Blood Bowl in the Playground II: It's Going To Be Elves Again, Isn't It?

[Brother Oni]

I actually remembered to record this match! If Science Officer doesn't mind, I will record commentary for it and post it for others to see.

Something that I've recently discovered - the game, by default, saves replays in My Documents, which can be accessed with the Load Replay option in game.

It doesn't capture any in game communication, but it does record the dice rolls, so you can see what happened and when. The functionality is limited (+ and - on the keypad increases and decreases the speed of play, pause is only possible by pressing the menu option and there's no skip or playback function), but it may be easier than trying to commentate while actually playing (which would make most of my games x-rated due to the language involved).

Actually I suspect most of my games would still be x-rated because I'll be saying "Why the [REDACTED] did I do that? You [REDACTED] dozy [REDACTED] [REDACTED]!" instead.

[Wraith]

Hope to get a game with you folks soon!
DA

Welcome!

Upon which time zone do you exist? I've been looking to play more casual games in the Open League, and it'd be nice to know who is around, and when.

Something that I've recently discovered - the game, by default, saves replays in My Documents, which can be accessed with the Load Replay option in game.

This is exactly how I have been producing videos - talking over the built-in Replays and recording via Fraps. For pretty much exactly the same [REDACTED] reasons, come to think of it.

The biggest downside is, as Brother Oni said, there's no dice-graphic showing you what just happened, and the play-by-play box is never particularly clear when trying to read the text. ESPECIALLY if you're a Norse player and you're trying to read white text on the white background of your snow-covered home pitch....

[LCP]

Are home pitches a thing? I haven't particularly found that the Rampagers get the Chaos stadium any more frequently than the others...

[Wraith]

I think so. Definitely in the single player game - a starting team always have their first game on the field at "the farm", and more often than not I seem to play at race-appropriate pitches. Although the newer races are a bit wonky, since there isn't one that is specifically appropriate to Khornate or Nurgle teams.

As for Multiplayer... I dunno. My Norse seem to alternate between the Norse pitch and the generic one. I suppose when I said "home pitch" I was mostly meaning it as short hand for "the snow covered pitch surrounded by Viking longboats".

[Brother Oni]

Upon which time zone do you exist? I've been looking to play more casual games in the Open League, and it'd be nice to know who is around, and when.

Same request as Wraith here. I'm usually up for a game as well.

This is exactly how I have been producing videos - talking over the built-in Replays and recording via Fraps. For pretty much exactly the same [REDACTED] reasons, come to think of it.

Actually it was watching your Let's Play that clued me into the replay function.

I'm curious to see your take on our match earlier, since when I re-watched it, I kept on cringing at the mistakes I made, hindsight being 20/20.

The biggest downside is, as Brother Oni said, there's no dice-graphic showing you what just happened, and the play-by-play box is never particularly clear when trying to read the text. ESPECIALLY if you're a Norse player and you're trying to read white text on the white background of your snow-covered home pitch....

I find that upping the opacity of the play box to be sufficient for me, but if you're still having issues, there's a fairly simple fix by copying the textures from one pitch and putting it into the Norse pitch folder. It basically looks like someone's just swept up all the snow.

If people are interested, I can post the method (disclaimer: basic computer competence and admin rights assumed) and if you completely muck it up, the missing textures will appear a bright pink, leaving the game still playable without a re-install (or you can pretend Slaanesh did the landscaping).

[LCP]

I too am up for the occasional Open League game. British time, most/many evenings.

[Silfir]

Well, good thing someone mentioned there's a replay function. Maybe I would have never found it. And they're all still there.

I think I'll do what Wraith has been doing and start from the beginning, once I'm in a fit state to do so. Right now I'm back from the dentist...

[Qwertystop]

Personally, I just wish you could set the pitch manually. No mechanical difference, but some (snow-covered always, boat when the weather's sunny) are a lot harder to play on than others.

Also it would reduce the weirdness of underground-place getting rain or snow or wind.

