Blizzard is Looking at Harsh Penalties for Overwatch Competitive Play Leavers

[Choppaduel]

So me ruining the experience of others by leaving is bad - but ruining it the exact same by not giving a fuck is fine. In other words, I get punished for giving other people the exact same thing either way but not wasting my own time. Which means the result of forcing me to stay is actually worse for at least one player than letting said player leave.

I agree. Furthermore, ensuring that the individual's experience is good consequently ensures that the groups experience is good. This, naturally, isn't how Blizzard sees it. To Blizzard, your not a individual, you are a player base that must be expanded and monetized. This is why Blizzard games have been declining in "fun" ever since Activation took over and also why they will eventually burn themselves out.

Or they could just add dedicated server support and return control over the gameplay to the player so the player can fix all their problems for them. TF2 was a lot more fun when dedicated servers existed and "leavers" were never an issue, but no, Blizz gotta get that MOBA e-sports money. Its a saturated market Blizzard, deal with it.

As for leavers, you will never solve the problem. There will always be, a phone call, doorbell, or bodily function to get in the way. IMO punishing your player base for not being dedicated enough is poor practice when you can just design you game around reducing the impact of "leavers." More players per side, shorter matches, substitute systems (like team sports, where only a portion of the team is active at a time) are all more effective at dealing with this issue than banning people because life got in the way.

 

[Pinky's Brain]

Stuff like that (and simply because forcing a person to play despite the fact they're just getting frustated instead of entertained) is why I am in general against leaver-penalty to begin with.

No one is putting a gun to his head and forcing him to play competitive overwatch. I for instance survive just fine not doing so.

I believe no one has an intrinsic right to inflict his misery on the world just to create equality. Some people obviously disagree, but in this case they also don't have control so it's a moot case. Leave and get fucked, throw and get fucked. That's the system they are trying to build, while leavers and throwers complain about the injustice and how the game should be designed to accommodate them.

And no, the whole "ruining the experience for others" argument I don't buy. If I play, than the experience I should be concerned with primarily is MY OWN. And if I don't have a good experience, then I should be allowed to leave - as the alternative is not giving a crap during the game and basically throwing the game that way, just that it also wastes my time.

Case in point. Although I think you're trolling.

 

[Bindal]

Stuff like that (and simply because forcing a person to play despite the fact they're just getting frustated instead of entertained) is why I am in general against leaver-penalty to begin with.

No one is putting a gun to his head and forcing him to play competitive overwatch. I for instance survive just fine not doing so.

I believe no one has an intrinsic right to inflict his misery on the world just to create equality. Some people obviously disagree, but in this case they also don't have control so it's a moot case. Leave and get ******. Throw and get ******. That's the system they are trying to build, while leavers and throwers complain about the injustice and how the game should be designed to accommodate them.

And no, the whole "ruining the experience for others" argument I don't buy. If I play, than the experience I should be concerned with primarily is MY OWN. And if I don't have a good experience, then I should be allowed to leave - as the alternative is not giving a crap during the game and basically throwing the game that way, just that it also wastes my time.

Case in point. Although I think you're trolling.

I am speaking about leaving-penalty in general. It's a stupid concept.
Either I get punished for not wanting to play anymore - or I have to waste the entire match not giving a fuck and basically just staring at a wall. But in both cases, the result for the rest of the match is the same for the other players.

If I want to leave, LET ME FUCKING LEAVE and don't punish me for it. Simple.

 

[Pinky's Brain]

Either I get punished for not wanting to play anymore - or I have to waste the entire match not giving a fuck and basically just staring at a wall.

They'll come for you next with penalties. Also there is the penalty of self selecting yourself into a tier of players who will DC/throw, which happens a lot less at higher tiers. Not everyone gets the game he deserves, but some do deserve the misery they inflict on others reflected onto themselves.

There's a third option. Suck it up and abide by the social contract of the game, try and do your best regardless. Also if you can't commit the time with a relative high degree of certainty, just don't join in.

Oh noes, competitive overwatch becomes systemically discriminating against people with some health conditions ... THE HORROR. Do you really want everyone to play Sarcastaball? If not, don't demand to be accommodated for your handicap. Again, suck it up.

 

[Elijin]

This topic has grown into a glorious representation of bronze/silver/low gold Overwatch. I bet these same people complain that the matchmaking doesn't give them better teammates.

 

[TheScorpion]

I'll be honest, If it's a comp game I'll make sure its only when its safe to leave, like when someone else left before me and there's no chance that I can bounce back.

