Approaching Online Differently

[MattW]

While I haven't played online yet (though just got XBL Gold by being sucked in by that $1 month offer, I'll cancel it before that's up) - the feedback got me thinking - HowZat has pretty much got dealing with quitting spot on.

Basically, depending on match situation, you either bat out against AI bowling, or win the match. It is geared around the idea that people only like batting in cricket games, and will quit unless bowling is just 10 wicket balls in a row. Instead of automatically awarding the win, you just chase the target against AI bowling, if you win you get a win, if you lose, it doesn't matter.

The one thing I'd add on to that, is that if the other player enters the lobby, they go straight back in to the game, picking up where you are at. So if you quit - you can't play again until the match is over - if you lose connection, you'd just lose a few overs while you reconnect.

While it wouldn't quite be online saving, I think it would offer a good way of accounting for the issues with connections and delivering a fair outcome over quitters.

Thoughts?

 

[The_gas]

Matt, is that xbox live offer available to everyone?

 

[barmyarmy]

So if you quit - you can't play again until the match is over - if you lose connection, you'd just lose a few overs while you reconnect.

Logistically that could be a problem. Interesting to see what Trickstar and Codies have to say about the disconnect problems.

 

[Dutch]

Logistically that could be a problem. Interesting to see what Trickstar and Codies have to say about the disconnect problems.

Do we have any word at all from them since the game has been released? I haven't seen Heath or anyone on the forums......

 

[Params7]

I've actually thought of this idea before. But since cricket games online are like 10 years behind than other online games today, I thought it would just be a wasted post. But it is brilliant idea, the problem is what difficulty will the A.I. be at though. But this will do wonders for random disconnections due to faulty network/connections.

Also I love bowling online. If you play well, bowling can be like an RTS game like Age Of Empires, with all fielding strategy for different batsmen and bowlers.

Another very simple idea that Capcom used to pretty much kill all the quitting in SF4. I don't know why Coddies/Trikstar couldn't copy their formula. There were people quitting everywhere when SF4 released, then Capcom patched in a stat that shows
"( No. of games quit/ Total no. of games played ) * 100).

And it worked wonders. You simply backed out before the match begins if you got matched with a player that had his quitting percentage above 5%. Majority of players have their quit % at 1-2%. I don't know how the current ratings system works in this game and how similar it is to this one.

But these two ideas together would pretty much solve all quitting and disconnect problems.

 

[MattW]

Matt, is that xbox live offer available to everyone?

It just popped up on the dashboard - might be Australia only, but certainly would only be for silver users (so if you took up the one month free with a new account then it wouldn't appear).

 

[ThandaMilk]

These are good ideas, Matt. Given the nature of the current online system though, I think Codies need to make some fundamental fixes; on top of which the solution you've outlined could be built. Specifically,

• The stability of their servers - i.e. ability to handle connections without dropping them frequently - is something that needs some serious looking into. Due to this issue, when a game disconnects there are now 3 possibilities:
  
  1 One of the players quit
  2 The Internet connection of one of the players dropped
  3 The server dropped the connection
  
  Any online system should track/penalize 1 & 2; however you can't do that effectively till number 3 is sorted out.

• 
  Categories 1 & 2 (tendency to quit, or spotty client-side connection) are undesirable in an opponent. Now, I'm not aware of any fool-proof method for online systems to discern between a dropped connection and someone who quits by pulling the plug, or turning off his/her system. Codies can't solve the online quitting problem directly, IMHO. If, however, they focus on providing players the right amount of information based on which they can make a judgment on whether or not they are likely to get a completed game - THAT might actually be useful.
  
  The % completed stat is as good as any other. In the long-run, if a user has a 50% game completed stat; it doesn't matter to me whether he/she is a quitter, or just has a spotty connection. What it tells me is that its a 50-50 chance I'm going to get a completed game. We can only hope that once such a system is in place, the serial quitters think twice about quitting as its going to affect their % complete rating, and in turn reduce the population of players who will give them a game.

• 
  I like your idea about not being able to enter a game online if you still have an unfinished one from a previous session. I would imagine doing this would require pretty much the same (if not more) coding/data storage changes at their end, as online saving. What you're really doing is saving data about a game at a certain point of disconnect, and about the users involved and then basing other actions (if user A enters lobby, re-connect into in-progress game with user B) on that data. I'd venture to say online-saving, or some variant thereof, would have to be the foundational base for such a functionality. No?
  
  I'd rather they provide online saving; and then build the re-connect-into-game functionality you've described on top of that.
  
  This feature alone however, without a system for penalizing quitting/disconnecting (your % completed dropping, for e.g.) , would not be a sustainable solution IMHO.

 

[pcfan123]

Since I am not having these disconnect problems, for me the only improvement needed online is to set the difficult to hard and the give the "win" to the person who is quit on.

 

[Insomniac]

Since I am not having these disconnect problems, for me the only improvement needed online is to set the difficult to hard and the give the "win" to the person who is quit on.

But you also haven't played with very many people yet (outside of PC)

 

[pcfan123]

Only 1 and he quit. I don't mind only playing PC people though, after my experiences on AC09.

90% of randoms are quitters, thats just how it is.

 

[x Punjabi Killa]

Basically, depending on match situation, you either bat out against AI bowling, or win the match. It is geared around the idea that people only like batting in cricket games, and will quit unless bowling is just 10 wicket balls in a row. Instead of automatically awarding the win, you just chase the target against AI bowling, if you win you get a win, if you lose, it doesn't matter.

The one thing I'd add on to that, is that if the other player enters the lobby, they go straight back in to the game, picking up where you are at. So if you quit - you can't play again until the match is over - if you lose connection, you'd just lose a few overs while you reconnect.

While it wouldn't quite be online saving, I think it would offer a good way of accounting for the issues with connections and delivering a fair outcome over quitters.

Thoughts?

Great ideas but they would be very difficult to implement.

Alternative solutions:

1. Not allow the quitter to play online for another hour. or both
2. Loss for the quitter and win for the other player as not many want to play against computer AI.

 

[lilas11]

Great ideas but they would be very difficult to implement.

Alternative solutions:

1. Not allow the quitter to play online for another hour. or both
2. Loss for the quitter and win for the other player as not many want to play against computer AI.

agree with punjabi killa... great ideas but hard to implement... a 1 one hour ban sounds a good option and a win for the other player even better..

 

[pcfan123]

Win for the other player is good, 1 hour ban will be useless, the dedicated quitters won't care about it.

The only way you will stop the stat padders is to give them a loss for quitting.

 

[x Punjabi Killa]

If you can keep quitters at bay for an hour that is a bonus.