Please vote on standings calculation method

[Cynicaster]

All,

Hopefully you all have a basic understanding of how I'm calculating the standings for the current MAME HSC using the "percentage scores" method. 

If not, once again, each score you submit is converted to a percentage of the top score.  In other words, the top player for each game gets 100%, and everyone else gets a percentage of that. 

 

The ongoing standings are calculated simply by running an average of each player's percentage scores for all games played thus far. 

 

When I was gauging interest for this competition, I had floated an idea and didn't hear any feedback on whether people liked it or not.  I was thinking of removing a set number of each player's lowest percentage scores from their average percentage calculation.  Say, the bottom 4 or 6 scores.  Why would I do that, you ask?

 

A few reasons: 

 

- so players aren't screwed over in the standings if they get busy and have to miss a round or two (missing a round gives them a zero score, which goes into the average)

 

- so players who join the competition late get a bit of a grace period and can still compete on a relatively even playing field

 

- so active players can choose to just skip a few games they find tedious/boring/stupid, without harming their standing

 

- so players get a bit of relief from low scores on games they've never played before

 

Personally, I plan on participating every round so I don't care whether this gets implemented or not - just want to let it be determined by vote.  I've already set it up in my spreadsheet so it's easy to either use it or not use it. 

 

Thanks in advance for your feedback 

CYN

Edited December 9, 2019 by Cynicaster

[Cynicaster]

By the way, I will keep this poll open for 2 weeks and we'll go from there with whatever gets voted in.  

 

 

[hero2billions]

I play for fun and to discover new games, not overly concerned about my place in the standings

[S.BAZ]

I like it the first way: all scores stay in.

That way the numbers reflect actual overall accomplishment.

 

In my mind, cutting off the lowest scores makes it not fair to the people really trying.  The ones who tried harder and got good at more games get deprived of their glory.  Even if it's a total demolition, why not let the numbers reflect the reality. 

 

Analogy: Suppose few participants get too busy with their day jobs & family affairs to show up for a couple rounds at the olympics.  Sould that be discounted in tallying the rankings in the end?

[youxia]

It's a noble idea but I'm not sure how/if it would balance stuff out in reality, perhaps it's not really possible. I also agree that persistence should be a rewarding factor. On the other hand it's not always about "trying harder" but "having tried for many years already". For that the points system was kinda better because it was easier for newcomers to make an effort and top a particular score as opposed to producing a sky-high one. Well... I guess I don't really have a concrete opinion on this so I have voted for the too bad! option (seems least complicated).

 

Atari 8-bit HSC - which is probably the best run/most fun high score compo I've ever seen- has a sort of a Redemption Round every season, when players can submit scores for the rounds they've missed or just to produce an improved score. It's definitely less strict, but perhaps something to consider.

 

Myself, I'm not really in a super competitive mode any more so the season-long calculations are not that relevant. Last year I did push it a bit because the idea of winning an arcade competition while being always convinced I'm uselsess at this genre was quite amusing. It's quite draing though, both time-wise and having to play games you don't really dig, so now I'm happy with just playing for fun and perhaps per-round challenge. Though it definitely is great to have some motivation, it totally changes the approach to games I'd otherwise only play superficially. Shame most people are so reluctant to join in, because 1cc score attacks really give new dimension to gameplay.

[AtariWarlord]

I really hope we can have two or three mulligans because I can't get the copy of Raiden Cynicaster uploaded to work. I figured I'd be able to count it as one of my poorer performances, but it looks like the vote is in a dead heat between four worst scores and no allowances at all.?

[youxia]

11 hours ago, AtariWarlord said:

looks like the vote is in a dead heat between four worst scores and no allowances at all.?

Could be interpreted as there being more votes for changes (2+3) than none at all (3)...

[AtariWarlord]

8 hours ago, youxia said:

Could be interpreted as there being more votes for changes (2+3) than none at all (3)...

So a split vote then...

