Warlocks Archive FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

 
General
Q. 1.0 How often does the archive update?
Q. 1.1 Is there a tool out there that lets me see what other people are trying to cast?
Q. 1.2 The spells cast by turn column values look funny. How are they created?
Q. 1.3 What affects the streak values?
Q. 1.4 What openings are used to calculate stats?
Q. 1.5 How is the ELO rating calculated?
Q. 1.6 What are these Deltas I keep seeing?
Q. 1.7 What games are included in ELO rankings?
Q. 1.8 What is ELO?

General

A. 1.0    How often does the archive update?


4 times a day. You can see the log here

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A. 1.1    Is there a tool out there that lets me see what other people are trying to cast?


Yep. The home page for this tool is at http://www.itloesungen.de/fm/fm.html
There is another one at
http://code.google.com/p/warlocks-gesture-evaluator/

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A. 1.2    The spells cast by turn column values look funny. How are they created?


Each spell takes a number of turns to complete. The number in that column is a weighted average based on the number of turns in a game, the number of times a spell was cast, and how many moves it takes to cast a particular spell.

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A. 1.3    What affects the streak values?


The streak numbers are only modified by games that are eligible for ELO change. So, no very friendly games and games must be over 4 turns long. Also you have to play at least 25 games and have played a game within the last 10000 games played to have your stats displayed.

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A. 1.4    What openings are used to calculate stats?


All games that qualify for elo calculations are included.

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A. 1.5    How is the ELO rating calculated?


The formula I am using for ELO calculations is:

Win = 1 if you won the game, 0 for loss, 0.5 for tie. Melee game winners get a bonus of 0.1 for each opponent they defeat.

OppElo = ELO of your opponent for non-melee games.
OppElo = Avg ELO of the defeated (who completed more than 4 turns) for melee games.

Delta = OldElo - OppElo
Delta = 390 if above calculation is greater than 390.
Delta = -460 if above calculation is less than -460.

WinExp = 0.541767 + 0.001164 * Delta
WinExp = 0 if above calculation is less than 0.
WinExp = 1 if above calculation is greater than 1.

NewElo=OldElo + (24 * (Win - WinExp))

This is basically a derivative of the Sonas ELO ranking system.

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A. 1.6    What are these Deltas I keep seeing?


The archive keeps track of your ELO ratings for
1) Each Day
2) Each Week
3) Each Month

With this information you can see how your ELO rating has changed in the specified period of time. This is just to give you an indication of your progress in becoming a Warlock master.

The server is currently housed in the EST5EDT timezone. Updates to the ELO Deltas take place every day at midnight. The weekly and monthly deltas reset on the first day of the week (Sunday) and the first day of the month respectively.

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A. 1.7    What games are included in ELO rankings?


Games that are:
1) More than 4 moves long.
2) Not a very friendly.

If it is a melee game and you have less than 4 turns, your melee score will not be updated. Also, if you are in a melee game and do not complete more than 4 turns, your elo rating will not be included in the calculation for the eventual winner of the game. You have to play the game to get a rank.
And, if you do not play a game within the last 10000 games played, your score will be hidden from the web view. The archive will still keep track of your ELO, but won't display it until you play another game.

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A. 1.8    What is ELO?


There is a good PDF on this topic at:

http://www.schaakbond.nl/rating/elopaper.html
Also check out the wikipedia entry for ELO here

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