TripleA Players and Map-Makers: Please help contribute to the website with your input

[Cernel]

Ah, and, of course, I've just noticed now, the votes should be per-game, not per-map (1 for each of the xml)!

For example, it doesn't make sense (sorry, but I really think so) to vote for WW2v3_Variants, as it has a bunch of different games, and I would not vote Age of Tribes, either, but each one of its games. For example, I may think that Age of Tribes : Modern is very well balanced, while Age of Tribes : Renaissance is very badly balanced.
Also, some games have bundled spin offs; I've no clue what I'm supposed to vote for World At War, since it has also the WAW 1940 mod. Am I unable to vote for WAW 1940 or should I give the average between WAW and WAW 1940 or what?
I strongly advice the vote being per game (meaning per xml), not per map (meaning per folder).
Sadly, I really believe that voting per map, instead of per game, would really invalidate the whole effort, to a considerable extent; so, consider this last one my highest recommendation of them all.
If it has to be per map (better not), then I much advise you remove all the variants (meaning remove all the maps having a bunch of xml without a clear main referring one), from the list, and clarify that you can vote only for the main game of that map, not for the mods bundled in it (like, you can vote only for Age of Tribes : Primeval, not for the other Age of Tribes, or only for Napoleonic Empires, not for the FFA mods of it).

[CrazyG]

I was going to make the same suggestion as Cernel, I think it should be per game, not per map. Age of Tribes being a great example (though I thought Renaissance was considered the most balanced)

I also think there should be 5 options for the balance category rather than 4. All that said this will become an excellent resource, I'll do my part to populate the reviews

[Cernel]

@CrazyG LOL I was making an example, and those are not my opinions (also, I've never played Modern, yet).

[Frostion]

@Cernel
Yes, an 8 players and then a 9+ players would be more fitting. Not my 8+ players suggestion.

[theredbaron]

After quite the arduous process, I've gathered I think all of the games in all of the map folders into a list. Here it is for your reference and verification that I have not missed anything, divided by category in the in-game downloader:

Big World 1942
Big World 1942 v3 Rules
Civil War
Civil War: Eastern Campaigns
Great War
MiniMap
Total World War
World War II v3
270BC
Capture the Flag
Diplomacy
Diplomacy: FFA v3 Rules
Diplomacy: FFA Great War Style
Diplomacy: WWI
Middle Earth
Napoleonic Empires
Napoleonic Empires FFA 5 Player
Napoleonic Empires FFA 8 Player
New World Order
The Pact of Steel
The Rising Sun
World At War
World At War 1940
World War II Classic
World War II 2nd Edition
World War II Classic 3rd Edition
World War II Classic Iron Blitz
World War II Europe
World War II Global 1940
World War II Global 1940 2nd Edition
World War II Global 1940 2nd Edition with Combat Move First
World War II Global 1940 Balanced Mod3
World War II Global 1940 Balanced Mod3 with Combat Move First
World War II Global 1940 Canadian Mod with Combat Move First
World War II Global 1940 Original
World War II Global Ozteas 1941 Setup
World War II Global 1942 2nd Edition
World War II Pacific
World War II Pacific Second Edition
World War II Revised
World War II Revised LHTR Version
World War II v4
World War II v4 Six Army Free For All
World War II v4 Six Army Free For All v2
World War II v5 1942
World War II v6 1941

Age of Tribes: Classical
Age of Tribes: Cold War
Age of Tribes: Modern
Age of Tribes: Primeval
Age of Tribes: Renaissance
Domination 1914 No Mans Land
Battle of Aventurica
Battle of Jutland
Big World 2: Balance of Power
Big World 2: Rise of the Axis
Caribbean Trade War
Cold War
Domination
Dragon War
Feudal Japan
Greyhawk
Greyhawk Wars
Pacific Challenge
Red Sun Over China
Warlords FFA
Star Trek Dilithium War
Star Wars Galactic War
Star Wars Tatooine War
Twilight Imperium
Ultimate World
Ultimate World Revised

