3.14 "A War of Gods"

[riczhang]

Shit. 

[The Creator]

ROUND THREE - cont.

 

This will be a very interesting match. How will this season's greatest player match against the game's greatest creator? I have waited a long time to get to do this, and I must say, the way this match will unfold is splendid and meets my greatest expectations.

 

So now, we're going to let the game begin.

 

 

QUESTION 1

An easy question. Find Hansel and Gretel's Friday share of its weekend gross. This type of question has been around in Box Office Alliance since Season 1. I've always wondered how I would do on a question like this. I've assumed quite well, especially as I've always considered these to be among the easier (but more original) questions I ask.

 

We all know Riczhang is very competent in just about any question. His skill on a question like this has been measured many times. Riczhang has never done bad on a question about share percentages. So we have a pretty clear understanding of where Riczhang will end up on this question based off of similar questions. A score of 97%+ should be feasible.

 

But the wild card here is The Creator? Can I match that type of score? I have never played a game that featured this type of question, so I don't know my own skill. I have never been tested on this, and so, Riczhang has an upper hand. But I am very keen at calculating percentages, and my unknown ability on this type of question makes me a wild card...and a threat.

 

So how did we do?

 

Riczhang:

Riczhang scored 96.73% on this question. This was just shy of a typical 97% score for a question of this type, but the range of error isn't too large, and Riczhang still performed to his typical ability. It's a hard number to beat.

 

The Creator:

I must be rusty. 96.27%. Good job, Riczhang. Kudos. You have won this question.

 

 

But this match is not over.

[The Creator]

ROUND THREE - cont

 

Now we move on to the next question. Going in, Riczhang has the lead. It's a close match though.

 

QUESTION 2

Now this question has been called one of the most ambiguous questions of the season. It's also a really long one, word-wise. It's a paragraph...instead of the typical sentence. I do a random challenging question like this every now and then, and especially toward the end of a season. But this one was one I had never tried before. It's all about understanding the word play, the differences in gross percentages of Mama's budget. Simply calculate the difference (as a percentage) of Mama's total gross in terms of a percent of its budget and its weekend 2 gross in terms of a percent of its budget.

 

The actual result was 238.60%, when rounded. I know most players scored fairly well on this question, because there was a large room for error. You could answer 200% and still score an 83.8%. Likewise, you could answer 275% and score an 84.74% on this question. The range to make a good score was pretty large, so you were allowed plenty of room for error.

 

But the two players here, Riczhang and I, obviously poured over it a bit more. Riczhang announced that he had did several calculations to find his answers this week. Well, I did a bit myself. And so, the both of us had a very similar answer for this question, as our scores will reflect. We both just about hit the nail on this one.

 

Riczhang:

Riczhang's highest individual score on a question for this week's game was a 99.99%, which he earned here. Riczhang predicted 238.58% as his final answer. The score is definitely hard to match as it's a perfect score.

 

The Creator:

I came very close to predicting this one on the nail also. But not quite so close as Riczhang did. I was off a bit more, and so my final score for this question was a close, but second, 99.95%. Apparently, Riczhang's calculations proved more accurate than my own. Once more, bravo.

 

 

CURRENT SCORES

 

Riczhang:

You have the upper hand so far. You currently average 98.36%.

 

The Creator:

But I am not far behind. I average 98.11%.

 

This is an interesting battle.

[The Creator]

ROUND THREE - cont

 

I am skipping Question 3. There is a rhyme and a reason for this...but now is not the time to disclose that information. Something surprising awaits there. So for now, we will continue on, not doing a single post for Question 3, and instead focusing on the last two questions, then our overall scores.

 

 

QUESTION 4

Another long one, and somewhat harder than usual. It was once more about the word play. I had never done a question like this, so like Riczhang, I was equally unexperienced with it. It's one of those more challenging questions that pop up in the Final Five games, and the format for it is pretty unique, and certaintly something I may consider pursuing again.

 

The final result was 30.31 million. Most players predicted higher than this (in fact, I believe all did). So it depends on who came closest. Riczhang is a great predictor, so he has a good shot at coming close to that mark, especially as he poured more calculations in this week than usual. But I also gave this question some thought, did a couple calculations, and perfected them until I came up with a satisfying answer. Below are our results.

