new to the community

[Hiro_Antagonist]

Hells_Kitchen_Gamer said:
In the future, it would be better if people were ranked based on whether they win or lose they way it's done if you're playing Yahoo Chess for example. This would make every game important and also ensure that you play against people of your own skill level.

We had originally planned on doing a USCF-style rating/ranking system, but eventually realized that system has a number of shortcuts, especially where customers only have access to 1 purchased account.

In a rating/ranking system, half of the players will suddenly be at a ratings disadvantage (below the starting point) after one game. On average, half of the players will remain below that starting point. This is a major morale hit to many players, and many players will simply stop playing if they feel their rating is hosed.

It's not as big of a deal on Yahoo Chess, beacuse any player can recreate an account once they feel their skills have improved and want to start over.

So we have decided to follow the trend of other major/popular strategy games and use an experience system. People who usually win will advance much more quickly, but even a player who has trouble winning will feel a sense of advancement rather than punishment.

I understand that many players like rating/ranking systems, and we're among them. In fact, a few years ago we built a USCF-style rating/ranking web application for counter-strike clans.

But when it came down to it, we felt our customers would be best served, and want to play more games, with this system. And that's in everyone's best interest. =)

-Hiro_Antagonist