RSW

Hey David,

I was wondering what the rules are for classic game locking out different races due to balance. We currently have 8 signed up and I'm curious if I should wait for more or just pick another one. Hopefully, nobody in my game reads this, but I'm interested in Positronix.

Thanks!

David

The precise rules are complicated, but the bottom line is the server tries to enforce an even distribution of all available player types, so that a particular game has no more than one more of any given type than of any other.

That is to say, if there are 10 positions in a game, and six player types, then that means there is an average of 10/6 or about 1.7 positions available for each character type. So the game server will allow either one or two of each type, but will not allow three players to sign up for the same type.

If the server is not allowing you to sign up for Positronix, it must be that the game has already reached its maximum quota of Positronixes, and you should pick another character type (unless you have some knowledge that another player who has already chosen Positronix might be changing his mind soon).

(For the record, the server also handles games that have a wide range of number of players, e.g. 6-20 players, a bit specially. In this case the server isn't sure how many people are going to be in the game when it begins, so it has to assume it might be a relatively few number of players originally, and limit the character types based on that assumption. Later, as more people sign up for the game, it might raise the limits and you'll suddenly see more character types come available. But if you're already near the max number of players for your particular game, that isn't likely to happen. Also, certain games can impose their own restrictions on the number and relative balance of the different character types, which further complicates the algorithm.)

David

Great info! Thanks!

Yeah the game is set for 10-16, so it seems it MAY open up another at 12...if that even happens....doh!

The server is not completely conservative when it deals with a variable-player game. Specifically, it assumes there may be as many as 6 more players signing up at any given time (up to the maximum limit). So by the 8th player, it will make its restrictions based on a 14-player game, which means it will allow as many as three Positronixes before it closes the gate. This also means that if that limit has already been reached by the 8th player, then there's little hope for a new Positronix getting in the game.

Maybe the next game should be an all-Positronix custom game.

David

LOL that would be an interesting one!

Thanks again!

swakdaddy wrote:Hey David,

I was wondering what the rules are for classic game locking out different races due to balance. We currently have 8 signed up and I'm curious if I should wait for more or just pick another one. Hopefully, nobody in my game reads this, but I'm interested in Positronix.

Thanks!

David

Once you read it, you can't UN-read it!