Finishing deadline and rules about that.

[Matrix]

I've got a point of discussion again. Something which bugs me. <IMG SRC="http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/hmph.gif" border=0>

It could happen to anyone that he couldn't finish finish his game in time. But I find it too harsh to state that the game of those people won't count. But on the other hand I have to, because I can't make not having played the GOTM be more profitable than having played but lost/died.

Another option is that the people who haven't finished, could send in their game, but for the calculation of the GOTM score, the last date will be used (the multiplication is lost). But I find that a fake and weak solution. Those scores aren't real.

For the record, the first, very severe, option is the acting rule. But should I find many angry<IMG SRC="http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/angry.gif" border=0>replies here, I'll change it.

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(Thunderfall's idea) We change the deadline from the last day of the month to the 3rd of the next month and every month I'll try to release the results on the 5th of the following month. After the 5th you may start yelling and screaming.

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<IMG SRC="http://home.hetnet.nl/~maartencl/tmp/MatrixBW.gif" border=0>
<FONT size="1">Studying chemistry means: having fun, drinking beer, having more fun, drinking more beer, hang above the toilet and have a good night sleep!</FONT s>

[This message has been edited by Matrix (edited March 29, 2001).]

 

[Leowind]

Extending the deadline would make me very, extremely happy

 

[stormerne]

First of all, we should remember that this is only the second month of GOTM. This means:
* we are not yet familiar with administrating it;
* we are not yet familiar with playing it.
We don't have to adopt cast iron rules at the start because we are still exploring what works best.

One thing is clear: playing a big king game requires more time, and it is easy to underestimate how much time. We may all have underestimated this. Players can compensate for this by starting earlier in future. Or administrators can compensate by allowing more time for lower difficulty levels on bigger maps.

My suggestion is this. <u>For this month only</u> allow an extended submission deadline, but on the understanding that in future months the rules - whatever they evolve to - will be applied rigorously. And then we should take a close look at such things as map size, levels and time.

(For what it's worth, I got up an hour earlier this morning to try and make sure I submit by the end of Saturday. Managing 154 cities certainly takes time!)

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<IMG SRC="http://www.anglo-saxon.demon.co.uk/stormerne/stormerne.gif" border=0>

 

[stormerne]

By the way... we should still make sure that next month's GOTM is available on March 31st.

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

Not to be picky, but why would the GOTM for April be available on March 31st instead of April 1st?

(Although the potential for "April Fools" mischief

would be avoided with a 3/31 release)

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DEATH awaits you all...with nasty, big, pointy teeth.

 

[Leowind]

Storm, you made some very good points about map size and playing time. Only one I would quibble with a bit. Since this is supposed to be a casual competition why must we be so rigorous with the rules even in the future? There need to be rules, and they need to be spelled out clearly, and people need to abide by the rules, but I suspect the GOTM will continue to evolve to some degree for quite some time. Lets leave ourselves room to make it what we all want it to be, not lock it down tight. (And I began this month's game as soon as it was released and will still need the deadline extension to finish. Some of us have less available free time)

 

[BigWheel]

I sympathize. Having decided early (before the rules were changed) to go the spaceship/high score route, I too am stuck in a long game. The way it's going, I won't be able to finish on time, at least not following my original plan. (My March 31st emergency exit is to kill off the last Russian city.)

Here's a thought: why not further modify the scoring system to emphasize two goals, early finish and spaceship, and to severely downplay population? That would steer people like me away from trying to squeeze a two month game into one. And to be fair, publish any such rule change before the start of the game! <IMG SRC="http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/wink.gif" border=0>

Parting thought: I checked my calendar for all of this year and every single month starts on the 1st. Let's conform or change the name to GOTSAC (Game Of The Slightly Altered Calendar). <IMG SRC="http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/crazyeyes.gif" border=0>

[This message has been edited by BigWheel (edited March 30, 2001).]

 

[Matrix]

Originally posted by Leowind:
Storm, you made some very good points about map size and playing time. Only one I would quibble with a bit. Since this is supposed to be a casual competition why must we be so rigorous with the rules even in the future? There need to be rules, and they need to be spelled out clearly, and people need to abide by the rules, but I suspect the GOTM will continue to evolve to some degree for quite some time. Lets leave ourselves room to make it what we all want it to be, not lock it down tight. (And I began this month's game as soon as it was released and will still need the deadline extension to finish. Some of us have less available free time)

We just need some guidelines for the people.

The rule is: submit before the deadline. But I can easily implement one or two games, while I'm working on all the scores. But if the deadline isn't clear enough, I'll get half the game while working on it.

You need to work to the dealine. If you're a bit off, that's a pity, but you might be lucky and submit before I'm finished with thee scores and I'll put them in there as well. There's your casuality...

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<IMG SRC="http://home.hetnet.nl/~maartencl/tmp/MatrixBW.gif" border=0>
<FONT size="1">Studying chemistry means: having fun, drinking beer, having more fun, drinking more beer, hang above the toilet and have a good night sleep!</FONT s>

[This message has been edited by Matrix (edited March 30, 2001).]

 

[stormerne]

I hope your email starts working again Matrix. I tried submitting my game just before the deadline and your account "timed out" (?). Bizarre. Going to resend until it gets there!

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<IMG SRC="http://www.anglo-saxon.demon.co.uk/stormerne/stormerne.gif" border=0>

 

[Leowind]

I'm out.

ended up with a very busy weekend. I don't think I could even finish given the extension Thunderfall suggested. Not to fear, I plan to continue playing and compare how I did with the rankings. The game is also presenting me with a unique challenge at the moment. My spaceship is very near launch, but I have 5 civilizations at war with me, and not that far behind in techs. I plan to contiune after SS landing to see if I can survive/conquer, just to work on my modern warfare skills.