The Win-Loss Record

A Win-Loss record that's always active and never resets...Is it really necessary?

Other than for purposes of the Level system, I don't see much of a point to its existence. In a game where character balance (currently) fluctuates wildly and play at times boils down to sheer numbers more than mindreading (yomi, if you will), all the W/L record seems to do is render a loss due to bad luck or a crappy matchup all the more unsettling/frustrating.

My suggestion? Ax it, or perhaps upgrade to some Elo-derived business.

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts on the idea? Be civil.

Skill rank is the ELO-derived alternative. I think W/L is getting reset after the beta, but either way I don't really care about it anymore.

Okay, cool deal. :)

I was half-expecting a bunch of personal attacks to arise from this thread but thanks for the response.

How about only the wins of casual matches are made public, while only you can see the losses you've had. Also, ranked match records are made public.

This will mean that nobody will be ashamed of losing a casual match, and they still can keep an accurate assessment of their skills.

That sounds like a good idea. As long as you can still see your own wins.

I can see why you would think that if you ever post on Kong's forums, but it's generally good times over here.

I've thought about this situation a lot, and am still thinking about it (which is the reason why, even though I've written *two* replies now, I haven't replied in the thread I made that Sirlin commented in and linked to in this thread), but overall, I'm leaning towards removing it in casual (aka. quickplay) mode.

However, that must not be the only change, but it's at least a step in the right direction. Without the other changes, though, I think you'll find most people will just play the casual mode, mostly because ranked mode isn't terribly fun and feels rather arbitrary.

On the surface I think those are both ideas, with Cheese's idea being especially interesting, but I'll take what Sirlin said a step further and say:

If you're even aware that you're being measured in someway, regardless of who sees it, you will have internal resistance to throwing playing the way you like, regardless of whether it's effective.

I base this on my experience with using David Allen's system, Getting Things Done, and how you largely aren't even aware of the various pressures on your psyche until you experience what it's like to live without them.

Overall, I think the system is more inclusive and inviting if the casual matches don't have a win:loss ratio and you can "test your skill" in more interesting ways. (Which I've covered in a post I've written and may post when I feel more comfortable about posting it.) This is non-obvious until you really consider everything from a holistic perspective instead of just looking at parts in isolation (kind of like what you have to do to balance a game, heh). (FYI, that last non-paragraph sentance is just a statement; I'm not implying anything.)