Rondo --
First of all, I apologize for the long delay in replying. I must have gotten the e-mail that this thread got a new post, but then lost my mind and forgot to read it.
Second, I hate it when people apologize for the length of their posts, e-mails, and everything else. The RFG practically RELIES on your input (and I'm talking to every single poster here). Rememer, Chris and I know NOTHING about boxing. Hell, I didn't know the difference between a jab and a straight punch until I played Fight Night 2004, and I *still* don't know how to recognize a cross. The point is, we rely on all of you to help us figure out the nuances to boxing, so any input you have is valuable.
And your post, Rondo, was quite valuable. You're right that it's work to go through 3000 boxers and find trends, but realize this: if I wasn't willing to work to make the RFG fantastic, I would have just left the damn thing on version 1.0 and let everyone deal with a subpar utility.
As it is, I love the RFG and want to make it perfect, no matter how much work that takes. And to be honest, I have looked into numbers and so on, but I haven't publicized it. Chris and I have actually had a minor meeting, and we're planning on not only fixing the RFG for a natural bell curve, but to create a new utility that will make almost everyone here wet themselves with excitement.
However, no more details about THAT will be forthcoming. I'm not trying to keep it a secret intentionally... We just don't know yet whether the new utility will actually work, and if it doesn't, I don't want to disappoint everyone here by having made an empty promise.
That said, one detail I *will* spill is that we have solved the bell curve thing. In fact, over this weekend, great strides will be made on the RFG, and a new version SHOULD be out early next week. Unlike previous versions however, I'm keeping the old v3.2 around in case the change turns out to mess with things too badly.
Now, the next version will probably get the number v4.a, because I'm 98% sure it's going to be incomplete. It's basically an "unfinished" released, and we will need an equivalent of beta testers to make sure we didn't do anything completely off the wall. That's the other main reason we're keeping v3.2 around; it's going the only "finished" release until we're ready to the stamp of approval on v4.0.
If anything changes, I'll be sure to put a new thread. Until then, keep on flinging suggestions as long as often as you want. Trust me, I read them all.