there was once a time when you could make games that made people think hard to try and outpick their opponents to win
now no one joins such games and if you try to make one, they don't get filled for hours

i hope its just because all the smart ppl on warlight have blacklisted me
because if that's not the case, its sad.

I'm not smart and I've blacklisted you.

There used to be a couple of high level manual pick games in the open games tab, however then again they have always been created by the same couple of players and filled by the same couple of players. Players like Szweningen, Myhandisonfire, Gnuffone or DriveByPsy aren't active any longer and with Boston also not creating those games nowadays, I guess they have died out. The competitive open games tab was always carried by a small couple of players who aren't doing so any longer.

I have already used the WarLight API to automatically create games however the problem was that only members can join the open seats then.

Auto games are not auto picks. They're good and maybe if you start creating games where players can pick their starts, it will be good and maybe I can play that too.


p.s: I haven't blacklisted you (:

I make open RT games on MDL templates from time to time, prereq: min 40% win rate, they rarely take more than 10 mins to fill. You say that yours don't get filled for hours?

Edited 6/11/2017 18:07:04

I think the problem is more that some players get intimidated by a level 62 player in the other team. From my experience, 1vs1 fill quite fast. The problem is, nobody wants to join a teamgame with a random if he thinks he got no chance anyways.

I guess, if there are more prerequisites, more time it takes to fill. I see some games with level, win% (1v1, 2v2, 3v3), boot% and even number of times booted filters.

I like playing against level 60+ players, such games either give more points or good idea to play well.

I confirm Rento's observation, I make open RT games with identival prerequisite for practice purposes often, and they start prettty soon usually. I met guys like MoD or AG that way even.

My issue with manual pick games is that, on a given map, the same pick sets are often the best unless you are used to a specific few players and their playstyles. Take RoR 3v3. If you're joining up with people you don't know well and/or playing against folks you don't know (majority of games), you generally don't want to try anything too whacky. The manual pick/manual team games are the best ones out there when they get weird (see them most on Feldmere and any game with that fellow from m'hunters with all the numbers in his name), but if I don't recognize anyone, at least the randomization of auto keeps it a bit more fresh.

I love autopick games but

now no one joins such games and if you try to make one, they don't get filled for hours

SO TRUE. Unless it's a 1ag1, good luck getting anything filled that's not Rise of Rome or settings outside the norm (of Open Games).

My 3v3 games with manual picks still get filled but it does seem to take a bit longer yes. I mainly use the maps Europe 1600AD and Drakemor's World who seem to be equally popular. For filters I use min. 33% win in 3v3, max. 30% bootrate and min. 25 games completed.

Autopicks are good if you don't care much about winning.

It's a pick lottery at times. You and your partners could end up in the same spot and winning could be significantly harder for your team based on distribution alone.

But the problem w/ manual is that casual players don't know how to pick well and are often stubborn and adamant about not changing their picks. Removing the pick phase eases a lot of stress and the game will begin instantly.

But Ryiro is right that autopick games fill quicker. Skilled players who prefer manual picks still exist, but the average player just wants a fast game and isn't going to get mad if he or she loses.

manual games for manual picks

haven't looked at the open games listings in ages!

would be nice if we finally had a "who of your friends is online" page to be able to invite people directly though

Edited 6/13/2017 22:28:49

Not many people will want to do this, but making a team game where the teams are randomly sorted when the game starts would be better. It makes it feel more fair/random, rather than looking at a game and knowing it's probably a group that knows eachother & the map well and will mow over anyone else. Being able to communicate & coordinate is a big part of winning, and it's harder if you don't already know the people involved, that's a huge disadvantage for random joiners.

Yes like MOD said, filling competitive team games in open games is super long usually if it is manual teams and if you put random teams, you need very high prereqs in order to make sure you do not get bad players (and even then, you'll probably get guys with inflated stats that aren't that good). The best way to get open real-time competitive games going is I think knowing a lot of guys from different clans and being able to manually find the guys you want to play with RT. If you have DISCORD, linberson have made a Real-Time game server for people that like to play real-time games (1v1 or team games). Maybe you could join that and have an other place (other than the skype or discord chats you are probably already on) to recruit decent to very good players for competitive real-time games?

Personally, I hate auto-pick games because in such games, players that are not good can win against better players simply because they got lucky with their picks, particularly on a big map like Rise of Rome. I think the type of team game that is kind of a compromise between real strategic gameplay and totally nubbish autopick games on Real-time open games is probably 5 picks of 5 (manual picks) full distribution RoR (and yes, I know it is not that much strategic but it is probably one of the most 'strategic' thing to play there). I think in general, the low frequency of competitive team games in open real-time games is a detrimental factor for competitive team games in general. If I knew how to program, I would certainly like to program some kind of Real-Time team ladder (either 2v2 or 3v3) but I don't know how much success it could have.

Edited 6/14/2017 18:06:24

I haven't played open games for a while, but when I did, I preferred random picks once I got good. Open game competition is poop on a stick. It evens the odds and gives the opponents a chance if I get shit picks and they get good picks.

Also, if I'm playing an open game...odds are I'm not looking to use my brain too much. Just sit back and play.