Involuntary Pigeonholing

[Llyssa]

Something that's been bothering me about the last q&a livestream: There was talk about involuntary pigeonholing.

 

I'm not a big fan of the idea of the game analyzing us and then sticking us with "similar" players. What if a mission requires us to do something different, or if we want to recruit new people or we don't actually want to play the same style over and over again?

 

By being "automatically matched" with what the game *thinks* we want, we can get screwed over royally.

 

Worse, imagine if it turns out that you have a rare and unique approach, and the small group of people who you will be grouped with most often happen to hate you? Then your game experience is ruined because you're getting stuck with people you don't like because they happen to play similarly to you. Not cool.

 

It was framed within the concept of "how to deal with people wanting to be matched to a playstyle", but it sounds like a horrific solution. If it's entirely optional, then okay, fine, but the way it was worded, it didn't sound like it would be.

 

That isn't conducive to learning new techniques or making new friends. It's a drive towards elitism and over-specialization. Not cool. =(

 

Maybe today I want to rush. Maybe not. Maybe I have all day and want farm up a ton of materials. Can I? OH, no! That's not your normal playstyle! You can't have a squad if you're trying that.

 

In a similar vein, I'm not thrilled about the idea of irreversible choices either. That was another topic they covered--you'll be given a choice, and it will change how the game plays for you, and change your future options!

 

Well then, until we've heavily researched how all of the future stuff is, how do we decide what's really best?

 

The idea in general that upsets me is restricting the players against their will in any way. That's why I avoid a lot of MMOs... I'm not interested in being "stuck" with some choice I made that turns out to be something I dislike.

 

That's part of what makes warframe so cool at the moment--you're basically free to undo practically anything, and what little you can't(for example, where you stuck a reactor), you have plenty of future opportunities to change that(for the example, you'll get more reactors--alerts assure it sooner or later, and you can buy them if all else fails).

 

The fluidity and flexibility is what makes the game interesting, and the idea of features being added that take that away is disheartening, to say the least.

[Omegarick]

TL;DR https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSlz3w5i4ml1EDhuAgEaF-hJBFp_pfep0n5FEhaHLYVQtxibI8Brw

[Archistopheles]

TL;DR 

 

This isn't general discussion. You don't have to read everything here. Just skip it and move on.

[Omegarick]

This isn't general discussion. You don't have to read everything here. Just skip it and move on.

I was joking, besides, they're still working this thing out, I would think it is only for online, luckily for me I only do private clan missions.

[DeathByTeaCup]

I was joking, besides, they're still working this thing out, I would think it is only for online, luckily for me I only do private clan missions.

thats exactly what hes saying.. what u would be matched with players on private? Invite only? solo? what else would he be talking about.. i agree with the op.. rick if u do happen to see this.. just dont respond.

[Omegarick]

thats exactly what hes saying.. what u would be matched with players on private? Invite only? solo? what else would he be talking about.. i agree with the op.. rick if u do happen to see this.. just dont respond.

lol, but I want to.

[notlamprey]

It's an important point to consider. I really hope DE considers the possible unintended consequences of ideas like "play profiling." They've discussed how their situation sometimes prevents them from taking the time to consider what effects their actions might have. I can understand that, and in many cases (like the recent Aura issue) they can quickly address new problems.

In the case of systems like "play profiling," they would be best served to make it optional from the very beginning. If there's any way they can do this, surely they would see it's clearly the best plan.

[Rhorge]

Personally, I hate all sorts of automated systems that directly impact my experience. Big no to this notion, if I want to play with certain kind of people, I'll join a clan and play on invite only..

[Ganpot]

Yeah, the system sounds pretty terrible.  People don't play the same way all the time.  For example, I rush boss missions all the time while soloing.  However, if I'm farming resources, I do the exact opposite.  No matter which group DE puts me in, it won't solve the problem.  I have a feeling a large portion of the community falls into this same type of behavior. 

 

In short, the grouping system needs to be voluntary, not mandatory.  It also needs to let people flag themselves per mission (not on a persistent basis). 

[Sammy001]

Personally, I hate all sorts of automated systems that directly impact my experience. Big no to this notion, if I want to play with certain kind of people, I'll join a clan and play on invite only..

Sounds logical. Why work on a solution that will probably will cause more trouble when or if it is ever used.

[hobolyra]

Here's what I want- a check box you click that places you into a MODE. there will be a few modes:

 

SPEED - for those that like to rush

FARM - for those breaking everything and trying to find mats/mods

TEAM - for those that like to stick together and play together

 

When you enter a game, it matches you with people that have the same selected option as you, allowing you to change it based on your mood and play style at the time.

[Llyssa]

Here's what I want- a check box you click that places you into a MODE. there will be a few modes:

 

SPEED - for those that like to rush

FARM - for those breaking everything and trying to find mats/mods

TEAM - for those that like to stick together and play together

 

When you enter a game, it matches you with people that have the same selected option as you, allowing you to change it based on your mood and play style at the time.

The problem is that this was already suggested before, and they cited it in the livestream, and then proposed that this would be a "better" idea they wanted to use instead.

[unmog]

+1