Wipe out of current threat ratings to start from scratch after some needed tweaks and changes are made?

[Salvick 248]

Hi guys, I was thinking about this topic although I'm not the kind of expert regarding this like a couple of players out there might be, but bringing my opinion and an idea I had wouldn't hurt.

 

If there are upcoming changes regarding the current threat system and disctrics segregation, such as removing that hilarious badge above our heads that only thing it serves is to enrage newbies, confuse experienced players and let trolls fool the system by dethreating, rerolling on new accounts and spill insults on everyone else by attacking them for being silvers, fake golds, or whatever they want to blame about,  then I'd like to start this thread to know if you think that a total rating/threat wipe is needed to ensure the quality of such update if a new match-making system is deployed.

 

First of all, here are some reads about what has been done in the past in APB:R so we can base our discussion with acknowledgment of these previous updates to the rating (threat) system:

 

March 2011:  https://apbreloaded.gamersfirst.com/2011/03/missing-skill-ratings-and-thanks-to.html

April 2014:     https://apbreloaded.gamersfirst.com/2013/04/settling-score-version-11.html

 

Once reading this and based also on personal experiences I came to this interrogation:

 

Will the current threat ratings be wiped out once the necessary tweaks and changes are made or even if a new threat system is in place to start rating players from scratch?

 

And would you agree with that if so or are you against such thing like this?

 

Personally I hope it does, please check this suggestion I made if you want to contribute with the ideas I brought there and check the vote poll I opened there too:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MoeEveryWeek 34]

It was already stated in the Q&A they were going to adjust/change the threat system and matchmaking

[Salvick 248]

4 minutes ago, MoeEveryWeek said:

It was already stated in the Q&A they were going to adjust/change the threat system and matchmaking

I know, that's why I bring this post and a link to the suggestion I made.

I'd like to invite you to put your vote regarding if you think a total wipe out on current threat ratings is needed or you think it wont affect to future updates in this regards.

[vsb 6171]

i think its kind of obvious that if theres a change to threat or matchmaking our personal threat levels would have to be either reset or adjusted

[MoeEveryWeek 34]

Just now, BXNNXD said:

i think its kind of obvious that if theres a change to threat or matchmaking our personal threat levels would have to be either reset or adjusted

I was about to say because, if we get reset, veterans would be curb stomping new players, so we'd have our threat to be converted rather than reset.

[Salvick 248]

7 hours ago, BXNNXD said:

i think its kind of obvious that if theres a change to threat or matchmaking our personal threat levels would have to be either reset or adjusted

I do agree, I know the logical move would be to restart it,  but I still ask this because I'd like to know how would this impact in the community and if there is people who could be against this.

 

7 hours ago, MoeEveryWeek said:

I was about to say because, if we get reset, veterans would be curb stomping new players, so we'd have our threat to be converted rather than reset.

Pretty much that's my main concern, but if you guys check the suggestion I made in the other section, I'm kinda addressing it although not directly based on this.

Edited May 28, 2018 by Salvick

[vsb 6171]

2 minutes ago, MoeEveryWeek said:

I was about to say because, if we get reset, veterans would be curb stomping new players, so we'd have our threat to be converted rather than reset.

imo it depends on the changes, if its some sweeping revamp in threat calculation i think it would be faster and simpler for everyone to be reset to trainees

[MoeEveryWeek 34]

1 minute ago, BXNNXD said:

imo it depends on the changes, if its some sweeping revamp in threat calculation i think it would be faster and simpler for everyone to be reset to trainees

Resets to trainees

So much teeth on the ground

[Salvick 248]

Thanks for voting everybody. remember to check the linked suggestion too.

[Senpai 12]

I absolutely get fucked up in silver districts and win maybe 20% of the time, However when I'm in bronze I win maybe 60% of the time and loose 40% of the time give or take. It either needs to take a lot more time to go from Green>Bronze>Silver>Gold or they need to add a rank between Silver and Gold. There is a major issue with the matchmaking/threat system when you see a rank 255 as a rank green personally talking about the enforcer MeowsePad.

[Knite 158]

The current threat system has a good core, insofar as individual score affects threat and it isn't just based on pure winrate (as it used to be), but the thresholds for each threat category need to be adjusted, and the categories themselves should probably be renamed or totally redone.

 

Ideally with the rework, our individual threats will be reset; it's been 8 years for some of us, and our threat should probably be totally re-assessed under the new system. 

[Excalibur! 207]

Before any changes to threat system and matchmaking is done, we should wait to get a big population again.

 

Players should not be punished by their skill or time spent in the game, all the contrary.

Is like we should hide players customizations or symbols because they are way too good at it (?).

 

Dethreaters exist because facing another player of the same level is not well rewarded, plus cheaters. And going to lower threats they get the same rewards as they would on top and with easier oponents. Abusing lower skilled players has come an addiction it seems.

