Friday 25 June 2010

Coven Wars V1.1 BETA now live!



A big thank you to everyone taking part in the beta testing. I now announce version 1.1 with some radical changes. I'm confident this will please more of you.


We've taken the key issues people had and worked to compromise them. The main problem that was being faced is that smaller covens have an "advantage" over bigger covens because they'd have more targets, in theory is correct, but the system we built would actually not make people want to do that. So we've enhanced the penalty and also added a Score Tax (see explanation below)

Our goal is to create fun and competitive battles...

2010-06-23 19:55:54 - House of the Fallen Raven (36915) VS Faith of the Fallen (34493) - Winner: House of the Fallen Raven

Perfect example. That's exactly how we want every war to be. Within 1 or 2 tier battles that are fun close & exciting. If you have a coven of 20 going against a coven with 1000, the 1000 coven wouldn't have much chance... BUT with the amount of exp that gets taxed, it wouldn't be worth doing, people seem to ignore that fact. You'd get the people saying "We killed the top coven haha" then would probably avoid doing it again because they'll get so much more exp fighting in similar tiers. This whole small vs big advantage is a fact in almost every game. Take Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, always has connection problems so sometimes your team of 6 is only again a team of 2 or 3. They have the advantage because there are more of us to kill, it's the same here, except here you can lose up to 95% of the exp you would have got if you attacked someone your own tier and lose 0%.

An interesting yet relevant quote for Spot, "These covens are all so different it's almost impossible to come up with figures that suit everyone". Please keep this in mind with what we've come up with.

We've spent hours and hours discussing and coming up with new ideas which help make it MORE fair. It's impossible to create a complete compromise. Our goal is make it so unattractive to attack covens way out of your league.

You can now declare a war in the next 24 hours, after that you will not be able to declare another war until this beta run is over.  The wars will last 48 hours this time.

Here are the changes to V1.1

# New war exp system that works off coven exp rather than blood
# You can only surrender in the first 24 hours
# Buy extra white flags. (Cost = level  x $20,000).
# Only receive 1 white flag a month, with the possibility of buying 2 more
# Surrendering you only lose 2.5% of your max coven exp (instead of the current 5% when surrender [10% if you lose the war])
# Covens have to be 1 week old before they can participate in wars
# Tier 1 can only attack Tier 1
# You can only attack tiers +/- 5 tiers away from you
# 7 day lockout to return a coven you have been kicked from or left (Only locks you out of the coven you quit/were kicked from, you are free to join a different coven)
# every 6 hours the winning/losing sign is updated on the coven page (after the first 24 hours when you can no longer surrender)
# You can now hide the red war box on the home tab, but be aware you'll have to regularly check your coven page to see if you're in a war.
# 24 hour protection. When a coven war declared on you ends, you have a 24 hour protection period before you can be attacked again.
# Players under 7 days old battles do not add to their covens war exp totals
# Tier 1 covens are protected from Tier 2 +

Now onto the next bit, in order to create competitive battles we've come up with a war exp system.

In version 1.0 the war exp was made up from the blood you got from battle, this is no longer the case. It's now worked out based on coven exp.

War exp = coven exp x (100-tax)

We have put in a score tax system based on coven tiers. If you attack a coven which has more members than your own coven, the exp you gain from the individual battles will be taxed and you won't get the full amount of exp added onto the final score. This is to balance out smaller covens having an advantage over bigger covens simply because they have less people to attack. The further above your tier they are, the more you are taxed.  This only applies if you attack a coven of a higher tier than you.

Here's the breakdown for curious people:
# 0 tier difference = 0 tax
# 1 tier difference = 5 tax
# 2 tier difference = 14 tax
# 3 tier difference = 25 tax
# 4 tier difference = 37 tax
# 5 tier difference = 50 tax
# 6 tier difference = 90 tax
# 7 tier difference = 95 tax
# 8+ tier difference = 100 tax

So for example, if you're in a tier 1 coven attacking a tier 5 coven & attacking a level 50 vampires (coven exp=enemy rank).

War exp = coven exp x (100-tax)
War exp = 50 x (100-37) = 3150

If you attack the same person but they're in the same tier coven as you 

War exp = coven exp x (100-tax)
War exp = 50 x (100-0) = 5000

This means more work is needed to get war exp by attacking a higher tiered coven. There a 5 tier cap, but for example, they get more members or kick members out and they drop +/- 6 tiers away... they'd get 100% tax because they've gone out of reach (meant they'd get 0 war exp against you). 

