Amendola continue rehabbing offseason surgeries and others banged up, Chris Harper had a good day -- including beating corner Lo

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. Mikkel Boedker Jersey . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Jean-Gabriel Pageau Senators Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. http://www.senatorssale.com/customized/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Christian Jaros Jersey . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. Jean-Gabriel Pageau Jersey . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Defensive end Rob Ninkovich said the New England Patriots defense has a long way to go to get ready for Sept. 11 opener at Arizona.Its early in camp. We still have a lot of days here to get better, Ninkovich said Thursday. Obviously, you get pads on youre starting to build that foundation of communication.We got a long way to go here through camp. Theres no light yet.While much of the camp focus has been on the offense, which will be missing quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games because of his Deflategate suspension and has key players returning from surgery, the defense is getting used to life without Chandler Jones.The Patriots finished second in the league with 49 sacks last season -- and Jones led the way with 12 1/2 sacks. Jones was traded to Arizona during the offseason and will line up against his old team on opening night in Glendale, Arizona.Ninkovich, who had 6 1/2 sacks last season, is expected to pick up some of the production without Jones.Chan was a great teammate -- a good friend of mine, Im definitely going to miss him as a friend and I wish him nothing but the best going forward, Ninkovich said.Hes a great football player and everyone is going to have to step up without him, but thats just the name of the game.Theres always going to be change. Ive been here eight years and Ive seen a lot of guys come and go. You just have to move on and the next guys gotta perform -- thats just the name of the business.As far as opening night, and seeing Jones, Ninkovich says, You have to look at him across the field and hope he doesnt do what he does best.Defensive end Chris Long and tackle Terrance Knighton have been added to the front seven for a team that finished ninth in the league in team defense and 10th in points allowed.Cornerback Cyrus Jones was the teams top draft pick -- No. 60 in the draft -- and has looked good.I felt last year we got better throughout the season, safety Devin McCourty said. A lot of young guys -- juust trying to build on that and get that going this year.dddddddddddd.Any time you lose a great player like Chan, different guys have to step up and take on different roles, especially in our defense, he plays so many different roles. But I think were got guys here who can handle all the different situations -- maybe not one guy but a group of guys.Knighton said hes trying to learn as fast as he can to avoid be the weak link.Long likes what he sees from his new teammates, the way they go about their business. Im just trying to do the best that I can to fit in to that group, he said.Said Ninkovich: Defensively we really have to get better individually. Thats what the training camp is for, work on your fundamentals and footwork, hand placement so youre becoming a better football player. At the end of the day, when everyone is working on themselves and you come together as a team youre a better team.Weve got a long way to go.Ninkovich said the players are ready to hit someone on a different team, and theyll get the chance to do that next Tuesday and Wednesday, when the New Orleans Saints visit for joint workouts before the preseason opener next Thursday night.Game notes Tom Brady was intercepted by safety Duron Harmon for the second time in camp Thursday. ... Jimmy Garoppolo had a strong day, unofficially at 10 for 10 at one point. ... With the wide receiver position thin as Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola continue rehabbing offseason surgeries and others banged up, Chris Harper had a good day -- including beating corner Logan Ryan by 5 yards and hauling in a long pass from Brady. ... Fullback James Develin beat Ninkovich on a wheel route and caught a long pass from Garoppolo. ... Offensive lineman Bryan Stork is out, reportedly with his fourth concussion in four years.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '