Next competition

[HugoVirtuoso]

Aren't those just the default settings.
Not sure what you meant by this.

Those default PosChengband settings + race/class combo of choice (I should have said Tonberry Skillmaster) = highest chance of ME winning any compo (at least one and notwithstanding the 100% uniques)

^ That's what I meant!

[HugoVirtuoso]

Perhaps the next compo should be on PosChengband 7.0.0!!

[Montana71]

This is a great idea. Though I was a aware of, and bookmarked, the competition page, I rarely visited it (and never entered a competition).

I'm also fully on board with frequent, mini-ladder updates. This will make it feel much more like a competition, rather than a blind auction.

Another idea might be to to have 3 or 4 competitions running simultaneously, but staggered. Maybe start a competition in a different variant every week or so, just in case the current competition isn't ones cup of tea. That way one wouldn't have to wait weeks/months for a new competition to begin.

yeah this is the best idea have more then 1 option a month do like 1 monster class and 2 others maybe at same time and people can keep up on a separate ladder for all 3 so you can keep on with the one your playing.

[HugoVirtuoso]

yeah this is the best idea have more then 1 option a month do like 1 monster class and 2 others maybe at same time and people can keep up on a separate ladder for all 3 so you can keep on with the one your playing.

This should be implemented. Gwarl - you should find a way to make this happen!

[Gwarl]

So, there's this issue with competition mode on the server:

https://github.com/OwenGHB/angband-webclient/issues/5

Vanilla and FAAngband are afaik the only two variants with this savefile header information, which is what competition mode currently relies on.

Since I've been short of free time lately, I won't be able to solve this by next weekend. I have thought up a way to get around this and still enable competition savefiles to be played on the server, but won't be recording runs. This seems acceptable since there isn't a playback feature to use the recordings with yet. So recording will go on ice, and when I find the time to implement playback all the entries for this competition and the last will be available to watch.

Only at that point will I worry about recording games again.

Also: I would like to change the rules at some point. Getting the same colours of potion and identically named scrolls every run doesn't sit right with me, nor does the ability to get the same first dungeon level every game. That's an opinion I've had for a while. The next competition will follow the same format as is traditional, but for the one after I like the idea of programmatically generating savefiles which have completed the birth process and offering a download link somewhere that provides a new file with every click.

If anyone would like to strongly object, you have plenty of time.

[debo]

The problem with that is that it theoretically encourages startscumming. I don't think anyone is going to practically do that, though, so it should be fine.

[wobbly]

Neither start scumming or paying attention to flavours are things I care to do, I guess unless you force on-line play (something I'd like less then cheat checking) you have to live with something. My preference is to allow someone to just quick start rather than re-download the old save.

[Philip]

I feel like the information leaks from everyone having the same savefile are less important than everyone having the same starting town/stuff/whatever. Changing this feels like a fix to a problem that doesn't really exist. I did not use any of the information leaks in my game this comp either, for example.

The only times I know of that the fixed start has mattered were in Ironband and in FA (ironman, to boot) thrall mode, and those are very much special cases.

[Gwarl]

I personally can't help but remember object flavours. And once I've realised I've remembered 2 or 3 correctly I get the cognitive struggling of admitting that I know them and not wanting to 'cheat'. I also find it tedious setting the options to my own preferences at the beginning of each run (not everything lives inside .prf's)

[debo]

Let's remove the ID game from all competition variants! That would fix the problem

[HugoVirtuoso]

Perhaps, randomization should be on realtime turns NOT game turns. -- Probably really hard to implement.

[Philip]

Outside of variants with crazy use-id systems, knowing flavors is of negligible importance.

As for setting options, I fail to see how your proposed system avoids that really.

[GenericPseudonym]

Perhaps, randomization should be on realtime turns NOT game turns. -- Probably really hard to implement.

Well the issue is that things like potion flavors are usually randomized when the save is first created, and competitions work by giving everyone a pre-created save file. The point at which the save starts is going to be AFTER the game has already decided to make CCW the gloopy green potion and heroism the speckled brown potion.

[murphy]

Im not sure its worth it to take measures to prevent some perceived cheating. Because I think if players want to cheat, they are going to cheat anyway, by hacking the code to get free identify of these randomized flavors or whatever. I remember a npp comp a few years back where someone had like 50 artifacts by clvl 20, I think I had 2 at that same point in the game. I thought dude had obviously done some hacking, and I cant really imagine how that makes it fun, but I dont think its worth getting upset about either. Theres nothing at stake, Im just here for the enjoyment of it.

[Estie]

Im not sure its worth it to take measures to prevent some perceived cheating. Because I think if players want to cheat, they are going to cheat anyway, by hacking the code to get free identify of these randomized flavors or whatever. I remember a npp comp a few years back where someone had like 50 artifacts by clvl 20, I think I had 2 at that same point in the game. I thought dude had obviously done some hacking, and I cant really imagine how that makes it fun, but I dont think its worth getting upset about either. Theres nothing at stake, Im just here for the enjoyment of it.

I dont think anyone is trying to cheat, its just that you cant avoid noticing that that pink speckled potion is lose memories so next time you play you know not to drink it.