POLL: Should Custom Variations be allowed in competitive play? (local tournaments, online ranked)

[DDustiNN]

Background:

https://testyourmight.com/threads/how-mortal-kombat-11s-custom-variations-will-work-in-competitive-play.68769/

Based on the discussion in that thread, it sounds almost unanimous that people want custom variations, though there are still a small number of preset defenders... So I figured maybe it’d be good to have an actual poll, but I can’t add one to that thread.

 

[JBeezYBabY]

Yes x 1000! This is a no brainer.

 

[DDustiNN]

Thread has already been made: https://testyourmight.com/threads/vote-the-custom-variation-war.68784/

Apparently we were making them at the same time. But the questions are actually different. That one is what you used in the beta, mine is what you want for ranked.

 

[MadPropz101]

Yesssss

 

[Hellbringer]

no brainer yes

 

[RoGE]

yes but NRS should make the selection quick as possible and make it to where people can pick them on character select screen. Also make the selected moves appear on that screen as well.

Speed is the key imo. We don't need another SFxT situation.

 

[Imperium]

Absolutely. Allow people to make choices about their gameplay, and give a better indication through the UI as to what moves are being equipped prior to the match starting.

It's a no brainer.

 

[Xelz]

I voted yes. But to be fair to the opposing viewpoint, while that other thread heavily favored “yes” it wasn’t entirely unanimous.

I’m pleasantly surprised that currently 90% favor custom variations in competitive play with a sample size of 30 - that’s higher than I expected. It’ll be interesting to see the results after more votes.

 

[Circus]

This thread is different from the other one. This is directly referring to competitive play, not the beta.

They're both important imo.

 

[Scyther]

I voted yes, even though I'm not a big tournament-follower, nor do I play ranked of *any* game all that often anymore. My reasoning is that even though it doesn't affect me, I think if competitive players want custom variations, then I don't see a problem with letting them have that feature. If it became an issue in regards to balance, NRS could always address it later on and potentially ban them.

But to outright ban them is not a good idea.

 

[Vslayer]

Definitely, they could add an overlay where players could choose the moves they want on the character select screen.

 

[NothingPersonal]

At least let them be available ffs. NRS wants to exclude even the possibility, that's what I'm against.

 

[M2Dave]

NRS has already chosen preset variations over custom variations for competitive play. The purpose of threads such as this one is to incite an indignant mob who is willing to spam Ed Boon's Twitter account incessantly. I am also waiting for any leaders in the community to publicly criticize Sonic Fox for "inducing fear and panic" about the variation system on Twitter.

 

[Xelz]

NRS has already chosen preset variations over custom variations for competitive play. The purpose of threads such as this one is to incite an indignant mob who is willing to spam Ed Boon's Twitter account incessantly. I am also waiting for any leaders in the community to publicly criticize Sonic Fox for "inducing fear and panic" about the variation system on Twitter.

Then they’ll need to criticize Ketchup and Mustard and Hayate, too. It’ll be interesting to see how the pro community gets divided on this. After they got hands on experience it seemed like custom variations had growing support.

 

[NothingPersonal]

NRS has already chosen preset variations over custom variations for competitive play. The purpose of threads such as this one is to incite an indignant mob who is willing to spam Ed Boon's Twitter account incessantly. I am also waiting for any leaders in the community to publicly criticize Sonic Fox for "inducing fear and panic" about the variation system on Twitter.

Then NRS should take notes not to hype up their game's most distinct feature for months and then scrap it. The only thing that will happen to Ed's twitter is he will know people enjoyed custom variations and want them abailable for all game modes. There's nothing wrong woth that. Maybe it isn't possible to make any changes to the game right now, but there are possibilities for patching, that's where these threads are aimed toward.

 

[M2Dave]

Then NRS should take notes not to hype up their game's most distinct feature for months and then scrap it. The only thing that will happen to Ed's twitter is he will know people enjoyed custom variations and want them abailable for all game modes. There's nothing wrong woth that. Maybe it isn't possible to make any changes to the game right now, but there are possibilities for patching, that's where these threads are aimed toward.

I am certain NRS had contemplated custom variations for competitive play but could not implement them for offline as well as online tournaments because of logistics. There is an abundance of unknown variables, all of which were already discussed in several threads, to attempt such a system in an E-Sports game in which lots of money is at stake. You would expect professional players to grasp this concept particularly well instead of acting like children who did not get the toy they wanted for Christmas.

 

[Feremuntrus]

Custom variations in tournament play shouldn't be difficult to implement though, aside from balancing and ensuring players have proper matchup experience. Ranked mode can be left like it was during the Beta. All you need to change is tournament mode. Not saying custom variations should be used necessarily, though I'm skeptical that it's logistically difficult to do, at least on a UI level.

https://ibb.co/GQqxdm8

 

[Krankk]

Absolutely not.

To me it sounds most of you lack the experience with competitive games, where you are allowed customizable loadouts.
I've played many of such games and in every single one it always boiled down to players min-maxing their options like crazy.

