This is from minlvl10 SW games, but would be surprised if it was any better on default servers.
Multitude of problems exist on pub SW servers. No solutions are perfect for a drop-in/out gamemode but i think a lot of things could be done to actually make this mode more playable:
- game starts with a few players - typically a stopwatch game will start with 2-6 people on the server, which is not enough for the server to balance, and the game balance shifts dramatically with each good player joining/leaving. On average half of the first round is unrepresentative of how the second round is going to go. A weak team might steamroll a few obj only to get stomped when better players join and shift the balance.
- players ragequit like hell - Since about one month into open beta the ‘leave the server after round is over’ meta kicked in, probably cancer spreading from CS. Few people leave cause they got the cancer, and then the rest of the players leave because ‘everybody is leaving’. No point in sticking around and being the only player left on a server, only to load the map and /disconnect.
This mentality is beautifully illustrated by stocks, once certain shares lose value, investors panic-sell and the shares lose more value.
a simple fix could work here, that would actually also work for obj servers: give an incentive to play THE ENTIRE round, from the map beginning till the map end. A flat 10-20% credit bonus could suffice, or better yet a chance at a case drop (or better yet, an extra REALLY small chance at a elite/special case drop) People will thisk twice before ragequitting if they risk missing out on some special goodness. Why not subtly drop base credit-earn rate and give us that 10-20% credit bonus?
While community servers would flat-out solve this, middle ground solutions are desirable too.
This will encourage people to stay even if on a weaker team, and will also encourage people to stay on the server between maps, promoting good games from the beginning. Imo stopwatch is a great mode that actually gives defenders a reason to bother, cause defending on obj server is like ‘meh, ill just rack kills, next map ill attack hopefully’
Single fix for both SW gameplay problems.
ON a side note: can the server check if teams are balanced when mid-round before starting the 2nd round? Often some players leave after mid-match for whatever reasons, and the next round starts with 5/6v7 often screwing up the whole map.