DUST Search - Announcement:Event: Experience Uprising 1.4 with the Caldari Bootcamp

CCP Cmdr Wang wrote:

Hobo on Fire wrote:

CCP Cmdr Wang wrote:

The assumption is the average player earns 3000 SP per match, which is what our data shows. Rambos who average higher are at the edge of the bell curve and isn't the best example to use when planning events for players of all types....
...We will be watching the data on in-game activities from the event and see how this event affects play behavior. If indeed ambush becomes the predominate game mode played during the event, then we will use that data when planning for future events.

The issue with using 3000 SP per match as an average is the vastly different payouts across game modes. If you were taking the average payout for Skirmish mode only, I'd bet it is noticeably higher than 3000; ambush matches would be lower. By basing your cap off the average across all game modes, you create a situation where only the lower scoring game modes (i.e. ambush) are worth it for the bonus; the higher payout modes only waste potential earnings.

The players who are actually paying attention to the event know this, and if they want to maximize their bonus will stick to Ambush. Anyone playing Skirmish or Domination during this event either doesn't know or care about the event, or has already hit their weekly cap.

I actually get the idea of using "average" SP earned in a match as your baseline, as it ensures the newer and less skilled players will get the most out of the event; unfortunately it encourages skilled players to try and game the system by AFKing or not participating in the battles.

Perhaps a different maximum reward could be offered for each game mode? 2000 for Ambush, 4000 for skirmish, whatever each mode's average payout is.

Yes, you bring up some good points that we will consider for the next SP event. We are also looking at other ways of doing this as well, such as getting bonus SP for matches won or getting a flat bonus rate for x number of matches played per day, etc.

The primary goal of this event is to first test the new script and ensure it does not interfere with the game mechanics.

It is also interesting to note that while many are complaining about this event being a grind, they are also worried about hitting cap too soon, which means it will actually be less grindy if they average more than the mean 3000 SP per match.

I also don't see how AFKing will help players maximize their SP gain, yes you will earn more than you usually do, but it is unlikely that you get more than 3000 SP per match by doing nothing. The new anti-AFK mechanic should also curb this behavior as well. Which, if the theory crafters here are correct (that is their assumption that this encourages AFK) this event will actually help test the new anti-AFK mechanic.


Author	Thread Statistics \| Show CCP posts - 11 post(s)
dreth longbow Zumari Force Projection Caldari State 10	Posted - 2013.09.05 01:25:00 - [1] - Quote CCP Cmdr Wang wrote: Hobo on Fire wrote: CCP Cmdr Wang wrote: The assumption is the average player earns 3000 SP per match, which is what our data shows. Rambos who average higher are at the edge of the bell curve and isn't the best example to use when planning events for players of all types.... ...We will be watching the data on in-game activities from the event and see how this event affects play behavior. If indeed ambush becomes the predominate game mode played during the event, then we will use that data when planning for future events. The issue with using 3000 SP per match as an average is the vastly different payouts across game modes. If you were taking the average payout for Skirmish mode only, I'd bet it is noticeably higher than 3000; ambush matches would be lower. By basing your cap off the average across all game modes, you create a situation where only the lower scoring game modes (i.e. ambush) are worth it for the bonus; the higher payout modes only waste potential earnings. The players who are actually paying attention to the event know this, and if they want to maximize their bonus will stick to Ambush. Anyone playing Skirmish or Domination during this event either doesn't know or care about the event, or has already hit their weekly cap. I actually get the idea of using "average" SP earned in a match as your baseline, as it ensures the newer and less skilled players will get the most out of the event; unfortunately it encourages skilled players to try and game the system by AFKing or not participating in the battles. Perhaps a different maximum reward could be offered for each game mode? 2000 for Ambush, 4000 for skirmish, whatever each mode's average payout is. Yes, you bring up some good points that we will consider for the next SP event. We are also looking at other ways of doing this as well, such as getting bonus SP for matches won or getting a flat bonus rate for x number of matches played per day, etc. The primary goal of this event is to first test the new script and ensure it does not interfere with the game mechanics. It is also interesting to note that while many are complaining about this event being a grind, they are also worried about hitting cap too soon, which means it will actually be less grindy if they average more than the mean 3000 SP per match. I also don't see how AFKing will help players maximize their SP gain, yes you will earn more than you usually do, but it is unlikely that you get more than 3000 SP per match by doing nothing. The new anti-AFK mechanic should also curb this behavior as well. Which, if the theory crafters here are correct (that is their assumption that this encourages AFK) this event will actually help test the new anti-AFK mechanic. What CCP is trying to do is deal with a lot of issues (read variables) in making an event both fun and rewarding for players while also making it fair. They have a plan that they are implementing in phases to try out different things (assumption on my part), but seem to be lacking in good communication with their player base. Recommendation: CCP should tap into their player base and have fireside chats in open forums where they lay out what they are trying to accomplish and get feedback from the players. This would reinforce player commitment and possibly give CCP options that they have not thought of. Everyone knows (or should know) that CCP needs to make money and even though this is a GÇ£freeGÇ¥ game, CCP makes money to pay bills and make profits by selling stuff and CCP needs to take into consideration how much free SP they can give and how that will impact AUR purchases. Just like giving away free stuff generates interest in them which makes people play more to get more of the stuff they like and then they pay for getting the upgrade sooner. As to SP events, as stated by other players, there is a difference in points awarded between Skirmish and Ambush and each should be evaluated separately, which is true. Taking the average across Skirmish and Ambush is skewing the average towards the low end which is Ambush, this is a statistical mistake made by non-mathematical persons in management. What should be done is to use the same formulas that CCP decides on for both Skirmish and Ambush but to apply them separately to each category to yield usable results. This is imperative to do when trying to get to the true results of different groups to yield the intended results, otherwise you get results that seem legit but in reality are skewed. It is important to note that even though you would be using the same formula on both Skirmish and Ambush you will get different results which is what is both needed and intended since they have different values. In addition to this, the formula should take into consideration both the top end and bottom end or what is called outliners to reach meaningful data to make decisions on. To this end I would suggest to CCP to take into account in their formula not just the average value (mean) since it is meaningless alone but to incorporate outliner removal or the span of values over which your data set occurs (range), along with the most frequently occurring value (mode) and the midpoint between the lowest and highest value of the set (median) and then look at the data set logically to see on average, how much each measurement deviates from the mean (standard deviation of the mean). This if done right will yield the results that you are looking for to set caps on SP events and ensure the results you are looking for. A long post, but hopefully it helps for future events, of course I am interested in other thoughts.