Hey guys, I released a video last night on my thoughts about the current team balance. I know some of you like to read more then watch so also made a big post on topic.
THE VIDEO…
Now for you guys that like to read, lets get too it. So generally in multiplayer games you can balance your games matches one of two ways. You can either go for team balance, allowing players of all skill levels to play together or you instead balance by placing players of around the same skill level into matches together. Both ways work great but have very different requirements that need to be met in order for them to reach their full potential. This is where Dirty Bomb finds itself in a really awkward position. The game is designed in such a way that it would suit skill based balance but only really provides team based balance solutions for getting into matches. This is either due a very poor understanding of how Dirty Bomb actually plays out in a public setting or to much of a reliance on that old school mentality.
The reason why I believe that this is so important is because I know that I do not enjoy beating up on new and lower skilled players in random public matches. Having played lots of games in the past that was I not so good at, I also know that I did not have fun getting stomped into the ground by players much better then myself. What is even worse is that when you attempt to balance the teams in a match with players of all skill levels you end up making lower skilled players feel completely useless and like they have no effect on the outcome of a match and at the very same time you make it so the best players on the server feel that the odds are stacked against them and they need to go full try hard mode in order to carry their team that is often weaker on average then the enemy teams players.
There are going to be people reading this just dying to comment “But players need to play against people better then them in order to get better themselves” and while I do understand that point of view and really cannot deny that I myself reached the skill level I did by going though my trial by fire, so I know its true. However back when this was the default way to play online games, the games in question were much smaller then they are today. One could actually argue that one of the reasons gaming is as big as it is today was by making games less intimidating to your average gamer. The players that want to be smashed into the ground in order to learn and improve are the minority here and I can confidently say, they always have been. The only reason why looking to the past could trick you into thinking otherwise is because back then there was no alternative. Times have moved on since then and we now live in time where most of the big games on the PC have implemented systems to enable easy access to skill balanced matches or are designed from the ground up with the player skill imbalance in mind. After all, games are supposed to be about fun and really act as nothing but a playground with a rule set where the players themselves act as the content for each other. If you can get to the point where the players in your game enjoy playing with each other, half the battle of making a successful game has been done.
Also, to be clear, we can still have imbalanced matches for those out their that want it, that is what the server browser is perfect for. Getting players together of all skill levels, allowing them to form communities and basically customize their Dirty Bomb experience with custom content, active admins and even tweaked rule sets. What server browsers do very poorly is allow for skill balanced matches, providing a well structured experience and creating a smooth flow through matches. Drop in and drop out is a very inefficient way of teaching your newer players what your game is and how they should be playing it, especially when your system also encourages players to leave the server after matches in order to deal with cases and only balances the match once per match. To be completely honest, having a server browser without the community run servers or at least servers that vary things up, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. If all servers are running the same rule sets, maps and without admins, why bother having a server browser at all? There are much better systems out their that are proven to increase efficiency at getting players into matches, increasing the average session playtime, give players the opportunity to play a full round from start to finish and provide balanced teams.
I am not saying remove server browser but what I am saying is don’t have it as the default gateway for players to get into a match. If you insist on this being the way that players connect to a match then make sure you at least give people the information required to improve their experience. Tell players if the average skill level on a server is different to their own. Maybe even restrict higher tier players from playing on low tier servers and vice versa in order to protect from players skewing the balance massively. Want to do something better? Then give us a solo/duel queue match making option that would be alongside the traditional team based match making. provide players with incentives to play match making by giving extra credits, XP and cases. You could even make match making the first page that pops up once pressing the play button on the main menu. What I would love to see is the Call of Duty style lobby system for basic public play. I know people hate it when they see the words “lobby system” but seriously things have improved over the years and while it may not appeal to the hardcore out there, they do a great job at helping people avoid match imbalance, giving players full matches from start to finish and keeping the flow between matches. Also they are a great way to enable party play! I know right, Dirty Bomb with friends… How many times have we asked for this already?
Anyway, that is really all I have to say right now but I would love to hear what you guys have to say on the topic! Are you happy with the team balance in Dirty Bomb as it is today? Would you match make if you knew it would be solo/duel queue only and fairly balanced?
TLDR: Watch the video…