(prepare for a horribly written and rambly post, i suck at writing and this is my first thread )))))): )

The idea behind waiting for formats in seasonal majors is actually something I agree with, which is giving rarer formats the spotlight they need. (from what I've heard)

But I think the execution is a bit flawed, Like to the point where it is more negative than positive for a lot of people. Some people are set on one single format or a group of formats and I think that is okay, so this feature is an active detriment to their experience batoling on this site, and that's not good.

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SO WITH THAT OUT THE WAY, I would like to ramble about some stuff I've thought of:

Maybe make monthly majors have the more rare and wacky formats, and have a sort of consistent set of formats for seasonal majors.

Monthlies* could have rarer formats, obviously not treading too much on Very Rare Format's territory, but a format rarer than something with 1000 entries. It would also be nice to have larger monthlies, like maybe 4 or 5 formats are available.

Seasonals could build apon last years schedule, adding or maybe even removing a format or two or three, of course focusing on their themes, which would also removing the need to wait for formats to be added.

...or there could just be no wait for majors with nothing else changed. :P

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If you have a better idea than me, reply to teh thread, I would love to hear it! If you think that the current system makes sense and has zero flaws, please think about EVERYONE before replying.

* I am aware that some monthlies are suggested in Future Battles, so I am mostly talking about ones that aren't.

just to offer a bit of context, the new format trickle style has been variably used in the past seasonals - sometimes with a low starting amount like now, sometimes with a pretty big roster with only a handful of extras added during an extension. the idea isn't only to be giving more of a spotlight to less-loved formats, but also to get people to try something new while they wait for that thing they love (and to make noise for that thing they love!).

when i joined the site it was much more like the latter, a big pile of formats at the start with a few extras coming in down the line. the last year or so, the trickle idea came back around because we were ending up with a bunch of formats only ever getting 2, 3, 4 entries (see: Summer Chip XIII, Spring Tracks XII) and so it seemed reasonable to encourage that diversity.

now with that context out of the way, i'll offer some of my own thoughts... first of all, it always felt a little overwhelming to start with the huge list, so many places to start, only a certain number of things you'll be able to tackle even though the list of things that'd be cool to tackle is very long.

however there was also a cool meta of people posting in the thread when the battle started with checklists like:
[ ] i
[ ] want
[ ] to
[ ] do
[ ] this
[x] format <-- wow! i already did that one!
... and it's fun to make checklists like this and think about what all you wanna attempt this year.

and i also see how it might appear as withholding on our parts if you really are sitting on a specific song you've been writing for the major already, or if your interests really are that narrow, though ofc that isn't the angle we *intend*. i would say, at the least, that's your chance to make some noise for the format(s) you want to see. historically there's gonna be a place at the table for pretty much all the same formats each year if the people are clamoring for it - within reason! the seasonals all follow their own logic to some extent, but it's not like they're immutable. pxtone has shown up in every season, for example.

last thought: we certainly don't always have to do the slow trickle strat, and indeed i don't expect that we always will. changing things up every now and then, here and there is good. but for me personally i appreciate that the slow format trickle encourages us to work with what we've got and maybe do something new/unexpected... that's the sort of thing i love encouraging here.

monthlies are always from future battles. future battles exists only to crowdsource monthlies.
monthlies are meant to be add-ons for the larger battles. that's the reason why they only have 1 format. the major battle schedule is already thought of with this in mind. for example: folktronica is allgear, therefore it works as a nice separate thing next to winter chip, which focuses on the more limited chips (in other words it won't have allgear), so both the allgearers and the chippers are happy.

your post comes from the perspective of people who do not want to try out new things.
I would argue that this is kinda the point of the page and the "unlocking formats thing". if you're set to just one format, you will limit yourself in what could be done on botb.
it exists to challenge people - to make them go outside their comfort zone. etc... otherwise we cld just have a general format like "music" instead lol

i agree with the point that restricting the available formats in the early stages of a seasonal major is rather harmful to those who either cannot, or don't want to, work with the more obscure formats that this system is attempting to promote; i myself am a bit frustrated about having to wait until one of my preferred formats becomes available, not because i don't want to try new formats, but because i do not currently have the time or energy to learn something new

however, i think these obscure formats still have a place in seasonals, so maybe before each of these battles, there could be a suggestion period for rarer formats to be included along with a semi-consistent set of more popular formats, as you suggested (within reason, of course - seasonals have particular "themes" in terms of what formats are included, as kleeder pointed out)

i am also in favor of more monthly battles featuring uncommon formats (though that is already in the hands of the community, so not much to be done there), or just more major battles in general
holding out for another famiplus major

to put this in terms of "botb as a game with mechanics", learning many formats is a way of maximizing your ability to participate. you will have more options to play the game if you've tried a little bit of everything. on the other hand, if there are only a few variants of the game you're familiar with, it requires those things to show up for you to be able to play the game. and that doesn't always happen (though requests are often heeded, both in major and in XHB).

i'm not trying to say that's good or bad in this case, just that mechanically that is the way the site functions - those who want to get deeper into the game must learn more variants of it. another historical way this kinda bottlenecks some folks is people who are piano roll DAW only - if they want to participate more they have to start delving into trackers.

