Yes, no doubt this game was developed with a rather large population in mind. Meteor Entertainment (the original and previous publisher) set too high of an expectation for Hawken, and consequently, the game currently fails under that model. Who knows, maybe Reloaded will shift perspective on what's been applied?
You offered a solution that could *possibly* satisfy 5 percent of the high end players via the handicap implementation, but even if the solution satisfies 35, 66, or even 98 percent, it wouldn't be one that's the preferred way of dealing with our low player base. In the long run, these type of changes could potentially damage Hawken's long-term life, since the solution punishes a certain player percentage, and disrupts the gameplay mechanics. Conversely, it's a solution, and like any other, it offers its benefits. I wouldn't mind a challenge, but to that degree? The idea of modifying any game mechanic to achieve an effect should be frowned upon, since it will dumb down the game. The gameplay has been balanced enough to an acceptable amount that it doesn't completely expunge the game's player base. The fact that the game has survived this long on this current balance is a testament to how gameplay mechanics don't necessarily affect Hawken negatively as much as we think. At least, at this point in time, it doesn't. We need to look elsewhere to achieve a more desirable effect at improving Hawken.
The veterans of the community had problems finding any match in the past, so in effect, they had to create smurfs in order to play the game. capnjosh introduced a change to the matchmaking logic that allows anyone to find any match, no matter what MMR you have, 100 percent of the time, within 90 seconds. I think it's a step in the right direction to solve matchmaking issues, while it also attempts to render smurfing useless. To a degree, it does, but this isn't enough to discourage the use of smurfing, since the matches they enter will likely be a significant gap in terms of the deviation of MMR values to their own. At this point, I think the developers have done all they can to eliminate smurfing. The rest is up to the player base and the community.
I'd say the matchmaking changes have indirectly improved the QOL (quality of life) for many. It still doesn't make sense that we can join any server when using the matchmaker, but are unable to manually via the server browser. Maybe the devs want to discourage use of the server browser�although doubtful, since the last thing they want to do is introduce a change that strongly encourages/discourages something. Striking a balance between pros and cons seem to be the approach Reloaded are taking things currently with Hawken.
On another note, I'm starting to wonder if these MMR restrictions are actually proving to be a hindrance to the game. MMR is designed to provide a method to balance skill levels across all fronts by utilizing the matchmaking/autobalance system. But yet, it doesn't benefit the entire population, since there is a large deviation of MMR values across the board in our player base. The current revision of the matchmaker now always finds a match within 90 seconds, by removing MMR restrictions; but yet, intelligently seeks an ideal match. I think allowing the ability to join any server manually would improve the game, but before that happens, there needs to be a revamp in the server browser. Since MMR is essentially publicly known by most, there should be attempts to offer a comprehensive guide regarding it to the lower tier who may not know about it, and how it's calculated, while avoiding specific technicalities that will complicate matters for the larger percentage of players. Or not, but I think many of us are embracing the knowledge of what we have regarding MMR and how we can improve it.
I'm almost positive the developers don't want to take this route though, since it essentially won't need to be implemented in the first place due to the ideal size of the player base. In addition, this may not be the Hawken they envision. Let me clarify though: we only suffer these faults due to a low population. The game has been suffering from it for the longest time, and has, consequently, divided the player base into tiers that effectively gives the perception of isolation to a good majority of players. An increase in the size of the player base will not immediately improve Hawken, but will over time.
Until an improvement in our population base is met: a redesign of the server browser that depends on factors affecting your match performance (ping, MMR ranges, average MMR, etc) while intuitively improves server specification, a removal of the MMR restrictions, but only for the server browser and the act of manually joining servers, and an introduction to MMR and what revolves around it to the players through the game. I think those changes would be a stepping-stone that will improve the QOL, match quality, and interest in Hawken. The game is already at a low player base, so gradual and/or light experimentation shouldn't be frowned upon so heavily. These type of changes are quite dramatic though, so a way of reverting them efficiently and smoothly as much as possible is also paramount to Hawken's improvement, and is just as important.
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