Scouting Mechanics Revamp

In the ever-evolving world of MetaSoccer, we're committed to ensuring a balanced and engaging gaming experience for all our users. With this goal in mind, we've taken a deep dive into the existing scouting mechanics and realized they're in need of an overhaul.

The current state of scouting has led to a concerning trend: most scouts have become virtually obsolete. Players are predominantly discovered by only a small fraction of top scouts with an overall rating of 90 or above (which represent only 3% of the total supply). In contrast, the majority of scouts with ratings below 70 go unused.

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, we've decided to undertake an overhaul of the entire scouting system. Our primary objective is to bring the mechanics more in line with reality, where true excellence is a rare gem, cultivated through practice and time.

‍

Changes we'll implement

At the core of this transformation lies a fundamental shift in our approach. Instead of the existing exponential increase, where each scouting attempt results in incremental improvements, we are introducing a more natural approach. Here's a summary of the changes we're implementing:

• More Natural Skill Improvement: We're replacing the exponential curve with a logarithmic one. This means that Scouts will now progress slower as they approach a skill level of 99. To put it in perspective, taking a Scout from skill 42 to 70 will now require the same amount of time that it used to take to advance from skill 42 to 99 under the previous algorithm.
  
  (Scouts with the Extra motivation ability will improve twice as fast.)
  
  Below, you can see a comparison of the two improvement curves for a scout without Extra motivation or Pioneer ability:

• Gradual Cost Adjustment: We're also making changes to the cost of sending a Scout for scouting. The increase in cost as the Scout improves will now follow a more gradual curve.
  
  (Scouts with Pioneer ability will reduce scouting cost by 50%.)
  
  ‍Scouting will no longer require MSC, and the cost in MSU has been adjusted accordingly, as shown in the table below:

• Cooldown Adjustment: Scouts will now come back 2 days after being sent to discover new talent (Instead the 6 days they take now).
  
  (Scouts with Master of Relations ability will come back after 1 day.)
  

• Aging and Retirement: Scouts will now undergo aging, just like players. Every 30 days in real life, scouts will celebrate their "birthday" and increase their age attribute. At the age of 65, scouts will retire.

‍

All these changes will commence on Monday, January 1st, 2024 at 13:00 UTC.‍

‍

We believe that by making assets scarcer and harder to obtain, we can inject a new level of excitement and challenge into the game. Much like the real world, where exceptional talent is a rarity, MetaSoccer will now reflect these same principles.

These changes aim not only to restore balance to the scouting system but also to infuse MetaSoccer with a heightened level of authenticity that fans have been eagerly awaiting. Excellence should be earned, and we're steadfast in ensuring it remains that way.

‍

Restoring balance

After implementing these changes, an important issue will arise: lower-level scouts will face a considerable challenge in catching up with higher-level ones, as the latter have improved their knowledge without aging and requiring a significantly less amount of resources. We believe this creates an unfair disadvantage for newcomers embarking on their journey in the MetaSoccer Universe. Not only will they need to invest more resources to attain the same level of knowledge in a Scout, but they will also have to wait longer. At the same time, we are deeply committed to preserving and increasing the value of assets within the ecosystem, while also respecting the resources invested in advancing these Scouts to higher levels (so resetting them isn’t an option). We like to approach things with a long-term view. We think it is necessary if we want to make MetaSoccer a place for millions of football fans. That’s why we will introduce two additional changes:

• We’ll put a lot of focus and resources on creating competitions tailored to low and mid level players (and thus scouts), to encourage their usage and increase their value.
• We’ll make Scouts with an Overall Rating (OVR) equal to or greater than 80 at the time of implementation (Monday, January 1st, 2024 at 13:00 UTC) age two times (2x) faster.

We trust these measures will help balance the game in the mid-term by increasing the usage of scouts at all levels and making high-level assets harder to obtain (and thus more scarce and valuable). Additionally, they will provide an opportunity for early adopters, who have invested significant resources to improve their scouts, to continue enjoying their assets at full potential for several months until they retire.

‍

Wrapping up

To wrap things up, we'd like to highlight three key points that we believe are crucial:

1. This is just the beginning of a series of changes designed to enhance the game's economy and competitiveness. We will continue to improve the Scouting system to increase the value of Scouts of all OVRs. For example, one item on our roadmap is the introduction of the Knowledge token, which will provide the ability and freedom to improve Scouts at a detailed level.
2. We are consistently monitoring the game's economy and balance. As the game is still in development, we will introduce adjustments, including to these mechanics, to keep the game balanced, enjoyable and competitive for everyone.
3. We are committed to make assets (players, scouts, and the ones that are yet to come) valuable, which includes making them scarce and usable. This involves making them both scarce and usable. Part of this process includes adopting a long-term perspective on the mechanics. We MUST make MetaSoccer a welcoming place for new users, offering a competitive platform where everyone willing to put in the effort can earn their rewards.

As always, your feedback is invaluable as we strive to refine and elevate the MetaSoccer experience. Together, we're shaping a journey that's truly extraordinary.

Stay tuned for further updates as we roll out these exciting changes.

Thank you for being part of the MetaSoccer community!