Top 5 Features that would be pretty awesome

Although some might be under the impression that AWBW moves slowly or even stands still, truth is that new content does get added over time. Tag games, CO bar percentages, being able to see unstarted games on a map, old leagues, the global league etc. haven't been around forever, but have proven to be substantial additions. And I'm sure that everyone has already thought of a feature that he would like to see on AWBW. So without further ado, a list of ideas that sound pretty sweet to my ears. Feel free to agree or disagree to your heart's content.


5. Display Additional Information 

To be more exact, displaying unit count and unit value on the game page, in addition to the information you currently can find on it. Both these parameters, especially in conjunction, are useful tools to judge the state of a game. Furthermore, unit value would make it far easier to look at maps for possible FTA/STA advantages. At the moment the only option is counting, which is both tiresome and prone to errors. Without significant strain on the server, this minor feature would help gameplay development overall since it allows players to analyze games more easily, understanding when unit value or unit count are more important and to what extent you can afford to trade one for the other. The minor sideeffect of disenchanting complex looking games is unfortunate, but a sacrifice that is bound to come with more exact analysis, no matter whether the information is displayed or you have to count every turn.

- Original idea by ichbinsehselber (although it might have been suggested in the past already)


4. Days of Ruin Fog of War

Apart from the fact that FoW apparently still suffers from a few glitches, what lures people away from this gamemode in general is that the new element compared to vanilla AWBW, namely vision, is a mechanic that encourages defensive play and guessing. Especially forests are for the most part impossible to attack into, making gameplay unattractive on a lot of standard maps. 
The FoW in DoR at least partly offers a solution to this by making players keep vision of what they have seen in this turn even if it is not in vision range of their units right now, enabling them to do recon sweeps or checking forests with infantry. Not only does that lead to a less defensively orientated game, it also adds a new layer of complexity and skill. 

- Suggested several times already


3. Chess Clock

It has not been an issue for quite a while, but will surely be once major tournaments start again. The Boot/AET system, while fulfilling its purpose, is limited in functionality. Long AET intervals make overly long (in terms of real time) games possible, disrupting the flow of tournaments. On the other side, low Boot/AET punishes people who generally play fast, but regularly have extended periods of time where they can't access AWBW. A chess clock, used in a very popular game called chess, gives both player an absolute amount of time they have to play their turns, adding additional time everytime a turn is completed or when a certain part of the game (f.e. day 20) is reached. It would be a fair system that encourages people to play decently fast while still leaving enough room for possible absence. By setting the chess clock to very low values (like in chess) it would also enable players to play regulated real-time games.

- Original suggestion by Ploumeur (although it could have been me too, not too sure)


2. Replay Saver

Obvious what it does, and obvious why it would be great. A lot of great games have been lost forever because games get deleted some time after they finish. According to rumours and certain very credible persons, a script that saves replays externally would be rather easy to program, so there is some hope that it will happen eventually without people dying for it.

- Original suggestion by someone, I should have started to include these seeing that I actually don't remember them anyways


1. Deterministic mode

Last but not least, my personal pet peeve which is supposed to remove all sorts of luck from the game, instead replacing every instance of luck with it's average. Countless people have felt the frustration of doing only x damage with a x9% attack, and I would not be surprised if games have already been lost solely by luck (even without accounting for Nell, Jugger and Flak). Several key matchups in the game are only OHKOs/2HKOs/3HKOs with sufficient luck. Seeing that players generally do avoid walls that can be broken with enough luck, and don't attack into walls if luck can screw them over, it means that players who wall perfectly somehow play with a disadvantage against players who do not, which kind of defeats the purpose of playing well. 
Even simple tank-inf fights can be decided by luck, seeing that the most basic 55% matchup on roads varies between a 7-5 and 8-4 result, doubling the HP advantage you gain if you are lucky. As every HP and every shot counts in these tense scenarios, it can very well decide games. 

Apart from disabling certain COs (Nell, Jugger, Flak) and having to adjust others (Rachel, Sonja), there is little reason to not use deterministic mode for leagues and tournaments if it ever comes into existence, as it allows for fairer competition.

- Original suggestion by Ultra Storm

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So much for that topic. 

As a short status update, the Global League has gone to the main site and as of now has nearly 150 people playing in it, more or less exceeding everybody's expectations.
The AWBW Cup is starting it's signups for October, so keep an eye open for that if you want to play. 

- Hellraider