Mentoring Pilot Program

[mommy1]

i would wild tiger to mentor me i need a teacher that can show me a few new tricks

[usernamer]

i would like to be a mentor. skill rating thing 3 as i can hold my own against majors / colnels. am normally major. if i play games im better at, can go up to colnel, if i play too much doodle assassin, can go down a little.

Strengths:
World 2.1 and team games - dont have any real weakenesses which i couldnt mentor on.
how would this work though obvious for team games - but for rest, is it just general advice or giving a range of suggestions for them to choose from, since if u gave specific advice on a situation, it could be unfair if someone thinks they're playing say a new recruit but they're effectively not (depending on how much advice is given/acted upon)

[FitzMichael]

Hi, I'd like to apply to be a mentoree. I have played quite a few games already and have the general 'feel' of how the game works, and have won a decent number of my games, but although I excell at the larger maps (ie. 13 Colonies and Third Crusade) I tend to struggle with the smaller maps such as Madagascar and Classic. Also, I'm afraid my basic strategy leaves a lot to be desired. I win most of my games via diplomacy than any real skill. As such I excell on FOW maps. I mostly play Standard flat rate games.
Thanks

[Hyp3rlite]

I would like to be a mentoree, I'm level 3. Had beginner's luck when I started or somethin, now can't win one for some reason lol

[sheepwn]

Mentoree
Level 4. I've won nearly half my games but I have nearly no formal strategy and I only started playing seriously a month or two ago. I'd like some help with basics of strategy so I don't make it all up as I go. I like Flat rate Sequential on a lot of less complex maps.

[kalishnikov]

Oh CC, how I've missed thee... And my, this thread has become a mess.

I live again, death is only temporary where I come from. If this Program is still relevant and useful I'll blank the Original Post and start over seeing as it's been many years since it's been edited/updated in any way. If there are new posts over the next few days here I'll begin, if not I'll allow it to languish in obscurity.

To be honest I'm not all that sure this pilot program is useful any longer with the additions that have been made to CC, namely the wonderful SoC forum which is 100x better then this thread could hope to be for helping new players, but I guess only time can tell.

Or perhaps we could change the focus of the thread into more of a "Ask a Question, Answer a Question" thread for those players that only have a single/several small questions but don't require a "help program"?

[Dukasaur]

Oh CC, how I've missed thee... And my, this thread has become a mess.

I live again, death is only temporary where I come from.

I've only been on CC for nine or ten months, so I obviously didn't know you in your previous incarnation. Still, welcome back...

If this Program is still relevant and useful I'll blank the Original Post and start over seeing as it's been many years since it's been edited/updated in any way. If there are new posts over the next few days here I'll begin, if not I'll allow it to languish in obscurity.

To be honest I'm not all that sure this pilot program is useful any longer with the additions that have been made to CC, namely the wonderful SoC forum which is 100x better then this thread could hope to be for helping new players, but I guess only time can tell.

The SoC is excellent. Indeed, I consider myself an SoC success story. Still, it doesn't cover all the bases. It does the most popular setting (escalating) on the most popular map (classic) and is slowly but surely expanding into other areas, but I doubt if it will ever expand so much as to cover all settings and all maps. Certainly not in the foreseeable future. There is still a HUGE amount of ground to be covered, and I think this thread serves that purpose.

I've used this thread also. It was here that I found someone to teach me strategy for the "conquest" style maps (those with a fixed starting point instead of a distributed start.) I don't know how many people have found success here, but I'm sure it could be more if someone was playing matchmaker and actively mediating it. And if you're not willing to go quite that far, at least some kind of headcount of the mentors and mentees and some more detailed instructions for them might be a help.

Either way, yes I would say this thread can remain relevant and useful.

Or perhaps we could change the focus of the thread into more of a "Ask a Question, Answer a Question" thread for those players that only have a single/several small questions but don't require a "help program"?

No! There's already an entire forum for people who have specific detailed questions. No need for more of the same. This thread is unique, in terms of matching people who have a lot more than one question with people who have an equally broad range of answers.