 

[Matthew Lynch]

Either I get punished for not wanting to play anymore - or I have to waste the entire match not giving a fuck and basically just staring at a wall.

They'll come for you next with penalties. Also there is the penalty of self selecting yourself into a tier of players who will DC/throw, which happens a lot less at higher tiers. Not everyone gets the game he deserves, but some do deserve the misery they inflict on others reflected onto themselves.

There's a third option. Suck it up and abide by the social contract of the game, try and do your best regardless. Also if you can't commit the time with a relative high degree of certainty, just don't join in.

Oh noes, competitive overwatch becomes systemically discriminating against people with some health conditions ... THE HORROR. Do you really want everyone to play Sarcastaball? If not, don't demand to be accommodated for your handicap. Again, suck it up.

so what you sre saying is, that, cause I might have to leave to deal with a medical condition, I should aaccept that I could be banned.

The condition I have is type 1 diabetes and a immune condition called apised syndrome that makes my own immune system attack my organs (the apised is actually WHY I have diabetes now as my immune system destroyed my pancreas). Now, this mix of conditions means my diabetes is harder to control, and as such hypo's are alot more common. So..am I supposed to accept a ban because I had to stop playing to deal with a hypo (for those who are not aware, a hypos is when a diabetics blood sugr drops to dangerous levels, sometimes dropping the person into a coma. If intreated it can prove fatal in the worst or cause brain damage from the coma).

Here's an actual example of when this happened, happily with what I concider the right responce. I was playing in a fleet battle on EVE online...it was a war dec and all hands on deck. Everyone had to patrol the system...no exceptions. However, my diabetes chose that moment to drop my blood sugar to 1.8 (for record...anything below 4.0 is a hypo. I had to drop everything...and I was gonna be gone a bit as I had to deal with the hypo, take some dextrose/energy drink and afterwards get a sandwich so that my blood sugar would stabilize. Now, under your thinking, my fellow playwrs shoulda kicked me to the cerb and out the corp immediately. They didn;t...they understood when I explained the next day as to why I had suddenly docked up and left without warning.

Yes...there are some people who leave for no reason...but I can, as someone who has to live with said reason every day, that there is also plenty of other reason as to why someone would suddenly quit a match.

Now one day I really wanna give overwatch a try...I loved team fortress 2 and I hope to one day dust off my lack of skills have have a laugh again.

Are you saying that I should accept a ban if I am forced to prioritize my health...or that I shouldn't be allowed to play properly because I might have to leave? Because what you are saying is that there is no excuse and that the game comes first.

 

[JemothSkarii]

Well, it seems like a good idea - It's COMPETITIVE mode. Something with a name like that is serious business in some sense.

It's a cornerstone of the game and if someone leaving can adverse affect someone's performance or chances in something that, in the games terms, 'matters' maybe there should be punishment.

I ain't gonna pull the 'Don't play competitive if you're gonna leave' card, as people like numbers going up and what have you. but it seems reasonable.

Nothing will ever stop people leaving though. Sometimes people have issues, disconnects, or are just plain shit.

 

[kitsunefather]

I've had a few instances where I've been randomly DC'd mid match, or else had a knock on the door, a phonecall or other stuff more important than a game come up.

I don't think harsh penalties are a good idea. If they've given up they've given up, and if they have to stay connected they'll just sit around waiting for the match to end. I think a disconnect should count as a loss so you can't protect your rating by disconnecting a lost match, but that's a very mild punishment at worst.

A better resolution is for the side that finds itself one player short to get some kind of compensation. Maybe a bot, maybe another player gets added to the team, maybe the team gets to move faster, does more damage, has more hitpoints etc so they have a fighting chance despite being outnumbered. In general, I think the game can still be fun, balanced and fair if a player quits.

If they want it to be punitive, maybe have it count for multiple losses? Maybe cumulative? DC once in [time period (say, a day)], counts as one loss. A second DC counts as an additional 2 losses; a third counts as an additional 3; and so on. This way a simple lost connection or real life event won't really hurt you, but someone Disconnecting out of every match he doesn't like will add up?

 

[Elijin]

Either I get punished for not wanting to play anymore - or I have to waste the entire match not giving a fuck and basically just staring at a wall.

They'll come for you next with penalties. Also there is the penalty of self selecting yourself into a tier of players who will DC/throw, which happens a lot less at higher tiers. Not everyone gets the game he deserves, but some do deserve the misery they inflict on others reflected onto themselves.

