It seems it is very hard to admit you are not that good without being dismissed as a whiner. Don't. Being realistic about your skill should not disqualify your voice.
I have observed that in the past criticism led to adjustments. So I think we the disgruntled can afford to chill on the emotion
On the downside there is a definite preference for grindfests historically. Here I would ask nicely, "PGI please note"
An explanation may be that there is an attempt to address various different interest groups in different tourneys, and that PGI is still refining improving the player experience.
All in all we should expect that not all tournaments will be everyones' cup of tea.
Expecting to get, as an example, a 15k gxp module for just showing up in a mech of your choice (I exaggerate for emphasis) is entitlement. I would not have minded the hamster, the idea really appealed to me, but I could see just looking at the requirements that it would be unrealistic.
As for the genuinely good players, feeling good about it is ok, patronising others who are simply realistic about what they can do is unfair. Ban L2P from your vocabulary, please. And I concur many drops on TS are just c_lutterf-ucks with comms. Actually, once you take a good hard look.
Unfortunately, I have no particularly bright ideas on novel tournament formats. Lots of us though emphasise:
Relevant, "useful" rewards.
I could also go for silly, fun rewards that are not out of reach.
Less time invested.
Perhaps consider engaging themes influencing what rewards are offered. I think offering the LBX 10 on Valentines and calling it the Wedding Shotgun might make me smile a bit (Forgive a laboured example, lets just say good english tongue in cheek humour would definitely make me grind a silly item. Hamster, eg.)
No one has commented on how to achieve a mix of fun, challenge and balance in an acceptable amount of time. I can only comment I found the Halloween event the most novel, and variable event. But left me unwilling to try further when out of 3 games one was 2 points short of qualifying (and a personal best in more than one stat), the rest were abject fails.
I might add that psychology studies show that the perception of reward greatly increases when it is not regular, or completely predictable. One armed bandits greatly rely on this effect to keep the player engaged. So the idea of a grab bag on hitting a time invested threshold with a payoff that has an element of chance can definitely be revisited. I would refine it by giving several grab bags, such as a grab bag for armaments and one for modules. IF this engages the player sufficiently without frustrating.
Best of luck, PGI.
Oh, and you can do one of TWO things now.
Remove those bright, ugly fail crosses from my resume,. This is good for my peace of mind.
Make them even more obnoxious. Negative reinforcement is an excellent motivator, ask any Army Drill instructor.
Edited by Hammerhai, 10 November 2014 - 06:23 AM.