FireMessiah wrote:
the best way to fix the ladder is for everyone to shut the hell up about the ladder,
it was fine, it was working, and hundreds of people played it everyday.
do we really need to change every single aspect of FA?
be grateful for what we have, the best RTS in history, that gets far more support and improvements more regular than most, is still going strong, if basically free, and will continue for years!
the handful of people who caused this shutdown, should be ashamed of themselves.
I am just one of the many hundreds of players, who are eagerly awaiting the return of the ladder... in whatever format.
^ This.
I don't think it was necessary to remove the ladder feature. Games on this account for 50% of my time here. Without it, I won't be coming back for a while. I would have prefered the ladder be maintained in current form rather then removed.
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However, seeing as everyone is determined to re-hash the ladder. I will make my thoughts known.
I have no particular issues with any of the maps which have appeared in the ladder. The only issue I have had is the frequency with which they are changed and the lack of warning when doing so. I believe that rotations should be made at clearly defined intervals and the map list be published prior to the rotation being introduced.
A also think that, regardless of the selection criteria, those maps selected need to be pre-approved by Mods or the FAF team. The criteria being team balance, factional balance, visual quality and gameplay appeal. Custom Map authors should be responsible for getting their maps approved before they can even be considered.
Aside from this, I think that voting and veto should be kept to a bare minimum. Ranked ladder is not about enjoyment. It is about competition. Thus the map selection should not be based on what people like. It should not be biased toward the selection of a few players. Who would simply choose maps upon which they (or their faction) can easily win. Competitions ought to take place within clear boundaries. The concept of popular vote is contrary to this. If players have any say in map selection, they WILL use this for personal advantage. As it has now become an aspect of the meta-game.
The map pool should be selected to represent the full spectrum of map diversity and gameplay styles. Including diversity in land/naval, big/small, high/low mass, open/bottlenecked.
The active map pool should be limited to a small number. Say 24 maps or less. With no more than 6 of those being changed each season. New maps can only be selected from the list of pre-approved maps. Maps which were voted in during the previous season cannot be voted out. Maps which were voted out during the previous season cannot be voted in. Maps can only be like for like replacement (that is size, type, etc.). ZeP (or his nominated representative) should have the final say on map selections. He may put this out to a public vote if he wishes. But I would be happier if it were made entierly random.
The new map rotation should be made public and avaliable in the vault before the next season begins. So that players will have time to familiarise.Statistics: Posted by Hawkei — 10 Nov 2013, 20:27
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