Fall 2012 Tournament

Samir Mehta | November 15, 2012
[hidden by request]

Erik Bates | November 15, 2012
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | November 16, 2012
No idea why today's goo didn't appear at midnight as scheduled. I didn't see it missing until now. Sorry for the trouble.

Chris Lemler | November 16, 2012
Scott does this mean the goo is gonna be up past midnight since it wasn't up

Scott Hardie | November 16, 2012
Unfortunately, I'm not able to program a tournament goo to span multiple calendar days, at least not on short notice like this. My preference is to let today's goo play out normally, expiring at midnight tonight. If anybody is truly severely affected by the delay -- not just claiming so because it gives you a free do-over -- then please say so and I'll consider striking today's goo from the tournament.

Since no merchants appeared today either, I'd guess that the scheduler that activates certain processes at certain times of day has stopped running for some reason. I haven't changed it in a while, so the problem is news to me. I'll troubleshoot it tonight.

Scott Hardie | November 16, 2012
If anybody went to the site around midnight last night: Was the site inaccessible at all, even for only a minute? Thanks!

Justin Woods | November 16, 2012
I am fine with letting it expire at midnight tonight since I am only able to dedicate time after work. I don't know about everyone else who is left, but it seems most only need a few minutes to put there answer in anyways. I don't think the extra time they would of had at midnight would make any difference unless that is the only time they have to dedicate to the Goo.

Samir Mehta | November 17, 2012
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | November 17, 2012
The scheduled process ran this morning (it runs every day at midnight whether there's a new goo or not), so its failure to activate on Friday must have been a one-time fluke. I can only guess that it happened because of server maintenance or other downtime for a brief period right at midnight. There's nothing that I can see that needs fixing.

I was not in my right mind on Friday morning, or I would have handled the situation differently. For a normal regular-season goo, publishing it at 9am isn't a problem. But there's a lot of pressure on tournament players, moreso the longer the competition lasts, and losing those nine hours can possibly influence the outcome of the game, disproportionately affecting those who play at certain hours. I should have announced that the goo would be held until Monday and played for a full 24 hours instead of activating it myself late. If this sort of thing happens again, that's what I'll do. I also think it's time for me to seriously consider publishing goos at a different time of day -- it will require a lot of programming changes, but it might be worth it. My thanks to everyone who gave me feedback about the situation.

As for the rest of the tournament, I can't speak for anyone else (I'm glad Samir is enjoying it), but this just seems depressing to me. I've always found that the harder the goo and the fewer people who solve it, the less fun I think it is. This tournament is a massacre: Most of the players wiped out in the first few days. Only four players remain, and only one of them has an extra chance. Ouch. I intended the goos to be hard, but not this hard. What a bummer week in the game. My hat is off to Chris, Joanna, Justin, and Mike for hanging on this long.

Samir Mehta | November 17, 2012
[hidden by request]

Aaron Shurtleff | November 18, 2012
I agree with Samir. I had fun this round, even if I had probably one of the worst tournaments ever. :)

Steve West | November 18, 2012
I agree. Harder is better for the tournament. I sucked but was enjoying every dreadful moment.

Erik Bates | November 19, 2012
[hidden by request]

Aaron Shurtleff | November 20, 2012
OK, this is it folks. Tomorrow is the last chance for a zombie uprising! Everyone get ready just in case you are the one who gets randomly picked!!!!

..I mean, good luck to the final four!! You can do it!! :)

Chris Lemler | November 20, 2012
I want to wish the best of luck to everyone including the Zombie players :) This has been a great tourney and I really enjoyed it. So tonight who ever is the Zombie good luck

Steve West | November 20, 2012
I am so ready. Brains?

Aaron Shurtleff | November 20, 2012
Ooh. Russ Wilhelm is the zombie. Let's see what happens?

Steve Dunn | November 20, 2012
You know, Justin Woods gets a lot of well-deserved accolades around here but it should not escape notice that Joanna Woods is always in the competitive mix, too. All righteous props to Joanna Woods.

In fact, I'll go so far as to say that if Joanna Woods is not the next person inducted into the Goo Hall of Fame there will be CONTROVERSY!!!!

Erik Bates | November 20, 2012
[hidden by request]

Aaron Shurtleff | November 20, 2012
GOD! Steve, you make it hard to be contrary sometimes! >:(

Nope, the next addition will be Samir Mehta. Anyone who doesn't see this is true needs Lasik!

Scott Hardie | November 21, 2012
Aaron, no campaign for Biff Meister to join the Hall of Fame next? :-)

Monday and Tuesday this week were slightly less difficult. I have to say, even I'm coming around on the idea of extra-hard goos in the tournament.

I can't wait to see how this ends...

Scott Hardie | November 22, 2012
Both Justin and Mike guessed incorrectly at today's goo. It's been stricken from the tournament and both men will face off again tomorrow. I hope they don't have all-day plans for Thanksgiving. Good luck, guys!

Scott Hardie | November 22, 2012
Congrats Mike! It's always a pleasure to see a new member of the winners circle! You had to go through some tough competition (and tough goos) to win this tournament, but you did great.

Justin, you put up a hell of a fight. I'm impressed with you and everyone else who lasted through the gaggle of impossible goos last week.

Happy Thanksgiving holiday, everybody. Stay tuned for a bonus goo tomorrow and five more next week.

Steve Dunn | November 22, 2012
Congrats Mike! You deserve it. You've been in the hunt for a long time.

Chris Lemler | November 22, 2012
Congrats Mike!!!!!!! Well deserved victory

Steve West | November 22, 2012
Awesome! Your obvious skill finally bore winning fruit!

Mike Rothstein | November 22, 2012
Thanks guys. This one set up pretty well for me - I'm familiar with Sandra Lee as my state's first lady, I followed that space jump pretty closely, and, well, I drink a lot of beer. Always happy to get lucky breaks. Looking forward to the next round.

LaVonne Lemler | November 23, 2012
Congratulations, Mike, on your first win! It's nice having another new face in the winner's circle! You've been a great competitor the last couple of tournaments...it was only a matter of time till victory was yours! Keep up the good work! :)