I regret to inform you that I will be disabling the competition from Training Lobby after trophies are given out for this round.
Almost every round since its inception, there has been a major cheating investigation in the Training Round, some people have gotten away with it, and others have not. Participation has also waned considerably since its inception.
This does not mean the competition will be disabled permanently, but I will be disabling it for the time being. I'm hoping everyone can reconsider their actions and understand that we work very hard to keep the rounds clean, and it's simply becoming too much work for us to manage in addition to the Comp Lobby investigations (which are surprisingly less frequent).
Many of you who have won trophies in the Training competition or come close should strongly consider playing in Comp Lobby, the competition is more consistent there and the mod team is better equipped to handle issues there since competition is treated more seriously. You're all good enough to play there as well.
There is no current timetable for its return, but I will be disabling it after the round ends.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding, I am sorry it has come to this. I honestly liked the round and encouraging people to try new setups, but there have been a lot of problems associated with it so we need to give it a rest for now.
I don't know why MG doesn't / didn't like Training in Comp, but the point he makes is also to be taken into consideration.
"how many ranked setups are played apart from the comp setups introduced?" Fancy, Classic, and 2-3 more... now without the comp, it's a matter of time, people will forget the comp setups and Training will be back to not teach (not train) anything to newer player, and just a LOT of Fancy Pants (not even its variables, just to change...), Coco's and Classic, mainly.
idk, a few months ago I said I didn't like the comp in training lobby. I suppose I still don't. I don't think training is the place to run for trophies. That isn't what training is suppose to be meant for.
However, I like the fact that it introduces NEW setups that new people have more motivation to play; cause lets face it, how many ranked setups are played apart from the comp setups introduced? Not very many.
Lol, It's funny how this happens after every 2 rounds that we play in training-comp, I have already weighed in on this topic so I'll just quote how I feel
Hopefully they just won't cheat. There is a much more watchful eye over Comp Lobby by virtue of it having more experienced players who can point out cheating more easily, and since it's almost exclusively gold hearts, it makes it easier to moderate.
It's definitely easier to cheat in training lobby though just given that all you need is an alt made before the round starts as opposed to ones with 1500 points.
The Training Round may come back, but for now it's being disabled. I'll contact the winners from this round to get them to select setups if we do bring it back.
I understand where you're coming from, bronto, but where will said cheaters go now that training comp is gone? To other lobbies, such as comp, to place a bigger burden on their mods to find cheaters. I feel like the training lobby should do its job to train new players and filter out trolls from the comp lobby- and a good way to do this is to have training comp available. People that want to cheat will likely cheat here rather than in the comp lobby, if only because it is more work to get each account access to the comp lobby.
However, do what you think is best, because you probably know better than I do in this regard.
Part of a Solution: have the top score for closing the comp be hidden. Plus this would make the comp be more fun with that hidden element. People wouldn't RUSH to the end when they think they have a chance at it. They would have to rush and have game throwers the WHOLE round making them more easy to find. And don't make it like 2000 2500 1000 1500 make it like 2347 743 1238 ect.
I took time off of mentoring and other stuff to run this round. I saw some things that didn't "look right." At the same time... with mentoring and modding ... you have to have mods and mentors who are actually active. I know Sachy had a hard time with this and set a standard and cycled through mods who didn't meet their quota. Everyone wants this to be a party, they want it to be fun. But being a mentor or a mod is a responsibility that takes time. As Guy said ... you have 15 mods. What are they doing? Maybe you should consider people who are more involved to be mods who actually have the time and want to commit the time.
I have to agree the mod team is volunteers so i'm not saying they should have to be over worked like this and i understand where you are coming from bronto but with willing volunteers looking for possible cheating i see no reason why training comp can't exist in it's current state.
Other lobby's that are not site operated ( so basically non training/comp) are completely irrelevant.
The training lobby did it's job in training people for comp lobby and the competition was probably a more than decent contributing factor to the health and growth of the site. There will always bee cheaters in every competition ( even comp right now the former first place was caught). I do not see why adding a few more mods who are willing to dedicate the time to be trained and look for these cheaters in lobby's is a bad thing.
Overall i think disabling training comp is a bad thing but i am willing to wait and see what you are working on to replace it.
Didn't think that it's possible "so few games are played" also because of that?
