Policy Review CAP Playtests' Existence

Birkal

We have the technology.
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Hey y'all! Busy time, but wanna get this out of the way before we get to this bridge with CAP26.

As some of you may have noticed, we did not have a playtest for CAP25. This is due for several reasons, but the biggest one is that I simply wasn't available to get it started. I'm not sure how it's happened, but I'm the moderator that planning and posting the playtest has fallen into my lap. It's not something I'm particularly sentimental about nor enjoy doing. That being said, I don't MIND doing the work, and I think there is a lot of hype that can come out of a playtest.

Just wanted to run a quick policy review thread on the following question: should CAP continue to have playtests? On one hand, we don't really need them. They take time and energy to form, but we don't use any data from them anymore thanks to the creation of the CAP Metagame. Releasing a Pokemon is a big deal, but we don't technically need a playtest period anymore specifically dedicated for testing these mons. In fact, having that time can bolster their usage in the metagame even more, providing us with pretty poor usage data.

Conversely, they are a "hype" event that get people excited about CAP and laddering. It's also a chance for users to show off their skill on the ladder. It's also a thing of tradition that would be great to continue hosting.

I can't emphasize how neutral I am on this situation, so I'm really looking for y'all's feedback here!
 

Frostbiyt

Not Exactly Helping
I think the playtest tournaments are a good way of getting people into the meta. The release of a new CAP gets a lot of attention and a tournament is a good way to get some of these new people to stick around. It's also a good way to figure out what works with the new mons and what doesn't, complete with replays showcasing the new mon. There are some issues I think need to be addressed with the playtest tournaments, which are discussed here: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/playtest-tournaments.3637477/
But regardless of the issues with the tour, I think it's something worth keeping.
 
I totally see where birkal is coming from; the cap metagame invalidates the need to 'test' a capmon. Essentially, we just have a playtest to draw peoples attention, which we could totally still do. There is, of course, the resources behind said event, but overall, it is not necessarily a big drain resource wise to run the playtest. The data is not used for anything, and much of the data is not particularly useful. It gives people a reason to play around with the capmon and figure its sets out, but what i mean by not particularly useful is that prestiged players, offler, and others, have done historically bad in the recent playtests. The metagame will develop around the pokemon regardless of whether there is a playtest or not, and if it is seen fit that the playtest is not necessary, I won't particularly miss it.
 

G-Luke

Sugar, Spice and One For All
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I think Playtests are very important to CAP, its a guaranteed way to help draw new years to CAP, which is what we desire.

And if you do find yourself swamped for time Birkal I think utilizing the CAP Metagame Council would be most beneficial in that regard
 
It gives people a reason to play around with the capmon and figure its sets out, but what i mean by not particularly useful is that prestiged players, offler, and others, have done historically bad in the recent playtests.
Literally came 2nd in the last one but sure :blobthumbsup:

As to my thoughts on Playtests, I think they are great ways to attract new players and get a nice early perspective as to how the new mon functions within the meta. I don’t think they demand too many resources as it is essentially still just a tour and we can definitively find the manpower somewhere to host these.

I think the question is though which playtest style we stick with going forward, as the Ladder tours have bought our ladder a little more activity during their duration whilst the forum tours often attract more people and have slightly better quality. I am unsure but I do think keeping these around is a good thing for CAP
 

Drapionswing

Eating it up, YUMMY!
is a CAP Contributor Alumnus
When I ask myself what we should do with the Playtest I don't really consider the option of removing it. I feel no real way about the Playtests, but I don't think we should get rid of them. As Jordy said they're a cool jump into metagame development, while also bringing new people in, that's always a good thing.

I do think that there could be a good look at revision of the Playtest scheme, as per this discussion I grew fairly fond of the idea of ladder style playtests. SHSP created a great framework for a potential ladder tournament style, while I think it would generate less new comers, that was discussed as combat to ghost sign-ups. I don't want to sidetrack too much from this post original reason, so I guess I'll wrap it up.

Overall I'd rather see a revision/update of the Playtests, than it being removed.
 

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