When a Starcraft 2 ranking algorithm goes drinking

Today features a guest blog-post by my good friend Søren Houen about one of our experiences while playing StarCraft 2.

Myself and the owner of this blog, Søren C, play Starcraft together. A lot. Recently, we have improved our game severely, and started ranking against better and better players. The secret to our recent success? Scouting.

While this success has registered with our egoes, and it damn well has, Blizzard ranking mechanism, however, has started a severe drinking binge.

It started quite innocently. While we are currently in Gold League, Rank 13, every time it says “Even Teams”, we find ourself head to head with two Platinum players. Matches we have begun winning more and more often, I might, proudly add.

However, recently, the ranking algorithms alcoholic exploits took on a sinister turn. We were thrown into a match in which we were favored. We lost the match. Not by a lot, but certainly by enough. The defeat screen is at the top.

Okay, we lost a match in which we were Favored. It hurt our ranking, and we move on. However, if you consider the players, I think it is hardly fair:

Holy Zergling! Two players in 1v1 Diamond, and Master. MASTER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. Telling two Gold 2v2 players that they’re favored against them is, while an incredible boon, like telling a crippled porcupine it’ll “Totally win for sure” when its facing off against a howitzer.

WTF Blizzard?

Big news everyone – studies – Gefion Gymnasium and home

If you know me really well in real life, none of the news in this blog post will really be news to you.

If you follow my Twitter feed (or Facebook), some of this news will be old news to you, but there is still one big surprise – do read on to the end.

If you only follow my life through this blog… well, stand by for the most content rich post since… ever?

Studies

So, at April 7 I finally defended my thesis – and passed! So that marks the conclusion of my many years as a student at the University of Copenhagen and my work towards my Master degree in Mathematics.

To make it official, my diploma arrived on the 21th of July, much to my surprise. There have been many stories of people, who have waited over a year to receive their diploma. It would seem that I have either been lucky, or that some of the problems, that have haunted the administration at the University, have been cured recently.

Work

After a few weeks of looking I also found myself a job. So although the first two and a half week is considered vacation, according to my contract I officially start work at the Gefion Gymnasium on August first. I’m really looking forward to starting my new life, where student is no longer my primary profession, but where I am now a teacher.
Feel free to wish both me and my coming students good luck!
(And if any of my future students read this… don’t you have something more important to do? I’m sure you have some homework you haven’t finished!)

Gefion Gymnasium is a merger between Øster Borgerdyd and Metropolitanskolen. I have been told that the new facilities should be of very high quality, but have unfortunately not seen them yet.


Photo by: Thomas Angermann

When watched from from the outside, the GeoCenter building always gives me associations to Germany in the late 1930’s. However that feeling hasn’t followed me inside, when I have been there. (The building also houses parts of the University, so I have been there in that capacity a few times.)

Photo by: seier+seier

Home

Finally I have been looking for a bigger place to live with two friends for some time now, and we have finally found a big apartment in Østerbro.
So I will be moving quite a lot of my things tomorrow, if all goes as planed, and then when I return from vacation, I will move the rest of my stuff, so I will be all moved in (and out) by late August.

Of course Østerbro is further away from the city center than my current apartment, but the new apartment will give me (and the two other guys) a lot more space, and we will have some opportunities to do something really great with the shared rooms.

All in all I am really looking forward to moving to Østerbro, and making that my new home, although the last couple of days have been quite fast-paced. It took less than a week from we saw the apartment first time until we signed the lease.