Settings and Modifiers by Ace

[elfin glade]

Welcome @steep raptor! Any feedback from the community will show up here.
Please note that this thread discussion is not shared with SMG.
It is solely for the RISK Community to discuss ideas & provide constructive feedback!

[floral spade]

I'm all for it.
(I guess obviously you mean names are hidden to begin with)
Hiding the stats to be viewed was a good first step, but not enough

[steep raptor]

Well my suggestion was only for casual private games (so basically for tournaments). So names would need to be shown in the lobby to ensure the right people are in the game. Plus everyone would know who the host is anyway. So you could view everything as normal in the lobby, but once the game fires everything gets randomized and you have no idea who is who.

[floral spade]

oh, understood. that is interesting. You might know who's who from their style, but maybe they fake it 😉

[vapid hedge]

and u can't do anything against the style

[hardy bridge]

People should be known. How you have played in the past against people should be remembered. And your behavior in previous games and tournaments should be remembered. Think about this… you play a tournament final game with alliances. You betray your ally and ultimately win the tournament because of it. Fine, congrats. Now, the consequences of your actions come home to roost. The next tournament that you are in against that person… you bet they are gunning for you. One of the best parts of Risk (in my opinion) is that your name stays with you. Your behaviors stay with you. If you are the type of player who screws over allies, expect the boomerang effect to happen next time around when you face them. You shouldn’t be able to hide yourself to avoid the repercussions.

[steep raptor]

I agree with you to a point. I have set the precedent over many tournament games that if you break or betray me I will hit you as hard as I can and ensure you lose. So I like it when players know who I am.

Where I don’t agree is when you have 2 or 3 players that have played a lot together and the others are new. The players that know each other will work together and get 1st/2nd the vast majority of the time and that’s not fair to everyone else.

Keep in mind this is just an idea for a setting/modifier. Tournaments could use it or not, just provides the option

[hardy bridge]

If two players “know each” from previous games and “work together” to take the top 2 spots in games… they should be known for that. As they (if they are known) will then face the wrath of even more players in the future. So I am opposed to this concept. I always think that every player should be known to all.

[steep raptor]

Be known for that? What. If I play in R1 of the FFA tournament I would probably be with 4 bad players and 1 other regular. Even if we don't work directly together I know I can trust that regular tournament player to be a good neighbor, work together to make kills, etc. Its not always about it not being fair, sometimes its simply knowing who you have to guard against and who you don't, or who maintained exterior stacks and who's not good enough to do that.

It could also be great for tournament sets that have multiple games in them. (think the World Cup). If you don't know who has points then it fixes that whole problem.

Its just a settings option. If people didn't like it they just wouldn't play it. But it could make for some fun and interesting games. Especially if you make some Assassins games or other game modifiers for it

[hardy bridge]

Hey, we disagree on this “option,” I think it should not exist. You think it should. Agree to disagree. I think everyone should always been known as their username. Their actions remembered for good or worse.

[muted lynx]

Just seen this now and I have to say I see where you are coming from, BUT... In a past tournament ROUND 1 I was the only grandmaster in the lobby and the rest of the players were relatively low ranks. While I'm not claiming I play perfectly every game and believe I should've steamrolled that specific game, I do believe I should've had an advantage to some extent. Anyway as we start playing player 1 takes a bonus. Same goes for player 2, 3, 4 and 5. Gets to my turn to take a bonus and I do, everything's going great right? NOPE, before my next turn my bonus gets broken, not a single other persons bonus gets broken... right. THEN, second turn I've lost my bonus, not the end of the world, I place my troops the opposite side of the board and take a different bonus (bearing in mind this one isn't next to a single other players bonus). Everyone holds their bonuses and mine is the only one to get broken, AGAIN. Now very far behind all the players just start attacking the small amounts I have left, and very early on I lose the game - 6th place I believe. You can't tell me that there is 0 chance that it has to do with me being a higher rank? If I were to attempt another tournament I'd love some form of anonymity to ensure this doesn't happen again.

[hardy bridge]

You raise a fair point. Just as fair and valid as mine. As I said, we just have different points of view on the matter.

[steep raptor]

Not really. Your point/opinion was essentially “I don’t like blizzards so therefore nobody should have the option to be able to play with blizzards”.

Tournament hosts/organizers are responsible for coming up with settings and modifiers that work for their tournament. If they use settings or modifiers that people don’t like then people won’t play in their tournament and that’s ok. But saying nobody should have the option just because I don’t like it is a bit weird. It doesn’t hurt you at all if that modification exists. Just don’t play in games that have it if you don’t like it.

It’s kinda like players that don’t like 1v1. So they don’t play in 1v1 tournaments. That doesn’t mean they think 1v1 shouldn’t exist, they just don’t enjoy it so they don’t play it.

[hardy bridge]

I think you missed my point. I think players (for ranked play or tournament play) should have a single username that they have to use. No, that is not really an option “setting” like turning on or off blizzards or portals, or choosing balanced blitz dice or true random. It is about knowing who you are playing. Why? So that all players previous actions and ranked or tournament choices made in prior games are known to all. So if we played against each other in previous tournament, and you suicided into me causing me to lose, that you can’t hide your identity in the next tournament and do it to me again with me knowing whom I am playing against. IMO, those who disguise themselves are trying to avoid the baggage of their reputations. That being said, I understand the alternative POV. I just disagree with it. As I said… agree to disagree. Now, I would actually agree with you IF there was a tournament that was held and EVERYONE was required to have a new name so that everyone purposely didn’t know who they were playing.

[steep raptor]

I’m confused. You said you would agree with me if my idea was used? The whole idea of the modifier is that EVERYONE would have to use it. Every group would have to use the modifier because it’s part of the settings. Nobody would know who they were playing. In the game you would have to behave like you have no previous relationships or knowledge of other players (basically how ranked is now).

It’s a modifier so tournament organizers wouldn’t have to include them in the settings if they didn’t want to. Just how you have tournaments with Zombies and tournaments without Zombies. But you don’t have a round where some people play zombies and others don’t

[hardy bridge]

I disagree with the concept in principle.

[steep raptor]

Then what did you mean by this? " I would actually agree with you IF there was a tournament that was held and EVERYONE was required to have a new name so that everyone purposely didn’t know who they were playing." - Because that has basically been the point I was trying to make is that this would be an option

[hardy bridge]

Ah, I lost this thread and now it is found. There is a simple explanation how Ace. Should this be an option to be offered in daily game play, no. I disagree with the concept. So should people be allowed to mask their identities on a daily basis for ranked play, nope. However, a “mystery” tournament where everyone goes in under an alt would be the exception. But, should it be allowed as an option. Nope.👎🏻

[steep raptor]

Again. Right in the suggestion and additionally I have stated multiple times that is only for PWF (casual private)

[hardy bridge]

Yep, agree to disagree on this concept. But the reality is, this concept is probably around 1,000 or higher on SMG’s priority list and I’m confident my little ole opinion doesn’t mean too much on the matter.

[steep raptor]

At this point I think you’re trolling me. This is like the 2nd or 3rd time you have stated you would be ok with this being available for a tournament. And then when I agree with you saying that this is exactly what I was saying this for (tournament play only), you immediately come back and you disagree and this shouldn’t be a thing