When the ladder comes, then please in a form without numbers next to your player name. (Numbers only for the ranks within the level league table.) How should this work. I think the best way is to group the ladder in levels. For example: Level 1: Little robot. With, maybe 100 ranks. (When more player come into this game, the number should automatically increase itself.) Then Level 2: Little robot with a gun. With also changeable ranks too. . At the last third levels should be set with unchangeable ranks. . Level (max.): War machine. With only 30 (or with 100 as well) ranks, and the first becomes a little throne or something else. ^^ So what it's better with this version for the matchmaking instead with only numbers. When you host a game, then in the lobby appears your game with your ladder level. So everyone with the same level can find very easily a game within his own skill level. When somebody join that hosted game, everyone in this game can only see the level league of the players, not the rank within the league. (This should avoid the chats like: "Kick him!! He is only rank 89!".) There should be also a notice when you try to join a game what is 2 or higher as your own level. Like: "Warning! You try to join a high level game, you will maybe horrible beaten! Would you join that game anyway? Yes. No." The 1vs.1 ladder can have the same system, but when the game is searching for a player, and can find at this time only one in the higher league, then the score system should consider this. When you were beaten by a high level, your point lost is very small in compare to the level of your enemy. And also should the point income increased when you annihilated him. What do you think about it? What can be make better?
Im pretty sure this is something uber would decide, but I like the idea of warning people who they are up against, plus it gives popularity to high level players that aren't known by casuals.
Sounds like a league system, similar to SC2 (used because I'm familiar with that one). The question would be, how do you propose splitting the leagues? Should it be linear, some kind of bell curve or inverse exponential? If you're not sure, let's say there's 7 leagues. - Linear means each league contains roughly the same number of players; - Bell curve means most people are in the middle leagues with first and seventh being roughly equal with maybe 5% each. - Inverse exponential means the lowest league is the largest, with leagues getting progressively smaller.
You are right, only Uber will decide the ladder system. But I tried with this idea of a level based ladder, to avoid problems which appears from a ladder with a number system. ^^'
I think Uber should make ranked and unranked systems. This works out very well in games like COD and Halo. Badges and ranks in those games are so symbolic, i remember in Halo Reach the rank Inheritor was like seeing a god in the lobby. I think the ranking system was the reason why i continued to play it to be completely honest.
They should keep the public games lobby no matter how the ladder system shapes up, as this is a good way to meet and chat with people. And sometimes its beneficial to be up against someone with a lot more experienced, because i've found a lot of people in this community very helpful, and watching a replay can be a good learning tool. Personally though I think a bronze - silver - gold - diamond (you could change the names) style ladder progression would be prefered where an hidden mmr is used to pair similar opponents. You could even have different public games lobbies for each ranking, so if you wanted to find similar skilled players in your region it would be easy.
I know I am breaking basically both types of ways people like to matchmake, but what if ladders exist, and the matchmaking system was more like chess online? By which I mean, you get ladder numbers, but you don't get auto'd, but when you press the matchmake button you simply get a list of other people and their rank number who clicked the matchmake button and anyone can click on anyone to start one. For ease of access, make another button that instantly tries to match with the closest ranked player in list. Worse case scenario, and this happens with matchmaking anyway, is that you click on a few people who already clicked on a few other people so it doesn't go through the first time, basically you attempt to match with one person, you may have to attempt to match with another and another. With the faster "match with nearest rank" button it may still happen but you just click the button 2-3 times until you match with someone. Obviously if a match was sent, the message should be accept or decline. Possibly doable from the bottom right social bar when game invites pop up. The HARDEST part about this, is making it autogenerate fair maps and rules and such for 1v1 instant matchups. PAStats does this already so I think Uber can also follow suit and just have a bunch of templates that quickly push through to make a game while the players get the generic matchup over-screen hiding all the auto-field-generation. The main reason I suggest all of this, is because matchmaking the player can't see, ends up possibly being really poor matches, and/or questionable in player population. 12 matchable players would make this function, I have seen it function in other games with 12 people.