Current and Future leagues

[Beer Hunter]

Hello DSB players,

I wanted to use this great opportunity to discuss about the current status of our leagues and take a look at the future, where we might be headed.

The current status

BABL ended a few weeks ago, in DSB scale I can say it was a successful league, almost every game was played and we had 6 active squads till the very end. Dodgeball league was the much liked side league for BABL which will surely continue, perhaps to play-offs too next time BABL is about to begin.

Now we've had the 4vs4 registration open for about 1,5 weeks and the current status is not looking very bright. 5 squads have registered the league when I'm writing this, in total they have 9 players. It has always been slow beginning for registrations, that's DSB style and we're trying to drag people to register all the time, hopefully you are too! Apparently some players who played BABL+DB are not interested to continue playing for 4vs4 - multiple reasons for that. However if we're able to get at least those 5 squads established, we can play this league. Obviously will be a short run but everybody who enjoy 4vs4 should be able to get some fun out of it.

Players

Before moving to future leagues I must use short period of analyzing our players, these are not rock solid or the complete truth, that is always a lot more complex. I will try to divide players to two groups, Newbies and Veterans. This is simply because I see our leagues drawing two different typish players.

Let's begin with the Newbies, or rookies, however you wish to call them. This is mainly a group of players who were not here when "the good old days" happened, which is what all the veterans are longing for. This new group of players has came to our public after it was "fixed" to be what it is today, in other words, much different from the original. These players, if they chose to play league, want to have fun, wish for specials to help their gaming experience (like in pub) and are often not in favor of slowly paced strategic fights.

Veterans, they however are pretty much exactly different. These are the players who were around when the magical 12 vs 12 happened and shed a few tears every time we must remind us of the reality that 12 vs 12 is probably dead for good. During all the years they've played, they have had time to learn the most strategic maneuvers in the game and are looking for fun which consists of certain amount of skill. In other words this means reduced specials or something similar, they know it's the "ultimate" way to test your skill and figure out who has the bragging rights.

This is very very simple analyze of our current player base, it's divided to these groups. Before you say you are a vet who belongs to the rookie group, obviously DSB is not a black and white sort of thing, there are many shades of grey in the mix.

Current leagues

TCL, while the creator of this league told us we completely screwed the original idea he had in mind (Thanks for the idea anyway, Delic), this still was not very bad attempt to have a multiple squad elimination league. It could have been better, especially the player amount and show ups varied a lot throughout the league. This has a possibility to return next year and it will most likely.

Based on the player analyze above and previous experiences, we can expect that BABL+DB will be regularly hosted every year, it has the grounds to be fast paced, exciting and offers a possibility for even the lesser skilled players and squads to compete. Easy and fun which can happen with or without tactical investments.

The current status of 4vs4 is problematic, it is strategic squad duel with limited amount of specials, which definitely cuts out some of the players described in the rookie analyze. Some of those players of course are willing to try it out but not all of them, they just do not find it interesting or appealing at all. Possible improvements to 4vs4 league however, would mean we'd go back to less strategic, special ridden fun which on the other hand might not be what the vets are looking for in this league.

Next up, our 6vs6 league which is the main event of the year. This league covers pretty much all aspects and suits everybody, the only issue is that will we be able to get enough people and squads for it. We will give it a shot either way, the next season of 6vs6 league will begin right after 4vs4 league is over and the registrations will open before 4vs4 league is over to ensure maximum amount of players and squads joining in "before the activity goes down".

Future leagues

Now as you may realize I've said nothing new yet, I am getting there now. Aside from small, 1 vs 1 typish ladder leagues suggested by Tembest on these forums, we need to brainstorm for new and outside the box ideas for small summer leagues, this would give a possibility to switch between leagues each year so none of the current leagues would feel so much like beating off a dead horse. Basically wider range of possibilities would make our leagues more appealing to players too, especially I'm looking at the younger generation who is playing public - we need to get more of them involved in leagues. (Of course depending on do they have time and other variables).

What kind of leagues would be good? There is no definite answer to that, basically we need to find a league type which would bring most of the players on same level, the rookies as well as vets so they both could have their fun - with specials most likely - fast paced action - also offering possibility for strategic playing. The golden way in the middle so to speak. In the creation of future leagues we need to take into account that the new players are so much different than the old ones, we need to find satisfactory way for them both to participate leagues which can be enjoyed by both groups.

Our team is small as you know, we brainstorm for ideas nearly every week. However, we need to get the community involved as much as possible, therefore, if you have an idea which might work as a league, write a post to this thread. Remember that while you think your idea is good and unique, once we read through it we will look for loopholes or scenarios which might cause problems and attempt to fix them. If you're willing to offer an idea, be ready to think it over or have the ability to adjust it - simple "My way or the highway" does not work, just look at my previous attempts for example - sometimes you cannot see the problem even if it's right under your nose, until somebody has told you about it - it takes a lot of guts to admit you're wrong or did not think of something but trust me, it's all for the good of the whole zone to think everything through before it happens.

