Since the divisions are based a lot on site activity, I am suggesting for next season to make it so that Division 2/3 stay the same at 600, and Division 1 be bumped back down to 400.

Yeah that kind of makes sense......

I'm still asking this get implemented (or something change for at least Div 1 next season)..

The exact reason why I was against this change from being made in the first place - has happened

I'm sure it's made things easier for Div 2/3 (but not really in the big picture)... but the game is boring now and not really as fun or as exciting... to the point where I might not participate anymore if Div 1 stays the same (which I'm hoping it doesn't)

and no, it's not because I'm "losing"..

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Here is another suggestion which I think would satisfy everyone..

Since we can already choose various aspects to each show at the start of each league which affects the score and rehearsal points, why not add in another option called Max Energy (or something) which would go like this:

Max Energy = Earned Points X multiplier
200 = EP x 1.6
300 = EP x 1.5
400 = EP x 1.4
500 = EP x 1.3
600 = EP x 1.2
700 = EP x 1.1
800 = EP x 1

NOTE:
- The multiplier I gave is just an example
- The multiplier would affect the points earned during each rehearsal
- The max energy would be set at the beginning of each season and can't be changed during a season.
- Fundraising/Promotions are NOT affected.

What this would do is evenly balance out the players who can or want to spend more time playing vs those who aren't able to. Obviously if you choose a very low max energy you are going to have a harder time not maxing out points, and chances are it will happen a lot.. but the higher multiplier would offset the lower multiplier that a higher energy player has so that it is still fair for everyone...

Adding this to the game would solve and add a lot of new things to the table:
- no double edge sword effect that the current 600 max has
- rewards those who can play more often, yet doesn't punish those who can't
- brings a whole new level of dedication to those who want to accept it
- adds a new factor in short term and long term strategy
- should make the game more enjoyable and fun for everyone, and a lot harder for those who wish

Thoughts?

I don't understand. If you have a lower cap, that means you plan to play more often, and under this system you get more stat points for playing more often. The lower cap isn't a disadvantage at all if you're playing more often.

The 600 energy cap is just a compromise because it was really hard to compete with limited time.

You would play more often because you have a lower cap.. you would get more points, but you would also be losing more points. When you have a 600 cap you can hardly play in a day and not lose any points.. in fact, you could pretty much sleep without needing to worry about losing out on any points.. While raising the cap does help those who can't get on all the time by giving them a better chance at playing without losing points, it's a double edged sword in that the people who this affected are complaining that the game is too hard because they aren't able to play enough to be competitive. That is a valid statement.. however if you raise the cap for everyone, it is helping EVERYONE.. including those who are very competitive.. so in the end the people who were complaining about the game being too competitive are only making it harder for themselves to compete against the "top" groups because the only thing thing keeping those groups in the top spots is the fact that they have pretty much have everything maxed out and do not miss out on points.. When the cap was at 400, it made the game harder for those on top because it added a way for those members to NOT use every available point 24/7.

I suggested making a 400 cap for Div 1 members.. Div 1 is supposed to be more competitive, harder and take more time and dedication than Div 2/3..

People are going to realize what I've said once this season is over and while their scores may improve, so will everyone elses and they will still have the same chance at being competitive as before.

For me with work and college, the last couple seasons I have dipped below the top 12 in division 1, prior to that I was always in the top 12. With this new energy cap, I currently reside in 8th, battling for 7th. That's my color guard.

My other groups still are working at making the top 12. They are a lot closer with the new cap.

Fair enough.. leave it as it is then

I don't have any say but my opinion is that we keep the 600 cap I work 50+hrs a week and between work and my military schedule I have little time to get on here. Like this season for instance I’ve been on maybe 10 times because of my busy life style, Yes that my problem I do know this but dropping the cap back down is going to pretty much end my time with FMA, I have been a loyal member since fantasymarchingband way back when. I know my opinion most likely doesn't count or matter but for what it’s worth this is my view on the situation. I hope you all agree on this accordingly so people that do have a life, If not at least compromise, maybe by witching every other season.

That's why I was suggesting there be a separation.. either by division, or create a DCA type of category that is more suited for those who can only get on a few times a week.

Thanks for your service.. I'm a fellow vet myself.

Sorry cire, I guess I've just never understood your argument (still don't, really). You get a base 100 points per hour. There's no such thing as one player getting more than 2,400 points per day. As far as the losing points thing goes... I still don't agree with your stance because I don't think there are a lot of the top-tier groups "losing" points... regardless of what the cap is. A 600 cap means you only have to log on four times a day to use max points instead of six. Yes, it helps more people be competitive, but I don't see it helping the 1% stretch their lead on the rest of the pack, so to speak.

