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Higher Point Tables and Thanks Friends
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joeprobaseball wrote
at 4:08 AM, Sunday January 25, 2015 EST
I don't really write or pay attention to the forums much. I'm not really much of an activist I guess. I would like to talk about this one thing though. Sketch is rather slow these days. It's still a nice place to come and chat and there are still many people I know who I see on here, if only for the occasional check-in. And it's absolutely fine this way. I enjoy talking with all of you and am glad to say I have met many interesting people on here, several of whom I can call friends. But I remember a while back there were many more people, not just chatting, but playing, and playing and chatting, and having a fairly good time. That's not to say we don't still have good times now. But I'm not really one to settle for "just fine." And I'm not the only one who remembers the past. According to the "Ideas" section, 90 other people also remember this, although that thread has since died off. Even so, the thread to bring back the higher tables received more votes than any other idea. I feel something that received such overwhelming support should be not only considered, but approved.
I don't know the original reason for getting rid of the higher point tables on xsketch. Some talk about how maybe there was a bug or something wrong with the higher tables. However both Gpokr and kdice seem to still have these, which is puzzling to me. Others talk about how it was to help introduce new players to the game, to create a sense of community. I'm not saying that wasn't a good idea, if that was the reason. But if there's one thing that can be pointed to for the decrease of people on xsketch, it's the moment when the higher tables were taken away. It's been a few years since then and sketch has seen a steady decline in players. And talk of getting the higher tables back seems to have dissipated. It seems the idea has pretty much been given up on. And I personally don't accept this. I can't say that bringing higher point tables back will suddenly create a boom of xsketch players. In fact I doubt that would happen. I can't even say it would cause a slight increase in xsketch players. No one can predict the future (although many of the great xsketch guessers seem to defy this fact). But I can say that if one policy or idea has been in place for a long time, and if that policy or idea isn't working, well maybe it's time to make a change. To finally bring back some higher tables and see if we can take a step in a new direction for xsketch. I've seen the ideas for change on xsketch. I've read all sorts of suggestions about ways to improve the game and bring more people to the site. A lot of those are great ideas. In my mind, however, this is the one change that truly needs to be made. Let the people have some higher tables again. Sometimes the old way is the best way. To everyone on xsketch, I would also like to say thank you for sharing all these games with me. There are so many memories I have of xsketch and all the players. So many great times that I will never forget. I think some of my hardest laughter has come from things people have said on here. It truly has been wonderful to be on this site with you all. This kind of sounds like a goodbye letter....but it's not. Well, probably not. You all know how addicting this place can be. I'll be around, should you ever wish to chat or play. All you have to do is callllll and I'll be there, yes I willlll... But really, it's time to make the change. It's been time. I don't think Ryan reads this forum, but I hope the word will get to him somehow and that he will choose to act. Thank you for your consideration. -joeprobaseball |
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Gurgi wrote
at 1:06 PM, Monday January 26, 2015 EST i talked with Ryan about it already. Something's wrong with his code and he doesn't remember what he did and the only way he knows how to get them back is to manually pull them up which only lasts for the remainder of the month
i didnt read all of this tho if Ryan pulled up the tables after i asked him once, I can't help but feel like the mods just are not trying to help xsketch. |
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joeprobaseball wrote
at 1:30 AM, Tuesday January 27, 2015 EST Well I wouldn't mind if he pulled them up manually at the beginning of each month so that they would last the whole month, if that's what he has to do.
I don't know how difficult it is to pull them up manually, but if he did that he would make a lot of people happy and help xsketch greatly. If it is a problem with his code, I also wouldn't mind if he spent some time to figure out what went wrong. Even if that meant taking xsketch offline for a week or something. It would be worth it in the long run, and I'm sure he could probably figure it out if he really set his mind to it. He was smart enough to create these sites in the first place, I figure he should be able to fix a problem like this. Especially after years... Although to be honest, my knowledge of coding is minimal to non-existent. I don't know how hard it would be to fix. But it really has been too long without the higher tables and xsketch is in true need of this. It's the change everyone's been waiting for and the most important matter for the site in my opinion. It's worth the effort. So Ryan, if you hear about this, please, it is very important, and I really hope you consider spending more time on the issue. |
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Created wrote
at 2:49 AM, Tuesday January 27, 2015 EST I've never actually seen the higher tables in action. I do know that playing with a bunch of people knew to the game only last a little while before they comment or express frustration.
Higher tables sound good. Please bring them back |
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lilmissmouse wrote
at 10:54 AM, Tuesday January 27, 2015 EST I agree with all of this, including the part where xsketch might go offline to fix the higher tables code.
Thank you Joe for your considerate and heartfelt appeal! |
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shenaniganz wrote
at 11:24 PM, Tuesday January 27, 2015 EST I approve of this notion.
Also where do we stand on this rainbow pen situation? |
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jurgen wrote
at 6:18 PM, Wednesday January 28, 2015 EST I also remember the good old days when way more people played. I could make a long list of all the players that I miss atm.