There's a third option. Suck it up and abide by the social contract of the game, try and do your best regardless. Also if you can't commit the time with a relative high degree of certainty, just don't join in.

Oh noes, competitive overwatch becomes systemically discriminating against people with some health conditions ... THE HORROR. Do you really want everyone to play Sarcastaball? If not, don't demand to be accommodated for your handicap. Again, suck it up.

so what you sre saying is, that, cause I might have to leave to deal with a medical condition, I should aaccept that I could be banned.

The condition I have is type 1 diabetes and a immune condition called apised syndrome that makes my own immune system attack my organs (the apised is actually WHY I have diabetes now as my immune system destroyed my pancreas). Now, this mix of conditions means my diabetes is harder to control, and as such hypo's are alot more common. So..am I supposed to accept a ban because I had to stop playing to deal with a hypo (for those who are not aware, a hypos is when a diabetics blood sugr drops to dangerous levels, sometimes dropping the person into a coma. If intreated it can prove fatal in the worst or cause brain damage from the coma).

Here's an actual example of when this happened, happily with what I concider the right responce. I was playing in a fleet battle on EVE online...it was a war dec and all hands on deck. Everyone had to patrol the system...no exceptions. However, my diabetes chose that moment to drop my blood sugar to 1.8 (for record...anything below 4.0 is a hypo. I had to drop everything...and I was gonna be gone a bit as I had to deal with the hypo, take some dextrose/energy drink and afterwards get a sandwich so that my blood sugar would stabilize. Now, under your thinking, my fellow playwrs shoulda kicked me to the cerb and out the corp immediately. They didn;t...they understood when I explained the next day as to why I had suddenly docked up and left without warning.

Yes...there are some people who leave for no reason...but I can, as someone who has to live with said reason every day, that there is also plenty of other reason as to why someone would suddenly quit a match.

Now one day I really wanna give overwatch a try...I loved team fortress 2 and I hope to one day dust off my lack of skills have have a laugh again.

Are you saying that I should accept a ban if I am forced to prioritize my health...or that I shouldn't be allowed to play properly because I might have to leave? Because what you are saying is that there is no excuse and that the game comes first.

Is this happening to you every 40 minutes? Habitual quitting is not the same as having to quit sometimes. I would bet real cash you could quit about 3 competitive matches per 12 or 24 hours without ever seeing a consequence.

It also bans you from competitive, not Overwatch. Quick Play and Arcade will still be accessible.

Otherwise, bummer about your situation.

 

[Bad Jim]

If they want it to be punitive, maybe have it count for multiple losses? Maybe cumulative? DC once in [time period (say, a day)], counts as one loss. A second DC counts as an additional 2 losses; a third counts as an additional 3; and so on. This way a simple lost connection or real life event won't really hurt you, but someone Disconnecting out of every match he doesn't like will add up?

Again, I don't think this will work, because you cannot force someone to make a real effort. If you punish disconnections, they will just leave the game running. If you punish them for not moving, they will periodically move their characters while watching the TV. At best you could force them to keep respawning and running back into the action, but if their hearts aren't in it they will be easy targets and will not get many kills.

Punishing disconnections also makes compensation less effective. If someone disconnects, the server can recognize this and can replace him with a bot or another player, so the team is not negatively affected. If the same player doesn't quit but simply does whatever is required to avoid punishment, then the team is still effectively one player short but the server has no detectable justification for giving them another player.

 

[RJ 17]

"First you're going to ban me for ruining the experiences of other players by out-right cheating...NOW you're going to ban me for ruining the experiences of other players by leaving and all but assuring that my teammates are going to lose?! Why won't you let me fuck over random people that are trying to enjoy the game, Blizzard! It's may game so I should be able to piss all over everyone else just because I want to!!!"

Oh it's going to be as delicious as Bender's cooking when this gets implemented. I can't wait to see the reactions...

 

[McElroy]

If someone disconnects, the server can recognize this and can replace him with a bot or another player, so the team is not negatively affected.

This doesn't happen in Competitive Play. Unfortunately you are indeed sometimes stuck with a troll playing a troll champ without communicating... which Blizzard doesn't even find punishable (just check the report options!).

But habitual quitters can fuck right off. I don't play competitive, too casual for that. But even in QP its fucking annoying that dbags will quit if things don't go their way. Almost as annoying as the dbags who at the end of a losing game whine in chat about how everyone else sucks but they either were bottom of the team or decided that their character choice was more important than playing a much needed role.

