Comments on: A Cure for Fat Fingers

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:42:15 +0000

Thanks, Pete! If we have one goal, it’s to get people fired for playing the game too much.

With luck, we’ll get there.

By: PeteVasi

PeteVasi — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:31:29 +0000

Very cool, hope to make it to the second session tonight. (4pm is still work time.)

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:04:11 +0000

Ah, cool. That sounds great then!

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:41:56 +0000

MJW – Nope. If you type something that matches the answer, or partially matches the answer, it doesn’t get broadcast.

We’re going to re-write the matching routine (the one we have now is unchanged). So if you’re in the test today, you may notice that the game thinks you’re trying to answer sometimes when you’re trying to chat. It’s a minor fix that i’m not too worried about.

- Ryan

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:22:50 +0000

Good system. One thing I’m curious about: do you still let players see other players’ answers? If so, then, after one person gets it right, won’t it just be fastest-finger-first for the others?

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:25:25 +0000

Ah – but we’re not! The beauty is that the fastest player to answer still comes out on top … it’s just that everybody else gets to play, instead of feeling like they’re rock-bottom with no points.

It’s like what they did with Rock Band, where they give awards out to each player – “Most Gutsy,” “Longest Streak”, etc … but there’s still always a clear winner.

By: Kaolin Fire

Kaolin Fire — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:22:55 +0000

clever. I think you’re eroding my super-human lead, here, but that’s probably going to make it much friendlier.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:34:17 +0000

RSkin – i think you’re misinterpreting, but only a little. The question value goes down the longer it’s on the screen, but only for YOU. Player 2 answers correctly when the q is worth 650 points, he locks in at 650 points. Then player 6 gets it when it reaches 345 points. If you’re still guessing, the question value is only going down for YOU, not the other players.

It’s a little bit like NTN pub trivia, except there you can change your answer. No need to do that here – you either answer correctly or you keep trying, and you get the number of points the question is worth the moment you submit that correct answer.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:31:45 +0000

Thanks, icky. i’ll report back on what everyone thinks of the change.

By: RSkin

RSkin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:45:57 +0000

This is nice, but one thing bugs me:
“The longer the question stays on the screen, the fewer points it’s worth.”
Wouldn’t this open it up to abuse? “Oh, I don’t know this one, so I’m going to let it time out.” Or am I misinterpreting it?

By: ickydime

ickydime — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:30:30 +0000

Great call on the new point system. Not sure if I can check this round out… but just by reading it seems much improved.