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1957 Views     36 Replies
1957 Views 35 Replies Latest reply: Jan 25, 2013 11:17 AM by QwertyBoredom RSS
Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
Sep 21, 2012

EU Matchmaking is it good enough? updated

Posted by Ss78_ on Jan 25, 2013 10:20 AM

So here are some matchmaking maps for playing from NL. The stats are gathered from playing HC KC on the 18th-21st of january which has a relatively high population playlist although not as high as others. Not every game had a full lobby when I gathered the stats and 1 or 2 were scans from 2 games from the same lobby with a slight shuffle inbetween. BEST was selected.

 

This is 24 games and who was connected when I wasn't host:-

 

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216844075515075473838.0004d4102b35a6a 5f8302

 

EDIT: There's 2 pages for this result as google maps caps at 200

 

This is the host map for those games:-

 

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216844075515075473838.0004d410267cf60 754a27

 

This is a map of 4 games when I was host:-

 

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216844075515075473838.0004d40fca397d4 e35ef3

 

I didn't do any pings at the time but hope to get that info for any future matchmaking maps I do.

 

Since we have the argument that hosting is only bad when there's too much distance/latency disparity created by matchmaking itself, then it's only a logical progression to examine the matchmaking.

 

From an EU perspective with all the mixed languages alone it looks like it could be tweaked.

 

Is this quality matchmaking? Is the "little" bit of skill based matchmaking having a negative impact on matchmaking or would it be exactly the same without? I don't know.

 

Thoughts?

 

EDIT: Here is the current ping to those players that were reachable(please note this was only done today) from all matches :-

 

countlatency
172null
115.38
119.92
120.08
120.09
120.13
120.65
121.11
121.16
121.25
121.54
121.75
122.35
124.73
125.37
128.07
128.08
128.12
130.51
131.12
131.29
131.72
131.99
133.52
335.28
135.29
136.14
136.18
138.03
138.05
138.71
138.98
139.19
139.32
139.42
139.55
139.78
139.82
140.57
141.63
141.84
142.05
142.23
142.31
142.56
143
143.27
143.31
143.46
143.64
143.9
144.29
144.63
144.75
144.82
146.59
147.05
147.24
147.32
247.89
148.14
148.23
148.57
148.84
149.08
150.92
151
151.14
151.53
151.54
151.88
152.13
152.95
153.26
153.76
154.4
154.45
154.94
154.99
155.43
156.34
157.32
157.62
158.58
159.44
159.46
160.48
161.33
162.45
162.86
163.09
166.42
167.62
167.82
168.74
169
169.57
170.01
170.57
171.08
171.45
173.45
173.79
174.93
175.66
177.88
178.02
179.07
181.9
188.06
191.32
1103.75
1104.62
1115.32
1126.38
1147.51
1166.52

This is the breakdown by country :-

countcountry
76GB
65NL
45FR
35DE
16ES
14BE
10IT
5CH
5NO
3FI
3IE
3PL
3SE
2DK
2US
1GI
1GR
1HU
1PT
1957 Views      Tags: matchmaking, eu
  • SitRepPro Expert 2,174 posts since
    Mar 28, 2012
    Currently Being Moderated
    SitRepPro     Jan 24, 2013 2:59 PM (in response to Ss78_)

    Matchmaking treats the whole of Europe as one pool to choose players from, not just the EU.  Europe could be split up with matchmaking but it won't happen.  Having seen clan tags with FCB and CFRM, I'm surprised I've not had a JUVE clan tag yet with all the Italians I've had recently.

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 5:33 AM (in response to SitRepPro)

      It certainly seems that way as the hosts I connect with could be from anywhere in Europe. This is why I think the BEST setting isn't strict enough for us and could be improved upon. FCB and JUVE/ITA is a common giveaway sign for a bad game when I'm hosting. With the playerbase from the UK and the distance to Italy/Spain it doesn't add up how it matchmakes, NL is a bit closer with possibly a smaller playerbase and it still doesn't really add up either.

      • SitRepPro Expert 2,174 posts since
        Mar 28, 2012
        Currently Being Moderated
        SitRepPro     Jan 25, 2013 5:54 AM (in response to Ss78_)

        I don't know how many gamers there are for each country.  Wouldn't want to exclude anyone in Europe from smaller countries like Andorra and San Marino but I still play TDM a lot in here and probably get more foreign gamers here, and from different countries, than in MW3 when that came out.  For MW3 I just had an annoying time if I was hosting and had a load of French gamers in my lobby.

