The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer

Anything to do with games at all.
Corazon de Leon

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Corazon de Leon » Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:19 am

Halo 3 and Gears of War 1 were the last time I was really with it in terms of competitive multiplayer - the less time I have to get good at a game, the less I care about being smashed into oblivion by a bunch of angry teenagers.

User avatar
Photek
Member
Joined in 2008
Location: Dublin

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Photek » Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:11 am

I punish myself too much at times. Like, Halo 5's mp is outstanding, its responsive, 60fps locked and apparently very high controller response rate (more than normal) but I can't get on with the core Arena, 4 v 4 matchmaking is great but having to get owned for 10games each month to get ranked is a killer.

Gears 4, again the mp is outstanding but im SHITE at it. :fp:

Image
User avatar
OrangeRKN
Community Sec.
Joined in 2015
Location: Reading, UK
Contact:

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by OrangeRKN » Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:35 am

Competitive local multiplayer is the best

Image
Image
orkn.uk - Top 5 Games of 2023 - SW-6533-2461-3235
User avatar
Pedz
Twitch Team
Joined in 2009
Contact:

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Pedz » Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:40 am

OrangeRakoon wrote:Competitive local multiplayer is the best


Thinking about it I don't believe we spoke of local multiplayer on the podcast.

Image
User avatar
Qikz
#420BlazeIt ♥
Joined in 2011

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Qikz » Fri Aug 18, 2017 8:50 am

I think the main thing is that 1v1 games are usually a lot less frustrating, because when you lose you don't have anyone to blame but yourself. You get flamed a hell of a lot less and don't have to deal with awful people.

The Watching Artist wrote:I feel so inept next to Qikz...
User avatar
Herdanos
Go for it, Danmon!
Joined in 2008
AKA: lol don't ask
Location: Bas-Lag

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Herdanos » Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:00 am

OrangeRakoon wrote:Competitive local multiplayer is the best

+1. Can't beat being in the same room as someone when you pip them to the finish line, or put five past them on Pro Evo. Likewise, I imagine being able to walk away from the machine if you're on the end of a drubbing isn't quite as character building as sitting there and taking a heckling.

Generating Real Conversations About Digital Entertainment
User avatar
jiggles
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by jiggles » Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:14 am

I think FIFA and Pro Evo are the only multiplayer games I get genuinely frustrated with, but I put that down to a lot of your performance being down to the AI. Sometimes an opponent will just run through the middle of your defense like a hot knife through butter, or your keeper will fluff an easy save, or your star striker will miss a sitter. A lot of how people play the games are through years of mastering how to exploit the AI for goals, so when I try to dip in every now and then (playing it like real football, rather than like FIFA), it feels like a rigged game.

Outside of that, I don't really get mad all that much. Any frustrations I have are at myself for strawberry floating up, rather than at the game or opponents, and that isn't exclusive to multiplayer. Sure, it ain't great if the odds are stacked against you (like if you're a man down and only have randos on your team vs. a 5-stack) but as long as you're still able to play (ie. you haven't been pushed all the way back to your spawn), you can still use a stomping to try out some new strategies, or simply as practice to get better at the game.

See, the thing about losing streaks is that... they end.

Glowy69
Member
Joined in 2008
Location: B6

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Glowy69 » Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:53 am

Co op seasons on fifa is the only real online i play.

Dark souls was a rude awakening to the level of cuntishness that online MP had become.

Fabian Delph is a banana split.

Drumstick wrote:I'll go on record in stating that Villa won't finish inside the top 6 this season.

Image
User avatar
Frank
Member
Joined in 2009

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Frank » Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:03 am

The one thing I noticed with the Microsoft Gamescom presentation is that there's almost too many multiplayer-only games out there now, and if there's more people who feel the same as everyone does in here, surely it can't be a profitable market to be in?

Even in the indie montage there was a few seconds of some Mech game, but after 15 seconds of research I discovered that it's yet another competitive arena multiplayer game :dread: Why would anyone buy that over something with a larger playerbase? Are developers just cheap, or lazy, or misguided, or all of the above? Or are they doing market research and people are saying "yeah I only play online" and that's convincing them to try and break into it? I'd pay full price+ for another campaign-based mechwarrior game, I'm not going to spend anything on a competitive multiplayer snorefest.

I'm barely interested in Sea of Thieves because it's another of those games with minimal narrative, while they paint it as "giving the fans the tools to tell their own stories" (see also: State of Decay 2). Maybe I'll change my mind once I actually play it, but for now I feel like there's so much more out there that Rare could be spending their time on.

Image
User avatar
Cheeky Devlin
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Cheeky Devlin » Mon Aug 21, 2017 11:33 am

I'm rapidly losing interest in most MP games to be honest.

Unless I'm playing with friends, I've not got the time or patience to dedicate to getting good at them, which leaves me at the mercy of those who do.

Hell, I've not even played Splatoon 2 online with you guys yet, despite having it since launch.

It's partly because I'm so beyond bored with levelling systems, gear unlocks and loot drops. Nothing puts me off more than gear locked behind levels in MP. The only game I spent any amount of time with recently that had that stuff was the Division, but the end-game content was so focussed on the players who seemed to do nothing but play that game, that I just couldn't be bothered grinding for slightly better Gear to keep up.

I'm not done with MP games at all, I still enjoy Mario Kart and Overwatch from time to time, but it's definitely something I'm less interested in than I was before. It's notable that both those games offer a level-playing field to players and skill/luck (And I guess to an extent your PC for Overwatch) has the biggest bearing on how well you do in them.

User avatar
Trelliz
Doctor ♥
Joined in 2008
Contact:

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Trelliz » Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:37 pm

I'm getting round to listening to the podcast on this now, and i think a lot of what you guys are talking about can be summed up by how much importance you place on whatever you're doing; playing in a group on mumble is more about the social experience and the bants than gitting gud.

