Intelligent map rotation

SAITCHO · 05-12-2008, 01:44 AM

After tonite experience, badly loosing 3 maps in a row due to imbalanced teams and on top of that three maps that favored the winning side is it possible to have a script that can give the loosing team the map advantage on the next switch? Since people rarely switch to the loosing team and more often we can see the opposite could we try and balance things up with the maps. Sending the poor guys who didnt managed to keep one flag on the previous map as USMC on snakes eyes isnt a very good idea.... If it cannot be scripted can the admins takes a more proactive role when the situations call for it? I know mantis did it in the past and it worked well... would like to see it more often.

**FBmantis** · 05-12-2008, 01:52 AM

I'm usually paying attention to this stuff when I'm on but sometimes I'm sleeping on the job so to speak heh. Its tricky for sure and building a rotation around imbalances doesn't even fully work cause some maps have 32 layouts that favor one team and the 64 favors the other team.(e.g. Odessa).

**[tR]Greasy_mullet** · 05-12-2008, 01:52 AM

One of the issues I saw tonight was people kept team switing at the end of the rounds, mostly to go USMC it seemed. I think we started Kerch down 10 players after I team switched to try and even things up.

DrunkenPirate · 05-12-2008, 06:47 AM

Lots of team switching last night, usually don't call that out but it was so bad I mentioned it a few times in TS.

I'm hoping it's just random pubbies thinking "I want to be on the winning team" but when you see Carpathian load up and the teams are 24-16 then alarm bells ring. The server sorts itself out within a minute or 2, but by then the damage is done and you end up with another round of having 1 team knock 7 shades of **** out of the other, at the end of that round the same rubbish happens again, more switching.

I've always supported the losing when adminning on PTG servers years ago, I've always supported the losing team when adminning Rubberducky servers and I will continue to support the losing team on this server. At the end of the day people, it's a game. Sure, it's annoying to constantly get stomped on but by switching to the winning side you're only making the situation worse and it will come back to bite you when the server no longer populates. Think about that.

Faust · 05-12-2008, 11:24 AM

It will be difficult to address this until we have a clear sense what is going on. Are the majority of switchers changing to be on the winning side? Or is there something else?

This issue may not be completely deliberate. The EA authenication bug contributes.

And I can't help but wonder if those that switch do so because they are 1) Trying to hook up with freinds 2) Want to play with their favorite weapons [like Lokka expressed last night: I'd switch but I want to stay on the German side becasue I like the weapons better.] 3) They switch because they playing a map on a particular side.

We know a certain amount of switching is occurring during the last 25% of the tickets right? So for those players, the authenication bug is out.

I've observed at times there are more |TG| members on one side that another. Could it be that non-members want to play on the same side as the |TG| players?

Perhaps we should make an effort to evenly distribute the TG members. It might also help for some of us regulars or folks in TS to start wearing the |TG| tags too, even if we aren't in IHS.

**Iamthefallen** · 05-12-2008, 11:45 AM

Specifically yesterday I didn't think teams looked that far off. We handed out a beating on Spies primarily because I had 4 full squads to work with, not because the squad members were superstars.

With a CO spotting to remove flanking and the element of surprise, and full infantry squads responding to the CO, the opponents will have a tough fight ahead regardless of skill level.

On the next map, Carpathian, several of us switched over to the losing team, and didn't we end up narrowly winning that one or am I misremembering it?

**[tR]Greasy_mullet** · 05-12-2008, 12:46 PM

Spies was an awful beating and we just could not break through. People started to leave the server because of it and I believe that may have been one reason we saw a need to team switch.

I did so much switching that I do not really remember how many I was on where we won and lost, I was just trying to keep the teams balanced at the start of the rounds. I was on the team that got beat down on Spies for sure. Geez!

**ProjectNA** · 05-12-2008, 02:35 PM

Maybe off topic, but I would think CO spotting/spamming would have a pretty big impact on a map like Spies. But I wasn't there (I keep missing it every night, darn).

So, what does balance mean? As has been stated, seeing a bunch of TG tags on one side doesn't mean as much as it maybe did when the 5th/7th/33rd were all playing as well. There are quite a few non-tagged players that can swing a round. I've seen many a round where the attempt to correct does more harm than good. What criteria do we set that will stick?

Its easier for some to look at a lineup and gauge balance, but it depends so much on the map, who is on, what are the assets (e.g. ardvark and apaches, saitcho/bbq on armor, etc.)

**khaerus** · 05-12-2008, 02:41 PM

I know I've been hearing a lot of noise lately about players switching teams after rounds, and I've actually attributed a lot of that to the current 'disconnect' bug running. However, when the next map loads, and one team gained 7 or 8 players on the other, there's something going on that's not good. So, a couple of points that probably need to be reinforced:

1: Historically, the TG PoE players (both IHS and not) have done an exceptional job of maintaining team balance without any prodding. We need to continue this trend, and actively emphasize the concept to newer players, and yes, this even includes a lot of newer guys have have become regular players over the past few months.

2. Team-switching to use certain weapons, assets, play with a certain crew, etc is frowned upon. If these types of things are going on and affecting the quality of gameplay, then we'll take corrective action on the server.

Obviously, we don't want to get to the point where admins need to sort this stuff out. Again, PoE here hasn't often been affected by this kind of nonsense, and we don't want to see it start.

**[tR]Greasy_mullet** · 05-12-2008, 02:57 PM

Normally its fine, just last night seemed to be a problem. This is not something I have seen more than a couple times ever. Also the connection issue with EAs account server is really not helping.

**Namebot** · 05-12-2008, 02:59 PM

Anytime I see a bunch of public players stack my team I take it as a challenge to switch and crush them mercilessly.

On spies the other night, I put most of the beating down to them having a CO.

Smokeyandthebandit · 05-12-2008, 03:41 PM

Last nights Kerch was a lulz fest....RPG Factory at the Keep as Namebot put it.

**khaerus** · 05-12-2008, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Namebot

On spies the other night, I put most of the beating down to them having a CO.

Yeah, I saw those comments on CC- I was laughing when I saw your simple answer: "umm, guys, we used a CO" or something along those lines. CO's do help win rounds, that's for sure.

micbur54 · 05-12-2008, 08:28 PM

I had the reconnect bug last night after every 2 maps.

Sabre_Tooth_Tigger · 05-17-2008, 06:19 PM

Is it right the server has or had a script to alter the map size used to match current player population.
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