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So, Burn and I feel as if this topic needs a proper thread for discussion. Many people have expressed interest since I've been playing, both before and after it was possible to even do so...again.

Bear in mind - this thread is for those wishing to switch. If I see anyone being disrespectful to anyone else, for any reason, I will address it. If you have a problem, I'd encourage using Burn or myself as a resource. Either one of us would be happy to address your concerns privately. We understand that this has become a highly debatable topic and will support all opinions to the best of our ability.

To applicants, please provide the following:

- Thought-Out Reasoning - Everyone plays this game for different reasons. There is no wrong answer here, but there might not always be an imbalance with the factions. This is especially true where this community is stationed all over the globe. Time zones can impact activity, creating imbalances for certain people but not the faction as a whole. Pretty much, just sell yourself to the idea and present it, but don't focus on imbalance too much, as this is a subjective topic depending on a variety of factors. It also does not necessarily mean you won't be allowed to switch, discussed next.

This thread has two purposes:

1) This way, no one will feel unnoticed or unheard in the matter. I plan to update this post with names of those seeking to switch sides, so no requests end up being lost while addressing others or when things get busy (such as with life or during events).

2) Make appropriate decisions. Imbalance is the biggest reason why switching should be done, but there may be cases where the amount of fun someone is having may rely on their faction, such as wanting to play with friends or to be on a faction you feel more identity with. This is understandable, but balance is the number 1 priority with switching people.

That said, if you want to switch under these conditions, there may be things asked of you. For example purposes only, you may be asked to find a player of similar level and board presence to swap with you. Again, just an example of a possible request off the top of my head. Obviously, anyone is free to give suggestions on this.

Also - Please remember that there are penalties for switching sides. This is a long-term commitment, so please think this through before posting

Remember:

- Those switched must be active. Sometimes life happens and you can't be around a lot, but there is a difference between 1 month and 1+ years.

- Being active also includes board presence. Participation in events and active posting is important, as having a community on both sides is a strong factor in success for community events.

- Those who are switched will not be able to switch back for at least a year.

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So, my thought on this matter is simple: There have been a lot of changes in activity since the last C4C campaign. This next event will give a proper example of where the factions lie, with regard to community presence, teamwork, and scoring. Scores can also show where one faction is stronger than another at specific level ranges.

If you'd like to express your interest in switching, it'll be updated here and will be seriously discussed by me and Burn, where community thoughts will weigh quite heavily in our decision. Just please be very clear about your intent and reasoning. This game is meant to be fun for everyone Hopefully this thread will be helpful for accommodating that! So, even if you've expressed interest before, let's hear it again. NOW! HURRY! BEFORE BURN BREAKS THE PANEL AGAIN!

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to
ZeroWolf
Phasewing


to
Absolute Zero

Been mulling this since returning months ago. True faction was with the bots, but I haven't fully decided yet. My original intent was to go home and give the cons someone to fight... cus I may be a con, but still a bot at heart.

That being said, 2 have already been swapped and I have been noticing a decline in active con players. Which is why I will probably give this some more time to see what happens.

Phasewing wrote:I have been noticing a decline in active con players. Which is why I will probably give this some more time to see what happens.

This is exactly why I stated my thoughts regarding the upcoming event.

I've also noticed a decline in activity. This game needs two sides to function properly, and I'm interested to see if Cons will return to activity for the event. It'll tell us a lot about where the game is, currently, and what direction it needs to go in. It'll also tell us more about community activity and who is willing to contribute, where there have been several newer players posting since the last event ended.

This shouldn't discourage those who are serious about wanting to change sides, however. They're just things to consider.

Phasewing wrote:Been mulling this since returning months ago. True faction was with the bots, but I haven't fully decided yet. My original intent was to go home and give the cons someone to fight... cus I may be a con, but still a bot at heart.

That being said, 2 have already been swapped and I have been noticing a decline in active con players. Which is why I will probably give this some more time to see what happens.

Wait 2 cons have swapped? I thought it was only Bun?

I've been vocal (a little bit) about wanting to swap as, I'm just not a con at heart. My loyalty lies to the beasts. I do apologise though for my activity levels dropping, it's been hard work this past month launching a book!

ZeroWolf wrote:

Phasewing wrote:Been mulling this since returning months ago. True faction was with the bots, but I haven't fully decided yet. My original intent was to go home and give the cons someone to fight... cus I may be a con, but still a bot at heart.

That being said, 2 have already been swapped and I have been noticing a decline in active con players. Which is why I will probably give this some more time to see what happens.

Wait 2 cons have swapped? I thought it was only Bun?

I've been vocal (a little bit) about wanting to swap as, I'm just not a con at heart. My loyalty lies to the beasts. I do apologise though for my activity levels dropping, it's been hard work this past month launching a book!

The Collector also moved over yesterday.