Your talking about lucioball reminded of the fun i had in overwatch brawls; everyone was being silly in chat because everyone was hanzo/genji or all healers and there was nothing at stake because the audience was self-selecting.

What ultimately turned me off competitive multiplayer was that i don't care about the ranks, badges or whatever.

jawa2 wrote:Tl;dr Trelliz isn't a miserable git; he's right.
NickSCFC

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by NickSCFC » Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:35 pm



A depressing future indeed.

User avatar
Aha
Member
Joined in 2017

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Aha » Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:58 pm

I do like the team element of competitive multiplayer. The way you could really tactically organise yourselves in Halo and combine to make great kills. To be honest though, I always enjoyed it more when I played online with at least a couple of people I actually knew. Was never one to join a game of strangers on my own.

I think it does come down to the fact that I do miss local multiplayer. You really do miss out on a lot of fun when you're just sat in a room on your own, playing for virtual rewards against just anyone. It's not the social event it used to be, where you could just laugh and muck around with your mates.

Saying that, Mario Kart is still the best for just mucking around and having a bit of a laugh online. Smash bros too.

NickSCFC

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by NickSCFC » Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:49 pm

Fries. Wedges. Crisps? wrote:
OrangeRakoon wrote:Competitive local multiplayer is the best

+1. Can't beat being in the same room as someone when you pip them to the finish line, or put five past them on Pro Evo. Likewise, I imagine being able to walk away from the machine if you're on the end of a drubbing isn't quite as character building as sitting there and taking a heckling.

+2. I only really care about beating people I know, I don't really care about playing randomers online. For me the whole novelty of online FPS games has worn off, I prefer solo games I can become immersed in.

User avatar
Lex-Man
Member
Joined in 2008
Contact:

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Lex-Man » Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:09 pm

I use to play DOTA 2, but I just found some of the other people I played with were super annoying. There was loads of casual racism or just people either flipping out when stuff didn't go there way.

Amusement under late capitalism is the prolongation of work.
User avatar
Fade
Member
Joined in 2011
Location: San Junipero

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Fade » Fri Sep 01, 2017 10:33 am

After having gone really hard on a lot of multiplayer games over the years (like 400+ hours on some)

You begin to see the same patterns.

Especially in shooters, and they become increasingly less fun to play once you realise you're only playing to make numbers go up.

User avatar
Knoyleo
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Knoyleo » Fri Sep 01, 2017 10:46 am

Fade wrote:After having gone really hard on a lot of multiplayer games over the years (like 400+ hours on some)

You begin to see the same patterns.

Especially in shooters, and they become increasingly less fun to play once you realise you're only playing to make numbers go up.

I increasingly feeling like this with a lot of games in general, including single player ones. I'm sure not much has changed, and it's more to do with my own perception, but once I've identified the mechanics, it just feels like all I'm doing is endlessly repeating the same function for some numerical reward or stat boost or whatever, and it kills all fun.

pjbetman wrote:That's the stupidest thing ive ever read on here i think.
User avatar
OrangeRKN
Community Sec.
Joined in 2015
Location: Reading, UK
Contact:

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by OrangeRKN » Fri Sep 01, 2017 12:23 pm

Knoyleo wrote:I increasingly feeling like this with a lot of games in general, including single player ones. I'm sure not much has changed, and it's more to do with my own perception, but once I've identified the mechanics, it just feels like all I'm doing is endlessly repeating the same function for some numerical reward or stat boost or whatever, and it kills all fun.


This is why games that /don't/ fall into that pattern are so good - like Titanfall 2's campaign, and a lot of Nintendo games. They keep throwing new mechanics or new ways to use existing mechanics at you to prevent repetition.

Of course other games repetition is key as the goal isn't to constantly delight with novel experience, but to get reward from getting better.

Image
Image
orkn.uk - Top 5 Games of 2023 - SW-6533-2461-3235
User avatar
Fade
Member
Joined in 2011
Location: San Junipero

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Fade » Fri Sep 01, 2017 12:56 pm

Knoyleo wrote:
Fade wrote:After having gone really hard on a lot of multiplayer games over the years (like 400+ hours on some)

You begin to see the same patterns.

Especially in shooters, and they become increasingly less fun to play once you realise you're only playing to make numbers go up.

I increasingly feeling like this with a lot of games in general, including single player ones. I'm sure not much has changed, and it's more to do with my own perception, but once I've identified the mechanics, it just feels like all I'm doing is endlessly repeating the same function for some numerical reward or stat boost or whatever, and it kills all fun.

That's why a game has to have a good story for me, or at least an interesting world I want to explore.

I do not understand the appeal of Mobas mainly because half the game is grinding to make numbers go up with little to no world building. I used to love the Naruto Ninja Storm games because although they were relatively simple, the characters and story were really good.

My two favourite online shooters (Last of Us and Overwatch) both had brilliant world building which is probably why I didn't enjoyed them so. Just cannot get into a lot of shooters because there's nothing beyond the numbers to get invested in.

User avatar
Peter Crisp
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: The Frustrations of Competitive Multiplayer
by Peter Crisp » Fri Sep 01, 2017 1:01 pm

I've never really cared about the quality of the loot I have unless it has such a huge impact on the game that the best stuff is required and then I just get put-off asa games like The Division made the grind just so hard and unrewarding it just wasn't at all fun and I don't see the point in playing a game that isn't fun.

Vermilion wrote:I'd rather live in Luton.

Return to “Games”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Choclet-Milk, Christopher, DarkRula, Kanbei, kazanova_Frankenstein, Miguel007 and 333 guests