[Thufir]

Something that I've recently discovered - the game, by default, saves replays in My Documents, which can be accessed with the Load Replay option in game.

You guys didn't already know that? Sorry, if I'd realised I would've mentioned it, I found them soon after getting the game.

This is exactly how I have been producing videos - talking over the built-in Replays and recording via Fraps. For pretty much exactly the same [REDACTED] reasons, come to think of it.

The biggest downside is, as Brother Oni said, there's no dice-graphic showing you what just happened, and the play-by-play box is never particularly clear when trying to read the text. ESPECIALLY if you're a Norse player and you're trying to read white text on the white background of your snow-covered home pitch....

As mentioned, the opacity of the text box can be changed in the options menu. And the lack of in-game chat and dice-graphic is why since season 2, I've been recording my matches live (but still doing the commentary after the fact). Also that way it shows my mouse movements, which helps indicate some of what I'm thinking (though it does mean I can't specifically indicate things as I'm talking about them in the commentary).

Are home pitches a thing? I haven't particularly found that the Rampagers get the Chaos stadium any more frequently than the others...

I'm pretty sure they're not.

[Brother Oni]

Personally, I just wish you could set the pitch manually. No mechanical difference, but some (snow-covered always, boat when the weather's sunny) are a lot harder to play on than others.

I'd be careful about what you wish for, especially since the Chaos All Stars used magic to turn the pitch into mulligatawny and polished off the match (and their halfling opponents) in record time.

Halflings apparently taste good in curry sauce, who knew?

Also it would reduce the weirdness of underground-place getting rain or snow or wind.

Maybe as an extended inducement option, with other hazards (like rock falls) replacing them as otherwise Nuffle is liable to screw over certain teams (I remember the Sunny result on the Weather table basically crippled the throwing game of any subterranean races, leading to an unfair advantage against teams like the Dark Elves).

[Qwertystop]

I'd be careful about what you wish for, especially since the Chaos All Stars used magic to turn the pitch into mulligatawny and polished off the match (and their halfling opponents) in record time.

Halflings apparently taste good in curry sauce, who knew?



Maybe as an extended inducement option, with other hazards (like rock falls) replacing them as otherwise Nuffle is liable to screw over certain teams (I remember the Sunny result on the Weather table basically crippled the throwing game of any subterranean races, leading to an unfair advantage against teams like the Dark Elves).

No, I'm just saying for purely cosmetic purposes. I don't want to change the weather rolls, I just want to be able to play on the mechanically-identical pitches that don't make the weather rolls feel weird. Basically I want a drop-down that says "hey which pitch do you want to show this on" so I don't get the pitches that are uncomfortable to look at or weird if thought about beyond the mechanics.

I don't want to turn off all weather on the underground pitch or Sunny on the boat (glare) - I just want to say "don't put me on the snowy, underground, or boat pitches."

[DethApostle]

Same request as Wraith here. I'm usually up for a game as well.

I'm based in England, so GMT. Generally can be available for games 5:30pm onwards and at random points over weekends!
Oh, and on Steam i'm under DethApostle. :)

[Wraith]

And the lack of in-game chat and dice-graphic is why since season 2, I've been recording my matches live (but still doing the commentary after the fact). Also that way it shows my mouse movements, which helps indicate some of what I'm thinking (though it does mean I can't specifically indicate things as I'm talking about them in the commentary)

I'm going to try this from now on, I think. It seems much less stressful than commenting while playing, and also much less time consuming than watching the replay to take notes, and then again to record a commentary

Also, one thing that I only discovered yesterday is that the game records ALL matches that you're involved in, including those in which you spectate. I only discovered this when I found the Bloody-Handed Angels/Barovia World Tour match in my folder when looking for the Ironbeards/Darkworlders game to record.

[Thufir]

Also, one thing that I only discovered yesterday is that the game records ALL matches that you're involved in, including those in which you spectate. I only discovered this when I found the Bloody-Handed Angels/Barovia World Tour match in my folder when looking for the Ironbeards/Darkworlders game to record.

