Why:
All skill rating systems assume that win:loss:draw is based on player skill. The element of luck in CCGs essentially makes each player's rating much more volatile, especially at the 3rd standard deviation. The net result is that unlike in pure skill-based games such as chess, go, shogi, etc., It's very difficult to climb to a high rating and hold onto it because skill is only a partial factor. It also makes one's appearance on a "top 20" or "top 100" chart, etc. less meaningful because luck ensures that your presence on that chart will be very ephemeral. Like the "house odds" at a casino, probability is strongly stacked against even the best players being able to maintain a presence on such charts for any significant length of time. For more detail, refer to post #3 in this thread.
Solution:
Instead of players being ranked within the community based on the volatile "current rating" used for matchmaking, rank them for leaderboard purposes instead by the PEAK rating they have achieved within each new "season" (the period after each new ratings reset). This way, players can compare their epeen based on how far they managed to grind up into the 2nd and 3rd standard deviations instead of worrying about how volatile the matchmaking rating is.
Detailed functional spec:
- The current rating system remains unchanged for matchmaking. The Challenge screen still displays the current "matchmaker" rating.
- In the database table that tracks ratings, add a new column called PEAK_RATING
- In your code that updates the database with rating changes after each match result, add lines that compare the newly-calculated rating against the value of the PEAK_RATING column, and if the newly-calculated rating is larger than the current value, update the PEAK_RATING column with the new value.
- On the STATUS screen, the field currently labeled RATING should be changed to MATCHMAKER RATING. This field still queries whatever rating column you currently use.
- On the STATUS screen, a new field called PEAK RATING should be added. This field queries from the new PEAK_RATING column.
- Add a field to the STATUS screen that displays either the current build number or the current season, so that players who take screenshots to "prove" their PEAK RATING can demonstrate that the PEAK RATING was achieved in build n.nn or season n.
- On the SE website, expand the top 20 page to show instead the top 100, and change the value used for this result set to query the new PEAK_RATING instead of the current matchmaker rating.
- Add a search query to the top 100 page that enables any player to search for any other player's in-game name. The search result should display the search target's current matchmaker rating AND their peak rating.
Benefits:
The player community will have a more meaningful and intuitive (and less volatile) measurement of their relative epeen. Players will bitch less about "that terrible rating system". The top 100 list provides a better representation of the "top players" in the current player population. Any player boasting about their rating falsely can easily be double-checked by the community. At the end of a "season", any "hall of fame" snapshot of the Top 100 list actually shows a meaningful cumulative result rather than a less meaningful snapshot of very volatile values at an arbitrary point in time.
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