Once you go below a certain critical mass, I guess it's just a matter of time before the player pool dries up. But it's true that the higher tables helped in keeping things fun and interesting for the "regulars". It's not just the extra points but also the fact that you can usually play without trolls who don't have the points to sit at the higher point tables. I also asked Ryan before to get the higher tables back but Gurgi explained the situation and the current problem well. It shouldn't be impossible to fix so I will ask Ryan again. The only thing that I worry about is the impact on the career stats and the monthly competition. Some people have been playing a lot in the period after the high point tables were removed. They maybe gained 100-150k total for months worth of playing. Let's say higher point tables are added again and scores of 50k-100k are again easier to achieve. It would be a bit unfair to the players who worked so hard for their 4 points per round per player for so long. Anyway, that's just one thing, which could be accepted in exchange for the benefits. Maybe the scores of the period without high point tables could be doubled or trippled to compensate for that unfairness. Another thing I worry a bit about is the advantage it would give to players who are able to play in the optimal hours of the day where a few more regular players play. They could benefit from the higher point tables more often whereas players who play in less popular hours of the day would hardly get a high point game going. Not sure I'm explaining my point well but I think that some people would benefit more from the higher point tables than others. With low point tables only, everyone sort of has an equal shot or at least, it's easier to compensate and catch up by playing lots of rounds with fewer players. Another remark: if we get higher point tables back, I think it's useful that there is a point loss again if you pass your word or if your word isn't guessed. Otherwise the point inflation would be insane. |
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joeprobaseball wrote
at 11:17 PM, Wednesday January 28, 2015 EST I have been one of the people who have been playing a lot in the period after the higher tables were removed (I only had a couple real months in which I played while the higher tables were still in place). I would still say the benefits of the higher tables outweigh the possible cons of career stat issues.
I know I had months on the lower tables when I only got 100k or so, where had there been higher tables I could have gotten some serious points. If anyone has a legitimate complaint about this not being fair in terms of career stats, it would be me. However I'm not complaining about the career stats, and I think this could actually be considered a reason to bring back the higher tables. Give players a chance to once again move up considerably on the career stats list, instead of limiting them to less than 100k points a month. I think this would actually be fairer instead of continuing to leave the current players behind in terms of points gained per month. We just continue to remain far behind on career state with the higher tables nonexistent. I can't speak for everyone of course, but I feel like there is overwhelming support for the reinstatement of the higher tables. As for adjusting the scores, that's something to be considered. Personally, I think an adjustment would not need to be made, even though it might be fair. I feel it could just create more problems with people arguing about how many points is a reasonable adjustment, etc. But that's something to talk about after the higher tables are reinstated. The first step is getting the higher tables back. Once they have been restored we can take a look into how many points people are earning a month and whether an adjustment on past stats should be made. As for the point of optimal hours of play time, I feel like that's going to be an issue whether there are higher tables or not. I see what you're saying, that the higher points could compound point increases during busy hours, making some players benefit considerably more. But that was an issue in the past as well, and is still an issue. We will always have players who are available at certain busy hours while others are not. Even without the higher tables, some players can earn a lot more points by playing when more sketchers are present. It's true, as it is you can play a lot of rounds with less players to try to catch up, but most people don't play that much. And in terms of giving everyone an equal shot, whenever a more experienced player is at the table, it's difficult right now for new players to get into the game. And it's easy for one troll to come along and break up a game. I don't see any real way around the problem of optimal hours since we have a global community, but I feel the benefits of the higher tables are sufficient to outweigh the possible concerns. I agree with you completely about the point loss being reinstated, should the higher tables come back. I actually think the point loss should be reinstated regardless, I don't know why it was removed, unless it was another problem with the code. I really do hope the higher tables are put back into place, however, and many players echo these sentiments. I feel like this change is the most important item to get xsketch moving in the right direction. Thanks for reading my concerns and it would be great if you could discuss this with Ryan again. I hope he can get it into action soon, it really is important. |
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jurgen wrote
at 10:14 AM, Thursday January 29, 2015 EST I agree with your entire reasoning there Joe. To be clear I wasn't trying to be against it, just trying to evaluate the pros and cons.
I just asked Ryan's attention for a few relatively big issues on KDice atm so I'm going to wait a day or so to bring it to his attention but I will certainly lobby a bit for this cause :) Slightly off topic: we should poke a few retired players and make them realise that they want to come back now and then to have fun. happy sketching all |
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hotmoltenlava wrote
at 12:38 AM, Friday January 30, 2015 EST i'd like a run on the higher tables as well and also what shen said about the rainbow pen.
RAYANNNNNNNNNNN |
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???? wrote
at 12:44 AM, Saturday January 31, 2015 EST I read the whole entire post, and then I got impatient...and read what lava said..
HIGHER POINT TAYBULLZ |
