Everyone who wins knows that the mantra is "Builds Matter".
But here is the thing.
Builds DON'T matter for most dots in GLB.
They don't matter because no matter how good your build is, if you foe is better you will get beaten each and every time with mathematical precision, because - well computers work off of math. And you won't get beaten by a little, but alot.
Sure Chemistry and Morale factor into the game as well. But both of those things usually wind up hurting the bad builds even more and rewarding the good builds, because chemistry hits teams the most if they turn over alot of dots constantly, and those are usually the teams that are losing - which is why they have a hard time getting and keeping dots. And obviously morale impacts the teams that are losing a game already, as well as those who have had tougher times selling tickets due to past losses and therefore can afford less for promotion and salaries.
So Chemistry and Morale, far from leveling the field, most often merely dig deeper holes for the beaten to be shoved into.
So we are left with this simple GLB reality -
Your Build Only Matters if its perfect, or at least better than your foe's.
Otherwise you build may as well be a Pee Wee build for all the relevance it has.
That sux.
And that is a part of the player retention problem in GLB. If you are not a perfect dot builder, your dot will lose, badly and consistently, game after game. You will never reach the vaulted dome of World League, nor taste sweet champagne on Gold Trophy Day. You will just play the role of Italy, there to be beaten by all challengers each and every day and twice on Tuesdays. You will, in short, not enjoy playing GLB because all of your dot building effort was for naught. Might as well have created it, named it and walked away.
Who wants to pay money for that experience?
Solution - make ALL dot's builds matter. And here is how.
Performance Modification System - PMS
PMS would be a system whereby a dots performance on any given day, and in any given play, would fluctuate in the way that real world athletes vary in their execution depending upon their moods and whims.
Daily PMS - check each roll over to see how tuned a player is into his bad ass self. This is done by a percentage check (1-100 roll) compared to the average of his Confidence and Vision Stats (as modified by Decline, VAs and Equipment but not by chemistry or morale - they already impact performance elsewhere). There is also a wisdom modifier, for each 10 Days the player is older than 281 days of age, one is added to the Confidence and Vision Average (ie if they are 60 and 40 and he is 291 days old his average score is 50+1 for the age (wisdom) modifier). The Wisdom modifier caps at +20.
For every point under the so modified average Confidence and Vision Score is over the PMS percentage check roll, the Player will receive a plus .1% boost to his skills and attributes during all games played that day, with a cap of +5%.
This Daily PMS modifier is further modified by -
Play By Play PMS Modifier -
The PBP PMS Modifier check is done between plays on every down (if this is insane for the server, change it to quarter by quarter). The check is the same as the Daily Modifier, however here the value the percentage check is compared to is the average of Player Confidence Vision and Stamina, modified by +1 for every Temporary Boost the player is scheduled to receive for this game (so if he is getting a plus 5 to speed and plus 5 to stamina his average is increased by ten - but note the Skills themselves are not modified for this check by temporary boosts in the equation so there is no double dipping by adding 5 to vision for instance). The net result is as Daily PMS, for every point under the modified average that the PBP PMS roll is, the players performance is increased by .1% for that play to a capped value of 5%.
So a player who lucks out on his Daily and Play By Play PMS might have a plus 10% on any given play.
As a result, if you get lucky and your foe gets unlucky, on any given Sunday or at least any given play your dot may be ten percent higher than he would otherwise be and be better positioned to compete even against somewhat superior dots.
And if that means he is within striking range because his build was 90% as good as his foe, then his build actually gets a chance to matter for that game, or play.
And isn't that what dot building is all about? A chance for your build to matter?
But here is the thing.
Builds DON'T matter for most dots in GLB.
They don't matter because no matter how good your build is, if you foe is better you will get beaten each and every time with mathematical precision, because - well computers work off of math. And you won't get beaten by a little, but alot.
Sure Chemistry and Morale factor into the game as well. But both of those things usually wind up hurting the bad builds even more and rewarding the good builds, because chemistry hits teams the most if they turn over alot of dots constantly, and those are usually the teams that are losing - which is why they have a hard time getting and keeping dots. And obviously morale impacts the teams that are losing a game already, as well as those who have had tougher times selling tickets due to past losses and therefore can afford less for promotion and salaries.
So Chemistry and Morale, far from leveling the field, most often merely dig deeper holes for the beaten to be shoved into.
So we are left with this simple GLB reality -
Your Build Only Matters if its perfect, or at least better than your foe's.
Otherwise you build may as well be a Pee Wee build for all the relevance it has.
That sux.
And that is a part of the player retention problem in GLB. If you are not a perfect dot builder, your dot will lose, badly and consistently, game after game. You will never reach the vaulted dome of World League, nor taste sweet champagne on Gold Trophy Day. You will just play the role of Italy, there to be beaten by all challengers each and every day and twice on Tuesdays. You will, in short, not enjoy playing GLB because all of your dot building effort was for naught. Might as well have created it, named it and walked away.
Who wants to pay money for that experience?
Solution - make ALL dot's builds matter. And here is how.
Performance Modification System - PMS
PMS would be a system whereby a dots performance on any given day, and in any given play, would fluctuate in the way that real world athletes vary in their execution depending upon their moods and whims.
Daily PMS - check each roll over to see how tuned a player is into his bad ass self. This is done by a percentage check (1-100 roll) compared to the average of his Confidence and Vision Stats (as modified by Decline, VAs and Equipment but not by chemistry or morale - they already impact performance elsewhere). There is also a wisdom modifier, for each 10 Days the player is older than 281 days of age, one is added to the Confidence and Vision Average (ie if they are 60 and 40 and he is 291 days old his average score is 50+1 for the age (wisdom) modifier). The Wisdom modifier caps at +20.
For every point under the so modified average Confidence and Vision Score is over the PMS percentage check roll, the Player will receive a plus .1% boost to his skills and attributes during all games played that day, with a cap of +5%.
This Daily PMS modifier is further modified by -
Play By Play PMS Modifier -
The PBP PMS Modifier check is done between plays on every down (if this is insane for the server, change it to quarter by quarter). The check is the same as the Daily Modifier, however here the value the percentage check is compared to is the average of Player Confidence Vision and Stamina, modified by +1 for every Temporary Boost the player is scheduled to receive for this game (so if he is getting a plus 5 to speed and plus 5 to stamina his average is increased by ten - but note the Skills themselves are not modified for this check by temporary boosts in the equation so there is no double dipping by adding 5 to vision for instance). The net result is as Daily PMS, for every point under the modified average that the PBP PMS roll is, the players performance is increased by .1% for that play to a capped value of 5%.
So a player who lucks out on his Daily and Play By Play PMS might have a plus 10% on any given play.
As a result, if you get lucky and your foe gets unlucky, on any given Sunday or at least any given play your dot may be ten percent higher than he would otherwise be and be better positioned to compete even against somewhat superior dots.
And if that means he is within striking range because his build was 90% as good as his foe, then his build actually gets a chance to matter for that game, or play.
And isn't that what dot building is all about? A chance for your build to matter?
