CQC Matchmaking Takes Much Too Long! Add Bots to Fill Up the Empty Slots

[Cosmo]

It takes much too long to start a single CQC match. Why is that? Because too few people bother to play CQC! So the minimum required slots to start a match stay empty most of the time. It's undead, but it can be fixed.

Bots have been frequently requested such as on December 2, 2015. Why doesn't Frontier listen to fix this problem?

How can CQC be revived?

• More people would play if there was quick matchmaking with bots to fill up the empty slots
• Integrate CQC into the main-game so that players on long journeys can jump into a CQC match (as a virtual reality game). This will make the long and dull super-cruises more fun.

The bottom line is CQC cannot thrive without bots due to a huge lack of active players. This results in very slow to no matchmaking. Integrate CQC in the main game and it will thrive with player who switch back and forth.

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

It takes much too long to start a single CQC match. Why is that? Because too few people bother to play CQC! So the minimum required slots to start a match stay empty most of the time. It's undead, but it can be fixed.

Bots have been frequently requested such as on December 2, 2015. Why doesn't Frontier listen to fix this problem?

How can CQC be revived?

• More people would play if there was quick matchmaking with bots to fill up the empty slots
• Integrate CQC into the main-game so that players on long journeys can jump into a CQC match (as a virtual reality game). This will make the long and dull super-cruises more fun.

The bottom line is CQC cannot thrive without bots due to a huge lack of active players. This results in very slow to no matchmaking. Integrate CQC in the main game and it will thrive with player who switch back and forth.

I would like them to be a last resort. However, this won't happen. It is a touch thing to achieve.

 

[timbero]

I've tried to get into CQC a while back, but I got stuck in matchmaking several times with no info or feedback AT ALL.

Couldn't see lobby, couldn't see other games, couldn't host a game and wait for people, couldn't see or chat with other players. Was just stuck loading/waiting.

Dreadful GUI with zero info for players (it was back then atleast).

No wonder no one plays it, it turns out: YOU CAN'T!

 

[Arindor]

I would also like bots so I could CQC in solo. But yes, bots!

 

[Arkadi]

Matchmaking just should be much quicker... with bots or without - but quicker.

 

[schmicknick]

...I play on xbox. I just hit prestige 5 in cqc.

I have watched the lobbies at times for many hours. People come and go. I was really thinking that the solution would be more simple. I think that if even only the dm lobby were made to launch w/2 people... that would get game(s) rolling and then any others would be able to join in easily and the lobbies grow.

Granted, I have a collection of people now that I watch to see if they are in cqc, or can invite to play. And the new 'looking for groups' stuff on xbox is really a great tool as far as building cqc lobbies. However, I think it still would be a benefit to simply lower the threshold on numbers of players to launch a lobby.

I don't see any downside to it.

I'm sure I'd be ultimately fine with bots at 1/10 or 1/100 point structure or something... being able to find a game any time of day is a great idea, lol. I'm just not sure how that might skew the value of the achievement, or the stats and whatnot. And I don't know how hard that might be to actually implement.... where I have seen the dm lobby launch with 3, that seems like it's already a pretty simple toggle, and 2 is a pretty easy number to hit almost anytime.

 

[Sowelu]

I would rather focus on matchmaking techniques. Such as transparent queue list.
Focusing on bots that will never be a part of this game is a waste of our effort - even if devs were listening it's not going to happen. Making people in matches and queue visible, however, is achievable goal and puts almost no strain on devs's resources (make a player list + tweak lobby UI). I can see it happening and thus I would rather push this than a wishful dream.

I am sorry to break it to you, I would love to have lot of players in CQC too.

 

[GaryII]

There is very simple solution, make playing CQC the best way to make money in Elite = a lot of players in CQC
People are ready to do anything of the money in Elite as main game shows ;D
Sure bots also is a good idea.

 

[SushiCW]

...I play on xbox. I just hit prestige 5 in cqc.

I have watched the lobbies at times for many hours. People come and go. I was really thinking that the solution would be more simple. I think that if even only the dm lobby were made to launch w/2 people... that would get game(s) rolling and then any others would be able to join in easily and the lobbies grow.

Granted, I have a collection of people now that I watch to see if they are in cqc, or can invite to play. And the new 'looking for groups' stuff on xbox is really a great tool as far as building cqc lobbies. However, I think it still would be a benefit to simply lower the threshold on numbers of players to launch a lobby.

I don't see any downside to it.

I'm sure I'd be ultimately fine with bots at 1/10 or 1/100 point structure or something... being able to find a game any time of day is a great idea, lol. I'm just not sure how that might skew the value of the achievement, or the stats and whatnot. And I don't know how hard that might be to actually implement.... where I have seen the dm lobby launch with 3, that seems like it's already a pretty simple toggle, and 2 is a pretty easy number to hit almost anytime.

