Season End - 12th of September

[VAN1SH1NG]

I believe that no one will reach level 20 in the near future. So I am setting an end date about one week from today, Friday Sept 12. The main reason for this is to make changes that are difficult to make mid season.

Results when ladder dies next Friday will be final. Due to practically no TBD being played this season, TBD ranks will be deleted and starting ranks for next season will be again based on last season rating. New season starts the following day (Saturday).

I have yet to decide if I will to keep any achievement data. The plan for after beta is they will not be per season, but lifetime (though many achievements can be earned each season adding to your point total). I'd prefer to get rid of the current data since some backend changes were made to it midseason which makes some of the earlier achievement data harder to support going forward.

Due to the rating system being too difficult to change midseason I'd also prefer to have one more 'beta' season.

The new rating system is a hybrid of the one this season and the previous season. Normal ratings will be back. The balancer will still work much as it did this season though in that it will not use your exact rating for balance. So LVL X = ratings between 1200 and 1350. Players at this level will be balanced based on a 1275 rating. I might drop the rating difference between levels though down to 120 or 100 (currently at 150).

Actually I do hope to improve the balancer to create more compatible teams rather than just go by ratings alone. But as far as ratings it will work as now and not use exact ratings. So I expect the people who do not like the current level system will not be too happy with this either. The main differences are the rating system is continuous again rather than starting at 150 at each level and it is very easy to make adjustments to mid season.

I am also getting rid of having to reach a specific level to win the season.

[Clam]

I kinda liked that "win to end it" idea, but oh well.

Walt has so many achievement points though, it would be a shame to wipe them. On the other hand, I can get the seafood achievement again!

[zz-]

Got to say all of these changes sound brilliant to me, excited to see old ratings back. I'd agree with shrinking the levels to fewer points because I don't agree with levels system overall.

Taking away the race to level 20 element good as well, some people can't play as much as others and race isn't really fair.

No opinion on achievement stuff cause I am a curmudgeon and don't like them

[VAN1SH1NG]

Originally Posted by zz-

Got to say all of these changes sound brilliant to me, excited to see old ratings back. I'd agree with shrinking the levels to fewer points because I don't agree with levels system overall.

Taking away the race to level 20 element good as well, some people can't play as much as others and race isn't really fair.

No opinion on achievement stuff cause I am a curmudgeon and don't like them

Probably going to make the levels 100 points apart to keep things simpler. I personally think the level system has worked well except that it needs to be continuous vs starting in the middle of a level. I will try to gather feedback around the end of next season to determine if the balancer should use level or rating. I am also considering that the balancer would use rating for the first X games a player players to help earlier games be balanced better.

For next season players with a win percentage far greater than or less than 50% will be earning more points than they do now. This will be to help out players who don't play as much. Also you the points per game will be slightly lower if you are near 50% win rate.

I will say it in advance that achievement data will not be saved from the upcoming season. I don't want to bother with it in beta. I will keep achievements in though so I can test any new achievement features that are added.

The season will be short, lasting between 1 and 1.5 months. This is just to wrap up the beta period and finish testing of new features.

Most importantly I am here to announce how starting ratings will be assigned next season. I am not giving the top players what was basically a head start again.

Tier 1: Levels 8+
Tier 2: Levels 4-7
Tier 3: Below Level 4

These tiers only apply to those who have played 20 or more games of ball ladder this season. If < 20 games it will fall back to last seasons rating (not sure exact cutoffs yet). If <20 games played during both this season and last season you will start at the same level as those in tier 3.

Ball is the only mode I will keep data for this season. Other mode data will be wiped at end of season. They just aren't played enough for a short season.