Epicmafia

Training Lobby Change Proposals

over 10 years

Hi training lobby. I haven’t properly introduced myself here but you’ll know TheBrontosaurus well as your lobby owner. One of the things we want to improve on EpicMafia considerably is the harmony and synergy of other lobbies, and give players old and new many different ventures on the site.

One of the stumbling blocks that we have is finding a way to keep training running the way it is, whilst also not making it exploited by point farming with new users who wish to play the game.

I’ve made a thread in competitive which I hope you take time to look at too which has more ideas that can make their way to this lobby, it can be found here.

https://epicmafia.com/topic/63209

So what are the ideas that we have for training?

1) Lobby rename

One issue that’s easy to notice with training is that it has lost its meaning for most of the players in this lobby. We don’t wish to splinter another lobby for new players only, but would like to rename it to something more appropriate. At the moment the leading name is Casual, but I realize that there is an online stigma behind this. If you can think of better names, please let us know.

2) 10K points cap

One of the problems with training is users using it to farm up points. There’s been a lot of aggressive suggestions on how to fix this, one method we had very long ago was forcing people to join comp lobby once they reached a certain threshold. We do not want that to happen again, but we also do not want point farming by playing with newer users.

What does this mean if implemented? It means that once you reach 10000 points in Training/New name pending, you won’t earn more points for future wins you have. We think this is a generous amount to deter point-farming, but you are still fully free to play in the lobby unrestricted if you wish. Stats and other achievements will still be viable and tracked.

3) Greater input with moderators

One bias we notice is how most new moderators are picked from competitive. We realize that most mods have been picked from the comp lobby in the past, however we certainly want to embrace new variation when we look for new moderators in the certain future. If you’re ever interested in being one, feel free to PM an application for it to be reviewed.

Finishing notes

I realize this might look like a forced attempt to boost competitive player numbers. Partially, it is, but I hope you check out the comp thread too if you would like to see more information.There are news ideas in that thread that will be added to training too. Please give any feedback you have, thanks again.

TheFisherman

over 10 years

Makin' movements. Makin' changes.

Teh Underground Railroad

thebrontosaurus

over 10 years

Katt says

But then comp will be taken over by red heart games and comp games will be hard to start. Why not just bring back ranked lobby?

The idea is that with exposure all in one lobby, tables would fill faster and people would be more inclined to join.

@Lucy; I don't think that's necessarily true - I enjoy playing comp games because they're higher quality in terms of depth than others, even if I don't have time to run for a trophy, I still enjoy getting to play certain setups.

I get what you're saying though about the hearts, linked alts aren't that inconvenient. Training games and Comp games are very different though.

Lucy

over 10 years

I guess this is the business part of my side that is coming out when I say we should work to create better advertising on the website all together, things may flow better. Sometimes I don't notice many changes and everything feels cluttered. That's just my opinion alone though. I can't account for others.

Bumpers

over 10 years

Lucy says

Basically what I am trying to imply is that I think this will push some people away. If there was a way you could combine the lobbies in such. Or find ways to introduce the lobby more productively through training. Some people who are new may not even really become fully aware of our comp lobby. If there was something implemented in training for example: "Congratulations X today you have reached X amount of points! You are now an official member of EpicMafia! Here's your ticket into the Comp lobby! Enjoy popular ranked set ups and a chance to win one of our trophies/mini achievements!" Instead of "click to join competition"

I'm hoping that this does lead to a combination of the lobbies, it's one of the main motivations. With the lowered point requirement coming in soon it should let people see what it's like considerably earlier rather than having to wait for 1500 points before entry.

Having an automatic promotion system does sound like an interesting idea, we can pitch that to Lucid and see if he likes the idea of lobby promotions. Thank you for that suggestion.

Lucy

over 10 years

Basically what I am trying to imply is that I think this will push some people away. If there was a way you could combine the lobbies in such. Or find ways to introduce the lobby more productively through training. Some people who are new may not even really become fully aware of our comp lobby. If there was something implemented in training for example: "Congratulations X today you have reached X amount of points! You are now an official member of EpicMafia! Here's your ticket into the Comp lobby! Enjoy popular ranked set ups and a chance to win one of our trophies/mini achievements!" Instead of "click to join competition"

Bumpers

over 10 years

Katt says

But then comp will be taken over by red heart games and comp games will be hard to start. Why not just bring back ranked lobby?

