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Russ announced in the recent podcast the intent to include QP modes in FW. It would seem that after a year and a half someone read the forums. This is good news. But they're off to rocky start.
By coincidence, I was halfheartedly writing a post (usually while waiting for a Scout match) that overlaps the topic.
They're thinking about putting QP maps and modes into FW, but they assumed (Russ' word) that 12/4 respawning would go along with it. Presumably, this means the primitive FW queue system (i.e. no matchmaker) would also be used.
Not a good idea. If you want the duplicate the wildly unbalanced carnage matches in Invasion on Canyon Network, then by all means use the same respawning and queuing system. You'll get the same exodus from FW/QP that you got in Invasion which was already evident by the end of January, 2015. When the dust settled, 90% voted with their feet.
Please, PGI, do not repeat this.
A different approach to the QP maps is needed and that's what I was working on.
So, for what's it worth ....
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TL;DR
Include some of the 12v12 QP modes and maps into FW using minimalist approach. Allow players opt-in choice for 12v12 Call to Arms. Create a Call to Arms Dropdeck with one each light, medium, heavy and assault with one "preferred". Use the Start and End FW screens (modified from Scout mode). Modify the matchmaker to handle FW queues and apply existing and one new technique for balancing (12v12). Allow normal queueing for FW 12v12 plus involve the matchmaker to fill the queues when needed using opt-in pilots when QP can afford it. Matchmaker applies some balancing using pilot skill level called and tonnage. 12v12 matches increment planetary control but less than 48v48. Reduce to 1 to 3 queues 48v48. Possibly extend opt-in to 48v48 Inv/CA and 4v4 Scout. Players may opt-out all for QP only play and may change it at any time.
Rationale: Although Phase 3 and the addition of Scout has breathed some life into FW, more is needed if FW is ever to be more than a novelty mode for 10% of the player base. The addition of familiar QP modes, with QP-like wait times, will draw many QP players to FW through a familiar mode and in a way that avoids the "carnage shock" of 48v48.
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FW Phase 3 brought in some exciting new stuff as well as some disappointment. Part of the disappointment, I think, is just players always wanting more, more. But part of it is also that it didn't breathe as much life into FW as was hoped. And then there's Long Tom which cast a big grumpy mushroom cloud over everything. PGI may be winding down on FW (Russ said in the Podcast they're not. Good news), but I think this is not good. FW is, or should be, the beating heart of MWO. If indeed it has reached its lowest point, now is the time to turn the corner.
The addition of Scout demonstrates that FW can be more than a 48v48 respawing bloodbath. Many hate it, but I love Scout as much as I dislike Invasion/CA (even so I have a few hundred matches there). I have over a thousand Scout matches already in the short time it's been here. Not everyone likes the same thing.
Invasion may have a ten percent following and Scout maybe 5%. But there is a mode that has a 90% following. Quick Play. If FW had a QuickPlay-like mode with QuickPlay-like wait times and with at least ~some~ matchmaker oversight, it could all be turned around.
This is not new. Many have suggested it including me. But here I'm gonna go minimalist with a couple of innovations to tie it together. The idea is to keep PGI's investment way down to around what they'd expect to implement fewer buckets, alliances and et al from the round table.
So FW would have 12v12 with familiar maps and modes. Let's call the overall mode Frontline or Battlefront or some such - to compliment Invasion and Scout. Players could queue into 12v12 the usual way in the FW screen (Don't panic - I think we're fixing buckets here.). They can also answer on a one-time basis the current Call to Arms from the mech lab screen.
To show you what's coming in this long post, here's what it would look like (aside from my poor editing skills).
A third method of winding up in a FW 12v12 fight is through player opt-in to Call to Arms. What this means is that while queued for QP, the player acquiesces to being transferred to FW12 if, and only if, the match can be assembled by the matchmaker in QP-like time. A player can opt-in and out at any time. If he wants QP only tonight, he opts-out. Wants some FW on Saturday, opt-in. Of course, he always has the choice of queueing directly into the FW modes where wait times are longer for 12v12 and possibly MUCH longer for FW48 and FW4.
How often a player is fetched to FW is worth some thought. Should it be no more than 1 in 5 QP games, 1 in 10? Of course, you could make it a secondary choice to opt-in. "Call me no more than 1 in X QP games" where X is a spinner with a range of, say, 2 to 15. A consecutive QP games counter that exceeds the high mark means he's available again. To keep opt-in participation high, the system needs to be gentle ... so exceeding the threshold doesn't mean a pilot WILL be called. We are also striving here to keep QP intact so we can't bleed it to death. QP queue health would be given priority.
