Random game experience


(KeMoN) #1

Good morning,
We all know that there are issues with balanced matches in DirtyBomb, that’s why you are working on casual match-making and that is why you introduced the shuffle votes a while back.
There is a problem now, because you decided to trastically reduce the shuffle options without having changed anything in regards to more balanced matches.
Let me guide you through a random game experience on a Stopwatch server.
[HR][/HR]
We started the match with 4 vs 7 and obviously no one felt the need to balance the game while it was still in the first minute. No one made great effort for his/her side yet and the game is still completely open. That is the point where you shuffle and even out the teams.

One and a half minute later we stand at this point. You can see at the score of the last 3 players in our team that they just joined. Our team has merely 11.5% of the score of the defending team.

Unfortunately I have no screenshot of the first shuffle vote, but it failed.

Four and a half minutes later we have this scenario. Our team managed to shorten the score gap and now has glorious 14% of the score of the defending team. First guy already left.

Thanks to the time limit the second shuffle vote could only be called nearly halfway into the match. This is it 3 seconds before running out. Because basically every option was shut down I resorted to stay put and camp in there a bit.
Camping on the attacking side never works and I brought this on myself. They effectively cut out the left route and the generator has been down since minute one.

Only other option we have is take the right exit from the spawn. Entry: Rhino camping on healing station. Last spawn exit effectively shut down.

Let’s have a look at the scoreboard. We did manage to further shorten the score gap and now have astonishing 18% of the score of the defending team. One of our guys left and two new joined. Needless to say that there was no fluctuation on the defending team.

Rhino is still there but now we also have a Nader controlling the courtyard. In the chat you can see the third shuffle vote fail.

[HR][/HR]This is the last screenshot I have for you because I then left. I have better things to do with my life.
You knew balanced matches were a problem yet you still went ahead and reduced the chances of evening out unbalanced matches. Spamming shuffle votes in this case is a legit thing to do. First, the situation is obviously unbalanced and everyone saying something else probably thinks that Trump is a legitimate candidate for presidency in the US. Second, it increases the chances of it actually passing. Third, it also shows the enemy team that there is something wrong. Having to defend you inadequate actions every ~40 seconds is more inclined to bring a bad conscience compared to one every 3 or 4 minutes.

Besides obvious balancing problems this also perfectly shows the improvable level-design in Terminal.
I would be really curious how many matches don’t make it past objective 1 and in how many of these cases the generator was down. Two of the remaining spawn exits end up facing each other in the same courtyard.

First: Come into work on Monday and immediately push a hotfix bringing back the old shuffle vote system.
Optional: If casual match-making is ready by Monday you don’t need to revert the vote changes.
Second: Re-evaluate the map layout of Terminal

Cheers

//EDIT:
It’s now 7 hours later and the rant has passed. I apologize for my relatively harsh phrasing, but I stand by what I said.
Still a great game :wink:


(Aganak) #2

That isn’t Random game experience. That is the NORM. :smiley:

Let’s face it: most the matches are bad. Most of the teams are bad. Most of the players are noobs since the game is geared towards casual gameplay.
It’s not about tactics, skills, aiming but different types of spam.
Of course those teams that have the most aiming skills, experience and most organizational qualities will not only win but most likely just stomp the other team.

I know people will say I’m just salty about being on losing side of things. That’s not true.
I’m salty because teams are often bad even when I’m winning. There’s no real team composition unless something miraculous happens.
More often than not there are no medics, engis, ammo guys etc. at all or the team has no area abilities or killing potential.
Then when you see your team either camp the clock away or just bumrush it with such haste there’s just bodies everywhere while you are side- or backraped you are thinking that why you are even playing this. You get killed by random crap and get irritated.
On terminal I have seen players rush into corridor full of mines and stickies. How you can ever survive as a team if some players are that dumb?
Quite often the problem is that people have no coordination or even knowledge how to approach them as attacker neither desire to push.

Worst thing is that you would expect higher level players understand the situation, change sides etc. to balance it out, but no!
Example once I left Chapel on first objective as I was defending because it was one sided total stomp for us. Of course shuffle vote didn’t pass.I tried to find Chapel server and ended up again to the same server to attacking side as some people had left. And whoa! there’s now new high level (50+) guy on the DEFENDING team raping noobs next to their spawn. I don’t know was attacking side full when he joined the server but instead of helping the other team he decided that it would be fun to run around with the team that was already stomping the noobs.
How retarded you would have to be to do that?

I don’t get what anybody gets out of the stomps that happen in maps like Chapel, Bridge, Terminal etc. on the first objective.
I don’t think shuffle will fix anything if the rating system for players isn’t changed or people don’t realize that balanced matches are way to go.
I can imagine that public matchmaking will be horrible experience as similar things will happen.