Desirable attributes of a patch change

[Garja]

Since many questionable changes have been proposed lately and considereding the rather convulsed pattern of EP changes (nerf semi FF civs, then nerf colonial civs, then nerf semi FF civs again, then nerf colo civs, etc.) I think it's good to point out some guidelines for changes.

1. Relevancy
The change should have a signifacnt effect. Ideally the effect has to be appreciable. The more the costs of the change the more impactful it has to be in order to justify the costs. Relevancy assumes the change has positive effect on balance to begin with.
2. Efficiency
The change should cost as little as possible in terms of: deviating from the original game, time invested in discussing/testing the change.
3. Predictability
The effects of a change should be somewhat predictable so that there will be as few undesired effects as possible.
4. Consistency
The change has to be coherent/consistent with other features/patterns/range of values in the game. It should preserve the originary design of a feature or improve it in case of a pre-existent anomaly. Consistency implies a positive effect on game design.

Ideally changes should have as many of these attributes as possible. If a change start having none of this, then it's not a good change.

[[Armag] diarouga]

I agree with this.

1. There are so many changes that don't really impact the game, and we should avoid these as it only makes the change list longer.

2. The "close to RE" philosophy should be kept. Thus changing the politicians is not an options, and changing the unit cost/stats should only be done if necessary.

3. With experience it's easy to see how most changes are going to affect the balance. Big changes such as fast age up nerf don't have predictable effects however, and it would be a shame to go for an unpredictable patch when we're going to have one of the most competitive events of all time.

4. This one is the less important, that's why it's the 4th I guess.

[Hazza54321]

i prefer changing politicians than units and rdm civ bonuses (karni mata teepees)

[Mitoe]

I mostly agree as well. However, I also think that there are some exceptions that we should be more open to exploring in the interest of improving the overall gameplay experience.

For example, I think what Interjection has done with politicians, especially the Colonial age politicians in particular, is something we should eventually consider using in EP (obviously will most likely still need some tweaking). It's a lot of fun to watch and to play, and it adds a lot of depth to the game and a lot more strategic diversity for every civ. This is consistent with #1 and especially #4, but not so much with #2 and #3. I think in cases like this the positivity of the outcome outweighs these concerns for the most part.

We shouldn't always be afraid of a change when its consequences are a bit unpredictable. We simply need to acknowledge that there is risk involved, and be more ready to scrap them if they don't work out.

[[Armag] diarouga]

We shouldn't always be afraid of a change when its consequences are a bit unpredictable. We simply need to acknowledge that there is risk involved, and be more ready to scrap them if they don't work out.

Maybe, but not just before the first LAN in the past 10 years, don't you think ? It's pretty safe to say that people want a balanced, well-known patch for such a tourney lol.

[Mitoe]

There's still a lot of time between then and now. Would you rather try stuff like this a few weeks before the DE gets released? Personally I don't think the DE will be very successful without some larger improvements.

[[Armag] diarouga]

There's still a lot of time between then and now. Would you rather try stuff like this a few weeks before the DE gets released? Personally I don't think the DE will be very successful without some larger improvements.

I want a balanced patch close to the RE for the LAN. After this, do whatever you want with the patch for DE, I won't care.

[XeeleeFlower]

There's still a lot of time between then and now. Would you rather try stuff like this a few weeks before the DE gets released? Personally I don't think the DE will be very successful without some larger improvements.

I want a balanced patch close to the RE for the LAN. After this, do whatever you want with the patch for DE, I won't care.

Diarouga is confirming that he's coming and will play in the tournament!

[[Armag] diarouga]

There's still a lot of time between then and now. Would you rather try stuff like this a few weeks before the DE gets released? Personally I don't think the DE will be very successful without some larger improvements.

I want a balanced patch close to the RE for the LAN. After this, do whatever you want with the patch for DE, I won't care.

Diarouga is confirming that he's coming and will play in the tournament!

I'm coming if it is an aoe3 tournament, I'm not if it is on the current Zoi Patch.