So why is there a small army of non video game players advocating so hard for skill based matchmaking? I get that everyone that wants sbmm is really awful at games but why do the rest of us have to suffer for it? I can’t complete my weekly challenges because I’m forced into high ping matches against failed twitch streamers, other nolifes, and actual cheaters.
If skilled players like me aren’t welcome in this neu Halo, then Infinite wont be on my computer for much longer.
I guess the argument is that most players just want close competitive matches.
They have shown that (new) player retention is significantly increased by SBMM.
And somewhat cynically it’s the new players that are more likely to embrace micro-transactions.
And when they looked at players dropping out for the night (specifically if you left Halo for 8 hours or more) - it was based on the futility of the match. The spread of ranks, personal performance, losing streaks, and even network conditions were all outweighed by the sense of having a chance to win.
If you thought you had a chance to win that match you were much more likely to stay on for another one.
Skilled players are more than welcome. Just not to use me as their play thing.
Yep. I’ve obviously missed the point.
I am really awful at video games - and I deserve nothing more than to be humiliated in games.
My bad.
I don’t take any issue with the concept of SBMM, but I was shocked when 343 informed us that the priority for closely skilled players matching with each other is so high that it would match players together and then try to find a server that might work OK for most players.
Not every single game needs to be an intense white knuckle experience. Which is impossible anyways with the high ping matches that come from that strategy paired with desync.
Sbmm is fine but sbmm in socials should be relaxed. That’s literally all.
You win some you lose some. You don’t go into quickmatch in any game and expect close, ranked level play, you just wanna go in and play.
You know what’s making people care about SBMM and performance? Bloody Challenges.
Remove them and people will learn to play just for the sake of playing. They will try their best instead of forcing themselves to get double kills with a pulse rifle.
MCC is peak of what a Halo experience should feel like. You lose but you don’t feel like you’re really losing out.
Infinite on the other hand has created a toxic experience where each loss makes you feel like you’re robbed thanks to challenges being stacked in a way where it hinders progression.
Who remembers that clip from Arby n the Chief of the 3 dudes on Arby’s team going GRRRR WE GOTTA BE SERIOUS OR WE WON’T RANK UP THIS MATCH.
Yea that’s the Infinite experience right now.
And if they aren’t going to remove them.
Make sure that all challenges can be chipped away at in EVERY game. Cumulative scores and kills. And instead of specific weapons have the challenge for weapon class (eg. plasma weapons) or for varied weapons (eg. get 5 kills with 5 different weapons).
Reward players for both finishing the game (eg. 1.25x bonus) and winning (1.3x bonus).
You could even have the finishing game bonus cumulative over a run of completed games (eg. 1.05, 1.10, 1.15, 1.20… and so on).
I’d rather play people that are close to my skill range and not people I can destroy over and over again to be more fair for them. If I wanted anything more social oriented casual set up I would ask for a community server browser that can have people set up their own servers that anyone can join and leave as they see fit.
Kinda weird that they have a Score system but the score means nothing.
Previously, Halo score was just purely based on the objective or goal of the gamemode. And all it did was score you for a leaderboard. You gain XP and what not after the game for finishing the game, for performance, for medals.
343 games all make no sense because they give you tiny bits of score here and there. Here’s +5. Here’s +10. Here’s +100 for a kill. But at the end of the day, all that score means nothing cos your challenge system is like “WHAT!? YOU DIDN’T PLAY SIMON SAYS!? NO PROGRESS FOR YOU! HMPH!”
I think the argument pro-sbmm is very weak.
i don’t believe for 1 second that people prefer “balanced” matches instead of having a good connection. To me it’s simply unthinkable. Lots of eople do leave for bad connection, whatever people on this forum and Josh Menke like to say
Also most players who want sbmm are often the ones very below average, good player don’t have any reasons at all for keeping sbmm because if they want to sweat they can play ranked
I can only tolerate sbmm in good games like COD and Overwatch which have a lot of population, so at least you play on your servers all the time
Well that explains a lot of the snark from this guy.
I, for one, don’t mind losing to people who are better than me. That actually helps me improve. There can actually be those, “Oh, I see what you did there,” moments.
