So it's been 4 months since I made this thread detailing the problems of this games matchmaker. Mostly, that it promotes imbalance through a 3-player gap. Here, in picture mode: That I am having to reuse the same image from 4 months ago for the same problem speaks volumes of the problem at hand. Maybe the ramifications where not clear enough? Because everything I stated that would happen on that thread can be seen happening clear as the day on the current LSM campaign. LSM are currently struggling to complete their campaign, not because of lack of enthusiasm, skill, or numbers on the LSM part. But because they simply do not have enough enemies to do so. Why? Because nobody wants to join a lost match or feel like they have to overcome stacked odds. Why play Orkz/Eldar if the average match is going to be like these: Or this: If anything, the addition of the "Disconnected" icon helps make the problem clearer. Players see a 11 vs 8 and immediately go "**** that" and leave. Which quickly turns that 3-player gap into 4, 5, or even 8 players gap as happened on that Agnathio (Sorry I didn't get a SS at the end of that one). It's so bad even CSM had some of these matches. One of you might say "But sir, this allows us to stuff more Marines per game, resulting in lower queue times for LSM!". And to that I say, yes it does; but only the first match on any given scenario. Because eventually enough people get fed up playing an uphill battle and stop playing Eldar/Orkz, resulting in less matches. Or worse, they join the side that is getting "Long queues but free wins", resulting in even less matches AND longer queue times. Why be rolled over when you can be the rolleree? This obviously leads to a vicious cycle that is just not good for the health of the game. Low Pop factions get fed up and eventually leave or switch to HP. High pop factions get unbearable queue times and unchallenging matches. This is the obvious result of unfair matches. And make no mistake, this isn't a "LSM campaign" exclusive issue. It's just a preview of what the game will be like in a couple of months if nothing is done to correct this. Those of us who play on off-peak hours are already seeing this happen, even after the F2P boon. Solutions: Simple enough: Prioritize making fair matches. Turn the 3-player Gap into a 1-player gap. Make Warparties not auto-queue after a match. Seriously, it's causing havoc in your system and Warparties would rather not autoqueue anyways. I'm not even asking for a MMR or ELO system in place. Simple numbers balancing will do. I'm sorry this isn't Planetside. This is a lobby shooter, and making the barest attempt at fair matches is the least I'd expect from one. Being a Lobby shooter isn't an insult or something to be ashamed off, we have a great game in our hands. And the sooner the devs realize this and take measures to ensure fairness, the sooner we can stop bleeding players. The devs will probably turn a bigger profit-per-time-invested fixing the MM than they will out of making a new elite in the long run. And heck, if you want to get fancy you can even add one of those systems that add dynamic respawns (Or take turns spectating players) when matches become uneven. Anything to give the outnumbered players the feel that the match is not automatically lost the moment they became outnumbered. But seriously, please look into this. If LSM fail this campaign it will not be because they are weak or unskilled. It is because the MM is screwing their enemies over and nobody wants to be a punching bag. Oh and if any dev is reading, there is also a bug on Hold the Line Maps (Zedek/MAggon) where you can't join in-progress after the first point if the timer went below 2:00 before A is capped. Even if the match keeps going long after that. This results in outnumberee factions remaining outnumbered through the entire match. Maybe look into it?
When the Playerbase has to tells you the obvious but you still neglect it until it happens and it's exactly what they predicted since you announced it #justbehaviourthings
Totally agreed. The matchmaker pre-determines a win more often than it should. There are also edge cases where a Fortress will start with such low numbers on the defenders side that there simply isn't enough targets to make the tickets go down fast enough. It's actually to the advantage to be outnumbered that badly. There is a whole treatise that could be written, but suffice to say that the current matchmaker is not serving us well, and needs adjusted.
The problem is much more complex and difficult to solve. You forgot to mention that the LSM playerbase is much more skilled and populated than the others. So the chances of bumping into a match where the LSM stomps and makes you want to quit playing are much bigger. How do you solve that? Because it's not fun to play against no lifers.
While the match maker sucks and needs to be better you are forgetting 1 big problem People leaving the game So many times I see people go unfair matches what where full on both sides but people on one side left because they didn't like the prospect of losing or get d/c. The most I've seen is around 10 players (not in guilds) leave a normal 15v15 match in a quick 2-3 minutes once it became clear that their opposition was organized or that they didn't have a good chance to win. A lot of times such mis matches are more often due to this then as even with a 1-2 or even 3 man gap the player pool will fill up in most normal matches but people see 1 man down 2 man down and they leave saying unfair game leading to a widening gap. It also dose not help that people can only question aginst a certain faction leading to more imbalance.
I've noticed an anecdotal correlation between the losing side and the number of "disconnected" players on that side. Not always the case, but often enough to be highly suggestive.
There is a feedback loop between the Matchmaking and Leavers. However I think Leavers are the bigger problem in general. Leavers are losers, maybe there should be a penalty for people who habitually leave games. However this could be harsh or hard to enforce due to poor connection issues.
