Hello everyone.
I'll try to be brief. The first paragraph or so may be irrelevant to answer the question, but I'm including it for context.
For school, a friend and I are developing a strategy game wherein combat units are constructed out of components that offer different benefits (movement speed, damage etc.). We're going to be using automated playtesting to "balance" these components, and I want to make sure I use a logical methodology to do so. From our playtest, we will be pitting a set of 'balanced' units against test-case units that use the new ability we are trying to balance. The components being tested will each have have 1-4 variable values for which we would want to find a balanced curve formula.
For my example, let's say we playtest a component with two variables, +Strength and +Dexterity. We playtest by randomly (within constraints) assigning bonus values to these components for hundreds of battles, throwing them into battle against unit(s) we eventually want to give a 50-50 chance of beating. Though there are random factors that can influence battle, obviously the battles where the bonus values are high give the unit a higher chance of winning and vice versa.
In a slight simplification of our tests, the results data would come out something like this, where STR and DEX stats are random and we get the W/L result of the playtest:
STR DEX W/L
14.3 04.9 W
03.7 07.3 L
01.0 17.8 L
10.2 09.6 W
19.6 06.3 W
02.9 16.1 W
...
And so on. From there we could plot W/L points on a scatter graph, and would want to create a logarithmic curve to define a roughly "balanced" ability, that plots X and Y coordinates for values of STR and DEX where the values on the curve give a 50/50 chance of winning (so p=0.5 in the regression). And beyond that, a methodology of doing so for components with more than 2 variables.
I hope I was clear, I'll reply to any clarification questions
I appreciate any help you could offer to help me in my research of the best/easiest way to calculate this. I've found a lot so far, but better to ask than to remain uncertain I'm going about it correctly.
Thank you!
I'll try to be brief. The first paragraph or so may be irrelevant to answer the question, but I'm including it for context.
For school, a friend and I are developing a strategy game wherein combat units are constructed out of components that offer different benefits (movement speed, damage etc.). We're going to be using automated playtesting to "balance" these components, and I want to make sure I use a logical methodology to do so. From our playtest, we will be pitting a set of 'balanced' units against test-case units that use the new ability we are trying to balance. The components being tested will each have have 1-4 variable values for which we would want to find a balanced curve formula.
For my example, let's say we playtest a component with two variables, +Strength and +Dexterity. We playtest by randomly (within constraints) assigning bonus values to these components for hundreds of battles, throwing them into battle against unit(s) we eventually want to give a 50-50 chance of beating. Though there are random factors that can influence battle, obviously the battles where the bonus values are high give the unit a higher chance of winning and vice versa.
In a slight simplification of our tests, the results data would come out something like this, where STR and DEX stats are random and we get the W/L result of the playtest:
STR DEX W/L
14.3 04.9 W
03.7 07.3 L
01.0 17.8 L
10.2 09.6 W
19.6 06.3 W
02.9 16.1 W
...
And so on. From there we could plot W/L points on a scatter graph, and would want to create a logarithmic curve to define a roughly "balanced" ability, that plots X and Y coordinates for values of STR and DEX where the values on the curve give a 50/50 chance of winning (so p=0.5 in the regression). And beyond that, a methodology of doing so for components with more than 2 variables.
I hope I was clear, I'll reply to any clarification questions
I appreciate any help you could offer to help me in my research of the best/easiest way to calculate this. I've found a lot so far, but better to ask than to remain uncertain I'm going about it correctly.
Thank you!