Actually, last I checked, any match you spectate gets saved in the replays as [LIVE] NetStream or something like that, so it gets overwritten every time you spectate another match unless you rename it to something else.

[Tasroth]

In Legacy League news, the Dark Stars played the Ekrund Infiltrators last night, ending in a 2-1 victory for the Chaos team. Since that completes the matches, the day has been advanced.

Legacy League Week 6

Tasroth's Dark Stars (Tasroth) vs. Dokkalfar Daggers (Luzahn)
Meddling Insects (Shishnarfne) vs. The Ruinous Rampagers (LCP)
The Murderhobos (SaruSama) vs. Ekrund Infiltrators (Science Officer)
The Adrasteia (Thufir) vs. Hammersjurg Destroyers (Wraith)

[LCP]

Shishnarfne, let me know when you're free - after last week's match the Rampagers are eager to put the boot into some elves. We don't mind what kind!

[Wraith]

Finally, the "newbie" teams get to play! At last, a game where I can use tactics other than "flail about and hope for the best" or that old go-to, "bleed lots"!

I shall have to get my Yhetee sharpened for the occasion, and will be in touch shortly, Thufir

[Qwaz]

Gnoman was last on steam 11 days ago so hasn't accepted my friend request yet. Did he mention being unusually busy to anyone?

[LCP]

Shishnarfne - sorry, something's coming up. Barring a last-minute cancellation I'm no longer going to be available tomorrow.

[Thufir]

OK, since it's two weeks since I advanced the day, I think we can reasonably assume Firedaemon will not be returning to the league, so I've scored my match as a 2-0 forfeit in my favour, and I'll continue doing that for the teams scheduled to play the Darkworlders moving forward.

This leaves us with one match unplayed. Gnoman's stance at the beginning of the season was that unplayed matches should be scored as draws, while I contended that we should award them as forfeits in favour of the player who has made more effort to get the match played (if one player clearly has made more effort). The reason I'm bringing this up publicly in-thread looking for input is because of course the match in question is between Qwaz and Gnoman; and I don't want it to seem like I'm just taking over and abusing the commissioner powers he gave me to do whatever I want (Favouritism could be another hypothetical accusation, since Qwaz is an IRL friend of mine).

So, opinions? Qwaz has, as we've seen, posted in thread a few times trying to get Gnoman's attention, and added him on Steam. Gnoman doesn't appear to have been on the forums in over a week, or on Steam in longer than that, so a case could be made for awarding Qwaz the win. I'm willing to set the score however, but since one of the options involves forfeiting the league owner I'd rather have a bit more of a consensus than just me (If no-one else, I'd like Shishnarfne's thoughts, since he's the other commissioner, but other viewpoints would also be gratefully accepted).

[Shishnarfne]

OK, since it's two weeks since I advanced the day, I think we can reasonably assume Firedaemon will not be returning to the league, so I've scored my match as a 2-0 forfeit in my favour, and I'll continue doing that for the teams scheduled to play the Darkworlders moving forward.

This leaves us with one match unplayed. Gnoman's stance at the beginning of the season was that unplayed matches should be scored as draws, while I contended that we should award them as forfeits in favour of the player who has made more effort to get the match played (if one player clearly has made more effort). The reason I'm bringing this up publicly in-thread looking for input is because of course the match in question is between Qwaz and Gnoman; and I don't want it to seem like I'm just taking over and abusing the commissioner powers he gave me to do whatever I want (Favouritism could be another hypothetical accusation, since Qwaz is an IRL friend of mine).

So, opinions? Qwaz has, as we've seen, posted in thread a few times trying to get Gnoman's attention, and added him on Steam. Gnoman doesn't appear to have been on the forums in over a week, or on Steam in longer than that, so a case could be made for awarding Qwaz the win. I'm willing to set the score however, but since one of the options involves forfeiting the league owner I'd rather have a bit more of a consensus than just me (If no-one else, I'd like Shishnarfne's thoughts, since he's the other commissioner, but other viewpoints would also be gratefully accepted).

