TWL Season 19 Brainstorming

[Reckful]

I've been tasked with my final project for TWL and I'm hoping to make the best I can from it. This is my attempt to gather public opinion for real changes to the next season of TWL. I've already started gather a list of ideas from different people some from this forum for things to work on this year for the new TWL staff. My current list is as follows:

1. Update rules to be more modernized and reflect any additional changes this offseason.
2. Find a better way to coordinate bot and web updates with dev.
3. Look for improvements to the website.
4. Update the bots to Season 19 for zoners and ensure the rulesets are correct.
5. Look at and hopefully implement a new qualification method to seperate TWL from TWD.
6. Finalize 5 staff members as TWL-Ops and have them select a TWL Head from amongst them.
7. Determine if any changes are needed to current map, lag or resolution settings.
8. 1 on 1 train any staff member wishing to host a TWL game prior to them hosting to avoid issues with them not knowing bot commands / how to check lag properly.
9. Set a clear system of rules that are to be followed when the bots are crashing or DDoS occurs.
10. Consider not hosting all 3 TWL finals on the same day.
11. Look at other options for playoff brackets to allow the best possible competition.
12. Look at changes to the current soft / hard lock formats.



This is of course not everything I hope to accomplish and I'm certain this list will grow as time goes on. However, right now I'm asking the public for anything they can throw into the mix that can be looked at for next season I intend to ask the council the same thing to get as much feedback as we can to make things right next season. As for the TWL staff next season I myself will be stepping down in the next couple of weeks once the ground work is laid for the next group to succeed. I'm also look to find 1 final TWL-Op for next season so our total will be 5.

TWL staff for next season is as follows

Turban
Ricko
Undercut
Tiny

One slot remains to be picked as for who will actually Head TWL next season it will be 1 of the 5 members selected by themselves rather then being appointed from another section of staff. That should ensure more unity on major decisions in TWL next season. Also congrats to turban on returning to staff hopefully we dont all get corrupted and start watching anime instead of running the zone.

[Ricko]

always enjoy seeing Undercut's name below mine, where it belongs

[Tiny]

Yea, wtf is turban doin on top.

[Shaddowknight]

Set up a schedule, including weeks off (due to holidays for example), including exact lock dates (when any changes to it are determined).
Gather feedback on the all-star game, and create improvements to voting/schedule if needed.
Recruit dedicated people for HoN, recording, and commentary. Set up bots/teamspeak for these if needed (Like how Aura used to record stuff live on Twitch). Set groundrules for anything needed (keeping the commentary clean, if it will be endorsed by the zone and staff, as an example).

[but...why...per...]

I will volunteer for the remaining league spot, though I will need to speak Up in ya!!, Beasty and Willby about transferring over from events to TWD Op first.

[Vatican Assassin]

Ephemeral has a lot to say about this and would love to redo the TWL rules but soupero made fun of him on forums one time so he left.

[kthx]

Theres no need for a ten week ordeal, cut aquads out during the league world cup group style. Its fucking stupid to be lding 0-9 teams that late in twl

[Crescent Seal]

Ephemeral has a lot to say about this and would love to redo the TWL rules but soupero made fun of him on forums one time so he left.

LOL

turban-chan ganbatte!!!! ^______________________________^v

[Turban]

making TWD (or more specifically, off-season) more relevant would probably be of utmost importance. currently there is no incentive for squads to play seriously until the qualification date has been announced. not to forget that the way squads get picked is flawed, it only promotes short spurts of activity for the squad to make the eventual cut. i would like to promote squad longevity, encouraging them to stick together for a longer period than 4-5 months only to form a super squad. we could look into running a series of small-scale leagues or tournaments during the off-season where squads would get circuit points for their overall performance. these points could be used to select the squads that will make it to the real TWL season. we would have to do a couple of test runs to tweak and fix any problems that arise and to get the players themselves used to a brand-new qualification system. this is only one idea among many others. nothing has been set in stone.

i firmly believe we have to change the current playoff format. there is honestly no reason for six teams to make it to the playoffs in an eight team ladder. this league is meant to be a competitive one; only the very best teams should advance to the playoffs. there's no reason to prolong an already long season. we could even try to figure out ways to make it shorter if enough people want that.

we could look into having home arenas for squads similar to how we had some years ago (e.g. ?go TWLJMAMBO) to make the games more fun to play. of course there would be a set of rules you would have to follow when you submit a map (such as it can't be too bright, absoutely no tile location changes and no flashy splash images) if would want to have a home arena. once again, only an idea that is probably worthy of discussion.

i would like to push forward the soft lock and hard lock dates as i feel they happen too early at the moment. soft lock could be after the round 4 matches are done and hard lock around week 6 as an example.

but for now, i think we should focus on picking the twl structure that we're going to use this season and rewrite the rules after those changes have been picked. no point to have two groups doing their own thing and then having to rewrite the rules because of conflicts that may happen due to communication issues. if possible, i would like to have bwp and ephemeral working together to write the new set of rules.

updating the site would be nice, but we can use simply use the old one if we don't have enough manpower to remake the site. it's not a necessity.

we're going to have a meeting soon to discuss a lot of different topics and ideas about the next season, so feel free to suggest anything. i'm open for any kinds ideas of improvement as long as they are plausible. nothing has been set in stone, feel free to discuss and improve any ideas in this thread.