[AndyDufresne]

Oh CC, how I've missed thee... And my, this thread has become a mess.

I live again, death is only temporary where I come from. If this Program is still relevant and useful I'll blank the Original Post and start over seeing as it's been many years since it's been edited/updated in any way. If there are new posts over the next few days here I'll begin, if not I'll allow it to languish in obscurity.

To be honest I'm not all that sure this pilot program is useful any longer with the additions that have been made to CC, namely the wonderful SoC forum which is 100x better then this thread could hope to be for helping new players, but I guess only time can tell.

Or perhaps we could change the focus of the thread into more of a "Ask a Question, Answer a Question" thread for those players that only have a single/several small questions but don't require a "help program"?

I think a program like this could still be helpful for informal pairing up and meeting people. The Training Academy is great for teaching some universal strategy and learning how to adapt to situations. We'd like to promote the Training Academy more, since we see it a formal area.

If anyone has input on how we could keep this program informal (I.E. not adopting it into Team CC), I'm all ears on suggestions and improvements.


--Andy

[chapcrap]

Oh CC, how I've missed thee... And my, this thread has become a mess.

I live again, death is only temporary where I come from. If this Program is still relevant and useful I'll blank the Original Post and start over seeing as it's been many years since it's been edited/updated in any way. If there are new posts over the next few days here I'll begin, if not I'll allow it to languish in obscurity.

To be honest I'm not all that sure this pilot program is useful any longer with the additions that have been made to CC, namely the wonderful SoC forum which is 100x better then this thread could hope to be for helping new players, but I guess only time can tell.

Or perhaps we could change the focus of the thread into more of a "Ask a Question, Answer a Question" thread for those players that only have a single/several small questions but don't require a "help program"?

I think a program like this could still be helpful for informal pairing up and meeting people. The Training Academy is great for teaching some universal strategy and learning how to adapt to situations. We'd like to promote the Training Academy more, since we see it a formal area.

If anyone has input on how we could keep this program informal (I.E. not adopting it into Team CC), I'm all ears on suggestions and improvements.

--Andy

If it were to be made into an informal thing to pair people up, perhaps it should be moved to the Callout Forum? Or, as Duke suggested, it could a step above SoC and implement the teaching of more complex concepts, like conquest maps, team games, and complex map strategies.

I don't know of a different name for it. I would hesitate to name it something rank based, like the SoC simply for the fact that all ranks will be learning and the stickies in the Callout Forum are already rank related.

[danryan]

I can be a mentor for all sorts of bad habits, including attacking your own teammates, livening up chat, and bad body odor.

I would be willing to take a new player on and teach doubles, including on specialized maps. You must a) not miss turns b) be able to read and communicate. That's all.

[QoH]

I'd be willing to teach students doubles (or any team games really) as long they can communicate and not miss turns.

[codierose]

I can be a mentor for all sorts of bad habits, including attacking your own teammates, livening up chat, and bad body odor.

I would be willing to take a new player on and teach doubles, including on specialized maps. You must a) not miss turns b) be able to read and communicate. That's all.

im up for that m8 need to change bad habits i win some team games

[kalishnikov]

Excellent, great ideas guys and I'm quite glad to hear some feedback; please keep it coming. So far everything posted here is something to think about. I'll gladly do what I did in the past with this thread and program as well as mentor a new player (just one though, at one point I had 3'ish at all times and that was "difficult"). A "matchmaker" I will try to be, that seems the best to keep things organized, relevant and uncluttered.

As far as keeping it "informal" and "not adopting it into team CC," perhaps I don't understand the inference? Do you mean informal as in how it used to exist, i.e. "just a sticky in a forum" and not an official "part of the site"? If so, yes SoC should be your (CC's) main focus and this should be "by the players, for the players." I may have suggestions but I first require clarification.

I'm happy to see so much interest though, we had much luck with players in the past and could do so again.

