HamsterSpeak #52 Online

The Wobbler · Post by **The Wobbler** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:21 pm

I know you're joking but just so people know the new issue has had around 140 unique views since going online two days ago. It's not huge, but it's not nothing.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:41 pm

Surlaw wrote:I know you're joking but just so people know the new issue has had around 140 unique views since going online two days ago. It's not huge, but it's not nothing.

I think the OHR community has a heck of a lot more lurkers than it has members. For every game uploaded to Slimesalad there are probably 2 or 3 more games sitting lonely on hard drive never to be played by anyone but the author and a few friends.

EDIT: not that I can think of any way to test my wild hunch :)

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:44 pm

Yeah, it would be nice if the forum lurkers converted into active members. More faces, more fun games, and more people for me to potentially crush in the Arena. I'm running out of things to challenge. My Sludgehammer battle got stuck because Slimebot Omega's clones AI failed me...now, I can't challenge Omega if I wanted to.

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 12:36 am

You could always challenge me.

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:24 am

@Spoon: I'll take you up on that offer as soon as I get some Agi lowering skills, so I can Coup De Grace you, or get some more HP and skills.

I wish I could have that slimebot finish Sludgehammer off. It's torture to see him at 18 HP, with sure death on the next turn, but the battle halted because of AI.

msw188 · Post by **msw188** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 2:10 am

I'll admit I haven't thought about this very deeply, but I just wanted to throw it out there to JSH, and see if he or anyone else has any input. What would it be like to make votes' points depend on how many games the user voted for? (has this been discussed before? I don't read the voting threads that often)

My first thought was, instead of making a voter's number one game worth 15, make his last place game worth 1 and count up from there. This is really just as unfair as the current setup though. So what if the votes are 'centered'. That is to say, the player's "middle"-voted game receives an 8 (the middle of a 1-15 scale), and then the scores go up/down from that middle game.

Example:

Say I only vote like this:

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (come on, it's got time travel! Isn't that why everyone likes Chrono Trigger so much?)
2. Okedoke (okay, I'd really rate this one highly)
3. Motrya (and this one, although I'm starting to feel it's SLIGHTLY overrated)
4. Vikings (despite my complaints, this does have an ending, which puts it above most other OHR games, and I can't vote for my own games)
5. Eternity Fragment (preveiw for my review: I LOVE THE NPCS IN THIS GAME)

Then my 'scoring' would work as follows:
Motrya was my 'middle' game, so it is awarded 8, and the rest of the scores are given accordingly:
HP and Prisoner - 10 points
Okedoke - 9 points
Motrya - 8 points
Vikings - 7 points
EF - 6 points

This system gives a bit of a reward to voters who take the time to play and vote on more games, and also eliminates the large potential for score skewing due to people playing very few games. After all, if I've only played five games all year, should my favorite of those five really be awarded 15 points, as if I consider it better than 14 other games?

The Wobbler · Post by **The Wobbler** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 2:16 am

I still think a simple "top choices get a couple extra points, everything else gets 1" system like we use for GOTY works fine but I like this suggestion too.

Newbie Newtype · Post by **Newbie Newtype** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:23 am

3. Motrya (and this one, although I'm starting to feel it's SLIGHTLY overrated)

Wait 'till we win monsterology!

NeoSpade · Post by **NeoSpade** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:23 am

Damn I hadn't realized that I'd went overkill with the commas (it's a very nasty habit) :S. I did proof read the article (8 or 9 times actually) but I failed to notice them. Still I appreciate critique and I'll avoid overusing commas in the future.

msw188 · Post by **msw188** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:30 pm

Neospade:
I'm not trying to be a jerk, but commas aren't really the problem. Run-on sentences are the problem.

From the get go this game gives the player a choice of equipment, Voltire used the new elemental system in this, so everything seems to have an effect on your resists/weaknesses adding something of a tactical element to the game.

The first half of this sentence is actually two sentences smushed into one. "From the get go this game gives the player a choice of equipment" is a complete thought, with subject (this game) and verb (gives). Similarly, "Voltire used the new elemental system in this" is a complete thought, with subject (Voltire) and verb (used).

When you have two complete thoughts like those, they need to be separated by one of a handful of things. The most common are:
1. A period. Just make it two sentences.
2. A semi-colon. Useful if the two thoughts are very closely related and should be read more or less together.
3. A comma AND a conjunction (like and, but, or so). You do this in the second half of the sentence: "Voltire used the new element system in this, so everything seems to have an effect..." This is correct, and the 2nd half of the sentence flows much better simply due to the existence of the word "so".

What is NOT enough is a lone comma, as you used in the first half of that sentence. This mistake is strewn throughout the review and makes it very awkward and occasionally confusing to read. The very next sentence is a prime example. But I won't go into it more on a public forum.

NeoSpade · Post by **NeoSpade** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:35 pm

You learn something new everyday. Yeah my grammar was inexcusably awful (I should have at least checked it with someone else first), but with the advice you've given I'll definitely improve the quality for further articles.
I think it would have been worse had I gone with the original plan that was to do a video-review. I talk the way I write :S (and I might add that I sound worryingly like Tim Curry).

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:50 pm

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:44 am

@Spoonweaver:...Wow. The army is coming! Grammar is something I always try and keep good...then, when I script a game...I go from good grammer to no periods and no capitals.

Skullduggery Studios · Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:54 pm

OOH! Off topic. Glad my submission was well received. I feel like I have a lot of graphics down, so... maybe my next submission will be on trees.