Fiction:Command Rating System

The Command Rating System is a method by which Sporewiki military commanders are judged depending on their personal ability and charisma. It was developed by Angrybirds for use in the Lightning War in 2013, and has been used in a number of fictions since then. This page is dedicated to explaining that system.

The System
The rating works by giving each character a number of command stars out of five in two categories: Once you obtain these two numbers out of five, you add them them together create a full command rating out of ten like this:
 * Charisma, how inspirational a character is to his men. This could be through force of character or through the manipulation of their public image to give their soldiers the illusion that they are being led by a charismatic leader. In either case, a fully charismatic leader with five stars (Gold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.png) in this category inspires confidence, loyalty, and courage in their men. Charisma is good for morale.
 * Martial ability, or how good this character is at the art of war. The commander with average martial ability (usually 2.5 stars) can win about 50% of the time because they understands the basics enough to keep their troops together, but a commander with five stars (Gold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.png) in this field will know to anticipate, seek out, and create opportunities for themselves on the battlefield. Average commanders know to navigate the battlefield. Excellent commanders know to best capitalize on their advantages and strengths while minimizing their weaknesses, resulting in what probably looks like an 80% win-rate.
 * If Commander X has
 * Charisma: 2/5 Gold-star.pngGold-star.png
 * Ability: 3/5 Gold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.png
 * then his command rating is
 * Rating: 5/10 Gold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.pngGold-star.png

Keep in mind, a 5/10 is not a bad rating, it is the average commander who knows what he's doing.

A word on fairness

 * Written by Angrybirds

In the interest of fairness, please refrain from giving your commanders all unrealistically high ratings. Everyone on Sporewiki wants to have an "above average military staff," and I understand that impulse. Unfortunately, if we all have empires full of Napoleonic-grade commanders, then what's the point? A single nation can get away with having maybe one or two extremely competent military commanders, but any more than that is probably pushing it a little. This especially applies to enormous empires which probably have gotten quite severely entrenched in their command and social structure, leading to a not-so-perfect meritocracy.

If anything, I would advocate giving smaller empires the ability to have "above average military staff" in order to give them more of a fighting chance, but that is just my own personal opinion.

The evolution of ratings
There is also the fact that commanders evolve over time. As they acquire experience and battles to their name, their martial ability and charisma increase accordingly. This means that commanders have room to grow, and their rating isn't final. Commanders who haven't seen battle yet also shouldn't generally have a very high rating.