TWD conglomerate squad

[l s]

Well the original post said new players and non-squadded players already registered for TWD. How do you categorize new players? Anyone not on a TWD squad? If you start logging IPs you have to start at some point in time. I've played TW for a long time but never played TWD, so will I be signed up? I think I may have briefly joined a squad for a league here but the leader was a prick so I left without playing any matches.

By forcing people onto squads you could lose as many players as you attract into league.

jim,


We have a way of tracking new players entering the zone, and that's what we use to categorize new players, Jim. Forcing players into squads can be a problem. But, building relationships with them by conversing and asking them to join up the fun isn't. But, I definitely see where you're going with that. Thanks, Jim.


Later,
Slick

[MHz]

I think the strength of the idea is getting lost when people start bandying around phrases like "forced onto a squad." All this would require is a publicly available password & chat: the choice is then still with the player. Think of it as a pool of players who are auto-registered on TWD on a designated generic team.

For clarification on who would be added to the "generic team":

1) Every fresh IP/computer ID that enters zone (wouldn't be hard to ascertain, just cross reference with TWD IP records.)
2) Anybody TWD registered (provided it's an active/primary account) who isn't on a squad
3) Anybody who leaves their current squad and remains squadless for X amount of time

The problem the zone has at the moment is that sub-arenas like base/javduel/wbduel aren't that active, meaning there isn't much on offer other than pub and events for 1) 2) 3). Those who are squadless, new to the zone/TWD compose a large portion of the TW population and could easily field competitive teams. Why exclude?

[Rab]

Problems:
- players don't know about TWD
- creating / joining a squad is complicated

over a year ago I proposed solutions to these problems. I got ignored. This solution is just worse than what I already said.

[jim the chin]

1) Every fresh IP/computer ID that enters zone (wouldn't be hard to ascertain, just cross reference with TWD IP records.)

See, this is what I don't understand. If someone has played TW for years, but never played TWD, then they will show up as a "fresh IP" when you start your cross-referencing exercise, won't they?

We have a way of tracking new players entering the zone, and that's what we use to categorize new players

This suggests you are already logging the computer IDs of everyone who is playing the zone currently. In which case, your idea would work... though I don't remember being informed that this information was being recorded.

[jim the chin]

I still maintain this is a bad idea. If you're going to auto-register non-squadded TWD players to this squad, many will probably leave the zone altogether. If you're going to auto-register new players to this squad, you could easily scare many of them away. If I started playing a multiplayer game like CoD or whatever is popular, and a message came up saying "You have been automatically joined to <name> squadron" I would run a mile. People start playing a game because they want to test it out anonymously with no obligation to do anything. Telling people they've been joined into a squad is going to make a lot of them leave instantly.

[Jerome Scuggs]

I still maintain this is a bad idea. If you're going to auto-register non-squadded TWD players to this squad, many will probably leave the zone altogether. If you're going to auto-register new players to this squad, you could easily scare many of them away. If I started playing a multiplayer game like CoD or whatever is popular, and a message came up saying "You have been automatically joined to <name> squadron" I would run a mile. People start playing a game because they want to test it out anonymously with no obligation to do anything. Telling people they've been joined into a squad is going to make a lot of them leave instantly.

So basically the same reasons mandatory health insurance is bad, are the same reasons squadrons are bad. You can leave now, the jig is up Ted Cruz

Do you have any sort of anecdotal proof or evidence? If you can hop on Google and find one post from any other gamer forum where someone claimed to have quit due to starting out said game already joined to a clan or squad, I'll suck your dick thru the internet.

Conversely, I know that at least one game DOES have this system in place - EVE Online. They are doing pretty goddamned good over there. (Actually the EVE Online forums might be a great place to find a forum thread discussing the cons of mandatory squadding.)

[MHz]

This is what I've been hearing thus far then...

Negatives

* Squadless and new players will be given the opportunity to play for a team they didn't explicitly choose (Can't see this bothering anybody in reality.)
* There may not be any staff willing to run the squad (Au contraire, there are plenty of responsible staff who would cherish a position of power.)
* Potential problem in assessing who is truly a "new player" (We do OK assessing who is double squadding, don't we?)

Positives

* Any 4 squadless/new players can group together and challenge any TWD team
* Chat/Password will be publicly available but there's no compulsion to join in-game
* Dramatically increases the # of eligible players in TWD overnight
* Gives newbies a chance to progress into competitive game play
* Gives veterans who log on every 3 months readily available games
* Gives squadless players intermediatory activity

[jim the chin]

Squadless and new players will be given the opportunity to play for a team they didn't explicitly choose (Can't see this bothering anybody in reality.)

Anyone forced into a squad has the opportunity to play. No point putting that kind of spin on it.

It could work if you don't tell people they've inadvertently signed up for something. So something like, "If you would like to try a league match in this game, then type ?chat=league to find some team-mates. To talk on this chat channel, begin sentences with ;"

You don't need to tell people they're actually in the league database already. Oh, and don't refer to it as TWD because they won't know wtf that is.

Potential problem in assessing who is truly a "new player" (We do OK assessing who is double squadding, don't we?)

What has double squadding got to do with it? People who aren't playing in league presumably don't have their computer IDs logged/checked (or maybe they do? I don't know). So how do you tell someone not playing league from a completely new player? Plenty of people make the choice not to play league, and I imagine they'll be quite unhappy if you sign them up for TWD.

[Jerome Scuggs]

MHz summed it up - the positives are real, valid benefits to implementing a new system. The negatives are literally nothing but arguments for the sake of argument.

jim the chin can ignore my absolutely valid post, but he obviously is unaware of my long reign on this forum as the king of needless and petulant argumentation. all of his warrants are in no way based in reality, and when asked to provide any sort of material claims to these warrants, he instead chooses to respond to the post where his bullshit isn't directly being called out.

[McVicar]

But that chin is impressive

[jim the chin]

:laugh:

But that chin is impressive

True, though it's all relative to the chin god himself:

[l s]

See, this is what I don't understand. If someone has played TW for years, but never played TWD, then they will show up as a "fresh IP" when you start your cross-referencing exercise, won't they?

This suggests you are already logging the computer IDs of everyone who is playing the zone currently. In which case, your idea would work... though I don't remember being informed that this information was being recorded.

Jim,

This recording has been available since years before this conversation we are having right now. It's not a new tool that we have.

Thanks for your reply, Jim.

[zidane]

my god i just read this thread... wish i could get those 3 minutes of my life back from reading jim the chin's posts

[Izor]

Whos going to force them to ?squadjoin? The main obvious negative would be people showing up to an arena where they might just end up sitting in spec and not getting in, or waiting until they do get in only to get stomped repeatedly and go 0-10 with no chance of ever winning. I guess this is part of the learning experience. I mean I'll have to ask paladen how that is fun.

And unlike on a game with no economy where this may be viable, Obamacare is a terrible law that is essentially trying to redistribute wealth. I dont want to pay for trashy people with their 5 kids by virtue of my premium going up. For all I care they can die in a gutter with their crackhead parents. I guess thats incredibly abrasive, but given the option of paying for it I would say no. That's what charities are for. Not the government's job. Not my responsibility.

[jim the chin]

Jim,

This recording has been available since years before this conversation we are having right now. It's not a new tool that we have.

Thanks for your reply, Jim.

Thanks Slick. If someone could have said that two days ago...

Anyway, what Izor said is right. You don't want completely new players getting stomped in league on their first day.