The devs actually mentioned they were thinking of going to a minimum of 2 players at one point, but I don't think they were able to fit it in for 2.2. I agree that it's a simple thing that would likely help.

 

[NeilF]

It takes much too long to start a single CQC match. Why is that? Because too few people bother to play CQC! So the minimum required slots to start a match stay empty most of the time. It's undead, but it can be fixed.

You mean like if fighters had been put into the core game as a mission/task types? And NPCs could have made up your wingmen (and you could have given then simple attack this/defend that commands). And you could have undertaken different objectives such as defending a platform, or a damaged ship, or escorted some convoys? And like if enemy NPC fighters could have come in against you, and/or in OPEN, even enemy CMDRs?

I mean, who would would have thought that allllll this development effort might have been more useful actually leveraged into the core game instead of a stand alone one!


And everytime I see CQC limping along, I get reminded of this...

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

You mean like if fighters had been put into the core game as a mission/task types? And NPCs could have made up your wingmen (and you could have given then simple attack this/defend that commands). And you could have undertaken different objectives such as defending a platform, or a damaged ship, or escorted some convoys? And like if enemy NPC fighters could have come in against you, and/or in OPEN, even enemy CMDRs?

I mean, who would would have thought that allllll this development effort might have been more useful actually leveraged into the core game instead of a stand alone one!


And everytime I see CQC limping along, I get reminded of this...

We have very thick skins us CQC'ers.

Come and have a game, you might like it.

 

[NeilF]

We have very thick skins us CQC'ers.

Come and have a game, you might like it.

I enjoyed if for a few weeks for what it was... Got my 10/1 kill ratio... Got tired with what it was... Not touched it since...

I look at it now as a novelty, and a large lump of dev time/effort that could have (instead) progressed the main game.

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

I enjoyed if for a few weeks for what it was... Got my 10/1 kill ratio... Got tired with what it was... Not touched it since...

I look at it now as a novelty, and a large lump of dev time/effort that could have (instead) progressed the main game.

You got a 10/1 kill ratio after a few weeks!! Man, we have Elite players with a lower kill ratio than that You ought to come back

Also, you should remember that for some people it IS the main game. FD sold it standalone if you remember.

 

[SushiCW]

I enjoyed if for a few weeks for what it was... Got my 10/1 kill ratio... Got tired with what it was... Not touched it since...

I look at it now as a novelty, and a large lump of dev time/effort that could have (instead) progressed the main game.

You should come by and see if you can maintain that 10:1 against the likes of Curtis or Dutchy or Eent. You may also find it more satisfying when played that way... or not, who knows.

 

[NeilF]

You should come by and see if you can maintain that 10:1 against the likes of Curtis or Dutchy or Eent. You may also find it more satisfying when played that way... or not, who knows.

I suspect it would quickly turn to 1:10

 

[Mr.Loma]

We tried to get into CQC today, but nothing worked
Till now we were only able to do deathmatch, not team DM or CTF :-/
We should just be able to start the server when it's not full yet

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

We tried to get into CQC today, but nothing worked
Till now we were only able to do deathmatch, not team DM or CTF :-/
We should just be able to start the server when it's not full yet

This is a more sensible approach than bots in my view.

Team death match is difficult because most people are in death match. You need to be able to chat with other players to suggest they join a team death match. This is an area where the discord channel can be a help.

 

[UnhappyDev]

I'm still flabbergasted that it is not possible to click a 'ready up' button when there are 2 or more players in the lobby so that matches can start even with just 2 players, provided they have clicked the 'ready' button.

No...really I just cannot believe that this does not exist. Have I missed it somewhere? The number of times I've been stuck in the lobby with 1 other player who I would quite happily have played 1v1...I can only assume that there are technical reasons behind this omission (e.g. limiting number of concurrent instances??)

 

[Scoopy Doopy]

I'm still flabbergasted that it is not possible to click a 'ready up' button when there are 2 or more players in the lobby so that matches can start even with just 2 players, provided they have clicked the 'ready' button.

No...really I just cannot believe that this does not exist. Have I missed it somewhere? The number of times I've been stuck in the lobby with 1 other player who I would quite happily have played 1v1...I can only assume that there are technical reasons behind this omission (e.g. limiting number of concurrent instances??)

I think this has been discussed. Your point about the concurrent instances while maybe not a limiting factor technically, may still be right because you could end up with loads of 1v1 matches. FD would need to find a way to merge matches as they end which may be easy and may not be.

 

[Spacecat]

Pretty much the only time I ever tried it, I gave up after waiting several minutes for matchmaking with no results. I see no real reason why not to add bots, at least as an option, as they're in the regular game anyway.