 

Riczhang:

You did well. You scored 97.11% on this question. This was your second lowest score overall this week. So that's not too shabby. Sure it brings your average down a little bit, but you should still be surfacing near or over 98%, which is good.

 

The Creator:

And so too did I do well. I scored 97.75% on this question. Riczhang was close, but I was closer. Could this change the balance in my favor?

 

 

CURRENT SCORES

 

Riczhang:

Riczhang now stands at 97.94%, a bit below where we know his final average will land.

 

The Creator:

As for me, I stand at a slightly higher 97.99%. Ooh, this is very close indeed.

[riczhang]

I did really well on question 5, so if Creator still comes up on top then you are honestly just supremely talented. 

[The Creator]

ROUND THREE - cont.

 

And now, we get down to the exciting conclusion of this challenge. It is a very close, almost tied match.

 

QUESTION 5

Now we have a really easy question. These questions pop up throughout a season, from week to week, and their random appearance on a set of more challenging questions is generally to help ease the tension of answering challenging questions, but also to give the player a different type of question to answer. Percentage drop questions are common of Box Office Alliance. They've always been around, and they always will be. They test a player's ability to predict a film's weekend gross, without actually giving the weekend gross.

 

This week's percent drop question was no different than a typical one. Find Broken City's percent drop. Just about everyone came pretty close here (minus a couple of you). The actual percent drop was -51.4%. The average answer was slightly higher than that value. Did either Riczhang or I deviate from the average? Let's take a closer look.

 

Riczhang:

His final question. A very solid 98.64%. A great score, no doubt, one of his highest. He could win with a score like that. At the end of Question 4, he was only .06% behind. To tie this, I would need to score at least 98.51%. Anything lower would ensure Riczhang's win. Anything higher, my win.

 

The Creator:

So was it higher or lower than 98.51%? Well, my final score for this question was

It was pretty high

99.42%

 

 

FINAL SCORES

 

Riczhang:

98.12%

 

The Creator:

98.35%

 

 

Riczhang, you made it far, farther than any one else*, but you just lost this last round. It was a brutal showdown, one that tests your skill, and my own, and it proves how consistent we are, which is quite remarkable.

 

 

*But wait...there's more.

[The Creator]

I must say that was my favorite showdown of all time in this game.

 

Going to let it sink in for a second...but there's something seriously wrong here, isn't there?

Edited January 29, 2013 by The Creator

[JackO]

Wow. Great results so far! Did Rizchang just win the game? 

Edited January 29, 2013 by JackO

[The Creator]

"A War of Gods" - cont.

 

But surely, you must've all caught on to something fishy about all these scores. Early, Riczhang claimed he got a 0% on Question 3, and yet his overall score was a 98.12%. That can't be possible. And why was Question 3 omitted from Round Three between Riczhang and The Creator.

 

Now it is time to reveal that. You see, most people scored a 0% on that question. I say most, but not all. Riczhang did score a 0% on it, as did JackO. If I reported the scores that way, the competitions would've been less interesting. The eliminations may have happened sooner. For a thematic sense, I wanted to keep it this way. You see, JackO's actual score is a 73.61%. Riczhang actually scored 78.49%, because his answer to Question 3 gave him a zero.

 

But Baumer did not score 0% on that question. When I did the rounds, I did them with Question 3 omitted, for both the players and the secret challengers. So now, I will go back over the rounds, briefly, with Question 3's score counted in.

 

ROUND 1

 

JackO was eliminated with a 73.61%. Even if Numbers zeroed on Question 3, there was no way that JackO could have scored higher than him. But was Riczhang actually eliminated here, two rounds earlier than he was in the competition I posted. And what about Baumer? Did he make it past this round?

 

Riczhang's actual score was 78.49%, because he got a zero for Question 3.

 

Numbers' actually scored 77.00%. Like Riczhang and JackO, he got a zero on Question 3. However, because Baumer did not score a 0.00% on this question, his score was higher than Numbers after all. This means that Baumer actually was not eliminated in Round 1. He joins Riczhang in Round 2.

