They don't belong in high level matches tho, it's bad for them to get stomped and its bad for us to have them on our crews when we don't want them. They don't know any better they just want to play the game. They don't understand the consequences of hitting the ready button with a bad loadout or no crew.
It hurst them as well because they can't learn the game naturally and ease into it they get smoked and think oh well this game sucks cause I'm bad at it. We need a way to separate players based on level and since their aren't enough lobbies or enough players I think locking them out of slots is the best way.
This way no one gets more new players than they can or want to train, and excess noobs can go to a noob lobby.
This is the problem.
The game's exclusivity is the same thing killing it.
There are not enough vets to make vet lobbies (or sustain them, and the hassle of setting them up prevents them even when they could exist)
There are not enough pure new players to make novice matches.
So you end up with a melting pot.
You can mentor a group for hours straight, and gain a few wins, but all the advice in the world can't match up with pure experience. novice crews with less than 10 games between them VS a captain of over 2000.
We have few options available to address this:
- move an experienced player to a crew with novices and tutor them (which would have to be almost every game, and can be very draining on patience (who wants to tutor ALL THE TIME against nigh-impossible odds?))
-advantaged side forced to handicap themselves and not go all out. The difference in skill requires DRASTIC handicaps, limiting choices SEVERELY, but even with the worst set ups possible, a lack of fundamentals and wealth of experience still decide the match 9/10 times.
At the end of the day, GOI is game, which means it's meant to be fun. neither of those two options are fun, especially if you are doing them EVERY SINGLE TIME. But stacking is seen as some ultra-amoral situation where the ones involved must be colossal pricks.
In truth, IT IS THE ONLY OPTION other than those two or 'just not playing at all'
in addition, eve when trying to balance, we cant:
- ensure cooperation
- guarantee advice will have any effect.
-ensure things like communication (voice access/language barriers etc)
- ensure players even stay around the full match
- prevent players joining mid match with wrong gear/loadouts, making bad situations soooo much worse.
anecdotal situation:
I only engi/gunner, and I don't get to play too many matches a day. most times I get an hour or two at most. I play this game for fun, as it should be, because it's a game. Here are my choices
My choices:
a) join side with people I have got to know well (which logically, means they have been playing a while and are thus experienced players. We enjoy the company of each other in the (long) lobbies and can trust each other to do roles on a ship and have a stress free, relaxing time.
b) Join a disadvantaged side with people I have never met, may not even be able to communicate with, possibly have to tutor extensively with no guarantee of success (and even if it works, be out experienced most of the time).
Not really a surprise which option most people pick...