Teams had to be registered between October 15 and October 26, and the auction ran on October 27.
The Case for Refunding
CCP knew exactly how many teams had registered before the auction started. If that number was less than the 32 team slots available, then it was both disingenuous and dishonest not announce this to the bidders, ahead of time. CCP knew full well that there was no reason at all for any team captain to bid higher than the 10 plex minimum, because there was no competition for the slots.Granted, there might have been more than 32 teams that registered before the deadline, with some not showing on auction day. Certainly, though, that number wasn't much greater than 32. So CCP knew full well that they were going to be cutting it close to fill up all the slots.
If the team captains knew how many teams would be bidding, they could have adjusted their bidding strategy appropriately. For instance, if there were only 35 teams bidding for 32 slots, then 40 plex bids would be wholly unnecessary, if not outright stupid. Teams would not have bid as though 100 teams were vying for 32 slots.
The lack of transparency from CCP meant teams bid far higher than they had too, far higher than they would have given some information on the number of officially registered teams.
The Case for Not Refunding
I'd come across a comment on the forums, at some point after October 15th, that registered teams could be viewed on the tournament website. I could never find that list. The tournament site is a maze and it's near impossible to navigate the damned thing. Who designed it, a minotaur?Assuming the list was available (and I'm not able to verify that it was), and that the total number of registered teams was less than the available 32 slots, then any team captain that bid more than 10 plex was just plain stupid. CCP should keep the plex of idiots, because they obviously have too much of it. (Of course, if the registered team list was available, and the count was less than the available slots, then I find it exceptionally hard to believe that there was a plague of stupidity inflicting 24 of the 27 team captains.)
The second situation is that the list was available, and that the number of registered teams was greater than 32. This number couldn't have been much higher than 32. Perhaps 40 teams maximum. On auction day, it could be assumed that there was competition for slots (there was no way of knowing who did or did not show up), but not a great deal of competition. Bidding 40+ plex on the first few slots was downright ridiculous. CCP should keep their plex, again, for being stupid.
Let's assume 40 teams. Two of those teams likely had 10 plex maximums. If they get in at the minimum, great, if not, then no big deal. So an 11 plex bid knocks them out of the running. Now you have 38 competing teams, the minimum bid is now 11 plex. You probably have another three teams who have set a maximum bid of around 15 plex. Now you're down to 35 teams, and the minimum bid is now 16 plex. And then you probably have another four teams or so that won't bid over 20 plex. Now you're down to 31 teams, and the minimum bid is 21 plex. Strategically, it would be silly to bid (much) more than 21 plex for any slot in the tournament. Yet, we saw the first eleven slots go for bids greater than 21 plex. The first three slots went for over 40 plex each.
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EDIT: Two reports that 61 or 87 teams had registered before auction day. Either way, odd and odder. Seems a very high number of teams that went through the bother and hassle of registering, and then not actually bidding. Shenanigans?
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Personally, I think it's the right move by CCP to refund plex to the overbidders, especially if the number of registered teams was not available to team captains at the time the auction started. Even if the registered team count was available pre-auction, the refunds are still a good move by CCP, simply as a goodwill gesture, plus the fact that CCP was unable to fill up 32 tournament slots.
On the other hand, if CCP had decided not to refund, I wouldn't have been particularly fussed. Stupid people need to learn hard lessons.
your use of the term Minotaur has brought back tragic memories from a few nights past
ReplyDeleteAccording to CCP Bro, 61 teams had signed up as of 10/22:
ReplyDeletehttps://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=2078490#post2078490
This means that about 1/2 of the teams bailed out before the auction, or that CCP Bro was just lying out of his ass (I believe the latter).
I won't accuse CCP Bro of lying ... but nearly half the teams not showing on auction day ... that's weird, to say the least.
DeleteHow is that the slightest bit weird?
DeleteMy 'team' did not show up either. Yes, I made a team, just to see how their interface works - and there's no option for the captain to delete a team again, only to remove other(!) team mates. What I don't know is, if they only counted teams that had the minimum compliment, cause I e.g. cleared the team again after I made a screenshot.
Also, during the auction it was mentioned that the total was 87 teams, and still it would have been conceivable that not enough would show up given the non-restrictive signup.
The reason for the refund was complaints by several of the teams, after the results were announced. Some teams wanted to pull out entirely and asked for their PLEX to be refunded.
ReplyDeleteApparently, the teams were told before the auction that more than 32 teams had signed up. Also, word got out that some of the devs involved in the tournament were making behind-the-doors, under-the-table offers to try to fill those last 5 slots, after the auction failed.
Needless to say, more than a few folks were a bit pissed....
I wouldn't put it past CCP Dolan (Michael BoltonIII) to be pulling some behind-the-scenes deals. The guy just seems shady as hell.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised if the "random seeding" went something like this:
DeleteBro: Roll the dice.
Dolan: Naw, that's not good a match - roll them again.
Bro: Is that better?
Dolan: No, I want GHSC to get a bye - keep rolling.
Bro: Ok, but this is going to look suspicious.
Dolan: No one will be able to prove... ah, that's good. Mark GHSC down for the bye.
Bro: Ok, next match... Raiden gets a bye, too.
Dolan: They don't deserve a bye - roll it again.
This tournament has been a farce from day one.
ReplyDeleteThe PLEX entry fee was obviously designed to limit the tournament to well-heeled alliance players and specifically exclude a lot of small gang PVPers, who were far more likely to win the tournament. I really wonder who came up with that bright idea.
Then, the auction results raise the suspicion that meta-gaming is going on behind the scenes. If the teams all entered the auction, believing that 61 or 87 teams were participating for 32 slots, then it is pretty strange that certain teams were confident enough to wait until they could secure a minimum bid slot.
And, now, we find out that 5 teams will get a bye in the first round. Did anyone happen to notice that 3 of these 5 teams also happen to be among the 5 lowest bidders in the auction?
Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
The main case for refunding is not to cause bitterness which might prevent people signing up for future tournaments.
ReplyDeleteLong term it's in CCP's interest to create a successful e-sport culture. A bad tournament which causes significant participants to say "screw it" next time would really hurt them.
Too late.
DeleteIf you assume that CCP Bro was telling the truth about 61 teams having signed up a week before the auction, it is clear that more than 1/2 of the teams said "screw it" by the time the auction started.
And, if he was merely exaggerating, then it is still clear from the poor signup turnout that the majority of the player base said "screw it".
CCP Bro obviously doesn't get the fact that 524 interested players out of a 300,000+ player base isn't anything to brag about in a devblog.