TWDT Season 31: Rules (updated)

[Turban]

Rules for this season can be found by clicking this link. Subject to change as always, but you will be notified when any rule modifications are done.

[Ardour]

I love this game and just want to play all three leagues. But TWD is dead because of TWDT and now you’ve ruined the one aspect of TWDT that made it more inclusive.

The star cap forced captains to use a wider range of players. It gave meaning to every star rating. Now? Stars are meaningless. It’s just: “Are you a 7★ or below or not?” Everything else doesn’t matter. It’s all about opinion and captain favouritism.

If all these high-rated players were complaining about the star limit, they should go play TWL, where it’s purely about competition and only the best get to play.

TWDT used to be the league that gave hope to the rest of us, the ones outside the elitist circles. The star cap created balance and made accurate ratings important. A small .5 difference could change a team’s composition, and if your rating dropped slightly, it might actually help you get play time. Now, none of that matters.

At the very least, you should’ve kept the star cap for the regular season and then removed it for playoffs, when the best should rise to the top. That would’ve kept both inclusivity and competition intact.

In my second-to-last season, I got drafted by Rough, probably just to bench me, but at least he was honest and told me I wouldn’t see any jav time. As abrasive as he is, I respect his honesty. Then I got traded to Stayon’s team, who also told me straight that I’d only be needed for warbirds. At least they were honest. Now I am on Dreamwins team and I'm benched in all 3 going forward as after the brief small shot I was given, I didn't stand out enough and although didn't do as bad as others didn't prove that I should be started over them.

I’m not pretending to be unbiased here. The star cap helped players like me, who are lower valued. But it gave everyone a chance. Now, you could rate me 10, 10, 10 or 7.5, 7.5, 7.5 and it wouldn’t make a difference. I’d still barely play.

I hate you all.

Thanks for reading my emotional support essay.

See you in MMR. The last safe haven for people who just want to play… unless you’re called Jessup and already in every troll’s crosshairs.

[bike]

Ardour I remember you used to be elite WB. I guess that was like 2005. Still though. YOU HAVE THE POWER

Grinding in MMR and achieving elite status there seems to be a somewhat legitimate way to prove worthiness to play in leagues. It is honestly kind of weird to bank on playing in a league based on not being good. Anyway everyone who does anything on here is doing so as a volunteer, as far as I understand, so if you want to volunteer your time to improve the experience for everyone, I'm sure you'd be more than welcome.

[Ardour]

Actually, I don’t agree with you. I was going to quit quietly for good, but I’m too annoyed, so I’m going to rant.

It might sound like a strange argument, but the point I’m making is exactly why I’m frustrated. The old rule gave me, and others like me, a fair chance to get some playtime. I ended up being rated lower and broken, and with that rule gone, it just means I’ll stay benched. Now captains can freely play all the higher-rated players above me, and if I’m not personally friends with them, I don’t get a shot.

That rule created balance across the player base. Removing it gives the higher-ranked players even more playtime and fewer people to compete against for starting spots, while the lower-ranked players are left sitting out with no opportunity. That’s how TWL used to be and if people want that kind of exclusivity, they should be helping to keep TWD alive instead. TWDT was meant to be different.

Why are MMR-J and MMR-D so popular right now? Because they’re inclusive. The bot creates balanced teams based on actual performance. That’s exactly how things should work.

As for your point about volunteering, when I contribute, I do so as a developer, since that’s my skillset. I created TWLM version 1, and rebuilt it again for the last TWL run, importing all previous season stats into a current database. I was an early developer for TWDT back in 2009 when the star system worked very differently, and I built the signup functionality for the website. I also imported previous season stats into a database to create an automated star valuation system, which was the last thing I completed before stepping away due to work commitments. I think history and stats are one of the things that make a league so meaningful and desirable to be a part of and win.

I’m still an inactive developer for the game. My current project is a bot designed to record matches and allow them to be replayed later in a web browser.

I’m completely against how TWDT is being run now. Every season, a handful of opinionated players assign ratings that are based more on personal bias than on actual performance. That’s the fundamental flaw.

TWDT’s failures are exactly why MMR is so successful. MMR provides more value because it’s fair and performance-driven. You mentioned my history, yes, I used to be competitive, played for -FINAL-, and got benched week after week during my prime because the captain preferred to play a friend over me. It didn’t matter how well I played. After that, I swore never to be like that. I found more enjoyment playing for lower-ranked squads made up of good people who valued fun and sharing playtime.

You were often a rival, and I enjoyed that competition. More often than not, you got the better of me, but I respected your skill and the way you carried yourself. You were never a troll, and that meant something.

I know I’m not popular in this game. The trolls I call out have it in for me, and they’re the loudest voices in the community. I’ve made peace with that. But this latest rule change feels like the final straw. Just another example of how decisions made by a few volunteers end up shifting leagues away from their original purpose instead of improving them. And because of that my project won't come to fruition because if I'm not enjoying this game then for sure I don't find the time to spend any time developing for it. I definitely don't agree that volunteering in order to change the rule is the answer. As that's the problem here.