Should Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War have skill-based matchmaking in unranked play? |
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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is exciting for numerous reasons, including the long-awaited return of Zombies and a Black Ops story, plus Treyarch back at the helm of multiplayer. However, there is one aspect of the upcoming Call of Duty game that has tempered some expectations and that is skill-based matchmaking. If you dove into the recent open beta for Black Ops Cold War or you read someone’s impressions of it, you are likely to have heard of the controversial feature. Skill-based matchmaking is exactly as it sounds: having match-ups determined by the skill of the player and seemingly only queueing them up with players of a similar skillset. While I didn’t experience skill-based matchmaking in the alpha back in September, I did encounter it during the beta. Like others, that actually dampened my time with the game and has me less excited for launch. That said, I do think skill-based matchmaking has its place but should Black Ops Cold War have it? Benefits of Skill-Based Matchmaking Black-Ops-Cold-War-SBMM-3.jpg First and foremost, it is worth mentioning that not all skill-based matchmaking is an issue. There are benefits to it or else developers wouldn’t implement it in the game in the first place. It is the perfect example of having all the right intentions where Treyarch wants to ensure that players have a balanced time in multiplayer. The seemingly best way to do that is to have players match up with only those around their skill level, such as kills, wins, and so on. This is beneficial since it promotes a fair environment where you shouldn’t see a bad or even average player matching up with someone who is basically on a professional level. This is especially helpful in a case like Black Ops Cold War where it is going to be cross-platform and cross-generations. It doesn’t matter if you play it on PS4, Xbox One, PC, or even the upcoming new generation of consoles, you can play together. Having five different platforms playing the same game together can be complicated. No longer are you dealing with only PS4 players playing against other PS4 players but also different control methods, controllers, platforms, differing performance, and so on. This type of matchmaking can help with that as it can attempt to balance everything out as much as possible given the circumstances. Negatives of Skill-Based Matchmaking Black-Ops-Cold-War-SBMM-1.jpg.jpg While skill-based matchmaking has all the right intentions in balancing games like Black Ops Cold War, it has many negatives. While the point is to balance the game, it can do the opposite if done harshly like in the case of Cold War’s predecessor Modern Warfare. Due to the lack of a traditional ranked mode in 2019’s Modern Warfare, the matchmaking was distinctly harsh in ensuring that players were matched with those of a similar skill level. In casual play, this is a problem as every match is then a fight to the death. You really have to give it your all to even have a chance of winning the match. While that works for ranked play and is the whole point of that system, it makes unranked multiplayer frustrating and too challenging. To make matters worse, Cold War will most likely have both of them available. If unranked and ranked both work almost exactly the same in matchmaking, what is the point of having both options? You would only need one since the experience would be largely the same. To make matters worse, matches can be one-sided, despite the fact that it is supposedly based on skill. If you are like me and mostly queue up for matches solo, you are likely to be destroyed if your opposing team is in a party or clan together. Sure, it is seemingly matched based on “skill” but premade teams will almost always dominate, no matter how good you are, which is understandable for ranked modes but not for casual matches. Black-Ops-Cold-War-SBMM-4.jpg For example, if you just want to jump into a couple of relaxing matches of Domination or what have you, that isn’t really possible with skill-based matchmaking in the way that Black Ops Cold War had it in the beta. This can make gameplay unnecessarily stressful, shutting out those who want a more casual experience online and ironically limiting the player base in the process. Worse still, skill-based matchmaking’s algorithm can be odd, matching up newer players with those who are much more skilled. On the first day I did the beta, I did a couple of matches and was level three. I did well in both of those matches, leading to my third match being unfairly designed. I was the only level three in the lobby with everyone else level 20 or higher, and therefore, likely more experienced with the game and maps. This was especially problematic since the other players had the unfair advantage of having already unlocked various weapons and perks that I didn't have. In fact, I wouldn’t even unlock the ability to make my own class until level four so I was stuck with a limited arsenal against more experienced players. This was all because I did well in the first two matches I did so the system thought it would make sense when it really didn’t. How Black Ops Cold War Can Fix Its SBMM Problem Black-Ops-Cold-War-SBMM-2.jpg Fortunately, the beta was a test so not everything is set in stone. In fact, there were integral changes made just from the alpha to the beta so Treyarch has time to fix the skill-based matchmaking problem. To answer whether or not it should exist in casual play, I think that it can in a certain way. Ranked play should be where the highly specific matchmaking should be as players should be challenged there in every match they do. But when it comes to normal unranked matches, players should be free to have a more relaxing time. My solution for this major problem is to have level-based matchmaking for casual play, rather than a skill-based one that is focused on your kills, deaths, wins, etc. What I mean by this is, for example, to have all level 20 players match up with other players within a certain range of their level. In this way, you should never have a situation where a brand-new player is matched up with someone who has already reached the account level cap. If there is prestige, it should take that into account as well. I think this is the best method since it makes multiplayer much more varied. Just because someone is max level doesn’t necessarily mean they are amazing; it just means they’ve played a lot. The opposite can be said for newer players who are naturally skilled at first-person shooters and might be better than the others at their level. This would help the game tremendously since you would always be matched with people around your level and with the same amount of experience and unlocked items in Black Ops Cold War. Sure, some players at your level will be better than you but there will also be ones worse than you, making it so that matches will not be the same frustrating mess every single time. It can provide a much broader spectrum of match results rather than the same thing over and over. |
