Match of the Millennium MUCK
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I'm much more used to hearing the opposite complaint when people experience upsets because they were crit unexpectedly, or had their ultimate attack parried, or whiffed an 80% chance counter, or didn't realize the other player was manipulating their "check" display to trick them into choosing sub-optimal reactions, or ...
But I think you're referring to the Ratio system. For those who don't know, on MotM, characters have established power levels between 1 and 6 that don't fluctuate except through advancement. For example, hypothetically, Ryu might be Ratio 4, his student Sakura might be Ratio 2, and Vega (AKA Dictator, or M. Bison in the West) might be Ratio 6. It's difficult but feasible for someone to beat an opponent one Ratio higher, but very difficult to beat an opponent two Ratios higher. So it's very unlikely that Sakura can defeat Ryu on her own without training, and it's very unlikely that Ryu can defeat Vega on his own, but together, Sakura and Ryu are a tossup against Vega, which would be a pretty dramatic fight.
Some people don't like these set power differentials and the kind of RP it produces. Speaking personally for a moment, I don't like the opposite scenario, where everyone's power level is basically the same, there is little concrete incentive for advancement, and villains only become strong on the spot via an arbitrary "bossmode." Certainly, your mileage may vary.
But while the Ratio system still exists, you may want to check out post-reboot (as of 3 years ago) MotM for three reasons:
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Rebalancing. The spectrum of Ratios has been dramatically tightened. The majority of characters are R2 or R3, peaking at R4. No one beats anyone 10 times out of 10, but Ryu and Guile and Cody and Hakan are all fairly close in power level today, so each one of those hypothetical matchups are reasonable tossups.
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Minions. If you're playing a low-ratio villain and you want to pick fights with more people, you may spawn minions as a substitute for bossmode to pad your Ratio. Minions allow any character to threaten any other character in principle and can turn any encounter into a fair fight.
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Advancement. The AP system is infinitely preferable to the relatively arbitrary advancement system of the past. Every scene you do earns you points not just toward increasing your stats (and Ratio), but earning you incremental Ability Ranks and Traits that can tweak your character and round out your tactical options.
If you're unfamiliar with these changes, why not check out the game again? You may find it's not what you predict.
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@chet I'm not sure I've ever played a game with a system quite so rigid in its outcome as the one MotM has - exacerbated by the fact that there are tournaments where the ranks pretty quickly became clear. With the possible exception of D&D, but then D&D isn't generally about tournaments. And D&D would be pretty boring if the game was always 'A level 3 guy, a level 7 guy and a level 15 guy did a set of ranked arena matches...'.
It's easy to make systems that have a bit more randomness to them, or where the players decisions cause a greater impact on the outcome.
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@eubanana Hey, wait a minute; did you used to play Cammy at MotM?
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Hmm. But in none of the tournaments post-reboot (in the last 3 years) have the highest-Ratio characters on the game triumphed. For example, Mortal Kombat was won by an R4 and Rumble in the Streets was won by an R3. Team tournaments like King of Fighters are partly Ratio-balanced by how many high Ratio characters can be included on a team. I can't think of an example of the rigidity you're describing. Perhaps you can be more specific?
I would say that you have an outdated view of the game, but I've never known the game to be as you describe. MotM is structured around randomized dice rolls, actively chosen reactions, and active abilities: the depth of the combat system is predicated on the player's capacity to manage risk without ever fully determining outcome. Character stats are not public but Ratio is not a secret: you as a player consent to fight up-Ratio when and if you want to, though again, Ratio does not seem to determine the outcome of tournaments.
If you're interested in revising your opinion of the game, you're welcome to app the highest-Ratio characters around and see for yourself if you easily win every fight ... though I'm not sure how much fun that would be!
