Fantasy League feedback for next season

redlinederby Sunday, 9/12/2010
Site manager

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There are only 3 more weeks left in this season of racing not including the final champions tournament. A season two winner will be crowned and then we look ahead to a third season of racing.

This season was a lot of fun and proved that the tournament model is the way to go, but that's not say it can't be improved. I don't foresee any major changes for the third season, but I know there is some stuff I'd like to see be a little different and I'm sure you do too.

What do you want to see in a third season of racing?

Please reply with your feedback on this season so next season can be even better. Please share what you liked, what you didn't like, what was confusing, what didn't work, what was worthless, what would have helped...all that stuff. If you don't want to post them publicly, just PM me or mail them in.

I have a short list of technical fixes and tournament organizing changes that will be added for season 3, but I need to know what the players think. Thanks.


Discussion

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redlinederby 9/12/10
Site manager

One thing on my short list is adding weights to the car profiles. Not only do I think it would be neat to see a chart showing wins in relation to car weight, I think it's the one factor that makes the biggest difference in the races. A lot of us just "know" a car is heavy or better, but other players may not, so I think this would help create more competition between players.

I also plan on changing up the The Lot a bit so that cars are listed a little better and allow for sorting beyond just name.

One question I have is if anyone used their Garage and if it helped at all? When I was building this new version I focused a lot on the Garage because it was a big part of season one, but I've found I haven't really used the Garage at all...but maybe I'm an exception?

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JDC442 9/12/10

I always went right past my garage and into the Lot to see all of the cars available for picking my entry into each tournament. I didn't want to miss a new addition or perhaps a fast car unique to that particular tournament. So I guess my answer is that the "garage was not a big factor in my play this season".

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markkaz 9/12/10

I understand the desire to have the 'garage' functions. It adds an element
to the game. But to the casual player, it's confusing.

The first step in the game is to pick a car and put it into your garage. And
then a few days later, pick your bracket winners. But the cars in the garage
may not even be in the race. So the only way to get bonus points is to get
a good racer who nobody else locked up in their garage and that racer
happens to be picked for a tourney who happens to win.

I don't peruse The Lot but adding increased sorting capabilities would be
a cool function for your visitors.

Your 'Achievements' are a more logical way to get bonus points. While I
have not been very successful at picking winners or even unlocking Achievements,
It is much easier to understand.

I like your idea of adding weights to the racer's profiles. It gives more data for
participants to use. But you HAVE TO USE GRAMS! Ounces is not exact enough.
Experienced racers will know that weight isn't everything but it would be an
excellent addition to the game. With your programming experience, I would
think that this 'data' would be quick and easy to implement.

I have seen you post that the car in the image may not be the exact model that
you race. This is fair enough for now but please make sure that you use a model
that has the same wheels and that it is the same composition. As for that, I'm
talking about some models going to a plastic base.

Your use of email announcements is well done. I think I got a reminder which
was a nice touch.

In sum, I'd agree that the Garage function is less significant. I just want to
come here and pick racers. I peak at the message boards just about everyday
but when it comes to the races, I just want to pick and race!

Adding weight data in grams is an excellent addition!

Overall, well done!

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markkaz 9/12/10

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox

Ok, so I did unlock an achievement this week:

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox

I was curious what other competitors have unlocked. It would be cool if you
added a column on the Achievements page that would have additional stats.

http://www.redlinederby.com/fantasy/achievements.php

These are your headings now:
Trophy Achievement Conditions Bonus (Recpients)

Add one called "Recipients" or something. And in the column, have a click-able
number that will give a list of players that have unlocked that particular
Achievement.

The same would be nice for when we visit our dashboard and click on the
Achievements list.

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redlinederby 9/13/10
Site manager

Thanks for all the feedback so far! Good stuff...

The garage won't be going away come next season, but it probably will get less focus. I agree that coming out of last season into this season, the garage is a little confusing. Even a new player this year might not see the point because it's not a critical feature.

I actually went through and weighed all the league cars. And yes, in grams. I've always measured cars in grams, it's the only way to show small variances. It should be fun to see some numbers on wins compared to weight and so on...but maybe that's just the nerd in me

I will also be programming some more achievements into next season. I have a few on my list that didn't make for this season. One thing I'm wrestling with is whether or not to reset achievements each season. I think I'm leaning towards "no" however just because I think it's cool to see the trophies on players' profiles. And even though it would be a new season, it's the same game.

Keep the feedback coming! It'll only help!

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markkaz 9/13/10

Yeah, keep the achievements from season to season. We earned them!

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JDC442 9/13/10

Keep the achievements, but perhaps signify the season they were obtained on the plate. For instance, "FINAL 4 s2" or "CHAMP s1"

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David 9/13/10

I've found that I don't use my garage as much as I thought I would. But I do like seeing my cars at the top when it comes time to pick.

What about making it so you can only entering a car once throughout the season? It may open up the number of cars more that we see instead of the same ones showing up?

Also what about an achievement if you select a car with a .500 record or below and it ends up beating a car with a winning record?

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redlinederby 9/13/10
Site manager

I do want to try to tap into the win/loss record when creating tournaments. Now that there is a season's worth of data there is a lot more we can do moving forward.

I am also trying draw out a good way to limit car picks between tournaments. Maybe not much as limiting one-time use per car, but maybe something to the effect of no repeat picks per weekend or something. Or only same picks after a week...something like that...just have to make sure it's obvious and easy for players.

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redlinederby 9/18/10
Site manager

Had an idea coming home from work the other day...what if the winning player for each tournament is then the benchmark for the next tournament? Then every player that beats that winner the following gets bonus points...and if no one beats them, that player gets bonus points.

For example, there are 3 players, A, B, and C. Player A wins the first tournament with 100 points. The next week, if player B or C gets more than 100 points, they get bonus points on top of their earned points. Player A is not punished nor is any other player that fails to get more points. But then if no player got more than 100 points, Player A would get bonus points for once again setting the bar.

Thinking this might give people more of target to hit each week rather than only trying to win the whole thing. Might also act as a handicap for folks that get behind in the points a bit.

Thoughts?

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redlinederby 9/23/10
Site manager

I've decided that Season 3 will also exclude the 16 tournament winners from Season 2. Sixteen out of 200+ cars is fine and will force players to learn/pick new cars. Also, unless the numbers of cars is too few for a tournament, there will be no new additions to The Lot for the rest of this season. So with the outgoing cars from Season 2, there will be an influx of new cars with Season 3.


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