^But, as we've all generally acknowledged, there is no way to tell or control the level in a match. It always ends up escalating into a higher ranked server as the match progresses and gradually higher and higher mmr players are able to join.
Yeah. Which becomes the only high-ranked game around, while low-ranked games outnumber it 20-1.
if it escalates into a higher mmr server, then matchmaking has effectively accomplished it's purpose of isolating the "game ruiners" into a single server. other players are free to join other lobbies at-will.
EDITED FOR CLARIFICATION AND BETTER WORD CHOICE: clarifying which statement I believe is a fact and to say that "this is the way I experience it from a 1950 MMR perspective - your experience may differ.
That match becomes the high ranked match... until the end of the match, where everyone leaves. So then, everyone goes on to form new matches/join matches in progress... where the low MMR players are the first to be able to find a suitable match, then 1900 MMR players join, which lets 2050 players join, which...
Yup, just like that. This is how it always works in my experience. It's why I think high ranked players end up suffering through sitting in the matchmaking queue for 3+ minutes between every match. And it's how I think newbies and low MMR players get the impression that high ranked players are constantly jumping in and crushing their good time.
I'm not blaming high ranked players. Period. Also not blaming low or medium. I'm just not.
I believe the following single statement is a fact: The player-base is simply too low for the way the matchmaking system is meant to work. I still honestly believe the matchmaking and auto-balance in Hawken works damn well... under the high player population for which it was designed.
Apart from the population issue, the real problem, in my estimation, is with a lack of incentive for players to stick with a server. There is every reason in the world, even built-in incentives for players to leave after every match, but nothing to encourage them to stay.
If the "Daily Win" bonus was only awarded to players who had been in the server from the very beginning of the match AND there was a multiplier bonus applied for "X number of consecutive matches in the same server"... it would go a long way towards keeping full servers of balanceable teams of a similar skill level open and going strong.
Edited by StubbornPuppet, 31 July 2015 - 09:11 AM.