Interview [Issue 29] Clan leaders' opinions on StarLadder

[Remaine 4,687]

 

StarLadder's a rather controversial subject, in general - it appears that the community is split between those that act fervently toward the new platform and those who believe "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and prefer to have just Cybersport. They all have their reasons but what do the clan leaders think? I went around and asked the seniority of eight clans to find out.

 

 

How did you feel when StarLadder was first introduced?

 

representing Sky Army [sA]: At first I felt satisfied and surprised, especially on StarLadder's good organization. I was impressed when I first saw commentators and their studio. I knew there would be more serious tournaments and clan wars, not only between English community clans, but also with the strongest Russian community clans and German community clans. First season for amateur clans was just about to start. I decided to participate with my clan, so we started to train.

 

representing Counter Strike [CS]: At first glance StarLadder looked like a new and fresh way of playing in competitions with other clans. I was excited to try it out, but up to this day I have not got my chance :/

 

representing Game On [GO]: First, i didn't even know what that is, but after my leader (old on, now i have my own clan) introduced it to me, it felt just fine, 3 community's united, playing 1 tournament...I was quite happy that Russians came up with that idea.

 

@swede1 representing Top Gun [TG]: There had been talk about it for quite some time so I was excited in some ways for a formal tournament system, but was also dismayed over the clan size restrictions talked about at the time.

 

representing Pak Falcons [PF]: I didn't know what it is but when I knew, I was a bit sad because I thought that now none/very less players will go to forum clans which is more fun there comparing to starladder teams, you know! There is more in forum clans, like u can post anything on home page of clan, while in starladder you just can change logo and just comment. Also! I was sad about one more thing, for small ranked players or little bit less skilled players can't do starladder RC or tournaments.. They'll lose the 1st one coz its soo hard so no chance for some less skilled players. While in forum you can arrange war with your type clan so it gets fair.

 

@F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R representing Beg For Mercy [bFM]: Honestly, I liked it. It paved the way for a bright Tanki future. Star Ladder in a way created more options for cybersports especially and I am very happy to be a part of it. My expectations were high when they introduced Star ladder into Tanki Online. I was really eager to put my clan in SLTV and start rolling in Star Ladder games ( and we actually did). Yes, I was really happy that  TO  had taken a new turn into the future!

 

Does your clan actively participate in StarLadder tournaments? Maybe a Ranking Cup here and there?

 

representing Sky Army [sA]: Yes, we actively participate in AmSeries seasons. We were quite successful in the Season I. and also in the Season II. (it's still in progress), but we had some problems in our clan in the middle of the Season II., but we started well. We participated in 2 Ranking/Weekend Cups before. Sadly, we have lost, both in the first round as the schedule is not so good for us. Ranking/Weekend cups are starting too early. It's time when most of us have school or during weekend lunch. But we at least tried to participate. As we had some problems in our clan last month, I'm re-building my squad at the moment and still looking forward to participate in the Season III.

 

@I.Devastation representing Counter Strike [CS]: Quite often, yes. We've participate in all of the starladder amateur series so far but haven't gone far in any of them :/. We do participate in a ranking cup every so often when we have enough members online but in recent times that hasn't been the case.

 

representing Game On [GO]: My clan is newly made, but yes, we will play the Weekend Cup tomorrow, and i cant wait it. In my old clan, we did not participate in any of the Cups, but we were still taking part in AM Series, so it was just good for me. I can't wait for the new Season of SLTV AM Series to start, so that my own clan will be able to take part in.

 

@swede1 representing Top Gun [TG]: I think everyone knows Top Gun is rocking the Star Ladder scene

 

representing Pak Falcons [PF]: Yes we do and we enjoy but sometimes the referee is sleepy and most of the time the opponent clan invites their friends instead of starladder players. that makes a bit unfair, I told to referee about this but she said its not forbidden, I mean! , then why starladder team exists?? there should be war of just leader's friends.. i was pretty angry on this

 

@F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R representing Beg For Mercy [bFM]: Yes, we have been part of the AM SERIES II till the 4th Stage, untill recently.  We are about to start participating in Ranking Cups and Weekend Cups. It's quite thrilling! 

 

Did you find StarLadder difficult to set up? Was it hard to get used to?

