OFBTS Rules - Failure to read is punishable by death. By Bees. Millions of them.

[Ap0k]

Right, another balance playtest thingy has just rolled around, which means it's time for an updated version of shiny new awesome rules of awesome!.

I'll keep this brief, since I know how much you all love reading my text. Failure to read will likely result in your threads being locked, so it's for your benefit.

1) Play nice. - It's very simple. You can either be civil to eachother, or you can lose your access to the section depending on how far into uncivilness you decide to take things.

2) This section is for discussion of Balance Playtest stuff only - Playtest related connection stuff, Playtest related balance discussion, Playtest related strategy discussion, Playtest related patch discussion, and so on. All fine. What's not fine is coming in and going 'Hey Relic when will you fix the Pershing?', or 'WTF guys? Why aren't trenches fixed?' isn't going to happen, or rather, it might happen, but it'll get locked.

3) All the existing CoH forum rules are in effect. - Clicky.

4) Changelog discussion. - Will operate the same as the old beta section. There will be a stickied locked changelog list updated by relic, and a seperate thread to conduct actual discussion of the changes, which will help keep things organised. This will be a first come first served basis. The first person to create a thread discussing a new changelog is the one that will be used for discussion. Look for that thread rather than blindly creating your own.

5) Balance suggestions. - Balance suggestions do not go here unless they are directly related to a change that was made in the playtest. If you want to suggest balance changes from standard OF, you need to use the Community Bug List. The sole purpose of this section is for discussion of changes already in effect. It's not going to be a giant wishlist of doom, because it will drown out the actual discussion on present topics.



That is all.

If we all play nice, this will go swimmingly. If people arrive in and persist in being jackasses, then they will be removed. It's not hard to read a few stickies, and it's not hard to remain civil. The less asshattery from people, the less I have to do, and the less I have to do, the less likely it is that I will have to unleash the bees.

Have fun

[Ap0k]

Additional stuff that I've been putting off adding to this but should have done quite some time ago.

6) Posting on-topic. - While it's calmed a little now, compared to a month or two ago, it is still expected that you make your points relevant to the thread at hand. Failing to do so will result in post deletions, and, if we have to do it enough times, warnings being issued, and if we have to do that enough times, bans from posting in the Playtest section for persistent offenders.

Off-topic commentary about something that bears no relevance to the discussion point ruins threads, creates more work for the staff, and, possibly most importantly of all, dilutes the feedback Relic may be gleaning from the section.

In short, stick to the topic guys. It makes everyones life easier.

7) Replays. - While we're not going to make posting a replay to support your point mandatory, they are useful tools in determining the validity of a claim. If you can show replays illustrating your point, people are going to be more likely to take you seriously. Whether these be 'labbed' replays, or stuff that's happened over the course of a game bears little relevance (both have their advantages and disadvantages).

If you are posting a replay, let people know what points in the game to look for. If you're watching a replay of someone elses, bear in mind that the purpose of the replay is not to criticise their play (since that's why we have a Replays section on the forums), but to allow the original poster to illustrate their points. It's a two-way street really, and I don't want to see threads containing replays being screwed up because people are focussing on the quality of the player rather than the quality of their argument.

Take rule 7 as an advisory, rather than set in stone. You don't have to post replays to support your position, but it can be helpful.