HP pixels and percentages, take two

[Firestorm]

Many complaints about PS come down to "PO does it this way." Players want to keep things familiar and the majority of the players that are given access to these discussions are most familiar with PO. This was an issue even in 2011 and I haven't seen evidence that it has stopped being an issue.

I understand that that you've had exact HP since 1998. I didn't use to play online in those days, but from what I understand IRC bots had no visual cue for HP nor has accuracy ever been perfect with any sim in the past. Currently we play simulators that do have visual cues and simulator developers who do place a good deal of pride in being accurate.

Exact HP percentages give the player more information than the game is meant to give. That is a fact. You can say it's not but that's not going to make it any less of a fact. That's why getting this percentage is being proposed as a player literally telling the other player hidden information. I'm not sure how you can say "Each player must tell the other player what percentage of their hp is remaining between every turn" with a straight face. The game offers three visual cues for HP:

1. Color of the bar (now properly implemented in PS)
2. Size of the bar (apparently represented at the size of 48 pixels)
3. Rate at which the bar depletes after a hit (insignificant)

In any case, this is neither here nor there. I don't care a great deal about the myriad of clauses applied to your formats but I thought it was important to at least have it on the record that some of us do appreciate Zarel, Cathy, bmelts, et al striving to create an accurate simulator.

As a side note, the post you're referencing also simply stated "No" to the fact that Smogon tournament players are far outnumbered by casual players which I found odd. This is also a fact. Pokemon Showdown's ease of use and interface (read: animations and browser-based without requiring a downloadable client) have made it the most popular simulator in history drawing in a huge playerbase from people on Reddit and various other sites. They represent a much larger proportion of the playing population than Smogon tournament players -- especially considering a high percentage of this already small group seem to play on PO over PS. This isn't 1998, 2007, or even 2010. The world of online Pokemon has changed.

 

[Bad Ass]

i made this point in the IS thread but i'll just reiterate it here for those who may not have seen it:

if you want to have a competitive userbase -- and you do -- you have to use exact percentages. the PS ladder is already "dead" in the sense that it's not considered a big accomplishment to top it anymore and the best tournament players don't use it. if you want to really drive a nail in that coffin, all that you have to do is implement "HP percent ranges" aka pixels. i guarantee that the number of serious players who play the ladder with any regularity (i.e. not just for suspect testing) will be very, very small.

this also applies for tournament matches. if i'm in a high-pressure, high-stakes match, i will go with exact percentages every single time. every tournament match that means anything will be played on PO.

and you the reader might not exactly care about my personal opinion. it's just that when you make your decision of whether to use exact percentages of pixels, you have to take into account what you want PS to become. do you want it to be a hyper-realistic simulator, but have a relatively inexperienced and "bad (at the game)" player base or do things the way high-level players want them and attract said players to the sim? either way, PS will live on, but i feel like the decision should rest on that more than it should on the pure semantics of simulating the game properly.


quick edit: i realize that zarel decided to implement exact hp percentages, but i was directing this post more toward's firestorm's ENTHUSIASTIC commitment that by not doing x/48 we aren't simulating pokemon.

 

[Firestorm]

"high level" players have more complaints than just hp bars. The level of play on PS will remain lower regardless due to the sheer number of players which is a result of a lowered barrier to entry.

PS Staff can either satisfy and entertain the majority of their playerbase while also feeling satisfaction in their project (if an accurate simple is a goal) or they can get involved in endless arguments try to satisfy a small group that is never happy and will drop them the moment something newer comes along.

 

[kokoloko]

why is this thread still open? zarel has made his decision and we're doing nothing other than going in circles at this point.

zarel, if you want to reopen the thread you're obviously free to do so.