         

        I've had people from Japan in my lobbies but that might be ex-pats who are with friends from Europe in same lobby and may be stayed on when their friends have left.  Or they could be American servicemen in the military.  Don't mind it in older titles or very underpopulated game modes like Barebones (for MW3 at least) but it seems counterproductive to have Europeans as one gigantic pool to matchmake from.  Someone from Lisbon can be paired up with someone based in Vladivostok.  That's like just over 10,000km.

        • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
          Sep 21, 2012
          Currently Being Moderated
          Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 6:37 AM (in response to SitRepPro)

          Yeah there's going to be people from all over Europe playing with people on their friendslist that's true and if that's the reason then it's understandable. What's not understandable is the way it just matches us with anywhere in Europe as most people would prefer to play with people that either provide them with good gameplay/connections or are speaking their own language/from the same country.

           

          There does seem to be less continents involved since release for me though as I'm seeing less and less from outside Europe.

           

          Not quite sure if the matchmaking is worse or better than mw3. The common denominator for me between the 2 games is the bad host experience.

  • FixBlops2 Expert 2,020 posts since
    Dec 6, 2012
    Currently Being Moderated
    FixBlops2     Jan 24, 2013 3:41 PM (in response to Ss78_)

    Great thread. the circle is a to big if you ask me, USA players should never been matched with EU players, visa versa. No on wants to play with lag.

     

    Schweden, Norway, Finland, UK are also to far away, i notice it when i play with people from this countries, they are terminators, you can't kill them and they kill you with 1 bullet.

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 5:40 AM (in response to FixBlops2)

      UK isn't really too far away but Scandinavia usually is except Denmark seems to be doable for me. Eastern/Southern/Northern Europe can give me problems and the idea of splitting it into four with slight overlaps is something that maybe could help. Yeah defo the USA shouldn't happen but some people do have them on their friends list and it's going to happen sometimes.

  • Bielsalmighty Apprentice 730 posts since
    Dec 27, 2012
    Currently Being Moderated
    Bielsalmighty     Jan 24, 2013 5:39 PM (in response to Ss78_)

    I'm thinking a lot of the problems stem from the fact that the game tries to throw you into a lobby quickly. Dont get me wrong, I can understand that some people just want to get on with it. IMO, the 'best' search function should take its time. If I choose 'best' I dont mind waiting for quite some time to get into a good quality lobby. I'll sit out a match if needs be.

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 5:45 AM (in response to Bielsalmighty)

      I completely agree, people that bother to select best want the best they can get and would be willing to wait a little bit longer to make sure it's selecting the most optimum game available. It feels like it's settling for second best just to get a game out quickly.

  • TheHive-Grandad Novice 141 posts since
    Dec 23, 2012
    Currently Being Moderated
    TheHive-Grandad     Jan 25, 2013 5:51 AM (in response to Ss78_)

    No offence to any Americans but from my experience talking to them they aren't the most clued up about world geographical regions beyond their own border. If I play in the UK it would be nice to just play players from the UK, I would happily wait a few extra minutes for that lobby. With the regional settings in BO1 I would see the odd french player and thats about it, BO2 I'm coming up against so many Germans, Italians, Dutch and the odd American so it cannot be good for smooth connection.

     

    It's the same for the American too I suppose, not sure an East coast player would like to be playing a lobby of West coast either.

     

    Region locks need to be priority when matchmaking and the regions themselves need to be narrower.

    • FixBlops2 Expert 2,020 posts since
      Dec 6, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      FixBlops2     Jan 25, 2013 6:11 AM (in response to TheHive-Grandad)

      I agree, it doesn't helps anyone when the matchmaking circle is so wide spread. UK for example has so many players online, they don't really need any of the other EU countries to find a good lobby.

       

      They should replace the network setting to this:

       

      Best = Local Only.

      Normal = EU Only, USA Only, Asia Only.

      Any = Worldwide.

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 6:16 AM (in response to TheHive-Grandad)

      Yeah some sort of region lock implemented for best like fixblops2 said could be a possible solution. The thresholds for distance/ping/regions could be improved upon. At least the americans only really use 2 languages english and spanish, it's a whole different ball game in Europe when languages are concerned.

  • ltzgregv Newbie 53 posts since
    May 25, 2011
    Currently Being Moderated
    ltzgregv     Jan 25, 2013 5:53 AM (in response to Ss78_)

    Looking at the maps you seem to be selected alongside with a "lot" of Dutch people too, me i'm from Belgium and the only time i see other players from Belgium is late at night or in the weekends, otherwise i'm always put in UK lobbies (no offense put that's auto-disadvantage for me)

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 6:18 AM (in response to ltzgregv)

      It might look like a lot but that's from a lot of games. It's often the case I'll get matched with none and only other countries but then I'll get the very occasional match where it places me with a dutch party. I do see quite a few belgians though too. The usual is 1 or 2 from NL. Sometimes I like dutch players via the xbox rating system to improve my chances of getting better pots but it's more hassle than needed really. You might want to try that too with some belgians and see if it helps.