1914-COW-Empires
Domination 1914 Blood And Steel
Domination 1914-Weltpolitik
Iron War
Age Of The Sturlungs
Ancient Times
Arnhem
Atari
Big World Variations June 1942
Big World Variations Smalls 1939
Big World Variations NekahNets 1939
Blue vs Gray
Camp David
Classic Variations Omaha
Classic Variations Kremlin
Classic Variations Utah
Classic Variations Gold
Classic Variations Sword
Classic Variations Anzio
Classic Variations Iron Blitz (2nd Edition version)
Classic Variations Iron Blitz 1939A Historical
Classic Variations Iron Blitz 1939B Russian in the Axis
Classic Variations Iron Blitz 1939C US Stands Apart
Classic Variations Iron Blitz 1942A Russia Neutral
Classic Variations Iron Blitz 1945A Russia and Japan
Classic Variations Iron Blitz 1945B Aggressive Russia
Classic Variations Iron Blitz Cold War
Classic Variations Battleship Row
Classic Variations Four if By Sea
Cold War Asia: 1948
Cold War Asia: 1948+Japan
D-Day
D-Day2
Eastern Front
Elemental Forces
Empire
Europe
Feudal Japan Warlords
First Punic War
Game of Thrones
Global 1940 Redesign HouseRules
Global War
Global War2
Hex Globe10
Invasion USA
Jurassic
Large Middle Earth
Neuschwabenland
New World Order 1915Lebowski
New World Order Lebowski Edition
NWO Variants by Smallman
NWO Variants 5 Nation
NWO Variants Eastern Front by Penguins
Pacific
Pact of Steel Variations v3 Rules
Pact of Steel Variations China Added
Rome Total War
Steampunk
Stellar Forces
Tactics Campaign
The Great Northern War
Total Ancient War
Ultimate World Variants Ultimate Pants Talibush 7 Alliances
Ultimate World Variants Ultimate Pants Talibush FFA
Ultimate World Variants Ultimate Pants Talibush Mod
Ultimate World Variants Ultimate Pants
Ultimate World Variants Ultimate Pants ww2v3
Ultimate World Variants Expanded
Ur Quan War Masters Edition
War of the Lance
War of the Relics
World At War Variants v3
World At War Variants Fuel-AA Range
World At War Variants vXXX
World War II Revised Variations 6 Army FFA
World War II Revised Variations Hoshi Head 7 Powers
World War II Revised Variations Barbarossa
World War2010
WW2 Phillipines
WW2v3_11N 1939
WW2v3_11N 1940
WW2v3_11N 1941
WW2v3_11N 1942
WW2v3_Variants China Mod
WW2v3_Variants UK Factory
WW2v3_Variants 1941 Combat Move Before Purchasing
WW2v3_Variants 1942 Combat Move Before Purchasing
WW2v3_Variants FFA
WW2v3_Variants 3 Teams
WW2v3_Variants Free Tech
Zombieland

Everything should be live on the form as well, which is still at: https://goo.gl/forms/JqTYxhNp8xylo2Jz1

[theredbaron]

@CrazyG I'd be interested in the use case for another option. My thought was that it would be too much nitpicking. I guess maybe one for "in development" maps could work. Other than that, I think the current options just about cover the maps we have.

Also, welcome to the new forum

[Cernel]

@theredbaron Wow. Some work. I can see a few I never realised they existed, like a World War II Global 1940 Canadian Mod. x-D

Another important thing, especially now that stuff is referring to the single game, having its own version, is that it would be due having the possibility of specifying exactly what version you are rating. The worst game ever can be made into the best game ever, by moving from version 1.0 to version 1.1, or whatever. This would be particularly critical for balance opinions (pretty much, after you change stuff, close to all balance get trashed, and you must rebalance all anew; this is why everyone is scared to ever touch maps that are already regarded as well balanced).
I'm just suggesting adding a spot, under "Choose the game that you are rating", for writing down the version of that game (ideally, it should be a potentially infinite series of digits, from 0 to infinite (first digit equal to 0 means that the map is unfinished), like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., that are meaning version 1.2345..., in game), and make that mandatory, not to leave it blank.

Also, maybe it should not be possible to rate games till they are at version 0.x. I'm thinking that getting bad rating on unfinished / unbalanced games might induce mapmakers to unnecessarily delay their release till they are more presentable.

[Cernel]

@theredbaron Are you looking at something outdated? "World At War 1940" was called so for the 1.8.0.9, but it is now called "WAW 1940", since 1.9 times. I've made that change.

[Cernel]

Another thing of this definition I don't like is that it says "not well balanced", which is the name of the other category, thus would be true for whatever but that one only, as well.

