[Discussion] Attenting To Smurfing, Moving Forward

[TartarusMkII]

Hello everyone,

Before I make my point, I want to be clear on where I am coming from, so you can understand my intention. I work in television, and I come to FAF to start casting a new game, and I am very much interested in expanding the amount of players we have. Anything that has the potential to turn away potential players works directly against me, and I have every reason to oppose it. My time here will be spent helping FAF prepare for new players, allowing them to stick easier to the game and stay with us longer. This panel will be one of these attempts.

TL;DR : The purpose of this thread is to discuss the importance of smurfing, and what can be done to fix the problem it creates. Please link this to others, and give your own opinion. This is meant to be discussed among the community, and not a bill of suggestions.

Smurfing is a problem. We all know this. But what I think we may not all agree on, is what kind of damage smurfing is capable of. Not the amount of damage, but the types of damage.


Of course, smurfing does hurt the ladder system, but it also has incredible potential to turn away new players. This is due to two main reasons:

1) Uneven Matches: Players who go up against a smurf who is at a similar rating, and then loses, may feel that they are much worse than they are. It's one thing to lose to a player, but it's another to be shit-stomped, especially when the player believes that the odds are equal. This is the common problem that relates to the match-made ladder games. The second reason is more relative to custom games.

2) Predatory Custom Games: This is an issue that, from what I can tell, may have been overlooked for some time. Predatory Custom games are games created with a name similar to "noobs welcome" (or any kind of game specifically meant for low-rated players), specifically created by a smurf to prey on actual low-rated players. The effect of this activity is similar to uneven matches: actual new players get turned off from our system, and may leave outright.


So these are the issues. Here's what we can do about them. Now, I know this subject has come up before, so don't be surprised if some of my suggestions have been suggested already. This bunch of suggestions are supposed to be complete, regardless if it repeats things from the past. Also, take note that an autonomous function to root out smurfs is not one of my suggestions.


Proposed Solutions:

1) Create Moderators: If we create moderators who are nowhere near as busy as Ze_Pilot, then these moderators would have the ability to experience smurfing first hand. For example, if they see someone complaining about such an issue in chat, they can view the replay(s) to see if the player in question is playing at a level reflected by their rating (within reason, of course.)

2) Create List of Offenders: If a list is created to store the account names of past offenders (or past suspects), then moderators can consult this list to be aware, without having to question others to say "hey, has this person done this before??" Also, I suggest this list be private, perhaps in a moderator-only forum.

3) Do Not Scare New Players: At no point should anyone have to tell new players not to trust the rating system. We should never openly tell new players "yea, those low rated players might actually rape you and there's nothing you can do about it." No matter how true you think this is, this attitude WILL lose us players. Period.


Now, I'm sure you have questions, flames, and your own suggestions, so go right ahead and post them. This thread is meant for us all to discuss, and my suggestions are the guideline. What do you all think?

[Ze_PilOt]

I'm not aware of a lot of smurfs, unless you have evidences of them.

[TartarusMkII]

We've spoken a bunch in the chat now about this issue. From that chat, we determined that automatic measures that are already in place are quite effective against smurfing.

I still suggest these measures suggested in the thread be considered, though, as it is inevitable that as the population grows, more people will attempt to smurf, and some may succeed.

Ratings are only generated from ranked games, and only a certain portion of the community participates there.

[ColonelSheppard]

you have to mind that there are often old SupCom players coming back after a year or more
I cant tell this story often enough:
When i came here i wanted to join a "medium 1000 rating" game, ofc they kicked me, so i joined a <300 game.
What shell i say, this game was horrible unbalanced and people complained 1/2h "OMG smurf, OMG smurf"
In the last months i noticed about ~5 accounts that are either old SupCom players or smurf. I think this is overlookable, also remember that the problem was much bigger in GPGnet.

I put in the room that the amount of smurfs for 1700+ dudes is quite near to zero (things like CC&Crazed or Exivo/TAG_exivo dont count...)

[TartarusMkII]

you have to mind that there are often old SupCom players coming back after a year or more
I cant tell this story often enough:
When i came here i wanted to join a "medium 1000 rating" game, ofc they kicked me, so i joined a <300 game.
What shell i say, this game was horrible unbalanced and people complained 1/2h "OMG smurf, OMG smurf"
In the last months i noticed about ~5 accounts that are either old SupCom players or smurf. I think this is overlookable, also remember that the problem was much bigger in GPGnet.

I put in the room that the amount of smurfs for 1700+ dudes is quite near to zero (things like CC&Crazed or Exivo/TAG_exivo dont count...)

You are not seeing the difference in my explanation of the problem. I am not saying that players with low ratings should all be banned. I am talking about players who can be observed trying to bait actual low-rated players just to stomp them.

[ColonelSheppard]

if you join a "noob game" with a 2k player in it, it's not his fault

[TartarusMkII]

if you join a "noob game" with a 2k player in it, it's not his fault

Uhm.. Did you read the thread, Shep? We're talking about smurfs. not players rated at 2000.

[eXivo]

Firstly we have to be aware that there are 2 types of smurfs:
1. the bad smurfs; predators that smurf to troll lower rated players ------i agree these people need to be exterminated
2. the other kind of smurfs; some people enjoy annonymity, ie being able to play without the pressure of ridicule that is common with top players when they lose (some people know what i'm talking about) ----------you only see these players in low rated games a few times when they randomly get matched with lower rated players, and more often than not they offer assistance to their co-players, i know a few people who've done this, but shall remain unnamed

all in all, if a certain player is really troublesome, there are ways to find out who he is, and like it was previously suggested, make a list of people who you arecertain are smurfs

[Ze_PilOt]

With trueskill, it's impossible to keep a low rating if your goal is to abuse noobs. You will get higher too fast to enjoy it.

We've talked about it, the guys he though were smurfing have about 1% chances to be smurfs. They were probably old gpgnet players or steam players going back to FAF.

[ZaphodX]

It sounds like you are describing GPGnet. FAF is nothing like how you have made out.