URPG Issues

So, it's been mentioned several times that there exist issues in the URPG that should be fixed, issues that are important enough that others feel they should be seen to before we make any further expansion efforts. However, despite the fact that I and other staff have asked for examples of things that need to be addressed, even if they're just minor things, no one has provided us with things that need to be resolved.

I decided that, in an effort to work more closely with the community, I would create a thread where people can post any concerns with the URPG so that we, the staff, can do whatever possible to either fix the issue or, at the very least, address it. People can also post their own ideas for fixing any issues posted.

The point of this thread is so people have a place to post things they think are "broken" about the URPG, not suggest new ideas, bans, or things like that. Please make a separate thread in the Trainer's Court for those types of things. If you think something is "wrong" with anything in the URPG, this is where you'd want to post it. Is the Park too restrictive in the number of Pokemon you can leave with? Do battles pay too little? What issues exist that you feel are major ones that cannot be overlooked? If you don't know whether an issue belongs here or in its own thread, post here it and if need be, someone can inform you to make a separate thread for it.

Keep in mind this thread is for serious posts and discussion only. Flames, trolling, and the like will promptly be deleted. Please also keep posts relevant; it's okay to bring up a completely different topic than the one being discussed, but no posts consisting solely of images, GIFs, or single periods. Also don't post simple things like "yeah I agree lol". If you agree with something someone has said, expand on it. The same is true if you disagree with someone; don't post "that's dumb lulz" and leave it at that. Such posts will be treated as SPAM and deleted.

***

Issues Being Discussed:
-More Payout for B/W Contests

Issues Resolved:
n/a​

 

I think the pay for judges for B/W Contests should be higher.

Currently, they get the same pay as refs, being payed 500 per Pokemon. B/W judges need to do everything a ref does as well as a lot more, such as calculate points, hearts and they need to contstantly check the thread for move information. I think it should be 750 for every Pokemon used per side. For example a 4v4 would be 3,000 rather than 2,000

 

I can see how that makes sense, seeing as you have to be both a ref and a Judge to ref B/W battles. I can't help but feel refs who do regular battles might feel a bit cheated, but then again like you said, they don't need to keep track of hearts, points, and so on. Then again, one might argue that having to keep track of points and hearts doesn't warrant a 250 boost per Pokemon used, even though really it's not a broken amount or anything.

Blah, I'll poke ATF to come post what he thinks lol.

 

Most battles are 3v3/4v4. All that is is a 0.75k/1k boost. Only 1.5k more for a 6v6, the highest standard amount. That barely gets you anything, and for the amount of time it takes, I don't think it'd be breaking anything to just give a little more for taking the time to learn to judge AND ref.

 

I haven't quite come up with an opinion on this thing yet, I've thought about it but have never gone either way. So I'm impartial, you guys can discuss it and I'll just follow along and ultimately come up with an opinion at a later time.​

 

I don't think a pay increase for BW judges would cause too much problems. Might encourage more judging. Then again, I may be leaving something out so correct me if I didn't see it.

 

In my opinion, I don't think it really needs a pay increase. All it really is is reffing and then looking up to see how many points are added to the total. While 250 per mon isn't too much to add, I don't think looking up a number is really worth that much. It's not much harder than reffing, and that just seems to be the big barrier for a lot of judges.

And it might not cause many problems, but there is potential for it. 4v4s in BW Contests already give better rewards than a regular battle, in terms of money, ribbons, and cc. I don't foresee everyone abandoning battles to do contests (oh boy, that would be puzzling), but I can see where some of the other refs might have issue with it, since that's the bulk of the work.

Edit: Not to mention that Judges get paid right away, which is a perk of the job (also they can be paid in CC), instead of having to wait for wages like the rest. Others could also have issue with that.

 

I don't really see a problem with a slight increase. You're effectively using two different professions when you judge/ref a BW Contest. I like Syn's payment idea, just an extra 250 per mon. It doesn't go overboard and it isn't too little. Also, this could encourage more people to become judges. If things are getting more serious in contests with the new style and the new gyms, we'll need more people judging them.

 

I think they should get a small raise.

 

Reward them for doing them more often rather than for each contest.

 

LS's idea isn't bad - offer bonuses for contesting more. Unfortunately, that'll probably mean that ATF has to keep a closer eye on what's going on, but w/e. The central theme is YES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PAY JUDGES BETTER

 

I was thinking about this last night, and perhaps an alternative to money, instead of making it 750 per mon (since that's an icky number), you could offer CC along with money (which all can be converted to CC/Money as usual when Judges collect), since I don't think they get both, because they can choose how to be paid. You could do like 3v3-4v4 gets +500CC added onto wages and 5v5-6v6 is +1000CC or something.

Edit: I do like LS's idea too, because that stimulates more total action in the section so Judges judge more for better rewards instead of less for the same rewards.

