I've been carrying this idea for a while, and I've discussed it on the server over the past few weeks.If you are not an experienced member of the CAP community, it is strongly recommended that you do not post in this thread.
This thread is intended to contain intelligent discussion and commentary by experienced members of the CAP project regarding CAP policy, process, and rules. As such, the content of this thread will be moderated more strictly than other threads on the forum. The posting rules for Policy Review threads are contained here.
At the conclusion of each CAP project, I would like to do the following for playtesting our new creation:
- Close the CAP ladder temporarily
- Open a Playtesting ladder for two weeks. The Playtesting ladder would only allow the NEWEST CAP pokemon to be used. All past CAP pokemon would be disallowed.
- The Playtesting ladder ratings would always be reset at the beginning of playtesting.
- At the conclusion of the two-week playtesting period, the highest ranked player would be crowned the "CAP x Playtesting Champion". Perhaps I would give them a custom title on their profile, that they could carry until the next CAP playtesting champion is crowned.
- After the playtesting period, the Playtesting ladder would be closed and the regular CAP ladder would be reinstated, with all CAP pokemon eligible to play, including the latest creation. Ratings would remain the same on the CAP ladder as they were prior to the playtesting period.
If this proposal is implemented, I think it would yield several benefits:
- It will encourage participation in playtesting the latest creation. Since the playtesting ladder would consist ONLY of OU pokemon and the latest CAP creation, it would be very accessible to anyone who joined the CAP project during the latest creation. Essentially, it provides a perfect "jumping-in point" for new forum members to try out the server, since there is no metagame baggage to carry from previous CAP's. Each new CAP pokemon will receive focused attention, and hopefully more play and feedback.
- The lure of a little forum e-fame should draw in some new battlers -- perhaps even people that weren't involved in the CAP forum during the creation project. Any good OU battler should be able to pick up one new pokemon quickly, and since the new pokemon is "new" to all battlers -- no one has a "head start". Since all Playtesting ratings will be reset, there will be no ratings baggage either. People could literally join the server on the first day of playtesting, and have almost no playing disadvantage to longtime CAP battlers.
- It will allow us to see the effect of our creation on the current OU metagame. I've never been terribly interested in making a new metagame completely. Just read the CAP mission statement, to see where I stand on that. However, it is an inevitable consequence of making a bunch of new pokemon -- that a new metagame will emerge. While some people may like it, I think it distances us from learning about the current metagame, which I consider to be a fundamental goal of the project. By having some time to test the new pokemon in isolation from other CAP's, I think we can learn more about the current metagame than we can by testing new CAPs with all the old CAPs as well.
- It will act as a "hook" for new long-term members of the server community. After the playtesting period is over, presumably some of the people who showed up for playtesting will realize how much fun it is to play on the CAP server, and they will stick around. Hopefully they will take the time to learn more about the other CAP pokemon, and try to ladder up the regular CAP ladder. That's good for the server and good for the project overall. Right now, it is hard to hook new players, because of the learning curve associated with all the past CAP pokemon. This proposal would go a long way towards alleviating that.
Response to this idea has been positive on the server. I'd really like to try this out with Kitsunoh. That's why I am holding this Policy Review in the middle of a current CAP project, rather than waiting until after CAP 7 completes.
I look forward to feedback from members of the Policy Committee and other experienced members of the CAP forum and/or server community.