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Post 15 Feb 2011, 11:59 pm

Ok, Redscape has now been back up for about 6 weeks or so and since it seems like RG is never getting started again, is there any prospect of any games starting up soon ? So far the only games running were ones which had already recruited players before the old site went down and I seem to have totally missed the signups for Tom's latest Explore game. Would be kinda nice to actually have a few Diplomacy games to play since this is technically a Diplomacy site....
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Post 16 Feb 2011, 6:47 am

I know they will start soon and we will have plenty running before you know it.
The numbers are still growing and until we get to the right size it is tougher to find those willing to host a game. Once those games in progress end, some will no doubt pick up another.
Anyone interested in HOSTING a game, drop me a line and I will see what I can do to jump start it for you.
We are limited to human volunteers hosting games right now, the new automated system due soon should make that less of a problem but for NOW we need volunteers.
...want to host a game Sass?
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Post 16 Feb 2011, 9:45 am

I'd be crap as a host. I've never done it before and tbh I'm not 100% certain I can be relied on to keep everything running smoothly for the duration. besides, I've always been far more interested in playing, although I guess you could say the same about all of us.
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Post 16 Feb 2011, 1:21 pm

Wait 24/48 hours and the automated system should be available. Just awaiting some feedback from the programmer before I open it.
 

Post 16 Feb 2011, 8:57 pm

GMChad wrote:Wait 24/48 hours and the automated system should be available. Just awaiting some feedback from the programmer before I open it.


I have my head in the sand for too long at times...automated system?
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Post 16 Feb 2011, 9:44 pm

Yep! Will open it up for beta-testing in a day or two. :cool:
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Post 16 Feb 2011, 9:56 pm

Exciting. Looking forward to testing out the automated adjudicating system.
I'd be happy to host a game. :)
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Post 16 Feb 2011, 11:40 pm

We'll still need human hosts for variants right ? Or will there be a few different variant maps loaded into the judge ?
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Post 17 Feb 2011, 5:47 am

There will be a bunch of variants available, including Fog of War, Haven, Colonial, Sengoku, Ancient Med and more. Variants with "non-traditional" rules like Machiavelli - and all Redscape-developed variants - will not be available/ready during Beta launch.
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Post 17 Feb 2011, 7:37 am

Hey Sass (and others),
Give hosting a game a try some time. It's a different kind of enjoyment and really gives you a sense of repaying the community, not all take - take - take but a little giving back. Pick a fun variant and give it a whirl. All you need is a very basic understanding of mapping "skill" Hell, I did my first game before I knew how to even cut and paste anything, I used different colored A's and F's and it ran smoothly.
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Post 17 Feb 2011, 11:06 am

Will human moderators still be required to administer the non-variant games? (For example, the DpJudge has a human moderator even though the game is auto-adjudicated.)
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Post 17 Feb 2011, 12:08 pm

I recently began playing a few games at a different site with an auto adjudicator. It seems to have its pros and cons, although i'm not sure they're necessarily a product of the software per se. Biggest pro is obviously that it allows for far more games to be running and seems to attract a bigger player base, and you can choose settings to suit your style so if you want to play in a fast game you can easily do it but there are still options available for people like me who prefer to have a few days between deadlines. However, from what I've seen so far that site is plagued with dropouts and NMRs. Something like 50% of all games finish in a solo, which seems extraordinary to me and I can only assume it's the result of mass NMRs taking place on a regular basis. I get the feeling that because everything is automated the players don't have the same sense of attachment to the game that they get from a human adjudicated game and so are more likely to abandon it, and because there are so many games running at any given time they get a lot of players who just jump ship as soon as they start doing badly so they can start a new game. Hopefully Redscape will avoid those problems when we get our own judge up and running.
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Post 17 Feb 2011, 8:53 pm

The ranking system on Redscape seeks to keep NMR's to a minimum. While some don't care for it, We do not reward skill but rather dedication/reliability. But even if we eliminated NMR's 100% with the dedication rankings, we still will no doubt have the same troubles with those lower ranking games. That is one reason why I prefer human run games, when you have someone prodding you and reminding you (even possibly extending a deadline a few hours) to send in orders, that's a good thing in my book.
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Post 17 Feb 2011, 9:12 pm

I found great satisfaction in running games. I think I enjoyed being behind the curtain, so to speak, as orders came in. It would've been nice to also see the communiques and I think some GM's ask players to CC them. I never did.

I ran about 4-5 standard games explicitly for new players only (from about 2002-2005). The human GM's, especially those that keep games going on time, are consistent, and are professional, provide the best experience for new players. They are much less likely to NMR and more likely to return as a regular player and/or contributor to the site. I've forgotten many of the names who came through those newbie games but I know some are still here. It's unfortunate that most newbies will now go through an auto system - I think they'll miss out on much of the flavor of Redscape and are less likely to finish games or return. On the other hand, I've seen a serious decline in games being offered the past few years and the automated system was probably inevitable.

Maybe I'm judging too quickly - I haven't seen the system. Will these auto games have forums and posted maps? That's one thing that makes RS standout. I used to really enjoy reading some of the press and/or EOG's in completed games.
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Post 17 Feb 2011, 10:16 pm

Well, not necessarily bad news, but I'm going to belay launching the BETA automated system until at least after the weekend. There's a chance I may be able to hire a programmer to make a few changes before launch that will be a MAJOR improvement.

Here's the scoop:

* The automated adjudicator I'm going to use is the PHP-based webDiplomacy adjudicator (http://webdiplomacy.net/). Kestas Kuliukas is the developer and has made his adjudicator open-source; I thank him immeasurably!!!

* Kestas' used a different forum software than what Redscape uses (PHPBB). What I'm going to try and do by hiring a programmer is to join and replicate the Redscape forum-user database into the webDiplomacy database. Without this step, everyone would have to register two accounts: one for the forums and one for the automated system. Definitely NOT optimal.

* Further, I want to be able to pull in people's forum avatars, medals, etc into webDiplomacy; a task that will trumpet the initial transformation of the webDiplomacy software becoming "Redscape'd". Following on this will be a graphical overhaul of the default map and units.

* webDiplomacy has its own point system. We may or may not be using this in the long run, but we will definitely be trying it out in the short run and as a community we can decide from there whether we keep it as is or apply some revisions.

* I know some people prefer forum-based games (and those will continue), but there's simply no way to offer enough forum games to meet demand. Worse than NMRs are when a GM abandons the game or lacks discipline in conducting timely (or accurate) adjudications. Better to leave the forum-based games to the dedicated GMs and leave the remainder to the automated system.

Anyways, I'll post an update on Monday. :yes: