League General Discussion Thread

I have one already set up from a few years back when we were doing the TripleA tournament. What is really cool is with Gamer’s rankings we could set people with an initial rating during the provisional rating process. I’m not saying we should do this, just that it’s possible.

I have the whole process in an Access database. It was a modified ELO – chess ratings are based on 0% luck, of course A&A is more than 0% luck and should be adjusted accordingly.

I think it is a good idea to make sure that people don’t have too much trouble finding opponents to play. That is both in the interests of some players individually but it is also in our collective interest. If some players, and especially new players, have difficulty finding opponents, than we will have trouble keeping people in the league and getting new people to join.

I don’t think mismatched games are necessarily a problem. It may be less interesting for the better players but it is a good learning experience for newer players and helps them become more competitive in the long run.

At the same time, I don’t want to add to the work of those who manage the league. So I would support an ELO system if it can be implemented in a way that doesn’t add to Gamerman’s work.

If that is too complicated, another option is just to score tier 3 the same way as tier 2. M and some E ranked players would still lose score in those games, but they would lose less, and everyone else would still go up.

Also, its worth noting, with new players at least, that losses to E and M players increase their average. There is a very good chance that players who start out at tier 3 will end up at tier 1 or 2 by the end of the year, and the more losses they have to E and M ranked players the more likely that is. So there is less of a disincentive than might appear at first.

@farmboy yeah, but that goes along with (like you said) keeping new players. Would help to make your support donation goal. i don’t think it met last year.
i no i’m not a good player. but i’ve paid for years and i have played maybe 2 games with the top players. wouldn’t mind a couple more just for the experience. would more top players play new players and not so good of players if they were not worried to drop in they’re rankimgs?

I’m definitely on board with a change to the scoring system. The current system creates a large barrier to entry for new players and fragments an already small community.

I actually brought this up about 9 months ago with one potential solution. (hopefully links work as they are mid thread)
https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/30807/league-general-discussion-thread/314
https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/30807/league-general-discussion-thread/319

As a potential simpler solution, my suggestion was to allow games to be scored as a Tier 1 vs Tier 1 game if the players choose to play with a standardized handicap bid. (on top of the normal bid for choosing sides)

This would allow higher tier players to maintain their tier while playing against tier 2/3 players if they maintain a high enough win rate. The handicap bid going to the lower tier player would also help shrink the skill gap and hopefully make the game more interesting for the higher tier player.

Most importantly, this could be completely ignored by anyone who wants to just stick with the way things are and only applies to people who choose to play with the handicap. We want to encourage new players but not alienate people who are enjoying the league as it is now.

I’m not attempting to compete with the ELO system as an option, I’d be fine with that if it’s easy to implement. I’m just thinking this would be a less disruptive bolt-on to the existing system.

@farmboy I have never been one to care about my ranking. I know what my skill level is. It may not necessarily be that the upper tier players care about a ranking as well, there is something to be said about taking on a challenging game. It does take time and effort to play this game even online and if the competition does not challenge you it may be a deterrent to picking up some games. Do you think Lebron James really wants to play you in one on one and enjoy it?

All that being said I do think the upper tier players owe it to the league to play some lower tier players and coach them up somewhat. I have always tried to play newer players and help them out a little bit. As a group its in our best interest to have as many good payers as possible to keep competition alive. I have slimmed my games down for a time but I would be willing to open 1 or 2 slots for a new or lower tier player. PM me if you want a game.

That’s very true. Majik was the first to welcome me to the league by accepting games, and was very patient with me. That’s a good mind-set. Still I believe ranking might matter more to others. Also remember when I got my butt kicked by koala who only played one game last season and therefore counted as tier 3 while clrarly being atleast E. Didn’t feel right. 🙃

@majikforce

I think I could give Lebron a competitive game one on one. We are talking Axis & Allies right? :)

I do tend to prioritize higher ranked players (tier 1 and above). Its partly because I want challenging games and the more challenging players are typically higher ranked but it is also that I’d like to make it to the final 8 playoff and the way scoring works discourages me from playing players below tier 1 if I’m anywhere on the edge. I’m not sure if the issue is solved by a scoring change, but I’m open to the ideas other here have posted. Right now, I’m happy to play players in tier 3 or 2, but as we get closer to the start of the next playoffs, with the existing scoring, I will start to focus on players in tier 1 and up to improve my chances of making it.

