Calling for your (yes you!) participation in a research experiment

[GrosBedo]

I am currently developing a research project whose goal is to provide a better gaming experience, and which may prove to be highly useful for any game, and I need your participation.

The only thing you need to do is to play on the following server: OAC Fair DM, 188.165.182.177:27992
http://dpmaster.deathmask.net/?game=openarena&server=188.165.182.177:27992

While playing on this server, anonymous and non private data about your gaming session will be recorded (nothing identifiable and nothing confidential, it's just an extended logging facility, no IP/GUID nor any chat is recorded by the project).

The whole software will be released as opensource in about a month from now.

Your participation is crucial for the success of this project!

Thank you for reading me, and another thank you to those who will participate.

PS: The other OAC (OA-Community) Servers do not yet implement this project, thus you won't participate in the project if you play on any of the other servers.

[grey matter]

Are there any DOs or DONTs on that server? Will I ruin stats by committing suicide all the time?

[RMF]

Just played a few rounds. I got warned for spawnkilling. Besides that I think it's fair anyway, I didn't even know the person that I killed had just spawned. It displayed (1) behind the message, does that mean three strikes I'm out or something?

Also, if the data is so anonymous, why don't you tell us what you are collecting? Or do you think that might bias the stats?

[GrosBedo]

No there's no DOs nor DONTs, just play in whatever way you want (that's the goal actually).

The spawnkilling prevention is managed by B3 (big brother bot), and is not part of the project. I should maybe remove it on this server but in fact it shouldn't bother you too much (it will just warn you, it should not kick you even if you spawnkill repetitively).

About the content of the data: as I told, I collect data about your gaming experience. An example is the number of frags, or if you're ducked, or in mid-air, or if you get an Excellent award, etc... In summary, it collects events you trigger, or worded differently it records how you play (at least a partial footprint).

And yes I don't publish the full list yet because I don't want to bias (but anyway I don't think one can bias the stats even with the knowledge of what is recorded exactly), and also publishing the list may hint at the purpose of the software, which I don't want to disclose right now (because then it can really bias the stats!).

[RMF]

And yes I don't publish the full list yet because I don't want to bias (but anyway I don't think one can bias the stats even with the knowledge of what is recorded exactly), and also publishing the list may hint at the purpose of the software, which I don't want to disclose right now (because then it can really bias the stats!).

You make me curious
But I can wait a month, so I will. Might forget about it though, I hope I won't

[GrosBedo]

The first iteration of the experiment is now finished, and it was a success after only a week, because you were many to answer the call!

My warm thanking to everybody who participated to this experiment!

The software is now being reworked and enhanced using what I've learned from the collected data.

There will probably be a second iteration of the experiment with an updated software in a few weeks to wrap things up and check that everything is fully working, and then the first public and opensource release of the software will be published.

Stay tuned for news about the project, and thank's again to you all, you've made this project a success!

[RMF]

I'll try to stay tuned, but if you need people, you can send me a PM and I'll get the whole L!ve clan to play there some time

[GrosBedo]

That's great RMF, thank you for the offer!

Yes there will be at least a 2nd experiment, just like this one, using a new version of the system, to check that the problems I spotted are really fixed. I'll send you a PM and also post an announce here

[matija123]

HELL YEA DUDE COOL! I wish that fair would be on rofl allrockets but no..assrape kill himself all the time 

[GrosBedo]

Thank you for your praise matija123
However, the B3 bot (with its "fair" checking) is not a feature of the system I am currently developping but just part of the tools currently used on the OA-Community servers. It is also enabled on OAC - Rockets Only (with other features like full delag for rockets) if you want to give it a try.

News on the project: it is still in development, even if I could not work on it as much as I planned to (I have to work for a living too...), but this project will be released during the summer. I fix the deadline to release something (even if not finished) on the 15th July at the latest, but I hope to get the first public release before.