Before I say anything else I want rafio to know that I have looked at the code that randomizes who goes first and I have showed it to Lucide. Lucide is a computer engineer; he should be able to fix it.
Anyway, I think i figured out a new formula for 2 player games that will accomplish my goal of getting more live 2 player games played while at the same time NOT making it easy for high ranked players to 'farm' basics for points.
First lets recap the problem so everything is in one place. The problem is that not enough live games are getting played which is slowing the growth of the site. In particular, since we switched to the new points system there has been a big drop in live 2 player games. This is mainly because it's so common to lose a 2 player game because of bad luck and a high ranked player will lose a lot of points to a basic. The advantage to changing the formula so that high ranked players will be more likely to play 2 player games is that the new players will get to meet the best players and get tips from them and help with learning the site.
So I have a new formula that will solve the problem without creating a new problem. Basically the formula makes it so that you will never lose more than twice the amount of points that your opponent would have lost. This means that if you are a high ranked player who plays a basic and wins 2 out of 3 games against them, then your overall amount of points will remain the same. You will have to win at least 3 out of 4 games to start gaining points. Currently
The formula does not affect the amount of points you win, only the amount that you lose.
First, the points are calculated like normal. Then, if the number of points you will lose is more than double the amount of points your opponent would lose then your point loss will be reduced. This will be much clearer with examples.
Example 1:
Player 1's handle: Basic1000
Player 2's handle: Sergeant3000
Basic1000 has 1000 points and Sergeant3000 has 3000 points.
Current Formula:
First calculate the average. (1000+3000)/2 = 2000
Sergeant3000 would lose 3000/2000 * 20 = 30 points
Basic1000 would lose 1000/2000 * 20 = 10 points
if Basic1000 wins, he gets 30 points and if Sergeant3000 wins he gets 10 points.
New Formula:
Because 30 points is more than double 10 points then Sergeant3000 will now only lose 2 * 10 = 20 points instead of 30, but would still only win 10 points. If they play 4 games and Sergeant3000 wins 3 of them then his gain will be 10+10+10-20 = 10 points.
Example 2:
Player 1's handle: Basic600
Player 2's handle: Dominator4400
Basic1000 has 600 points and Dominator4400 has 4400 points.
Current Formula:
First calculate the average. (600+4400)/2 = 2500
Dominator4400 would lose 4400/2500 * 20 = 35 points
Basic600 would lose 600/2500 * 20 = 5 points
if Basic600 wins, he gets 35 points and if Dominator4400 wins he gets 5 points.
if Dominator4400 wins 3 out of 4 games his overall point loss is 5+5+5-35 = -20
It really doesn't seem fair that he can win 3 of 4 two player games where luck plays such a huge role and have negative 20 points in the end.
New Formula:
Because 35 points is more than double 5 points then Dominator4400 will now only lose 2 * 5 = 10 points instead of 35 points, but would still only win 5 points. If they play 4 games and Dominator4400 wins 3 out of the 4 games then his gain will be 5+5+5-10 = 5 points. So it will be very hard to 'farm' for easy points because the amount of points gained does not change with the new formula. The advantage of the new formula is that it's not such a huge risk to play a 2 player game against a really awful player just for fun or just to help them learn the site and have someone to play with. With the current system Dominator4400 would be crazy to play basic600 because he would lose 35 points, but with the new system, the game might actually get played because he would only lose 10 points.
What happens if the two player's points are closer together? One last example:
Player 1's handle: Sergeant2000
Player 2's handle: Sergeant3000
Sergeant2000 has 2000 points and Sergeant3000 has 3000 points.
Current Formula:
First calculate the average. (2000+3000)/2 = 2500
Sergeant3000 would lose 3000/2500 * 20 = 24 points
Sergeant2000 would lose 2000/2500 * 20 = 16 points
if Sergeant2000 wins, he gets 24 points and if Sergeant3000 wins he gets 16 points.
New Formula:
Because 24 points is NOT more than 2 times 16, the points are not modified. Sergeant3000 will still lose 24 points. If they play 3 games and sergeant3000 wins 2 then he will gain 16+16-24 = 8 points.
If I explained it properly then this new formula should make rafcio and sekretar very happy.
I think what I have come up with is fair and will help the site grow. What do you think?
