I have to be honest here, I've been doing this for over a decade now, business has never been better, we have more Premium members, more Insider members, than ever before, and we're growing at such an insane pace that I have a hard time believing it. It's extremely tempting to just sit back, let complacency set in, and just watch the money pile up. That would be the safe thing to do.
Safe is boring though, so why not blow everything up, start from scratch, and see if we can do better? The pug system in its current form has remained relatively unchanged for nearly a decade now, and while it worked great when we had 10,000 or less Premium members, to say that it's starting to burst at the seams would be a polite understatement.
Knowing that, we went back to the drawing board, fed on a whole bunch of user feedback, looked at what other games and other developers were doing, took the best elements, left the worst, and continued to refine. The end result is (hopefully) a system that makes it dramatically more simple, fast, and most importantly more fun to play on ESEA.
Enough with the paragraphs, you're only here for the bullet points:
Create groups of up to 5 players directly from the Client, and be guaranteed to play on the same team
Skill balanced among a larger pool of players, not just the 10 in the server, for better matches
Wait for your match and chat with your group from your desktop
Your slot is reserved for 2 minutes to allow time for you to rejoin after a crash
A ringer is automatically added to the match after the reserved slot expires
No more fade to black
Best location is automatically picked based on your ping
Pug faster with no ready lists, shortened live on three count, halftime wait, etc
I fully understand there are more things we need to do to keep improving, but the new matchmaking system will provide the framework to do so. A few examples of features that will be added in the coming weeks:
Automatic mumble server spawned and connected for every group
Groups of up to 10 people
Improved pug admin, .kick, and .block functionality
Ladder integration so matches are made from the Client, no more waiting in-game for an opponent
We've been working on this for about four months now, but there will still no doubt be bugs and various other growing pains, so for the first night at least we're launching with only 16 servers, so once those fill up the queue times will be high. That will all go away over the weekend as we crush more bugs and add more servers.
This is easily our largest ever undertaking, and it took massive efforts from sawce (back end heavy lifting), reload (Client integration), as well as alba (Client user interface). Big thanks also go out to everyone who's helped test over the past few months.
As mentioned, this is only the beginning of a series of revamps to all aspects of ESEA. Ten years in and we're more motivated than ever, perfectly positioned for continued success, and primed to achieve it -- stick around and enjoy the ride.
It appears they are offering this service for TF2 PUGs as well.
From: http://play.esea.net/index.php?s=news&d=comments&id=14038
[quote]I have to be honest here, I've been doing this for over a decade now, business has never been better, we have more Premium members, more Insider members, than ever before, and we're growing at such an insane pace that I have a hard time believing it. It's extremely tempting to just sit back, let complacency set in, and just watch the money pile up. That would be the safe thing to do.
Safe is boring though, so why not blow everything up, start from scratch, and see if we can do better? The pug system in its current form has remained relatively unchanged for nearly a decade now, and while it worked great when we had 10,000 or less Premium members, to say that it's starting to burst at the seams would be a polite understatement.
Knowing that, we went back to the drawing board, fed on a whole bunch of user feedback, looked at what other games and other developers were doing, took the best elements, left the worst, and continued to refine. The end result is (hopefully) a system that makes it dramatically more simple, fast, and most importantly more fun to play on ESEA.
Enough with the paragraphs, you're only here for the bullet points:
Create groups of up to 5 players directly from the Client, and be guaranteed to play on the same team
Skill balanced among a larger pool of players, not just the 10 in the server, for better matches
Wait for your match and chat with your group from your desktop
Your slot is reserved for 2 minutes to allow time for you to rejoin after a crash
A ringer is automatically added to the match after the reserved slot expires
No more fade to black
Best location is automatically picked based on your ping
Pug faster with no ready lists, shortened live on three count, halftime wait, etc
I fully understand there are more things we need to do to keep improving, but the new matchmaking system will provide the framework to do so. A few examples of features that will be added in the coming weeks:
Automatic mumble server spawned and connected for every group
Groups of up to 10 people
Improved pug admin, .kick, and .block functionality
Ladder integration so matches are made from the Client, no more waiting in-game for an opponent
We've been working on this for about four months now, but there will still no doubt be bugs and various other growing pains, so for the first night at least we're launching with only 16 servers, so once those fill up the queue times will be high. That will all go away over the weekend as we crush more bugs and add more servers.