In the absence of comment from Gnoman and Firedaemon recently, I think that forfeiting both of those matches is reasonable.

Hopefully, we won't have to do so again.

I suppose if there had been some notice of "Hey, I'll be gone for a while," it might be different.

[Wraith]

In the absence of comment from Gnoman and Firedaemon recently, I think that forfeiting both of those matches is reasonable.

In Firedaemon33's case, they've stated that it is their intention to drop out of the league and forfeit their matches. Forfeiture necessitates a 2-0 victory to the other player, so as long as Fd33 doesn't later decide to rejoin and create an unfair advantage for the teams they 'missed', I would be happy to accept this as a blanket ruling.

As for Gnoman, I am inclined to agree with Shishnarfne. I believe that this was one of the things discussed at the beginning to the league - that unfortunate, mutual lapses would be draws, and one-sided absence be considered a forfeit - yet I don't remember if we ever reached an agreement or if Gnoman just started the League and it all got lost in the background.
Either way, in the case of a clear disproportion of effort, I was a proponent that it should count as a 2-0 forfeiture, and I still maintain that. Apologies to Gnoman if he is having genuine unavoidable difficulties, of course, but this is why we have deputy commissioners, I suppose.

[Ionbound]

I would like to say that I have no intention of returning to the league this season, though I do want to continue being active in the thread, and a 2-0 forfeiture is what I wish to happen. A bye, if you will.

[Qwaz]

Obviously I'm biased but I'd like a forfeit in my favour.

I have been on steam frequently and put myself out to be so at American times (between 0000-0500 british) to try and give us the best chance at getting it played.

In an Ideal world I'd prefer to play the match (Don't think Gnoman and I have had a chance to play each other yet) but we did say we wanted to keep the 2 week hard limit to keep momentum going and I don't want to hold up the league.

If the league as a whole thinks it should be a draw then I'll accept it, however, that would set an interesting precedent where someone coming up against one of the better league coaches could be "Tactically unavailable" to get a draw from what otherwise would probably have been a loss. I think if one team ain't showing up, they should lose.

[Gnoman]

My internet's been out for a while, and I won't have it back until at least Wensday. (Not at home right now). As with anyone else, this is a forfeit.

[Maethirion]

Hey guys, so my car got broken into tonight, and my laptop stolen, so I may struggle to be available over the next couple of weeks for my next game while I try to sort insurance etc and replace it. I'll do my best to be back online before the next day ticks over, but can't guarantee anything. Sorry.

[Qwaz]

Hey guys, so my car got broken into tonight, and my laptop stolen, so I may struggle to be available over the next couple of weeks for my next game while I try to sort insurance etc and replace it. I'll do my best to be back online before the next day ticks over, but can't guarantee anything. Sorry.

Ouch! Good luck.

For anyone wanting to try and catch it live, Shish and I are gonna try and play our match at 1800 GMT today (just under 3 hours time)

[Brother Oni]

I think if one team ain't showing up, they should lose.

The problem is, a number of earlier matches were scored as nil-nil draws even though one person was available and the other coach just forgot.

Hey guys, so my car got broken into tonight, and my laptop stolen, so I may struggle to be available over the next couple of weeks for my next game while I try to sort insurance etc and replace it. I'll do my best to be back online before the next day ticks over, but can't guarantee anything. Sorry.

Ouch, my condolences. Your next match is against me so don't worry about it, just concentrate on getting your stuff sorted out first.

To the commissioners, in the event that it's not sorted in time, I'd like to request a nil-nil draw as it's no fault of Maethirion that he can't make it. I only believe in kicking a man when he's down on the pitch.

[Gnoman]

The problem is, a number of earlier matches were scored as nil-nil draws even though one person was available and the other coach just forgot.

I haven't marked any matches as draws in such a situation this season.

[LCP]

The Legacy League match between the Rampagers and the Insects is kicking off now.