And until we fix this issue, we recommend that players with photosensitivity, or who have an epileptic condition or have had seizures of any kind consult their physician before playing.
A Way to Bring some Fun Back
So I'd first like to share a video which is the main reason for this suggestion, regarding CoconutRTS and his analysis of the current MMR system:
When the modern version of MMR was introduced it did work a lot better at the start. However, as time went on, trials became more erratic and less enjoyable. The video illustrates this with the assumption of a much larger grouping of players at the top of MMR. Without the reset the group never changes so everyone gets trapped in this area.
Maybe it's time to bring back some form of ranking system which can mix up the status quo; to inject that chaotic sense of fun and unpredictability back into the game again.
A possibility could be to have a reset where people are moved down MMR in relation to their grade. Whilst grade does not necessarily mean skill, it does mean that someone has spent longer or played well enough to get many pips on the game. Those guys are the ones who perhaps play harder than others. This would be a good way of making sure those who really want to play as hard as they want to will face like-minded opponents for the ultimate challenge, whilst people who are more relaxed will probably have a lower grade and therefore matching that would put them with like-minded players. To sum up: Reduce MMR every month in relation to the grades.
I do not know whether his take on MMR is accurate, but perhaps it's worthwhile looking at - or even sharing what you can see - how close his analysis is. This video did remind me of the fun those monthly resets gave and ultimately this is an idea that could improve the staleness many players currently feel. This is CoconutRTS' idea completely, but I wanted to share this to gauge what people think and the reality of both the effectiveness of this idea and where the largest percentage of players are, within the MMR.
Comments
-
The MMR take doesn't need to be super accurate, but I'm pretty sure everyone can agree that the current system is even worse than the previous rank/grade system was.
3 -
Any MMR, any ranking system... Can be deconstructed and viewed through analytics to understand if it was a "sweat" game or a "throwaway".
However, no MMR is worse on average than having an MMR system.
Honestly? Making losing at least enjoyable/rewarding is what matters.
People may be butthurt if their end-game screen says "You lose", but if the journey to a loss is also miserable, people will just move on.
We all die eventually. Why not make the trip enjoyable? Mimic that.
2 -
This may be what does make losing enjoyable because the shifting around the MMR numbers may result in playing more chaotic games, such as what used to happen during rank reset previously.
I mostly play for emblems than for a straight win/loss result. Some brilliant games I've had ended up in me getting sacrificed anyway. It can't be so fun when somebody who plays casually ends up caught in a series of matches that are againsy incredibly competitive opponents, such as an expert Nurse. The game may never feel fun in those losses.
I'd hope this idea may allow those more casual players to be less likely to verse those, instead taking on players who are more casual themselves. It's that getting stuck in that messy spaghetti of MMR which perhaps puts people off the game.
0 -
And so you bring a point to how you can enjoy a "loss", even if that loss if your character being sacrificed.
Meta-game progression does a lot to influence the after-effects of moment to moment gameplay.
So far as I'm aware, DBD is one of the only games where you can "lose", but still max BP, get challenges completed, etc. while having an "Entity Hungers/Loser" title-screen. (Advancement under the duress of loss)
I think that dichotomy can be expanded upon with in-game objectives (doing these can help overall, but the in-moment gain is normalized)
Survivors already have that with regards to generators and the Exit Gate (We powered the generators, but then all died).
Killer has nothing in that regard, so that can be improved.
SoloQ Survivor will eventually need that addressed (probably with regards to Hatch, and opening it for others as a "passing on" ritual).
1 -
Firstly, forgive me if I did not read everything correctly - just come back from a friend's BBQ with way too much sun and I'm pretty tired.
The extra in-game objectives do get accomplished through the compendiums and the tasks they give, but I'm assuming you're looking for something which occurs every game, not one trial. That is a tricky one.
If there were a change of focus onto the emblems that would help everyone look at four sub-objectives within the trial alongside the main objectives that would grow a better sense of accomplishment.