 

representing Sky Army [sA]: Yes, it was a bit hard at the beginning, but I got used to. The rules are similar to old Cybersport's, but I went through them again. The only hard thing is communicating with Russians who don't speak and understand English language. Referees are ready to help you in such cases (their English spoken is not so perfect), but somehow I resolve problems with actual player without calling referee. However, everything you need to do is to send link to the battle.

 

representing Counter Strike [CS]: Starladder was not that hard to set up though getting members to make profiles did take some effort. The ranking cups and tournaments itself were a bit challenging at first specially because our clan had members with garages targeted at the old format, medium, therefore many of the members did not have the equipment needed for the tournaments. However we started recruiting new members and training in the light format and AM series format. Working hard helped us get used to it.

 

representing Game On [GO]: IMO, SLTV is not that hard to use, i had no problem with anything, but some of my clan members had lot's and lot's of problems with it. So the difficulty of using SLTV in any way is different from person to person.

 

@swede1 representing Top Gun [TG]: The translator interface had and still does have issues but it wasnt difficult to set up the team, whats there to get used to, site navigation is quite simple once you find your username way up in the corner of the page.

 

representing Pak Falcons [PF]: No I don't think so, It's fine, and ya! i got used to it, but as i said , bit angry on referees

 

@F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R representing Beg For Mercy [bFM]: As it turns out, Star ladder isn't fun anymore for clans that aren't in Star or Pro Series. Some matches are played in opposite time zones, while the rules of amateur tournaments are really hard and penalizing. Adding on to this, the referees are Russians and therefore, the English Clans are helpless when it comes to communicating with them. This leads to problems in postponing matches, and eventually this leads to disqualification of clan. Augmenting to this, SLTV allows the usage of the same combos every game. The less experienced clans cannot use more than 100% railgun protection paints while the Star Series clans can!  If we want Star ladder to be more famous and liked by all then, honestly speaking, there are things to be changed.Well, it was hard to take in the news of getting kicked out from AM SERIES II just because of rule breaking ; that too, substituting more than 3 players into the squad. But we learn from our mistakes. It was hard for me in the beginning, but as time passed, I got used to the rules and the referees'.

 

Are you a fan of the contemporary StarLadder formats?

 

representing Sky Army [sA]: Yes, I'm totally satisfied with Light format which is official format played in Star, Pro and Amateur series. Also, I like XP format which is played on Ranking/Weekend Cups.

 

@I.Devastation representing Counter Strike [CS]: I don't mind them but think they do eventually get a bit boring when played too much, it's not very interesting if your using XP in normal battles and in starladder. I'd personally prefer it with the old formats(light, medium and heavy) for starladder since most of us already play enough xp without starladder and playing too much of it will eventually make it boring.

 

representing Game On [GO]: Yes, i like StarLadder light format, it is quite similar to XP battle, and many of players like that. I like this format more than the old Medium format that was used in DTJ, but that one also wasn't bad.

 

@swede1 representing Top Gun [TG]: SL is still in its infancy, once they have all 4 levels of competition up and running, they will introduce more options for formats. The possibilities are endless in the future.

 

representing Pak Falcons [PF]: Yes! I am big fan, it's all fine here, all maps are good for XP, which is fun there. But supplies should be off makes it bit unfair when a red or blue team have more chances of supplies dropping, so its should be off i think. so... ya! that 1 smoky and 100% protection thing! , its fine

 

@F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R representing Beg For Mercy [bFM]: Not really. The formats are too discriminate. New clans are only allowed to use Railgun, Smoky and Hornet for all the wars, and also just 1 smoky.That kinda spoils the whole idea of fun! Well, if you look at the brighter side, SLTV advertises Tanki Online in a whole new level. More gamers from around the planet have joined since the colaboration! Thats great news, isn't it ? Also, there are more clan practices nowadays in M3 Clans. Everybody is trying to get into the Am series and then Pro Series. Thats really good. But we are forgetting that players who are skilled with other combos say, ricochet/thunder , are missing these moments.

 

Does StarLadder have traits which are significant enough to deter players from using it? Or conversely, are players over-exaggerating about said traits?

