Next global challenge starts Monday, March 26.

I can't wait!

Note that so far this was only announced as a tentative date - Terry hasn't given final confirmation yet.

Usually we get 2-3 days warning on this board and on the announce board, also with the exact time (which is usually 12 noon FT). We haven't seen that yet (but Terry was away for a few days, so it's well possible it'll get confirmed this afternoon.)

It is on the announcement board, which is where I copied it from. Hopefully Terry will confirm the exact time soon.

The exact quote from the announcement board is

"Tentatively we will start the next global challenge on Monday, March 26.

Hope you all enjoy the break and come back ready to climb the ladder!"

The GC16 finish screen is the one you copied your version from. I expect the challenge to start on Monday as well, just saying it's not fully reconfirmed, so please don't anyone get angry if it doesn't. The final confirmation should be posted both here and on the announcement board (http://www.funtrivia.com/bb.cfm?boardid=1000000) by tomorrow afternoon.

Right now, think of the date like a flight time printed on your ticket - we hope and expect the plane will take off by then (and you'd better be on board and buckled up) but until Air Traffic Control actually gives clearance, we don't know 100 % for sure.

I'm just hoping for some ground fog to delay departure.

Sorry, Wesley, I had looked at both places and thought I copied my announcement from the Announcement board. Not meaning to contradict or mislead.

Me too. I get withdrawal symptoms when it isn't running.

Sue, no problem. I just wanted to avoid an outcry when a date that was actually listed tentative is accidentally taken by some players as fixed.

Hope he announces it just as the Llamas start their three month vacation in the Andes.

I can. (grunt) Time to make the donuts..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=petqFm94osQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwfrBbNo5Jg

Have been out of the country for a few days -- am home now and will read through the feedback threads Monday.

The new GC will indeed start on Monday -- probably around noonish FT time.

Hip hip .....

Ha! I'll see if I can persuade some of them to stay home just for you.

Count me as one. ;p

This will be my 4th full shot at making it to hardcore. I've inched closer each time. I've got to figure my odds get better due to the fact that it's 30 new Immortals & not just the first 30 overall but sometimes it doesn't seem that way. Ready to give it another go anyhow.

nitram67, I'm in the same boat as you. I won't tell you how many times I've tried! But it does seem to be almost in reach each time. The one time in recent memory when I played regular just for a break, I earned the Immortal badge easily. They don't call this one Hardcore for nothing!

I'll be trying this time, since I only played a few last time. Since a teammate got Immortal, I at least know it's doable, but my breadth of knowledge isn't quite enough. Still, building it up never hurts...

"no pain, no gain" (giggles)

Psst, Terry: When you start that thing - you have duly added the missing GC15 to the Hall of Fame, but left out the recently finished GC16

THE GAME HAS STARTED!

...and everything works!

don't sound so surprised

I'm not surprised, just confirming that my test round did what it was supposed to do

Is the ELO broken? After playing twelve games (at 3AM Site Time) I am ranked #12 of 637 in division 2. My rating is 1489. Does that mean that only the top ten players have ratings over 1500? I know there will be more players by the end of the set but I don't expect to go lower than around #30, out of all the players in the challenge. The system has put me below 1500 so now I am competing against those who aren't even playing but have a registered 1500. I also know no points or badges are attributable to the calculated number but it is none-the-less frustrating to have my best start ever and to be behind the eightball after only 2 sessions.

The ELO rating is not just against players in your level. It includes, for example, players who may have played a single favorite category and scored really well in it.

That really doesn't explain how it got below the 50% or start point (1500). After only twelve (14 really) games, the result of which on one chart has me in position #11 overall in normal play, I would think warrants a higher outcome. How could I have done any better to have had my score increase? Impossible games aside (which lowered my ave score to about the 19th best at 1280), I don't think I've missed a Q yet and where I usually, because of time penalties, in the past have generally scored 1375 max, most of my play results were from 1400 to 1410 and ergo after 6 games was in position 30 out of 650 players in division two (ELO at 1500). Then I did those 1400s on the next 6 games and my ELO dropped below 1500? How? You can't be saying someone in the 100th position gets calculated with a higher rating? Why have this system at all if it can so misstate performance?

edit: Having said all this, I've most likely jinxed myself to barely making division 9, I'm sure.

Remember that the weighted games are worth more (the ones with asterisks), so even doing well in a regular game puts you at a disadvantage to everyone playing Hardcore and not getting any wrong. The beginning rounds are really for the fast to improve their ELO. Things start to even out later when there are more varied scores and times due to the level of difficulty.

Mehaul, actually, this is a typical Division 1 issue. In this group, a lot of players will play very fast, so everyone who gets a faster 15 than you is ahead of you in the standings for each individual game. So for each game, you are being beaten by a lot of fast players but only beat those who score less than 15, putting you in the lower half of the field for each individual game.

However when we add things up for GC advancement, you have not missed any questions and the smaller time penalties are rounded off, so your 15 in 110 seconds is no worse than a 15 in 55 (both advance you by 1400). So you did extremely well in the overall addition by not missing a question.

This will quickly even out once we get to the higher divisions at which point you'll see advancement and ELO go much closer together. (Remember that ELO also inherently favors the most recent scores - your first few ratings won't do anything to the final one)

And the race has started .....

Lol I'm a bit late

I'm a bit confused about the meaning of the Adventure Bones (*) and Expert Bonus. When you play them and score over 500 do you only get a bonus towards the GC score or do you also earn 100 FT points? If I interpret the info correctly I think you should also get 100 FT points.

Yesterday I played 3 (*) categories and 2 (**), scored over 500 in each, but I didn't get any FT points for it. Today I played a (**) category, scored over 500 and again no FT points.

Do I misunderstand the rules or is something wrong here?