I think this might better be solved through ranked play or some kind of player matching then it would on unifying the maps starting locations.

Striking a balance of variance is very important in games like this. I think they pretty much nailed it, but time will tell.

you can already start games and set an "experience threshold". this is part of the most recent build we released. so if you've played, say, 3 games so far, you're able to set the experience threshold required to join your game anywhere from 0 to 3.

Yes, but that isn't really a long term fix except that you can weed out very new players.

I'm reminded of FPS and RTS games where players are down-ranked for quitting early and then paired vs other players who also quit early.

I don't know that there is a specific analog, and I could come up with a ton of wacky solutions, but I don't know that any of them are more fair then how the game works now (which I like BTW).

And if people are playing with a ranking/ELO in mind, they would be less likely to resign quickly and take one of the lowest places in that game. Playing a ranked game would be selectable as well.

Just because a player has played 20 games doesn't mean he's not an early quitting loser/troll.

Or, to make sure I get to play against newbs and wipe the floor with them, I join a bunch of games and resign to keep my rank low, then troll the newbies in the game I do play...


People will do it lol.

The problem isn’t with the skill of the players involved so I don’t believe they should be linked. The issue is with people that prematurely quit and should be considered separately.

What about a simple rating of ‘games prematurely resigned out of last 10 games’. Where ‘prematurely resigned’ is defined as resigning (or autoresigning) whilst having more outposts than current duration of game (in days). ie, auto-resigning at the end of day 2 with 5 outposts is deemed premature. Or even resigning after a week if you still have 8 outposts is premature. However being knocked down to 4 outposts after a week is a non punishable resignation.

Regular players will maintain a 0 premature resignation rating and should be matched with similar players. Quitters will be matched with quitters. The reason that I suggest a limit of 10 games and not a lifelong rating is because accidents happen. Someone might go away camping for a weekend and not have access, or a phone might stop working and take 3 days to get a new one.

Anyway, just a passing thought.