Player Slot and Game Census

[Zoidberg]

I agree with the "modding for no reason" argument.

I have an idea for a large theme that I'm really interested in. I think it could be awesome.

I also want to run some newbie games to give back to the site, but I have to wait through the Open or Mini Normal queues. At the moment, the Open queue is 3 or so months long, and after that wait I'll have to mod a game that I really don't want to run which will take probably another 2 months.

So the actual wait to become a first time mod is something like 8 months.

In the time it takes me to get to the top of the Open queue, I could probably have run multiple micro games.

I also notice some hypocrisy in the rules. The rules state that each account must qualify on its own to mod, but certain celebrity alts/hydras are seemingly exempt from this rule (looking at Sir Elton Hercules John as an example of this. Has this account been required to wait 3 months and play 1 game before modding?).

[Zoidberg]

Hmmm, that's not what I read elsewhere, but I can't find it now.

I specifically remember reading that each account has to be qualified.

Edit: Whatever, I'm not trying to turn this into a witch hunt and I harbor no ill will towards reck or UT. I'm just expressing my frustration at the overly-rigid and irritatingly long modding requirements. 8 months is too long to wait.

[Zoidberg]

As Richard said, the only restrictions placed on alt accounts are those for SE/IC purposes in newbie games. I haven't read anywhere else that doesn't allow alts to work as a normal account.

Ah yeah, that might be where I read it, the IC/SE requirements.

[Zoidberg]

Trust me, just suck it up and wait your turn. You will come out the better mod for it, I guarantee you.

Doubt it. I've run hundreds of games in real life and 3 or 4 on other forums.

Waiting 3 months doesn't magically make you a better mod because it's 3 months of waiting, not 3 months of modding.

Running an open game will only add to my experience by an insignificant amount.

[Zoidberg]

The implication is that you are playing in games during that time and getting a feel for how modding works on this site.

However, since you brought it up, you can apply to mith to count your off-site modding as one game's worth of experience here (so you'd only have to mod one game here in order to mod a Large Theme). Whether that is granted or not, the three month (and one game) rule is non-negotiable and it is there for a reason.

No, you missed my point. I've already been on site for 3 months. But you need 3 months just to /in to mod. But the mod queue is >3 months long, so the ACTUAL wait to be a mod is closer to 6/7 months, plus the throwaway Open game that you don't want to run anyways.

[Zoidberg]

Trust me, it's better to just suck it up and wait your turn. You will come out the better mod for it, I guarantee you.

While I'm pretty sure Zoidberg

et al

have read every variant of this line, it is still true.

Time passes in a flash. Everyone, including established mods, needs to go through the queues when they want to mod a game. Yes, it takes patience. But so does designing a setup, gathering players, dealing with all the hiccups in your game. And Larges can take months to run.

Use that time.

You want to build a good playing

and modding

reputation--that will make your Large Theme fill faster and flow better. Read other games--pay special attention to mod commentary when it exists, and how each mod deals with unforeseen situations in their games. Get a co-/back-up mod and familiarize yourself with their style (and them with yours), because they might end up having a hand on your game. Pitch the concept at a few people who you would like to see in your game; if there is some time yet and they are not familiar with the flavor, maybe they will be interested in the source material.

Large Themes are beasts. As prepared as you might think you are, it takes lots of care and devotion to make them work properly. Everyone has to deal with the wait, so you might as well use that waiting time to polish your game to the maximum and make the prospect of playing under you a very attractive one.

Believe me, I don't underestimate what's required to run a large theme and I plan to make sure it's well done.

[Zoidberg]

And you missed my point: We make you wait for a reason. People have presented far more compelling cases and the answer has still been no. If you don't like the way this site works, you can always go back to your other forums.

And nothing says you have to run an Open as your first game. Mini Normals give you more freedom in terms of setups (and generally yield better playerlists, too).

Yeah but the queue for Normals is like twice as long, or at least it was when I checked last. I don't want to wait until July to run my first game.

[Zoidberg]

This view makes me a bit sad.

There is demand for Open an Mini Normal games to be run. No, they are not most mods' favorites, but that is one of the reasons first-time mods are funneled through them, to satisfy that demand.

The game might be 'throwaway' for you. But there are definitely people who want to play their game; moderation is a service to the community, not a right. Yes, part of the goal is to make games that are fun for

you

, but modding also requires willingness to make games fun

for others

.

Eh, my view is that (perhaps excepting Bastard games), a game that is fun for the Mod has a

much

better chance of being fun for the players.

The Mini Normal queue doesn't function in straight sequence. Get your game reviewed ASAP (Papa Zito provides you what's needed for that) and you will probably wait less than three months.

Interesting; I didn't know that. Thank you very much.

[Zoidberg]

Eh, my view is that (perhaps excepting Bastard games), a game that is fun for the Mod has a much better chance of being fun for the players.

This is true. However, can you say for certain that modding a mini normal or open

won't

be fun for you? Observe:

Normal =/= boring.
Theme =/= fun.

I know I'm not interested at all in modding an open game. Normals would be okay, but I had avoided that queue for expediency.

ANYWAYS.... we drifted off the point, I think.

I put my 2 cents in to add credence to the idea that the extremely long backlog in the open/mini normal queues is preventing people from running theme games, which was a theory proposed by someone in this thread.

Once you understand this, you will be almost golden.

Your extreme condescension is noted.

[Zoidberg]

I didn't intend to come off as condescending.

Sure you didn't.

[Zoidberg]

And talking down to me while implying I don't understand that normal != boring, and that "once I understand these very simple concepts I'll be golden" makes you seem like a prick.

[Zoidberg]

I had no desire to debate site policy in the first place. I merely wanted to add my 2 cents.

I put my 2 cents in to add credence to the idea that the extremely long backlog in the open/mini normal queues is preventing people from running theme games, which was a theory proposed by someone in this thread.

[Zoidberg]

Well maybe its just me... but running a 17P LT takes noticeably more time than it does to run a 11P normal just because more is going on.

Sure, but does it take more

skill

to run a 17P theme than an 11P theme? Time is just... time. Even an idiot should be able to understand that more players = larger time commitment.

Think of it you are hiring someone for a job, candidate A has been the lead on a bunch of contracts worth under a million dollars. Cadidate B has been head of a third as many contracts, but they were all worth $1-5M. If you are hiring one of them to do a $10M job, who would you pick?

That analogy is only congruous with your previous statement if time invested is directly proportional to success rate in higher-value contracts.

[Zoidberg]

Okay but I think skill and time investment are two different qualities in a mod.

[Zoidberg]

Okay but I think skill and time investment are two different qualities in a mod.

That's true. I'm sure there have been larges that were over in weeks and minis that were over in several months. But regardless of the time invested, a larger game is generally going to require more skill to run for the reasons I outlined previously.

I disagree. Imagine a 25p Large Normal. All the roles are pretty standard, and if a weird situation somehow came up you could just refer to the Natural Action Resolution chart on the wiki for guidance. In Normals there's no weird vote-the-moderator shenanigans going on, no post restrictions, everyone's sane, etc.

Whereas even a 11p mini theme could have some kind of fucked-up mechanic in it could give rise to some hard-to-reconcile situations. It's pretty hard to test ALL the corner cases, after all.

So while I think that large games require a great deal of

time

and

attention

, I don't think that the size of the game is necessarily related to the

difficulty

of modding that game.

[Zoidberg]

<3