This isn't an extreme case though--this happens every season. You're releasing a torrent of games, and then you update settings mid season for these games. This Agricola season will be played 3-4 weeks on one setting and then 12ish weeks on another setting. That's absurd for a competition and it's a stupendously easy fix--keep the settings you had it at for the full time and then update in season 8.sourisdudesert wrote: ↑06 October 2021, 10:23
We do have a problem with games that have been released less than 1 month before the end of the Season. Ignoring the advice of the Gurus would cause some other issues, so we preferred to listen to their opinion and change the settings even it is in the "middle" (actually, the start) of the season.
But to answer directly: the "lessons" have been learned and except in this kind of extreme cases, there is no settings change in the middle of seasons.
Ignoring the gurus would not cause issues--you can simply update settings later. You obviously have that ability, it cannot be hard/difficult to change these things. (As in look at your post right after this one where you do update a game's settings baha).
I love BGA and on the whole am really glad for all that you do, but sometimes it is maddening what decisions you make or take. (I still have no clue how you had a great reputation system site wide that only just now in season seven(!) is being taken more seriously for your "serious" competitive mode, but glad we got there).
I don't.sourisdudesert wrote: ↑06 October 2021, 10:27
Well, obviously the Gurus is not a magical feature, and despite these settings changes was voted by a majority of players, we do not expect them to be 100% perfect for each game.
However, on the mid/long term, we are 100% sure that the confidence we placed in the community will bring the best possible Arena settings for each game.
We're seeing it right now for Agricola. Based on the stats that have been shared, roughly 75% of the total games get played without the extra action spaces option. However, the players playing the most games tend to play with those extra action spaces. Guru's are what, less than 10% of the most active players for a game? It's pretty easy to see how a minority of players get to dictate the options to the whole and how this can in some games/cases lead to widespread annoyance. I'm pretty sure this Agricola season is going to have way less players than it otherwise could.
I think the real issue though is simply you can do better with your guru system. Why not let the guru's suggest options and polls, but then let almost everyone vote on those polls? I think that's a much better system. You can keep your same small pool of gurus, but then let voters be anyone who has played say 10+ games in the last 90 days or whatever timeframe guru status looks at, so that way you get a wide swathe of the interested player pool giving their votes to what they'd like to see so you greatly reduce the risk of a minority of players picking controversial settings.