(im speaking in lowercase so sorry if it looks rude, im not trying to be!! D:)

@damifortune - i understand the point of making people try new things, but i dont really like being told what formats i should do in a seasonal (i forgot to add this as a point in the original post -_-)
i just wanna do the formats i want to do and then go on an optional sidequest with something different (ive never made a msgs midi before, its new territory for me. i would prefer if it wasnt my main focus right now)

ive never understood why people felt overwhelmed though. its more fun for me to have a bunch of formats to work on, but if you dont know which format to choose, spin a wheel or something.

@kleeder - i was going through the list of major battles and i saw monthlies that did not say that they were from future battles suggestions. i do understand a smaller monthly running with a seasonal though.

i am looking at a perspective that really suffers from the system because i want everyone to have fun!

@Caffeinator - i wasnt saying obscure formats shouldnt be in seasonals, that would be nice

EXTRA THING I FORGOT TO SAY IN THE ORIGINAL POST:
you get less time with some formats if you trickle them in! you dont fully know what formats are gonna be in the battol

remember: you can always make music outside of battle of the bits dot com

@blower5 - its nice to get da extra feedback from n00bs though!

yes I'm addicted to it I won't lie

I don't think this should be a hot take but think it might be, but hot take: the people complaining about X format not being in Y major, or asking if X format will be added to Y major so they can submit a thing to it are doing it wrong.

People should make entries for battles. BotB isn't quite your showcase website, there are much better suited websites and services for showing off your work. Double dipping your usual work for your socials/portfolio/whatever onto BotB is passable if it's just coincidental timing but when you start stashing your work on the offchance it might be submitable to a major is...perverse IMO?

It reminds me of the whole "optimizing the fun out of a game" saying. Maybe I'm being elitist and weird, but people should be thinking of it as making stuff for the site for the fun of it rather than just uploading stuff to the site where it's convenient/can reap easy rewards.

"i was going through the list of major battles and i saw monthlies that did not say that they were from future battles suggestions."
every single monthly except for the absolute first one (ahx) and the furnace one in early 2024 was first suggested in a future battles battle.
reference : https://battleofthebits.com/lyceum/View/Future%20Battles%20(Major%20Battle%20series)
https://battleofthebits.com/lyceum/View/Monthly%20Format%20Challenge

I know this isn't rly ur main point, and I don't want to draw away from the topic, but just to clear things up on the monthly thing.

otherwise I agree with funute and dami

(just a minor nitpick, the Furnace major was run as a monthly but wasn't a future battles suggestion, but otherwise i think that's true, yes!)

@funute - i agree with that point for everything except for seasonal majors. non seasonal stuff usually has a theme and comes out of nowhere, but seasonal majors are where you can fully show off what you are capable of.

@kleeder - oops! i thought most majors that arent consistently run (consistently like spooky and advent) were called monthlies... my bad!

Eh I think even hypothetically, like say some of the initial oddball/harder formats like tia or sid are up. You get a month to learn the tools and write something for it which should be plenty of time. For the popular formats that come out later, you still get like at least 2 weeks, maybe even 3-4 with extension. Should be plenty of time to make something full enough. If you need/want to spend more time than that to really show off your full potential, then again going back to my original point there are better platforms for that.

The big seasonal majors offer enough time + artistic freedoms to satisfy both the "make stuff for fun" and the "showcase my talents/competitive" crowds.

I had an idea about this.

You know during crowdfunding campaigns, sometimes you'll have 'mystery stretch goals,' where the creators tease some new bonus content once they reach a funding milestone ($1000: new powerup, $2500: new character, $6000: vinyl release of soundtrack!!!)


What if you mapped out a pathway to future formats, each to be revealed in due course, with hints about each upcoming format unlocked as time goes on (or as critical mass of entries build up)

In this hypothetical seasonal major: you see a timeline, tracking the number of entries so far, and the milestones that will be unlocked in X entries. So just imagine:

Day 1: Text available, 8 entries required to unlock Lunar Magic, then a mystery graphixist format (unlocks in 16), then a mystery audio format. (unlocks in 20)

Day 5: Text and and Lunar Magic available, graphisist format revealed to be Photomash (unlocks in... etc), mysyery audio format hinted to be Mixist, then another mystery audio format.

Day 8: Text and Lunar Magic and Photomash available, mystery mixist format revealed to be Vocal, mystery audio format revealed to be chippist, then a mystery codist format

So as you go on, you can see the next format that's coming up, the next class after that, and the next media after that... as well as the number of entries (or days left) before your 'view' of the battle progresses and new milestones become visible over the horizon.


Does that make sense?

You'd get to sort of build excitement because you'd see what's coming up - and you'd be able to take an active role in revealing the next format, by submitting to existing formats. Formats could also come in clumps - "unlocking in 10 entries: 1 chippist, one mixist, and one writist format!"