Poorly Balanced – Identified those games that are not well balanced and few players would want to play them without a bid or other rebalancing mechanism outside of the rules of the map

I surely suggest this change:

Poorly Balanced – Identified those games that are badly balanced and few players would want to play them without a bid or other rebalancing mechanism outside of the rules of the map

Also, just for reference, if you want to keep it short, this would be my full formulation, in the shortest form:

Poorly Balanced – Identified those games that are badly balanced and few players would want to play them without an additional bid or other options' changes or other rebalancing mechanisms outside of the rules of the map

The definition could also clarify that a badly balanced game is a game in which, at start game, for very good players, one side would have 80% or more chances to win over the other one (playing it as-is).

[CrazyG]

@theredbaron
I did briefly work in data analytics, generally polls like this give better results if you have 5 options in the slider options, or in this case maybe 6 because "broken" is really a side answer. Anyways I think 3 is good enough

[theredbaron]

@CrazyG Ok, no problem. Do you have a suggestion for new divisions between the options?

[theredbaron]

@Cernel I'm going to keep out versions for now. I'll keep tabs on this to see if it becomes an issue

[CrazyG]

@theredbaron
My general approach would be something like
"very good" (extremely good?)
"good"
"average"
"bad"
"very bad"

Its good to have a middle option clearly available for people to select for if they feel somewhat neutral about it. As an example I would put Age of Tribes classical with a middle rating. It lacks any glaring problems but I wouldn't call its balance good either.

Distinguishing between good and very good might be nit picky for this topic though. NWO is extremely balanced on many levels, it deserved a 5/5. Revised is only balanced with a bid and really only balanced for certain strategies, I would only give it a 4/5 (as examples)

[Cernel]

@CrazyG Well, anything is balanced with a bid or other ways to balance it. On this regard, we could give 4/5 or 5/5 to pretty much all maps, since they can be at least well balanced with the "right" bid, if you know it.
Bid knowledge has nothing to do with the quality of the map itself; you can play a competitive Revised game because you already know that you have to deselect the awful tech system (on as default and not officially optional), and add up the TTL rule from LHTR, and, finally, on top of it, add 8 or 9 bid for Axis.
But this is just because Revised is a known map; but this has no relevance for the map itself, unless you integrate the bid etc. as default options in it (which is basically the same thing as you would rebalance Revised by changing the starting setup of the game, like a good bid would do; but, then, you have made a well balanced mod of Revised, which would be just another game).
It should be, at this point, clarified if the "common knowledge" should go into the map itself, like if Revised should have a better rating just because "everyone" knows what he has to do to rebalance it. I'd say no; I don't think that the fact that everyone knows how to closely rebalance a game makes the game itself better balanced.

[Cernel]

@Cernel On the other hand, somebody could make a "Ladder" mod of Revised, that it is just Revised but with the options selected default and a good bid for Germany default and, then, that mod can be rated as "Well Balanced" for sure.

[CrazyG]

@Cernel
Well the task is to give each map a single rating so how to handle stuff like that is up to the reviewer.

I would still give revised a 4/5 even factoring the goofy tech. Its a good competitive map where the better player usually wins. Its very close to a 50/50 among experts with a bid of about 9, and for newer players the bid isn't really necessary.

[theredbaron]

@all 5th option for balance added. I'm trying not to disrupt the current submissions. If you have suggestions to redefine the descriptions, I'd be glad to hear them.

[CrazyG]

@theredbaron "virtually impossible to agree on a better balance" might be a little too strongly worded. A map can be better than the decently balanced description but not be perfect/ borderline perfect

[theredbaron]

Ok, I've modified that a bit.

Just letting everyone know, if you are a map maker or involved in map-making, please once answer yes to the question "Are you a map maker," which will unlock an additional section where you can give feedback about the maps portion of the website that will soon be released, so I can deliver a product that all of you want to use.

[Cernel]

@theredbaron Uhm, don't like this definition:

Average Balance – Identifies those games whose balance issues are neither to their benefit or detriment in gameplay

also, "average" doesn't really make sense to me. Plus, all other are "Balanced", while only this one "Balance".

I don't feel the need of adding a category between decent and poor but, if I must, I would say:

Partially Balanced - Identifies those games whose balance issues give a clear yet small edge to a side, both for intermediate and good players, and it is closely disputable if they are still play-worthy without bid or other changes

A game that can fit this description, in my mind, is World War II v4, that it is known to be unbalanced in favour of Axis, but only so slightly that a good share of people would accept to play it without bid (differently from Revised, pretty much nobody would).