FUMBBL :: Online Blood Bowl League

freak_in_a_frock

Joined: Aug 02, 2003

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 08:43

So how was the grand opening of FFBox for you.

Are you a first timer in the box? Were you an old timer returning to the fold? Will you want to continue using the Box? Did you find it confusing and would like more explanation of how it worked?

Share your views below, and vote on the poll if you feel the urge.

Mr_Foulscumm

Joined: Mar 05, 2005

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 08:47

I thought it was horrible! The Jets won Sad

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Purplegoo

Joined: Mar 23, 2006

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 08:54

I played thirty odd games in the old Box over two sessions or attempts, and really disliked it. I found I had to play coaches I didn’t like much too often, teams that weren’t ’properly’ built too often, there was this feeling of ‘us and them’, the bot did a really poor job of finding me good games (certainly terrible when compared to two humans looking at a gamefinder) and all in all, I found it most sub-optimal and wasn’t surprised it died a death after the initial novelty.

I was / am so excited about the new client that I strapped myself in for some Box action last night, and will give it a reasonable new trial in the new rules with some just for fun teams. I found the system much improved from what I remember - games every 15 minutes if there are enough active coaches is nice, I very much enjoyed the one-click start, I might even abandon IRC for a bit! I think TV and Inducements will fix my issue with silly 1FF + star teams, since I suppose 1 FF is normal now, most teams are more pimped. I am wanting to change icons as soon as is feasible, but I do realise these things take time. My game was totally fair enough and one I would have selected myself, a sample size of one is hardly much, but it’s a good start and I hope it continues.

I still doubt it will be my division of choice in the long term for my serious open BB, but since it’s all there is at the moment, I’m in for a good go. Early signs are of a decent improvement.

Great job by BigC et al getting it going, huge thanks that this client exists at all. I think it will all be a bit confusing for a newbie, so I do need to hunt down someone that can use Wiki to get that Quick Start going! Smile

Last edited by Purplegoo on %b %17, %2011 - %08:%Jan; edited 1 time in total

JigerJones

Joined: Oct 23, 2004

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 08:56

I am new to the Box altogether. Would love an explanation to how it works (I did make a team and activated, but the server went down) and what I need to do/look for when I activate my team again. The Box idea was just getting going when I took a break from Fumbbl back in 2008 and I am excited to play some games now with the new client.

Garion

Joined: Aug 19, 2009

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:01

Purplegoo wrote:

I played thirty odd games in the old Box over two sessions or attempts, and really disliked it. I found I had to play coaches I didn’t like much too often, teams that weren’t ’properly’ built too often, there was this feeling of ‘us and them’, the bot did a really poor job of finding me good games (certainly terrible when compared to two humans looking at a gamefinder) and all in all, I found it most sub-optimal and wasn’t surprised it died a death after the initial novelty.

I was / am so excited about the new client that I strapped myself in for some Box action last night, and will give it a reasonable new trial in the new rules with some just for fun teams. I found the system much improved from what I remember - games every 15 minutes if there are enough active coaches is nice, I very much enjoyed the one-click start, I might even abandon IRC for a bit! I think TV and Inducements will fix my issue with silly 1FF + star teams, since I suppose 1 FF is normal now, most teams are more pimped. I am wanting to change icons as soon as is feasible, but I do realise these things take time. My game was totally fair enough and one I would have selected myself, a sample size of one is hardly much, but it’s a good start and I hope it continues.

I still doubt it will be my division of choice in the long term for my serious open BB, but since it’s all there is at the moment, I’m in for a good go. Early signs are of a decent improvement.

Great job by BigC et al getting it going, huge thanks that this client exists at all. I think it will all be a bit confusing for a newbie, so I do need to hunt down someone that can use Wiki to get that Quick Start going! Smile

What he said.

I found the whole thing really exciting again. Like when i played my very first games. I thought the match up was fair I got paired against a really good friendly coach that doesnt whine when dice go against him.

My Game - http://fumbbl.com/FUMBBL.php?page=match&id=3110128

My only complaint would be that the result did not effect my CR, is this normal for B games?

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JellyBelly

Joined: Jul 08, 2009

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:02

I didn't play yesterday, but I watched a couple of games, which did look great. Until recently I wasn't much of a fan of LRB5/6, but I think I am coming round to the newer rules and the new client looks absolutely fantastic. I've always been a fan of the [B]ox format, so I'm definitely keen to get involved with the FF[B]ox over the next few weeks.

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JellyBelly

Joined: Jul 08, 2009

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:06

Garion wrote:

My only complaint would be that the result did not effect my CR, is this normal for B games?

Yeah, the old [B] had it's own version of CR - Blackbox Win Ratio (BWR). Does anyone know if games in the new [B]ox are affecting that, or if they will reset it for the new division ... ??