 

representing Sky Army [sA]: As we all know, StarLadder is organized very well and it gives an opportunity to beginners to show themselves, but it's even better for very well trained Russian clans which can beat every English or German community clan anytime. Our community doesn't support StarLadder as much as it was in the beginning. There are only a few successful English community clans ranked in ProSeries. We don't even have a single clan in StarSeries and it's also impossible to enter those clans as a member (Russian language is required to speak). I think that our community misses old Cybersport. Clan wars were pretty more fair and communicating to each other was also easier.

 

representing Counter Strike [CS]: I think the main thing that made players not want StarLadder was the fact that Tanki was going to remove the clans from the forum and strictly use StarLadder. But after some complaints, Tanki decided not to do this, much to my relief.Currently, I think the main issue might be the time zones, since players who don't have a favorable time zone will have a harder time participating in tournaments in StarLadder.

 

representing Game On [GO]: This again depends from person to person, but to me, StarLadder is just good as it is, it doesn't have so many bad things that would deter players from using it, because if you look more into clans, there are no other tournaments or events for clans, so StarLadder kinda keeps us alive. It is very sad to see that, but "our" CS is falling apart, so it is important that we at least have SLTV, but it would be way better to see our own CS tournament's and stuff.

 

@swede1 representing Top Gun [TG]: StarLadder is super platform for gaming but it is catering to the Asian market with all games being played suited to their time zone, hopefully in the future RCs could be organized for other markets like Europe and North America

 

representing Pak Falcons [PF]: I like the trait of starladder lol. it's fine.. yep! just some problems of starladder which i have in mind that i already told you.. other than that its all fine. no argue.

 

@F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R representing Beg For Mercy [bFM]: Apparently they are exaggerating it a little too much. While star ladder is a great platform for Top Players and Teams, it has still not reached the common tankers! Tankers who struggle for popularity has still not got any platform to show off their skills. It still remains a tank man's dream!

 

Would you argue that StarLadder is better than Cybersport?

 

representing Sky Army [sA]: It's a hard choice. I still prefer old Cybersport as communicating was much easier and there weren't so big differences between clans.

 

representing Counter Strike [CS]: I see pros and cons in both. Many of the clans have constantly being talking about the issue of time when tournaments are played in Cybersport. Even though starladder has provided numerous opportunities to take part in tournaments through ranking cups and weekends cups time is still and issue. The time when ranking cups starts for example is too early for many of the members in the clan including me.

StarLadder I believe is targeted at professional gamers, which is exciting but I do miss the less competitive nature of cybersport.

 

representing Game On [GO]: If Cybersport would be as it was, it would be better than SLTV, but as i already mentioned, SLTV is the only thing that keeps us alive, so for now, SLTV is better than Cybersport.

 

@swede1 representing Top Gun [TG]: In my opinion StarLadder is Tanki Cybersport, the forum is not set up to handle cybersport, but it also lacks the connection to StarLadder. The forum should be a place for the clans to follow and feature their accomplishments as well as its members, and players should have profiles with game stats and avatars

 

representing Pak Falcons [PF]: ya! it is, its much simple for me, its more proper.. well i really didn't saw all cybersport , but i know little , ya! still starladder better than cybersport, simpler professional, easy and open.. i think you got me

 

@F.I.N.I.S.H.E.R representing Beg For Mercy [bFM]: At the moment, I am afraid, its a no. And I think, most new clans would agree to this. Cybersport is better than Star ladder ( at the moment ) according to me. 

 

 

If you have suggestions of your very own, go here. In any case, thanks for reading - feel free to express your own views here as well!

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[hogree 4,179]

Really interesting, good subject. Miss the days of Twins-Hornets and Firebird-Wasps in wars tho.

[ASSAF00 36]

2nd and intersting! 

[jayantgupta 58]

We have to go to 3 platforms - Tankionline, Tanki forum and starladder. It is quite confusing for new players specially younger ones.

My suggestion is build a link in tankionline to reach clans, forum, tournaments.

It will solve a lot of problems like-

-None clan member participating in clan war / tournaments

-Tournaments, maps, turret, hulls, etc. already customized for rules.

-Players (specifically new ones) will have easy approach to clans, tournaments

 

Furthermore there should be tournaments for m2 and m1 players so that m2 clans have something for them.

And one tournament to use any turret and hull.

[Cigara9393 338]

I haven't nothing especially to say! Good luck everyone i play this only because of fun.

