JoriKos
commented
2 months ago The video isn't exactly convincing tbh
Open IronFoxGaming opened 2 months ago
JoriKos
commented
2 months ago The video isn't exactly convincing tbh
gaelcoral
commented
2 months ago I agree that game modes like CTF, 5CP, and PLR (and maybe others without time limits) should have a time limit. However, in my opinion, people who are addicted to 2Fort and Hightower probably wouldn’t agree with this change.
players being unable to complete contracts because of it
I think you have a great point. My solution would be that on maps/game modes without a time limit, after 5 minutes of completing the contract, it automatically closes.
mp_maxrounds 0
mp_timelimit 45Why isn’t there a round limit? This would make other game modes like Payload, Koth, PLR, CTF, Attack/Defend and more game modes less enjoyable to play, as they would become too long (those modes typically last between 12 and 20 minutes in Payload, Koth and Attack/Defend, not the proposed 45 minutes). Also, it would cause more people to leave, resulting in the same issue you mentioned earlier (players leaving)
About the video that suggests copying these commands to "fix" the casual mode, that's not true. The game coordinator assigns you to a lobby “tf_lobby_debug” with a specific team when playing. If TFTeam changed the "mp_forceautoteam" command from 1 to 0, it would only break the system because you’re assigned to a lobby with a fixed team (I say this because I tried switching teams in Valve servers before).
Letting players fill empty slots on an opposing team can help prevent players from being switched over right as their team loses
Allowing players to fill empty slots on the opposing team won’t work because Valve already tried this 7 years ago in Casual mode: "New autobalance system to help with balancing teams when players leave a match. The system will ask players to volunteer to switch teams." Nobody wanted to switch to the team with less players, resulting in a huge unbalance. In my experience, the game coordinator does a good job of looking for candidates (players) to fill the empty slots when there is an unbalance team.
When you say "as well as have teams scramble after a team wins twice in a row" what do you mean? In Core Game Modes like Payload, Attack/Defend, and CTF (which only have 1 round), winning twice ends the match, and it scrambles automatically if you stay.
If voting for scramble were to be implemented (which I highly doubt), they would most likely use the Glicko system that Casual mode uses, which would repeat the same current issue. The unbalance between teams having new vs. veteran players is the fault of the Glicko system, which is designed for competitive mode. However, in casual mode, the mechanics are different. Because I am too lazy to write a new text, here is the text I sent to the TFTeam with suggestions to improve the glicko system in Casual:
• Adjust the Glicko system One problem with casual mode is that, unlike competitive mode where winning and losing matters, in casual mode it doesn't, especially since you depend on 11 other players on your team. If you perform well but your team doesn't, you lose MMR, which can severely affect and unbalance the game coordinator. My suggestion is that if you lose the match, you still lose MMR, but if you generate more points, kills, or healing than most of your team, you shouldn't lose as much MMR. There's also the issue of joining a match with only 5 seconds left and losing, which unjustifiably takes away MMR. My suggestion is that during the first minute of the match, MMR should not be affected to avoid this situation. Another possibility is that to earn MMR, you must score a minimum of 5 points to prevent AFK players or those who did nothing in the match from easily gaining MMR if the team wins.
Lastly, game modes like VSH, where the Glicko system isn't necessary, can severely affect MMR since the game mode isn't serious. This could be solved by disabling the Glicko mode in VSH or creating a new matchmaking category called "Arcade" (more information about Arcade below). • Add a season system Another problem with the Glicko system is that there's no way to reset your MMR in Casual or Competitive mode. Over time, this causes MMR to become unbalanced, creating inconsistent matches. My suggestion is that every 6 or 8 months, the game coordinator resets all players MMR to keep the system balanced.
I agree that spectator mode should be enabled in casual mode, but without allowing players to switch to spectator during the match, as this could unbalance the teams. The option should be through SourceTV, like in CS2 and Deadlock, where you can spectate other players or friends matches. It would be useful while waiting in the queue to join a friend match. If this is implemented, I suggest using the TV icon in the main menu (which currently just takes you to the TF2 Twitch page).
Additionally, now that the bots are gone, it would be a great time to give speech privileges back to free to play players.
I agree.
Most players tend to disconnect and requeue during the map vote because it's faster to connect to a new server and load into the map than it is to wait out the current map vote system
I don’t know about you, but in my case, I don’t do it because the voting takes too long. I do it because I don’t want to play with the same players from the server, I just want to play with different players, and I think other players do the same.
Casual Mode is a bit rough around the edges. While it can still be fun to play, a lot of changes made during the transition from Quickplay can make Casual Mode a somewhat less enjoyable experience, such as CTF and 5CP matches running for forever and players being unable to complete contracts because of it, or players disconnecting and leaving servers empty after the map end screen, or certain teams of players ending up unbalanced and unfair to fight against. A lot of these issues can be fixed by altering the values for 6 commands:
Allowing players to switch teams on their own, as well as have teams scramble after a team wins twice in a row, will help make matches feel more fair. Letting players fill empty slots on an opposing team can help prevent players from being switched over right as their team loses, and having teams scramble after 2 wins will help prevent one team from perpetually dominating the other. Players being able to choose their own teams also allows for parties of players to play against each other instead of being all forced onto the same team. Having a map time limit not only helps put a cap on how long some games can last, but gives more time for players to enjoy the map they're on and spend less overall time in loading screens. This video by lister goes into depth about how these changes could improve Casual significantly.
Additionally, now that the bots are gone, it would be a great time to give speech privileges back to free to play players. Currently, without buying something on the Mann Co. Store, F2P players can't even call for Medic, or alert other players about a Spy, which not only impacts their gameplay but harms their teammates through lack of communication. It wouldn't make much sense to leave this hinderance in now that the game isn't infested with bots. Though, there are still some cheaters in the game. Re-enabling the ability to spectate players will let players more closely check to see if a player is cheating or not and be able to deal with them accordingly. However, if there happen to be 6 cheaters in a party, it becomes impossible to kick them as 5 No votes from party members is enough to deny a kick. It might be a good idea to reduce the effectiveness of votes from party members of the player being voted on.
Finally, I think Casual could benefit from bringing back the 5 slot mid-round map vote system that used to be used in official Valve servers during the Quickplay era. Back then, when the server had a certain amount of time left, it would give the option of 4 maps to go to after the map timer ends, or a 5th option to extend the current map's timer. Casual's current method of voting for a map gives you only 3 maps to choose from, takes around a minute to vote, sometimes doesn't let you input any vote at all, and interrupts and ends gameplay by doing so. Most players tend to disconnect and requeue during the map vote because it's faster to connect to a new server and load into the map than it is to wait out the current map vote system. With the current method of ending a map and activating a vote after a team wins two time, this voting time compounds. Adding in the 5 selection side menu can fix this, giving players more options and more time to spend playing the game.
These changes all work together to overall improve Casual Mode, and can make it a more enjoyable experience for players. Also, while it doesn't directly affect Casual itself, it would be nice if players could wear a badge of their current Casual rank, like the one displayed on the main menu. It gives a small incentive and bragging right for players to play casual mode beyond just increasing the number on their stat screen.