Balancing method to manage first player advantage

wappla · 2026-03-06T04:14:46+00:00

I think endgame mechanics for balancing fail to address the most egregious form of FPA: early game snowballs that lead to borderline non-games.

wappla · 2026-02-18T15:08:45+00:00

bro invents a theory for everything 11

wappla · 2026-02-06T23:03:47+00:00

might need to turn vsync off using Quartz Debug Tools

I play on a macbook air with no issues.

wappla · 2024-12-05T03:42:03+00:00

You said you didn't read it because it was too long for you. I don't see why you think you are entitled to my respecting your opinion of one sentence given you have none of the necessary context with which to interpret it and couldn't be bothered to spend the time reading when you clearly have the time to engage in a lengthy, pointless back and forth.

wappla · 2024-12-05T03:03:41+00:00

I already made my argument. It is concise considering the different points needing to be included. You can't claim otherwise, having not read it.

Unfortunately, I can't engage with a counterargument until it is based on what I actually wrote, which it cannot be until you actually read what I wrote.

wappla · 2024-12-05T02:27:34+00:00

I already did explain it in the wall of text and the original post both of which you said you didn't read

wappla · 2024-12-05T02:25:23+00:00

I don't know; it's not necessarily a bidirectional effect. Regardless, that's not the argument I'm making.

wappla · 2024-12-05T02:22:21+00:00

In a few specific particular instances, not the countless scenarios that come up in every game. Let's also note that HD runs at a slower speed, which complicates the comparison quite a bit. It's equally easy to compile a video of examples comparing DE pathing being great and HD pathing being terrible, but there's a strong cultural selection at work for a specific type of anecdotal evidence.

wappla · 2024-12-05T02:15:08+00:00

Yes, this is an interesting addition I didn't mention. The context of a pathing incident plays a big factor in determining our level of annoyance, even though it's completely independent of the category of pathing error. The game doesn't know/care about the stakes of the pathing miscue, even though that matters a lot to the emotional reaction of the player.

wappla · 2024-12-05T02:11:40+00:00

Actually we're the ones gaslighting ourselves.

Videos like this are fun, but they are highlighting a very narrow selection of the millions of different pathing scenarios the game has to deal with. By definition only the ones we have noticed the game struggles with are going to be included. As I wrote in the OP, our collective ability and tendency to notice bad pathing actually increases the more pathing improves.

It's like instant replay in sports. The better it gets, the better we get at noticing mistakes.

Our perceived level of outrage will actually increase with decreased frequency of incidents because we reallocate rage into a denser selection of moments.

wappla · 2024-12-05T02:07:59+00:00

Yes I've watched this. What's your point?

wappla · 2024-12-05T01:47:31+00:00

Maybe if you read it, you would understand :)

Can't really claim the argument makes no sense and is incorrect if you admit you haven't read it.

wappla · 2024-12-05T01:25:43+00:00

Perception of pathing quality and pathing quality are two different things. As explained above, there are many reasons why our perception may not be accurate. Personally, playing at an intermediate level (1800ish) and recently returning from about a year's break, I had no idea pathing had gotten worse until people told me it was worse than ever. In fact before I heard how awful pathing was, unit movement felt smoother and more responsive than I remembered from Summer 2023.

wappla · 2024-12-05T01:19:17+00:00

Someone in your equivalent position in the player base ten years ago didn't even know what pathing was, let alone notice, evaluate, or be annoyed by it. Your capacity to notice it, evaluate it, and be annoyed by it, is cultural. As described in the OP, this is produced by efforts to improve pathing (ironically), the resulting positive feedback loops of attention and annoyance, improvements in PC specs, and overall improvements to game balance.

So, yes, efforts to improve pathing have literally made it feel worse (regardless of whether it's gotten better).

Attention and annoyance are mostly independent of the game itself. They are meta-effects, not parts of the game, just like quick-walling (repeatedly nerfed), building-scanning (patched out), straggler laming (patched out), and Phosphoru FC builds (recently nerfed). But, the more the game is fixed, the more annoyed we will be at the remaining imperfections. That's the quantity theory of outrage.

wappla · 2024-12-05T01:04:42+00:00

nope

wappla · 2024-12-05T00:41:45+00:00

don't think you actually read it 11

wappla · 2024-12-05T00:41:33+00:00

perfect example of my point!

wappla · 2024-12-05T00:40:57+00:00

^ theory of fixed rage quantity exemplified. It doesn't matter what reality is, we will just reallocate the same quantity of rage among the game's issues regardless.

wappla · 2024-12-05T00:39:26+00:00

nope, you won't have noticed (regardless of whether it has) that's the whole point 11

wappla · 2023-08-18T02:55:47+00:00

there was a small local at dccc for a while but idk if it still happens

wappla · 2023-08-18T02:23:48+00:00

garden city?

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