[Athena369 265]

 

I have already posted the text below on the ideas and suggestions section. Reposting here cause i think its more suited here.

 

hi there everyone,

 

 

 

I'm Athena and I'm sure most of you guys are familiar with the site starladder where many tournaments and exciting events are held. Well unfortunately,I have some serious complaints and suggestions to make about it. Let me go through them.

 

 

 

Ranking cups, a total joke?

 

 

 

For those of whom who don't know, Ranking Cups or (RC's) are knockout tournaments held on a daily basis played on a variety of selected maps including Bridges, Barda, Kungur, Solikamsk, Tribute and Parma. You can find more info here. I really really loved everything about RC 's once they were introduced but more recently, I have started to hate them pretty much. The main reasons being,

 

 

 

Starladder teams can USE players who are not even a part of their team/clan to play in RC' s - I hate this idea a lot! Russians get a huge advantage over the handful of EN clans playing in RC's because of this. There have been countless number of occasions where I have enjoyed losing easily "won" matches. Most of the AM series clans from Russia use PRO series players to play their games in RC's and I find this really unbearable since we, EN clans have no PRO series clans to ask such help from( the only one being AK). Not to mention in some battles I also played against former star series players in the RC's (Note the word former). If you go have a look at the past RC battles you will see that EN clans have managed to grab a victory once in a blue moon. It's not that I am afraid to face such skilled enemies ( In fact I love playing against kings) It's just that I see many EN clans getting overwhelmed by the higher skill level of PRO series players ( while being used by AM series clans) battle after battle. Is this another side effect of this game being a Russian one? I don't know that but I hate it when us EN players are used as bait to keep the RU community happy.

 

 

 

My suggestion- Implementation of new rules will be the best thing to be done against this.

 

 

 

For ex.

 

1) Clans are allowed "only" to use members that are a part of their clan and players out of the clan cannot me used to play matches.

 

2) PRO series players are NOT allowed to play against AM series clans. ( You can always add a new set of RC's just for PRO series clans).

 

3) Adding rating range RC's where clans within a certain rating range can only take part in it.

 

 

 

EN community given no respect from starladder?

 

 

 

As of more recently I have been feeling that SL has been entirely neglecting the EN community. All of you whom that watched the LAN finals last week may have understood how irritating and unbearable it was to listen to the Russian commentary all along. I mean seriously can't Tanki enlist a single commentator for SL? At least for the LAN finals? Also the LAN finals was NOT even broadcasted on the EN page. I know tanki, you have a countless number of Russian fans (The Runet award yet again proved it) but why always try to give the RU community priority in everything? ( I don't have to mention the Vk.com crystals do I? ) To add to this I never saw any reports/ articles till 26th when Semyon posted this. Did the EN community really have to wait days before getting the news that Arcade won the championship (The most aw-inspired event of the whole season?)

 

 

 

My suggestions

 

 

 

1) Recruit some new english commentators.

 

2) Keep the EN community up to date with the starladder news. (maybe opening up a "Starladder news" thread will be a great idea").

 

3) Always try to use english on major events like the LAN finals if you want to catch the eye of the international gamers.

 

 

 

 

 

I have much more to complain about SL.( also against the referees abusing their powers). But I guess this will be enough for now. Thanks for reading! I'm always glad to hear back your comments :). and I hope at least one of my suggestions will get implemented in SL in the near future!

 

 

 

Regards,

 

Athena

[Thug 3,435]

Good Subject :) 

[naca7 143]

Very interesting read!

[Points 693]

great ans leaders :D

[Points 693]

hope starladder will now accept any weapon or hull in the sltv future to determine who really is the best clan ;)

[jett_a_dude 1]

i hope their was new hulls only for sltv  :o  contests:ph34r: dat would be good:)  :)  :)  :)  :)

[robbiealdo 373]

Starsport is more for the Russian nolifers.

 

Most of the English community are just kids who want to have a good time playing this game. Cybersport satisfied our needs. It's al too proffesional now , i don't think it's really good for us.

[r_The_Curious_Guy0 22]

You Just Realised Now

 

Starsport is more for the Russian nolifers.

 

Most of the English community are just kids who want to have a good time playing this game. Cybersport satisfied our needs. It's al too proffesional now , i don't think it's really good for us.