Event Project

[BlackOak2]

Now after all of that, I find that my brain has been a bit fried!
Publishing anything of any length on the forum can be at times a bit tedious. Creating the graphs like I did, comes out looking SO nice, but it makes the eyes cross after only a short time.

So although I might find something I've missed in the future, I think I've generally covered everything I need to and that I wanted to.

I'll use this post to finalize my thoughts and summarize the changes I needed to make thanks to the test.

I started this project about a year ago with the thought that our competitions really could use some beefing up. We had a couple in our community that ran the occasional crown event and we also had triple crown titles that the system gives us... but for the system, if your horse gains a title above the triple crown, that triple crown status changes to the higher title.
So I began designing it in hopes that I could make a fairly easy, but more involved project that somebody which wants to dedicate more of their time strictly to the competitions side of the game, could follow.
Plus, it might offer some further insight or ideals for our admins to add in future competition strategies for our game and offer a stop-gap until that time came to pass.
I've had to put it aside multiple times, especially when I began working on the mathematically 'breaking-even' and 'gains versus losses' part of the project to clear my mind. And of course, other side projects pop up and demand short-term but full attention.
I knew I'd have to run a test at some point, but was torn with using another account to play the guinea pig entrant, or asking for volunteers to play that part. Finally, after still not being able to figure out the 'gains versus losses' part of my math, I came to the conclusion that using volunteers would force me to actually lose or gain monies from my own account, thus offering a better 'true test'.
And actually, that was the better choice. Not only was I finally able to pin down where my math went wrong, but I was able to test-run the sponsorship part of this project as well, which I wasn't at first planning to bother with, after all, sponsorship is rather straightforward.

So, without further ado, the changes that happened after the test:
I didn't account for the fact that half of each entry fee from each competition goes into the pot of the competition. The Event Entry competition, I had already made all of the entry fees go into the Event Awards Pot at the end. Essentially, the set-up forces the Host to match the Entrants' addition into the Event Awards Pot. To ensure the Host's loss is minimized to what I could consider is more reasonable levels, I altered the invitational return to each entrant as ONLY the half that would have originally went to the Host. This was changed for both the Alpha and Beta Classes, since the Beta Class was already set up to be at about half the cost of the Alpha Class for the Host. I know the math doesn't add up to 'half the cost' of the Alpha Class, but after I did the math at 'half cost', that was the way it ended up as. But after staring at it time and again, I think it actually works out quite well.

So after I corrected my math on the Host earnings per competition... rather per invitational, the conclusion I had, finally did make sense, or it came closer to the outcome that I wanted. I had wanted the Beta Class to break even with a minimal number of non-entrants entering, I knew I couldn't do it and still add on purses to sweeten other's to enter the invitationals. But I am satisfied with the way it does work out. Both Alpha Class potential losses and Beta Class potential losses without any additional non-entrants are much better aligned. Plus I was able to put a much more solid value on them. I actually didn't have that information before.

The sponsorship did send me for another loop. After looking over all of the numbers and information I already had for the project, trying to figure out how the sponsorship would work, just no longer made sense for me. Insert Fried Brain Here... It took me awhile thinking about... if I send this to that player... then that player would send it to........... After awhile, it finally made sense. Instead of transferring a horse back and forth, back and forth and back and forth... and fry the brain again... The Entrant simply sends an unneeded horse to their sponsor and receives the money in that form. Their sponsor pays for the Event Entry Fee, but it never involves the Host. The sponsor also has the option of paying the invitationals for that Entrant as well, up front, if they choose, as a fully-funded Entrant. What I learned from this, was that in this case, a fully-funded Entrant, then Does Not receive any invitationals at all, but the sponsor of the Entrant receives them. Now that I'm re-reading what I'm typing, I think I need to go back and correct a part of the Guidelines. I'll check into that.

I emphasize again that this would be a LOT smoother if our admins allow us to send monies directly to another player. But that's not too big a deal.

Okay, I think... think... that's just about everything.

Project Status = Complete


Link to the test topic: http://www.horseworldonline.net/forum/v ... =8&t=19374

[BlackOak2]

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Finally Published!

Again, a last Thank You, to my volunteers!

If you have thoughts, considerations or questions, please let me know! Especially, if I missed something. I really could have.

And I'm pretty sure on my math finally! If I need to correct something, or it doesn't make sense, it might be something I miss-typed, definitely let me know on that. I really did go cross-eyed inputting some of the data.