Hello DEVELOPER, this is obviously a late reply to such an old post. But I wanted to ask about the development planned for connect 4.
Especially in regards to tournaments. Specifically I'd like to point out issues in regards to the system choosing which player is automated to begin the game with the first move. For example, it seems once the user has hit a certain rating during the tournament that I've estimated to be around "75" points accumulated during the tournament, they are always assigned to be the player that goes first in every game by the system.
This is a big issue as the player who goes first on a 7x6 board will always win with perfect play. This is the primary reason I tend to avoid connect 4 tournaments as it's just not fair. The games should be set to "2" games in a series to make it fair. Or add tournaments with 3mb, 5mb or even 7mb starts for the more seasoned player.
This will surely bring some players back into the game, and introduce a much better more improved skill gap and more entertaining tournaments.
Then moving onto more board sizes. I think this game needs more board sizes than ever before. The user-count for connect 4 has dwindled so much over the last few years and I see why. There is no progression, no reason to keep playing. Why would someone want to play the same old 7x6 board playing the same styles over and over. It's too repatative and mind numbing in the long run, that's why so many no longer play.
You need to incorporate larger board sizes for people to explore, and don't seperate the games, keep it all conjoined like in Go or Gomoku with the options for different board sizes (7x7, 7x8, 8x8), game times (1min, 2 min, 5 min, 10min), 'Best of' system in place (Bo3,5,7,9) and larger match series (2,4,6,8,10).
I've played here for years and it's sad to see this game drop as much as it has. I recall coming here in 2007 to see a lobby of 100+ players, now I come and there's barely 10 people. It needs these features now more than ever.
Thanks for the time. And I hope for some response from either yourself or another member of the team.
