- Mar 14, 2020
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Hi SPF!
It's that time of year! As shown here (scroll down a bit), for the last six years we've had RFL in the spring. So I wanted to gauge interest and availability for RFL, if it starts in late March and into April. For quick reference of what's involved, last year's opening post is here.
But over the last couple years, we've had feedback about how challenging three rounds of three weeks (or 17 days more recently) is to sustain. Even with the 17-day, 4-day format for each round, it's still 59 days, or nearly two months, and the three rounds on compressed 17-day window is a lot. Participation across all three rounds has also been limited. And with the advent of D2R, including the recent activation of Terror Zones, I think a refresh of format is warranted. My plan is to modify to only two rounds: (1) Any area except LK and Trav and (2) Trav.
For the first round, this will encompass the traditional A85 round (historically round 3) and the Cows round (historically round 1), plus Terror Zones. That lets people who love Cows run that, while allowing those who don't to run A85, and those in D2R who like Terror Zones to mix those in. I compared top scores for Cows vs. A85, and they are comparable across the six years, and I haven't seen much in the IFT suggesting TZs will tilt the balance. If anything, that may be less efficient due to low odds of finding great maps for all zones, but the search for runes means the random mobs offer as much as boss packs, so I'm guessing it's likely on par. Load times in D2R may be an issue though giving D2L runners a leg up, but I'm hoping it's roughly even enough to give everyone an incentive to participate for the 20-hour set.
For the second round, I don't know if there will be enough interest for Trav, especially with D2R load times, so I'm putting it second. We can reassess next year, and if Trav isn't of broad enough interest, potentially convert back to a RFO format of single 20-hour set in the future.
As to timing, I was thinking of the following:
Round 1: March 24 - April 9
Round 2: April 14 - April 30
But we can push up by one week or back by a week or two, depending on availability across the SPF members interested in participating. I also hope that the shorter timeframe will leave time for 1 or 2 MF/RF tourneys before MFO in the late Summer/early Fall, and maybe another D2L MP group before then. I'm not in D2R really yet, but a Terror Zone tourney sounds interesting.
Hoping to get critical mass, so please share availability and if earlier or later timeframe would allow you to join.
It's that time of year! As shown here (scroll down a bit), for the last six years we've had RFL in the spring. So I wanted to gauge interest and availability for RFL, if it starts in late March and into April. For quick reference of what's involved, last year's opening post is here.
But over the last couple years, we've had feedback about how challenging three rounds of three weeks (or 17 days more recently) is to sustain. Even with the 17-day, 4-day format for each round, it's still 59 days, or nearly two months, and the three rounds on compressed 17-day window is a lot. Participation across all three rounds has also been limited. And with the advent of D2R, including the recent activation of Terror Zones, I think a refresh of format is warranted. My plan is to modify to only two rounds: (1) Any area except LK and Trav and (2) Trav.
For the first round, this will encompass the traditional A85 round (historically round 3) and the Cows round (historically round 1), plus Terror Zones. That lets people who love Cows run that, while allowing those who don't to run A85, and those in D2R who like Terror Zones to mix those in. I compared top scores for Cows vs. A85, and they are comparable across the six years, and I haven't seen much in the IFT suggesting TZs will tilt the balance. If anything, that may be less efficient due to low odds of finding great maps for all zones, but the search for runes means the random mobs offer as much as boss packs, so I'm guessing it's likely on par. Load times in D2R may be an issue though giving D2L runners a leg up, but I'm hoping it's roughly even enough to give everyone an incentive to participate for the 20-hour set.
For the second round, I don't know if there will be enough interest for Trav, especially with D2R load times, so I'm putting it second. We can reassess next year, and if Trav isn't of broad enough interest, potentially convert back to a RFO format of single 20-hour set in the future.
As to timing, I was thinking of the following:
Round 1: March 24 - April 9
Round 2: April 14 - April 30
But we can push up by one week or back by a week or two, depending on availability across the SPF members interested in participating. I also hope that the shorter timeframe will leave time for 1 or 2 MF/RF tourneys before MFO in the late Summer/early Fall, and maybe another D2L MP group before then. I'm not in D2R really yet, but a Terror Zone tourney sounds interesting.
Hoping to get critical mass, so please share availability and if earlier or later timeframe would allow you to join.
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