The funny thing about matchmaking is that this problem has already been solved. You have a casual playlist where the matchmaking is random and then you have a ranked playlist where the matchmaking is skill based. Any game that doesn't have this set up is just doing it wrong.
It is annoying seeing so many games come and go. Gundam Evolution just announced its closure set for November, meaning it lasted less than a year and a half, unable to capitalize on the decent momentum it started with. Do Japanese games have an inherent disadvantage due to a language barrier, or maybe even being less willing to even listen to western players in general? It feels like if Japanese games want to grab western players, they need to really, really commit to it, and that costs resources. There's a decent amount of Japan-only MMOs.
I always wondered why people are always against skill based matchmaking. When they say that they dont want to play against a bunch of sweaty tryhards, doesnt that mean they are a sweaty tryhard too and thats why skill based matchmaking matched them with these people?
Forcing video game exclusively online was pretty much an overkill move so that the offline rats can't play the game they had without an internet at all. Meta to me feels like the similarity to TCG where everybody will keep bringing the best card in every each of per season into the match, and its understandably not uncommon in online game but it would be too boring if the Meta was centered so that the non-Meta became partially "unavailable" until another balancing update. Matchmaking, ah yes, everybody usually had an outrage over skill-based simply because its bad but literally it maybe implemented poorly, and Matchmaking for those who don't really know was simply the queue-to-find-game system unlike good ol fashioned selective server list. Online Gaming in today video game was still right now centralized and there was hardly any more purely offline game unless if you own some from the place like GOG where you can just launch the game without it library launcher imo
The problem with SBMM is that a lot of the times it's not truly "skill-based," so much as "how well did you do in the exact match immediately preceding this," and the pushing of it has come directly at the cost of allowing you to group with friends. Yeah sure, you can TECHNICALLY still group with them, but the problem is it effectively means either you're going to steamroll everything, or your you or your friend is going to be in way over your head if you weren't basically neck-and-neck. Everyone I know would be perfectly fine with SBMM in competitive gamemodes while skipping over it in other gamemodes.
The games that have those super angry communities are successful because their communities are passionate. They're complaining that much because they've spent every waking minute thinking about every aspect of the game and they have more thoughts than there are devs to handle it. This leads to a cranky community who are still a dedicated player base. A good example is the mobile game Tap Titans 2. Their subreddit is constantly full of rage and complaints and yet the loudest people are also whales who drop thousands per month on the game.
I disagree with your take on skill based matchmaking in games like call of duty. The topic is more nuanced than "pub stomping" , and the comparison to fighting games misses the mark. In a low skill ceiling game like call of duty, it simply isn't fun for good players to constantly, relentlessly play each other exclusively. Call of duty also lcks the same kind of ranking system that fighting games utilize that tell you exactly how you stack up and show you how you improve. Finally, Call of Duty actively forces skill over connection quality which matters a lot in a game where kills and deaths happen in a fraction of seconds. Some level of SBMM is fine, but the current implementation of it in some games is straight up psychological manipulation.
I think you can do SBMM without trapping skilled players in a murderer's row. Look at Sumo wrestling. Each day one or two guys from the top of their division get to wrestle a lower ranked opponent from the division above. This both gives him a chance to see how his skill stacks up to the division he's aiming for promotion to, but gives him an opportunity to perform so well he leaps high into the next division on promotion. if you have an ELO based matchmaking system, you can set it up so that each lobby gets some percentage of guests from the ELO division below who are somewhere near the cutoff for the next ELO division. This gives a good variety of experience levels in the lobby without making anyone completely in over their head and gives lower level players an opportunity to be challenged and develop their skills on their way up in ELO.
The way you pronounce META gives me conniptions...
came here to whine about this too lol. have a fun fact instead:
NBA star Ron Artest legally changed his name to Metta World Peace
Do not give me the power to annoy you, I will use it!
It's killing me as well. What a silly way to say it. Lol
The funny thing about matchmaking is that this problem has already been solved. You have a casual playlist where the matchmaking is random and then you have a ranked playlist where the matchmaking is skill based. Any game that doesn't have this set up is just doing it wrong.
It is annoying seeing so many games come and go. Gundam Evolution just announced its closure set for November, meaning it lasted less than a year and a half, unable to capitalize on the decent momentum it started with. Do Japanese games have an inherent disadvantage due to a language barrier, or maybe even being less willing to even listen to western players in general? It feels like if Japanese games want to grab western players, they need to really, really commit to it, and that costs resources. There's a decent amount of Japan-only MMOs.
I always wondered why people are always against skill based matchmaking. When they say that they dont want to play against a bunch of sweaty tryhards, doesnt that mean they are a sweaty tryhard too and thats why skill based matchmaking matched them with these people?
Forcing video game exclusively online was pretty much an overkill move so that the offline rats can't play the game they had without an internet at all.
Meta to me feels like the similarity to TCG where everybody will keep bringing the best card in every each of per season into the match, and its understandably not uncommon in online game but it would be too boring if the Meta was centered so that the non-Meta became partially "unavailable" until another balancing update. Matchmaking, ah yes, everybody usually had an outrage over skill-based simply because its bad but literally it maybe implemented poorly, and Matchmaking for those who don't really know was simply the queue-to-find-game system unlike good ol fashioned selective server list.
Online Gaming in today video game was still right now centralized and there was hardly any more purely offline game unless if you own some from the place like GOG where you can just launch the game without it library launcher imo
The problem with SBMM is that a lot of the times it's not truly "skill-based," so much as "how well did you do in the exact match immediately preceding this," and the pushing of it has come directly at the cost of allowing you to group with friends. Yeah sure, you can TECHNICALLY still group with them, but the problem is it effectively means either you're going to steamroll everything, or your you or your friend is going to be in way over your head if you weren't basically neck-and-neck. Everyone I know would be perfectly fine with SBMM in competitive gamemodes while skipping over it in other gamemodes.
The games that have those super angry communities are successful because their communities are passionate. They're complaining that much because they've spent every waking minute thinking about every aspect of the game and they have more thoughts than there are devs to handle it. This leads to a cranky community who are still a dedicated player base.
A good example is the mobile game Tap Titans 2. Their subreddit is constantly full of rage and complaints and yet the loudest people are also whales who drop thousands per month on the game.
Algoko!
I disagree with your take on skill based matchmaking in games like call of duty. The topic is more nuanced than "pub stomping" , and the comparison to fighting games misses the mark. In a low skill ceiling game like call of duty, it simply isn't fun for good players to constantly, relentlessly play each other exclusively. Call of duty also lcks the same kind of ranking system that fighting games utilize that tell you exactly how you stack up and show you how you improve. Finally, Call of Duty actively forces skill over connection quality which matters a lot in a game where kills and deaths happen in a fraction of seconds. Some level of SBMM is fine, but the current implementation of it in some games is straight up psychological manipulation.
I think you can do SBMM without trapping skilled players in a murderer's row. Look at Sumo wrestling. Each day one or two guys from the top of their division get to wrestle a lower ranked opponent from the division above. This both gives him a chance to see how his skill stacks up to the division he's aiming for promotion to, but gives him an opportunity to perform so well he leaps high into the next division on promotion.
if you have an ELO based matchmaking system, you can set it up so that each lobby gets some percentage of guests from the ELO division below who are somewhere near the cutoff for the next ELO division. This gives a good variety of experience levels in the lobby without making anyone completely in over their head and gives lower level players an opportunity to be challenged and develop their skills on their way up in ELO.
Online only games are all a joke to me. Offline content is the most important thing in all of gaming.