That's the intention, altough likewise it possibly give more exposure to comp games for those that might want to try them out.

Lucy says

Most people play in comp to run, that's the difficulty there. It's hard for me to play any red heart games in comp unless the competition is over. By then I only have 5-10 hearts and afterwards there's nothing to do unless I get on an alt, and to me it's tedious when I can just go to training lobby and play 20 hearts ranked. && the reason I like that it's ranked is because it gives you something to look forward to. I don't want to wait for hopes that I will get a doc achievement 13 times before it is noted on my profile or anywhere else. I think it's the compensation that keeps people around.

We know about the difficulty of finding gamess in that lobby, which is why hopefully these new plans will help cure that problem.

If you haven't checked it yet, I encourage you check this out, it might make you a lot more interested in the grand scheme of things. https://epicmafia.com/topic/63209

Lucy

over 10 years

Most people play in comp to run, that's the difficulty there. It's hard for me to play any red heart games in comp unless the competition is over. By then I only have 5-10 hearts and afterwards there's nothing to do unless I get on an alt, and to me it's tedious when I can just go to training lobby and play 20 hearts ranked. && the reason I like that it's ranked is because it gives you something to look forward to. I don't want to wait for hopes that I will get a doc achievement 13 times before it is noted on my profile or anywhere else. I think it's the compensation that keeps people around.

Katt

over 10 years

But then comp will be taken over by red heart games and comp games will be hard to start. Why not just bring back ranked lobby?

thebrontosaurus

over 10 years

You don't have to run to play in Comp, we're trying to get people to play more red hearts too it's just difficult.

deletedover 10 years

Jasprar says

Sammy says

Bumpers says

Xplicitable says

Why don't you just name it "Lobby"?

Soudns good actually, I wouldn't mind it as one of the choices.

Sammy says

Bumpers says

Sammy says

:rip: my points

No one is losing points, anyone above 10K shouldn't lose what they've earnt.

i mean i'm too stupid 4 comp and i will never join it so :rip: me gaining points

Comp wont be comp anymore, it'll just be ranked. if you don't want to compete in trophy games then there will be regular games too.

i'm also super bad at this game so :doge:

Me too, hehe. So come play in ranked on Gallis Hunter weekends (assuming of course that these still continue), and play solely red-heart ranked games until you're confident enough to try out running in a competition!

i'm not a running person. :doge:

Jasprar

over 10 years

Sammy says

Bumpers says

Xplicitable says

Why don't you just name it "Lobby"?

Soudns good actually, I wouldn't mind it as one of the choices.

Sammy says

Bumpers says

Sammy says

:rip: my points

No one is losing points, anyone above 10K shouldn't lose what they've earnt.

i mean i'm too stupid 4 comp and i will never join it so :rip: me gaining points

Comp wont be comp anymore, it'll just be ranked. if you don't want to compete in trophy games then there will be regular games too.

i'm also super bad at this game so :doge:

Me too, hehe. So come play in ranked on Gallis Hunter weekends (assuming of course that these still continue), and play solely red-heart ranked games until you're confident enough to try out running in a competition!

deletedover 10 years

Bumpers says

Xplicitable says

Why don't you just name it "Lobby"?

Soudns good actually, I wouldn't mind it as one of the choices.

Sammy says

Bumpers says

Sammy says

:rip: my points

No one is losing points, anyone above 10K shouldn't lose what they've earnt.

i mean i'm too stupid 4 comp and i will never join it so :rip: me gaining points

Comp wont be comp anymore, it'll just be ranked. if you don't want to compete in trophy games then there will be regular games too.

i'm also super bad at this game so :doge:

Bumpers

over 10 years

Xplicitable says

Why don't you just name it "Lobby"?

Soudns good actually, I wouldn't mind it as one of the choices.

