This thread concerns me - how is creating a tier system for stages different to creating a tier system for characters?
I must admit on Spear Pillar when Palkia pulled the old space-inversion on me (reversing the controls/inverting the screen) I did self-KO because it threw me completely...
...but I'd say if you can average a win on the more crazy/chaotic stages you are MORE SKILLED than someone who averages a win on the Final D-esque stages.
I certainly hope that this thread isn't a sign that BoU has been converted to the "dull side".
FOR SHAME BoU - I thought you were all about the craziness!
As long as this remains a system of classification and not a system of exclusion for some of the more entertaining stages I don't have a problem...
...but if people start saying stuff like "Spear Pillar is for teh N00Bs!" DND will have to break out the "Palkia-Class Quantum Pulse Rifle" to dish out some authority!
No, no, no. You misunderstand my intentions. I
love many of the gimmicky stages. I am
not saying one stage is
superior to another. However, for tournaments, which are fundamentally designed to be balanced, there is such a thing as too much unpredictability. Rockinon put it well, so I'll quote his comments.
I see what you're saying, but some stages just shouldn't be used for serious matches. Super Mario Bros and Spear Pillar are two that come to mind, but that's because Super Mario Bros turns into a turtle bowling contest, and Spear Pillar has totally random effects. One of the pokemon can kill you in a second with little to no warning.
Random items require skill to use. They don't just appear and kill you. Stages however, can do so. And then there are stages that require specialist practice. I could practice turtle bowling (as Rockinon put it) with monk-like dedication, practicing drill upon drill, perfecting my turtle-chucking until I am capable of beating Sakurai himself in the Super Mario Bros. stage, allowing my Brawling skills on other stages to atrophy. But would that make me a better player then Sakurai? However, most of the skills learned on, for example, the Battlefield, can be applied anywhere.
But this disregards the more important complaint; that I am reducing the chaos involved. Chaos is a concept very near and dear to my heart. That is why I play with all items on. That is why I believe the destructible stages remain in play unless a significant majority say otherwise and why, if this method is used, I will invariably vote in favor of including predictable stages. But there is such a thing as too much randomness. A surprise instant kill can cripple even the best of players, especially when the number of lives are lower. If the lives are set high enough, the wrinkles in even the most random of stages will be ironed out by the
Law of Large Numbers. But who really wants to play even a 20-stock match tournament? (Although such a tournament would be interesting enough to hold, and would get players, I doubt it would be amazingly popular...)