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"Opinions are like arseholes, everybody's got them and they all stink." - The protagonist, Fallout 2

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Purplegoo

Joined: Mar 23, 2006

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:06

Garion wrote:

My only complaint would be that the result did not effect my CR, is this normal for B games?

Yes.

[B] has it's own ranking system that I've always found a bit weird and is just as good / flawed / bad / pie / indifferent as CR, depending on who you are. Depends on if numbers are for you and if you believe the box chucks out fair games, so far as I can see, as to if you place any faith in it.

Garion

Joined: Aug 19, 2009

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:10

Thanks Jellybelly and Pgoo. Its good to see that there is a lot of diversity with the race choices so far. I'm seeing a lot more vamps, slann etc... at the moment. Like somertown and his flings. nice - http://fumbbl.com/FUMBBL.php?page=team&op=view&team_id=640646

Edit: where is the box rating? It would be good if it replaced the faction ranking in your profile.

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Last edited by Garion on %b %17, %2011 - %09:%Jan; edited 1 time in total

freak_in_a_frock

Joined: Aug 02, 2003

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:12

Box games do seem to be affecting BWR, although i doubt if the formula is correct anymore, since game difficulties are now all wrong.

@Jiger James The scheduler is now back to normal. this means that draws are made every 15 minutes. You need to activate your team during the 5 minutes directly befor the draw. If you activate too soon your teams won't be entered. So for example you need to activate at either 0:10, 0:25, 0:40 or 0:55 past each hour. When the draw is made, if you were scheduled you no longer need to worry about game names (or even contacting your opponent) just click on the 'play' link next to the scheduled team and the client will automatically join you to the correct game.

http://fumbbl.com/FUMBBL.php?page=blackbox for the black box page of stats, including your BWR. By the way the BBR is how bashy you are.

Lakrillo

Joined: Sep 12, 2007

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:39

For me it was great. I just had one game, but the thrill to see all the games go live and how good it all worked was great.
The shape we managed to get the client into over the last month or two is so much more stabile and so much less bugs. Seeing 30 games being played simultanously for a couple of hours and during that time i just heard about 3 cases where people ran into bugs. 2 of which was known and a third due to Woodstock firmly wanting to not use the automove.

Another thing which i found great was the spirit of all people playing. People were excited and praised the experience. Some people obviously blamed their bad luck and bad draws, but then pulling off wins or ties, just like normal in the bloodbowl world.
I also heard a lot of people who were either new or returned from being away for a while from the site, and it feels good that we are growing as a community once again. Let us take care of the new ones and keep the good experience we had going during the weekend.

At the moment i feel some kind of emptiness after we have gone live. The urge to code has lessened and i will try to take some free time and play and enjoy before getting into fixing new things again. Although i still have started to think about what things to start to look at for the next release...

And for you new to FFB, remember to click pass action and handoff before starting the move. And try the automove feature by clicking with the mouse where you want to go, more than one square away.

Kalimar

Joined: Sep 22, 2006

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:44

@freak: so how did you like it yourself? having started that threat and all ...

freak_in_a_frock

Joined: Aug 02, 2003

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 09:59

Being selfish i was actually quite glad it didn't go to plan on the 15th, as i couldn't play until last night. I was one of the 44(!) coaches in the first big draw, and if i am honest it was one of the highlights in my 7+ years on the site. Watching a draw of that size go through is what the box is all about. The new auto-game name feature is amazing and yet so simple, it completely opens up the acessability of the game to a whole new audience.

I am completely biased as I love the Box, and am completely dis-illusioned with ranked (but that is for another thread, most certainly not this one) Therefore i really want FFBox to do well i will try my hardest to push it, hopefully without upsetting too many coaches that use the other divisions. Now it is even easier to sell to coaches it can only be a good thing for me. At one point I noticed we had over 30 box games happening at one go (+3 FFB games) showing the server can handle a bit of strain, which was also encouraging. The total number of box games yesterday was 100. Considering that it didn't truely start until 20:45 bbtime that is amazing.

Now we all know that the interest will fall off a little over the coming weeks as people go back to what they know, but i do believe that the box will become more popular than it was in LRB4, and when FFBRanked starts i think they will again be very close in popularity.

Purplegoo

Joined: Mar 23, 2006

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 10:06

I don't have any issue with people 'pushing' the Box and enjoying the site however they please. I only get annoyed when (because I prefer [R]) it's instantly implied that I must be a picker, games I play are less important / fair and Box coaches are holy. If we can stay away from those sorts of themes, I can't see why anyone would mind a bit of gentle advertisement.

So long as battle lines aren't drawn, there will be no need for anyone to get ratty.

Garion

Joined: Aug 19, 2009

Posted: Jan 17, 2011 - 10:14

@ Pgoo, what do you think about sticking your help section in the wiki pages now? and does it need modifying at all. Because i think it is very important new comers know that B is the place to go to get games atm.

I would do it myself but i dont think i understand wiki tbh

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