       

      From the 24 games I scanned when not hosting there's 12 dutch hosts and some of those would have been from 2 games in the same lobby.

      • ltzgregv Newbie 53 posts since
        May 25, 2011
        Currently Being Moderated
        ltzgregv     Jan 25, 2013 6:18 AM (in response to Ss78_)

        I understand and agree, there should be a more narrow search grid... i'll try the tip about preferring them

        • lastrich Novice 232 posts since
          Apr 21, 2012
          Currently Being Moderated
          lastrich     Jan 25, 2013 6:24 AM (in response to ltzgregv)

          does this actualy work avoiding and prefeering players i may also have to give this a go also

          • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
            Sep 21, 2012
            Currently Being Moderated
            Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 6:40 AM (in response to lastrich)

            IMHO yes it works for preferring but to what extent I don't know, since doing it I've been matched with those players again.  Coincidence or not I don't know for sure.

            • lastrich Novice 232 posts since
              Apr 21, 2012
              Currently Being Moderated
              lastrich     Jan 25, 2013 6:45 AM (in response to Ss78_)

              ty for that il give it a wwhirl see how i get on with it.

              like the asda advert "every little helps " lol

  • dstr001 Master 4,147 posts since
    May 24, 2011
    Currently Being Moderated
    dstr001     Jan 25, 2013 6:48 AM (in response to Ss78_)

    To be brutally honest, no, it isn't; sometimes it feels as if Treyarch think Europe is a single country the way the matchmaking seems to work.

     

    Many a time have i been put into lobbies with people from all over Europe, and thats with search set to best.

  • maccabi Master 11,978 posts since
    May 31, 2011
    Currently Being Moderated
    maccabi     Jan 25, 2013 7:14 AM (in response to Ss78_)

    if i play solo 60-70% of the people i end up with are welsh or midlands area.. ie local to me

     

    in a group usually uk mainland or italians or french doesnt really bother me still 4 bar most of the time and able to play fine.

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 7:47 AM (in response to maccabi)

      How did you get hold of that percentage? It's possible that some areas have better matchmaking than others.

       

      It's not the case for me when the matchmaking spread is too wide that I'm able to play fine with full green bars or not. Does everyone in your party agree with you ie someone with a good connection?

      • maccabi Master 11,978 posts since
        May 31, 2011
        Currently Being Moderated
        maccabi     Jan 25, 2013 7:45 AM (in response to Ss78_)

        Ss78_ wrote:

         

        How did you get hold that percentage? It's possible that some areas have better matchmaking than others.

         

        It's not the case for me when the matchmaking spread is too wide that I'm able to play fine with full green bars or not. Does everyone in your party agree with you ie someone with a good connection?

        using a very scientific method..

         

        listening to the voices in chat. if the accent really grates me they are welsh or midlands.. also welsh people seem to love putting wlsg as a clan tag

         

        but in all seriousness if their location is obvious see above then i do a quick view gamercard

        • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
          Sep 21, 2012
          Currently Being Moderated
          Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 7:54 AM (in response to maccabi)

          Pretty sure you could get some stats of your own if you wanted but I do think 60-70% is a high wet finger in the wind estimate, could be wrong though. So your party disagrees with you then?

          • maccabi Master 11,978 posts since
            May 31, 2011
            Currently Being Moderated
            maccabi     Jan 25, 2013 7:56 AM (in response to Ss78_)

            Ss78_ wrote:

             

            Pretty sure you could get some stats of your own if you wanted but I do think 60-70% is a high wet finger in the wind estimate, could be wrong though. So your party disagrees with you then?

            nope id say thats about accurate out of a 12 person lobby usually 6-8 are 100%  local to me

            • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
              Sep 21, 2012
              Currently Being Moderated
              Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 10:29 AM (in response to maccabi)

              maccabi wrote:

               

              Ss78_ wrote:

               

              Pretty sure you could get some stats of your own if you wanted but I do think 60-70% is a high wet finger in the wind estimate, could be wrong though. So your party disagrees with you then?

              nope id say thats about accurate out of a 12 person lobby usually 6-8 are 100%  local to me

              Looks like you have a location sweetspot just like a connection sweetspot too, lucky you.

        • SitRepPro Expert 2,174 posts since
          Mar 28, 2012
          Currently Being Moderated
          SitRepPro     Jan 25, 2013 7:55 AM (in response to maccabi)

          I live about 20-30 miles away from London depending where abouts in London you measure from and I've never heard anyone that sounds like they're from there.  Anyone English were from the Black Country when I allowed communications from everyone.  Either that or Londoners hate using mics.  Can't blame them tbh.

