The competitive balance for a major esport, regardless of the title, is a delicate and ever-changing beast. In a scenario where millions of people can play a game for a myriad of different reasons, finding the right recipe of what works and satisfying the masses is a daunting task.From the properties of in-game weapons and items to the spectator experience, game developers for esports titles have the power to change what they want, when they want. Players dont like the absence of a Baron buff at the beginning of the game? Add the Rift Herald. Think a pistol is too powerful? Nerf it. A power weapon too exposed to make it worth picking up? Move it elsewhere.This property of esports contrasts sharply with traditional sports, which very rarely tolerate changes to the rules and tools of the game. If its too difficult to land three-pointers in basketball, you cant just make the rim diameter larger. If batting averages are too low, you cant just move first base closer to home.The way a developer can manipulate its game can have powerful and dangerous effects. Sometimes a change is met with an overwhelmingly positive response, other times a change is reverted within a matter of days due to causing a lot of pain in the [games] community. In order to ensure that the right call is made the first time around, Halo developer 343 Industries has taken a direct approach to solving the issue of competitive balance. The creators of esports titles Halo 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Halo 5: Guardians have invested in the longevity of Halo esports in the past; initiatives like hiring an advisory Pro Team-- a group of former professional Halo players -- have helped them design the landscape of how Halo is played competitively.More recently, 343 established the HCS Council in order to determine the rules that will be used for the inaugural Halo Championship Series: Pro League that started this week. Andy Bravo Dudynsky (Community Manager, Halo Championship Series Lead) and Quinn DelHoyo (Multiplayer Designer) are two of many people that have been intimately involved in the development of Halo esports from the very beginning. They played a large role in the establishment and operations of the HCS Council.The goal for the HCS Council is to ensure that were growing Halo esports in the best way possible, across all aspects of the league. In order to do it right, its important to work alongside our top players, leverage their knowledge and expertise, and partner with them on continuing to grow Halos competitive scene. We want to create a league were proud of, a league that players love playing in and a league that fans love watching, said Bravo.343 sought direct input from the players themselves when deliberating over the competitive ruleset. It conducted weekly calls with current professional players to ensure that no stone was left unturned in its quest to offer the best competitive Halo experience possible to both pro players and the community.When it comes to Halo multiplayer, Halo has a ton of fans and lots of different communities that have an opinion on the game. With that in mind, we think its always important to get feedback from as large a variety of players as possible. The HCS Council is important because it provides an opportunity for pro players and us to have a direct link to facilitate conversation on the state of the game. These guys compete in Halo at the highest level so their feedback is very valuable as it gives us an improved perspective at that level of play, said DelHoyo.The calls have been beneficial to both the players and the developers, according to DelHoyo. The calls have been good. Any time you get a bunch of passionate people together in a room youll get active debate on changes and exciting discussions around future ideas.The process has not been simple though, as is expected when many voices speak their opinions on something they are passionate about. Its difficult to get everyone to agree on everything, but thats also not the expectation. There are times when players debate power weapon locations, map/game type combinations, and everything in between. There may be five different opinions expressed, sometimes more. This type of feedback is exactly what were looking for, though: what is working well, what do some teams love, what do some teams dislike, and, most importantly, why? These calls give us an opportunity to have meaningful conversations about all sorts of things, and the design teams here at the studio can take this feedback to answer the question of how can we build the best Halo multiplayer experience? added Bravo.The partnership goes beyond the players and the developers in this case. 343 has also been partnering with ESL, producers of the HCS Pro League, to ensure open lines of communication across the board.We debate, we laugh, we argue, and in the end we collect all feedback and determine next steps with our dev team here and our partners at ESL. If something isnt working, we go back to the drawing board and revisit. If something should be changed but needs development time, we can communicate with players directly that were evaluating changes for a future season, and let them know what stage were at with the actual development work. Ultimately, its about providing an open and regular line of communication and collecting feedback on all things from the best players in the world, explained Bravo.The players themselves reflected this positive perspective. The weekly calls with 343 were brilliant. It felt good having an influence on what the settings would be for pro league which we would be playing on. During the calls they would ask us if anything played right or wrong, and if we wanted anything to be changed, shared Sal eL TowN Mohanan, pro player for Team EnVyUs. Carlos Cratos Ayala of Enigma6 also added, They made changes to the maps and asked us for our feedback. They were always quick to apply what we discussed.343s diligent attention to detail impressed its pro players. I thought the calls were pretty helpful! said Enigma6 player Jesse bubu dubu Moeller. We were given maps and gametypes every week and gave feedback after playing them for a bit. Then we gave 343 input from what we thought until it was finalized.The esports industry is growing at an unprecedented rate, and it shows no signs of slowing down. With developments like ELeague (a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league produced by TBS) firmly in mind, game developers have to consider their impact on the esports landscape in both the short term and long term. While 343 has a focus on the future of Halo esports, it also knows how to enjoy the successes it has now.We have come away with some key findings that well look to improve going forward, said Delhoyo. Bravo also added, I think theres a lot of potential in this initiative and I hope players and fans do too. Well absolutely utilize the HCS Council moving forward, and weve learned a great deal about how to collect feedback, the best ways to get proposed changes in front of players, and more. Im looking forward to seeing how the Summer Season plays out and where Halo esports will go from here.Fans loyal to Halo have been through highs and lows when it comes to the esports side of things, and it seems that 343 is invested in ensuring that the experience is smooth sailing from now on. Austin Bryant Jersey . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Kenny Golladay Womens Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. http://www.authenticnfllionslockroom.com/Youth-Barry-Sanders-Elite-Jersey/ . 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If the Bulldogs are to have any hope of securing a home elimination final, theyre going to have to conquer the greatest Docker of all time.The Bulldogs need to beat Fremantle at Domain Stadium on Sunday - and rely on either GWS or Hawthorn losing - if they are to sneak into fifth or sixth spot.On paper, the Bulldogs should romp to victory against a Fremantle outfit who has won just three games this season.But this is no ordinary game, with the match doubling as an emotional send-off to Pavlich.The 34-year-old will hang up his boots at the end of the game, and a packed crowd is expected to be present for his farewell.Pavlich needs just one more goal to reach the 700 mark. If he achieves that, hell become just the third player to notch both 350 games and 700 goals.Bernie Quinlan (366 games, 817 goals) and Kevin Bartlett (403 games, 778 goals) are the other two.The Dockers failed dismally in their two most recent milestone games.In Pavlichs 350th, Fremantle copped a 90-point hammering at the hands of Sydney.Annd in skipper David Mundys 250th-game milestone last week, Fremantle were flogged by 92 points by GWS.ddddddddddddPavlich is well loved by his teammates.And if theres a game where theyre willing to bleed just that little bit more, it will be this one.All Ive implored the guys to do is play with passion, play some hard football, and be unconditional to each other, and not let their teammates down, Pavlich said.If we walk off the field knowing weve delivered upon that, Ill be able to look at them all in the eye afterwards and really enjoy their company.I remember playing in Shaun McManuss farewell game in 2008. That was a really emotional day for us all, because he was the heart and soul of the team.I still hear from Shaun and he talks about how high esteem he holds the individuals that played well for him on that day. So theres a little bit of that going into this weekend as well. ' ' '