I could be wrong. I was just seeing competitive stagnation at the tops of every Division I. The same 5-6 groups were in the Top 3 every season, and everyone else was scrambling just to be middle of the pack. I don't want FMA to turn into DCI or, to a lesser extent, WGI.

I do think the idea of a DCA/"Open" class (ELECTIVE ONLY) that has a huge cap for the people who can only play once per day or a few times per week is an intriguing one.

I have a suggestion. Perhaps we could have some type of "difficultly" selection option at the beginning of the season. Players can choose for their groups what level of difficulty they wish to have. Easy being 600 energy, medium 500 and hard with 400. Keep the rest of the system in place. Those that play often will get into their respective divisions etc. This helps out the lower groups and gives those higher ones a challenge. Obviously with the 600 energy in place this season and groups in Division 1, perhaps it is time to revamp and up those levels so that is one thing that could be changed. The problem with this is that people would try to pick easy and then not play to be in a lower Division and then play and kill everyone in the lower class. This could of course be fixed if we had a WGI type format where groups get bumped if they score "X" on a certain day or week etc but that would require a lot more code on Alex's part. So far though, the way he has done classes has worked out quite well though.

IM.. that could theoretically happen now with the different divisions and not playing during the preseason, however I have a feeling Alex has taken that into account with his formula.

hostrauser - here is my "argument"
If you have 5 groups who are consistently in the top 5, they are there because of several reasons... they've been playing a long time, they play a lot, they have had good strategies while playing, and they have all maxed out or almost maxed out their staff and skill points.

Eventually everyone will reach the same level in staff and skill points.. what is left? How you spend your money and how you practice. The only other factor is how often each person can play. Theoretically, if you set it at 100 max points, someone will be losing roughly 600 points every night while they sleep. Now if you set it at 400, this means someone would have to log on 5/6 times a day, and would lose roughly at least 600 points a night.. For the more competitive groups, they need to use up every point the best way they can if they want to stay competitive. For example, if someone doesn't get a chance to play for 3 days, they can be pretty much counted out of a top X spot.. sucks, but it happens.. Now what happens if you raise the max to 600? The game gets a lot easier for those can't get on all the time, but wasn't the initial complaint and reasoning to raise the max because those people weren't able to compete? Well now they can.. but for the most part, it's also giving everyone else ahead of you that much more of an advantage to stay ahead of you because there is less of a chance of them to miss out on points, in fact they will be getting even more points than they would have in the first place, meaning they would be scoring even higher.. and those who can only get one say once or twice a day, will still be left behind score wise.

You are right though, there is pretty consistent group in the top 5/6 and the middle/lower placements vary quite a bit.. but by making the game easier for everyone, it's not going to change anything in the long run.. It's not going to let the "top" groups run away with placements and scores... but it's going to make it ever harder for those middle groups to break into the top 5/6, because that margin of "missing points" is going to be pretty much gone.

Maybe I'm wrong.. maybe it doesn't matter, and maybe noone really cares.. lol but it's just a scenario that I see happening and for those who are playing to be very competitive but can't play 24/7 are going to have a very hard time with the game and getting the results they want.

Josh, that system exists, to some degree, with the Challenge Levels system. Its just not as transparent as it would be with energy caps - and it assumes that players make their decisions based on their future gameplay, which is not always accurate.

What happens if we just did...
600-Division 3
500-Division 2
400-Division 1

500 doesn't fit into a 24 hour day.

100 energy. Total. For all season. May the force be with you.

^

Funny Vinny :-P I'm sure at some point, Alex will end up revamping the system to some degree when a vast number of groups are at the "maxed" out limit of all staff members being 20. Probably just a harder scoring system. Then he'll keep the one we have now for the lower groups and the harder one for Div 1. That doesn't need to happen yet except for maybe CG because as of right now, two groups have already gone past the max number of GE points last season (my group was one of them) and in another season or two, may even end up scoring over 100. My guess is that Alex does have something planned for whenever that does happen though. As for now, it's just my goal to finally win a championship!

You can have the CG championship over my girls' dead bodies :P We will rally back! And yeah CG has been maxed out for a couple seasons now. I know Chris had his maxed out a long time ago. I was a little worried that we'd break the system this season.

You could always do it where once you reach a certain level, you start back at 0.