2 replies to this topic

[Gambino87]

I read the forums a lot but I may have missed this suggestion so I thought I'd throw my 2 c-bills into the arena of ideas. It's nothing original but something I've seen in other games that works amazing.

Current/Future PGI System:

Solo/Small groups just hit the launch button and their automatically thrown into this mixing pot of random people, all with random gameplay objectives and roles in mind. I think think what PGI is about to implement is a step in the right direction but doesn't really hit the root cause in what degrades the "PUG" gameplay experience.


My Suggestion:

A player has the option to create a group (of 12 people/3 lances) or join a group.

The group will consist of 11 slots that he can fill with people on his friends list or flag as "Open". Each "Open" slot will then have another flag with a desired 'Mech archetype (Light, Medium, etc) AND role (I.E. - Recon, Brawler, Sniper, LRM Support, ETC) that the group leader is looking for. There can even be a minimum group structure requirement too. Example: the group MUST have 3/3/3/3 AND 1 recon, 1 assist, 2 brawler, 2 sniper, 2 support, etc. There should also probably be an AFK timer on the host as well. Say if the group doesn't form up in 2-3 minutes it gets disbanded.

The other part of this would be a player who wants to join a group.

He would click "Find a Group", pick a 'Mech archetype and desired role, then queue. If said player doesn't like what he see's when he joins the lobby then he can simply leave and re-queue.

These groups with "Open" filled slots can also be kept completely separate from full 12-man pre-mades AND as the matchmaker looks for people to fill the "Open" slots it can fill the open slots with players of similar ELO as the players already in the match. Once the group is formed and queued as a whole it is matched against another group of similar ELO.

I feel the process may make it longer to get into a game, but the sense of purpose you get from a game will be worth it. Not to mention it can help guide new players into performing vital roles other than being cannon fodder.

That about sums it up. I'm sure as you guys read it you'll realize it sounds exactly or at least close to what other games use but damn... why reinvent the wheel? Do what works!

Edited by Gambino87, 26 June 2014 - 01:52 PM.

[Heffay]

mwolobby.com.

[Gambino87]

Thanks for that shameless plug.

EDIT: mwolobby.com seems to use lobbies for guild/clan recruitment more than actually matchmaking (from my experience). Besides, a lot of player don't want the hassle of actually interacting with people (I know, it's an online game blah blah blah) but just want to sit down, queue for a game and it not be a miserable misguided cluster *LB20-X shot*

Edited by Gambino87, 26 June 2014 - 01:59 PM.