porkenbeans wrote:If the message is posted at the same time as the change, then how on earth is that very useful ?
Giving a quick way for the players to see what was changed, nothing else.
As MrBenn as explained previously, the Beta system was created exactly to apply the necessary changes without "lock" the map and wait that everyone has finished the games. When you play a Beta map, you know that it could change. It doesn't count if the changes are minor or not. A change always affects the progress of the game, in any case. The first golden rule in a game is that the rules must not change untill the game is finished, in any other case someone will ever take an advantage from the changes. It doesn't count if it applies in a second, in 3 turns or in 192 hours, because during a game you have a mix of the original gameplay scheme that the mapmaker had in his mind and your personal vision of the map. It's not possible to know all the possible outcomes and if no one will take an advantage. Change a game is always unfair! The only problem is that the change makes you angry because you lost your troops and i understand you. But it's exactly the written-risk of playing a Beta map!
When you play a Beta map you are like an extreme snowboarder. You find a great mountain and there's a perfect weather, you have the best board and you wear the best equipment of the world....but there's a sign: danger avalanches. Now, maybe you can ride anyway the mountain, no one can say to you if the avalanche will be at that moment or not, but it's at your own risk. If you don't want to risk, then go on a safe track. In the same way if you play a Beta map you know that something could change, it's again at your on risk. Only the brave!
Moreover we don't have only a written warning on the site but we also warn again the user that something is gonna change, because MrBenn always post when he sends the files to Lack, you need only to check the map thread. (something that i'd would suggest if you play on a Beta map)
The only fair system that i see to prevent mid game changes is to apply the changes only to the new games and don't touch the ongoing ones. To do this we need to upload the map with different name for images and xml and in the same time lock the old one to be sure that no one starts a new game. But this is another suggestion and is complitely different from what was suggested (And i must say that probably it could creates a large process to follow that looks more a work than a volunteer thing).
But coming back to the in-game message, i can say that the message is not useful to prevent you to lose your troops, but it's a great userfriendly addition, giving a visual explanation of what was changed. This is the only way i can see this implemented for now.
porkenbeans wrote:I just do not understand how a map can go through months of developing, and then slip through with major GP flaws.
I don't have an answer for this....but it happens with everything in life. You don't know it untill you do it! Said that,i think that major GP flaws could happen only with complex (or complicated) maps and it's a rare event anyway.
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