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Improve Matchmaking by otionally restricting players to have similar "active times"

Posted: 11 February 2022, 12:50
by madmat3001
I recently got into playing round based games on BGA. One think that irks me, is how sometimes the players in a game can be so out of sync that it takes days to complete just a single round, not to mention the game.


Example:
P1 is usually active from 18:00-22:00
P2 from 13:00 to 18:00
P3 from 8:00 to 13:00
and P4 from 22:00 to 8:00

P1 would make their move on Day 1 at 18:05
P2 theirs on Day 2 at 13:05
P3 on Day 3
P4 on Day 4
and so on

Nobody to blame but unlucky match making. ( I realize this example is extreme, but the problem it shows is real. I've seen it.)


My suggestion:

https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=59343

Essentially, when we create a new game table we already have options to filter the players by karma, language and skill level. I suggest we add another possible filter that restricts possible players by their active time. The creator would set a time range that suits them (e.g. P1 above would chose 18:00-22:00) and could demand that the players that join the table have historically made a certain percentage of their moves within that time period.

This is certainly not perfect, but should improve on the current situation.

Re: Improve Matchmaking by otionally restricting players to have similar "active times"

Posted: 12 February 2022, 02:00
by FSKFSK
There already is a feature to set playing hours in turn-based games.

Some games work great in turn-based mode (7 Wonders), some don't.

Re: Improve Matchmaking by otionally restricting players to have similar "active times"

Posted: 15 February 2022, 13:08
by madmat3001
FSKFSK wrote: 12 February 2022, 02:00 There already is a feature to set playing hours in turn-based games.

Some games work great in turn-based mode (7 Wonders), some don't.
How does that affect matchmaking though?

How does the system know if a player is suitable for my game with playing hours set to be from 10:00-18:00 UTC?

Re: Improve Matchmaking by otionally restricting players to have similar "active times"

Posted: 15 February 2022, 13:20
by Silene
madmat3001 wrote: 15 February 2022, 13:08 How does the system know if a player is suitable for my game with playing hours set to be from 10:00-18:00 UTC?
You can choose your preferences about playing hours in advanced settings. If they agreed to your hours there, they can be matched with you.

Re: Improve Matchmaking by otionally restricting players to have similar "active times"

Posted: 15 February 2022, 15:17
by madmat3001
Silene wrote: 15 February 2022, 13:20
madmat3001 wrote: 15 February 2022, 13:08 How does the system know if a player is suitable for my game with playing hours set to be from 10:00-18:00 UTC?
You can choose your preferences about playing hours in advanced settings. If they agreed to your hours there, they can be matched with you.
So I would immediately limit the possible player pool for my game to players who know about that feature and have their playing hours set up? (BTW, I can't find that setting. The "advanced" tab in my settings menu only allows for custom CSS...)

Re: Improve Matchmaking by otionally restricting players to have similar "active times"

Posted: 15 February 2022, 15:39
by Silene
it's in the arena-settings for the specific games. or wasn't this about arena?

Re: Improve Matchmaking by otionally restricting players to have similar "active times"

Posted: 16 February 2022, 08:36
by madmat3001
Silene wrote: 15 February 2022, 15:39 it's in the arena-settings for the specific games. or wasn't this about arena?

I didn't specifically mean for it to be about arena, but I imagined it would be used for that as well.