I know, I know. Squads are wonderful, and we should be doing everything in our power to get them back in full force across the entire game, so a compromise is out of the question.
Er, I mean, squads are incredibly OP and we should be trying to avoid putting them in the game ever again, which means a half step towards getting them back in is unthinkable.
Er…
Here’s my suggestion : Make a new kind of squad that’s allowed in all tiers – a “scrimmage team” of sorts. If players are in the same scrimmage team, force the matchmaker to always put them in the same game. Here’s the catch, though: They can be put on opposite teams. This would allow players who want to play with friends the ability to consistently get into the same game, while avoiding the dreaded Abysmally Imbalanced Death Squad. Any misplaced acronyms intended.
“But Statue!” I hear you say. “What if they do OP squad stuff when they’re together?”
As the matchmaker penalizes squads already, allow it to treat players in a scrimmage team on the same team as if they were in a squad.
“Oh, but what if they try to throw the game when they’re on opposite sides?”
That’s not particularly more likely than some folks queuing at the same time with TeamSpeak or an equivalent trying to throw their games. But still, I get that you might be worried. To avoid this, three things:
One, a size restriction. Allowing at most three people on a scrimmage team means that in the worst case scenario, two people are trying to throw a game.
Two, a match requirement. Requiring at least 2x more people in the game than are in any one scrimmage team means that in the above scenario, there’s still at least three people trying to win on the unlucky side.
And three, a matchmaker compensation. Put less weight on members of a scrimmage team on opposite sides, making it more likely that teammates of the unsportsmanlike folks are more competent, and teammates of the other side less so. Maybe even make it change with time, if it turns out that folks really are/aren’t throwing the game.
Plus, y’know, the report button still works. It’s no worse than the folks who farmed efficiency points by capping beacons for each other.
Well, squades again :01414: Same issues: MM problems, lots of no squad pilots get killed and etc. But I had a fun reading this thread)
Then maybe find a way to make it work? Other games have same problem but find a way to fix it. Or most people just don’t care because that’s the point of team games, to play as team. :01515:
Refusing to find worthwhile way to fix squads is just insult to your players and makes dev studio come across as incompetent. True or not, it starts to look with decision after decision like this.
And don’t say League. League is not and never will be replacement. What about players who don’t want to play T5, or… you know, can’t?
I think squad mode combined with SecCon would work. A similar system to the old SQ would be enough.
I am not sure how the new SQ will work in details. But I think some extra space would be in there for sector fights without dreadnoughts. There is something about the limitation of dread presence in a previous blog anyway.
Just let squads fight over captured sectors. Of course not over the sector ownership. That would still be the job of wings with dreadnoughts. Instead, let squads fight for regular rewards and some extra that sectors gives where the fight if taking place.
These fights would not have limitation in time. Could be launched any time.
The chance for abusing the system by friends or corpmates in opposing squads would be low and would not worth it anyway since not much could be gained with such wrongdoing.
Squad fights could be launched through an additional “Squads” button similar to the “Conquest” button. This new button would be highlighted in case of queuing squads and would show the sizes (and not the number) of squads already in queue as well. MM would make its usual job by combining squads (e.g. x3 two player squads vs. x1 six player squad) if necessary or available. Limitation in max squad size might be necessary. Rank range similar to current SecCon rules. Maps used would be random determined by the system and changing it from time to time. Maps could rotate randomly in every 30 minute among the sectors owned by corporations. The chosen sector would be marked on the galaxy map or shown in the “Squads” button. I can even see an opportunity for corps to gain/lose extra control over their sectors with this system. If a corp’s sector is selected for squad fights pure corporate squads could fight in defense of their sector and spare defense points… or something like that. It all highly dependent on the future changes in SecCon mode of course.
