MrCrow
Joined: Jul 18, 2024
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 Posted:
Jul 18, 2024 - 19:43 |
 
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Hello everyone,
I'm new here and I would like you to help me understand if this could be a suitable hobby for me. First of all, I'll briefly tell you about my past experiences with Blood Bowl over time and then I'll share my current concerns about downloading the client and starting to play. I discovered Blood Bowl 8 years ago by playing Blood Bowl Chaos Edition by Cyanide Studios. I played a lot in single player mode for about 2 years. Then I suddenly stopped. I had no complaints about the AI which, while not miraculous, I didn't mind at all, but I couldn't stand one aspect of the game that many considered secondary: the AI-managed teams seemed not to suffer injuries or deaths in AI vs AI matches. This may seem like a trivial matter, but this aspect gradually made me lose interest in the game, which to this day remains the most played in my Steam library. Subsequently, over the years until today, I have almost completely forgotten the rules and had no further contact with Blood Bowl. I even bought Blood Bowl 2 at a very discounted price a few years ago, but I never felt like starting to play it. In the meantime, I shifted my attention to some digital Wargames such as Field of Glory 2 and I discovered that I like playing multiplayer more then single player. Just a week ago, I discovered the existence of FUMBBL and I felt a mild desire to start playing again with Blood Bowl. However, I would like to better understand if it is really worth it because I know practically nothing about the FUMBBL environment.
I would like to ask you a series of questions:
1) What is the current situation of the community? Are there many players or is it difficult to find someone to play with? I don't know if it matters, but I would mainly be playing in the evening GMT+2 (I live in Italy).
2) Compared to the rules used in Blood Bowl Chaos Edition, has anything changed? It seems to me that there is more than one set of rules in use.
3) Approximately how many minutes does an online match last?
4) Are the players more or less evenly matched in terms of experience? I ask because there are many communities I have frequented or still frequent dedicated to various wargames/tabletop games where the level is generally very high and beginners struggle a lot to find balanced matches.
Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to spend some time answering my questions. |
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MattDakka
Joined: Oct 09, 2007
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Jul 18, 2024 - 19:50 |
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Hello and welcome to FUMBBL!
1) The community here is small but finding games is not hard, especially if you play new teams at low TV. In the evening there are many people online. You can find games either on Gamefinder: https://fumbbl.com/p/lfg2, by offering/turning down matches to other people or activating your teams in the Black Box (basically TV matchmaking), by using the same Gamefinder page.
2) Yes, the rules have changed, the official current ruleset is BB2020.
3) If both coaches are experienced enough, a match lasts approximately 1 hour, otherwise a bit more (1 hour and 10 minutes or so).
4) Teams are matched by close TV and teams with 0-15 games are paired together. When a team has played 16 games it could be paired with other teams with 16 or more games. There is a max TV gap limit until 30 games, after 30 games there is no limit to the TV difference you can find (although the scheduler tries to match teams by close TVs, if possible). |
Last edited by MattDakka on Jul 18, 2024; edited 1 time in total |
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quixote
Joined: Mar 13, 2005
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Jul 18, 2024 - 19:55 |
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1) It's not as active as it was, but GMT +2 is probably the best time zone for finding games so you shouldn't struggle. (It may be useful to join the Discord [https://fumbbl.com/p/discord], there is a LFG channel if Gamefinder and/or the Blackbox scheduler are not to your liking).
2) No idea. Have not played BB Chaos Edition.
3) Most of my games finish in around 90 minutes.
4) There are many exceptionally good and highly experienced players on FUMBBL, but there is also a league intended for new players, the 145 club. It has it's own Discord server as well. If you ask in the main Discord that can give you the link. |
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neuro_
Joined: Aug 15, 2020
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Jul 18, 2024 - 19:55 |
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^^ more or less agree, but i would say that on FUMBBL generally games are between more experienced coaches, especially in gamefinder and blackbox. can be a struggle for newer players... but dont worry!! theres the 145 club- a league that welcomes a lot of newer players and is great for getting coaching tips too. If you havent played in a long time, and especially if mostly vs AI, i would reccommend checking out the 145  ) |
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JackassRampant
Joined: Feb 26, 2011
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Jul 18, 2024 - 20:08 |
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Globally, there's some six-figure number of Blood Bowl coaches by some definition. Probably about 1-2% of them play here, mostly the hardcore types and those who get their kicks playing hardcore types.
This is an absolute shark tank. That's a good thing if you let it be. This game is infinitely replayable and many of us have had it as a primary hobby for decades. Sure, this means that if you jump right into the Competitive division heedlessly, you will be in for a ride, but a) there's a certain masochistic charm in that, b) we have lots of resources to help you git gwd, and c) getting good here will help you shine in other BB environments. |
_________________
Lude enixe, obliviscatur timor.