This thread is to ensure all future moves are carefully considered and facilitate the balancing of the game.

Psychout wrote:This thread is to ensure all future moves are carefully considered and facilitate the balancing of the game.

Not interesting in defecting myself, but I've been reading the thread and Psych's statement brought up a point in my mind; will it be based on a faction's number of players, the average level of Transformers a faction has (and thus whether or not a faction has a distinct advantage at a certain level), or some combination of the two to determine the balance of the game in regards to allowing players to change factions?


Sidenote; too bad there's not some kind of way to tie one of those location/time/day trackers into the game to get an idea of what kind of activity is coming from where, when, at what point during the year (because I'm sure school, holiday season, et al, has some kind of effect on things)… That might help figure out how well the two factions are matched up at any given time...

Psychout wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Wait 2 cons have swapped? I thought it was only Bun?

I've been vocal (a little bit) about wanting to swap as, I'm just not a con at heart. My loyalty lies to the beasts. I do apologise though for my activity levels dropping, it's been hard work this past month launching a book!

The Collector also moved over yesterday.

This thread is to ensure all future moves are carefully considered and facilitate the balancing of the game.

This

The event will be launching soon. After that, we'll have a better idea of what needs balancing. I'll put you in the first post, Zero. You've brought up your desire to switch several times, and I'd like to see you have a fair shot at it.

turbomagnus wrote:Not interesting in defecting myself, but I've been reading the thread and Psych's statement brought up a point in my mind; will it be based on a faction's number of players, the average level of Transformers a faction has (and thus whether or not a faction has a distinct advantage at a certain level), or some combination of the two to determine the balance of the game in regards to allowing players to change factions?


Sidenote; too bad there's not some kind of way to tie one of those location/time/day trackers into the game to get an idea of what kind of activity is coming from where, when, at what point during the year (because I'm sure school, holiday season, et al, has some kind of effect on things)… That might help figure out how well the two factions are matched up at any given time...

It'll be based on a lot of things. As mentioned in the initial thread, timezones and level ranges play a part in balancing, to some degree, since this can create an imbalance for certain ranges of players but not the faction as a whole. There is also the matter of activity during events, where it's uncertain, at this time, which side is at a community advantage.

Yea, something like that would be extremely awesome Bringing up the time of year is a good point, also, as people might be traveling for the holidays soon.

I thought I was imagining things were a little low in numbers on the 'Con side.

I feel a little less insane now.

I have a question, might have been answered, but I'm lazy. Ok.. maybe more than one question.

Is switching only to balance the factions, or is it for any reason?

If it's only going to be for balancing reasons, will there be a list/sign up for people willing to switch as a mercenary/bounty hunter faction that switch as balancing is needed?

How many Autobots want to see me switch to a Decepticon for the outside chance of being able to defeat me?

Absolute Zero wrote:I have a question, might have been answered, but I'm lazy. Ok.. maybe more than one question.

Is switching only to balance the factions, or is it for any reason?

If it's only going to be for balancing reasons, will there be a list/sign up for people willing to switch as a mercenary/bounty hunter faction that switch as balancing is needed?

How many Autobots want to see me switch to a Decepticon for the outside chance of being able to defeat me?

Wanna trade places?

A mercenary side is an interesting idea

Burn wrote:Please limit discussion in this thread. We would prefer it be left to people putting their hands up, or ask questions relating directly to faction switching.
We don't want to have to trawl through a series of off-topic discussions.

I'm going to second this and remind everyone that this thread is meant for questions and requests only. New threads will be made to discuss swapping, as has been made for Zero and AZ. I'm happy that this thread is sparking excitement and additional topics, but they really should be discussed elsewhere. We appreciate it!

AZ:

1) The primary reason for switching is balancing, yes. This balancing is both for the game and for events, so participation on the boards weighs very heavily on whether or not a player is considered. As stated in the first post, however, sometimes faction can impact how much a player wishes to participate in the community, such as self-identification, playing with family, or for creativity/inspiration. In these cases, swaps of equal value may be arranged.

2) The sign up is this thread, under the respective insignias. I'll add your name under the Bot faction to show your interest.

3) I'll fight you anyday

Pitching my interest up, but with a deal. I'm still looking to swap back to my original faction: .

To be fair, I've been wanting to do so for 3 - 4 months since the bots were low on numbers and it seemed like a good idea to go 'home' with the panel being fixed and all. Guess I wasn't exactly noisy enough about it.

Require a willing Bot near my xp range or higher(maybe) to do so to swap to Con.

I can wait if there's no one interested right now. I'm a very patient person.

So with Wingz on "Vacation" for a bit, I find that I have less opposition than I realized. With some thought on that I figure I'd toss in my team for a switch. It couldn't hurt to ask.

To be honest, I've always been a 'Con at heart. But I do really enjoy this game. It will be fun to slap some of my friends a few times.

What do you say?