          • DR65DR Novice 366 posts since
            Dec 9, 2011
            Currently Being Moderated
            DR65DR     Jan 25, 2013 8:02 AM (in response to SitRepPro)

            I'm about an hour outside London and I seemed to get into lobbies full of people from Wales or Scotland. As a Jock, it doesn't bother me, but it seems to be a fair distance from where I am.

             

            DICE managed to give BF3 a decent choice when it came to picking servers geographically to play on (in the early days). It would be nice to see the same here. But since I play with friends from the US and Canada, I'm doomed to end up in mixed lobbies. Until the Steam box comes out, of course...

            • SitRepPro Expert 2,174 posts since
              Mar 28, 2012
              Currently Being Moderated
              SitRepPro     Jan 25, 2013 8:26 AM (in response to DR65DR)

              It's only because the game is so popular (sales minus trade-ins) that I just find it a bit bizarre that it happens to the scale it does more than anything.  Friend of mine is in Newcastle and he gets matched up with French gamers a lot.  It's not like Newcastle's a small city or anything.  But I've heard of Americans in San Francisco wonder why they get matched up with gamers in New York.  So it happens to Americans too.

  • QwertyBoredom Apprentice 1,033 posts since
    Nov 15, 2011
    Currently Being Moderated
    QwertyBoredom     Jan 25, 2013 8:09 AM (in response to Ss78_)

    I do wish they would seperate Europe up a bit, while its true that a fair ammount of them speak english most obviously prefer to speak in their own language making communication dificult and of course the Lag you get from the continent.

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 10:23 AM (in response to QwertyBoredom)

      Yup, not everyone has good english speaking skills in Europe it differs from country to country. The lag works both ways as everyone get's matched from all over Europe.

  • smokesdope Master 2,000 posts since
    Dec 3, 2011
    Currently Being Moderated
    smokesdope     Jan 25, 2013 8:22 AM (in response to Ss78_)

    Yeah wish they would split the regions up a little I've heard the whole of Europe and the UK is ONE region ??? Which makes no sence to me what so ever ? Also wish there was a language option as well eg : English speaking only lobbies ,Spanish ,French etc .

       I always LUV playing with the French ! Lol don't know what it is and I've noticed it in ALL CODs they ALWAYS seem bullet proof lol ! I've heard loads of players complain about this and talked about it in lobbies as well with other UK players . Anyone here noticed this ?

        Black ops 2 does seem to play better if I purposely join US lobbies as in MW3 it was almost impossible to play (2 bar) But I didn't see an American player in my lobby for months on MW3 but was matched with US players from day one on BO.2 ??

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 10:26 AM (in response to smokesdope)

      Looks like the matchmaking is based of one giant european region to me. A language option, that could be an interesting idea, not sure if it would defragment the playerbase too much though in Europe. The locale only could be more appropriate.

  • Griefbot Apprentice 878 posts since
    Feb 20, 2012
    Currently Being Moderated
    Griefbot     Jan 25, 2013 8:24 AM (in response to Ss78_)

    I really dont know why this is a problem. 

     

    The game should just put you with the closet available players that meet a ping requirement.

     

    It would be cool, in the absence of being able to select a server, to be able to:

     

    -set a maximum ping to host

    -select "local" as a preference

     

    I would rather sit there and search longer for a sub 100ms game than get a fast game anyday.  In MW2, you could sort of tell what you were getting cause it said "searching for games <50ms" etc. and you could cancel once it got to 100ms and try again.

     

    I'm even for turning off skill based matchmaking if it means better connections.  People are able to adapt and get better.

    • Ss78_ Apprentice 839 posts since
      Sep 21, 2012
      Currently Being Moderated
      Ss78_     Jan 25, 2013 11:26 AM (in response to Griefbot)

      Agree with all three suggestions especially the turn off the "little" bit of skilled based matchmaking they use. Yeah MW2 was a simple case of stopping the search and trying again which I think quite a few people done, myself included.

  • TheHive-Grandad Novice 141 posts since
    Dec 23, 2012
    Currently Being Moderated
    TheHive-Grandad     Jan 25, 2013 10:36 AM (in response to Ss78_)

    These are Americans, didn't you know their country consists of 99% of the worlds land mass and Europe is only ten square miles in size and all of the other continents don't actually exist. Come on guys....jeez.

    • QwertyBoredom Apprentice 1,033 posts since
      Nov 15, 2011
      Currently Being Moderated
      QwertyBoredom     Jan 25, 2013 11:17 AM (in response to TheHive-Grandad)

      Amusing, though in all honesty Russia is the largest country by landmass, hell it spans 2 continents they could have a region all to themselves.

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