Autoteambalance
falc
Join Date: 2011-03-18 Member: 87128Members
Join Date: 2011-03-18 Member: 87128Members
<div class="IPBDescription">How should it work?</div>I'm currently thinking about how a good auto-teambalance feature could work in NS2. So this thread is more about brainstorming rather than implementing.
The easiest approach would be to compare the team-playercount and if difference >= 2 switch someone (e.g. last joined, best) over after a grace period - ignoring the commander ofc. But this has a few flaws, since players are often leaving their team if the game is almost lost and a switch for a player in the winning team then could be very frustrating. An option to counter this, would be to give the players the possibility to decide if the system should run a teambalance or not, but this also has some disadvantages since the winning team probably would vote "no" even when it would be necessary.
Do you guys have any ideas?
The easiest approach would be to compare the team-playercount and if difference >= 2 switch someone (e.g. last joined, best) over after a grace period - ignoring the commander ofc. But this has a few flaws, since players are often leaving their team if the game is almost lost and a switch for a player in the winning team then could be very frustrating. An option to counter this, would be to give the players the possibility to decide if the system should run a teambalance or not, but this also has some disadvantages since the winning team probably would vote "no" even when it would be necessary.
Do you guys have any ideas?
Comments
Well, that is almost the case in any FPS even if they have a auto teambalancing feature. ;)
<!--quoteo(post=1972924:date=Sep 6 2012, 07:36 PM:name=antacid)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (antacid @ Sep 6 2012, 07:36 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1972924"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Simply do not let people join teams that have more players than the other.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is also not sufficient, because of players just leaving the game etc.
This is also not sufficient, because of players just leaving the game etc.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In most FPS games (see: all), the teams are indistinguishable so noone really cares.
Ragers will always be a problem, there isn't really a solution, L4D had the same problem.
Simply moving players around in a game as strategic as NS has consequences. Do you simply remove all the personal res that player has acquired? Do you let them keep their pres? What if their team was doing really well comparatively, and they have a lot of pres, maybe now that player can instantly go Onos or Fade when they shouldn't have been able to. What if one team is busy executing a specific plan or strategy, and you are aware of its weaknesses? Maybe they are sneaking a phase in a hive when you get auto switched?
In a strategy game, simply changing teams is not so simple.
NS2 is not an FPS, it is an RTS with an FPS perspective. Auto team balance would destroy the game in terms of strategy and personal resources.
Its both, and thus has the "problems" of both.
if you run your server with the setting "autobalance&lock" enabled, the server will balance and lock the players into teams at the beginning of the next round. At the end of the round, using the voting system, the server will ask what team you prefer to be on.
The server then selects based on previous round info what would be the the most balanced team. when there are multiple configurations possible that lie close in team balance, the server will try to choose the one where the highest amount of players get their preferred option.
If you do not get your preffered option, the server will queue you, such that next round it will try to choose the configuration that tries to honor the highest amount of people that were queued for n rounds of not playing preferred team. Where n is the amount of turns you voted you wanted to be marine <i>consecutively</i> but got put in alien. Obviously the system will still only select from a set of the most balanced combinations.
NB:
-teams of 3+ buddies that really want to play together can just ingore autobalancelock servers and play regular
-if a new player that is completely unaware of the feature joins, he might ragequit at the beginning for being teamswapped. Have the server inform everybody at the beginning of the round that teams will eventually be autobalanced and that you will not be able to switch teams for that round. Have at the end of the round a vote with "what side would you like to play" on your first vote, and on the second "I want to try again to be X and have a higher chance to be X than last round / I want to be Y" voteboxes
-When the first round of the server starts its normal selection such as always. A new player joinging the server can select any team based on how many players are population that team as always
Should I make a separate topic for this? reply if you like and discuss the finer details of the system, so it might be implemented.
If you make the auto-team balance based on points, gorges in defensive positions will be balanced to marine side leaving gaps in alien defense.
If you auto-balance too quick, people will rage because more players inevitably join. If you auto-balance too slow, then you have given too huge a numbers advantage to the bigger side and the game is lost anyway.
I don't really see how NS2 could auto-balance well.
If you make the auto-team balance based on points, gorges in defensive positions will be balanced to marine side leaving gaps in alien defense.
If you auto-balance too quick, people will rage because more players inevitably join. If you auto-balance too slow, then you have given too huge a numbers advantage to the bigger side and the game is lost anyway.
I don't really see how NS2 could auto-balance well.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
how about the system proposed in my post, above yours? I also agree that a in-round rebalance would be detrimental to gameplay, but surely a between-round scramble could help to avoid "team of pro's vs team of noobs" scenarios (and thus be more fun for all that have <i>chosen to play</i> autobalance)
If the server explicitly states they are going to be moved around at the end of the round, I dont think they will rage quit, because they would know that in the scramble they are likely to end up with some of the good (previously opposing) players.
And I am all for rewarding all team members of any team for any supporting action with points (in order to balance better), such as healing done, sctructures placed, armor welded, etc.