[Delic]

I still think a 2vs2 game makes sense for a minor league. With a mobile flag to
spice things up a bit, and maybe even 2 mini bases to defend it there if you wish.

For such a game I guess the victory objective would be most flag time within X minutes . . .
Or most flag time after team has been eliminated (X losses, individual or team).

[Tembest]

Thanks for the post.. I stickified it btw.

Apparently some players who played BABL+DB are not interested to continue playing for 4vs4 - multiple reasons for that. However if we're able to get at least those 5 squads established, we can play this league.

Here's a problem. We had 50 players who played BABL. Now you admit that not all of them will play 4vs4. As we all know, we won't be getting any new players except 1-3.
Do you honestly believe we can create 5 squads that are able to show up out of less than 50 players?

Another question is the plan B. If we have 20 people registered for 4vs4 on the starting weekend, what will happen? Are we going to sit back and wait for more people to
quit for 8 weeks or will we start playing 6vs6 immediately? Even if the league didn't start right away, naturally squads need time to recruit and so on... we would have to
start hosting 6vs6 matches regularly a bit like WvsW style.

Then there's this one idea about a league I will return to once I get back from having brunch.

Oh and I approve of Delic's 2v2. It could be an ongoing league during 6vs6 and others...

[Beer Hunter]

Basically, my opinion on 4vs4, if it fails, then we start registrations for 6vs6 immediately. However, it might take a while for that too to begin because people move slowly with creating squads, joining and registering. We usually need to drag them to do it.

Hosting simple 6vs6 W vs W games while registrations for 6vs6 happen sounds like a good suggestion.

However remember that this is the Plan B. I'm still having some faith that we can get 4vs4 to happen, few more days to figure this out at least.

PS. But exactly how sure are we that we can get 6vs6 league up and running? Current population being what it is, this could be tricky too. Obviously it should be easier because most of the players are expecting this "main attraction" of the season.

[Delic]

btw I never said you screwed it up, just that it ended up completely different =)

[Tembest]

PS. But exactly how sure are we that we can get 6vs6 league up and running? Current population being what it is, this could be tricky too. Obviously it should be easier because most of the players are expecting this "main attraction" of the season.

I have never expected us to be able to pull a succesful 6vs6 off anymore. I voiced my opinion on that matter half a year ago.
Anyway, still not time to talk about the format I would like to suggest. I'll get back to it later. It's a bit complicated and
definitely needs opinions and editing before it should even be strongly considered.

[Matioso]

Im up to whatever.
Just registered EG to 4v4 yesterday. Been a busy week for me as Im a tutor for new university students and they had the introduction week. I hope that I can be more online even tho my own studies will begin soon, too.

[kemi]

btw I never said you screwed it up, just that it ended up completely different =)

How was it supposed to run?

[Delic]

it was supposed to emulate 17th's jwl/rumble to be honest. adapted to dsb of course... with everything that comes along to make that adaption.
Kill events have never been dsb's stronger side compared to other zones, and tcl ended up becoming another dsb style kill event.

But to each their own. Maybe it's just a matter of taste... That's why I never said it was screwed up, just different.

While I'm here I'd like to add that I think we need something new. How are we supposed to spark new interest
in the zone if we insist on hosting the same old leagues? Referring to 4vs4. That league was fun at times
back in the day, but only because of the fighters involved in it that we don't have anymore.
4vs4 always felt to me like a league that was hosted just to fill the off-season with something, keep people pressing buttons.
Not to mention the massive amount of criticism that the settings and rules received through the years... Until it seems everyone
stopped caring and left it as it is now.
I always thought it was a lousy attempt at mimicking premier's 4vs4, but failed miserably because it wasn't properly adapted to dsb.
I mean dsb ships are fun regardless, that's probably why there's always gonna be SOMEONE playing any league,
but 4vs4 hardly takes advantage of their attributes. I'd rather see it gone and see a new one built from scratch.

[jim the chin]

it was supposed to emulate 17th's jwl/rumble to be honest. adapted to dsb of course... with everything that comes along to make that adaption.
Kill events have never been dsb's stronger side compared to other zones, and tcl ended up becoming another dsb style kill event.

But to each their own. Maybe it's just a matter of taste... That's why I never said it was screwed up, just different.

While I'm here I'd like to add that I think we need something new. How are we supposed to spark new interest
in the zone if we insist on hosting the same old leagues? Referring to 4vs4. That league was fun at times
back in the day, but only because of the fighters involved in it that we don't have anymore.
4vs4 always felt to me like a league that was hosted just to fill the off-season with something, keep people pressing buttons.
Not to mention the massive amount of criticism that the settings and rules received through the years... Until it seems everyone
stopped caring and left it as it is now.
I always thought it was a lousy attempt at mimicking premier's 4vs4, but failed miserably because it wasn't properly adapted to dsb.
I mean dsb ships are fun regardless, that's probably why there's always gonna be SOMEONE playing any league,
but 4vs4 hardly takes advantage of their attributes. I'd rather see it gone and see a new one built from scratch.

I don't always agree with Delic, but here he talks some sense. (and the shorter post made me read it! )