Talk:Sail scoring

I'm a little confused on the cost. Is it cost for pieces placed, spawned, or used? That is, if a piece is in the air, does it count? If it's been placed and you've moved on? Or is it only the pieces that you use in combos (and NOT the ones you've shoved in the corner)? Granitetosix 21:39, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

Not sure about the (minor difference) of pieces in the air visa placed. But shoving lots of pieces into the corner reduces your score, so they should have an associated cost. --Alfwyn 14:42, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

General comments

Although regarding each ball as a cost of 2 makes the calculations easy, this is the only case where efficiencies around 100% are sufficient or nearly sufficient to keep a sparkly indicator. Most likely, a better view is to regard each drop as a cost of 3 or 3.5, as then the efficiency percentage for a sparkly indicator is more inline with the percentages needed in other puzzles.

Also, the proposed system can be shown to be off; at the most it should be used as a rule of thumb. For example, a combo with a single obstacle block on the first and second steps, cleared in 3 drops (2 double color drops and then the right mixed color) went high blue on Viridian and did not flatline until a total of 13 drops were played. In the proposed system that combo should have been worth 2+3+2*(2+3)=15 points and a cost of 12 for a little over 100% efficiency. But it takes only 8 drops to have a cost of 32, resulting in less than 50% efficiency -- the nominal value for simple single clears (which do not budge the indicator). At 8 drops that combo was still showing value. Clearing a platform with one's first two moves is sparkly, and continues to have value for about 9 drops; clearing 2 same-colored obstacles on ones first move is sparkly, and continues to have value for about 5 drops. In the proposed system those combos should expire faster; the latter combo is supposed to be worth 6 points, which would drop to 50% in 3 drops.

BC here. First, these sorts of discussions belong on the discussion page, not the actual page. If you want to continue this, please move all this discussion over there, and send me a forum PM (or open a topic in the proper forum section). Second, you misunderstood my proposed system, or I misunderstood your example. 8 drops for a cost of 32 means that you are then at about 44% efficiency, which should show value. Flatline -- if you mean a dead indicator -- means an efficiency so low that you are around the bottom of the ocean. 13 drops is probably long enough for the three minute timer to push everything out the scoring window.

It isn't valid to say "simple single clears do not budge the indicator". Simple single clears give 50% efficiency in my proposal if you get perfect usage out of them, with no waste or combos, and that will give you a non-zero indicator.

Also, you seem to misunderstand the whole issue of percentile scoring (ranking) versus percentage scoring (what I'm doing here). When you say "Puzzling performance is based on percentiles, which is a nonlinear scale (division is a linear transformation) -- in particular, 1% == ultimate == incredible [lizthegrey confirms in forum threads on b-navving].", that is a completely different concept than what I am describing here.

And yes, I choose the scaling of bilge/sails/carp when I submitted them here so that the scaling would be 100% efficiency == yellowish as a rough approximation of comparible numbers. Things have moved since then as the oceans' skill level has changed.