Outrageous GOTM Awards

[BillChin]

Originally posted by mad-bax

A) Do something to help people who can't play a full game in one month.
B) Do something to make the game more challenging for the Elite players.
C) Do more to stop people cheating.
D) Leave it alone. It's great as it is.

I voted for three new awards (in my post):
1) Prima Donna (my suggested name: People's Choice)
2) Rookie of the Month
3) Most Improved Player
The other awards suggested are not as interesting to me.

As for this secondary poll:
A) There is already the QSC, that most people can complete in one sitting. There are already 200+ people participating each month (adding submitted games and QSC only). By any measure it is the most popular Civ III game going.

B) There is the Jason scoring system. Elite players have to find a way to challenge themselves. A setup that is actually difficult for the best players to win will have less than 10% of regular players winning the game or surviving to the modern age. People that want that kind of stuff can go play at Realms Beyond Epics (do a search, there are links to it).

C) My opinion, not much more can be done. There will always be cheaters. Having Quick Start timelines helps a lot. It makes certain moves look prescient. If a player consistently does them month after month, I know that I get suspicious. Sure, once in a while something slips through (like the recent blow up over graphics), but I believe the overall level of cheating is down. Most cheats have no chance at beating the best players in any case, because cheaters lack the skill and discipline that the best players have.

D) The staff is already doing what I favor: find ways to make it more fun, and more interesting. The easter eggs (barb puzzles, unusual enemy units), the customized made maps, add an element of surprise.
+ Bill