Other thoughts: (Please note the system I proposed above, if you don't mind, press like if you agree, etc. for consensus.)
Should MS changes tweak the meta?:
The goal is to win the match, so if killing the other team allows you to theoretically meet the goals of the game mode "off screen", then so be it. We should not be encouraged to do various things that /seem/ maybe fitting for the game mode unless it actually will win us the game. If it changes the meta, that's only because people are playing for MS rather than winning, which is improper. This is another argument for a strong weighting of W/L for PSR growth. That said, if it's going to be used anyway, you want it to be properly in line with the actual value of the action.
Mineomatic said:
I like running Light Mechs sometimes but with the current PSR system I feel I put my team at a disadvantage each time I do and having different tier brackets for each class of mech would eliminate that some.
Having different tier brackets for each weight class sounds like a great, fun idea. It would mean having 3 more variables to track for each player in the database, though, if that's a problem. It would be a simple and nice solution. I'm not experienced enough to say whether each weight class is actually "balanced" when played properly.
Rolling "Average" (not sure of the exact implementation in mind):
This kind of system is probably a pretty important aspect, though I'm not sure how much data the database records currently. It's possible this would take a lot more space than they'd like to support at this stage (you would track every match's change in PSR so you can drop off the last value when you get a new one, and do something with those, right?).
Team Sizes:
I'd like to see different sizes of matches randomly thrown in, not just to help MM, but to be interesting. Maybe just play with the number of lances each team has. This could potentially even be used for making "imbalanced" matches of fewer higher tier players on one team vs more lower tier ones. I wouldn't mind seeing lance sizes fluctuating between 3 and 4, although if my very old lore memory serves, 4 was a typical group number. I honestly think this extra varying factor would be
lots of fun (though 4v4 might be inconsistent in non-skirmish modes, necessitating good weight class matching, but 6v6 might be okay as is).
"I don't get justice every match. I played well and lost but didn't get rewarded.":
Wins and Losses are the ultimate identifier of success, the (proper) reason we play the match, and covers all blind spots MS misses or miscalculates. They may not give justice immediately, but they do *eventually*. They are the true measure of skill in the end. Yes, having a smaller player base probably hinders it, but it should not stop it. Better players will win more eventually, period. It just doesn't feel great on the way. Of course, the community wants it to be competitive AND feel good, so we can find a happy medium.
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Groups: That said, Having personal skill rated does help take care of being carried in group drops. I also think it would be fair to consider groups to be a bit higher skill level than their average. One good way might be to add a flat value to the group based on the highest tier (I do not agree with considering the whole group that highest tier, as that's very binary).
"PSR means personal skill rating!":
Let's not get caught up in the naming conventions. What we want is "ability to help team win", which is why wins are a great way of (eventually) determining that.
"Do PSR changes first, see how it works, then do MS.":
Except that using a PSR system based on MS means that it will work less well without fixing the system as a whole. I believe that some small tweaks could be made without confusing things too much. It is worth noting as an issue, of course, but it works both ways.
"Damage contributes too much to Match Score.":
What should we actually be measuring: effectiveness on taking out a mech. Try this: Give a much heavier MS to contributing damage to components that are destroyed, more so if it contributed directly to killing the mech (both side torsos would count if clan XL mech dies to losing both side torsos. Caveat for back vs front armor: only count for this bonus if that side of armor was completely pierced (hence, it actually contributed). Reward general damage only a little.
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Tanking: This can also address the call for tanking damage giving MS: If tanking the damage does not result in that component being destroyed, then you "successfully" tanked the damage (exception being you get bonus still by tanking front/back damage when if armor doesn't get pierced, even if component is destroyed from other end). Losing a component not contributing directly to your death could give a smaller bonus. You can give a smaller reward for tanking any damage, as it can still be valuable, but not as much.
"This idea doesn't need to affect MS because it already gives you a chance to get MS other ways":
The same could be said about a lot of MS rewards. You still have to capitalize on the chances. Also, it's hard to keep it "simple" at this point since MS is anything but. Rather, it's trying to be "robust".
"AMS contributes too much to MS.":
This really depends on how much AMS contributes to a win. It has nothing to do with skill. The skill issue comes into play in how skillful do you have to be to contribute x MS worth of help for the win? That part is a balance issue. If it is too effective for skill involved, it needs to be nerfed (just remember you give something up by having it in your mech, though maybe not enough). If it doesn't help as much as MS says it does, then nerf the MS, yes. (I won't assume as I'm new, but it's hard to be sure of what might have been.)
Perhaps later I will have a close look at all MS factors and try to come up with numbers that seems fairly rigorously logical, but I lack experience so we'll see.