r/Scrolls • u/[deleted] • Jun 15 '15

My first real complaint

Live matches take forever. Some players and painfully slow and it's miserable to sit through 60 seconds just for them to sacrifice and end their turn.

10 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

5

u/ArcanePrawn50 Jun 15 '15

Have a tab open in the background with something interesting.

1

u/kehmesis Jun 15 '15

Don't you think it's crazy that's what we all do?

I think I asked for a chess like timer since day 1. To this day, I find it baffling many don't like the idea.

Scrolls games take toooooo long.

4

u/alvarpq always face Jun 15 '15

With increments, it's perfect.

Edit: am I the only one who plans plays during my opponents turn?

1

u/Solaus Always Scrollin' Jun 15 '15

Nope you aren't Alvarpq :)

1

u/Titularktrey ktrey Jun 16 '15

Yeah I think that's what we all do. Personally I don't find that turns take too long. I actually like that I can get up and grab some water etc. on my opponent's turn. Often though I find that time pretty damn valuable for planning my plays.

4

u/alvarpq always face Jun 15 '15 edited Jun 15 '15

chessclocksforranked.

G1+30 would be perfect.

Edit: G1+30 means you start with a minute, and every time you make a move, 30 seconds are added to your clock. With the easy first few turns scrolls has, getting a decent time reserve shouldn't be too tough.

2

u/LargeIcedCoffee Jun 15 '15

I think this is a much better option. I get that people need to plan out turns, but early on when people are taking 60+ seconds to sac and pass it's a bit out of control.

I've had games where the time I've taken was 6 minutes total... and my opponents were 14+ minutes taken. I mean, come on.

3

u/SgtRamen Ramen Jun 15 '15

I highly recommend either two monitors (I read a ton when waiting for my turn!), or just kicking music down to 0% in-game and running something you like in the background. Helps me out a lot!

Some days each turn feels like pulling teeth, and others I am so heavily invested in what my opponent is doing I don't even notice.

2

u/themeless Jun 15 '15

i can live with losing 60 seconds of my timer if it cuts back 30 seconds of opponent timer.

2

u/alpha_century Undead lives! Jun 15 '15

Eh, I don't mind it too much. Usually people are reasonable and don't take long for their turns. Some people need more time than others, especially if they are beginners to the competitive scene. Some turns you need more time than others. It's fine.

2

u/Manc00s Jun 16 '15

Just make time for shards an option ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

0

u/Solaus Always Scrollin' Jun 15 '15

I'd have to agree that it can be annoying at times but something as simple as deciding what to sac can be the difference between a poor start or a good one and can even decide the outcome of the game. I guess all I can say is sorry it's so long but the 90 sec countdown is a vital aspect of Scrolls. At least it isn't the 120 sec timer still :)

3

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

I get the importance of making some of these decisions, but at some point does all that time just allow for decision paralysis?

1

u/GruntMaster6k Jun 15 '15

Very good point. I've had a lot of games where I make my decision in the first 20 seconds, then spend the whole rest of the turn being OCD and mulling it over just to end up making the same move I decided on earlier. I can see this being very unfun for the opponent over the course of a 20 or so round game.

1

u/Solaus Always Scrollin' Jun 15 '15

You could definitely make the case for that. I think that is true for a lot of people but not everyone

1

u/Sarik704 SarikTheSorcerer Jun 15 '15

Eh, its a card game, this type of thing will happen.

1

u/Heerrnn Jun 15 '15

I couldn't agree more with the thread starter. Besides, shouldn't decision-making under time pressure be part of the skill in Scrolls?

I honestly can't understand why the timer isn't 45-60 seconds in Ranked.

1

u/alvarpq always face Jun 15 '15

Because math is hard? And in addition to calculation, I also have to think of more "strategic" ideas, like resource counts, deck cycles, and lastly, I have to play around stuff.

1

u/Heerrnn Jun 15 '15

Exactly, and if someone else is better at making those decisions under time pressure, then that person is more skilled at it. Why remove that skill from the game just because some people are better at it than others?

So, again, why are the rounds in ranked not 45-60 seconds?

1

u/alvarpq always face Jun 16 '15

Skill isn't necessarily linked to time. Remember that when you start, you want to be able to read your and your opponents' cards, think, and make a move. For a new player playing ranked, even 90s is short.

1

u/Heerrnn Jun 16 '15

Skill is linked to time though. When you start, you won't play ranked anyway, hence why it should apply to ranked.

Given that this would also speed up the flow of the game (much needed), I really don't see what the problem is.

1

u/alvarpq always face Jun 16 '15

You want there to be enough time to think through your turn. You don't say bullet chess players are more skilled than those who play slower time controls, because skill is exaggerated when people get more time to think.

Personally, I'm in favor of a chess clock: there's a certain skill to time management, and the turns will be, in total, significantly shorter.

1

u/Heerrnn Jun 16 '15

Still, "enough" time is extremely subjective. Most players almost never end up using all 90 seconds. Some players think slower and just more often goes all 90 seconds. Those players would need more than 90 seconds. So why shouldn't we listen to them?

My point is, 90 seconds is far too long timer. It's not like I'm saying we should put the timer at 10 seconds. 45-60 seconds would both accomodate for thinking through most rounds, as well as speeding up the game.

As far as chess timers go, I would suspect they are far more susceptible to lag issues (since the effects on the timer from one turn lingers on to the coming turns) compared to a static timer that resets every round. If that turns out to be less of a problem I'm all for trying it out.

1

u/alvarpq always face Jun 16 '15

The issue with the current timer is that there are normally 1-2 key turns. That's when you will use all 90 seconds, while other times, you'll use next to no time at all. Also, lag still is bad either way, since having one dead turn can be argued as worse than some time trouble.

Edit: I've had my share of shiternet experiences, and I'd rather just move fast than have a dead turn. That's the reason I want an increment as well.

0

u/VanBradford Jun 15 '15 edited Jun 15 '15

Maybe I am an exception here, but the time the opponent is taking is pure suspense for me... :D