8 replies to this topic

[Sandpit]

Ok, I see this pop up in the general discussion thread a lot. Many players complain that they are "stuck" playing one map more than others.

The first thing I always ask to see when a player makes a statement like this is a screenshot of their maps played stats. The most common mistake I see is not doubling the maps that have alternate "modes"

For example:
River City = 59 matches played
River City Night = 51 matches played

That means you would actually have 110 matches played on River city. Remember that maps with alternate visuals still count as the same map. They just get split between the alternate modes.

As far as I know, unless someone else has evidence to the contrary, the maps are assigned via an RNG.
RNG = Random Number Generator

RNGs are quirky at times. It's very easy to have a short-term run on a map (that's where you get ugh, Caustic for the 6th times tonight!) but long-term they are designed to even out their "rolls".

Hopefully this will help everyone understand how the map rotation works and let you check to see if you truly have a map rotation discrepancy or if it's just a short run a few times and dislike of a certain map that makes it "stick out" in your mind

[Voivode]

This effect is helped along by the very short list of maps. No matter how random it is, if the list is short (and some entries are "versions" of the same thing) then your probability of repeats is high. *Supposedly* PGI is working on three maps right now. I guess we'll see.

[Sandpit]

Voivode, on 21 July 2014 - 03:45 PM, said:

This effect is helped along by the very short list of maps. No matter how random it is, if the list is short (and some entries are "versions" of the same thing) then your probability of repeats is high. *Supposedly* PGI is working on three maps right now. I guess we'll see.

agreed, that helps make it seem like you play the same map a lot, the reality is you play ALL maps a lot since we have so few. (Next maps is minimum 60 days out Per Bryan so we should have a new one in about 2 months)

[Tim East]

Well, there is a strong potential for confirmation bias on this sort of topic, but I really feel like the amount I play a given map varies highly both from day to day and over an extended period.

For instance, my stats page says I have played Canyon Network almost twice as often as I have Caustic Valley. Not that this is a bad thing necessarily, since Canyon Network is one of my favorite maps. I seem to have weird spikes of use for Alpine Peaks and Tourmaline Desert as well. Even if you count the night/snow reskins of some maps as the same as their counterparts, these seem to have a low overall occurrence for me as well, which is a terrible shame since I've liked the original Forest Colony quite a bit even since back in the day.

On a side note, I'm not certain these really SHOULD be merged with their alternate versions, since they're listed separately in the statistics. It seems to me that the developers want them to be counted as separate maps. Perhaps when we get map randomization for weather, time of day, and season, they'll combine them, but until they have the ability to apply conditional modifiers over top of maps instead of reskinning them entirely, it would probably not be appropriate to categorize these maps as the same thing.

[Sandpit]

well an RNG is always going to ahve the potential to give "runs" on a number. An RNG has a 1 in 12 chance of "rolling" any number between 2-12 where 2 six sided dice have a completely different set of probabilities. I have no doubts that there are some anomalies and outliers (can't have the rule without the exception right?) but every time I ask to see a screenshot from a new(er) player for map stats, it's always a pretty even spread.

More maps would alleviate this a lot more but as you said most of it is just bias because we remember the bad more than we remember the good in cases like this.

[Tarl Cabot]

Do not forgot, the MM does not select you based on the map, it is based on the type of game selected, ELO, class/etc. You likely were not the 1st player picked for the next mission. You may be dropping on the same map but for the 1st person selected that may be the 1st time on that map today...

Do we really know how the maps are selected for each combat drop? Is it based on which maps are being used atm? Is it based on the 1st person selected? etc etc etc

(shrugs)

Edited by Tarl Cabot, 21 July 2014 - 07:15 PM.

[TheCaptainJZ]

New maps are usually given a slightly higher bias for a time after release however. I can't tell you how many times I played on Tourmaline after it was released. Glad the bias isn't as extreme anymore.

[Temptis]

Forest Colony(25) + Snow(18) = 43
Frozen City(13) + Night(24) = 37
Caustic Valley = 48
River City(23) + Night(19) = 42
Alpine Peaks = 36
Tourmaline Desert = 32
Canyon Network = 32
Terra Therma = 54
Crimson Strait =33
HPG Manifold = 40

that's my data since i returned.

cold maps total (HPG, Frozen, Alpine, Forest Snow) = 131
hot maps total (Caustic, Tourmaline, Terra) = 134
normal maps total = 132

so yes it is balanced, there just are not enough hot maps to get a diversity:
i end up on Terra Therma 4 times as often as on Frozen City (54 vs 13)

[Koniving]