So... Complaining about players in the casual mode playing casually? Like, the only reason why I ever play QP is to brush up a hero I don't often play or haven't played for a while, and thus if the enemy team plays my hard counter(s) I leave. Yours truly, Major Dickbag.

 

[Epyc Wynn]

I'll quit permanently if they do that.

My connection fails and has been registered as a leave. My console has been accidentally shut off while I'm playing a game. Sometimes I have something urgent to do and have to leave immediately.

If Overwatch's creator feels so self-entitled as to come near banning people and subsequently ruining the game they paid for over such a minor issue, then I will quit and they may have a lawsuit on their hands for breaking people's games. I have already dealt with a -75%xp penalty only over connection issues.

What's wrong with all of you? Why would anyone possibly think this is remotely a good idea. This is unacceptable -to punish someone for a feature built into the game such as leaving or having a console shut down or a bad connection or an emergency? You gotta be fucking kidding me that is outrageous.

 

[Avnger]

I'll quit permanently if they do that.

My connection fails and has been registered as a leave. My console has been accidentally shut off while I'm playing a game. Sometimes I have something urgent to do and have to leave immediately.

If Overwatch's creator feels so self-entitled as to come near banning people and subsequently ruining the game they paid for over such a minor issue, then I will quit and they may have a lawsuit on their hands for breaking people's games. I have already dealt with a -75%xp penalty only over connection issues.

What's wrong with all of you? Why would anyone possibly think this is remotely a good idea. This is unacceptable -to punish someone for a feature built into the game such as leaving or having a console shut down or a bad connection or an emergency? You gotta be fucking kidding me that is outrageous.

It's actually pretty simple. When it comes to the actions of one person that completely ruin the game experience for multiple others IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, the group trumps the individual. They've already stated they're going to build in leeway for the occasional disconnect. However if you find yourself quitting so often that you're being hit by these penalties repeatedly, perhaps competitive play isn't the match type for you; you're just ruining both your own and other peoples' experiences.

Also, you'd have entirely no recourse under law. These types of punishments fall under the same category as people being punished for cheating in multiplayer.

 

[Pinky's Brain]

so what you sre saying is, that, cause I might have to leave to deal with a medical condition, I should aaccept that I could be banned.

No, you shouldn't let it get to the point where you get banned.

If you find yourself physically unable to live up to the social contract of the game, stop playing.

 

[Bad Jim]

If someone disconnects, the server can recognize this and can replace him with a bot or another player, so the team is not negatively affected.

This doesn't happen in Competitive Play. Unfortunately you are indeed sometimes stuck with a troll playing a troll champ without communicating... which Blizzard doesn't even find punishable (just check the report options!).

I think you quoted the wrong guy. I said that. I was also suggesting that replacing players that quit would be a better solution, which if implemented would mean you would actually prefer players to quit rather than stop making an effort but remain connected.

Not much can be done about the trolls though because they can find ways to annoy you much faster than Blizzard can update the EULA.

 

[RJ 17]

If someone disconnects, the server can recognize this and can replace him with a bot or another player, so the team is not negatively affected.

This doesn't happen in Competitive Play. Unfortunately you are indeed sometimes stuck with a troll playing a troll champ without communicating... which Blizzard doesn't even find punishable (just check the report options!).

Swing and a miss. Don't know if you meant to comment on my cynical post, but the quote you quoted is in another castle. Err, I mean what you quoted was most specifically not in my post.

And now for your entertainment: a man getting knocked in the face by a Kamikaze Carp:

 

[McElroy]

snip

snip

From now on I'll just quote you both (I clicked the wrong quote-button, I truly am the next Hitler).

replacing players that quit would be a better solution, which if implemented would mean you would actually prefer players to quit rather than stop making an effort but remain connected.

It absolutely wouldn't be the better option though. Just think about it from the perspective of this substitute player that gets filled in. The appeal of Solo Queue would drop all the way down.

 

[Matthew Lynch]

so what you sre saying is, that, cause I might have to leave to deal with a medical condition, I should aaccept that I could be banned.

No, you shouldn't let it get to the point where you get banned.

If you find yourself physically unable to live up to the social contract of the game, stop playing.

Thats the same as saying I;m not allowed to play because of my medical condition...when did it come to this...that people take games so serious that they literally say people cannot play because of a condition they werte born with?