-Better rewards should fix this: money, progression, adquiring more useful items, cars etc.

-Incentive players to get better and spend time in the game, like they are actually progressing. Remove easy ways to get money like ramming, that would incentive players to find ways to make money.

-Ranking up to max would allow you to join the new map. Pushing players to rank up and spend time in the game, and completly rekt them if they are caught cheating because they would need to spend huge time to access said map.

 

There are so many ways to reward and incentive a player to get better and spend time in the game. Use your imagination.

[Salvick 248]

41 minutes ago, Knite said:

The current threat system has a good core, insofar as individual score affects threat and it isn't just based on pure winrate (as it used to be), but the thresholds for each threat category need to be adjusted, and the categories themselves should probably be renamed or totally redone.

 

Ideally with the rework, our individual threats will be reset; it's been 8 years for some of us, and our threat should probably be totally re-assessed under the new system. 

Totally agreed, for the note, last threat system update was in April 2014 as you can see in the blog post I linked in the op.

 

Regarding the current categories, the spectrum is too small for such a big game, there need to be, either sub-tiers within the current threats or more ranks. In the suggestion I made in the other section I talk about this and I'm proposing some sort of rewarding system to encourage people to try their best for climbing up ranks as a motivation. This is mainly aimed to casual players and newcomers, who are basically the potential customers the company needs to hook up with the game but you all know that when we bring new people to the game, they usually ask how to get this or that weapon or car and such and when they start considering buying system, before they jump the fence they first taste the bad experience of getting stomped by experienced players and they think that is because the game is p2w.

 

If freebies can get easier ways to taste the paid content, and if they could feel that there's even a free way to get these items then the game grows in both ways, more customers buying stuff, and more freebies grinding for items which become basically "the product" that customers are implicitly buying when looking for players to play against and try their new toys they bought.

 

8 minutes ago, Ken2 said:

[...]

Dethreaters exist because facing another player of the same level is not well rewarded, plus cheaters. And going to lower threats they get the same rewards as they would on top and with easier oponents. Abusing lower skilled players has come an addiction it seems.

-Better rewards should fix this: money, progression, adquiring more useful items, cars etc.

-Incentive players to get better and spend time in the game, like they are actually progressing. Remove easy ways to get money like ramming, that would incentive players to find ways to make money.

[...]

There are so many ways to reward and incentive a player to get better and spend time in the game. Use your imagination.

 

Exactly what I'm pointing out. Check my other thread I linked here where I'm suggesting exactly this.

 

And guys leave your vote in both, this one and the suggestion thread too please!

 

Thanks for dropping by though.

Edited May 28, 2018 by Salvick

[Uocjat 2]

1 hour ago, MoeEveryWeek said:

I was about to say because, if we get reset, veterans would be curb stomping new players, so we'd have our threat to be converted rather than reset.

there needs to be a reset though

yes there would be stomping but only till everyone has had their threat assessed

 

Matt mentioned someone in the Q&A about a new threat system needing to be slower in terms of threat changes

and if that's the case and since it will take quite some time to come up with and implement a new system anyone who wants to grief/stomp will have ample time to dethreat to bronze/green in the current system and then be stuck there for more consistent stomping than if there's a wipe a few days of chaos before everything settles

[magik 184]

As I have talked on this subject in the past many a time, I have personally liked @Noob_Guardian's suggestion on the old forum, I'll link if I find it. I think that the threat system needs to change, just as most of everyone else does. If threat changes, matchmaking should change, and the districts should hide your threat from other players, or even yourself. (I do like seeing my threat above myself to keep tabs on whether or not I'm doing good, but I can give that up for improved matchmaking) Similar to open conflict, all districts should be threat unlocked, and the addition of a tutorial district like the past for players under a certain rank on NEW accounts, not reroll characters. (Hard to enforce reroll accounts).

 

Now, while moving current players threat levels to the corresponding new system would be ideal, in a sense, the game should allow for slightly more adjustment in the beginning, as it fine tunes everyone's 'skill measurement' (as for those who don't know, is what threat is). So... in a sense, a reset that allows for fluctuation when first implemented, and a character is created, but stabilizes over time.

 

Link to thread:

https://forums-old.gamersfirst.com/topic/326688-remove-the-barriers/

Wow that link took a while to find, at least the old forums were saved, makes me finding it easier.

[kendric2000 21]

Roll back those cheating 255 rank characters back to trainee level. Make them re-grind their characters fairly.  

[MoeEveryWeek 34]

55 minutes ago, kendric2000 said:

Roll back those cheating 255 rank characters back to trainee level. Make them re-grind their characters fairly.  

That is unless they decide to cheat again.

