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FinsT, on 08 October 2013 - 04:05 AM, said:
This is true that there is such a problem.
However, it is not true that the only possible solution - is to limit group size to 4. Other solutions are possible, elements of which might perhaps be one or more of the following:
1. reduce total tonnage of large group's company somewhat;
2. increase maximum total allowed tonnage of the opposing company, somewhat, if opposing company does not have large group in itself;
3. dynamically decrease maximum possible number of players in the large group's company to less than 12 - possibly to as little as 8 (depends on how many players are in the large group; this limits large group's size by 8, of course) - this will allow to compensate for p.1, and also, this will allow to prevent "exploitish" way of taking just 6...8 light 'mech and have 4...6 more PuGs added to the lagre group's company, because lights are not enough to reach even reduced (by p.1) maximum company's tonnage;
4. automatically try to find another large group, or 2..3 small groups (2...4 players) and send the big group againt these on equal terms (probably would need a reasonable timer, something tolerable, perhaps 30 seconds or such, after which, if no "opposing company has large-enough and/or enough groups in it" setup is available, a single large group would be matched against a PuG);
5. automatically pick more experienced and/or more successful players as a members of PuGs which oppose large (5+ players) pre-made groups. "Success" could be as easy a metric as a kill/death ratio (which i know is being recorded for each player), or something even more objective, perhaps.
Other methods which i just didn't think about could probably be used, as well - alone or in combination with any or all of the above.
But, of course, it would require substantial amount of work to implement, test, balance and verify via game servers' statistics; it is so much easier to just limit group size to 4, that's true. Hopefully, with time, better methods of balancing "pre-mades" and PuGs will be implemented. Better in the sense of actually doing the balancing in some way which can't be worked-around by sad methods like "two groups launching in very same time and thus being able to play in the same game, and sometimes on the same side", - but would work consistently.
However, it is not true that the only possible solution - is to limit group size to 4. Other solutions are possible, elements of which might perhaps be one or more of the following:
1. reduce total tonnage of large group's company somewhat;
2. increase maximum total allowed tonnage of the opposing company, somewhat, if opposing company does not have large group in itself;
3. dynamically decrease maximum possible number of players in the large group's company to less than 12 - possibly to as little as 8 (depends on how many players are in the large group; this limits large group's size by 8, of course) - this will allow to compensate for p.1, and also, this will allow to prevent "exploitish" way of taking just 6...8 light 'mech and have 4...6 more PuGs added to the lagre group's company, because lights are not enough to reach even reduced (by p.1) maximum company's tonnage;
4. automatically try to find another large group, or 2..3 small groups (2...4 players) and send the big group againt these on equal terms (probably would need a reasonable timer, something tolerable, perhaps 30 seconds or such, after which, if no "opposing company has large-enough and/or enough groups in it" setup is available, a single large group would be matched against a PuG);
5. automatically pick more experienced and/or more successful players as a members of PuGs which oppose large (5+ players) pre-made groups. "Success" could be as easy a metric as a kill/death ratio (which i know is being recorded for each player), or something even more objective, perhaps.
Other methods which i just didn't think about could probably be used, as well - alone or in combination with any or all of the above.
But, of course, it would require substantial amount of work to implement, test, balance and verify via game servers' statistics; it is so much easier to just limit group size to 4, that's true. Hopefully, with time, better methods of balancing "pre-mades" and PuGs will be implemented. Better in the sense of actually doing the balancing in some way which can't be worked-around by sad methods like "two groups launching in very same time and thus being able to play in the same game, and sometimes on the same side", - but would work consistently.
I'm not sure that tonnage really matters that much. I'm sure you've wandered off alone or just been at the edge of the group when suddenly, four lights appear and it's all over in a few brutal seconds. They were on comms, you weren't, so you didn't get backup and they won.
As the part of my post that you didn't quote says, I'd probably be okay with larger (6-8) premades in games if PGI were to implement in-game voice, and add in a lobby system that would let players who weren't premade plan out their strategy beforehand and choose mechs that work well with one another. While 12 PUG-lifes will never have the same coordination as 12 players who know and routinely work with one another, those two things would close the gap enough that I would be willing to try it.
