Shoulda Boosted - Episode 31 - Old Blight Gets Better
6A Mk2 Legion player, a Mk3 Legion player, and a Community Killer get together to talk about the Legion CID in terms of the improvements to the old models.
"Hey Malorian, thanks for reaching out. As you mentioned in our discussions, I'm currently organising the Virtual Team Championship, a WTC-format event aiming to crown a champion team for 2020. I noted with interest your suggestion that future WTC events use WarTable as a platform, and have a few thoughts on the matter.
First off, no question about it, accessibility would improve. While it's sometimes assumed in the community that because we play with expensive models we have the disposable income to do whatever we want, it wouldn't be fair at all to say that the WTC is currently universally accessible. This isn't any failing of the committee - having worked with some of them to get VTC off the ground, and put a bid in to host the WTC myself back in 2019 when no other host was apparent, I'm deeply aware of the effort and scrutiny that they put into making sure the event is something that as many community members have the means to attend as possible. Instead, it's simply down to geography and logistics. WarTable isn't bound by such constraints as you correctly pointed out to me, so by default it's a much more accessible solution.
Likewise, you're correct to say that it's currently the cleanest and most visible way to play. Lars has done a fantastic job on making the player experience as top-notch as possible, with great response to feedback. It's easily possible to revert the majority of errors and clean play is very simple to achieve in comparison to doing so for in-person games. Streaming integration is much simpler than having a physical setup also - we plan to stream a massive amount of games for the VTC, which is only possible because of its online nature.
That said, I personally think that once the current crisis is over, it would not be my preference for the in-person WTC to be replaced by a VTC-sryle event. I play this game because it's a challenge and I enjoy competing, but I travel internationally because it's a fun experience to share with my friends and I love meeting new people across the world. This is a take that I would argue is almost universally shared by WTC attendees year-in year-out, and makes the event the pinnacle of the WMH calendar for many. You don't even have to be there to get some of the value - I've lost count of the number of times people have got a good laugh out of our disastrous 2018 travel story! That poor car... Anyway! If the goal is to make international competition more widely accessible, then that's laudable - and, if VTC goes well enough, then maybe there's a world in which I run another one, albeit at a different time of year to avoid a clash. I just don't think that we should be trying to replace the WTC. It's a fantastic event, the pinnacle of competitive WMH achievement, and a damn fine show all round. However, I would strongly encourage your viewers, if they haven't already done so, to reach out around the world and play against some new friends. You'll get so much out of it, and a more tightly knit international community can only be a good thing. 🙂"
-Mark Whitenstall
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