Quick Update! Chad has scheduled a Leaderboards Reset Discussion Q&A for October 4th at 3:00 PM PST, and is expected to last for two hours. It will likely take the place of the Staff Q&A, but if we have time left over, we'll do Staff Q&A stuff too.
Time and Date scheduler: LINK.
Hello Tributes,
There are some exciting things on the horizon for MCGamer, such as a very big update that is planned to be released quite soon. While we won't spoil the surprise of what's in store, we will freely admit that this update will bring quite a few suggestions and features that you all have been clamoring for.
But now we find ourselves in a position that we must ask you, the community, for your input.
Poll Information
Poll Question:
"Assuming your old statistics would be saved on a separate "Legacy Leaderboards" page, would you like the leaderboards to be reset for a fresh start?"
Topic Summary:
Our current MCSG leaderboards and the information they contain is nearly 2 years old. The new update brings with it the chance to augment and improve our current leaderboards system. With the update, we would be able to increase the number of statistics we could track per person, as well as build the necessary backbone to track some more complicated stats as well (daily leaderboards, anyone?). However, we could only track those new things if everyone's stats are reset, allowing us to work with a clean slate for everyone.
As such, the release of the network update would be the perfect time to "start again fresh" with a global reset of the MCSG, QQ, and SGC leaderboards. In addition, we would offer "Legacy Leaderboards" for historical reference (see below).
But we also acknowledge that some people may wish to continue using the statistics they have been building up for the last 2+ years. Do note that if we continued to use the old statistics, we would not be able to add in new things to track.
Do note that all statistics up to that point would be saved on a separate leaderboards, called the, "Legacy Leaderboards". Here, everyone's old MCSG, SGC, and QQ statistics from V2 to the new update would be saved for players to see. These leaderboards would not be updated, but it would be kept for historical reference.
Argument Summary:
Arguments in favor of a global reset:
- The current leaderboards are very stacked against new players. Players who have just recently started playing don't have a chance at becoming one of the top 100 players simply because they're competing with players with a year's worth of experience or more.
- A fresh restart would be fair and fun for everyone. It's fun to start a new game, and a global reset would be like starting a new game for everyone.
- New competition, level playing field. By having a global reset, everyone's stats start at zero. Not only will this give everyone a chance to be an awesome rank on the leaderboards, but that encourages renewed competition between players as everyone races to be the new top player.
- New players and interest rejuvenation. Many new competitive players are simply too intimidated to by the long-standing players on the leaderboards. They look at the leaderboards, attempt to climb, and then give up and leave because they can't compete with players with a 2 year head start. But with a restart would give new players a decent chance at competing, allowing them to play longer and become a new member of the community.
- Legacy Leaderboards is awesome! Anyone who fears that the stats they worked so hard on will be forgotten have nothing to fear. Their effort won't be a waste as their stats are memorialized, and they'll be getting a new leaderboards to work towards again. It's the best of both worlds.
- New statistics! I love numbers! And we can't have those new numbers if we don't do the reset.
- Regional Leaderboards, Daily Leaderboards, Monthly Leaderboards, and more! You can't get those with the current system.
Arguments against a global reset:
- It is not fair to hardcore players who have worked so hard for their stats. Despite the presence of the Legacy Leaderboards, these players want to continue building their stats for the sake of climbing the leaderboards. Resetting their stats would put their effort to waste.
- By having a global reset, hardcore players will get demoralized that their stats are gone. This may encourage those same players to stop playing, and thus reduce competition ingame.
- I just don't like change.
Vote Summary:
A vote "Yes" means:
- Everyone's statistics would be reset upon release of the update, giving everyone a global fresh start with stats on the new system.
- The new leaderboards will feature a greater number of statistics items due to the a global reset status. This will eventually include Regional, Weekly, and Monthly Leaderboards.
- The Legacy Leaderboards page would be created to offer historical reference for statistics prior to the update.
A vote "No" means:
- Everyone's statistics would not be reset upon release of the update. Everyone's stats will be carried over from the previous leaderboards.
- The new leaderboards will not have any of the new statistics items. The new leaderboards would only track the same statistics that the old leaderboards does. There will also be no Regional/Weekly/Monthly leaderboards.
