DUST Search - Any comment on no-squad options CCP?

Baal Roo wrote:

Duck Drahko wrote:

DJINN leukoplast wrote:

CCP FoxFour wrote:

Panther Alpha wrote:

a big happy Family, like in EvE.

hehehehehe lol. Good one.

In response to OP: There has been some general thought put into it put we want to get the new matchmaking system that CCP Nullarbor is working on out first and then we can look at possibly adding that. I don't see it happening though as we don't want to divide the pool of players matchmaking up even more.

The new matchmaking system has had a lot of work put into it and, from my non-programmer perspective, it seems to have been rewritten from the ground up. We support a lot more things to matchmake off of and to help with the smaller player count.

So yea, before we go and talk about adding more features to the matchmaking lets get this new version out, see how it does, and then we can iterate on it as needed. :)

Appreciate the reply, and I really hope the system Null comes up with works well. If you guys can crack matchmaking, you will make history, very big history that WILL be remembered.

I'll be honest, my hopes are not high. IMO squads vs no squads is the biggest imbalance in any game utilizing matchmaking. So while I hope Null comes up with a really nice solution (even if it isn't perfect) I would hope that no-squad options would be put on the table anyway as an alternative play-style. Many games use it, and it works very well. At the very least the most solo-centric modes could get it at some point, like ambush.

I just want to chime and say that as a new player, the imbalance created by squads is the number one issue I am having with the game. Maybe the only issue that actually matters. It's not proto gear, useless dropships, weapon imbalances, or any of the missing or broken features of the game. I can live with all of it, but the squad based match making is really hard to deal with. And it's equally annoying whether I find myself on the winning or losing team.

One of the most refreshing parts of playing in Academy IMO is the lack of squads, and how unbelievably more balanced the game becomes as a result of it (granted, it's certainly not the only reason).

I understand that you don't want to split up the community even more, but considering that the game is already split up between four different game types and two public modes (instant battles, factional warfare), I wonder if it wouldn't be possible to reserve at least one of those for solo players. At least as a temporary solution, until the playerbase has grown and squad based matchmaking has proven itself to be more balanced (if that's even theoretically possible).

There are a lot of problems with Dust 514, but THIS mentality drives me up the wall.

If the biggest problem you're having is that you're not in a squad, instead of complaining about how people in squads are beating you: JOIN A ******* SQUAD. It's not rocket science.


Author	Thread Statistics \| Show CCP posts - 4 post(s)
ZDub 303 TeamPlayers EoN. 1142	Posted - 2013.07.22 16:53:00 - [1] - Quote You guys should consider trying to for a couple weeks CCP. Just open up a new game like the academy, random game mode, no squads, and no proto. And just see what the metrics look like and how the community reacts. Can't hurt to try it?
ZDub 303 TeamPlayers EoN. 1148	Posted - 2013.07.22 18:05:00 - [2] - Quote Himiko Kuronaga wrote: The problem as I see it as that singularly good players are put on teams to balance out the bad players already present. And while it makes sense to do this from a "balance" standpoint, good players don't want to play with bad players. They want to play with good players. If we didn't, we wouldn't have bothered getting good. I would much prefer a system where bad players were placed with bad players, and good players didn't have to go anywhere near them. Of course if every good player was fighting every other good player, everyone's KDR would suddenly drop and then how would the system be able to to figure out who was good? Same way games like Starcraft do it, I imagine. Put people in certain "tiers" that are reset over a certain period of time based on performance. The tiers could be security status. 0.8 - 1.0 - Bronze League 0.6 - 0.8 - Silver League 0.4 - 0.6 - Gold League 0.2 - 0.4 - Platinum League 0.1 - 0.2 - Masters League 0.0 - Null Sec Duh... You are then judged by your security status and not your KDR. Could even put security status on your name on the forums in the bottom right side of the pictures. Of course the lower the number the bigger your e-peen is :D.
ZDub 303 TeamPlayers EoN. 1163	Posted - 2013.07.22 21:38:00 - [3] - Quote Baal Roo wrote: Duck Drahko wrote: DJINN leukoplast wrote: CCP FoxFour wrote: Panther Alpha wrote: a big happy Family, like in EvE. hehehehehe lol. Good one. In response to OP: There has been some general thought put into it put we want to get the new matchmaking system that CCP Nullarbor is working on out first and then we can look at possibly adding that. I don't see it happening though as we don't want to divide the pool of players matchmaking up even more. The new matchmaking system has had a lot of work put into it and, from my non-programmer perspective, it seems to have been rewritten from the ground up. We support a lot more things to matchmake off of and to help with the smaller player count. So yea, before we go and talk about adding more features to the matchmaking lets get this new version out, see how it does, and then we can iterate on it as needed. :) Appreciate the reply, and I really hope the system Null comes up with works well. If you guys can crack matchmaking, you will make history, very big history that WILL be remembered. I'll be honest, my hopes are not high. IMO squads vs no squads is the biggest imbalance in any game utilizing matchmaking. So while I hope Null comes up with a really nice solution (even if it isn't perfect) I would hope that no-squad options would be put on the table anyway as an alternative play-style. Many games use it, and it works very well. At the very least the most solo-centric modes could get it at some point, like ambush. I just want to chime and say that as a new player, the imbalance created by squads is the number one issue I am having with the game. Maybe the only issue that actually matters. It's not proto gear, useless dropships, weapon imbalances, or any of the missing or broken features of the game. I can live with all of it, but the squad based match making is really hard to deal with. And it's equally annoying whether I find myself on the winning or losing team. One of the most refreshing parts of playing in Academy IMO is the lack of squads, and how unbelievably more balanced the game becomes as a result of it (granted, it's certainly not the only reason). I understand that you don't want to split up the community even more, but considering that the game is already split up between four different game types and two public modes (instant battles, factional warfare), I wonder if it wouldn't be possible to reserve at least one of those for solo players. At least as a temporary solution, until the playerbase has grown and squad based matchmaking has proven itself to be more balanced (if that's even theoretically possible). There are a lot of problems with Dust 514, but THIS mentality drives me up the wall. If the biggest problem you're having is that you're not in a squad, instead of complaining about how people in squads are beating you: JOIN A ******* SQUAD. It's not rocket science. Pub squads =/= corp squads.
ZDub 303 TeamPlayers EoN. 1169	Posted - 2013.07.23 00:56:00 - [4] - Quote Mobius Wyvern wrote: WyrmHero1945 wrote: Thanks for making this thread Djinn. Didn't see it. Any idea how this new matchmaking they're testing going to work? SP based? WP? From what they've been saying, it should work based on tracking an ungodly shitload more player metrics and working them all together into a profile on how each player fits into the system. Thus, Godmodes play Godmodes, and Beginners play Beginners, and everything in between. and reinforcing the 'proto gear is only gear' mentality. Sigh... :(