The thing is it could be argued the current system already does that with the BP, but I'm thinking of something more concrete within the game which cam be achieved throughout the trial. What exactly, I am not sure.
0 -
You read it correctly, and it is nonsensically twisting two ideas together half-assed with no proof-reading as a result of having to get on the road to work.
One being meta-game progression tying into in-game checkpoints to give a sense of progression throughout the Trial.
The other being the actual in-game checkpoints themselves and how they give a sense of accomplishment.
Finishing a generator comes with a meaty noise, and removes a zone of the map from play (for patrolling). And finishing them all comes with a blaring buzzer and a complete change of game-state.
However when getting stomped, Hatch just puffs open, and there is no sense of forward momentum while waiting for you or others to die for it to open in the first place.
For Killer, it’s a Hook to hear a scream, one of twelve possible. And then the game ends.
Killing a Survivor is certainly a checkpoint, but this is loaded towards the end of the Trial, or at least should be with current game balance. (And this is why so many Killers chase that carrot by tunneling/camping. They literally have no other checkpoint).
Onto another topic, why is the uncertainty of a trial with MMR resets of interest to you? What do you mean by it being “fun” in this case?
0 -
The reset idea came about because, when the reset happened previously, for 2-3 days people had this "honeymoon" period, where before they may have been struggling against tough opponents and yet unable to drop. Quite a lot of People would de-rank often to escape those difficult trials, so they felt they could relax a bit more, feeling free to experiment in the process. They'd regroup and feel refreshed.
Currently there is no moment like this. You play up to a certain level and then feel stuck. I know complaints here are commonplace but, when I read people getting upset over SWF groups or the same Blight/Nurse killers, there is some empathy there now. This is because they're never really likely to escape this. No reset button. No way to feel there will be a time coming up when the game becomes more fun. They're stuck in a monotonous cycle where every trial is a slog for them.
When ranks reset before, the fun came from the absolutely chaotic and unpredictable nature. People were thrown into matches with killers and combos they'd barely seen before. People would be testing perks or playstyles. Some would even set monthly aims to this.
Now - were there to be a MMR reset which is based on the emblems as to how far down the MMR you go - this would not affect the emblem BP since everyone returns to ash and plays as normal. People would verse a more relaxed and less difficult level of play for a while. Players who play more casually won't have as high an emblem score, therefore move down further to verse other, like-minded players. More competitive and dedicated players would be having tough trials, but there would be a chance they would enjoy more variety in opponents.
People enjoy the challenge too so, as mentioned above, those at the top will still have that challenge. Throughout the month, those lower down MMR would face tougher opponents, but this would have a time period.
Basically, variety is fun. Stagnation is not. This proposal allows the variety to come in.
0 -
Variety is fun. However what you’re suggesting is skill-based variety so occasionally you’ll have fun at others expense.
MMR is reaching its final state of monotonous gameplay for a game with gameplay that has little variety for alternative playstyle varieties to be viable, while also not attempting to sporadically enforce random rules throughout the match to inject artificial variety in the face of stagnant gameplay.
We have event mechanics, but it’d be interesting if events were literally offerings year-round that could be a random modifier that players adapt to on-the-fly. Not huge gameplay shifts, but accents.
1 -
There's no reason not to have all of these ideas. The MMR variety hopefully removes the commonality of having fun at others expense, because to deliberately fall to that level means having a low grading, which in turn means fewer BP. Most would prefer the BP over this, if they're the competitive sort.
The modifiers are a great extra to have. One of my favourite features in an event was during a Halloween event with those pumpkins offering random buffs or nerfs. I also wonder whether newer characters start bringing in perks which add extra things into a trial.
For example, a character who is an archaeologist who brings perks which inscribes runes around the trial that'll have some effect, or maybe another botanist-type character, which brings perks in that grows herbs in places about the trial which can either be mixed on the fly, or even collected for players to create special items in-between trials.
Just stuff to make each trial more random. There shall be a time where the current perks offer little variety from others, so adding things would be the way to go.
0