The matchmaker. In my estimate, this is where the greatest time would be spent. Much of the rest is relatively straight forward UI, DB and structural work. I know, UI work in a custom graphical environment is a time sink, but fortunately we're not challenging the Mona Lisa here. But we are asking the matchmaker to take on new duties.
First, the simple FW queuing system would have to be rolled into the matchmaker (this may already be the case). If we're moving FW12 queuing to the matchmaker, then may as well move FW48 and FW4 as well. We'll need that in the future. Invasion and Scout would still be processed as simple queues. But the matchmaker would do some new and interesting stuff for Frontline mode.
We've already mentioned fetching QP pilots to fill FW12 queues. But when and how aggressively to recruit? Obviously, this is gonna be a tweakable algorithm. Maybe at 70% FW12 queue fill and four minutes wait, matchmaker clicks and says, "I'm gonna try to fill this." Maybe it's only 25% filled but has been waiting 10 minutes. Get more aggressive? Again, we're raiding the QP queues, so its strength is a factor too.
You've already thought it. If we're letting the matchmaker handle FW queuing, can we apply some balancing when filling 12v12 queues? The answer is sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but always "yes." Among the worst case scenarios is a 12-man OP team queued on one side and opposing are already 8 solos queued. In this desparate situation the matchmaker could try to pluck four Tier 1 opt-ins in hope that some skill and leadership is being added. It might even have an "emergency mode" for woefully unbalanced lineups where it suspends or delays further direct queue or Call to Arms responders. This to gain a few seconds to find Tier 1 or 2 pilots.
The matchmaker would have one last card up its sleeve. You probably noticed the 12v12 drop deck is arranged with four mechs, one in each weight class. The player will probably drop with his preferred mech, but the matchmaker can use weight class bumping as a final means of balancing. If it determines there's a big disparity, it may down bump some of the OP team's mechs and up bump some of the weaker team's mechs.
As a general rule, the matchmaker would strive to not bump a player more than one weight class from his preferred. There are dedicated light pilots out there who want nothing to do with assaults. And vice versa. But that light pilot could probably tolerate a Cicada. Of course, there are oddball situations where the rule will definitely and mercilessly be broken. If a 12-man Clan team queues up and they've all selected their Kodiak as preferred, there's gonna be a lot of 2 and 3 step down bumping.
In the worst case, this is not a fix to pug stomps, but it is a step. The pugs will probably still get stomped but least they'll have a couple of top pilots (for guidance, we hope) and heavier mechs (for firepower) to make an impression. In better cases, where for example both sides are queued at 50%, the matchmaker would have some breathing room to apply its balancing techniques.
One key point: In the 12v12 game, the matchmaker always has a say. Suppose a powerful 12-man queues up and an ad hoc, rag tag, LFG 12-man jumps in against them. Boom, game on. The matchmaker makes a pass over the queued teams, sees that it's unbalanced, but can do little. Except ... the matchmaker can always, and for all matches, decide what tonnage goes in.
I'm not certain if players would hate the idea that sometimes they don't get their preferred Frontline mech. But, since full matchmaking balance cannot be applied, it seems worth giving the matchmaker an additional tool ... a balance-of-last-resort option.
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The 48v48 Invasion mode would be retained but reduced to 1-3 contested planets. What planet is selected, when it rotates and on what condition are up for grabs. Invasion planets would also be battled over in the 12v12 and Scout modes. Other planets may be contested which are not, at that time, experiencing the Invasion mode; they are fought over in 12v12 and Scout only. They may well be on the schedule for an Invasion rotation.
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To keep things simple, the actual game play in FW12 would be identical to QP. I'm speaking from limited knowledge of PGI's set up, but I can't see that any changes would be needed to handle the actual match. What would be needed is a FW wrapper around the match. The start and end screens would be FW. Fortunately, PGI recently created these for Scout and these were in turn adapted from QP. End game DB saves would be different but PGI is good at that stuff.
The most significant UI work would be in the FW screen. Creating a new drop deck would also mean UI and DB time, but PGI has recently worked in this very area. Should be fresh. There would be an opt-in selection or dialog somewhere. An additional tab in the FW/planet selected screen. Changes to the currently contested planets box. And of course the underlying structural programming to tie things together. Significant, but not of a particularly difficult kind of programming.
From the player's perspective, maps and modes would all be very familiar. The biggest difference is the recognition that the friendly and opposing team represent a faction and its allies. No coed matches. Those are twelve Clan mechs on the other side. There is a small element of immersion: "Holy Crap. This is a REAL war."
There would be no map/mode voting in Frontline Play.
