With the first week upon us, please use this thread to provide suggestions on improvements / changes to the derby. I'll try to keep an updated list in this thread.



Suggestions:
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Suggestions that were implemented

I would say extend the deadline. Maybe like midnight Pacific.

Yes to extending the deadline.

Since we're talking about Thursday night, I see no problem extending the deadline to midnight Pacific.

Extending the deadline to midnight pacific would be perfect.

Hey I have a suggestion. It always says "Enter your estimates" and opens up a new/empty form to fill the estimates.

Wouldn't it be great if it showed the current estimates as well, cause then the user can change only the ones that have actually changed, most of the times the estimates don't vary much or they are very close to the previous entries.

Having the existing ones will also guarantee that multiple people are not entering the same estimates again and again without checking what is already present in the system.

I just updated the derby, here are the primary changes:

- Changed column title 'Actual' to 'Estimate' on the admin estimates page.
- Added a check on the validation page to ensure the deadline isn't passed when a player hits submit (previously was only checking when the page loaded)
- Added error messages on the prediction page if an error is encountered entering a prediction
- Changed the deadline to 3AM EST aka 12AM PST
- Fixed bug causing the incorrect estimate entered by info to be shown
- Changed the main derby page to now show average predictions and number of players when the derby is waiting for actuals.

45 entries? I think that's pretty good for the first week. Growth and retention!

HOPE!

The internal goal we made for the derby was 25+ predictions for each week in January. Week one was a good start toward that.

The long term goal we made for the derby is to hit 100 predictions in a week by next year this time. The derby will get so much more fun in a month or two when we have the data required to start delivering some really fun player analytics.

Extremely realistic, imo. How many did the BOM Derby get per week? 250-400?

Others can speak to that better than me.

A lot will depend on BOT, the quality of the game they release, how similar it is, etc. Are there enough differences for players to want to enter predictions in both? Can our game be of higher quality / offer more in order to entice some BOT players to play here as well?

A "Derby" sub forum is now available to all users (Located as a sub forum to The Site). Discussion there can be anything related to the game's administration. Bugs, improvements, issues, movies to predict, etc.

Chippy, when I played the Derby in July, it was 300 low end and around 750 when a major release came out.

I just updated the derby, one change:

- Using Jack Sparrow's suggestion, the page where you can enter an estimate now shows the latest estimate entered as well as the last estimate for the given game that you entered.

Maybe there is no need to hide all predictions till the end of the game?
They can be available right after deadline so players could openly discuss them and excnange their views and opinions. Or all predictions can be available after first projections so we all can see our standing after projections, estimates and actuals. I know some conservative players might not like it but I think this will bring more interest to the game.

Yeah that could bring a new twist to the game and might be interesting. If the predictions are open after deadline then I hardly see the problem even with conservative players.

Wow Karl! I asked for one and you added three..amazing

Another great suggestion.

We actually don't hide all the predictions, we just don't have a method for players to find them! When actuals are added, you'll be able to view the weekly results and click into any members prediction to see what they predicted for each movie. The same page you'll be able to see then, works now. For example, here is Xiayun's prediction.

So the question becomes ... how do we provide visibility to find these? My initial thought is on the main derby page ... when the derby is waiting for actuals ... where it says how many players entered ... add a link below that saying "View All Players and Predictions" ... that link takes you to a searchable page where you can look through the players and click into their predictions.

Thoughts?

Sounds like a great idea!

I just updated the derby, one change:

- Using almost famous's suggestion, a link has been added to the main derby page. This link sits in the section that says how many players played the current week. It takes you to a page where you can see a list of all players, and click into each players prediction.

That looks fabulous, thanks Karl

45 entries is more than I was expecting, and 50 was possible with some missing the deadline.

Great start!

I just updated the derby, one change:

- I made another update. This one hits the prediction page. Once estimates are entered, you can go to the prediction page and a link will be present to see the results based on the estimate. The results are simplified, and don't have some of the advanced metrics available after actuals come in, but it allows you to see the results based on the estimates.

I'm feeling motivated today, so I'll be going through the derby looking for a few minor improvements. I may try and add the email notifications as a larger update.

LOVE seeing the rankings based on estimates! Awesome!