Issue with new bonus wit rule

[djwhatthebleep]

I've perused the forums quite extensively and I'm very surprised that no one else shares a particular frustration I have with the new bonus wit rule (1 wit returned after you kill a unit). I'd be interested in hearing what other players think.

My Opinion

I think the bonus wit rule was an interesting change. In my eyes, it encourages quicker games by rewarding aggressive strategies (more units killed -> wit advantage is gained quicker -> the game escalates and concludes quicker). And that's a great thing, considering how long some Outwitters games can last.

The Problem

Here's what really gets me going: the new rule is a "refund", not a "freebie". Meaning that you have to have the wit to spend before you can "get it back". This makes very little sense when you look at how it affects certain types of turns. Specifically, if your turn only consists of moves where you are moving to attack (and get the bonus wit), then you don't have the last wit to make the final hit. And furthermore, it demands that you make moves in a particular order for you to be able to take advantage of the new rule.

Hypothetical for Demonstration

I have (6) free wits at the beginning of my turn. My opponent has sent some units to attack and so there are a few units near my spawn spaces. I evaluate the best strategy and decide I need to do the following:

1. Spend (-3) wits to spawn a sniper. Spend (-1) to kill a soldier that was within range, and I get (+1) back. [down to 3 wits]
2. Spend (-1) to spawn a runner, (-1) to move him next to a nearby enemy runner, and (-1) to kill that runner, and I get (+1) back. [down to 1 wit]
3. Spend (-1) to move one of my soldiers next to another enemy runner to kill it, and then…
   

WAIT. I can't kill that last runner. I have spent my last wit moving my soldier and thus I cannot attack, even if normally the attack would have "cost" 0 wits.

I could change the order of the moves and thus get off the attack with my soldier, but then one of the other moves wouldn't be able to be completed in the same way. Frustrating.

You can extend this demonstration further, too. Here's an alternative:

1. As before, spend (-3) wits to spawn a sniper. Spend (-1) to kill a soldier that was within range, so I get (+1) back. [down to 3 wits]
2. Spend (-1) to spawn a runner, (-1) to move him next to a nearby enemy runner, and (-1) to kill that runner, and I get (+1) back. [down to 1 wit]
3. Spend (-1) to move one of my soldiers back (maybe to get out of range of a sniper or something).
   

Okay cool, seems like no problem, right? But then try reversing the order in which I take those steps (maybe I didn't see the enemies before moving my soldier back). And all of a sudden, I have the same problem: I can't get the final hit off with my sniper because that last wit is not available (even though it is supposed to be a free hit).

Conclusion & Plea

I understand the changes that OML made to speed up games and better the gaming dynamic. I don't understand why any lethal hits are not allowed as a final move when I have 0 wits.

I believe that the new feature was implemented this way because it was easier to program. But it seems disruptive to logical gameplay, and I would be one happy player if it was changed.

What does everyone else think?

[poweewee]

I think you just have to make sure you make your moves in the correct order. That part where you cannot kill a unit with 0 wits left, I think it is just part of the new mechanic that we are going to live with.

[joelduque]

Not really a flaw for me. Takes a period of adjustment though, notably to the new Outwitters math.

[metalsquid]

Well, what is logical depends on how you view the mechanic and you could look at it either way. Your way is that a killing blow is effectively a "freebie" wherein your argument to allow a killing blow with 0 wits left makes sense. The other way is to view the mechanic as a "refund". You make a kill first, then you get the wit back. In other words, if you don't have the wits left to execute a killing hit, you don't qualify for the refunded wit.

Refunding wits is a clear cut mechanic. Everyone understands it. No wits = no move = no kill = no refund.

Freebie wits have the potential to cause confusion. Some players might wonder, "how come I have 0 wits but can still make a kill?" "But why can't I move?" "Is this a bug?", etc.

Also, the game would have to make extra checks to see if there are any units within range that you could land a killing hit on. Currently, it probably doesn't do those checks when you reach 0 wits and only lets you submit the turn. So yes, it would require more programming to implement the mechanic that way, I would argue at the expense of clarity of the rules. Personally, I think that great games are defined by simple, uncomplicated rules. This +1 wit thing might spice things up but to me, it was unnecessary and the game was fine without it. I would advocate reverting to the old system rather than change how it behaves.

[brayton]

I like the effect it has on runner(and soldier) rushing bases
They move(1-2) and acctak, being aggressive, in attempt to waeken and open base.
Kill unit of mine
Rebuttals/counter strike and kill gives me wit back, so making the ratio of their attack cost to my defense cost change
1-2(spawn),1-3(move), 1-2(attack), +0-1(refund).= 2-7 Aggressive rushing
1-2(spawn) 1(move), 1-2(attack), 1(refund).= 2-5. Defense against rushing
It can quite easily give you an edge in defending rushes

Also, it puts more wits into play, making the game more fun

[wonderpug]

If we're going to have the wit-on-kill system, I like it with the refund method. It just seems really simple and logical. Attacking costs a wit, always. If you kill a unit, you get a wit. Nice and simple.

My only complaint is the animation. Currently your wit count goes up one, and then the little "+1!" animation floats up over the corpse. I think it'd make a lot more sense for the wit count to increase at the same time that animation appears.

[Necrocat219]

I voted no. I do think that it was a very big gamble to introduce that rule as its such a big change but the only units I feel that this significantly buffs/nerfs are the runner heavy and to some extent the sniper. Generally I felt the way I used the runner before wasn't quite right but now they feel as if they fit their role perfectly. The heavy is now a viable option that I spawn whenever I see an opponent not using their medic or if I kill their medic, and the sniper becomes a more efficient near the base killer which makes attacking the spawn a bigger risk (not necessarily bad). Most significant impact is on runners though, a favourite by many that I didn't want to see merged at the time.

[The RawkHawk]

(12-07-2012 05:26 PM)poweewee Wrote:  I think you just have to make sure you make your moves in the correct order. That part where you cannot kill a unit with 0 wits left, I think it is just part of the new mechanic that we are going to live with.

I agree with this. It does take some getting used to, but I actually like the small element of depth it adds to planning out your moves.

[NDRDOG]

I agree with you 100%. I liked knowing how many wits my opponent had to work with, now that is much harder. Trying to factor in possible their bonus wits for killing my units, depending on the order of their movements, is dang near impossible. Games are going faster and I'm winning more so I guess I shouldn't complain, and haven't so far, just throwing in my two cents.

[Eijolend]

I don't think either method is better than the other, and we'll just play with what we've got.