Re: PBM design and formulae - a fresh start

From: desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)

Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1993 18:09:02 +0000

Steve Chapin <sjc@cs.purdue.edu> writes:
> Publishing the formula would only give players one more bit of
> information:  the formula.  It would not tell them any more than this,
> and it would, in a small way, destroy the feel of the game.

I still don't understand _for whom_ it is supposed to destroy the feel
of the game.  It doesn't destroy the feel of the game for me, because I
want to know the formulas, and if they matter significantly then I am
probably going to figure them out anyway.  It doesn't destroy the feel
of the game for you, because you are not forced to read or use them.

If the game is designed the way that you describe, so that exact
knowledge of formulas will not provide a significant advantage (which I
of course agree is desirable), then it doesn't hurt you to have the
formulas be published, and it makes me much happier.  So what is the
problem?

I find it a little weird when you agree with me on every point, and I
agree with you on every point, and we come to fundamentally different
conclusions.  I, and several other people in this discussion, cannot
understand any possible way in which publication of formulas can be
detrimental to a player _except_ that they might provide another player
who uses them a relative advantage, which then makes the game
unenjoyable for the first player.

But I think that that theory has been debunked to the satisfaction of
everyone except Graham Matthews.  If knowledge of the formulas makes a
large difference, then the second player will figure them out anyway.
And if knowledge of the formulas is not so important, then the player
who knows and uses them won't get a significant advantage in any case.
I really don't understand what is left.

David desJardins

References

Re: PBM design and formulae - a fresh start
saschreu@cs.vu.nl (Schreuder SA)
Fri, 02 Jul 1993 14:04:09 +0000
Re: PBM design and formulae - a fresh start
gym@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Graham Matthews)
Fri, 02 Jul 1993 16:20:03 +0000
Re: PBM design and formulae - a fresh start
sjc@cs.purdue.edu (Steve Chapin)
Sat, 03 Jul 1993 09:08:27 +0000

Referenced By

Re: PBM design and formulae - a fresh start
saschreu@cs.vu.nl (Schreuder SA)
Fri, 02 Jul 1993 14:04:09 +0000
Re: PBM design and formulae - a fresh start
gym@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Graham Matthews)
Fri, 02 Jul 1993 16:20:03 +0000
Re: PBM design and formulae - a fresh start
sjc@cs.purdue.edu (Steve Chapin)
Sat, 03 Jul 1993 09:08:27 +0000