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[Known] Matchmaking Failures (Sieges, Mines)

Discussion in 'Multiplayer, Social, & Guilds' started by Jason_M, Dec 31, 2018.

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  1. Jason_M

    Jason_M Avatar

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    12/31/2018 20:06


    Title: Cannot join Party members instances
    Reproduction Rate: Sporadic
    Blocker? Blocks party play
    Details:
    Steps to Reproduce:Repeated attempts

    In the past month or so, since about R60 (if memory serves), my friends and I have been experiencing a lot of failures to match with party members. Swapping leadership, swapping multiplayer settings (for every bleeding party member - what a mess), leaving and re-entering the instance - it's a mess.

    Matchmaking shouldn't be a problem in forced-open scenes like sieges. I can understand where adventure scenes might be an issue with each individual's multiplayer settings (should force to party leader's settings, shouldn't it?), but force-open must be some kind of a bug.

    Thank you for your time and attention.


    User Specs:
    OS: Windows 10 (10.0.0) 64bit
    CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz (8) System RAM: 16196
    GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M GPU RAM: 4062
    SotA.Win.64.890.Date.12.21.18
    Area: SiegeEncounter_Forest01_Road/POT_forest_metropolis_01_template/Dragomir Mori
    Area Display Name: Forest Siege
    Loc: (-41.8, 31.3, -113.0)
    Debug: U2llZ2VFbmNvdW50ZXJfRm9yZXN0MDFfUm9hZHxQT1RfZm9yZXN0X21ldHJvcG9saXNfMDFfdGVtcGxhdGUvRHJhZ29taXIgTW9yaXwoLTQxLjg0OCwgMzEuMjgzLCAtMTEzLjA0MSl8KDAsIC0wLjU5NCwgMCwgLTAuODA1KXw0MjEuOTYwMnwyMi4xMTM1N3wyLjkz
     
  2. Lord Subtleton

    Lord Subtleton Developer Emeritus

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    Sounds like you are having difficulty getting into the same instance with party members when entering a siege scene. Can you ask your party members if they are clicking on the siege button (aka "Enter Siege") or are they clicking on the Party Shield?
     
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  3. Jason_M

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    First time: entering normally. After leaving and coming back: Shield.

    Thank you for taking the time to help me with my problem, but... It's New Years. Please go have some fun :)
     
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  4. Lord Subtleton

    Lord Subtleton Developer Emeritus

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    So you may have guessed that I had a reason from asking about which button was clicked. Clicking on the "enter siege" button is intended to create a new instance of the siege. There is some randomness, and some looking at your character's state that goes into the decision of what kind of instance to create. It's even possible that the system may select a siege type that is already in progress - in which case you would _actually_ join other players. But for the most part, sieges and random encounters are single-player affairs - by design.

    The way to join a party member in a siege or a random encounter is through the "Party shield" icon on the over-world map. That "Party shield" method by-passes the randomness and takes you directly to the instance where that party member is playing. (That's one reason why there is a shield for each player. Each player in the party could potentially be in a different encounter.)

    So armed with this information, please give sieges another try when in a party. If the "Party shield" icon doesn't take you to the right instance, that would be a bug. Otherwise, please consider adding some feedback about your experience with sieges + parties in the Feedback section.
     
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  5. Lord Subtleton

    Lord Subtleton Developer Emeritus

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    Follow up: We have decided to make a design change for next release. Players will enter the currently running instance of a siege (if one exists), even if the phase of the moon (or other factors) have changed since that instance was created.
     
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  6. Jason_M

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    That's an interesting idea. I think it's a good decision because, for the majority of players, sieges aren't solo content. Thematically, as well, a siege should be a community effort.

    There's one thing I'm still fuzzy about concerning match making: If I teleport to a friend in my party, especially the party leader, why do I occaisionally get landed in a different instance? Assuming the party leader started the instance, our party members often get split into two instances seemingly without explanation. Sometimes we have to leave the party, leave the scene, rejoin the party, a d re-enter the scene o_O

    I spend most of my game time in a party, so perhaps I'm an unusual case in terms of matchmaking abberations. Perhaps a knowledgable person could make a "Matchmaking for Dummies" to help folks avoid frustrations. :)
     
  7. Jason_M

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    Hello there. It's me again. This time I'm writing from Etceter Crag Mines. Our party of five struggled for quite a long time, half of us going to one instance and another. Kicking from party, changing leaders, multiplayer settings - it was as though match-making is determined by RNG. Some members for teleported to the leaders instance - others not. My wife got teleported while I didn't even though we are the same internet connection.

    I really don't understand how match-making works. Is there some kind of guide or FAQ available?
     
  8. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    Lord Subtleton tagged me in for this one!

    First, I don't blame you for being confused. We made it confusing! Sorry about that. I'll be fixing the issues with the mines today.

    Here's some extra info on what's probably going on with the Etceter Crag Mines: Currently, those mines have two different versions (we call them "scenarios"): one for multiplayer and another for quest/solo. If you're on a certain quest stage, you go into the quest/solo version, otherwise you go into the multiplayer version. Teleport to Friend/Zone scrolls should be blocked because that system doesn't know which version to put you in. ...Oops! I missed a setting and sometimes you CAN use such a scroll ... which might send you into the wrong version! No wonder you're confused!

    Small "good" news: I'll be turning off the ability to Teleport to Friend/Zone into Etceter Crag Mines with an upcoming patch. At least that will cut down on some confusion.

    Bigger good news: Coincidentally, I happen to be doing a little overhaul of the quest related to those mines! If all goes well, I'll be "collapsing" all versions down into one by next release (and the quest elements will be in a "side room" in the mines) and turning the ability to Teleport to Friend/Zone into Etceter Crag Mines back on! All confusion should be clear up by then! That's my dream, anyway. I'm crossing my fingers!
     
  9. Lord Subtleton

    Lord Subtleton Developer Emeritus

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    @Jason_M In the meantime, there is a work-around that should get around this issue. Have all of the party members enter the mine. If some players are in different instances, then all players in the party that are in the "wrong" instance should log out, and then re-login at the overworld position. (Using the front-end menu, choose "Start on World Map" instead of "Resume"). Once you are in the overworld, click on the "Party Shield" of the player in the correct instance.

    Thank you for the post.
     
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  10. Jason_M

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    Hello @Sannio and @Lord Subtleton

    Thank you very much for your help :)

    You guys are great, and I know you do your best. We appreciate your hard work.

    I don't know if these kinds of reports are terribly helpful as any technical data I can provide isn't technical at all, but please let me know if there's any way I can help.

    Beat regards :)
     
  11. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    I think the information you gave us was enough for us to get some fixes together. But if we need more info, we'll let you know! :)
     
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