PSN Team Looking Into Skill Based Matchmaking; Themes Surprise For 2.0 Launch

Scott McCarthy gave some additional information on what the PSN Team is working on, for 2.0 and beyond.

[ccgr]

Cool on matchmaking, can care less about themes

[kaiserfranz]

Agreed sister. Substance over fluff any day!

[bouzebbal]

theme surprise will have something to do with the surprise game they'll announce.

[killer4fun53]

So u do care about themes

[Mostafeto]

I would love to customize my PS4 with my own theme that would be EPIC ! Imagine a The Last Of Us Theme :O

[ScottyHoss]

I miss my dynamic TLOU theme every time I switch from my PS3 (GTA V) to PS4 (any other game I'm currently playing) :/

[PaleMoonDeath]

.. My theme will have big bewbs, Jessica Nigri yo.

[ramiuk1]

only theme i would want is either

god of war
last of us
sackboy

even this folder thing is just the library folder that was always there,just now it can be sorted in order,but i bet they leave it all the way to the right lol

[Gaming247allday]

Xbox LIVE already has skill based matchmaking though right? that Smart Match or whatever? i guess PSN still has some catching up to do lol

[blackout]

How do you get DISAGREES for stating facts. I just remembered it's N4G where opinions mean much more than facts.

[quenomamen]

How hard can it be to match the skill level of a thousands of 14 year olds yelling racial slurs ?

[ainTgoTTime2bleed]

Talking about catching up...how are the sales going for MS are the catching up Sony?..I think they're getting pretty close.../s

[gangsta_red]

This is a fact, Xbox Live already has this.

But the disagrees are coming in because you are in a PS article and bringing up what the competition already has.

That is a big no, no here on N4G.

[donthate]

Skill based matchmaking existed on the Xbox 360, but not at the same level as SmartMatch on Xbox One.

Surprised PS3 or even PS4 doesn't have skill based matchmaking at all.

blackout:

on n4g, if the facts jive with their opinion, then it is accepted otherwise it is disagree even if it is a fact.

[d0x360]

Its had skill based matchmaking since the launch of the 360. It uses things like skill and the types of people you are friends with to try to match you with people of not only similar skill but all people who like similar things.

[Callum_Alexander]

I'm really looking forward to the themes too!

[Enate]

Every game has its own match making to begin with. Trying to make some universal system is pointless as there are games that have vastly different ways of ranking players. The developers have their own matchmaking system an overall one is just a waste of time. We need features that are not there not something that can be better done on a game by game basis.

Even looking at the blog you can see most actually want DLNA support. An the reputation system some claim they want is straight broken because people just avoid you anyway when they lose.

[d0x360]

If it works like the system that launched with the 360 it will be based on genre. So you have a rank for shooters, racing etc and then it also pairs you based on skill in individual games after you have played them enough

[donthate]

That is not how it works. The Smart Match gives you more variables to determine, but the developer still has to complement it based on the games specifics.

What metrics used in a sports game is completely different from a shooter, but there are some commonalities like age, location, type of games played, microphone user, language, more competitive/casual and so on.

There is also API to offload this, because the search can be rather large with so many users. This can be done while you are offline to speed things up!

Prevents tying up processing power when you need it like when you are launching a game with disastrous result (read BF4 and DriveClub).

Enate:

If I loose, but I like their play style I will try to friend them instead.

Unfortunately, this is something extremely hard to market or talk about, but the benefits are humongous. It makes the community that much better when you are paired with people you like gaming with.

[kaiserfranz]

If they added some form of skill based matchmaking I would be extremely happy, I miss it from Live.

[Mostafeto]

Yeah that would make games much more interesting and challenging as sometimes in Fifa or other games I am thrown in a game with a person who has a team with 78 rating and mine is 85 rated so this deature should be added.

[jocomat9]

how do you actually know if it works?

[LogicStomper]

You know it works when you very rarely run into a team of 5-star generals on Halo, and every time you do, you get your behind whooped 10-fold.

[Gazondaily]

Wow.

Hold on a minute. Doesn't PSN have anything like TrueSkill on Xbox Live?? I thought it already did?

[Alexious]

I've never heard of anything like that on PSN, and the answer pretty much gives it away - it doesn't because each game has its own matchmaking and each developer uses its own method.

[nX]

I never noticed anyone asking about it, either... I don't think Sony can do much here, it's on the developers to optimize the matchmaking.

[d0x360]

If it works like the system that launched with the 360 it will be based on genre. So you have a rank for shooters, racing etc and then it also pairs you based on skill in individual games after you have played them enough

[Volkama]

I liked the old Xbox matchmaking system that had Ranked matches utilising the tool, and unranked matches for just having a blast against randoms.

Sometimes you need to be able to play against randoms to find out how good or bad you are, because in a perfect matchmaking system you will always be "about average" because the system is designed to pit you against people as good as you are.

[Alexious]

The old Xbox matchmaking system was simply great. I loved playing Top Spin competitively.

[ramiuk1]

no matchmaking, its actually left to how the devs want to matchmake rather than how MS forces them to use there system(although i hear it works well)

[d0x360]

That's not what Microsoft does...not at all. Developers have the final say in how it works but the very fact that xbl has superior match making and has for years should tell you something.

