The spitemaster
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Lately I've found that people out there (General public, myself included) Have no idea what everyone else really likes. If you look at who wins designing hold's contests, it doesn't give you a real picture of what people like. With those situations it is more of impressions than real merit. Can anyone describe what they like?

There is, of course, the process of elimination. This would be very time consuming and not get clear answers. I think however that it is nessisary and resulting in this poll. If we eliminate what it's not, we should be able to ask better questions.

An idea of my own is, this. We need to introduce a better system of compitetion. Involvement makes everything more exciting. The current system is not emphisising compitetion at all. Mostly on new holds would this work, but would it be possible to announce where everyone is in the hold. If the makers start their hold on a puzzle room you could show who has betten what rooms.

Just a though. Luke

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coppro
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Since not everything was there:

What I like best is creativity, doing something new. MetDROiD is an excellent example, but equally so is Tunnel Vision.

I think that the best new competition environment would have to be totally new, and also included in TCB

zex20913
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I actually enjoy the current system of competition. It rewards players for beating any given room (worth at least 1 point), and more points for beating it more efficiently. And there are many ways to improve your ranking.

Then again, I am #6, so I may be slightly biased. Slightly. (Woo! #6!)

The only thing I think I would recommend is some sort of bonus for beating/mastering a hold, with more points going to more difficult holds. While this will further make wallu uncatchable by anybody except, say, michthro, it gives more incentive to play through difficult rooms in difficult holds.

Of course, we'd need to find a way to define difficult--votes don't really cut it for me, but neither does a dictatorial structure.

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Ezlo
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I alos would wnat some sort more comipition for MAKING holds as well as playing them. There should be some incentive besides the odd monthly contest or so.

I find that everything is needed to make a hold fun, though to pull everything together for me, you need a good story. Plot makes the world go round for me. The thicker the better.

NiroZ
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What do you mean by 'Timed response Download to Victory'?

Ezlo
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I'm assuming that means shortest completion of the hold in minutes, not moves.

The spitemaster
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Finding a good soulution to this is a big problem. If you look at the results of the poll (And other responces) you can see several large trends growing. More people like things that are just their level than others. Wow, how amazing is this! What can we learn if we don't know what their abilities are? How could we design a hold that grew in diffuculty as it went on. According to the time it took to complete we could find what people's skill levels are. I think that this would be better than strict testing of who could pass what levels, some people have more patience. (I am willing to help build this, if someone will edit what I do)

I agree with Ezlo, people really need to be rewarded for building holds. I'm thinking holds that are possible, but very diffucult. Problem is no one would like it. Then cast out, and degected they might hang themselves for not being good enough of the world. This is something that needs work, nothing we do will make a good soultion.

Small twists? Lots of the designers are running out of origial ideas. What could we do about that?

Timed responce is refering to shortest completion of the hold in minutes.

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Chaco
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The spitemaster wrote:

Small twists? Lots of the designers are running out of origial ideas. What could we do about that?

What makes you think this? The Dancers and SSSlitherin, two recently released holds, have very original ideas. Other holds, while not quite as groundbreaking perhaps, are still coming up with fresh ideas or presenting them in new ways.

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Syntax
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Agreed!

Just want to add the entrance to "Spider Well" as being highly original.

Jatopian
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That first poll question should really have allowed multiple selections. I voted "others". Also, not everything was covered by any means.

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The spitemaster
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OK i have been playing Holds that have been shelved as not original. But you have to admit people are sort of copying others "twists" right? The only place brand new ideas come from is the wide open world. (Fresh meat?) But like, everyone gets insperation from somewhere, just sometimes its from another DROD hold.

Is anyone willing to take up my offer?

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Ezlo
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Which offer in particular?

NiroZ
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Spitemaster, what exactly are you try to do?
This topic claims to be about what makes a hold fun, but the poll and what you say seems to indicate that your looking for otherways to make DROD more engageing(like the highscores have been doing), as well as pushing your own ideas. Either that, or your not sure what you want to know/say.

The spitemaster
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It is what you think it is. Do you have a better idea?

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Maurog
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It seems the poll clearly indicates that competition is not key ingredient for holds being fun AND that competition is best enforced the way it is now and with contests, which we also have in abundance. So pushing the topic any further is going against... uh, public opinion. Of course if someone comes out with a "better system of competition", people will be all over it like a bunch of sharks piranhas eager playtesters, but I personally think the current system (CaravelNet, highscores) is ingenious, and appeals to almost everyone.

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Banjooie
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Is it just me, or this thread gradually making less and less sense as it goes on?

Beef Row
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Banjooie wrote:
Is it just me, or this thread gradually making less and less sense as it goes on?

Oh, it never made sense, there's just more sense to not be made now.

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The spitemaster
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Fine. The whole idea was to get an idea of what people really marked for contests without just going out and asking them. That really doesn't get a straight answer.

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Mattcrampy
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How about we ask people during the voting for the Holds Al Dente contest?

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