Community Challenge Feedback

[slayernz]

Those challenges I put together are ST challenges not AoP

[johndramey]

I like your challenge ideas, slayernz. Especially the perfect contractor one. However, well, this is an embarrassing admission but, what exactly makes a "perfect" contract. I've gotten the award, but I still don't exactly know.

[slayernz]

The bar is not set high in the ST Universe. To be perfect, all you need to do is not fail
"8 Perfect contracts" means achieving completing 8 contracts without
* failing any;
* rejecting any;
* voiding any; or
* letting any expire



For the contractor challenge, I think I might make it so you can fail a certain number, but you get penalized in points for every contract that you fail to complete (or reject).

[johndramey]

Aug 1, 2013 18:06:25 GMT -5 slayernz said:

For the contractor challenge, I think I might make it so you can fail a certain number, but you get penalized in points for every contract that you fail to complete (or reject).

Good idea, and thanks for the info. I'd be interested in that challenge then, and if you want any help or you'd like me to make the thread just pm me or post here.

[slayernz]

This is the challenge as it is shaping up ...

Independent Contractor.
You have to complete 100 contracts within 100 years. You are not allowed to reject a single contract, nor are you allowed to void any or let any expire. You are able to fail up to 10 contracts, but will suffer a penalty for each contract failed. You must manage reputation loss in whatever way you choose.

Apprentice Contractor = Demanding
Master Contractor = Crazy

Score is calculated as follows:
Turns left (5200 - Turns) x 10
+ Cash (Cash at end of 100 missions / 1000)
- Contracts failed (failures x 1000)

So if you manage to do it in 80 years and 23 weeks (4183 turns), and make $640,000 in total, you get the following:
(5200 - 4183) x 10 + (640000 / 1000 )
10170 + 640
10810

If you did the above but failed 3 contracts, your score would be
10810 - (3 x 1000)
= 7810

For this challenge - speed is much more important than dollars earned - the faster you do your 100 contracts, the better.

The challenge will commence in the week starting Monday August 12, and end Sunday August 18.

[contributor]

I haven't been able to get in on any challenges lately, but I might be able to do it this time. I'll be looking for the challenge to be posted.

[slayernz]

Cool - posting will happen mid-week sometime - I'll have to put it together and tweak the idea a little to keep it as straight forward as possible.

[Lesleyr]

Sounds good. I'm in. Master Contractor level.

[johndramey]

I'm in for sure, I'll keep an eye out for the thread!

[Lesleyr]

Has anybody ever managed to complete 100 contracts in 100 years with no rejections allowed? Sound like something nasty enough to be used as an unlock.

[Fenikso]

Aug 2, 2013 3:56:56 GMT -5 slayernz said:

This is the challenge as it is shaping up ...

Independent Contractor.
You have to complete 100 contracts within 100 years. You are not allowed to reject a single contract, nor are you allowed to void any or let any expire. You are able to fail up to 10 contracts, but will suffer a penalty for each contract failed. You must manage reputation loss in whatever way you choose.

Apprentice Contractor = Demanding
Master Contractor = Crazy

Score is calculated as follows:
Turns left (5200 - Turns) x 10
+ Cash (Cash at end of 100 missions / 1000)
- Contracts failed (failures x 1000)

So if you manage to do it in 80 years and 23 weeks (4183 turns), and make $640,000 in total, you get the following:
(5200 - 4183) x 10 + (640000 / 1000 )
10170 + 640
10810

If you did the above but failed 3 contracts, your score would be
10810 - (3 x 1000)
= 7810

For this challenge - speed is much more important than dollars earned - the faster you do your 100 contracts, the better.

The challenge will commence in the week starting Monday August 12, and end Sunday August 18.

Nice idea but I would ease on the requirements and make rules a bit clearer . A few notes and comments:

1) I have been trying it a bit and it is very hard to do one contract a year based on my testing. At the beginning it is easy, but it may be even impossible with higher character level. It is not unusual that contract will send you across Quadrant (like 40AU). Something random that you cannot prevent. And also at that time you cannot take another, as it may send you in another direction and you are screwed big time. Or maybe I just suck at doing contracts .

2) There are conditions which mean that even small mistake breaks your effort completely. "You are not allowed to ... let any expire". So that means that if that happens in year 99, my whole effort is now void? Not fun. Also what is difference between failing a contract and letting it expire? Most of the contracts are failed when they expire, are not they?

3) There is a glitch when you accomplish a contract after it is expired. If you run out of time, you can still complete contract before you visit an urban area. If that contract is done in urban area, you may end up with a contract which is completed, not failed, but also expired.

[slayernz]

Fenikso thanks for the feedback.
For #1, I haven't actually set out to try the timeframe. If, during the course of the challenge, people indicate it isn't possible, I would be okay with shifting the end-date to Turn 10,000 like some of the other challenges. However, i'd make it so that you don't get any bonus points for turns remaining after Turn 5200.

For #2 & #3, I will relax the rule so that you cannot reject or void any contracts, but you are permitted to fail up to 10 contracts. Fail = let expire or fail.

Once you hit 11 contract failures (the sum of fail + expire), the game stops and you work out your points.

I've got a more robust set of rules drafted up in the challenge text itself.


Quick question ...
Would you prefer it if you had the flexibility to reject up to 20 contracts (with a 50 point penalty for each contract rejected)?

[Fenikso]

I would prefer to have more "open ended" challenges. How about something along the lines: How many contracts you can complete in 100 years? Every failed or expired contract subtracts some number and you are not allowed to reject any (this is the biggest fun). Can we also have Demanding / Crazy / Impossible levels? :-D

Also how about having the challenges like this active indefinitely? New players can pick up a challenge and see how their score relates to the ladder.

[slayernz]

Cool feedback Fenikso. I'm still thinking that I want to have the 100 contract target. I might remove the 100 year part though - you will get bonus points if you do it faster than 100 years, but if it takes 12,000 turns, so be it.

Demanding, Crazy and Impossible ... that's scary

Regarding indefinite challenges, we can have a whole different thread on perpetual challenges and if a monthly challenge is really successful it can shift into the "classics" section.

One that came to mind immediately is the first or second challenge created by Lurker.

[grävling]

I'm still rather new at ST. The idea of 'having to take a contract' raises questions that my inexperienced eyes cannot answer. What do you plan to do?

1. Equip yourself with a killer ship, all kitted out before you take any contracts at all? (there goes my start. will have to look into
exploring then, something I don't know how to do)

2. Go take BH contracts from the get-go, trusting in your ability to run like hell when you show up for combat and it looks scary?

3. Something else?

Puzzled,
Grävling