Richard Shimooka wrote:
Well I'd like to bring some issues that stick out in my mind that we
should all consider before we make a decision on this topic.
I've voiced this a couple of times, and I'm very hesitant about adding
in a compeditive element to the multiplayer side of wesnoth. From my
experiences with other multiplayer games, rankings can have a
seriously detrimental effect on a community, and I'd really like to
avoid that. Yes there are advantages that we would have more players
who take the game very seriously. However this must be weighed with
the negatives. Along with these hardcore gamers you will also get a
very large increase of individuals who will act immaturely, and anti
socially, which will decrease the standing and the enjoyment of the MP
game for most of the players.
This is exactly why we have Freedom and choice. Nekeme is Free by our
own license to develop a system that allows Wesnoth to be played
competitively. We give them this Freedom happily and are happy to help
them in pursuing what they want to achieve.
But there is still choice: people who don't want to play competitively
don't have to use the FGS. They can just keep on using the official
Wesnoth server and stay with the community they enjoy.
Some people like lots of competition and rankings. Some people don't.
Wesnoth is Free software, and Free software tends toward allowing choice
by its users.
David