We've also added more tiers!

Tier 1: 1-10 members
Tier 2: 11-25 members
Tier 3: 26-50 members
Tier 4: 51-75 members
Tier 5: 76-100 members
Tier 6: 101-150 members
Tier 7: 151-250 members
Tier 8: 251-500members
Tier 9: 501-750 members
Tier 10: 751-1000 members
Tier 11: 1001-1500 members
Tier 12: 1501-2500 members
Tier 13: 2500+ members

This is for the upgrades of version 1.1 - Go declare some wars so we can anaylse the results further and make any other changes and tweaks to the formulas. I think we've done good this round. These changes are to support the game going forward, active covens benefit from this. If you have inactive vampires in your coven which you think may cause a disadvantage in these wars, you may want to remove them if you care about your outcome in the wars. Over time the covens will evolve to fit this new way of life, so if it seems "unfair" now, it'll even out over time.

Again, please click here for the forum thread made about this update to give us more feedback & report any bugs.

The world cup special lasts for another week, so get some cheap plasma whilst you can!

Enjoy,
Ash

43 comments:

~Most Unholy~ Alchemist (316707) said...

Pretty Cool

Anonymous said...

I thought I had graduated High school a long time ago... All these formulas take me back. I hated high school <_<

Anonymous said...

Yay!!!

Ravyn Alexion Darkbourne (214404) said...

Good stuff Boss Man. This time everyone can look here and see exactly what the statistic and advantages of battle are as well as see the ups and downs of battling various tiers. This new system makes covens be allowed to see who really gives a damn about the coven itself and will let them thin out the members to make it war-sturdy or, in some RP-Majoring covens, who will be the tanks of the order. I have to say that I have enjoyed every aspect so far of the Coven Wars and am looking forward to testing out this new system as soon as it allows me. Thanks to Ash and Spot for your time and hard work, I know people's constant complaining makes things annoying at times but it is worth it and amazing to the rest of us. 10/10 for creativity, design, and dedication.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh these changes make it OH soo much better! I'm happy about these changes.

K.A

Aftershock "Spot" said...

"So for example, if you're in a tier 1 coven attacking a tier 5 coven & attacking a level 50 vampires (coven exp=enemy rank)."

Just to clarify, even though the example says tier 1 attacking tier 5, that can't happen. Tier 1's can only attack tier 1's.

Get out there and war like crazy! Give us plenty of feedback on this new system as well so we know if any tweaks need to be made to the figures.

Rez said...

You're right there is no complete compromise, but this looks good. I like the changes as I found the old system boring.

Hopefully this will get more inactives back into the game too, now they realise that they are basically useless to a coven & could be kicked out.

Looking forward to seeing how this works out.

Anonymous said...

everything sounds great :)

Anonymous said...

If you can only attack a coven +/- 5 tiers away from you... whats the point in the 8 tiers away 100 tax? surely no one will be able to attack that far enyway..?

Aftershock "Spot" said...

"If you can only attack a coven +/- 5 tiers away from you... whats the point in the 8 tiers away 100 tax? surely no one will be able to attack that far enyway..?"

"There a 5 tier cap, but for example, they get more members or kick members out and they drop +/- 6 tiers away... they'd get 100% tax because they've gone out of reach (meant they'd get 0 war exp against you). "

It's pretty much just there so that way if the improbable happens the game doesn't bug up and explode in your face.

Anonymous said...

So....Armor bug anyone? 120565

Anonymous said...

do we get MONEY for winning the war this time???

DarkAsh said...

No, you do not get money from the new coven wars, and never will.

Anonymous said...

is there a reason why not? seems a great way to help fund a coven, instead of asking members to donate so there will be money for contest rewards and such....

Anonymous said...

because then the supply of money in the game would multiply, and that is the opposite of what ash wants :p

Anonymous said...

because then the supply of money in the game would multiply and that is the opposite of what ash wants :p

Theo DeathSpirit said...

I saw that no matter who we kill, as long as they are in a coven we get war exp. How does that work if a coven is at war with 2 covens at the same time. For example. We declare war at a coven and another coven declares war on us. How is the war exp used for both wars? Please someone BL me at 96705 with the answer if there is one

Jho'nee Duvall said...