 

 

ROUND 2

 

Riczhang is the first target for Bed here. In the original competition, Bed lost. But now we know Riczhang actually scored 78.49%, with the zero for question 3. If Bed did not make a zero on that question, then Riczhang was actually eliminated here. This means that he never made it to Round Three to face The Creator. But did Bed score a 0.00% on this question?

 

Yes, he did. Bed also got a 0%, which means his actual score was 78.27%, just slightly lower than Riczhang's 78.49%. Riczhang beat Bed in this competition as well, and so he did move on to the finale.

 

But what about Baumer? He was initially eliminated in Round 1. But we now know he scored high enough that he did beat Numbers after all. Because Bed also scored 0%, we can assume Baumer beat Bed005. This means Baumer also moves on to Round 3.

 

Baumer's final score is actually 91.20%. This tops Bed's final of 78.27%. So Baumer moves on to Round Three to face The Creator.

 

 

ROUND 3

 

There is no way Riczhang can win. Even if The Creator scored a 0% on Question 3, then his overall score would still be higher than Riczhang's. So this means, as in the original competition, Riczhang was eliminated in Round 3.

 

So now fate lies with Baumer. Baumer's score in the original competition was 94.77%, which would have certainly placed lower than Creator's 98.35% score. But when Question 3 gets added in, Baumer actually scored 91.20%. Did Creator have enough after Question 3 to win this challenge, or did Baumer win?

 

Let's take a look:

 

Baumer scored 76.92% on Question 3. I will go ahead and say that this was the highest score on the question. But all Creator needs is a 62.60% on Question 3 to tie Baumer. Anything higher would mean Baumer did not win Round 3. Anything lower...and Baumer did. So how did Creator do on Round 3.

You're in for a surprise.

I scored 64.60%. As this is higher than Baumer's, it means I won R?ound 3.

I'm lying. I actually scored.

0.00%.

 

 

This shakes things up tremendously. Riczhang failed to win Round 3...but now we see a different side of things.

 

Baumer wins against The Creator. Everyone scored 0.00% on Question 3 except for Baumer, and because of that small twist of fate, Baumer won all three rounds of competitions with a final score of 91.20%, topping The Creator's score of 78.68%. Congratulations Baumer. You have won this competition. You will now be going on to the Finale. The underdog, the lone rookie, has defeated everyone...has even topped The Creator...and now he is the first person to enter the Finale.

 

 

Who will join him?

[acsc1312]

[The Creator]

Bet you guys didn't see that coming.

[riczhang]

Oh, I was so damn close. I haven't yet been in a challenge yet. Been pretty good at avoiding them for both season 1 and 2. should be fun.

And my question 3 answer was embarrassingly bad. $1.55 million. I messed up ridiculously badly.

I had a stupid mindfuck doing predictions and thought this weekend was the Super Bowl. Not that it mattered in the long run.

[JackO]

WOW Congrats Baumer! I guess 550,000 for Question 3. Way off. 

Edited January 29, 2013 by JackO

[baumer]

My head is spinning. Youve outdone yoursrlf here Creator. Truly a hell of a challenge. WOW!

[ChD]

Congratulations Baumer for the win today and Creator for doing such an awesome job with the game so far.

[baumer]

Thanks very much.

I think this is my first win. Timing, as they say, is everything.

[The Creator]

The Finale Contestants

 

Baumer moves on. He has secured a spot in the Season Finale. Congratulations. But now, who will join him? Will it be Riczhang...or JackO? I thought about the best way to handle this. After an epic Challenge this week between Riczhang and me, I couldn't force Riczhang through another Challenge. Furthermore, it would detract from the experience next week, when either Riczhang or JackO goes up against Baumer one-on-one. So now, there will not be a Challenge. Instead...

 

There is a secret ballot that will be sent to all players of the season, including Riczhang and JackO and Baumer. Each player will submit the name of the person they want to see join Baumer in the Finale. This ballot will be done via PM and in secret. The person with the most votes will be the one to join Baumer.

 

The deadline will be Wednesday, January 30 at 2:00 P.M. Central (3:00 P.M. Eastern).

[baumer]

Im hiring a lawyer for the last challenge.

[The Creator]

Im hiring a lawyer for the last challenge.

 

Who...Totem?

[The Dark Alfred]

Wow, that was something else. I wonder how can you top that one next season lol

 

I sent my vote.