[AtariWarlord]

On 12/13/2019 at 3:53 AM, youxia said:

It's a noble idea but I'm not sure how/if it would balance stuff out in reality, perhaps it's not really possible. I also agree that persistence should be a rewarding factor. On the other hand it's not always about "trying harder" but "having tried for many years already". For that the points system was kinda better because it was easier for newcomers to make an effort and top a particular score as opposed to producing a sky-high one. Well... I guess I don't really have a concrete opinion on this so I have voted for the too bad! option (seems least complicated).

 

Atari 8-bit HSC - which is probably the best run/most fun high score compo I've ever seen- has a sort of a Redemption Round every season, when players can submit scores for the rounds they've missed or just to produce an improved score. It's definitely less strict, but perhaps something to consider.

 

Myself, I'm not really in a super competitive mode any more so the season-long calculations are not that relevant. Last year I did push it a bit because the idea of winning an arcade competition while being always convinced I'm uselsess at this genre was quite amusing. It's quite draing though, both time-wise and having to play games you don't really dig, so now I'm happy with just playing for fun and perhaps per-round challenge. Though it definitely is great to have some motivation, it totally changes the approach to games I'd otherwise only play superficially. Shame most people are so reluctant to join in, because 1cc score attacks really give new dimension to gameplay.

I like your idea of a redemption round. Maybe that can be the compromise factor.

[Cynicaster]

On ‎12‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 6:31 PM, AtariWarlord said:

I really hope we can have two or three mulligans because I can't get the copy of Raiden Cynicaster uploaded to work.

 

Are you using MAME v0.139?  If not, grab it from the download link provided with the post. 

 

Not all MAME roms work with all versions of MAME.  You have to make sure the rom version matches the MAME version you're running.  I have been providing ROMs that are compatible with MAME v0.139 because I happen to have a full v0.139 set.  I test them all with MAMEUI64 v0.139 before posting, and Raiden works fine on my laptop. 

 

 

[AtariWarlord]

On 12/16/2019 at 1:33 PM, Cynicaster said:

 

Are you using MAME v0.139?  If not, grab it from the download link provided with the post. 

 

Not all MAME roms work with all versions of MAME.  You have to make sure the rom version matches the MAME version you're running.  I have been providing ROMs that are compatible with MAME v0.139 because I happen to have a full v0.139 set.  I test them all with MAMEUI64 v0.139 before posting, and Raiden works fine on my laptop. 

 

 

Will downloading this version overwrite my current build? Other than in this one case I've had no problem with it. 

[Cynicaster]

9 hours ago, AtariWarlord said:

Will downloading this version overwrite my current build? Other than in this one case I've had no problem with it. 

 

Only if you make it do so by copying the v139 executable into your existing MAME directory.  

 

It's straightforward and risk-free to run multiple MAME versions in parallel because MAME doesn't "install" on your PC.  You could set up MAME on a USB stick, plug that stick into any PC, and start playing; i.e., there is no "install wizard" or registry stuff that needs to happen as with most traditional software.  

 

My suggestion would be to just download the v0.139 and create a completely separate folder for it. 

 

For example, you could have:

 

 

c:\emulators\MAME (for your current setup)

 

c:\emulators\MAMEv139 (for this competition)

 

Simply dump all competition ROMs into the folder c:\emulators\MAMEv139\roms and off you go.  Your existing install remains intact and untouched, including all configuration files, controller mappings, etc. 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by Cynicaster

[Cynicaster]

Ok, so only 8 could be bothered to vote and we've got a tie between removal of 0 scores and removal of 4 worst scores. 

 

Quote

Could be interpreted as there being more votes for changes (2+3) than none at all (3)...

 

Thanks for the idea, youxia.  A total of 5 players voted to remove some amount of scores, so I'll take the average of the 2 choices, which would mean the removal of 3 worst scores.  This matter is now closed.  The next results summary will reflect this adjustment.