So in the beginning custom variations suck in ranked, because you don't know what you're playing against. You spend your first round trying to figure out which moves the opponent is using. Randomness is not fun in competition.

And then after a while, players find out what the strongest variation is and that ends up being the only thing you fight against. It completely pushes away all the other options... since if you don't use Gutted or Misery Blade or whatever you end up taking away your own competitive advantage.

 

[NothingPersonal]

I am certain NRS had contemplated custom variations for competitive play but could not implement them for offline as well as online tournaments because of logistics. There is an abundance of unknown variables, all of which were already discussed in several threads, to attempt such a system in an E-Sports game in which lots of money is at stake. You would expect professional players to grasp this concept particularly well instead of acting like children who did not get the toy they wanted for Christmas.

It's more about leaving the possibility of custom variations for competitive play than making them standard. Tournament players and organizers always choose how to conduct their tournaments best. NRS is limiting this by not allowing customs for tournaments, thus taking away from the players. It's a bad move. Most players and to's are not children, they can make adult decisions on their own if customs turn out unviable competitively.

 

[DDustiNN]

NRS has already chosen preset variations over custom variations for competitive play. The purpose of threads such as this one is to incite an indignant mob who is willing to spam Ed Boon's Twitter account incessantly. I am also waiting for any leaders in the community to publicly criticize Sonic Fox for "inducing fear and panic" about the variation system on Twitter.

How is this any different than NRS changing dash speeds due to indignant mobs and Sonic Fox? NRS chose slow, people cried about it, and now it’s fast.

Or the amplify inputs. People cried about the unique inputs, and they got changed back to universal single button.

And those were just a small minority of complainers!

Now it sounds like the majority of the community wants custom variations in competitive play. Why would we not be vocal about it?

 

[DDustiNN]

Absolutely not.

To me it sounds most of you lack the experience with competitive games, where you are allowed customizable loadouts.
I've played many of such games and in every single one it always boiled down to players min-maxing their options like crazy.

So in the beginning custom variations suck in ranked, because you don't know what you're playing against. You spend your first round trying to figure out which moves the opponent is using. Randomness is not fun in competition.

And then after a while, players find out what the strongest variation is and that ends up being the only thing you fight against. It completely pushes away all the other options... since if you don't use Gutted or Misery Blade or whatever you end up taking away your own competitive advantage.

Isn’t that the same end result of preset variations? People figure out the “best” one, and that’s what you see the most of. Except in MK11’s case, it would consist of a move or two you don’t actually want or use.

 

[Gamer68]

Then they’ll need to criticize Ketchup and Mustard and Hayate, too. It’ll be interesting to see how the pro community gets divided on this. After they got hands on experience it seemed like custom variations had growing support.

HoneyBee seems to want Custom Variations for competitive play as well.

 

[DragonofDadashov24]

No.
Too much to balance and memorize. I’m gonna be repeating this all the time

 

[OnlineSkunk]

HoneyBee seems to want Custom Variations for competitive play as well.

Like 95% of the top players wants custom variations, you know, the ones that are going to win every single tournament for the lifespan of MK11 competitive scene whether it's custom variation or not.

 

[Xelz]

Ok, I have to get on my soap box here.

Plenty of successful competitive games use custom variations which started with some degree of hesitancy before moving into the mainstream. LoL and Call of Duty are the most obvious examples.

Here’s the thing - we can complain about how hard it is to balance a game around customizable options, about how hard it is to learn how to compete against all these options your opponent might throw at you and these arguments all boil down to.... it's hard. Not it’s impossible. Not even that it hasn’t been done before (because it has, just not as much in the FGC yet).

And I don’t buy these arguments, not for a minute. Here’s why:

• The FGC - both developers and players - have overcome balance and learning challenges associated with a gazzillion options. MVC2 and 3 launched with a plethora of team composition permutations and assists. The FGC did fine. Smash Bros. Ultimate released with 74 characters and was heralded as one of the most balanced rosters ever. The FGC did fine. Each Tekken character has a move list that looks like the entire custom move set for a MK11 character. Tekken 7 launched. The FGC did fine. We cannot argue that NRS and the NRS community is somehow so mentally incompetent that it can’t handle the complexity and variability that these, frankly rather short, custom move lists provide

• The overarching gaming landscape has evolved, and the FGC must evolve with it or slide back into irrelevancy. We had a fantastic golden age in the '90s, and then the genre stagnated and slowly dwindled into an archaic niche of diehard enthusiasts. Then SFIV breathed new life into the scene and helped all developers such as Arc Systems Works and others finally get the attention they deserved. MK9 returned to its 2D roots, MKX brought us variations. MVC3 hit the scene hard. The FGC entered a renaissance. But we'll get left behind again if we grasp too tightly to our old preconceptions and don’t take risks to move the genre forward

Look, I’m not proclaiming the FGC apocalypse is upon us and that the scene will flame out in the next couple of years. But if you want fighting games to be relevant over the next 10 years, and if you don’t want this scene to become the gaming equivalent of the Ham radio hobby, then you need a better reason to fight change than “it's hard.”