I think it was mentioned by @farmboy to award 5 points to wins against tier 3. I think that is a good suggestion. Also you could remove the 3 game cap, so you have a rating after 1 game, it also means you would earn 5 points if you beat an unranked player:

A win against an unranked, tier 3 or tier 2 is awarded with 5 points. By removing the 3 game rule before you are ranked you also make it easier for new players to find opponents and also the player welcoming the new player is awarded with points (if he wins) in case the new player just leaves.

It means especially tier 1 and tier E will have an easier time maintaining their ranking, but does that really matter? There will also be more tier 1 and tier E players which in turn will benefit tier M players as well

@oysteilo i like that idea

The only problem I see with that is that it offsets the balance. And, although it might be a good thing, it benefits more games played. Two players who only play tier 3 and both win 50 % will differ in ranking. Perhaps no biggie, but it’s not very elegant.

@trulpen said in League General Discussion Thread:

The only problem I see with that is that it offsets the balance. And, although it might be a good thing, it benefits more games played. Two players who only play tier 3 and both win 50 % will differ in ranking. Perhaps no biggie, but it’s not very elegant.

the point is to make it easier to accept new players. If they decide to play many games, ratings will avaerage out. If they leave after 1 or 2 games, the player accepting the challenge will not lose rating/he will gain something from the recruitment effort.

Now, if the new player decides not to play… noone is losing, at least not the person trying to recruit. In any case you are not allowed to participate in top 8 playoffs before you have 8 games. Lower level play offs require 3 games, so it might alter the rating here though. Is it a big deal?

@majikforce said in League General Discussion Thread:

@farmboy I have never been one to care about my ranking. I know what my skill level is. It may not necessarily be that the upper tier players care about a ranking as well, there is something to be said about taking on a challenging game. It does take time and effort to play this game even online and if the competition does not challenge you it may be a deterrent to picking up some games. Do you think Lebron James really wants to play you in one on one and enjoy it?

All that being said I do think the upper tier players owe it to the league to play some lower tier players and coach them up somewhat. I have always tried to play newer players and help them out a little bit. As a group its in our best interest to have as many good payers as possible to keep competition alive. I have slimmed my games down for a time but I would be willing to open 1 or 2 slots for a new or lower tier player. PM me if you want a game.

@Adam514 I was advised to ask you for a rule question. Thank you in advance!
A fighter has 1 move point left and would require an AC to land on after combat. The AC can only intercept the fighter in a hostile SZ. What is required of the attacking player regarding the movement of the AC in respect to combat/noncombat phases. I can clarify if needed?

@Pejon_88 I’ll give it a try. If the only available landing spot is the hostile sea zone you also have to attack that sea zone. But you need not to have a realistic chance of winning that battle. However, if you do win, the AC has to pick up the fighter

@Pejon_88 As oysteilo said, you need to have a chance of picking up the fighter after combat, or else the move is illegal. So you need to sent at least 1 combat unit against the hostile sea zone to be able to send out that fighter.

@Adam514 @oysteilo Ah, yes thank you. Then we are all on the same page.

@LennardF it is as we expected after discussing between ourselves.

Is there an introduction to the league guide? How do you get started. How to setup your first TripleA game. What is a common/fair bid ranges for the Allies. This could be stickied.

@akreider2 said in League General Discussion Thread:

Is there an introduction to the league guide? How do you get started. How to setup your first TripleA game. What is a common/fair bid ranges for the Allies. This could be stickied.

League rules are stickied in this forum.

Triple-A quick start guide: https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/17147/gargantua-s-k-i-s-s-triplea-instructions/26

Not sure if that’s all you’re looking for?

It’s a good start. 1) It should be stickied on the League forum so people can find it.

2. It should include more information about joining the League. How do I start my first game, what is a typical bid, what do the different ranks mean, what each acronym means, what the heck BM3 is and why everyone is playing it, why nobody is playing Europe 1940 or Pacific 1940 stand alones, why are my posts delayed 90 seconds (what do I need to do to stop this extremely annoying “feature”), etc.

Well, league has never included stand-alones as far as I can recall – before Global 1940, we were all playing Anniversary, for what it’s worth.