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. Authentic Custom Devils Jersey . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Custom Devils Jersey China .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. http://www.customdevilsjersey.com/ . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Cheap Devils Jerseys . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Ken Daneyko Jersey Large . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91.It may seem like the Canadian mens volleyball team is just another overnight success after a recent upset over powerhouse Russia. In fact, its a success story seven years in the making. And the man who built the foundation is coach Glenn Hoag, who has guided the team since 2006. Volleyball isnt a sport that gets a lot of attention in Canada, although that may change if the national team keeps developing and winning more. But University of Winnipeg volleyball coach Larry McKay says outside of Canada, people know who Glenn Hoag is and they respect him. The national volleyball training centre was based in Winnipeg until it moved to Gatineau in 2009. "In Europe, they think hes one of the best coaches in the world," says McKay, who adds that its a sentiment Hoags players share. "Hes a guy thats incredibly passionate about what hes doing," says attacker Justin Duff of Winnipeg. On the team four years, he also played for Hoag when he coached professionally in Turkey. "Ive not seen a lot of people that care as much about their job and what theyre doing as he does." A key to Hoags plan to revitalize the national team was re-establishing the national training centre, after a decade when university players moved directly to international play. Duff says that alone is huge. It gives Canadas players the training they need to cope with teams from countries where you can turn pro at 17 or 18 and play full-time. "The full-time centre helps us catch up. It gives us a full year of training physically and with basic skills of volleyball and advance tactics." Duff points to Rudy Verhoeff. The Calgary native had just finished university and never played pro, yet he was a huge contributor to their recent success in the World League thanks to the national centre. But the rest of the story comes from what Hoag learned through years playing and coaching professionally in Europe -- the way to succeed is basically to sweat the details. "Establish systems and get the players to (understand) these are their references," he says. "By establishing these systems, I established a training philosophy around (them)." He knew it wouldnt create a winner overnight but it seems to be paying off now. The teams latest triumph is their win over Russia at the recent World League final tournament in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The win helped boost Canada seven spots to 11th in the world rankings, with Russia still at No. 2, behind Brazil. Although Canada ended up losing to Brazil (and Russia bounced back to win the title), 2013 saw Canadas best performance ever in World League play with a record of 9-3, the latest sign a program that languished for a decade is picking up steam. "What Ive been able to do is trap some teams because they think theyre so good," Hoag says of his upstart Canadians. "Well do it with patience. Well do it with the qualities we want to develop." Not that winning is the only measure of success. Its probably not even high on Hoags list (although he admits it is very nice).dddddddddddd He says hes been able to see progress in other ways as the team develops. "Are they better receivers, better attackers? Is the group performing better in certain areas?" he says. "Winning is really important and we all like to do it but, if you dont develop the means to win." Hoag has spent most of his life playing or coaching volleyball. As a player, hes already been inducted into the Quebec Volleyball Hall of Fame. He played on the national team from 1981 to 1986 and on the 1984 Olympic team that finished fourth (Canadas best to date). He helped Canada win silver at the 2003 World University Games and gold at the 1984 Commonwealth volleyball championships. He played professionally in Europe between 1984 and 1993 and coached Paris Volley to a Triple Crown victory, winning the French Cup, the French Championship and the European Champions Cup. "Europe is the Mecca of volleyball internationally." When he returned to Canada he also returned to coaching at Sherbrooke University, where hed worked in the 90s, before taking the reins of the national team. But Europe was his graduate school. "I got to learn a lot," he says. The centre and more training is important. But its also important that his players believe they can be winners. "Weve reached a certain point in our game and now weve got to polish it a little, but our guys are not afraid to play anyone now," he says. The team has a break from competition this summer. "It was a good World League, now it becomes the past for me," says Hoag. "I evaluate and I measure and we get back in the gym in August." Their next competition is NORCECA, which covers North and Central American and the Caribbean, in Vancouver at the end of September. The Canadians will face rivals such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the United States. "I still have to work a lot on the skills," says the coach. Cracking the top five in the World League is great but Hoag says they arent letting it go to their heads as they prepare for the world championships next year and hopefully the Olympics in 2016. The Canadian men havent qualified for the Summer Games since 1992. "Im happy that we grew but I dont pay attention to the world ranking too much. . . We can beat some teams that are ahead of us and we can also lose to teams that are behind. "And its because volleyball is so competitive worldwide." To keep moving forward, middle blocker Adam Simac says the team has to eliminate inconsistencies and the kind of unforced errors they made against Brazil. Its even more important now that they arent so far under everyones radar, but that attention should also help force a little focus. "Weve kind of served notice to the world, You cant take Canada lightly any more," he said. "Every team that plays us is going to be ready for us and is going to be gunning for us. That will make our focus a little bit better and hopefully we deliver a more refined product." ' ' '