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Looking back at my WoW times, they have a PVP arena where you talk to an Arena Master, and sign up for the queue, 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3 (but I'm really only interested in 1v1. 2v2 might be nice) and i'm interested in a way to Queue for duels where there's no SEARCHING screen.
It'll play out kind of like this:
SECTION 1: 1V1 QUEUE MATCHMAKER
THE QUEUE PROCESS:
Upon opening the 1V1 Queue Matchmaker, you are asked which mech you'd like to queue up with. The matchmaker takes the mech you've choesen and puts an "IN QUEUE" label over top of the Mech's icon (similar to the IN GAME label). The mech cannot be customized once it's entered in the queue. When the queue finds a match, it'll pop up with a message, "Match found for 1v1. Join Game? Y/N"
The great thing about this, is that while it is looking for matches for you, you can still launch into 12v12 battles. How does that work??? Check out the BEHIND THE SCENES section below.
BEHIND THE SCENES / WHAT YOU DON"T SEE:
There's two options how it could work. (heck, I'm sure it could even work both ways...)
- 1) While in a 12v12 game, the queue internally flags you as "in a match" and it'll simply skip over you and match other people with others until you come out of your game. Upon doing so, it refreshes you back into queue line up and searches for a fight.
- 2) Pretend that you are in a game, but in the queue for 1v1. And pretend that there is a perfect match for you to duel against. The person the queue wants to match you up with is sent a message: "Located a match for 1v1. He/She is in a game at the moment. Would you like to wait for them? Y/N"
- If he chooses Yes: The queue will notify you that a person is waiting to duel you, but will do so only after you exit your normal game. You will not be notified while you are in your 12v12 game.
- If he chooses No: The queue continues to search for matches for that person. You will not be notified, and the queue will pretend like it never happened. Depending on the amount of players in the 1v1 queue, you could be asked again to match up with him.
SOME PREVENTATIVES:
- Names are never revealed until you are in the game.
- Why? Because there will no doubt be friends trying to "sync drop" in 1v1 games. If names are given out up front, they can see the name they are being dropped with. If the name isn't their friend's, they can click No, and try again. This skews the numbers for the match maker, and could cause issues that I'm not yet aware of. Note: UI2.0, there could be the potential for private matches, this can alleviate persons trying to drop with each other.
- Players can work around the no-name matching by simply joining the 1v1 game anyway to quickly see who they are matched with, If the are not satisfied with the results the will leave. To remedy this, players who press ESC, and Quit Match before they are dead will be rewarded with a penalty. This can prevent players from hunting for other players, or attempting to go 1 on 1 with their friends.
- 1v1 against friends is not a bad thing, and something I hope that is encouraged by UI2.0 in Private Matches.
- 1v1 are matched by default with your own weight category. You will be matched with someone in the same size of mech as you (heavy, medium. light, or assault). However, I suppose there could be an "Match with Any" option to allow you to go up against any kind of mech. "Any" players will only be matched with other players who select "Any".
SECTION 2: THE PENALTY SYSTEM - WHAT IT IS, HOW IT WORKS
PREAMBLE:
This is a points system that goes up to 21 points. Penalties are handed out after 10 points. For each premature leave, you are awarded 3 penalty points. You can leave a game of up to 3 times within 2 hours without sustaining a harsh penalty. This puts you at 9 points. Let's assume your penalty points are at 9, and you leave the game a fourth time. You get 3 more points added on, putting you at 12 points. This is over the 10 point limit and now the penalties are handed out, and they aren't pretty either:
PENALTIES:
- You are deducted 7,500 CB for each point once you exceed 10 points. This is a 90,000CB deduction at 12 points, and you are given a nice notification of the automated transaction, along with a warning message. Another example: Leaving a game a fifth time puts you at 15 points. You are deducted AN ADDITIONAL 112,500CB. And are given the same message warning message.
- When you reach 21 points, you are automatically banned from the 1v1 queue for 3 days, and your account is flagged for moderation.
- Points decay at a rate of 1 point per 2 hours. Points decay at this rate even if you are banned from the 21 point cap (42 hours to be reduced to 0). You will come back (72 hours later) with a clean slate, but still have the flag for moderation.
- You will know how many points you have obtained, but only for up to 10 points.
- Once you exceed the 10 point limit, you are not told what your current points are. The counter is instead replaced with a message: "YOU EXCEED 10 POINTS". This is to prevent players from riding the edge of the hard cap if they choose to ignore the CB penalty. Normal players should not want to exceed 10 points, going beyond that would mean there's something wrong with you.
- The soft cap (10 points) is supposed to be 10. This forces players who make a 4th mistake understand the risks involved if they continue down the road. They have to wait 10 hours before they can leave another game.
Simply put, honest disconnects are taken into consideration here. Should the game freeze or crash or produce a bug that renders the game unplayable, you can get out of the match trouble free. This can happen 3 times over the course of 2 hours before you are penalized for the 4th time. If you are reach 9 points, it's recommended that you refrain from playing 1v1 matches.
PLEASE. Leave your feedback and comments below. Any changes you would like to see, please quote the appropriate points above, followed by your response. Thank you!!
Edit: A number was wrong
Edited by MoonUnitBeta, 15 August 2013 - 07:36 PM.