This is easily our largest ever undertaking, and it took massive efforts from sawce (back end heavy lifting), reload (Client integration), as well as alba (Client user interface). Big thanks also go out to everyone who's helped test over the past few months.
As mentioned, this is only the beginning of a series of revamps to all aspects of ESEA. Ten years in and we're more motivated than ever, perfectly positioned for continued success, and primed to achieve it -- stick around and enjoy the ride. [/quote]
It appears they are offering this service for TF2 PUGs as well.
From: http://play.esea.net/index.php?s=news&d=comments&id=14038
[img]http://i.imgur.com/Ig6UzeC.png[/img] Multiple map versions?
Multi map ques will be added in the next update. Pretty buggy atm because it just came out.
Multi map ques will be added in the next update. Pretty buggy atm because it just came out.
ESEA beats Valve to a matchmaking system. Now who cares less about the game?
ESEA beats Valve to a matchmaking system. Now who cares less about the game?
does this require one to be under ESEA premium?
does this require one to be under ESEA premium?
Rastsyhttp://i.imgur.com/Ig6UzeC.png Multiple map versions?
wasn't this because they played the original snakewater in an esea tournament recently?
[quote=Rastsy][img]http://i.imgur.com/Ig6UzeC.png[/img] Multiple map versions?[/quote]
wasn't this because they played the original snakewater in an esea tournament recently?
Yeah, it appears this is just the map pool for ESEA this season.
Yeah, it appears this is just the map pool for ESEA this season.
drakdoes this require one to be under ESEA premium?
logging into the client requires premium, so yes it would
[quote=drak]does this require one to be under ESEA premium?[/quote]
logging into the client requires premium, so yes it would
might actually refresh premium after the season for this
might actually refresh premium after the season for this
12:49 AM - reload: doesnt support tf2 right now tho
12:49 AM - reload: but prob in a week
12:49 AM - reload: although i doubt anyone will use it
12:49 AM - reload: doesnt support tf2 right now tho
12:49 AM - reload: but prob in a week
12:49 AM - reload: although i doubt anyone will use it
if it's easier to use than irc and provides a good service with good servers there's no reason why people wouldn't use it. i think it's a great idea and hope that esea can deliver a good (or even decent) experience with tf2 matchmaking.
if it's easier to use than irc and provides a good service with good servers there's no reason why people wouldn't use it. i think it's a great idea and hope that esea can deliver a good (or even decent) experience with tf2 matchmaking.
But have they read GentlemanJon's balancing article, this is the question.
But have they read GentlemanJon's balancing article, this is the question.
Wow, I'm a bit cynical in that we're only getting this as a by product from CS, but holy crap about time.
If this gets on track into a version that supports TF2 well, we might be looking at a big turning point in competitive TF2.
Wow, I'm a bit cynical in that we're only getting this as a by product from CS, but holy crap about time.
If this gets on track into a version that supports TF2 well, we might be looking at a big turning point in competitive TF2.
Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Let's go ahead and assume that the pancake theory is correct, that the towers came down due to the floors progressively smashing into each other. The NIST 9/11 Commission Report concluded that both towers were gravity driven collapses, which means that there were no additional energy sources present. If that were true, as each successive floor collapsed, the energy would be dissipated by the force of the floors smashing into one another. A finite number of floors could have 'pancaked', yes, but gravity alone would not have been enough to pull the entire building down. NIST acknowledged that the floors beneath the crash zone were structurally sound. The lower floors (obviously) were designed to bear the weight of those above them, therefore the weight of the section above the crash zone does not account for the energy required to completely collapse the towers. Each tower was 110 stories. In the case of WTC 1, the plane hit between the 93rd and 99th floors, leaving 17 floors above the crash zone, meaning there would only have been enough energy present for a maximum of 34 floors to 'pancake', under ideal conditions, with absolutely zero resistance. In the case of WTC 2, the plane hit between the 77th and 85th floors, leaving 32 floors above the crash zone. Again, under ideal conditions, with absolutely zero resistance, a maximum of 64 floors could have 'pancaked'. NIST also conceded that the buildings fell at free-fall speed. For this to happen, there would have to have been zero resistance from the support columns below the crash sites. In a true pancake collapse, momentum would have been lost as each floor encountered resistance from the support columns below. As per Newton's Third Law, it is physically impossible for the buildings to have continually pile-driven down floor by floor to the foundation. Without allowing for an outside energy source to remove the resistance provided by the structural columns, the NIST 'pancake theory' doesn't work.
If you're interested, I will explain why the collapse of the North tower also violates Newton's First Law.
Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Let's go ahead and assume that the pancake theory is correct, that the towers came down due to the floors progressively smashing into each other. The NIST 9/11 Commission Report concluded that both towers were gravity driven collapses, which means that there were no additional energy sources present. If that were true, as each successive floor collapsed, the energy would be dissipated by the force of the floors smashing into one another. A finite number of floors could have 'pancaked', yes, but gravity alone would not have been enough to pull the entire building down. NIST acknowledged that the floors beneath the crash zone were structurally sound. The lower floors (obviously) were designed to bear the weight of those above them, therefore the weight of the section above the crash zone does not account for the energy required to completely collapse the towers. Each tower was 110 stories. In the case of WTC 1, the plane hit between the 93rd and 99th floors, leaving 17 floors above the crash zone, meaning there would only have been enough energy present for a maximum of 34 floors to 'pancake', under ideal conditions, with absolutely zero resistance. In the case of WTC 2, the plane hit between the 77th and 85th floors, leaving 32 floors above the crash zone. Again, under ideal conditions, with absolutely zero resistance, a maximum of 64 floors could have 'pancaked'. NIST also conceded that the buildings fell at free-fall speed. For this to happen, there would have to have been zero resistance from the support columns below the crash sites. In a true pancake collapse, momentum would have been lost as each floor encountered resistance from the support columns below. As per Newton's Third Law, it is physically impossible for the buildings to have continually pile-driven down floor by floor to the foundation. Without allowing for an outside energy source to remove the resistance provided by the structural columns, the NIST 'pancake theory' doesn't work.
If you're interested, I will explain why the collapse of the North tower also violates Newton's First Law.
I would much rather play these than IRC pugs
I would much rather play these than IRC pugs
2cIf you're interested, I will explain why the collapse of the North tower also violates Newton's First Law.
since the MM is gonna flop in tf2, please post more of this hilarious shit.
[quote=2c]
If you're interested, I will explain why the collapse of the North tower also violates Newton's First Law.[/quote]
since the MM is gonna flop in tf2, please post more of this hilarious shit.
This sounds cool. An organised system like this is especially handy for people who are afraid to use IRC, despite it actually being really simple to use.
This sounds cool. An organised system like this is especially handy for people who are afraid to use IRC, despite it actually being really simple to use.
If they make this playable for tf2 i will be the happiest person alive for a short period of time.
If they make this playable for tf2 i will be the happiest person alive for a short period of time.
I just loaded up the client, the lobby system looks pretty cool. If people actually use these and take them seriously I could see them becoming a thing.
I just loaded up the client, the lobby system looks pretty cool. If people actually use these and take them seriously I could see them becoming a thing.
ESEA actually looking tempted now.
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too bad i dont play this game and if i did id be shit
ESEA actually looking tempted now. [spoiler]too bad i dont play this game and if i did id be shit[/spoiler]