An idea to overhaul the challenge board system:

[Avalanche]

Right now, the title system is absolutely meaningless. Anyone can challenge at any time, unless they don't agree with the rules the challenger/champion applies, in which case the champion can outright refuse to give a title shot, as Badger found out when he tried to challenge me to DSL-S HW Title, which never happened because of his wishes of DSL-S and mine for IRL.
Also, there are 6 different weight classes in each meta, yet half of the titles aren't even used. I firstly suggest reducing the amount of titles down to 4: One for each mod- Stock, DSL, IF, Retooled. We could also perhaps split DSL and Ironforge into DSL-S, DSL-IRL, Ironforge standard, and Ironforge IRL, if we feel that the standard and IRL communities are incompatible. Even with this, this would be approximately half the amount of titles we have, making them all more meaningful.

I suggest making it so that every 4 months, we have 4 title fights. The people who get these title shots are those who have won the most matches and are the top ranking for that 4 month period. People can run in title contendership for 2 out of the 6 titles we would have. To get a title shot simply rank up by taking part in challenges: then, at the end of the 4 month period, the top ranking players are given title shots depending on what metas they challenge., a Challenge Board mod sets up the match rules and arena, and the champion and challenger create a bot to suit the challenge. Best of 3 with hazards enabled should be standard, but if the challenger and champion agree then it could be changed.

By doing this, we generate hype around title matches, reduce the amount of championships on offer to make each individual one mean somethin.

In my opinion, we should assign the 4 metas to new champions. For Stock, the current champions of LW, MW, HW and SHW (in that order) are: Playzooki, Redace, Badger and Wacky bob. A round robin tournament to decide who is the new stock title holder could be held to select a new champion. The current DSL AW, MW and HW champions are 090901, S.H.I.E.L.D and Avalanche. We could either do a 3 way round robin, or if S.H.I.E.L.D is inactive we can do a best of 3/5 1v1 between 090901 and myself. For ironforge and retooled, give those titles to the winner of the IF and Retooled GTMCS.

[Sage]

Approved so that we could discuss this, but please just post in the discussion thread next time.

The challenge board was never meant to be super structured or anything, it was just a place to post fun challenge matches. Someone decided to have a 'champion' at some point for each weight in each mod (which I remember thinking was overkill, as you said) but that doesn't mean we have to suddenly put in a whole lot of effort to maintain that list.

Personally, I think it should just be 3-4 titles, that are mod dependent (Stock King, or DSL king). You get to agree on the rules before hand. Maybe the current "king of the hill" gets to set the rules. Boo hoo, you have to beat him at his own game to take the crown. That sounds infinitely more interesting.

[Badger]

We don't seen to fragment the titles any more. IRL shouldn't have a title, as it isn't about building efficiency. Title challenges should be posted in the challenge thread, be locked to a certain default ruleset/arena unless the participants agree otherwise, and if the title hold doesn't accept the challenge within 2 or so weeks the title is given to the challenger by default.

[Sage]

When this was first created, there was a second option to each just build a bot and have the community vote on the best one. That could be used for IRL

[dragonsteincole]

I'm of the opinion that IRL is as deserving of a title as any other category and shouldn't just be a beauty contest. A shocking concept to some, and honestly the best argument that IRL should have a title, is Badger saying it shouldn't.
If the arguement is about potential reorganising of these titles, I personally think these 5 make the most sense:

Stock
DSL-S
DSL-IRL
Irongforge
Retooled

[Badger]

I'm of the opinion that IRL is as deserving of a title as any other category and shouldn't just be a beauty contest. A shocking concept to some, and honestly the best argument that IRL should have a title, is Badger saying it shouldn't.
If the arguement is about potential reorganising of these titles, I personally think these 5 make the most sense:

Stock
DSL-S
DSL-IRL
Irongforge
Retooled

You realise that an IRL title will just be whoever makes the wedgiest flipper thats barely IRL-legal, right (maybe whoever can spam the most mechavore discs while claiming IRL)? And there will  be flame wars over the borderline-legal bots? Trying to build the most efficient IRL bot defeats the purpose, at that point you may as well go play DSL-S.

