[X] I am certain this is a feature request, not a bug.
[X] I've thought this feature through properly.
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
The following issues are specific to players with particular mindsets and sensitivities in competitive environments.
You've just reached a new rank, and are now hesitant to play more matches out of fear that you'll fall back down immediately on the next match.
You've been losing constantly and watching your TR fall rapidly, and you're starting to get upset about the possibility of getting demoted, or have already seen your rank fall down.
You were matched up against a player whose Rank is significantly higher than your's, and now you're demotivated about the match, and less likely to put in effort under the belief that it's not going to matter anyway.
You're hesitant to play competitive modes out of a concern of increased likelihood of experiencing toxic players, who may try to upset you by saying something hurtful or irritating in chat to try and make you play worse (or just vent their frustrations out on you.)
When playing TETRA LEAGUE, there are a couple instances where a player's mental state may be affected from anxiety or frustration associated with your rank or conduct from other players who seek to win by any (legal) means necessary. While for some this would push them to play at their absolute best for the sake of their rank, for others it may actually make them play worse due to a disrupted mental state before the match even begins. Worst case scenario, they may not want to actually continue playing more matches, which isn't desirable for this game mode as a whole, as a large pool of motivated and eager competitors is necessary for the matchmaking system to function for all skill ranges.
While it's fair to say that it is the player's responsibility to make sure they are in their best state (both mentally and physically) before playing a match and to not be so spineless in a competitive setting, I believe this feature can help some players get to that ideal mental state and maintain it. At the very least, it may help these players accept their losses with more grace because the game isn't presenting them with the consequences of their failures.
Describe the solution you'd like
In the TETRA LEAGUE lobby, add the ability to hide each skill metric (rank, TR, Glicko, win/loss ratio) by clicking on it.
Metrics will remain hidden permanently until you click on them again, ensuring that you can take a look that them only when you really wish to do so.
You may also toggle whether or not you'd like to enable chat for your ranked matches. If either you or your opponent has disabled chat, you cannot communicate with each other during the game.
If a metric is hidden for you, you will not see that metric for your opponent in the VS screen either. If you've chosen to hide your Rank but not your TR, you can also see your opponent's TR, but not their Rank.
However, you can sidestep this by viewing their profile (such as by clicking their username in the VS Screen.) By viewing their profile, you have indicated that you want to see their rating and rank to inform yourself of who you are up against, and that decision is on you.
In the results screen of a ranked match, no sound effects or numbers for hidden metrics will be played, such as the Rating increase/decrease sound, or the Rank promotion/demotion sound. This means that even a particular match resulted in a promotion or demotion, you won't know about it immediately.
Choosing to hide metrics from yourself does not hide them from other players. This feature is implemented locally on your account and is meant to help you stay focused and motivated to play TETRA LEAGUE to the best of your ability. If a given metric's presence is making that difficult for you, I would argue it's best to move it out of sight.
Describe alternatives you've considered
There aren't really any existing official alternatives that allow such players to play TETRA LEAGUE without needing to worry about their fluctuating rank or rating. (TETR.IO PLUS apparently makes this possible through custom CSS, but that is a third-party modification.) Changing the ranking system would not be a reasonable option to cater to those who face rank/competitive anxiety. The best solution I could think of is to allow themselves to temporarily "ignore" their own ranked statistics if it means they can better focus on the games they will be playing to improve and win.
Additional context
While I am confident that being able to personally hide TETRA LEAGUE skill metrics while playing the mode won't have significant adverse effects on the competitive integrity of the game or the motivation for any of its competitors (as it does not affect other people's abilities to see your metrics), I'm not as confident that being able to shut out communication entirely in ranked matches will necessarily foster a better competitive environment for the community as a whole. I worry that lots of players may instinctively disable chat without first taking a chance at interacting with their competitors, and as a result a significant social aspect of the game may be diminished. However, for players who recognize that they sometimes can get a bit too heated in a competition (especially when it ends), it may be good for them to be able to disable chat while they are calm, so that they do not end up lashing out at their opponent when the match doesn't end up going their way.
Checklist
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
The following issues are specific to players with particular mindsets and sensitivities in competitive environments.
When playing TETRA LEAGUE, there are a couple instances where a player's mental state may be affected from anxiety or frustration associated with your rank or conduct from other players who seek to win by any (legal) means necessary. While for some this would push them to play at their absolute best for the sake of their rank, for others it may actually make them play worse due to a disrupted mental state before the match even begins. Worst case scenario, they may not want to actually continue playing more matches, which isn't desirable for this game mode as a whole, as a large pool of motivated and eager competitors is necessary for the matchmaking system to function for all skill ranges.
While it's fair to say that it is the player's responsibility to make sure they are in their best state (both mentally and physically) before playing a match and to not be so spineless in a competitive setting, I believe this feature can help some players get to that ideal mental state and maintain it. At the very least, it may help these players accept their losses with more grace because the game isn't presenting them with the consequences of their failures.
Describe the solution you'd like
In the TETRA LEAGUE lobby, add the ability to hide each skill metric (rank, TR, Glicko, win/loss ratio) by clicking on it. Metrics will remain hidden permanently until you click on them again, ensuring that you can take a look that them only when you really wish to do so. You may also toggle whether or not you'd like to enable chat for your ranked matches. If either you or your opponent has disabled chat, you cannot communicate with each other during the game.
If a metric is hidden for you, you will not see that metric for your opponent in the VS screen either. If you've chosen to hide your Rank but not your TR, you can also see your opponent's TR, but not their Rank. However, you can sidestep this by viewing their profile (such as by clicking their username in the VS Screen.) By viewing their profile, you have indicated that you want to see their rating and rank to inform yourself of who you are up against, and that decision is on you.
In the results screen of a ranked match, no sound effects or numbers for hidden metrics will be played, such as the Rating increase/decrease sound, or the Rank promotion/demotion sound. This means that even a particular match resulted in a promotion or demotion, you won't know about it immediately.
Choosing to hide metrics from yourself does not hide them from other players. This feature is implemented locally on your account and is meant to help you stay focused and motivated to play TETRA LEAGUE to the best of your ability. If a given metric's presence is making that difficult for you, I would argue it's best to move it out of sight.
Describe alternatives you've considered
There aren't really any existing official alternatives that allow such players to play TETRA LEAGUE without needing to worry about their fluctuating rank or rating. (TETR.IO PLUS apparently makes this possible through custom CSS, but that is a third-party modification.) Changing the ranking system would not be a reasonable option to cater to those who face rank/competitive anxiety. The best solution I could think of is to allow themselves to temporarily "ignore" their own ranked statistics if it means they can better focus on the games they will be playing to improve and win.
Additional context
While I am confident that being able to personally hide TETRA LEAGUE skill metrics while playing the mode won't have significant adverse effects on the competitive integrity of the game or the motivation for any of its competitors (as it does not affect other people's abilities to see your metrics), I'm not as confident that being able to shut out communication entirely in ranked matches will necessarily foster a better competitive environment for the community as a whole. I worry that lots of players may instinctively disable chat without first taking a chance at interacting with their competitors, and as a result a significant social aspect of the game may be diminished. However, for players who recognize that they sometimes can get a bit too heated in a competition (especially when it ends), it may be good for them to be able to disable chat while they are calm, so that they do not end up lashing out at their opponent when the match doesn't end up going their way.