Custom matchmaker - improvements

[Crotalus]

So, goal is to get people to use matchmaker for balanced games instead of custom games. Current method - force people to use matchmaker to balance by hiding ratings. I don't think this is a good idea but I won't bash it. Instead I'll give some positive feedback how the matchmaker system can be improved enough so people want to use it voluntarily:

(Apologizes if this is already planned)

* Make it possible to choose what map to matchmake + some options (fullshare etc).
* Show how many players currently are searching for teamgames. Show it like a custom game with N numbers of players currently searching. That way you know if someone currently wanting to play a teamgame in a certain map. Otherwise you can have to wait forever. People dont caring about map can end up in same N players pool.
* The number shown of people searching should be players in your own rating interval, with the interval increasing the longer you wait - so you get a game going.
* Dont balance map positions, just teams.
* Tone down regular custom games (subtab?) and make it more obvious how to start a matchmaker custom (maybe move matchmaker closer to the other matchmaking / create game stuff)

[Blodir]

I would personally love it if all custom games became unrated when matchmaking becomes the main way to create games, since their whole purpose at this stage is to have some unserious uncompetitive fun games.

Also I'd like to keep farming a specific map to custom games because it certainly does not feel very competitive to only learn one map and farming rating on it (not only for Seton's players, but imagine maps like crazyrush which are extremely build order dependant).

[Crotalus]

We shouldn't overestimate the numbers of players searching for a team game at a single instant. If there was thousand of players searching at the same time we could have some more options when it comes to matching up.

Team games will never be completely balanced and can't be compared to 1v1 so I don't think they will ever be competitive. For instance, what will happen when Tiep & BC create a team and starts a search. Whoever they are against will probably be slaughtered or a game will never be started.

A clear indication of what maps people currently wants to play / search for is needed.

And also, why are people playing custom team games? It's not primarily to play a teamgame on some random map, they have a specific goal - to play a fun / balanced game on a certain map, the matchmaker must be able to make the games more fun/balanced than our earlier manually balanced custom games.

Or is the goal to integrate the custom games / matchmaker into GW somehow? To make them the same in the end?

[FadingBadger]

if there is a working teamgame matchmaker i think there is no reason to make costum games ranked couse some ppl will just farm rating with it.

but ppl stil want to know if the game is even remotly balanced.

whe currently have a good 1v1 system with ratings that are fairly accurate in my expiriance. team games play verry different from 1v1 so 1v1 rating doesn't necceraly resemble how a player wil peform in team games. maby if ppl have 2 ratings 1 for team games and 1 for 1v1 and let them both only be determend by the matchmaker so costum matches don't influance them. and than show the rating players have in teamgames in the costum game lobby and ppl can balance them themself and if the game isn't balance it is there own fault but it doesn't matter couse it doesn't influence your rating. (you stil had a boring game but it is to some extend your own fault.)

having seperate matchmaking also eliminates the need for a perfect team game matchmaker. couse team games are almost inposible to balance properly anyway (i don't say it doesn't need to be good than (couse ppl won't use it couse it won't produce fun games) but atleast it won't mess up other things.

this is just a solution i thought might work i am not that good at this game and don't have used matchmaker a lot recently but maby this helps and hopefully it represends the wishes of the avarage joe playing this game.

[Ze_PilOt]

Custom matchmaker is a dead feature.
It will be removed soonish.