[090901]

I'm of the opinion that IRL is as deserving of a title as any other category and shouldn't just be a beauty contest. A shocking concept to some, and honestly the best argument that IRL should have a title, is Badger saying it shouldn't.
If the arguement is about potential reorganising of these titles, I personally think these 5 make the most sense:

Stock
DSL-S
DSL-IRL
Irongforge
Retooled

You realise that an IRL title will just be whoever makes the wedgiest flipper thats barely IRL-legal, right (maybe whoever can spam the most mechavore discs while claiming IRL)? And there will  be flame wars over the borderline-legal bots? Trying to build the most efficient IRL bot defeats the purpose, at that point you may as well go play DSL-S.

good thing nobody cares about the challenge board titles

[Sage]

I'm of the opinion that IRL is as deserving of a title as any other category and shouldn't just be a beauty contest. A shocking concept to some, and honestly the best argument that IRL should have a title, is Badger saying it shouldn't.
If the arguement is about potential reorganising of these titles, I personally think these 5 make the most sense:

Stock
DSL-S
DSL-IRL
Irongforge
Retooled

You realise that an IRL title will just be whoever makes the wedgiest flipper thats barely IRL-legal, right (maybe whoever can spam the most mechavore discs while claiming IRL)? And there will  be flame wars over the borderline-legal bots? Trying to build the most efficient IRL bot defeats the purpose, at that point you may as well go play DSL-S.

good thing nobody cares about the challenge board titles

I think that's the main point of this post tho

[Avalanche]

What I think we should do with the titles is make them an in-between between singular tournament winner status, and winner of either GTMCS or a GTM league in prestige: if you win a single tournament, woop-de-do: you won a single tournament fleeting from memory in months. sure, you did good, but it's not a huge achievement tbh. A RA2 league/GTMCS should be a "HERALD THIS PERSON AS A GOD AMONGST MERE MORTALS, YOU PLEBIANS!" victory. This could act as a intermediary, giving a constant source of hype within GTM and giving challenges more of a meaning, incentivising interest.

Have them defended every 4, maybe 1-2 months, so they are often being defended and don't become forgotten swiftly. Keep them fresh and dynamic by having them challenged often, but make sure people work for the number 1 contendership by making them win other challenges.

As for the DSL-IRL / DSL-S debate: Seriously? You are seriously annoyed there is a DSL-IRL meta suggestion when you don't play and openly despise this method of playing? Seriously? It's a game, I and many others will play it how we want. It even strains out the IRL users from your DSL-S, so you can keep your frenzy hammers, flails and gothic axes to yourself. I ain't forcing you to play our meta, I am not telling you this is the only way to play, this is actually giving us all more options. Badger, your argument solely relies on "irl bad no dont play it" even though that is entirely opinion based and is not a good reason to ignore all the other proposed changes, and would be covered by the splitting of DSL into DSL-S and IRL categories. Get over the existence of IRL or get out, because you sure as hell aren't contributing much to the discussion.

[yugitom]

I definitely don't think IRL should be a challenge title choice, tho. It will end up being the least IRL builder winning, tbh.

[Avalanche]

I definitely don't think IRL should be a challenge title choice, tho. It will end up being the least IRL builder winning, tbh.

I think it should be. It's a lose-lose situation: do you keep DSL as all one meta, which forces players into either playing DSL-S when they are not capable of it or create a deadlock where they only play IRL and end up losing the title due to not playing standard, or do you split it into DSL-S and IRL, which creates the issue you state.

Thing is, I think it should be, because at least then our ****ed up IRL "who is the most BS" competition is separate from DSL-S and we can actually choose which one we want to play, rather than get forced into a DSL-S or IRL Match which we will absolutely lose.

[yugitom]

But no-one is forcing IRL builders to then play DSL-S. There are plenty of IRL tournaments coming and going that they can enter, instead.

[Sage]

Tbh the winner of the IRL challenge should be whoever loses the battle but still manages to make a sick looking bot

[Avalanche]

But no-one is forcing IRL builders to then play DSL-S. There are plenty of IRL tournaments coming and going that they can enter, instead.

But it would unfairly restrict them from being able to challenge a DSL-S DSL Champion, and vice versa.

[cephalopod]

If title holder rejects a challenge they should lose the title to the challenger by default. End of.

[Badger]

But no-one is forcing IRL builders to then play DSL-S. There are plenty of IRL tournaments coming and going that they can enter, instead.

But it would unfairly restrict them from being able to challenge a DSL-S DSL Champion, and vice versa.

No it wouldn't. Want a title, learn how to build.

If title holder rejects a challenge they should lose the title to the challenger by default. End of.

Didn't happen when I challenged lra2

[cephalopod]

That's my point, that should be implemented in my opinion. As you say, want the title? Earn it. Learn to build.

[Badger]

That's my point, that should be implemented in my opinion. As you say, want the title? Earn it. Learn to build.

My bad, misread your post. I think that the current rules say the same as you proposed, but he found a loophole by only agreeing to a ridculous non-competitive ruleset.

[yugitom]

But no-one is forcing IRL builders to then play DSL-S. There are plenty of IRL tournaments coming and going that they can enter, instead.

But it would unfairly restrict them from being able to challenge a DSL-S DSL Champion, and vice versa.

It's not unfair. It's just DSL-S. Like I said, if you want to build IRL, you know what you're in for. It's either gonna be on the mantelpiece in your showcase or it's gonna be in an IRL tournament. No-one is doing IRL challenges in DSL, and especially not title ones.

[Dreamcast]

Team champions?