This morning I locked my previous post on the device that I was previously calling the "Duel Data Monitor", due to a disturbing recurring theme that people seem to be worried that it will somehow adversely affect the C:SI system, which I have absolutely no desire to do. Rather than attempt to keep up with the comments on that post, which I am feeling FAR too sick for (I suffered a relapse this morning dang it), it is easier for me to just state my position here.
My desire is to create a device that records fight data as an aid to the C:SI developers in their goal of creating the best melee combat system Second Life® has to offer. I have no desire to do anything that will reduce hard work and training to a "set of numbers".
There is a great deal of data that would be useful to C:SI developers if we could gather it, and I strongly believe that it is in everyone’s best interests to do so. There is, apparently, a lot of concern over publishing that information, so it will not be available publicly.
The only people that will have the ability to record fight data will be beta testers and the C:SI developers themselves, and the devices that allow such recording will be strictly limited to those two groups of people.
I had thought that it might be interesting and instructive for a much broader group of people to be able to review the results of their own duels (note that the device could only ever be used to record the fights of the device’s owner anyway), but I cannot at this point come up with a way to reconcile that possible benefit with the notion that it might serve to lessen the accomplishments of others, so I have given up on that idea for the time being.
I hope that will address any concerns people have.
7 Comments
Imo and I am not alone in saying this, C:SI is already the best melee combat system that Second Life has to offer. For the amount it costs to buy a weapon I’m getting better replay value than I could for many games that exist independent of Second Life. I think any improvements you make are a mere widening of the gap between C:SI and everyone else.
Would it be possible to allow a person to access the data for their own duels by using their login and password for the website? I understand the concerns with providing the data publicly, but this seems like a secure way to allow people access to the data for their own fights. I was looking forward to throwing it at some algorithms :/
Now that I’ve gone back and read Makk and Kasumi’s comments, let me say that I agree that it would not be good for C:SI if you were told what patterns your opponent uses. When I was talking about finding patterns, I was thinking only about finding patterns in your own fighting as a training tool. Maybe that is also a skill that should not be assisted by tools, and people should learn to identify the patterns they fall into themselves. But I think that anything that allows people to improve their skills better or faster is a good thing.
I think allowing a user to view their own detailed fight statistics and information would be an awesome idea.
Well yeah, of course,these tools were meant to allow you to track your own improvement and I wouldn’t expect them to be visible to someone else besides you logging into your account.
The idea is to create better tools to gauge yourself, not to allow you to know any one persons weaknesses.
The data we provide publicly isn’t something I expect to effect duels strategically. We’ll def avoid trying to do so and have been.
You guys shouldn’t expect us to just turn things into a set of numbers. We’ve put a lot of planning into the directions we take, and we do keep the community in mind.
Data helps us in ways that are not just related to bragging rights and things like that. It allows us options to expand possibilities of gameplay and experiences with C:SI as well as provide a visual history of a players progress as a fighter.
Thanks Esprite, good way to put it.
I also want to point out to everyone that anything that goes into the official product is by joint decision of all of the developers, so if you are worried that I will go totally nuts over my love of statistics and numbers, keep in mind that there are three other people there to temper that with reality :p
Esprite just made a really good point to me, that I should probably re-iterate the idea that this blog’s focus is really about the development process and stuff that I find interesting, and that just because I build something or find it to be a fascinating idea doesn’t mean that I can just throw it willy-nilly into C:SI or that it will *ever* be more than just an intellectual exercise
On the other hand, experimentation is good, and my strongest desire is to make C:SI better. I love experimenting with stuff so that’s what this blog is all about, really.