Balanced Drop

If I understand you correctly, you are basically suggesting that we should split the map into regions, and then create a random drop within each region that's fairly split between all players.

Is this fair? Sure. But it also removes a lot of randomness from the game and I think it will end up becoming much more dull overall. See, the variance in where your starting territories are makes it so that one game it makes sense to go for North America, and another game for Africa. If you always get exactly 2 regions in Africa, and 1 in Oceania, and... All of a sudden your drop becomes much less relevant in your strategy. You can basically adopt an identical strategy for each game (always get Africa for example) and the drop will never really change your mind. Sounds dull to me.

The whole point of randomness is that you need to play with the hand you got dealt at the start of the game. If you start with a region, you're going to be the prime target for other players. It takes skill to turn that early bonus into an actual advantage that'll win you the game.

Region drops. Dice. People love to blame external factors, but in the end I think it is what makes the game interesting, and if that means every 1000 games there's a really unfair advantage for one player... Suck it up, next time it could be you

I do suck it up. 

I'm saying there are players here that complain to me about it because I run tournaments. I see their frustrations. Keep in mind, I've invited many players (not all of them used my referral code) from my old digs and they all very much dislike this unfair drop that occurs and went elsewhere.

I agree there is more variety in the drop when it is random and I have been lucky with my dice and my drops and I have taken advantage of my luck hence my rank.

What I am also saying is that providing a balanced drop is going to take that randomness out but this is where a good player that can use their strategy to win it and not win by luck alone. I would only want to implement this balanced drop idea in the tournaments for now since i realize this is a lot to ask. 

We can also do Matty's idea...but that does slow things down. 


Edit:  Incidentally winning because of a good drop sucks.  I rather win because it was a good challenge.  Not because it was gifted to me.

Yeah I'd love a set up that prevented complete region bonuses from the drop off. We love random, we love the infinite variety, but if player 1 gets 2 or 3 more first turn, it sucks. I had 3 games today that started that way. Thankfully the other players were ok to quit and restart.

I'd definitely vote for making complete bonuses impossible from the drop.

Given that there are folks who feel strongly about it both ways, I'd definitely support this as a game set-up option, just like playing in the fog or playing with balanced dice. Let the game/tournament creator choose. Sounds good to me.

I'd definitely want less unfair drops, but peri's suggestion sounds really bad to me for the reasons Cireon outlined: the drop'll become too uniform.

I don't know. You deal with the hand you were dealt isn't just an expression. It's a fact of life and randomness is also just a fact of life.

I would just state in those tournaments that you get what you get and there are no restarts. This is a game that combines both luck and skill and to me, taking away the luck just makes it a different type of game.

There are games that are primarily luck based and there are games that are primarily skill based but the whole uniqueness about this game is the variety of ways that both luck and skill can impact a game, how it is played and the outcome as a result.

I can believe what I am hearing here.
Its the drop, its random so it must be good.

How many people played the board game without changing things around to make sure it is a somewhat decent layout?
I dont mind first turn advantage. I also dont mind if they lock a command on their first turn.
But to go into a game where starter payer already has a command bonus is bogus.

Matty had it right and simple.
if everyone doesnt have same number of troops due at begining of game, redrop
That simple

Server time? Joke. how many drops can a server do in 1 second? 2 seconds? Hundreds? thousands?
For maps like atlantis or texas, if it actually takes too long then exclude them from the fair drop.
Or have the query time out after so many drops.

Anyone actually try to determine how many drops it would take on average for a fair drop on 1v1 atlantis or texas? Or are we just talking about what we "know for a fact"?

Continous process improvement is a great thing. take this place to a new level.
Or not

What about no bonuses at the first round? I mean: every drop is legal, but everyone gets only 3 reinforcements at his/her first turn.
This would be less impacting, still giving a chance to break your opponent bonus. Just an idea.

Personally I love this site as is. I pay for premium as most here do I assume, and do so knowing that yes I do get frustrated sure, as we all do I'm sure, when turns don't go well, but I don't want this site to change at all. I don't have an issue with the drop, it's random. Sometimes you get a good drop, sometimes you don't. 

Right now territories are randomized then assigned. So if 42 territories, then 1-42. The suggestion (that I made previously) is that the REGIONS are randomized, and then the territories within it. So if there are 6 regions they would be randomized and then their territories within it. Territories would be assigned basically grouped by region first. So there would be NO WAY you could ever have a bonus on the first turn.

This to me seems easier to program around than having it constantly regenerate a new map, see if it will work, if not redo it, etc.

In a recent example a person has a +2 bonus, AND has blockers. So the only way to bust them would be 6v3v3...which while possible is not likely. And then there is nothing to backfill so they could have 6vChange and it is then +5 for the rest of the game...might as well just call it. So instead of both teams needing to win 3 of 5, one team needs to win 2 of 4, the other 3 of 4.

And this is for a tournament to win all the marbles...I don't mind losing to bad strategy, but to lose because of a drop, why bother playing.

Good point blueb...I very much like Matty's suggestion..how much slower are we really talking about? I only suggested an alternative solution ( which I'm not crazy about) to get this ball rolling again and some good discussions and solutions going.

I also like bishop's idea too.  There are now some good alternatives that isn't too labour intensive 

Are we talking about the site as.a whole or the drops.in the World.Dominator tournament?

I like to have it for tournaments to start.

Got to love how everybody became an expert on what is much work and what is not in the last few hours

Not me, that's for sure. I couldn't code my way out of a wet paper bag.