Perhaps after so many BW Contests judged, they earn a ribbon themselves? Maybe for every 10 battles or something, since that's a non-money reward, but still has value (due to the mons in the berry store requiring ribbons and such).

 

I'm all for paying them more per contest. Maybe they'll do more

 

Actually, LS's incentive idea would be an excellent addition to Reffing and Judging. Something like the ref earns 500 x (number of battles reffed / 10) extra.

 

Or maybe, so we don't have random $150's lying around, for every 10 (non basics) you do, you get an extra 500 or 1000.

 

Re: Ref Wages (March 11 - March 24)

I think that there should be a pay gradient between 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 battles, otherwise there's no point in battling 3 on 3 but for the ref. Also 1 on 1 battles that aren't basics should get paid, but maybe only about 500

 

Re: Ref Wages (March 11 - March 24)

2v2 and 3v3 are both noncompetitive sizes for battling. That's why there is no pay gradient.

 

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS ABOUT THE NEWLY IMPLEMENTED BASICS RULE. THIS IS MY OPINION ON IT. THIS MAY NOT CHANGE ANYTHING BUT THIS IS ME GIVING MY FEEDBACK.

While I agree that people have been abusing basics, I have problems with this new rule. Being a rule-abiding URPG member and a person who likes to help the new players, I have a few things to point out about the consequences of the rule change.

1. URPG is supposed to be fun. Doing basics that aren't two people using evolving 'mons are a pain in the neck and are long and tedious. The person using the permabasic donates their time and effort, possibly using a Pokemon with Pickup--but in the end, if Pickup doesn't work, they get nothing for sitting there and battling for an hour. It's annoying and just plain un-fun. "But people will have basics to evolve together", you say. Not always. Move on to point 2.

2. Basics are hard to come by. The new Mart price changes make basics rarer all the time. While I agree that people should focus more on individual Pokemon they already own, and to EM them up, new people are stuck with the short end of the stick. We also don't get a lot of new people that stick around, making for even LESS Pokemon that need to be evolved. This also leads into point 3...

3. New people won't stick around if evolving new Pokemon in a sea of EM'd, completely evolved Pokemon is too hard. People want to be on the level of others and fight competitively--which is hard already, even with the system of basics used previously. As a Trainer and Battler, I am only slowly starting to get on par with some of the lower-tier battlers, which is completely fair. Starting people off with a frustrating system will discourage new players right off.

4. "But the old URPGers had to do it this way before you and they're just fine!" Okay, sure, but there was a reason people changed it. It's frustrating as all hell! Battling for so long, making the refs do a lot of work, and taking up everyone's time is nobody's idea of a good time. Just because YOU had it hard doesn't mean everyone else does. Systems change for a reason. Just because something is HARD doesn't make it GOOD. Yeah okay, so you grew up with Pokemon Red and Blue, where leveling was slower and the Psychic Gym was a bitch to defeat. But Game Freak fixed that with an easier interface and leveled out moves as well as an easier, more fun way for EVERYONE to enjoy the games. Yay! URPG should do the same.

5. "People are getting paid too much for a pre-determined battle!" Yeah, okay, I kind of agree with this. So do one of two things: eliminate pay altogether or make refs enforce the "no throwing battles" rule. DON'T DO BOTH. IT SUCKS. People have permabasics to be NICE to those who need to evolve. Yeah, okay, they get like, 5K out of it and a Pickup, maybe. But that's like, what, one good TM? Maybe two? That's nothing in the world of URPG. Plus TMs are NEEDED. The Pokemon/TM ratio is off-balance, especially for newer players. And for the people getting the full 10K? They either worked for the Pokemon through writing, drawing, or roleplaying, paid for it in the Mart, or traded it for equal value with someone else. That money is paying them back and helping give their 'mons the evolution items they need or a few EMs to get them started. Not a big deal. However, if you want to dock pay--LET PEOPLE THROW THE BATTLES. Please. It's ridiculous how long and dumb this process is. It's anger-inducing and awful.

So that's my two cents. I had a battle with Taither with my permabasic, knowing I wouldn't get paid for it but at least hoping that my efforts to win the battle would at least get me a Pickup. It didn't. I wasted like two hours doing that when I needed to be curating and doing Ranger things, things I actually get paid for. While I'm happy that Taither got his Aggron, I walked away from that battle annoyed and frustrated. Not something I want to feel when playing a game online with others. Oh, and that's one last thing. URPG = Ultimate Role-playing GAME. GAME. G. A. M. E. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN AND RELAXING FOR GOODNESS' SAKE.

 

Completely with Protobabe. New basic rule sucks arse. People should be rewarded for their actions, even if the actions are repetitive and don't require much mental effort, it's that simple. If the senior refs are butthurt about certain URPG members making lots of money off of permas, why don't you just half pay for permas? People are still paid something, making the battlers happy, and they earn less, making the seniors happy. It is literally a win win scenario.

 

Before I reply to this, I should mention that this issue was discussed in the staff forums for quite a long time about how best to address the issue.