Halo: Reach Will Punish Quitters, Says Bungie

[Logan Westbrook]

Halo: Reach Will Punish Quitters, Says Bungie

Quit often enough in Halo: Reach, and you might find yourself unable to play at all.

Anyone who plays videogames online probably has had some kind of experience with people quitting. Perhaps you suddenly find yourself outnumbered three to one as members of your team drop out in Gears of War, or maybe you're denied a win in Street Fighter 4 as your opponent vanishes in a puff of internet smoke just before you strike the final blow. But if you make a habit of quitting games in Halo: Reach, you might be in for something of a surprise.

Bungie's Brian Jarrard says that people who habitually quit online games create a "really negative experience" for other players and that while quitting isn't cheating in the strictest sense, Bungie is still eager to curtail it as much as possible. He said that Bungie had developed tools to detect quitters and that it wanted to "remove them from the population" so that they couldn't spoil anyone else's fun.

While few would argue that people quitting online games isn't irritating, actively removing them from playing online seems a touch heavy handed, as well as difficult to manage. One would have to assume that Bungie's tools take into account things like connection issues and other legitimate reasons that people might abruptly leave a game, but no tool is foolproof and there will almost certainly be mistakes. Without seeing the system in action however, it's hard to say anything for definite.

Source: Xbox 360 Achievements [http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-5891-Bungie-Clamping-Down-On-Quitters-In-Reach.html]







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[Arkhangelsk]

I'm gonna say this right out: Bungie are douchebags now. If I'm new to Halo and accidentally get stuck in a match full of pros, should I just suck it up now? If I'm not okay with the game, I should have the right to leave. Even worse, what if your interrupted while gaming and have to go. If this happens some times, then what? First that bonus for PC gamers, now this? Thank you, Bungie, you've made me not want to buy this game.

It's true, ragequitters are a problem, but it's better off when they leave, otherwise they'll just whine and not care. I've played Halo 3 very much, and I've been stuck in impossible games over and over. It's not fun to have to quit. And I think it's my bloody right to leave the game if I'm not having fun. Shouldn't it be fun for everyone?

EDIT: Okay, I've received enough quotes, please leave this post alone.

EDIT2: I'm serious. I've heard every argument. If you think you're adding something new and fresh, you're not, I've heard everything, I'm admitting fault. Now let me forget this post.

 

[JokerboyJordan]

Well that sounds a touch unfair, I guess we'll see ihow it works out.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

My internet doesn't always like me very much... I think my ISP hates the amount I download.

Still as long as I can be disconnected a few times without repercussions then cutting down on quitters is a good thing in my books.

 

[ultimateownage]

Bungie: You are all idiots. What if someone genuinly needs to leave, or is just not having fun. Are they not allowed to leave? Punish rage quitters, not quitters. Also: Any game that becomes unbalanced due to quitters isn't very good, or has terrible auto balance.

 

[wrecker77]

This and the active roster where you can be put with chatty players, or not talk etc. Are making me worried. No one really needs these features and this is going to create more problems than it solves.

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

im a bit worried about this, what if i have to leave during a game. What if my friends get online and what to play a game. This is a little dumb, hoipefully this works out though.

 

[Undead Dragon King]

And what about people with faulty internet connections? When the server drops them, will they be considered "quitters" too?

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

One would have to assume that Bungie's tools take into account things like connection issues and other legitimate reasons that people might abruptly leave a game

Exactly what I was thinking.
One of the most annoying things I found about Halo 3's matchmaking was that if you quit/disconnect, you lose exp.
So, if you really have to leave for some reason, you get punished. Or if your internet connection sucks, you get punished.
Those people who had to suffer through just losing exp before, will now lose the ability to play online?
Me thinks that an asshole thought this little thing up. Well done Bungie, always good to listen to assholes. Makes you really popular, doesn't it?

 

[Trivun]

Personally, I'm happy with this, provided it's done right and legitimate reasons for quitting are taken into account. If Bungie handle it well, this could be something I'd like to see in other games in the future. I play the original Halo (custom edition) on modded maps on PC, and I've had problems where I've ended up in a game against eight other players with only a few on my side because people quit or switch teams to be with their friends/clan-mates. And it pisses me off. In other games as well, like Dawn of War, I've suffered from people on my team quitting halfway through and leaving me to face an enemy with superior numbers on my own. And it's just plain unfair.

So yes, well done Bungie, and I look forward to seeing how this plays out in practice...

 

[Trivun]

And what about people with faulty internet connections? When the server drops them, will they be considered "quitters" too?

Read the article again. That question is answered for you...

 

[Vrex360]

[HEADING=1]What Bungie actually means to say on the matter is here:[/HEADING]

<quote= Bungie>So, you may be wondering why we haven't fixed the quitter problem yet. Thing is, we probably have, but we just haven't turned it on yet.
As we speak, the Banhammer is watching, amassing data about who's been quitting, the manner in which they have quit, and who suffered as a result of that quit. Numbers are feeding into complex heuristics and deep databases, and somewhere in the middle of it, our very own disembodied soul howls for revenge.

