Addressing Disconnects and Match Integrity in Dead by Daylight
Dear Developers,
I hope this letter finds you well. As an avid player of Dead by Daylight and a dedicated member of the gaming community of many hours and many years, I felt compelled to share my concerns regarding a recurring issue that has been increasingly prevalent in the game. Specifically, my concern revolves around the handling of disconnects when a Killer is winning a match.
I want to start by acknowledging the fantastic work done by Behavior Games, Inc. in creating and maintaining a unique and engaging gaming experience in Dead by Daylight. The game has provided countless hours of enjoyment for players worldwide, including myself.
However, as someone who often plays as the Killer, I've noticed that when the tide of a match seems to be turning in my favor, disconnects by survivors have become more frequent. While I understand that disconnects can happen for various reasons, the current system's impact on the experience is a cause for concern.
The issue arises when survivors disconnect, leaving the remaining players to face bots. While the introduction of bots in such situations is necessary to keep the game going, it significantly alters the dynamics of the match. This can be especially frustrating when the Killer has invested time and effort into the game, only to find themselves facing AI-controlled survivors.
I would like to propose that when survivors disconnect in a match, especially when it's clear that the Killer is winning or has a significant advantage, there should be a system in place to reward the Killer appropriately. It would provide an incentive for Killers to stay in matches even when survivors leave, ensuring a more balanced and rewarding experience for all players involved.
Moreover, it would be beneficial to explore ways to distinguish between intentional disconnects and those caused by unavoidable circumstances. A fair and consistent system for handling disconnects would help maintain the integrity of the game and foster a more positive gaming environment.
I understand that addressing these issues may require careful consideration and balancing, but I believe it's essential to create a gaming experience that is enjoyable for all participants. Dead by Daylight has a passionate player base, and by addressing this concern, Behavior Games, Inc. can contribute to the long-term success and growth of the game.
I appreciate your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to any updates or improvements that may arise from this discussion. Thank you for your dedication to the gaming community and for creating such an immersive and exciting game in Dead by Daylight. Great job everyone! Peace.
See you in the fog.
And an additional side note, Vortexghoul here, that I would like to add as a short but critical addendum to my earlier letter regarding disconnects in Dead by Daylight.
In a gaming landscape filled with nonsensical distractions, I want to emphasize the importance of sustainability and ethical gaming practices. By addressing these disconnect issues, we're not just enhancing gameplay; we're contributing to a gaming community that values fairness and integrity.
Let's work together to create a Dead by Daylight experience that not only thrills us but also stands the test of time, fostering a gaming ecosystem where ethical practices are upheld. Peace.
See you in the fog,
Comments
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Many fancy words for Server Crashes which are exactly this - Server Crashes. And not some people who disconnect you.
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you get BP and emblem points when you sacrifice the bots and they even miss skill checks, dying faster a lot of the time
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I've played for 3 years and disconnects are rare in my games. Multiple disconnects in one game are even more rare. Are you really facing full bot teams that often that you need compensation? The only time I've seen multiple DCs is when the killer is behaving exceptionally unpleasant but you don't seem like an unpleasant person, so surely it doesn't happen that often?
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Moreover, it would be beneficial to explore ways to distinguish between intentional disconnects and those caused by unavoidable circumstances. A fair and consistent system for handling disconnects would help maintain the integrity of the game and foster a more positive gaming environment.
This is, unfortunately, quite impossible. To the server, these all look identical:
- Someone's Internet connection became unreliable or was completely lost. This could losing connection to their ISP, or their wireless access point having issues.
- The person immediately turned off the device on which they were playing (on most consoles you just push a single button).
- The person disconnected the network cable from their device.
- The person disconnected a cable from their router.
- The person killed the DBD process on their computer.
Only the first category is legitimate. If you consider "lost network connection" legitimate then you open the door for people to game the system by intentionally causing a disconnect using any of the other options. I promise you that the kind of person who will click "leave match" in a rage is exactly the kind of person who will pull their network cable in a rage once they figure out that doing so evades a penalty.
So there are really only two categories of disconnection: (A) someone clicked "leave match", or (B) the server lost connection to them (one of the above options).
Currently, both options are punished with a matchmaking penalty, so it's unclear to me exactly what you are suggesting be different.
Note that if the server itself crashes, no penalties are given.
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Dear TheWheelOfCheese,
Thank you for your input and for taking the time to contribute to this discussion. I understand your perspective on distinguishing between different types of disconnects. However, I'd like to clarify the specific scenario I'm addressing.
The issue I've encountered is when multiple survivors simultaneously disconnect during a match where the Killer has made legitimate progress, such as hooking and downing survivors. It can be frustrating when these disconnects result in AI-controlled survivors, altering the dynamics of the game.
While I acknowledge the challenges in distinguishing between intentional and unavoidable disconnects, the focus here is on finding ways to ensure that disconnects in such situations do not penalize the Killer who has invested time and effort into the match. The goal is to create a more balanced and enjoyable experience for all players involved.
I appreciate your understanding and hope that we can continue to explore potential solutions to this concern within the Dead by Daylight community. Thank you again for your thoughtful contributions.
See you in the fog.
