Why don't more online games have true skill matchmaking?

[CAPTCHA]

Some people would argue that you get better by playing superior opponents. To an extent that's true, but when you're matched against an opponent too far above your skill level there's nothing to be learned, the match can be so one sided that the less skilled player doesn't get to practice or try new things, they just get punished for been new to the game and sent back to the menu screen feeling jaded and unwilling to make another attempt. As games get older this problem gets worse. Long time players get better and the game becomes more and more inaccessable to new players. In the end this can kill a games community with only a few dedicated players remaining all of whom are inhumanly skilled at their game of choice (take a look at Unreal Tournament 3 as an example of this in action).

This problem could be fixed however by implementing a true skill matchmaking program to the multiplayer, yet so few games actually do so. Halo is pretty much the only game around that has it. Why is that?

 

[Geekosaurus]

Because it's difficult. You can't just look at statistics because they're not always representative of facts.

 

[rekabdarb]

League of Legends is trying to do that. It's kinda failing horribly. they try to have a couple "not as good" players and "good" players together. Good idea on paper, bad in action

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

There's actually an easy solution to this, games shouldn't use matchmaking. Why don't games use a room system anymore? In Metal Gear Online, you can choose to play in level restricted rooms so you can only play with low level players, normal level players, or high level players. Secondly, games need to use levels like MGO instead of how CoD uses levels. In CoD, you can reach the highest level just by putting in the time, not because you're skilled. CoD has no way of tracking skill. In MGO, you CAN boost levels but you can immediately tell if someone boosted levels just by how they play. MAG is the one game that kinda needs matchmaking just because of the high player count. And, in MAG, camping will only help your team lose. There's a deference between camping and defending.

 

[De-Moti]

Because it doesn't work.

 

[Section Crow]

not really true about halo's trueskill system

i just played a game on halo reach and i was alot higher in rank (colonel grade 1) then the guy below me (warrant officer grade 2)for those who dont own halo reach here's the XP difference from bungie.net

Warrant officer grade 2 - 111,000 cR
Colonel grade 1 - 960,000 cR

 

[KhaosElement]

Maybe people could, 'ya know, stop playing so damn much. I'm in college and have a job because I live on my own. My couple hours of gaming a week just don't allow me the time to get the skill of all the little leeches living in mums basement skipping class to get uber1337 at CoD...go outside.

 

[CAPTCHA]

In Metal Gear Online, you can choose to play in level restricted rooms so you can only play with low level players, normal level players, or high level players.

I really like this idea. Different servers for different skill levels and a ranking system that restricts you to which rooms you can play in. I'm trying to learn how to play Soul Calibur at them moment and this sort of set up would help immensly. Might be able to play a match then without get air-juggled into oblivion before I can even try to pull out a combo of my own.