 

I think if our threat is going to be converted/reset, they should look at skill in each server such as a High Gold threat player, assuming they are legit, in Han, would probably match a High silver or Low gold in jericho. Because people different servers obviously have a much more different skill level.

[Songbearer 72]

Never thought I'd type this but I'm with those people who say matchmaking probably shouldn't exist at all. I'd make an exception that maybe brand new players should be kept in an instance with other brand new players for like, the first 10 missions of their account (Enough to level up a starter contact but not long enough to keep them away from playing with their friends - and if there's a low population count they won't be kept away from the main action for long) but otherwise? Just match players up with whoever's available.

 

Yeah, you might get some massive differences in skill level, but that's currently still the case with gold and silver players dethreating to stomp newbies anyway. As it stands the current matchmaking system is ridiculously easy to abuse, punishes players for being at gold level regardless by having too small of a player pool, and immediately instills a stupid bronze/silver/gold based elitism in players that just leads to toxicity.

 

APB's entire vibe is about making a name for yourself through your style and notoriety, by removing all the matchmaking trappings you can ensure people get to interact with the broadest spectrum of players available.

[LilyV3 323]

The questions is what to do to make it better. But whatever they do the yneed to do it AFTER the unbanning and anti cheat impelmention to not make cheaters and their actions mess it up too much.

 

And probably if possible to do, after a district crossing matchmaking.

 

@ken2, back when joining a bronze gave you -90% rewards, peopel weren't stopped to do that, because they were famring roles on the sweet bronzes and rekking bronzes 30:2 in a winning missiosn was still paying more money than getting just some louzy 10:10 with a possible loss.  So motivating by different payouts didn't work, trying this again will lead to the same result. What most people want in this game is brag about killing and dominating others and you are not going to get this motivation rid of them.

 

Well, except, the gold rush event did make poeple forget about this motivation, but this event made soem of the G1 stuff taking their hat and go, probably because that event broke any businesscase that was made prior to the event.

Edited May 28, 2018 by LilyV3

[ninetenduh 40]

Wipe our Characters? Go ahead XD That will make almost everyone stop playing and never bother with the game ever again.

[Songbearer 72]

2 minutes ago, ninetenduh said:

Wipe our Characters? Go ahead XD That will make almost everyone stop playing and never bother with the game ever again.

No, they're saying to wipe matchmaking rank until the game can figure out where you're supposed to be placed in whatever threat level the new matchmaking uses. It's been done several times in APB's history and is the standard for any game that has a massive overhaul of its matchmaking, kind of a no-brainer.

[Clandestine 390]

Yay so polls are allowed.

Yeah when we get any change in threat calculation then we will all start from green. 

[ninetenduh 40]

1 hour ago, Songbearer said:

No, they're saying to wipe matchmaking rank until the game can figure out where you're supposed to be placed in whatever threat level the new matchmaking uses. It's been done several times in APB's history and is the standard for any game that has a massive overhaul of its matchmaking, kind of a no-brainer.

Wiping the mm rank wont get you anywhere at all. Then you have the same outcome as right now. Yes, it needs an overhaul but for that, to work reliably you need players, which this game does not have. 

[Kommaranda 44]

3 hours ago, LilyV3 said:

The questions is what to do to make it better. But whatever they do the yneed to do it AFTER the unbanning and anti cheat impelmention to not make cheaters and their actions mess it up too much.

 

And probably if possible to do, after a district crossing matchmaking.

 

@ken2, back when joining a bronze gave you -90% rewards, peopel weren't stopped to do that, because they were famring roles on the sweet bronzes and rekking bronzes 30:2 in a winning missiosn was still paying more money than getting just some louzy 10:10 with a possible loss.  So motivating by different payouts didn't work, trying this again will lead to the same result. What most people want in this game is brag about killing and dominating others and you are not going to get this motivation rid of them.

 

Well, except, the gold rush event did make poeple forget about this motivation, but this event made soem of the G1 stuff taking their hat and go, probably because that event broke any businesscase that was made prior to the event.

Yes and no, bring back the old -x% rewards + u get 0 points for any of ur roles if you are out of your own threat district, then we will see if people "just wanna have fun" or wanted to farm noobis for roles.

I know the answer but i still want them high silvers who bash noobs to suffer a little too 

[LilyV3 323]

2 minutes ago, BetaAlanine said:

Yes and no, bring back the old -x% rewards + u get 0 points for any of ur roles if you are out of your own threat district, then we will see if people "just wanna have fun" or wanted to farm noobis for roles.

I know the answer but i still want them high silvers who bash noobs to suffer a little too 

 

would make sense but those 50 goldies will cry hard on the forum saying "BUT BUT mah population to low to play "and get allowed to paly vs one thread lower" and they will cry so hard and multiple times daily that it will happen, G1 2x listened to the vocal minority of those cryhards and thats what made us have what we have.