[sheepwn]

YES!! So happy you're back because this program would be much more beneficial to me than SoC. I just joined a SoC class but I don't even enjoy escalating, I would rather become more proficient in other areas. This program would be wonderful to revive pairing mentors with us to learn how to play our specific game preferences. Please bring it back.

Mentoree
Level 4. I've won nearly half my games but I have nearly no formal strategy and I started playing seriously a few months ago. I'd like some help with basics of strategy so I don't make it all up as I go. I like Flat rate Sequential on maps like 1914 Europe and Balkans (less complex maps).

[devinerne]

I'd say I'm a level 3, I have a feel for the game and basic strategy with certain setups, but no real solid gameplay and I've won 9/39 games... so maybe some help with what I can improve upon would be helpful?

[Bruceswar]

add me as a mentor please... I can help with most thing.

[AndyDufresne]

Excellent, great ideas guys and I'm quite glad to hear some feedback; please keep it coming. So far everything posted here is something to think about. I'll gladly do what I did in the past with this thread and program as well as mentor a new player (just one though, at one point I had 3'ish at all times and that was "difficult"). A "matchmaker" I will try to be, that seems the best to keep things organized, relevant and uncluttered.

As far as keeping it "informal" and "not adopting it into team CC," perhaps I don't understand the inference? Do you mean informal as in how it used to exist, i.e. "just a sticky in a forum" and not an official "part of the site"? If so, yes SoC should be your (CC's) main focus and this should be "by the players, for the players." I may have suggestions but I first require clarification.

I'm happy to see so much interest though, we had much luck with players in the past and could do so again.

I just mean as of right now, we don't have the resources to probably fully adopt this into an official CC endeavor, but I'll always do my best to support the program as I can. If you want to brainstorm, send me a PM!


--Andy

[nebsmith]

I would be interested in becoming a mentor, I would rate myself at 3.

No Freestyle, Manual, Nukes or 1v1

Strengths
singles with 6-8 players - not small maps
doubles - any map except Doodle Earth
fog
Complex maps
never surrendering

[wittman lives]

I would love to try this. Sign me up!

I'd rate myself a 3 I can win games but I need help with strategy and doubles. I will probably be getting a membership soon. I personally would prefer Bruceswar as a friend of mine is currently under his mentorship. Please keep the program going!

[chapcrap]

I need someone awesome to teach me how to play Waterloo. Any takers?

[IcePack]

I know someone awesome...

[QoH]

I know someone awesome...

Someone awesome... As in...

ME!

I'd be happy to teach you chappy.

[chapcrap]

I know someone awesome...

Someone awesome... As in...

ME!

I'd be happy to teach you chappy.

Teach away!! I'm awaiting your invite.

I know someone awesome...

Please direct me to this someone. I will take advice from multiple teachers! Have them invite me!

[littlejerry]

Mentoree, level 4.
Random Map Strategy
Doubles Strategy

I need help with random map strategy and doubles strategy, especially the two together, especially w/ 4-players, especially w/ auto, escalating, chained. You know what... make that level 3.5

(I realize this may mean I need two mentors.)

[PLAYER57832]

SOC is great for standard maps, but once people go off OR if they are interested in other maps from the start, it doesn't help and may actually hurt. There just is no bearing between the strategy given for classic and, say, Age of Merchants, AOR or even Fuedal strategy, never mind things like Iraq.

I think SOC is great, except that the distinctions above are not clear to new people. They are given to assume that SOC is going to help them with ALL maps and it just is not so.

Since SOC just won't be able to handle all the diversity, I think a program like the mentor pairing would be best. However, there needs to be some kind of objective measure for who does and does not qualify. Straight rank won't cut it, because the rank reflects all the maps played, not just the ones a person is good at. I am not sure maprank is the best measure, but it might be the best available now.

Also, I think we need some kind of feedback and perhaps a kind of award system to encourage people to both participate and participate well. A straight reward for participation might be too much and too complicated, but perhaps a competition based on mentor ratings or something of that sort? Also, would not hurt to offer a medal to people who do a good deal of mentoring.