That sounds much more interesting than the blood rules. Thanks for all the extra effort and thought you have put into the new system.

Anonymous said...

Wait, so it counts EVERYONE we kill that's in any coven, not just the coven we're at war with? :S

Anonymous said...

I'd also like to know the answer to Theo's question.

Anonymous said...

so if either coven's tier changes mid war, what happens there?

Pretty said...

Tier 1 only attacking tier 1 is shit.

Anonymous said...

This is pretty. Coven tier 1 only attacking tier 1 is shit.

Darion Lancaster (203259) said...

:) Nice. I approve verily. Good to see these changes occuring, great compromises all around, suits many more people and covens in the game!

Soooooooo, since there's been an option created to hide the war notification..... how about an option to remove the YOU HAVE PLASMA/AP/QP AND I'M GONNA SCREAM IT IN YOUR FACE EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU OPEN THE HOME TAB WITH MY PRETTY YELLOW BORDER? Just a little thought. I could actually use the stuff I have left, or just leave it in peace for when I want to use it later, knowing that I have it for use and not needing to be told every time I look at things.

Anonymous said...

How about answering Theo's question above regarding two wars occurring in your coven at the same time?

Anonymous said...

I hate the yellow box too! Can we remove that? so annoying.

Theo DeathSpirit said...

[sex] Darion

DarkAsh said...

The war exp showed up but if you were not in war with that coven it would not have counted in your war, don't worry.

You cannot attack a coven who is already attacking you. And vise versa, so that doesn't matter.

DarkAsh said...

Battle arena quick coven enemy lists now hides people attacked in the last 15 minutes.

Eddy said...

I think what Theo meant was, for a case in which Coven A attacks Coven B, and Coven C attacks Coven A, does the war exp Coven A earns from fighting Coven B and Coven C at once know which war to be counted towards?

Theo DeathSpirit said...

Eddy is correct. Cause how do we know which coven exp goes where if both covens are at war with us...Excuse my low English level. Thanks Eddy

DarkAsh said...

You cant be in war with a coven thats in war with you. So you'd never hit that problem.

DarkAsh said...

I think I understand now... and the answer is no.

Wolfpack said...

great work again guys, i loved version 0.1 just because it added juice to the game but this release is fantastic!

Anonymous said...

"No" isn't an answer to that question Ash. If Coven A kills X amount of people, how is the exp counted towards war with Covens B and C? Does it split between the two evenly, or does all of it count towards both, or what? Also, is it a glitch, or are we supposed to be able to kill ANYONE for war exp now, instead of just the enemy coven?

Anonymous said...

and WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TIERS CHANGE MID-WAR? Sorry for the caps, but Ash apparently didn't see it....

Aftershock "Spot" said...

For the person above me who hasn't bothered to read the blog:

"This means more work is needed to get war exp by attacking a higher tiered coven. There a 5 tier cap, but for example, they get more members or kick members out and they drop +/- 6 tiers away... they'd get 100% tax because they've gone out of reach (meant they'd get 0 war exp against you). "




""No" isn't an answer to that question Ash. If Coven A kills X amount of people, how is the exp counted towards war with Covens B and C? Does it split between the two evenly, or does all of it count towards both, or what? Also, is it a glitch, or are we supposed to be able to kill ANYONE for war exp now, instead of just the enemy coven?"

The war exp you get from killing members in the enemy coven count only towards the war with that coven. Killing someone in another coven, or exp from vaden hill, underground or spring valley DO NOT count towards the score.
You only get war exp from members in a coven you are at war with.

Anonymous said...

No we don't, we get their rank in war exp if they're outside the enemy coven, and their rank x100 if they're in an enemy coven.

Aftershock "Spot" said...

"No we don't, we get their rank in war exp if they're outside the enemy coven, and their rank x100 if they're in an enemy coven."

Whoever told you that is an idiot. You only get war exp from battling players in a coven you are at war with.

Anonymous said...

That's just what I've seen :S

Anonymous said...

Error 503 Service Unavailable

anyone else getting these when attacking? I thought it might be war system update related or something....

Anonymous said...

I think there should be a margin system, where your coven gets more exp depending on how thoroughly you win your war in the same tier.

Anonymous said...

Then go to the forums and suggest it there, this is just for feed back not suggestions. Its why ash made them so stop being a malai and use them.

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