51 replies to this topic

[Uhtred the Pagan]

Implement a code that starts a timer at beginning of the game for each player.

-The first 5 seconds of immobility give no penalty.

-The timer stops the second the player starts moving.
Edit: AND IT DOESN'T COME BACK ONCE IT STOPS! Thought it was obvious.

-The further the timer goes high, the biggest the penalty gets. Exponentially.

-The penalty works the same way as team damage and team kills.

90% of the games I have to shout "WAKE UP!".
30% of the games theire's at least one AFK in my team who remains so after 2-3 shouts.
This ain't normal, its really annoying and it ruins games and our time.
When someone goes in queue, he has to be ready in the next 90 seconds or so.
Having no penalty for messing up games and people's time is stupid.

Edited by Uhtred the Pagan, 24 January 2018 - 10:16 PM.

[El Bandito]

Ummm, no. Why shouldn't people have the option of staying still for longer than 5 seconds during the match? Just report AFKs.

[Magnus Santini]

Some players have dropship lag and a wakeup call is what they need, or have tabbed over from looking at ... efficiency reports. But seriously it is good to give a yell before you report someone to check if they can be resuscitated.

[Asym]

Make the game fun. A lot of players AFK when they realize it's gonna be a stomp and don't want to do something really un-ethical.....

[Bombast]

A siren at the start of the match, that plays regardless of the games minimized state, would be a boon.

[N0ni]

Uhtred the Pagan, on 24 January 2018 - 09:22 AM, said:

Implement a code that starts a timer at beginning of the game for each player.
The first 5 seconds of immobility give no penalty.
The timer stops the second the player starts moving.
The further the timer goes high, the biggest the penalty gets. Exponentially.
The penalty works the same way as team damage and team kills.

AFK bot scripts. Timer stops when the player starts moving right? Well just take one step then boom, penalty system gone. Outplayed.

[Mystere]

Uhtred the Pagan, on 24 January 2018 - 09:22 AM, said:

Implement a code that starts a timer at beginning of the game for each player.
The first 5 seconds of immobility give no penalty.
The timer stops the second the player starts moving.
The further the timer goes high, the biggest the penalty gets. Exponentially.
The penalty works the same way as team damage and team kills.

90% of the games I have to shout "WAKE UP!".
30% of the games theire's at least one AFK in my team who remains so after 2-3 shouts.
This ain't normal, its really annoying and it ruins games and our time.

No. It's a stupid idea for reasons that should be obvious.

In a related note, the experience bar has obviously already gone to some people's head. We should remove that instead. <shrugs>

Edited by Mystere, 24 January 2018 - 08:18 PM.

[Uhtred the Pagan]

El Bandito, on 24 January 2018 - 09:30 AM, said:

Ummm, no. Why shouldn't people have the option of staying still for longer than 5 seconds during the match? Just report AFKs.

I thought I was clear and that it was obvious what I said.
Standing still from the start of the game gets you in penalty after 5 seconds.
Once you move, the timer gets removed and never comes back.

[Uhtred the Pagan]

N0ni, on 24 January 2018 - 08:00 PM, said:

AFK bot scripts. Timer stops when the player starts moving right?

Correct. At least one person gets the obvious.

N0ni, on 24 January 2018 - 08:00 PM, said:

Well just take one step then boom, penalty system gone. Outplayed.

Correct again.
But your sarcasm isn't.
Cause the biggest problem we have is players who start a game and go do other stuff, and come back whenever they feel like it, and are usually late. They don't go afk on the purpose of skipping the whole game and farming cbills, like you're implying. Those are very rare. My solution doesn't bring anything bad to the table, and it helps encourage players to be ready in time after starting a queue.

Plus, your argument of using external bot program is illegal and would make such a parasite gets banned eventually. Like I said, AFK farmers are rare, but the casual late-to-the-game-its-only-a-game-I-dont-care AFK players are extremely common.

Edited by Uhtred the Pagan, 24 January 2018 - 10:20 PM.

[Dee Eight]

Uhtred the Pagan, on 24 January 2018 - 09:22 AM, said:

Implement a code that starts a timer at beginning of the game for each player.

maybe you should stop using the solo queue and expecting others to play to your schedule.

[Khobai]

instead the game should just boot afk players and allow a dead player on your team to pilot the mech

same goes for disconnects

you get 5 minutes to move if youre afk or rejoin if you disconnect, or the game hands your mech over to someone whos dead on your team.

that seems like the best way to handle it. then your team isnt 100% screwed by having an afk/disconnect. only like 90% screwed.

Edited by Khobai, 24 January 2018 - 10:23 PM.

[N0ni]

Uhtred the Pagan, on 24 January 2018 - 10:11 PM, said:

They don't go afk on the purpose of skipping the whole game and farming cbills, like you're implying.

I didn't imply anything, you're assuming this^^^ is what i was getting at... which i was not. To avoid the penalty one can simply queue up for a match, run the script then go make a drink or do whatever it is a normal human person does like go to the bathroom, pick up an important call, or answer the door.