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there is an issue with their servers right now. i assume bhvr has no idea how to fix it because so many different things have triggered it just in my experience since the event started.
i am getting disconnected a lot, and it isn’t cheaters forcing a dc.
it looks like mods here deleted a similar discussion, so for whatever reason they don’t want this publicly talked about.
this thread will probably be deleted as well.
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As a killer main, I find the substitute bots to be infinitely better than the prior situation where the survivor would just disappear. It does alter the dynamics of the game for sure, but I can still get chase and sacrifice points, and the survivor team gets a wallhacking player that isn't scared of doing gens.
The biggest issue I have with the bots as killer is that you literally cannot mindgame them, so playing against them as an M1 killer pretty much requires you hold W in pursuit, following them through vaults, etc., until they exhaust a tile. It's boring and predictable -- but it's still better than the alternative, because I am still getting chase points (good for me) and the other survivors aren't in a 3v1 and can still work gens (good for them).
The only other option I can think of would be to backfill other players, which is fraught with its own issues: I cannot ever imagine wanting to be backfilled into a game where a survivor left (there would need to be significant BP compensation for that) plus you have to account for the build of the player (do I get their build or the one I picked, and what happens if I don't have the perks they did).
A BP bonus to the killer would be nice, but honestly a BP bonus to the other survivors is more important IMO; as much as it sucks for the killer, it sucks a lot more for the survivors left behind by the leaver. It would need to have some constraints, e.g. if the leaver is in a SWF then the other members of the SWF would not get any bonus.
In conclusion, I don't think the current situation is perfect, but it's substantially better than it was a year ago, and I don't see a realistic way to improve it that will satisfy all players but also can't be abused to intentionally artificially inflate BP gains.
Leavers ruin everything, and I don't think any online game has managed to completely fix that problem to the satisfaction of all players.
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No one likes playing with/or against bots.
Having the game not be an absolute throw is worth more then bloodpoints.
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Your perspective makes sense, and it's an important aspect to consider. When a survivor leaves, it might seem counterintuitive to award other survivors with additional Blood Points in addition to the killer. It could potentially create a situation where survivors may not feel the consequences of a leaver's action.
It raises a crucial question: should survivors be rewarded for the actions of a leaver? I think this is a topic that warrants careful consideration. While some may argue that compensation ensures a more enjoyable experience for the remaining survivors, it's essential to explore the potential consequences and implications of such a system fully. Ultimately, the goal is to create a fair and balanced gaming environment that benefits all players, and finding the right solution is undoubtedly a complex challenge for anyone to undertake.
The challenge lies in finding a solution that promotes fairness without risking potential abuse of the system. One possible approach could be to provide compensation to both killers and survivors when a disconnect occurs, but in a way that doesn't disrupt the overall balance of the game.
However, awarding survivors the same amount of Blood Points as the Killer when a team leaves the game can have adverse effects like abusing the system where teammates intentionally provoke a survivor to leave the game because the remaining team members will receive extra Blood Points as compensation which will inevitably lead to a toxic environment as players manipulate the system and other players. Another scenario could be that survivors will intentionally leave matches when they face a challenging situation or when the believe victory is unlikely which is the circumstance that I find myself in as a Killer. The other thing could be that as a Killer, I may question why survivors receive unjust and additional Blood points when a survivor teammate leaves because it doesn’t relate to their own actions in the game and the extra Blood Points awarded to survivors can throw the game off balance and encourage survivors to be more reckless or careless because they know they will receive compensation if a teammate leaves the game. Another thing is that the additional Blood Points awarded to survivors can sway the outcome of each match and benefit survivors even though they were losing a match because of the disconnect.
The goal is to ensure that leavers do not negatively impact the experience of others while also preventing any unintended exploitation of the system. It's a complex issue, I get it, and fostering discussions like this one is essential to explore potential improvements for the Dead by Daylight community.
In cases where a majority or all of the survivor team disconnects during a match, particularly when they are losing, my proposal is that only the killer should receive Blood Points. This adjustment would serve to compensate the killer for their invested time and effort, ultimately fostering a fairer outcome in such scenarios.
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Welp might as well give our thoughts before they delete it then. Cause from my experience, I got disconnected twice in a row last night. Both matches were ironically against the same killer and with 1 gen left. It was very late hours, so getting the same person was understandable. But it was so frustrating
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Fair points.
As a counterpoint to your suggestion that the killer be compensated for the leaver, this could also encourage killers to intentionally provoke survivors to leave, such as by tunneling one survivor or by slugging all 4 survivors and letting them bleed out.
On the other hand, knowing that leaving will give the killer significant BP compensation might deter survivors from leaving, as many survivors, especially when faced with a killer that they perceive to be playing in an unfair or abusive way (even if they are not), will be reluctant to perform an action that rewards the killer.
On the whole, this suggests to me that the current process for handling leavers is fine, or at least not egregiously bad. I do just fine in terms of BP even in matches where someone leaves, and I can't say I've ever felt entitled to additional BP just because one of the players is a bot. (Especially compared to before bots, where you'd just get a flat 625 BP, which was often less than you would get for sacrificing them. At least now you can still get the sacrifice points.)
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I would like to ask in return, what would the benefit to the survivors be when a killer disconnects? Currently, I've faced several killers who disconnect early in the game when the game isn't going their way, which in turn affects the amount of points I attain in a match and results in no pip or a depip.
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