Main > Gameplay
Concerning Player Retention and Realism
redria:
Wait, how did we skip over the most relevant point made and jump straight into arguing about stats and ratings? The most important point made in the OP is that not only is there a learning curve to playing and using teamwork effectively, the game is significantly less friendly to players who have not yet begun ascending the learning curve.
In a first person shooter, even a fresh new player can headshot a veteran. Getting the jump on someone is good, but less important given the quick reaction rates possible. Both players can turn just as quickly (ignoring sensitivity).
In a MOBA, a more advanced player will naturally have the advantage, but can still be taken out by a poor move/stroke of luck.
In GoIO, the only time I expect to die against fresh players is if I take an exceptionally bad build, or I decide against better judgment that I can handle a 2 on 1. Alternatively, if my opponent is one good pilot and one fresh pilot, sometimes I underestimate how well the advanced pilot may use his ally. Keep in mind that I said die, not lose.
How frustrating is it to join a game super excited, get into a match, and get repeatedly shut out, to the point that you don't think you even did any permanent damage to your opponent?
Simply understanding how to maneuver a ship and deliver gun arcs to your crew gives an experienced player such an advantage over a newer player that pub matches are often decided before they even start, even if advanced players try to balance the teams. The other options a new player has are to not pilot until you have spent some time crewing and learning (which may not appeal to some people/doesn't allow 4-pack players to play together), or play in the novice matches (which would feel slightly embarrassing. Really? Let's challenge ourselves and try playing against people who know something.).
As much as the older part of the GoIO community is apprehensive about matchmaking, I think it will help a lot, even if it has only a rudimentary rating system. The goal isn't to deliver the best matches. It is to make the game easier to enter into, without ease being an active choice.
Get match-made into what amounts to a novice lobby? Eh, who cares? I get to play.
Get a choice of novice or non-novice? Eff that noise, I'm playing with the real players.
Naturally stats will drive the rating system, but I just want to make it clear that almost anything right now will work for matchmaking, and matchmaking will help solve one of the biggest problems with player retention.
TL;DR my stream of consciousness:
Due to the nature of the game, skill gaps are nearly insurmountable compared to other games. Matchmaking will help to prevent skill gaps within lobbies, which will in turn help keep players interested in the game, even if they learn slower than by playing in advanced lobbies.
Schwerbelastung:
--- Quote from: redria on April 09, 2014, 03:06:04 pm ---Wait, how did we skip over the most relevant point made and jump straight into arguing about stats and ratings? The most important point made in the OP is that not only is there a learning curve to playing and using teamwork effectively, the game is significantly less friendly to players who have not yet begun ascending the learning curve.
In a first person shooter, even a fresh new player can headshot a veteran. Getting the jump on someone is good, but less important given the quick reaction rates possible. Both players can turn just as quickly (ignoring sensitivity).
In a MOBA, a more advanced player will naturally have the advantage, but can still be taken out by a poor move/stroke of luck.
In GoIO, the only time I expect to die against fresh players is if I take an exceptionally bad build, or I decide against better judgment that I can handle a 2 on 1. Alternatively, if my opponent is one good pilot and one fresh pilot, sometimes I underestimate how well the advanced pilot may use his ally. Keep in mind that I said die, not lose.
--- End quote ---
A very good point. The reason I didn't try to "steer" the discussion to one way or another is that I feel it's better to talk about what people want to talk about. There may possibly have been a slight (over)abundance of words in the OP, but it's for two reasons; it gives people more things/opinions to comment on, and it lets me be more thorough. Thanks for reminding us (me, too!) of the learning curve point.
But yeah. Back to the point at hand. I also feel (who wudda thunk? :))) that the learning curve in GoIO can be ruthless, and 4 of my own real life friends didn't play past the novice levels just because of that. Now that I've played some matches and gained some levels, I have the upper hand over novices. I often try to avoid flying "extremely powerful" builds, especially when facing low level players. Every 5-0 or 600-0 match I play where there are a lot of low level players on the losing team, I die a little inside. Ok, that may be an overstatement, but I don't feel like saying "gg" in those cases.
I hope matchmaking will fix some of this, as changing the learning curve drastically is not going to be a viable option in a game like GoIO where the development phase has already progressed very far. However, smaller steps can and should be taken. I have recently started a suggestions thread about improving in-game tutorials, where a developer has already graced us with his presence, telling us that the tutorials are being improved and that new suggestions are valuable.
If you have any ideas, feel free to pop by!
Queso:
--- Quote from: Omniraptor on April 09, 2014, 01:52:49 pm ---Queso, please read the thread before replying. Matchmaking ratings are handled by muse, SECRETLY. The only thing you can do to influence your matchmaking rating is win games or lose games against players with compatible ratings. What happens in the actual game is irrelevant and SHOULD be, because it's impossible to quantify and rate someone's GOI performance algorithmically, while player feedback is unreliable.
The point is, we're not talking about possible mechanics to help people pair up into even games, muse has already (sort of) implemented those. We're talking about mechanics that make players feel more proud of their victories so they don't quit the game because it feels dull.
I feel player-contributed 'congrats' feel more rewarding than rows of numbers, and I explained why two posts earlier.
--- End quote ---
I must have misread something earlier then. My bad.
snor-laxatives:
do we still having training days/ nights? or a group of people who devote time to that?
(p.s. I wouldnt mind)
Schwerbelastung:
--- Quote from: snor-laxatives on April 09, 2014, 04:56:50 pm ---do we still having training days/ nights? or a group of people who devote time to that?
(p.s. I wouldnt mind)
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure about that - and even if we did, the problem is how are we going to get that message across to enough people? It is a nice idea, but possibly better put in action by having CAs / teachers regularly enter novice lobbies.
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