- The Legacy Leaderboards page would not be created, as it would be unnecessary.
Questions, Answers, and Clarifications (updated 10/1/2014):
- Who will make the final decision?
- Chad will make the final decision, as with all large-level decisions like this. However, rather than blindly making a decision based on his perspective, he wanted to see everyone's opinions of such a plan before making the final decision.
- When will the Leaderboards Reset Occur?
- If Chad approves the global reset, the reset will likely occur when the network updates occur. There is currently no set date for when that should be released, but the keyword here is, "sometime soon". We will make an announcement to make everyone aware.
- Why not create a Lifetime Leaderboards, or two sets of separate dynamic Leaderboards? Something other than Legacy Leaderboards?
- As stated in this Front-Page Announcement, number-crunching and statistics tracking on a scale that we have requires a lot of server power and resources. In order to accommodate for two different leaderboards systems, we would need to double the cost of the statistics server expenses. In turn, we would need to increase the price of the items on our webstore, which we do not believe would be a worthwhile move. As such, we would prefer to stick with only one statistics system and run with that.
- Why can't we just augment the current leaderboards with the features of the new leaderboards?
- Our current leaderboards system is old, almost 2 years old. When it was created, there was no intention for advanced statistics, regional stats, or weekly stats, because those things hadn't been thought of yet. Furthermore, they were coded to a different standard than our current coding abilities. As such, it has proven to be needlessly difficult to add new features to the old leaderboards system. It was decided that starting fresh, with a brand new leaderboards system, would be a better way to implement new features that people have been asking for.
- Why not just have Regional/Weekly/Monthly leaderboards?
- We can do those with the new Leaderboards system! But, for the reason stated above, we would not be able to do those on our old Leaderboard system because they weren't designed to include those. As such, we need to use the new leaderboards, and that includes a global reset. So if you want Regional/Weekly/Monthly leaderboards, you must vote Yes!
- Why not just carry all of the old statistics over to the new leaderboards?
- Because we would be merging old statistics with some brand new ones, many of the statistics tracking would be unrepresentative. Imagine having a player with 2 years worth of wins, but only a few day's worth of another statistics. It would generally look unprofessional and goofy, and a fresh start would behave and appear much better. In addition, part of the reason we want to do a global reset is to set the record clean for new and old players alike. It's a fresh start for everyone.
- What are these Legacy Servers everyone talks about?
- We have no idea! There has never been any mention of any Legacy Servers, only Legacy Leaderboards. So just to clarify: there will be no sort of additional in-game servers based around this decision. Legacy Servers don't exist, but Legacy Leaderboards are a proposal.
- Why not just give everyone a free stats reset?
- The answer is highly related to the, "Why not just carry all of the old statistics over to the new leaderboards?" question. Giving the voluntary option of resetting your stats is different than enforcing a global one. Furthermore, it defeats the purpose of a global reset, since not everyone will be reset thus there will be no level playing field for everyone. Simply put, this would not accomplish what we set out to offer, so it is not an option.
- What about people who purchased Stats Resets recently?
- As stated in a previous post, those instances are unfortunately a matter of bad timing that we are not responsible for. Someone buying a stats reset prior to the announcement and our decision to do a global reset are separately-occurring events, and we have to treat them as such. Do know, however, that if a global reset is approved, users will be warned ingame of the pending reset; if the users still wish to purchase a reset even with that knowledge, they do so on their own accord.
- If we had a Legacy Leaderboard, would we have a seperate ingame command to search up Legacy stats? Something like /LStats?
- Sure. That shouldn't be too hard to add.
- Can I change my vote in this poll?
- Yes, you may. There should be a little "Change Your Vote" Button at the top of the thread. I don't think the in-game polling can be changed, however, so you cannot change that vote.
Also, be sure to vote in our in-game poll as well! The results of both polls will be used in the final verdict.
Questions? Comments? Opinions? Feel free to ask them below.
Note: we can only answer questions that pertain to the poll itself. We are not at liberty to discuss the details of the update. You just have to wait for the official announcement.