[Turban]

i will also look into having (for once) a successful all-star weekend, even though that project apparently belongs to tiny. i would also like to bring back the good old TWLDM event if there's enough interest for that to happen. the map would need to be updated, but that shouldn't take too long.

don't worry, twld will keep the old resolution limits of 1280x1024 or 1440x900. we're not dumb enough to mess with that one.

[Shaddowknight]

I had once suggested splitting twl, doing each league at different times of year (kinda how the olympics were divided into summer/winter), but was shot down. Could be worth considering though

[Turban]

if we want more games to be played during the playoffs (for god knows what reason) then i could suggest using a winner and loser bracket system which seems to be fairly popular in game tournaments. with this system we could still have seed #1 vs seed #2 finals, but upsets could happen if the competition is high enough.

WINNER BRACKET

#1 vs #4 (M1)
              -> WINNER OF M1 vs WINNER OF M2 (M5)
#2 vs #3 (M2)  

LOSERS of the WINNER BRACKET ADVANCE to ROUND 2 of LOSER BRACKET for a SECOND CHANCE

LOSER BRACKET

#5 vs #8 (M3)
             -> WINNER OF M3 vs LOSER OF M1 (M6)
                                                -> WINNER OF M6 vs M7 (M8)
             -> WINNER OF M4 vs LOSER OF M2 (M7) 
#6 vs #7 (M4)

this format would have way too many games, but just an idea if we had enough competitive teams (won't happen).

 this format could be used in the qualifier tournament(s) if we plan on doing that.

WINNER BRACKET (SEEDS #1 to #4 AFTER THE REGULAR SEASON IS OVER)

#1 vs #4 (M1, BO1)
              -> WINNER OF M1 vs WINNER OF M2 (M4)
#2 vs #3 (M2, BO1)  

LOSERS of the WINNER BRACKET DROP TO the LOSER BRACKET for a SECOND CHANCE


LOSER M1 vs LOSER M2 (M3, BO3)  -> WINNER OF M3 vs LOSER OF M4 (M5, BO3)

FINAL would be WINNER of M4 vs WINNER of M5. Best of Five. 

The winner of winners bracket would gain an extra win for not falling to the losers bracket, thus has the advantage in the finals.

whoops. edit didn't work. i would prefer the format below as i don't see much point in having 8 teams in the playoffs, but my edit didn't save so whatever. i'd prefer not to prolong an already long season.

[Crescent Seal]

making TWD (or more specifically, off-season) more relevant would probably be of utmost importance. currently there is no incentive for squads to play seriously until the qualification date has been announced. not to forget that the way squads get picked is flawed, it only promotes short spurts of activity for the squad to make the eventual cut. i would like to promote squad longevity, encouraging them to stick together for a longer period than 4-5 months only to form a super squad. we could look into running a series of small-scale leagues or tournaments during the off-season where squads would get circuit points for their overall performance. these points could be used to select the squads that will make it to the real TWL season. we would have to do a couple of test runs to tweak and fix any problems that arise and to get the players themselves used to a brand-new qualification system. this is only one idea among many others. nothing has been set in stone.

i firmly believe we have to change the current playoff format. there is honestly no reason for six teams to make it to the playoffs in an eight team ladder. this league is meant to be a competitive one; only the very best teams should advance to the playoffs. there's no reason to prolong an already long season. we could even try to figure out ways to make it shorter if enough people want that.

we could look into having home arenas for squads similar to how we had some years ago (e.g. ?go TWLJMAMBO) to make the games more fun to play. of course there would be a set of rules you would have to follow when you submit a map (such as it can't be too bright, absoutely no tile location changes and no flashy splash images) if would want to have a home arena. once again, only an idea that is probably worthy of discussion.

i would like to push forward the soft lock and hard lock dates as i feel they happen too early at the moment. soft lock could be after the round 4 matches are done and hard lock around week 6 as an example.

but for now, i think we should focus on picking the twl structure that we're going to use this season and rewrite the rules after those changes have been picked. no point to have two groups doing their own thing and then having to rewrite the rules because of conflicts that may happen due to communication issues. if possible, i would like to have bwp and ephemeral working together to write the new set of rules.

updating the site would be nice, but we can use simply use the old one if we don't have enough manpower to remake the site. it's not a necessity.

we're going to have a meeting soon to discuss a lot of different topics and ideas about the next season, so feel free to suggest anything. i'm open for any kinds ideas of improvement as long as they are plausible. nothing has been set in stone, feel free to discuss and improve any ideas in this thread.

twd/twl

1. reward players for excelling in twd. (give a small ribbon on the website, title, etc. to players who have played the most games, have the most kills, most mvps, etc.)
2. tournaments such as an all squad deathmatch would be great during the dry periods of this game. (5vs5vs5vs5vsETC.)
3. reward players for elim, javduel, and wbduel (see #1)
4. twl website is garbage and it needs to be a priority
5. soft/hard lock rules need to be clearly defined and revamped
6. figure out a better structure for twl that increases competition and activity
7. trying to implement AI bots into twd gameplay would be really nice. if activity is suffering then a group of players (3-5) can play against bots and select the difficulty level. (fork also suggested a giant AI Boss to play against)

[Turban]

i was actually thinking about having an award ceremony of some sorts after the TWL season, rewarding the best performing players (best captain, best overall javelin/baser/warbird/player, most full games played) after finals. maybe. could look into having something like that added to twd/elim as well, but i'm not a part of that team yet.

[Jones]

don't worry, twld will keep the old resolution limits of 1280x1024 or 1440x900. we're not dumb enough to mess with that one.

then i suggest restricting the res in twdd and twdd2 and move the no-restriction to twdd3