Arr0w even said it, and many others probably stopped it because they noticed a trend of possible cheating. (Also, as somebody else pointed out in another thread, in this round there were many new setups with a small amount of plays, so people was not "so attracted" by this round) But, anyway, it helped to get more people into Comp Lobby, to get people play Comp setups and improve their gameplay.
I still don't see the problem.
You are not the only mod available, get the mod you have to work on Training Comp Cheating, is that so hard? You have like, (ex. number) 2 "detectives" for Comp. Put 2 more on Training comp. What's the problem? The mod team has 15 people in it...
They cheated, but the mod team at the time was focused on catching one the cheaters that was independent of the other 2. They admitted they cheated after being wrongfully given the trophies.
Other lobbies outside Comp aren't moderated for game related violations like Comp and Training, and their competitions are generally not nearly as active. Having to have mods investigate both rounds (sometimes simultaneously) is a very daunting task.
I'm sorry it's being taken away. It may come back in the future if we can make better provisions to mitigate cheating, but given that so few games get played and there are investigations almost every round, it is hard to make it worthwhile.
Sneak preview, there are going to be some new changes to help people start playing and gaining exposure to newer setups with a nice reward as well. I'll be keeping you updated as this is worked on.
Still think Training Comp should be there, it helps Training people to move to comp, gradually, and go over the "fear" they have of Comp Lobby. Also, the games are (for Training people) more enjoyable than simple red hearts (not even talking about unranked), since they find there less trolls and more "serious" players.
If cheating can't let Training have a comp, I don't see why other lobbies (and I'm including Comp lobby here) would have it. Take ALL the comp away, so you won't have to look for cheaters. Solved.
OR
Put more moderation into Training Lobby, maybe with 2-3 people dedicated to the competition, so cheaters will be easier to find.
Also, why did 2 out of 3 of the Top3 who cheated in the 2nd round get away with it? DID they cheat or did they NOT? If they did cheat, WHY they got away with it?
Thanks anyway for everything, bronto, and thanks in advance for the answer.
This is quite disappointing to me as well. It was my first time playing in a EM competition round, and I really enjoyed it. I feel like the Competitive Lobby competition is a bit too intense for players like me (on the newer side, but still have a good grasp on things and can play relatively well). I feel like this choice might deter players like myself from participating in future competitions in the Competitive Lobby.
Dang. I was really excited to try to get somewhere in a training lobby comp before I ventured off into the competitive lobby. It seemed like a very convenient, fun, and logical stepping stone. If regular training games were too chaotic and prone to sabotage by frustrating players, then the comp games I played in training always seemed a step above. And if the competitive lobby seemed too intimidating and stressful, the training lobby competition seemed like a better alternative until I was ready for the challenge. I would hope to see it return, but it really is just too bad that cheating is prevalent. I see why you would disable it; you're in a tough spot. Also, I have little in the ways of ideas to help combat cheating that you don't already implement, but if ever you can figure something out, know that it seems like a number of people would be glad to see a return of training competitions.
When people see opportunity to cheat they get the temptation. I have found from moderation on another site witch was prone to multi accounts and cheating after being caught once they often reformed.
I'm sad the number has declined but have you looked at the statistics of how many people moved from training lobby into comp? I believe the training lobby was doing it's job in people transitioning to comp. and the competition this round was actually decent ( there was over 15 people in contention for top 3 until the last day).
Though to some training seems like an easy trophy there was very few games i saw witch where not good games.
( i have very little opinion on rawrs games and/or alleged cheating because I only played with her like 3-4 times this round so i have no idea how one sided they where in that regards)
I'd like to see training comp back as soon as possible with maybe one or two new/old mods dedicated to strictly it ( just like with comp).
The training comp was a great idea and i'm greatly saddened by the people who would wish to ruin the fun for everyone else by even half trying to throw games for a friend.
I would love if you could get in touch with me on skype bronto so i can share some ideas / talk to you on a personal level about things.
If you're referring to Rawrarrior, the jury isn't out on that yet.
Method also multi-accounted earlier in the round. People have gotten suspended from almost every round thus far, the 2nd training round, the Top 3 all cheated and 2 of them got away with it. It's gotten to be too much to deal with for how few people actually run for trophies.
Sucks to see it go because people feel the need to cheat. It's sad because your cheating only did SLIGHTLY better than me playing legitimately (which got hindered from others cheating).
I always had a thing against Comp lobby, but I'll give it a whirl next round for *** and giggles.