Last edited by JackassRampant on Jul 18, 2024; edited 1 time in total |
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razmus
Joined: Jun 23, 2017
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Jul 18, 2024 - 20:22 |
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Adding (hopefully) a little more to the data, with a few links:
1. Server time is also (currently) GMT+2... so that'll be the time you see in the top right corner of the page. As has been said, yours is one of the most popular timezone in which to play. You can see more about what time Blood Bowl is played on FUMBBL on the statistics page (https://fumbbl.com/p/stats) on the "Games per hour" tab.
2. Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition - "https://steamcommunity.com/app/216890" - If I'm understanding what I'm seeing, this is pre-BB2 (~2012)... so would be at least two major versions back. The basic gameplay will be the same, but I believe you will discover that a lot has changed. (I think it would be analogous to having played Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition, and coming back to find D&D 5th edition. Yeah, your gonna find Elves and Dwarves, Fighters and Clerics... but some of the races will be different and some of the core mechanics will work differently.) If you don't already have the rulebook, I'd encourage you to acquire (and read) that, as well as the current FAQ/errata. (I'll have to ask you to google for the link for the Blood Bowl FAQ though.) One thing FUMBBL does really well is stay current with the rules, including the latest rosters/stars/rules interpretations.)
3. Once you are accustomed to the interface and if you encounter an at least average opponent, games run 50-70 minutes... a few will be a little slower (especially if Nuffle decides to remove a bunch of players from the pitch), and a few will be a little longer. The guideline in the FUMBBL Rules will ask you to please set aside 90 minutes in which to play.
4. There is group dedicated for newer coaches, the 145 Club, which has it's own Discord server, which I'd encourage you to join. A great deal of effort is made there to help folks. Jumping into the general pool of courses in the Competitive division... the overwhelming majority of coaches are fantastic folkss and many will help you learn some... but the 145 Club is there to get you started. (Learning after the basics.. ask ten coaches how to get better and you'll get eleven answers.) |
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Last edited by razmus on Jul 18, 2024; edited 1 time in total |
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JackassRampant
Joined: Feb 26, 2011
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Jul 18, 2024 - 20:29 |
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| razmus wrote: | | ask ten coaches how to get better and you'll get eleventy-one answers just about Halflings. |
Corrections in italics. |
_________________
Lude enixe, obliviscatur timor. |
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RDaneel
Joined: Feb 24, 2023
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 Posted:
Jul 18, 2024 - 22:09 |
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| MrCrow wrote: |
I would like to ask you a series of questions:
1) What is the current situation of the community? Are there many players or is it difficult to find someone to play with? I don't know if it matters, but I would mainly be playing in the evening GMT+2 (I live in Italy).
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Evening server time (21.00 - 23.00) is the most crowdy time you will not have too much difficulties to find a game . But with Game finder (https://fumbbl.com/help:Gamefinder) can be not so easy: people very likely don't offer you fair games , you can try to use but if you want to have a good probability to play is to apply several teams (let's say 5-10 ) in the blackbox which run every 15 minutes . I suggest to create in the start Tiers1 competitive team and apply in the Box ( rules here https://fumbbl.com/help:Blackbox)
You will not have much difficulty to find a game even is more likely to find very expert coaches in Box than in GameFinder or in Leagues
Another recommendation i usually provide to new players want to play in Black Box is to AVOID TO ACTIVATE IN THE BOX TEAMS WITH MORE THAN 15 GAMES PLAYED
This because the algorithm of Box association has a protection to pair two team within less than 15 games played (and try also to pair team with similar TV). After 15 games you can be paired to whatever team , despite there is a TV gap limit very often if your 1550-1650 TV value team (which is very possible to reach after 15 games)is associated vs another team of TV 1550-1650 but 300 games played you will very likely lose the game.
There are some coaches who think they are very strong because they have played thousands of games with few teams super optimized and have a 70% win rate but in reality they are just very clever (in italian i call them "i furbetti del quartierino"  ) and min-max their teams and exploit the fact that redraft is missing (although they cry in every game in which the dice may not be rolling that they have lost because of the lack of redraft... they are comical you'll see)
So you'd better avoid them (not because they are true champion eh.... just because they are simply boring and know the tricks to win easily very well vs newcomers).
So if you want to have some honest fun (because i presume you dont want only to play often but you like to win maybe with probability of 51% at least!) create some TIERS 1 teams and apply in the BlackBox and after 15 games stop and use those teams to play in some nice tournament
I suggest these
https://fumbbl.com/p/group?op=view&group=4881
https://fumbbl.com/p/group?op=view&group=7922&p=teams
https://fumbbl.com/FUMBBL.php?page=group&op=view&group=6663
last but not least if you have a fresh new team one good idea is to play in this tournament RRR
https://fumbbl.com/p/group?op=view&group=2294
is very good playground to develop your team and have games "more or less" fair.
in general all tournaments are listed here
https://fumbbl.com/p/tournaments
And if you are italian try to apply the Lega Gladio , the admin is super cool and the Lega is very funny but does not run so often so i think 1 times or 2 times per year
https://fumbbl.com/p/group?op=view&group=11676
ask the admin.
