[DIP-002] Balance improvements, limits and social fairness

[kozalosev]

Introduction

I'd like to make the process of decision-making regarding future game mechanics more transparent, so I've decided to write here, in GitHub discussions, my thoughts about suggestions got from the comments on my Russian-spoken Telegram channel and some chats with my friends.

Thus, let me introduce the @DickGrowerBot Improvement Proposals (or DIP) process.

The first one was converted from an old issue as DIP-001 and is about a fairness of the randomness.

Rationale

Lately, I have been receiving some reports regarding the balance of the game and the unlimited growth of top players in chats. Indeed, mathematically, the longer your sword is, the less your risk and the more the chance to take all the centimeters in recurring battles. Initially, I thought the players are responsible themselves for stopping accepting continuous fights just in time. However, in practice, many of them continue playing until they are reset to zero, enriching the top player of the chat and making the game less interesting for all.

Recently I have been reported this mathematical vulnerability is called Martingale, and it allows the top players to win almost always, since even if their current opponent stops accepting new battles, other players can continue the row.

Thereby, to restore the balance, some measures must be taken.

Proposal

I suggest the following:

Social help to the losers

• Make the chance to win the DoD status the more, the less your dick is #36
  Make the Dick of the Day contest less random: let the chance of win inversely dependent on the players' lengths.

PvP mechanics

• Let the winners show mercy  #38
  Let the winner show mercy and return 25%, 50% or fully 100% of the bet back to the loser. As a reward for his big heart, he'll get a GDC — generosity dick coin, an internal currency of the game which will be used at an in-game shop in the future, or may be even converted into a cryptocurrency in the real world.
• Dick vouchers/checks to transfer your dick size between other players #25
  Dick vouchers/checks. I don't like the idea to gift or transfer centimeters directly, which can be abused by twinks very much. Yeah, some restrictions, like the limit on the share of your sword which may be transferred (not more than 10% for example), make it less abusive a bit, but I think the idea of vouchers or checks, partially described by a member of my Telegram channel, is more funny. You create a voucher for 10 cm, for example, and 10, 25, 50, 100 activations that may be additionally protected by some passphrase or puzzle. Thus, you cannot transfer the length to your friends, or from twinks to the main account. And this mechanic is a public good.
• Daily limit on the amount of battles #39
  Limit the amount of battles per day to:
  • decrease "the garbage" generated by the bot in group chats to be less annoying for all members and administration of the chat;
  • prevent the Martingale strategy to be used by the top players.
• Boss fights / group battles #50
  To let all players of the chat a chance to strike the hegemons down together.

Declined suggestions

Gifts and direct transfers

This is a very abusive mechanic potentially as was described above.

Semi-random but more balanced battles

Games often use non-fair random to minify the chance of one player to win multiple times in a row. I don't want to make the random unfair. I think this is a wrong strategy that goes against the original idea of ​​the bot.

Fees for the top players

I think this is not necessary for now. Let's try to improve the balance without penalties first. It would be kind of unfair politics and communism-like to punish the rich players, wouldn't it?

However, I had a thought to collect some fees and distribute these centimeters across all members of a chat. Some kind of this mechanic is dick vouchers/checks. But voluntarily.

Motivation to continue playing

For the top players

• Earn an in-game currency which will be used at an in-game shop and may be converted into a real-world cryptocurrency in the future.
• Achievements and additional perks #42
  Earn achievements and perks for charity.

For the rest players in the chat

Additional centimeters and a chance to fight without losing anything.