Re: call for duelmasters help

From: itlm013@judy.ucdavis.edu (Captain Caveman)

Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1992 16:57:08 +0000

In article <900667c.21.720139890@ace.acadiau.ca> 900667c@ace.acadiau.ca (GERALD RICHARD CAMERON) writes:
>In article <18537@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> itlm013@fella.ucdavis.edu (Captain Caveman) writes:
>>In article <00962831.716BD800@abby.chem.ucla.edu> ben@abby.chem.ucla.edu
>writes:
>
>>>IMHO, there are two main pieces of evidence AGAINST the luck stat:

>>Sorry Ben, but here you're dead wrong.  RSI has admitted the existence of
>>a luck factor

>>>2) There's absolutly no REASON, programming-wise to include a luck stat.

>>Certainly I believe that a lot of things attributed to the "luck" factor
>>are really just dice-rlls that can go either way.  However, as I stated abvoe,
>>there is a very good reason to include luck in the program.
>
>Before I unpack my flamethrower ( :) ), I'd just like to say 'hi' to my old
>sparring partner, Dennis.  How's it going?

I'm still alive.  And you?  I was beginning to wonder.  Once you fell off the
edge of the net-map, you seemed to disappear.  Glad you're back!

>Now, I know we argued about this months ago when I posted that little bit on
>skills (John, do you have that anywhere's?), but I really don't think there'
>s an actual luck stat per se.  This is because there's enough random factors
>in the game already that can make a warrior seem lucky or unlucky.

Yes, this is true.  Any character who manages to put together a few good
rolls would seem to be lucky, and certainly the life of a regular DM character
isn't long enough to determine, with any statistical certainty, if the luck
factor has gone his way or not.

However, I reiterate two things:

1)  RSI has admitted that the luck factor exists.  What it does, or ho it
works remain mysteries.  I've never been certain that having a "lucky" char-
acter matters or not, however I have had a few characters who seemed to defy
the odds time after time, especially one mediocre lunger who was able to squeak
out quite a few fights over superior foes.  His main strength?  An awesome
favorite weapon (LO), and the ability to knock foes down just when he needed
it (also the fact that, in those days, if you got knocked down by a LO,
you couldn't get back up again).

2)  Each character is an individual.  If there were no luck factor, and I'm
speaking from the point of view of a guy who has done a lot of programming
here, then each character would come out down an "assembly line" that would
quickly be dissected by number-crunchers.  The only variable that would
make characters unique would be their wit comments, and it wouldn't take long
before the exact effects of those were determined.  However, this simply
isn't the case.  There's something funny going on, that makes each individual
character different.  With the same stats, characters can get wildly different
skill bases.  How do you explain that?  Without some random element thrown
in, the internal charts would pound the same characters out time after time.

>Also, a
>lot of warriors who it might seem are blessed with a high luck factor do go
>into slumps eventually.  If they were truly 'lucky' this wouldn't happen.

Not necessarily.  The luck factor ranges, I've been told, from -15 to +15.
Thus, it may increase or decrease your overall chances, _in the long run_
to do well, but in the short run you're still going to get characters whoo
can't make a roll to save their life.  If you need a 75 to hit, a character
who rolls a 10 3 times in a row is going to miss everytime, no matter how
lucky he is.  In the long run you see the benefits, in the short run each
character is as variable as his individual dice rolls.

>You remember that slasher I kept talking about?  Well she went to the Isle
>at 19-2, and has gone 1-3 in AD, with an 0-3 in the April tourney.  Also,
>except for last summer's FtF, she never did well in tourneys period.  Now,
>if dhe had been blessed with ahigh luck stat, as her regular arena
>performances would indicate, she'd have gotten at least one TV along the
>line, in spite of her shitty abilities.  She was just like that while in
>regular DM.

Two things to remember about tourneys and AD: you're not fighting normalc
competition.  In AD you're certainly fighting some very good warriors, who
progressed through their arena ranks fast or slow, but they've progressed.
Often, they have a lot of hidden tourney experience, and even if they don't,
they usually have a tremendous in-arena fighting edge.  You simply can't
throw a new character into AD, especially one who doesn't have much touorney
expereience, and expect them to do well.  This, I would say, has nothing to
do with any luck factr, but just extraneous details of the game.

In tourneys, to get a TV you need two things: to be lucky on your draws, and
to have a very good warrior.  A LU who matches up against only TPs is unlucky
in the draw, something which probably isn't affected by the Luck Stat.  If
you do manage to make it to the later rounds, remember that the lesser char-
acters are eliminated round by round, until you're really only fighting the
cream of the crop.  Somebody has to lose each fight, and if you're character
is good but not great, it's likely to be you who loses.  Don't forget that
in round 10, you're likely to facing another "lucky" character, who got a
boost to his initial skill ratings via luck, and additional skills per learn
via the same route.

>Flame away Dennis :)

I make it a policy never to flame. :)  I will, however, argue until you
capitulate, and admit that I've been right all along.

Trump, Donald Trump
dfcleary@ucdavis.edu

PS  Some of you may have seen the Enquirer story where LaToya Jackson
claims I threw Marla over for her.  It's entirely untrue.  I threw Marla
over as soon as the publicity died down, and as for LaToya, I only talk
to her so she will introduce me to Janet. :)

References

Re: call for duelmasters help
ben@abby.chem.ucla.edu
Fri, 23 Oct 1992 11:58:52 +0000
Re: call for duelmasters help
itlm013@fella.ucdavis.edu (Captain Caveman)
Mon, 26 Oct 1992 18:57:28 +0000
Re: call for duelmasters help
900667c@ace.acadiau.ca (GERALD RICHARD CAMERON)
Mon, 26 Oct 1992 22:51:31 +0000

Referenced By

Re: call for duelmasters help
ben@abby.chem.ucla.edu
Fri, 23 Oct 1992 11:58:52 +0000
Re: call for duelmasters help
itlm013@fella.ucdavis.edu (Captain Caveman)
Mon, 26 Oct 1992 18:57:28 +0000
Re: call for duelmasters help
900667c@ace.acadiau.ca (GERALD RICHARD CAMERON)
Mon, 26 Oct 1992 22:51:31 +0000