I "whine" in aoelus about no rating in custom game, not because im against matchmaker but because i really, really, really hate when someone force me. I voluntarily test many works and spend hundreds hour on test and balance nomads mod, but pls dont force me.
Matchmaker is great idea and help solve many problems, at this moment it doesnt work how it can work in future i was think about it what is bad what is great and what can help.I dont look on it from technical view but from human-psychological view.
What is a primal problem of all automatic matchmaker is sample of people. It need many people do same think in same time. We dont had many people. At one time is online max 900 ppl, but basically it is about 400, but from this 400 is 350 in game so we had cca 50 ppl who dont play and maybe about 10-20 who are looking for game.
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When someone search by matchmaker and dont found nothing for long time he stop trying use it(i try it 7time bigger time was more like 1hour and never play by matchmaker). It is easy behavioral law, what perfectly work: stimulus without strengthening lapse. We can see it for example on google+.
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What we can do for make matchmaker more attractive?
At first ppl need know that someone is searching game, im sure that icon on down that someone is searching 1v1 help a lot. This would or must be on team matchmaker too. Otherwise ppl would not search.
What would be better:
Because people play most custom game, because they like it and dont want to radical change, then why change it radical ?
When some team /player start search for game, why dont put this game on custom game section ?
How i that imagine?
when someone start searching then this game would be put as custom game with big on place where normaly is map picture, whitout players nickname (player would be only "player 1" "player 2" etc.. ) without rating and nationality of player, what we would see would be only number of player and "average rating of team" (explained down).
When second team join they join on normal game loby but styll whitotu enemy team nick, rating, nationality, would see map can change spot and can comunicate in loby. when all press X game start.
So this would be something betwen matchmaker and custom game, would had positive efect of matchmaker that would play random ppl against, and not need complicate loking for player and not negative efect /that none want to use it now, because none join. Would it be on custom loby as matchmaker game, so all ppl who want to play custom would see that somone is searching for random team, and would join much faster.
Second problem is balance, is ridiculos hard make balance game when is only few ppl here, so at first would much help when balance on this game would not exist, or when would be very benevolent, like dont say average rating of player but say it in scale.
when we put all player on 3 category
beginner: 0-800 rating
average: 800-1600 rating
advanced: 1600+
So when when some team 3v3 is searching for player with average rating 4287then other player would not see 4287 average rating but one of scale for this one: 4287/3= 1429 per player it is "800-1600 team is searching for player" and dont care that one of that guy is 2400 and second 200 rating.
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Motivation suggestion - second part
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Rating is not only tool how balance game, this is very big technocrat mistake.
rating is same as tool how balance game tool what say player how good they are and how big they had progres on be better. It is one of strongest motivation to be better, rise, it is primary feedback how good work is do.
What would we make better when we want to had stronger second parth of rating ?
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I think that league of legend had one of best motivation program in game, about how to retain player play it every day and build comunity. Some from it and some new cooperating with rating system would perfectly work on faf too. Here is some sugestion
- after game can be posible get "medal" player with we play previous game (as great work, good teamplay, best action, great teching) number of this "medal" will be on player statistic and from some percentil from distribution of this medal from whole player population posible to get avatar from this medal. (As when somone had 5%+ of all great work medal can put this medal avatar) Same with number of geting medal to other player, (bring motivaation to play better to had posibile feadback from other player)
- on 1v1 when somone beat much bigger rating then get him avatar for it. As is avatar for first in league. But this would be "beat bigest/2th3th/4th/5th rating oponents" what would be deleted after mount
- leader first 10 player with they complete rating. To see how good first are, and how better must be to get on first position, to bring more competetion on everyday playing.
- on leader get how big rating diferences it is from first player under me (same as previous one, bring motivation to get under him, be better, and play it more offen)
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It is lot of text, most in terrible English, when you dont care about it it is ok, but maybe it help bring other view on this problematic and i help solve this problem. You will not see any part of code from me because i had no idea how it work, but i know how work human behavior and motivation so can help on this part of playing....