Before I say anything else I want rafio to know that I have looked at the code that randomizes who goes first and I have showed it to Lucide. Lucide is a computer engineer; he should be able to fix it.
Anyway, I think i figured out a new formula for 2 player games that will accomplish my goal of getting more live 2 player games played while at the same time NOT making it easy for high ranked players to 'farm' basics for points.
First lets recap the problem so everything is in one place. The problem is that not enough live games are getting played which is slowing the growth of the site. In particular, since we switched to the new points system there has been a big drop in live 2 player games. This is mainly because it's so common to lose a 2 player game because of bad luck and a high ranked player will lose a lot of points to a basic. The advantage to changing the formula so that high ranked players will be more likely to play 2 player games is that the new players will get to meet the best players and get tips from them and help with learning the site.
So I have a new formula that will solve the problem without creating a new problem. Basically the formula makes it so that you will never lose more than twice the amount of points that your opponent would have lost. This means that if you are a high ranked player who plays a basic and wins 2 out of 3 games against them, then your overall amount of points will remain the same. You will have to win at least 3 out of 4 games to start gaining points. Currently
The formula does not affect the amount of points you win, only the amount that you lose.
First, the points are calculated like normal. Then, if the number of points you will lose is more than double the amount of points your opponent would lose then your point loss will be reduced. This will be much clearer with examples.
Example 1:
Player 1's handle: Basic1000
Player 2's handle: Sergeant3000
Basic1000 has 1000 points and Sergeant3000 has 3000 points.
Current Formula:
First calculate the average. (1000+3000)/2 = 2000
Sergeant3000 would lose 3000/2000 * 20 = 30 points
Basic1000 would lose 1000/2000 * 20 = 10 points
if Basic1000 wins, he gets 30 points and if Sergeant3000 wins he gets 10 points.
New Formula:
Because 30 points is more than double 10 points then Sergeant3000 will now only lose 2 * 10 = 20 points instead of 30, but would still only win 10 points. If they play 4 games and Sergeant3000 wins 3 of them then his gain will be 10+10+10-20 = 10 points.
Example 2:
Player 1's handle: Basic600
Player 2's handle: Dominator4400
Basic1000 has 600 points and Dominator4400 has 4400 points.
Current Formula:
First calculate the average. (600+4400)/2 = 2500
Dominator4400 would lose 4400/2500 * 20 = 35 points
Basic600 would lose 600/2500 * 20 = 5 points
if Basic600 wins, he gets 35 points and if Dominator4400 wins he gets 5 points.
if Dominator4400 wins 3 out of 4 games his overall point loss is 5+5+5-35 = -20
It really doesn't seem fair that he can win 3 of 4 two player games where luck plays such a huge role and have negative 20 points in the end.
New Formula:
Because 35 points is more than double 5 points then Dominator4400 will now only lose 2 * 5 = 10 points instead of 35 points, but would still only win 5 points. If they play 4 games and Dominator4400 wins 3 out of the 4 games then his gain will be 5+5+5-10 = 5 points. So it will be very hard to 'farm' for easy points because the amount of points gained does not change with the new formula. The advantage of the new formula is that it's not such a huge risk to play a 2 player game against a really awful player just for fun or just to help them learn the site and have someone to play with. With the current system Dominator4400 would be crazy to play basic600 because he would lose 35 points, but with the new system, the game might actually get played because he would only lose 10 points.
What happens if the two player's points are closer together? One last example:
Player 1's handle: Sergeant2000
Player 2's handle: Sergeant3000
Sergeant2000 has 2000 points and Sergeant3000 has 3000 points.
Current Formula:
First calculate the average. (2000+3000)/2 = 2500
Sergeant3000 would lose 3000/2500 * 20 = 24 points
Sergeant2000 would lose 2000/2500 * 20 = 16 points
if Sergeant2000 wins, he gets 24 points and if Sergeant3000 wins he gets 16 points.
New Formula:
Because 24 points is NOT more than 2 times 16, the points are not modified. Sergeant3000 will still lose 24 points. If they play 3 games and sergeant3000 wins 2 then he will gain 16+16-24 = 8 points.
If I explained it properly then this new formula should make rafcio and sekretar very happy.
I think what I have come up with is fair and will help the site grow. What do you think?