Options
Gauntlet QoL Improvement
in Make It So!
I'd like to see a gauntlet interface that shows the win chances of the possible match-ups. Probably you are - like me - not good at calculating the percentages in your head. On the other hand, the game has all the necessary information and could easily display the actual chance of a bout.
Frankly, this absolutely vital QoL improvement cannot be too hard to implement, and it is mystifying that it is not already there.
Frankly, this absolutely vital QoL improvement cannot be too hard to implement, and it is mystifying that it is not already there.
11
Comments
To quote the words of Q right when you engage, it's for fun. Don't take it too seriously, this is only a game, after all.
Four Gauntlet matches this morning...
Kahless 65% vs Kahless 65%… crits 2-5... defeat
Caretaker 45% vs Caretaker 45%... crits 1-4... defeat
Surak 45% vs Surak 45%... crits 1-3... defeat
Kai Opaka 45% vs Sulan 5%... crits 0-2... defeat?!
… you have to wonder what the point of maxxing out Collection and Starbase bonuses was.
Apart from your last example, which is a true bad beat, I have to wonder what the point of selecting multiple mirror matches is, especially at that high of a crit percentage. There's very little upside and a large chance to get outrolled in those scenarios.
I've got the max Collection bonus (Proficiency min/max +3%/+3%) and Starbase bonus (Proficiency min/max +5%/+5%). All those crews are also FE maxxed. Until the Gauntlet Unique collection was added, you couldn't get stronger Gauntlet crews. It was the first four duels of the day, and you'd expect one, maybe two, to be closely fought defeats, but they weren't even contests. The first three were against weaker twins because that's all that was offered, and the only reason I bother with Gauntlet anymore is Merit farming... so I passed on the chance to refresh. When you're faced with a choice between six clones, I just pick the weakest and hope to keep the Win Streak alive.
The Opaka v Sulan duel was DIP/MED... I hit 521, 393 and 536... but ran into 370, Crit 1048, Crit 1576 >.<
When you add the gambler’s fallacy (a concept in logic, not an insult) and not-really-random-numbers together, plus whatever else DB engineers may have added to give the “house” an edge, it explains a heck of a lot about why the numbers come up so wonky. Wonkyness appears in most pseudo randomizing algorithms to begin with.
Since STT bases a lot of what we do in the game on randomness and percentages, it would be no great shock if they stop when it seems fair enough without ironing out any extra wrinkles. The wrinkles create frustration (like in gambling), which messes with our brains’ reward systems, thus pushing us to try and even the odds by spending more money or time playing the game (which drives up the cost of advertising, another revenue stream).
The House always wins!
First, I'm pretty sure the whole point is that most people can't run the percentages in their heads, so the game entices you to take chances that maybe you shouldn't. And then maybe you lose. And then - maybe - you spend dilithium to refresh/extend. And the house smiles.
Second, hypothetically, do you think the complaints about bad beats would decrease or increase if everyone had the exact percentages displayed? I have visions of entire threads devoted to complaints about losing a 52/48% matchup because "hey, I was favored", along with the ensuing arguments about whether 52/48 means you are really a 2% or a 4% favorite.
I'm not opposed to your point, but I also don't know how much better the game would be. (Disclosure: I say this as someone that has never had percentages displayed for me in gauntlet matchups, so perhaps I don't know what I'm missing.)