next year, if we implement a roster regulation, we will see 40 TWDD squads, 35 TWJD squads, and 30 TWBD squads.
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