Moderation problems

[jesternl]

Well Never mind CrystyB..I'll be playng on some Romanian boards as well, you'll have youre chance to make up

[CrystyB]

hmmm, a small DP=mod problem: he doesn't update the first post. I have to keep searching for the last update, or keep the players in a easily-locatable file. Is it just me that's been

slightly

annoyed?

[Dragon Phoenix]

It's a matter of style. I give updates after each night with living/dead in the thread itself. Personally, I like that better, because you can directly go to the last page and (usually) find the update there.

However, if many players prefer update on the first page, I'll change that.

[Macros]

how amny games ids too many to be moderating at oonc,e i know insane people like mith mod 4/5 at once, i mean foir your average joe

[Sketchwick]

DP: I was thinking I like your way because it's better when reading through a finished thread for the first time. I do find myself habitually checking the first page for current player info and revealed roles of the dead...perhaps it would be best to do both, then when the game is complete reset it to the origianl post.

(shrug)
sketchwick

[Dragon Phoenix]

That's exactly why I did it - but your suggestion works and is a nice compromise.

[Sketchwick]

Cool, what's on the horizon after Las Vegas?

sketchwick

[Dragon Phoenix]

End July we move to France. Realistically, I cannot run a new game before that. So, in September or so, DP3 will start. Most likely, this will be Trouble in Haiti, with voodoo, zombies and stuff.

[verge_of_taboo]

ooh... i'll have to get in on DP3...

if you need a replacement for vegas mafia, i'd love to get in on it, too.

[Handsome Dan]

I had a moderation problem. When I finally decided to start Simpsons Mafia I had trouble establishing a balance between mafia and town. And I sometimes worry that I gave one side or the other too much power (for people who might be in Simpsons Mafia, these feelings fluctuate regularly, so don't try and guess what I really think ). Do you have any sugestions about how to make a balanced game?

[Handsome Dan]

I think that question might have been too vague, but the gist is how you rate one power against another.

A doc is pretty useless in the beginning of the game, and can even be led astray later, they're not as powerful as they seem. Cops, on the other hand, can determine the roles of suspiscious people, but they also are a bit useless in the beginning becasue they probably want to collect enough information to justify bringing it out during the day discretely (of coruse a lot of this depends on the player).

As far as I know masons don't do much planning except for looking out for others in their groups (I was a mason in my mafia 5 the first time they were implemented, I liked to pretend we were more powerful than we were ). Then there is the number of mafia to consider, and is a serial killer harder or easier to get rid of because they are only one person. I drove myself silly trying to balance Simpsons Mafia, but most of this moderation schtick seems to be wait-and-see.

Er...any opinions?

[Macros]

trial and error

i'm modding my first game, i have seroius doubts as too the balancedness of the roles, but thatslife, i have spent a long time agonizing over the balance of my lotr roles, i think i have it balanced, and im not changing them, if i feel one side might be too powerful now, i'll simply ensure the other side gets at least one "good" palyer on thier side
no doubt you wanted an answer from an experienced mod, dp?

[Dragon Phoenix]

I go by gut feeling, no system to it. Usually my games go to an endgame of a few players, so it looks like my gut is doing fine.

[Sketchwick]

Macros mentioned "making sure one side has a good player."

I'd like to hear what mith, DP, samadhi and anyone else think about that. I just assumed all roles should always be random.

sketcwick

[Internet Stranger]

Heh, dont you remember the first SW mafia on the GL? The Dark side was so stacked with the best and most vocal players that it was a slaughter.

[CrystyB]

One could always random-generate a second (or third, or ...) time if the unbalancedness is obvious!

[Luna]

I do that sometimes, CB. Only if there's an obvious problem though (like, Antrax, IS, Samadhi, and mole are all in one family, or JD is God and knows everyone's roles).

[Dragon Phoenix]

No, I always use randomizing. So far, this has not resulted in a complete 'newbie' mafia group, and the one time that I had a mafia family fully consisting of some of the best players, they lost quickly.

I do make sure that there is no role that is so powerful that JDTAY can ruin the game if he gets it.

[Macros]

it seems my suggestion was misinterpreted, i emat if the roels seemed slightly unbalanced, and theres nothing you can do about it (ofr some insane reason) then i would consider ensure the "weaker" side had one pro