The general message I want to convey in this thread is that you should never remove a playlist for low population unless attempts to revive it fail.
http://halocharts.com/2012/chart/playlists/2013-01-26
The link you see above is a chart tracking the population of the playlists at various times on January 26th, 2013.
As you see there are quite a few playlists that have “low” populations.
The playlist with the lowest population being the playlist Crimson DLC; which today reached a high of 737 players, and a low of 172 players.
The first thing I want everyone who reads this to understand is that the term “low” is a relative term. A game could have 500k players on, and the average playlist could have 50k players on, but just because the runt of the playlists in this hypothetical game only has 10k players on, does not mean that the playlist should be removed for having a population that is to low. Because for one that number would be incredibly high for almost all other multiplayer games. And there would be no issues in finding a match at any time of the day, since when that 10k declines to 2k by 4 am you can still find a match easily.
But that leaves us with an interesting question. What classifies as to low? You may get different answers from different people, but what I classify as to low is a playlist that at certain times you can’t find a match. Squad DLC in Halo Reach has long since been retired, and it is the perfect example for a playlist who’s population is to low. This playlist at max reached about 150 players each day, while you may easily find a match in that playlist at that time, at other times the population would drop to embarrassingly low levels. I used to consistently see this playlist dip below 10 at certain times, and that is unacceptable, cause the playlist in matchmaking was failing at it’s job to find players matches.
However when Squad DLC was removed, I was opposed. Cause even if the playlist dipped to “unacceptable” levels, there was no change to the gametypes in the playlist, and no gametypes were ever added to it.
What the playlist removal process should look like
- 343 sees a playlist with a population that is to low, thinks of reasons why the population may be low, and produces an update addressing these issues.
(if population remains to low)
- 343 asks the community why the population remains to low, and addresses the most popular criticisms given by the community in an update of the playlist.
(if population remains to low)
- 343 should remove the playlist, but attempt to incorporate the unique elements of the playlist into the rest of matchmaking. (excluding extending DLC requirements)
If you wonder what I think of the current playlist management, I think it’s been dreadful. Rotating playlists is a stupid idea, removing playlists with healthy populations is ridiculous, and not having classic playlists (like team doubles) in matchmaking that can be there, is reason to be angry.