And if you're not interested in revising your opinion of the game, please see this thread instead: http://musoapbox.net/topic/1859/match-of-the-millennium-s-reputation
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I will say that, the way that the CSYS is set up now is fun, and does provide a lot of random and "Oh, holy crap!" kind of moments, when triggers and procs randomly fire off, and can turn an entire match on its head. There is a lot more nuance to it than just the ratio system. So, for a few examples:
I play Ryo from Art of Fighting and King of Fighters fame. So far, I've fought opponents that are slightly higher than me in ratio (Ryu, still an R4, same as Ryo, but he's a high level R4, as opposed to Ryo being low level R4), and I wound up dominating that fight. Some of it was simple luck on triggering things like Just Defended. Some of it was because of gambits taken by Ryu's player that didn't pay off like he had hoped.
I've also fought Takuma, Ryo's father, who is a whole Ratio tier higher than him. Because I randomly JD'ed not one but TWO supers in the match, Ryo completely decimated that fight.
If it the game had the rigidity that you are describing, that wouldn't have been possible.
On the other side of the token, as Guy I've struggled in fights against lower tier characters, and have swept the floor with someone of a slightly higher ratio. Guy is a high R3, for context.
Now, I've just picked up Ky Kiske. He's a fairly high R4 (the default heroic tier, I guess), and a strong build. I'm not certain I quite understand how to make the most use of that build, and so I'm prone to loosing more fights with him right now, than winning. He takes a certain level of strategy that I'm just not real savvy on with the system, yet, because I'm a newb, and also have difficulties with grokking technical aspects of things like this. So, ultimately, your mileage may vary, but the one thing I can say is that the system is fun, fast and exciting, and you never really know what the outcome might be.
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@fei-dawen Is the game down right now? I can't seem to connect.
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@shelbeast I'm informed that the game will be down until power is restored in GA.
EDIT: Game's back up.
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We're kicking off the New Year with some of the highest activity numbers we've ever seen on MotM. Here are some of the events currently running:
WORLD WARRIOR: The famous tournament from the Street Fighter series has returned, hosted by the towering elite Wolfgang Krauser, who seeks only the mightiest participants. To join, you have one month to challenge one of his subordinates -- the ninja Eiji Kisaragi, the swordsman Laurence Blood, or the kenpo master Gato Futaba -- and defeat them to prove your strength. Many high-powered characters who could feasibly qualify for this tournament are still available!
THE TAISHOKAN: The Gear known as Justice's nuclear assault on Mt. Fuji broke powerful seals and undid centuries of carefully crafted sorcery. Now, the severed remnants of an ancient sealed monster are stirring. Its mouth whispers lies and secrets; its eye sees all; its brain foresees the future. Monster hunters are in high demand in the wake of the failed Gear invasion of Japan, and their greatest challenge is beginning to reveal itself. (For the duration of the plot, hosting monster attacks for other players using the minion system grants you bonus Advancement Points.)
GOLDEN ANGEL TOURNAMENT: In lighter news, the hottest new product to hit stores is Golden Angel, a lotion that when applied somehow transforms into a spandex-like material of flattering color and design, creating on-the-spot swimsuits or exercise gear. (Don't blame me, blame BlazBlue.) To advertise this miraculous item and raise Southtown's spirits after coming so close to destruction, the company producing it has collaborated with a local charity organization to host a tournament for up-and-coming fighters. Fights are hosted every two weeks -- participants may join mid-tournament -- and comedy-themed open social 'party' scenes are hosted every weekend for the next four weeks. This is a perfect opportunity for new original characters to make their debut!
But this only scratches the surface of the active plot. The Novus Ordis Librarium has risen to prominence in the wake of the veritable collapse of the United Nations; it moves to defend the people from supernatural threats and secure all magical artifacts for its own purposes. The aftereffects of the thunder god Raiden's abortive great flood are still being felt in bizarre weather phenomena across the globe. There are rumors that a no-man's-land has emerged at the intersection of Switzerland, Austria, and northern Italy, a place that was once the ancient kingdom of Illyria, and the Sacred Order of Holy Knights -- having lost the support of the United Nations and the Vatican -- plan to investigate. Green fire burns in a dark forest of Japan and sucks the life out of that which approaches it.
Challenges both mundane and mystical face our characters. Strength, cunning, and wisdom all are needed to surmount them. To those interested in any of these themes or threads, or who just want to get in on a very active game, check us out!
http://motm.kicks-ass.net/ port 2002