If it works like the system that launched with the 360 it will be based on genre. So you have a rank for shooters, racing etc and then it also pairs you based on skill in individual games after you have played them enough. Developers can also tweak it or add modes where you are matched against anyone regardless of skill. For example halo rumble pit uses true skill buy halo ranked rumble pit does not.

[Insomnia_84]

Looks like Masamune is coming full with surprises!

[Aurenar]

I pay the PS-Plus for frequent maintenance and server unprepared for the launch of video games (Driveclub docet).

I hope there will be a net improvement. An evolution from where you can live on quality standards. Because at present the situation is very bad.

[hello12]

Driveclub has shown us what standard the PSN network it at. Still way behind x box live.

PSN has improved since the PS3 days and probably is on par with the 360

[strangeaeon]

PSN=Dumpster fire. There is much more to gaming than "omg the lighting and textures". Xbox Live has had this type of matchmaking for awhile.

[medman]

@strangeaeon
And yet it's kicking the xbone's teeth in month after month, with no end to the pain in sight. You know why? Sony has the best first party studios in gaming, and a rock solid history of delivering the best games of a generation. It's a happy bonus for ps4 owners the console is more powerful and offers more value for money with psplus, and has the better resolution and framerates on multiplats. All of that is just icing on the layer cake of awesomeness that is SCE Worldwide Studios. Where am I wrong? Exactly.

[MasterCornholio]

Medmans right. No matter what you say or do your opinions and conspiracy theorys won't do anything to change the public's opinion on these two systems.

I hate to say this but your opinion doesn't matter compared to what the majority of the population believes.

[RadioActiveTwinky]

Driverclub does not equal psn. It uses its own servers like destiny does. Driverclubs misfortunes are not due to Psn network. You guys keep preaching thatas if you guys own a ps4.

[Death]

Sony owns and maintains the PSN servers. Sony also owns and maintains the Drive Club servers. Evolution is a Sony first party developer as well as Drive Club. How is it you are seperating the two? If the MCC comes out with the same server issues, will Microsoft not be at fault?

[GameDev1]

@Death

Sony does not maintain Drive club servers. Drive club has its own dedicated servers which is managed by Evolution studios server side developers which are all under Sony.

And the game director has made it very clear the server problem is software side than hardware

In your case of MCC, it will be the responsibility of the 343 server engineers to deal with dedicated servers for Halo games, MS engineers deal with the whole of MS data centers and servers for every broad server side product of MS

[Why o why]

Schooled. .....next!

[blackout]

Some of what your saying is true but until Sony makes a massive investment into there server situation the psn will never be on par with LIVE. Microsoft servers don't just cater to games, they cater to everything. This is the reason why AZURE is so stable, It has to be. Also the reason why i game i LIVE. The PSN has been going through some troubles of late, All these console sales (And Growing) with no foundation. Sony needs to make the investment into owning there own servers or it will get worse. Console sales are cool but online gaming is of the masses, YOU HAVE TO SUPPORT THE SERVERS. Sony stop renting.

[mushroomwig]

Don't forget that XBL launched all the way back in 2002 and has been a paid service ever since. Sony didn't launch their service until 2006, which was free until the PS4 launched and is still free for those who have a PS3.

[ginganinja]

Be warned the update is codenamed Masamune. Don't get confused like I did and download something called Monokuma, it wont end well...

[Yetter]

Don't you think the PSN team should work on making PSN work?

[Alexious]

Just like not every developer works on fixing bugs (there are game designers, artists etc.), the same applies here.

Some work on features, others work on networking.

[Death]

Drive Club has not have an issue with the game code. I don't get why they are saying it's server issues. This isn't the first online game we have seen and isn't the first driving game with online functions. The code has to be broken to have problems that aren't fixed yet.

[Yetter]

I wasn't referring to driveclub

[StormLegend]

Add it all PSN team! we need everything!

[odderz]

This sounds promising! I wonder how they will implement this across different games, or if only first party titles will end up using it?

[Silly gameAr]

Man, so many trolls.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

A man has had enough of this hype! A man's body is ready! Oh wait wrong company...that's for Smash.

Anywho just release the damn thing already and stop giving a man details he can't stand all the teasing lol

[Imp0ssibl3]

Don't get me started about Smash. I could kill someone to play it now. Valar morghulis anyway, right?

[Gravity_DoGG]

truth

[Imp0ssibl3]

I didn't know there wasn't any skill based matchmaking on PSN...It seems like they still have a lot to do to catch up with Xbox on that regard.

[CernaML]

I didnt know it was a thing on Xbox Live as well. It clearly isnt something that makes much of an impact.

[LavaLampGoo]

Im actually guiltily more excited to get a theme then better match making

[Rikuson1]

Am I the only one that would just rather a transparent background (A see-thru UI like the XMB) I would like to know when a cut scene is over or loading screen is done while I'm doing something in my UI like checking or sending a message. The backgrounds can take place when I don't have an application running like how the Ps3 had it. If they that as an option within the themes I would be satisfied