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Some thoughts on 2v2 matchmaking
06-18-2014, 01:09 PM
Post: #1
Some thoughts on 2v2 matchmaking
Hi All!

So I've got like 3-4 concurrent things going on at the moment at various stages (including our newly announced game) and don't have the resources to re-think a fare matchmaking system for lower-population player pools. Strangely, lower-population isn't exactly the right term since were at about 18,000 actives a month. But due to the nature of the game, getting the 'right match' is more in the realm of a 'real-time' problem since the time constraint is more immediate on finding a match than on actually playing one.

But I'll give what info I can on the current situation and some suggested solutions to roll out in the interim.

Currently when trying to match a player, the server has 3 strikes before it 'gives up' and you end up spawning a new match and map:

1. Find all matches that are *very* close to your skill level
2. if we found none, find all matches with twice the skill range search
3. if we *still* haven't found anything, give me all the matches that are older than 2 days

Out of that above set of matches I sort them by skill and find the closest matching one and put the player in that one. So even the worse case scenario (#3) I still try to find a 'best match' and not simply a random game as some have stated previously. This problem isn't so prevalent in 1v1 since games tend to be over quicker and players are looking for games more often.

2v2 is a different beast given how long games can take and the complicated nature of matching 4 different people. The top tier (ST,Master) are far fewer in this mode of play so they tend to get the short end of the stick more often than not due to not having another ST ready to go and join you at any given moment.

Here is some shorter term solutions I could consider pushing live on the server and why:

1. Widen the try #2 skill range. Either triple or quadruple the range instead of just double. You can still get a somewhat more lob-sided team skill but in those events when a partner is *just* out of your search range but would still make for a fun game, it'd be more likely to capture them.

2. Lengthen the waiting period for games that are lumped into try #3 to 3 days. This doesn't change the
skill range, but will grow the 'pool' of potentially joinable games. So instead of seeing a pool of only 2 day old games, you'd see a larger 3 day pool that could potentially hold a game that is more suitable to you.

I can do either or both relatively quickly, but I'd like to hear what others might have in mind for possible solutions that could be just as relatively simple first. Or maybe this isn't a problem on the whole except for the top 5% (still a problem as they tend to be the most active)?

Let me know what you think!

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. - Carl Sagan
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Some thoughts on 2v2 matchmaking - onealexleft - 06-18-2014 01:09 PM

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