(Nov. 04, 2016 7:13 PM)Bey Brad Wrote: Quote:and the winner not revealing their combo, but instead declaring whether or not they are switching.
Yes, but since we were discussing the next iteration being a blind-switch already I didn't mention it again. Just want to be clear that I did understand that! When I asked Wombat about how he would improve the switch system it was because I was asking about the current active ruleset, not the next draft ... sorry for causing so much confusion. haha
But is this a concession to what people think we want — which is to put the winner at a disadvantage — or would players rather see a fresh selection after each round (with players needing to declare if they're switching)? That's what I'm trying to figure out. I really want the next iteration we test to represent what the majority of players want to see us try.
Personally, I like the "winner declares if switching" rule because it does three things:
1) It gives a moderate advantage to the loser. Although I'm not super fond of the back-and-forth this can create, handicapping the winner somewhat makes the games longer and closer, which means more fun for everyone.
2) It discourages spamming by making switching potentially a "safer" option, as opposed to using the same "safe" combo. If the winner sticks with the same combo, the loser gets to take their best shot at countering it. If the winner changes, the loser will be forced to deal with two possible options, which is considerably more difficult to deal with.
3) It operates only by providing limited information. Both players are free to choose whatever combos they want (barring the rematch clause, that is). The motivation for each player's strategic decisions comes from information revealed during the course of the game, not because the rules say they have to act in a certain way.
Historically, most information and strategy has been the result of pre-game scouting and knowing your opponent's preferences; although this would still be the case in pretty much any set of revised rules we come up with, I think that making scouting and area knowledge less essential would greatly reduce the barriers to entry for competitive play. On the other side, providing too much information makes it extremely difficult to gain the upper hand in a game, because your opponent knows what you're doing and can respond in turn. Avoiding that kind of stalemate requires limiting each player's ability to know the other's actions. Provide too little information, and players will seek to gain an advantage through whatever information they
can find, provide too much information and players will try to gain an advantage by
hiding as much as they can. Providing an avenue for players to both learn and conceal information about one another largely eliminates the incentive to engage in dubiously legal/ethical practices to do the same.