I also disagree with the "solution", no point in punishing in how people choose to go about their game time. Report and move on.

[Dee Eight]

N0ni, on 24 January 2018 - 10:26 PM, said:

I didn't imply anything, you're assuming this^^^ is what i was getting at... which i was not. To avoid the penalty one can simply queue up for a match, run the script then go make a drink or do whatever it is a normal human person does like go to the bathroom, pick up an important call, or answer the door.

I also disagree with the "solution", no point in punishing in how people choose to go about their game time. Report and move on.

Or could be avoided by just aiming in the direction of the enemy, setting your throttle to 10%. Should give you several minutes to make that martini.

[N0ni]

Dee Eight, on 24 January 2018 - 10:32 PM, said:

Or could be avoided by just aiming in the direction of the enemy, setting your throttle to 10%. Should give you several minutes to make that martini.

Just drop an Anni, put a quarter on 50% and go make a Strawberry Sunrise. It's light, but sweet and addicting.

[LordNothing]

do away with atrocious wait times. no wonder people go afk there is a 2-20 minute gap between telling the game you want to play a match and playing the match is why people go afk. people are not being engaged and their minds wander. their girl friends come over for a booty call, their children get into trouble, people they live with freak out, bible thumpers have to be chased from your porch with a shotgun. if the game started immediately i wouldnt have time to get distracted by other things. life happens.

[Vellron2005]

OP, your penalty system seem malicious to me, and would be just as stupid as disconnect penalties already are..

Here's a few reasons why:

1) When your computer freezes so bad you have to restart it manually, it takes a while for the server to register you as disconnected. You seem AFK for the duration.

2) Most AFK latecomers happen because someone is browsing the interwebs, and there's no warning flashing the match has begun after 5 seconds instead of the 60 seconds I was counting on. A simple flashing icon can solve this. No need for penalties.

3) It is quite possible and happens often, that the game simply kicks you back to homescreen or to desktop, and doesn't register you as Disco.. You can still hear VOIP, even though your client has crashed, and you appear as AFK. Nothing you can do about it, and you still get a penalty? No thanks.

4) Most all-match AFKs happen for a bloody reason. Sorry, but I feel it's not cool to punish someone cose' their kid is crying, their dog pissed on the floor, or there's someone at the door. I've also gone AFK when my girlfriend initiated sex, and I'm not even sorry. Sometimes you just gotta. No way around it. Don't need to punish that.

Alas, I offer a solution to both AFK and Disco issues, It's simple. If a player is AFK or Disco for more than 3 minutes, have A.I. take over and fight for the team. Use A.I like the one from the academy, that actually shoots other mechs.

If the player comes back, give the controls back to the player, but no rewards for missing more than half the match.

[sycocys]

No, its just a bad idea.

Would be better if they restricted people with low post counts from creating new idea threads.

[Zeoraimer]

I support all suggestions for AI to take over after a predetermined time.

In fact, I think it should be customisable. If you know your installation/pc/connection has problems with the game, set a 5 second timeout that your mech will simply follow the pack, and after 30 seconds, full combat AI takes over.

If/when you are able to recconect, you spectate your AI, and click to take over (this gives you time to work out whats going on, rather than abruptly take over not know whats around you).

Though it would be great if either a dead player takes control, or if the game can allow the 10 longest waiting people in the queue to manually opt into playing your mech config. Whoever clicks accept first gets in.

But I don't think PGI will be willing to able to program AI or dynamic player joining. Especially with MW5...

Edited by Zeoraimer, 25 January 2018 - 04:41 AM.

[East Indy]

Having become "that guy" for the first time in 5 years of playing, I'd want more data about causes.

Tuesday, my PC froze right as I'd engaged Quick Play's matchmaker. I figured the connection would time out and my account would get booted from the matchmaker. So, I restarted my computer but spent 10 minutes or so doing chores around the house.

When I logged back in and tried to play, my 'Mech was locked. Dang, it dropped with a team? Was my 'Mech still functional? I loaded the game to find a guy farming cutlets off my ECM chassis. I blew him away while the enemy team's 5-cap completed. To the observer, I was a negligent jerk, and suggested I'd appeared AFK instead of DC'd. I had no idea and felt bad, as I'm otherwise pressing "W" the second it works.

So, players who sit forever? Maybe they're doing the "fresh" thing, or maybe what happened to me happens to them. And the ones who wait a minute or more? Maybe they're madly rebooting with or without an SSD in the mix.

I'm sure slackers are out there, but my experience taught me that other explanations exist.

[adamts01]

Dee Eight, on 24 January 2018 - 10:14 PM, said:

maybe you should stop using the solo queue and expecting others to play to your schedule.

I don't understand what the hell's wrong with kids these days. It's not a single player game. If you don't want to be part of a team then don't play a team oriented game. Especially a 12v12 where a single player's unwillingness to cooperate has a huge impact on the match. You agreed in the terms of service to "meaningfully contribute" to your team, which going AFK is not, which is also against the terms of service.