How about a ladder?

[Marc von Martial]

Yes join "Battle Leagues" and promote it also [;)]

http://www.wargamer.com/battleleagues/

[GKar]

Regarding the score adjuster for players with different "ranks", I'm not against it, but I don't think it's really necessary. Since everyone has to enter the scores for both players manually, it might be better to make it as simple as possible, with only one rule.

ORIGINAL: Lebatron

Now back to the scoring debate. First of all I got a question. Since I never used Battle Leagues before, can we even adjust the numbers as discussed? It seems you can from looking at it, but I didn't carry through to really find out.

Yes, that is well possible:

[GKar]

I'll post my draft for the ladder procedures right below this posting. Feel free to comment on the content and any mistakes I may have made. There might be rules or clarifications needed, but I think it's enough for a start.

[GKar]

There is a ladder system called "battle league" available over at wargamer.com. For those who don't know it yet, wargamer.com is one of the biggest sites about strategy games around, and you can find information about almost every strategy game available there, from the grognard to the casual level. The aim of this ladder system is to give players an opportunity to record their played PBEM games, to provide an overview of who is actively playing the game and to make it easier for everyone to find the right PBEM opponent.

So, how does that work?

First of all, both you and your opponent need an account at the wargamer site. It's for free, all you need is an email address which will be visible to other registered members only.

Before or during playing a PBEM game, you and your opponent should define whether or not the current game is meant to be a ladder game (and thus its result recorded at the end). The game is then played as usual, scenario and used options are left to your choice. When the game is finished, the loser has to login to log the loss report. In case of a draw, both players can do this (there is an explicit option to flag a "loss" report as a draw).

The report window is easy to use and looks like this:



Other than just reporting the result (win/draw/loss), the amounts of points given to both players should be entered:

- Decisive Victory: +60
- Substantive Victory: +40
- Marginal Victory: +30
- Draw: +20
- Marginal Defeat: +10
- Substantive Defeat: 0
- Decisive Defeat: -20

The total of the points entered for both players will be +40 under all circumstances - e.g. a Draw gives 20 points to both players (20 + 20 = 40), and a Decisive Victory means 60 for the winner and -20 for the loser (60 - 20 = 40). Please make sure that you enter the right amount of points in order not to distort the ladder!

That's it already! [8D]

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I'd like to add a personal comment: Please participate at the ladder with your PBEM games! [:)]

Even if you don't care much about the points (personally I don't either), it's an excellent opportunity to get a playing community going, to show others that you are a reliable opponent and to attract new players by showing them how much fun it is to play the game. The more games are posted, the more will follow and even more people might be attracted by the game - which is good for everyone. And the ranking might prove to be a rough indication to help finding the right opponent, be it a stronger or weaker one. Thank you!

[JanSorensen]

It lookts fine Gkar. I assume its either player though rather then both players in the case of a draw.
 
I can pros and cons to using this automated software and one on a different site - but I say we go ahead and try it just to see how it works out.

[Forwarn45]

The proposed sytem sounds OK and I'll look at joining at some point. But it's too bad we can't do something similar to what Jan organized for WAW. I liked having the ladder as part of the forum. BTW - if you get the chance, Jan - I'd suggest one final update of the WAW ladder to incorporate the games posted and scored followed by a closure notice in that forum. I imagine there will be little activity at this point, with the release of this newer game.

[GKar]

I agree that it's not the best system imaginable, but a good solution which is available right now. Considering that there's even an "official" link from this forum to several Wargamer's pages, I don't expect any other solution to be made from official side.

Jan, unless someone objects within the next few days, feel free to make a sticky of my draft further up with any title you see fit - as long as it is drawing enough attention. [:D]