Cotsy
The Unholy Legion Of DarkStar
DARKSTAR ARMY
15
   |
Posted - 2014.04.28 19:20:00 -
[1] - Quote
First things i first, tiericide is a terrible idea. It was introduced into a non-FPS game to balanced problems in EVE which are not in Dust 514.
While i completely agree that matchmaking is broken, dividing matches based on gear to separate and highlight role performance is an invalid argument. I would also like to point out the phrase, "we would likely to see return to balance of power" is also completely false. In fact it is misleading, if we were to follow your argument the balanced based on tiers would actually increase the gap of power and not close it. So tiericide will be/is a mechanism that rewards those who are already holding the advantage.
There is 0 truth to balance based upon gear, the only logical solution to matchmaking is a system which balances based upon skill level (average WP + SP of individual or if people are in a squad then the top 3 members or the squad). And there is 0 truth that balancing based on gear will reward specialization, while in fact Dust punishes specialization (in infantry, obviously not vehicles).
Here is where you contradict yourself, you want to see modules and an importance placed on skills... Yea great idea, why not just reward the elite SP guys more. You make a suggestion and then one paragraph later you suggest something that is in direct contrast to your balanced game outlook. You have completely thrown out balance for rewarding those able to get high level mods (get the bonuses) and then equip them, immediately creating a disadvantage in a match.
I will look past how you suggest you can dump effort into both or want to completely change up the skills, the skills are not even close to being the problem, and frankly neither are the mods.
This tiericide idea is also garbage. The logic is flawed, the solution which is trying to be addressed only widens the problem and doesn't address it.
I know what you are trying to do, you see CCP has used the theory before in EVE and it did a good job at balancing battles by capping the ships, creating a cap is good for a game with such wild advantages built into its game design. But dust514 isn't like EVE, the ceiling so to speak is only around 26m SP. While that seems high the difference between most lv4-5 skills is marginal and one can easily compete with a 26m SP player at around 16-18m SP.
The real,problem lies in how matches are determined, they should be divided into a tier system based on SP + skill. So that it would look something like:
If we agree that 26m is a ceiling we can use the tiericide concept and use that as the maximum tier. Any player within 4m SP may be drawn into a game.
Beginners:
0-4m Battle Academy. Simply stated that all basic gear, basic suits, basic vehicles are unlocked. Players will be given more default options, they will be able to call in and use anything they want and ISK will not be available to be spent or used. They will receive ISK payouts, but only have access to them once they leave the academy.
5-9m SP, the Novice or Beginner Matches. Once a player has finished the academy, his skills will be reset and he will have the option of which class, weapon etc to specialize in. The ISK he has gained will then become available to him so that he may buy gear and skill books. The ceiling will be 9m, it's about the time people are able to get a Proto suit, have sufficient core skills, and are on their way to maxing out their primary weapon (and prof) and have spent a good deal of time playing the game against similarly skilled opponents. Only militia vehicles can be used under 9m SP. This is very important.
Intermediate:
10-14m SP and 15-19m SP are the intermediate classes. These classes will see std vehicles, begin to see Proto type gear, weapons, and are likely to begin to see squads. Players, based on skill, will be selected to either the lower tier or the upper tier of this class based on skill as well as their SP. So a player with lower skill but 16m SP can be placed in matches with someone who matches their skill level, as to create a balanced match. Its a little bit of an over so implication. But a player will receive a score based on his WP + skill and be placed in matches with similar scores. So players between 10-19m SP will see each other, while not seeing another below 9m SP are anyone above 20m SP. This of course will work because players will not be leaving the game, because a balanced match due to the division by SP + WP will make matches competitive, balanced, fun.
Advanced:
After 20m SP it will be a FFA. Their will be a score given to a player which will indicate who he will be matches up against, a skill score. That will determine the level of his competition, there can be a few tiers here, say weaker players are in scout tier, good players are in assault tier, great players are in assault tier, and the best of the best are in sentinel tier. You can be matched against people only in the tier above and below you, meaning the games are competitive.
A matchmaking system based on gear and the idea of specialization being a strong point is a terrible idea. The separation based on SP and skill is the only, i repeat only, solution. It fixes the NPE, it fixes Proto stomps, or q-sync'ing stomping etc...
|