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Author: DEMO USER | 21.05.2024 - 19:13 |
Bomberman on 21.05.2024 19:13So that the people who bought into the LGA 1200 platform get their money's worth with a decent upgrade path. |
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Insane_BTW on 21.05.2024 19:13Backpack for his applesauce |
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KillingMachineX on 21.05.2024 19:13I dont think the problem lies with developing the technology especially when you have Microsoft contributing to this (and they're the software experts) but rather how does AMD integrate this technology into their hardware and possibly reach out to more developers than Nvidia do with their proprietary DLSS? Is it easier to implement than DLSS? Is it more efficient? If the answer to both is yes then AMD's solution will edge out and create the bigger ecosystem of open-source AI assisted image upscaling technology leading to less developers being reliant on DLSS. |
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Prince Elijah on 21.05.2024 19:13Is this only moving forward or is it retroactive? |
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Juzoo on 21.05.2024 19:13With that GPU prices? Haha GG! |
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MitaVoiTeha on 21.05.2024 19:13So weird that the review embargo hasn't lifted on a CPU series that is supposed to launch tomorrow |
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I_AM_DEATH_ on 21.05.2024 19:13Alright, lets get the cards out there so we can buy. |
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BlackGecon on 21.05.2024 19:13He left Im pretty sure |
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LordMaus on 21.05.2024 19:13About time Nvidia started to offer something with their products. AMD has been doing it for awhile. When I upgraded my system back in January between the CPU and GPU I bought I was able to snag Borderlands 3, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and the Outer Worlds for free. |
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NamelessHero on 21.05.2024 19:13About time Nvidia started to offer something with their products. AMD has been doing it for awhile. When I upgraded my system back in January between the CPU and GPU I bought I was able to snag Borderlands 3, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and the Outer Worlds for free. |
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Kitsune on 21.05.2024 19:13I wasn't aware of that. I guess AMD just pushes it harder then. Either way, free stuff is always nice when you're already spending $400+. |
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KillingMachineX on 21.05.2024 19:13How exciting! Chips that won't release for many months will run hotter and slower than the Ryzens you can get next week! Plus you'll need entirely new motherboards so they'll cost hundreds more too! I can hardly wait! |
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jeisan born on 21.05.2024 19:13About time Nvidia started to offer something with their products. AMD has been doing it for awhile. When I upgraded my system back in January between the CPU and GPU I bought I was able to snag Borderlands 3, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and the Outer Worlds for free. |
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Darkon1337 on 21.05.2024 19:13There is a leak that protagonist will be female which triggered a lot of capital G gamers. It isnt confirmed but would love for it to be true just to trigger those people more. |
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Demogoten on 21.05.2024 19:13There is a leak that protagonist will be female which triggered a lot of capital G gamers. It isnt confirmed but would love for it to be true just to trigger those people more. |
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jutihurtta on 21.05.2024 19:13With that GPU prices? Haha GG! |
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Wieledrog on 21.05.2024 19:13He left Im pretty sure |
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I_AM_DEATH_ on 21.05.2024 19:13Backpack for his applesauce |
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BTR_kubas on 21.05.2024 19:13Still don't get why they're gonna release their 11th gen. The 12th will be released few months after and will need a new socket anyway. |
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Darkon1337 on 21.05.2024 19:13I am looking forward to this, but at this point I don't think I'd believe anything |
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slodderv8 on 21.05.2024 19:13With that GPU prices? Haha GG! |
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Darkon1337 on 21.05.2024 19:13Is this a joke? How will you get the game when you can't even get the card? |
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Hersch on 21.05.2024 19:13There is a leak that protagonist will be female which triggered a lot of capital G gamers. It isnt confirmed but would love for it to be true just to trigger those people more. |
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Kitsune on 21.05.2024 19:13Great news! |
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Body_Count on 21.05.2024 19:132. DirectML is intended to be a per engine or per developer implementation with neural networks if you want to get DLSS results. In short, not even Unreal Engine can likely easily achieve any meaningful results chasing this goal in a short period of time (it would probably take then 3-6 years without the right assistance) to get anywhere meaningful with this. Thus the only hope is someone at scale, such as AMD or Nvidia, implementing it and making it available for others. DLSS already exists so this just leaves AMD. AMD has a track record of poor R&D efforts regarding such technologies. In fact, almost all of their technologies were acquired via 3rd parties. In addition, Nvidia is a world leader in AI and it took even them some time to reach this point. AMD is not. AMD also has a history of poorly supporting its technologies and low quality results due to this, if not outright abandoning them at some point shortly after making them available. AMD did create Mantle, which died, but did set a foundation for both DirectX and even more so Mantle which were clear step forwards for the industry so they deserve credit for at least this partial accomplishment. |
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CheckmyBurst on 21.05.2024 19:13I'm super hyped for this game. The beta weekend was mad fun so this is a solid get imo. |
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