Sammy says

Bumpers says

Sammy says

:rip: my points

No one is losing points, anyone above 10K shouldn't lose what they've earnt.

i mean i'm too stupid 4 comp and i will never join it so :rip: me gaining points

Comp wont be comp anymore, it'll just be ranked. if you don't want to compete in trophy games then there will be regular games too.

deletedover 10 years

Bumpers says

Sammy says

:rip: my points

No one is losing points, anyone above 10K shouldn't lose what they've earnt.

i mean i'm too stupid 4 comp and i will never join it so :rip: me gaining points

Xplicitable

over 10 years

Why don't you just name it "Lobby"?

Bumpers

over 10 years

Sammy says

:rip: my points

No one is losing points, anyone above 10K shouldn't lose what they've earnt.

Bumpers

over 10 years

Lucy says

Have you guys considered implementing training awards? It might be exciting if: (you reach your 500 pts.) you gain a key to the comp lobby. It would be slightly fun if you guys could set up missions for new comp users to base off. This may encourage them to become more involved.

Hi, this is something that I posted in the comp thread but didn't post in this one. We'd love to have more awards if posted, especially things like small emblems that could be displayed on a profile. I like achivements and stats, so seeing small rewards and hundreds of them could be brilliant.

Lucy says

Because I feel as an avid user that having a 10k cap in training sucks. It would basically turn into another sandbox lobby and then nobody will really want to go into the comp lobbies or waste their efforts. Not to mention, you need to extend the amount of hearts comp users are given. Or maybe you guys need to consider the limits on how to win a trophy or achievement. Give the training lobby users something to become excited over.

Yeah, it seems it was a mistake branching off different details in different threads. When I wake up tomorrow i'll make a small mock-up of what I hope can be done, we don't want to keep achivements locked to what will be Ranked, it's more hoping that training can be a natural progression rather than an exploitable lobby.

deletedover 10 years

:rip: my points

deletedover 10 years

Lucy says

Have you guys considered implementing training awards? It might be exciting if: (you reach your 500 pts.) you gain a key to the comp lobby. It would be slightly fun if you guys could set up missions for new comp users to base off. This may encourage them to become more involved. Because I feel as an avid user that having a 10k cap in training sucks. It would basically turn into another sandbox lobby and then nobody will really want to go into the comp lobbies or waste their efforts. Not to mention, you need to extend the amount of hearts comp users are given. Or maybe you guys need to consider the limits on how to win a trophy or achievement. Give the training lobby users something to become excited over.

Lucy always has the best ideas.

Lucy

over 10 years

Have you guys considered implementing training awards? It might be exciting if: (you reach your 500 pts.) you gain a key to the comp lobby. It would be slightly fun if you guys could set up missions for new comp users to base off. This may encourage them to become more involved. Because I feel as an avid user that having a 10k cap in training sucks. It would basically turn into another sandbox lobby and then nobody will really want to go into the comp lobbies or waste their efforts. Not to mention, you need to extend the amount of hearts comp users are given. Or maybe you guys need to consider the limits on how to win a trophy or achievement. Give the training lobby users something to become excited over.

Lucy

over 10 years

Eh...=/

thebrontosaurus

over 10 years

Yeah, that's a major problem we were having too. I think Casual does encapsulate a bit more of what Training is about and why people stay here, but it does bear a negative stigma.

Starter/Beginner makes it seem unwelcome to people who have been here longer, but to be fair, Training does too. Curious to hear some other opinions.

Satan

over 10 years

I'm trying to think of other names besides casual bc that sounds too laid back people might get the wrong idea

Bumpers

over 10 years

Satan says

All of this sounds perfect, i believe the 10k point cap was proposed before but it could work if it was actually implemented. Instead of casual lobby, maybe the starter lobby? casual makes it seem like no one would take it seriously

The problem with the last 10K cap was that everyone was forced to move to a different lobby to continuing playing EM. With this, there's no restriction at all in where you want to play, but if you would like to earn more points you'll have to play in soon to be Ranked or another lobby.

I know that this is an extremely popular lobby, and I don't want to upset things too much. I would like top see those training/new users be the ones to work their way to the top, but also show them more variety after learning more of the game.

thebrontosaurus

over 10 years

The 10K is only a soft-cap. After 10K, you simply wouldn't earn any points from ranked games, but you could still join and play them normally. The idea is to discourage pointfarming and encourage people to move to the "Ranked" Lobby after they've been experienced.