I've posted in response to many comments that pods should be gotten rid of - I won't repeat any of those arguments here, they can be found in those other threads. Giving it more thought I have another reason why pods are vital to leagues, and in a certain way I think this is the strongest reason I've offered. The most common suggestion for getting rid of pods has been to go to a results based system where anyone who goes 4-0 gets a first place prize, someone who goes 3-1 gets a 2nd place prize, etc. Here's the problem: A 1st place prize goes to someone in 1st place. Placement implies a hierarchy. The very nature of a 1st or 2nd place prize means that one's results are to be compared to others' results and awarded by comparison. Giving prizes for a certain win/loss ration isn't a placement system, it's an achievement system. You're getting rewarded for a given achievement, not a placement in a competition. We already have achievement systems in place. SP is an achievement system, beat an adventure win a chest. But MP is also an achievement system. That's what the MP chest path is. 1 win = a gold chest. 2 wins = a gold chest and a brown chest. 3 wins = 2 gold chests and a brown chest. 20 wins = 1 purple, 4 gold and 15 brown chests. Let me say that again, we already have a MP achievement system. What makes leagues different, what makes them fun and unique is that it's a competition, not another achievement system. If we change the league prizes to a results based system, leagues just become MP with unique maps or unique builds that give different prizes, nothing more. The pods make it as close to tournament style play as possible without requiring the time constraints on players of a true tournament. If you want to argue to go from pods to true tournaments, go right ahead - I'm all for it, if it's feasible! But as for me, the last thing I want is for leagues to go the other direction and just become another achievement based reward system that makes them feel barely different than normal MP play.
True, but we also already have tournaments and seasons and the ELO rating is sort of an automated version of seeing who's first, second, etc (though without prizes). The thing about pods is that you're only competing against 4 random other people. Is that really worth the extra layer of randomness? Sure, in the long run the randomness will work for you as often as it works against you, but when you have to pay for every attempt most people just won't bother trying in the first place.
Well as I said elsewhere, if you're playing for prizes - you'll get more through the pod system than without it, and if you're playing the leagues because you want to play leagues, then either you like the unique boards/builds and the pods don't matter either way, or you like the unique competition which is created with pods, and the pods are essential.
I fall into the category of "I want to pay for a unique play experience, with prizes as an afterthought." Ideally, prizes won't matter enough to determine my interest in a particular league. However, the notion of pods can still offend my sense of fairness. (Not making an argument here, just an observation of my internal state.) It's not enough reason for BM to change anything, but I'm going to continue to think that pods (and so also any pod-based reward structure) are silly and utterly capricious. On occasions where I really do care about prizes, the pod-based structure is going to make me far more stressed-out than a simple win ladder and so drive me away from playing more CH for a while. (Again, not making arguments about whether my reaction is sensible, merely observing that this is how I do in fact subjectively respond to the situation.)
That's fair. Thanks for the thoughts! I'm not expecting to necessarily convert anyone who doesn't like pods. I just think there will be something lost in the nature of leagues if pods are removed and I'm not sure that it's entirely apparent through foresight - it's something I didn't think of for 2 weeks even though I've been arguing for pods. I do think a better tie break system would alleviate a lot of the angst with pods (though I don't know if that'd improve things for you specifically).
I like pods because they make you care about other matches besides your own and about how your podmates do. This makes you interact with them more than you otherwise would and it gives you more things to be excited about. They make you watch matches you otherwise wouldn't. Sure, you have no control over how well your opponents do or how difficult opponents they get compared to yours but you still care a lot more than you would in an achievement-based prize structure. I think rules that make us take more of an interest in each other are good for the game. The game is the game but it's the people that make multiplayer interesting. Being "forced" to care about people you otherwise would pass silently by makes the community more vibrant and alive. You'll sure remember SauronFrodo and Daeneayraeys when you run across them in the lobby in the future when their success or lack thereof had a direct effect on how you did in a league. Maybe you'll even exchange a line or two with them and then have a lower threshold of speaking to them also in the future based on your shared league experience. It makes the multiplayer lobby more cozy and inviting when it's half full of people you remember from the happy and sad times in the leagues, from the elation and the frustration, the exhilaration and the exasperation.
Discussing whether prizes should be awarded based pod ranking vs. raw number of wins, this was my pod in the league running right now:
What are you saying, Kalin? That's as clean a case as can be found. Everyone won a different amount of matches out of the 4 that count. Tie Break is the victory point difference they achieved in their won matches (I think only in the 4 that count). 1st player only gave away 5 points in 4 matches while 4th gave away 2 in the one match he won (maximum Tie Break is 24 if you win every match 6-0). Did you think Tie Break is the number of matches played? It's not. That's "Played".
I just found it amusing to be in a pod where the two systems would have the same result (first time for me, I think).