But I’ll tell you what I don’t like… Losing because of desync, lag, and other connection issues. That just feels bad and does nothing to help me improve because there is nothing I can do about it.
I’ve said it before and my view has not changed. Aggressive SBMM takes all the reward away from pushing to get good at a game. If you practice and get better that should reflect in your performances. SBMM forces the outcome so that sense of progression is lost.
I do not buy that it is helping player retention. It is the primary reason I’ve stepped away from playing as much in the last month.
The idea that a poor player should have the same win loss and a similar kdr to a top tier player is perverse to say the least. But ultimately that is what sbmm aims to do.
SBMM isnt fun at all if you are half decent.
I you have good mmr the game will try balance you by giving you bad players on your team.
I have kd of 2.7+ in btb as I play defence/support a result most of the games I play I end up with at least 5 players on my team going zero kills & double digits deaths.
Basically if your half decent the system always works against you, you are punished for playing better.
For a system that is meant to give fairer games it is terribly broken for both good & bad players.
Infinite has the worst matchmaking I have ever seen!
Learning is accomplished when you progressively and procedurally introduce concepts as a stimulus. You wouldn’t try to teach a kid multivariable calculus before they have even learned algebra, then tell them to “get good.”
In Halo, if the margins are too wide it is likely that the losing team will have no idea what to work on because there are too many variables to even process.
i dont mind playing really good players but my teammates just fold and barely try so theres no point in me trying. This game does not encourage people to practice against better players because people are scared to damage their mmr and it only takes 1 bad apple to screw up a team.
The progression system is getting better… but still needs a lot of work.
I actually like the cumulative score ones. Even if tied to a specific game type. At least you know that if you play in that game you will progress.
And this is where we come to an impasse.
Microsoft and 343 have the hard data.
It was presented as part of a GDC talk. The main factor for people quitting out of Halo (for more than 8 hours) was unbalanced games.
Ouch. I see where this is going.
And there we are.
Good players aren’t the ones quitting after playing uneven matches.
And nor do I.
But I am happy to face and learn from slightly better opponents.
Being thrashed doesn’t help anyone.
The “poor” player deserves to have a fun / competitive time vs other “poor” players.
Their KD etc compared to pro players is irrelevant.
No. The matchmaker will try to find players around your MMR for both your team-mates and opponents. Just not as tightly matched as ranked.
But if your MMR is at the top end of the current server selection - it may have to make compromises.
As long as your opponents have a similar spread of players with double digit deaths.
Seems like you’re really upset because of your own deficiencies, and like to deflect it off on BS excuses like ping, and other nonsense so you feel better about your own lack of skill.
Nice ignoring the facts bucko
Its not like we have people getting placed in server regions they don’t belong in due to sbmm placing them there and in turn giving them a match with high ping
Or the fact that dysync has been a problem that’s been getting worse combine that with lag and you see why players are leaving in big chunks
Nah its the lack of skill
The idea of SBMM is a good (or at least well-intentioned) one. In theory, a game is more fun when you’re playing it against players of similar skill to yourself. Creates more engaging matches and helps you learn and grow as a player more effectively.
In practice though, especially with Infinite’s flagging population and all the technical issues affecting its multiplayer, it honestly creates more problems than it solves IMO.
The population being low means that finding consistent matches with players who are really similar to your skill level is impractical for many players. I’ve seen a lot of folks complain about matches fluctuating between too easy and too hard, and have experienced this myself, and I have to wonder if that just comes down to not enough overall players in a playlist to ensure consistently even matches.
The technical issues create a lot of frustration, because high-ping, rubberbanding, extra latency, etc. all have the effect of turning closely matched combat encounters (which should feel very tight and give both players a clear sense of why they won/lost) into headscratchers that leave one or both players feeling confused and/or upset at the outcomes.
Given all of this, I honestly feel like turning SBMM off, or at least offering a few playlists where it isn’t on, would be beneficial for this game.
Cough look at how jank the melee fights can be cough cough
Cough its not like we have videos showing the dysync where rockets and grenades straight up vanish hack wheeze