ROLL UP! C'mon folks, play some popular Maps that are usually not considered for tournaments because of their imbalance. It's for free! Games are Unrated: 0
buy-in and no personal stats ruined by bad results. Nothing to lose, nothing to gain but pure fun! :)
1. y2kjbc
2. Dr. Recommended
3. GOD
4. Spartan22
5. Mapu
6. kaner406
7. Sevyas
8. diatarn_iv
9. nickbar1
@kaner. You should have expected that I would have twisted it! :)
@D4. Thanks for your good question, it gives me a chance to clarify a couple of points.
First is that this is not intended to be the best possible tournament or the most accurate etc. This means that luck might have a part in it and it will likely have some.
The goal is the fun, not a scientific research for the best gunboater. Btw, science says Variant stats are never totally reliable: please check Migraine's ones and you'll get what this means.
Of course I tried to limit luck a bit, we're not playing dice! So there's a benchmark, there's a carry-over and a double-game first turn (both things will avoid you'll be eliminated just for 1 unlucky game), etc..
But that's all. Destroying the *all* the luck was not my goal.
Second is fairness. I'm convinced that a game - in order to be fun - must be fair. Also, I'm convinced that a game is fair only if all the players play under the same rules all game long. IMHO, in a Tournament "all game long" means from sign-up to proclamation of the winner.
That's what all those rules are for, for nothing else and especially not to remove all the luck.
Into practice - and back to your objection - before the Round starts you have the same chance other competitors have to draw Morrocco or Egypt. That's why the Tournament is fair enough. Good luck! :)
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On a side note, we could talk a month long whether it will actually be better drawing the best or the worst benchmarked Country of a Map. Or one in the middle. I think we can't know it for sure beforehand.
"The game is fair" means also that all competitors have the same information available. Everybody knows Maps are unbalanced, everybody knows each Country's stats and that they might be unreliable, everybody knows there's a benchmark advantaging worst Countries and disvantaging best ones (and how much), everybody knows the Score System, ..., and everybody will make their mind up on how to play. Just play. God only knows how each competitor will use information available to them. God only knows how the games will go and how competitors will react to the things happening on the path. You have to play if you want to discover it.
Second side note is that, while balance was stated as unimportant for the first 4 rounds, a more balanced map has been choosen for the Final. The reason for this choice was that you won't have a next Round to recover an unlucky result. Just another little thing limiting luck a bit.
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tl;dr: Some maps have been choosen purposely because of their imbalance. Benchmark must not completely compensate that, even if it ever could. Luck might have a part in this Tournament, but some features will help you not to be eliminated just for 1 unlucky game. Have fun! :)