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So which modes and what would they mean to FW? In Frontline games, planet control would be incremented by victory or defeat, but not as much as in Invasion. We'll use 2% as a baseline. This is likely too high, but it's just for example.
Maps and Modes
Frontline: Advance (QP mode "Assault")
Maps: all QP maps
Victory Conditions and Result:
Capture Base and Most Kills: +2% planet control
Capture Base, Fewer or = Kills: +1%
Neither Side Captures Base: 0%
Most or = Kills, Base Lost: -1%
Lost Base, Fewer Kills: -2%
Note: Kill all assumes enemy base captured
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Frontline: Secure (QP mode "Domination")
Maps: all QP maps
Victory Conditions and Result:
Victory: +1.5%
Both Timers Remain: 0%
Defeat: -1.5%
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Frontline: Meeting Engagement (QP mode "Skirmish")
Victory Conditions and Result:
Kill/Loss Spread:
>= +11: +2.5% Overwhelming Victory
>= +7: +2% Significant Victory
>= +3: +1% Marginal Victory
= +2 to -2: 0% Draw
...(mirror down)
Note: Kill all with one or two survivors: +.5% (?) Pyrrhic Victory
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Additions:
These additions were left out to keep the effort to a minimum.
By listing Frontline modes Advance, Secure and Meeting Engagement as new modes (they're not, yet), the possibility of making them different from QP is there.
Intel Advantage:
If one side possesses Combat ID and Satty Sweep, they get it(them) in the 12v12 game.
Different Victory Conditions/Results. I actually included these above. That info ~should~ all be available to PGI at game end.
Others have suggested that if we're using the QP maps, we could emphasize a subset to roughly match the planet type. Frigid? More Alpine, Polar, Frozen. Termperate? More River City, Forest. Inhospitable: Tourmaline, Caustic, Grim, Therma. Desert ... you get the idea.
Give the Matchmaker a role in Invasion and Scout queues. It would require two more opt-in choices. I think the three opt-ins should be kept separate. An opt-in-all arrangement would take players to games modes they may dislike.
Invasion:
The main method would be calling appropriate pilot tiers. Because the drop decks are fairly rigid, using tonnage is a problem. You can't reduce tonnage, because that could invalidate drop decks right before the game. You might be able to raise deck caps for the disadvantaged team with time enough for the player to make quick changes. Wink-wink, another way to sell drop decks. A 250 drop deck. A 270 drop deck....
Scout:
Entry screen for opt-in pilots to Scout is the count down screen so that he has time to change mechs. Here again, opt-in and PSR would be the main method. Under no circumstances should weight class bumping be used for Scout as it is currently configured.
Possible problems:
Balance:
Two possible sources. The matchmaker may not have enough leeway to balance in all cases. Limiting max team size might help. It could allow the MM to fetch lower tiered pilots to offset an OP sub-team. A max team size of 6 (with no combining teams) might help.
Clan vs IS. With all the changes, I'm not sure how much stronger Clan mech performance is. If the Scout mode is any indication it could be substantial.
These tie into the next.
FW12v12 with matchmaker is predicated on a decent opt-in participation. If it's producing too many blowout games, participation may end up as weak as Invasion/CA.
Frontline could increase the buckets, true. But my guess is that most opting-in (12v12) don't like the 48v48 game any way. We're trying to draw that 90% back to FW and their preferred mode is the way to do it. Once interested, some may cross over now and then to the Scout and Invasion modes. Given that Invasion is reduced to a couple of queues, those who are playing it would be funneled together.
At some later date, the Invasion mode might have the specific purpose of 'cracking' a planet's heavy defenses so to enable the Frontline mode. This rather than having them run concurently. Given that Invasion is all about cannon sites, it seems a good role. Once X number of cannon sites have been secured, and the Counter Attacks have failed or the counter-Counter Attacks have suceeded, the planet shifts to Frontline mode. After success the Invasion mode would shift to another target or maybe continue to pound an already cracked target.
Following on the previous paragraph, the now derelict cannon maps could be the site of common battles - recycled for Advance (Assault), Meeting Engagement (Skirmish) on a site that was once important, but now just another battlefield. Not all Invasion maps lend themselves to this, but some do.
Immersion: The root proposal here doesn't add much for immersion. It focuses instead on leveraging what's available to expand modes and variety to FW. There are tons of great ideas on the forums for immersion. Problem is going from drawing board to fruition. The truth is we have a seriously troubled game mode which doesn't (yet) produce income for PGI. Likely from their perspective, it's just not worth it.
Edit: spelling, puctuation
Edited by BearFlag, 07 September 2016 - 09:27 PM.