And then when your team would have reached a very super optimized TV with maybe a couple of player with 2 stats improvement you can try to risk to re-activate in the Black Box again.
Waiting for the redraft which is still not implemented.
P.S) if your Team Value will become too high and you want to apply in Box be prepared to see less often your team associated. for the reason of the 15 games because many players play in Box team with gamenumber < 15...
| MrCrow wrote: |
2) Compared to the rules used in Blood Bowl Chaos Edition, has anything changed? It seems to me that there is more than one set of rules in use.
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The rules (for the competitive division) are those written in the Blood Bowl Fantasy Footbal manual published in 2020 (BB2020) with a few caveats.
First of all, ALL rules changes published by G&W in the Errata & Designer Commentary:
Please look carefully here.
https://fumbbl.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=33048&highlight=designers+commentary
Then on top of this in term of Starplayer ALL the MEGASTAR cannot be hired in Competitive division. A part this i find FUMBLL one of the best site offering close match with BB2020 ruleset (and offering the whole set of races btw ).
Also in competitive division redraft is still not implemented.
| MrCrow wrote: |
3) Approximately how many minutes does an online match last?
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Usually 1 hour... 1 hour and half. Please be carefull There is the possibility for a coach to call during opposite turn a timeout after 4 mins. Despite in general people don't call often you should be carefull that slow playing is not really tolerate in competitive division (over all if you play vs one "furbetto del quartierino"
Even if not happen often you could be allowed to stop the game and restart if some reasons happen. The client is developed in order that the game can be resumed in case of disconnections or whatever. Please read carefully the policy
https://fumbbl.com/help:DisconnectionProblems
Please remember that if you ACTIVATED some teams in the Black Box and you switch off PC or close the browser if you DO NOT DESACTIVATE your teams for the BlackBox the one of your teams will still be drawn. If your team is drawn normally you must play. Anyway the most important things are written here
https://fumbbl.com/help:Blackbox
| MrCrow wrote: |
4) Are the players more or less evenly matched in terms of experience? I ask because there are many communities I have frequented or still frequent dedicated to various wargames/tabletop games where the level is generally very high and beginners struggle a lot to find balanced matches.
Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to spend some time answering my questions. |
In general players who play regularly here play Box and Tournaments and have a good eperience level also compared to some NAF tabletop tournaments (me excluded of course ... ) so Expecially in BlackBox you would probably meet often very expert players than in Gamefinders or in Leagues. (you can mitigate these factors by keeping low with the TV and the 15-game speech I explained earlier)
If you wan to start "soft" definitively leagues is the best place but matches are played by appointment. You cannot expect to play a lot of league matches every day unless you participate in a lot of leagues.
if your goal is to play "often" BlackBox give you more chances
If you want to get off to a good start, I recommend as Razmus already suggested League 145 https://fumbbl.com/p/group?op=view&group=3180 is very nice place to start
go to Discord channel you will find plenty of nice people who can help you .
Another DISCORD channel who i recommend is the FUMBBL channel / General chat
and last but not least
SPECTATE
SPECTATE
SPECTATE
one of the best way to understand how fumbbl coaches play bloodnow is spectating games of very expert players (included the "furbetti" so you can understand their dirty tricks).
you go here https://fumbbl.com/p/games and you can see all running games (you can also watch replays)
FUMBBL is one of the best place you can play Blood Bowl if you don't have possibility to play tabletop with your friend. |
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To judge a man, one must at least know the secret of his thoughts, his misfortunes, his emotions, Balzac |
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Grod
Joined: Sep 30, 2003
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| Posted:
Jul 19, 2024 - 06:16 |
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FUMBBL isn't for everyone. It's an extremely accurate and almost entirely complete implementation of blood bowl. The community is decent whether playing in the open competitive divisions, organised tournaments or player run leagues (you will find several European ones, and there is a solid Italian community as well).
However, it's for coaches that really like Blood Bowl, some of us started playing when it was just a board game in the 80s or 90s. Many players of the Cyanide client don't like the lack of graphics and animations on FUMBBL, they prefer the "feel" of a modern looking game, even if it's an incomplete ruleset.
Still, FUMBBL is free, you can easily spectate a game to see what it looks like, and it "just works". The latest version of Cyanide is divisive given the high costs, bugs and lack of features and teams. |
_________________
I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.
Oscar Wilde |
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Gridironman
Joined: Mar 18, 2022
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| Posted:
Jul 19, 2024 - 07:55 |
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Random primaries on linemen, guard on blitzers stat ups on ballcarriers, RP agility on catchers. If you feel like getting sweaty. |
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An Amorican Nuffler that bashed in his youth. |
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