"Swing Banhammer, swing!" you cry out. Well, problem is, this is a Beta and we don't want the Banhammer swinging wildly until we know for sure that the numbers coming in are correct, and that the Beta itself is stable and not disconnecting people (creating the illusion of quitting.) Currently, we are only logging data for future action.

So what do we have in store for when it goes live next week? Let me pull back the curtain just a bit:

For starters, our Banhammer is getting more data than even Halo 3 produced, which is going to let us dial it in and more aggressively deal with habitual quitters. The real jerks are going to run into this, and then you're not going to see them online anymore. It'll be great.

Second, quitting a game will forfeit any credits you may have earned for that game. In fact, it may even cost you some credits. We're waiting to see how effective the Banhammer is before deciding exactly how much.

Lastly, and all new for Reach, we have a new type of ban called a Quitter Ban. This is a relatively soft ban, so we will be using it quite aggressively, activating after only a handful of quits and lasting a rather long time. What does it do? A player with a Quitter Ban will be temporarily unable to re-enter Matchmaking for 15-30 minutes following any further quits.

Oh, and we're playing around with some gametypes which end early (think "Sudden Death") when most of a team quits out, so that you don't need to play 8v1 Slayer to 100 (aka. "Hide and Seek".) You may see some of these in Matchmaking if we're unhappy with the other countermeasures.

As custodians of the online experience, we will be monitoring and adjusting out countermeasures as necessary to keep things ticking along nicely, without games being marred by habitual flakes who quit when they don't get the Sniper Rifle first. So in the meantime, enjoy the Beta!
And quit quitting, because we are watching, and it is going into your personal Banhammer dossier.

(Special pre-emptive note: Online game designers are familiar with "virtual guilt", whereby a perfectly upstanding, innocent player will feel irrationally nervous and guilty upon hearing about a potential punishment. And now, you're familiar with the concept too. Well, relax. We are very deliberate about our enforcement policies, and if you're not a habitual quitter, we're not going to ban you for that one time that your internet cut out. And if it cuts out every game, well, you should probably use the downtime between games to call your ISP and get a technician out. It'll be for the greater good.)

[HEADING=1]They are not talking about permanently banning people from the system based on singular acts of rage quitting!
The longest anyone will be banned for is twenty minutes and only if they are frequently quitting from matches, like ten times in a thirty minutes.[/HEADING]

Also:

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?cid=26432

Towards the end of this article it is mentioned that in fact before you even get a fifteen minute suspension, you get a weekly probation period. Bungie also note the connection issues other countries face and have done their bit to fix that up and have now got the tools needed to fix up connection issues. So the fear of being suspended based on connection issues is not something you need worry about as Bungie are aware of this problem.

 

[jasoncyrus]

Do not want!

I abruptly leave games when I get bored or when something more important comes up, I game to have fun but there's plenty in my life more important than computer games and I prioritise my life over them.

Agreed, I'd never tell someone, "Oh, I have to be there in ten minutes, I'm winning this imaginary game against people I've never met." People dropping from games is to be expected, instead of punishing, they should be encouraging people not to drop from the game.

Indeed, for example, bonus points at the end of the match or some such. Blizzard did that with the WoW dungeon finder and it's ensured i've pushed through some more of the "less likeable" situations and peoples.

 

[MagicMouse]

Bungie has always been swift with the Ban Hammer

I think this system is going to work out good.

 

[Why do I care]

DO NOT WANT MAN!

 

[Silver Patriot]

No offense but this was news when they tested it DURING THE BETA! Though to be fair one could assume they wouldn't have gone though with it.

Anyway the way it is supposed to work is that if you quit so many times within certain period you will be banned for 15-30 minutes. A timeout if you will. The idea is that if something is going on that will cause you to quit repeatedly them you could take that time to fix it. If your quiting repeatedly because you didn't get "your" map it is their way of saying stop. Also,

Oh, and we're playing around with some gametypes which end early (think "Sudden Death") when most of a team quits out, so that you don't need to play 8v1 Slayer to 100 (aka. "Hide and Seek".) You may see some of these in Matchmaking if we're unhappy with the other countermeasures.

Bungie Weekly Update 05.07.10 [http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=BWU_050710]

Personally I don't really know how to feel about it.

 

[Not-here-anymore]

...The hell? That's ridiculously unfair! I've already taken a massive xp penalty in Halo 3 thanks to having to leave mid-game due to friend, dog or academic issues. Now you're telling me that I might void my right to play the game if I genuinely have to leave?
How's this system going to work? Presumably it detects if you quit whilst you're losing?

My proposal for a better system - turn off/disconnect your controller, and you don't respawn when you die until you turn it on again (turn off your console, you still stand around until you're killed, but you can't rejoin the game). It also removes you from the party at the end of the game. Deals with controller battery issues, legitimately having to leave, and guarantees your opponents won't vanish whilst you're beating them. If an entire team disconnects controllers, give the game 30 seconds before ending and declaring a winner/draw. (Don't let a team win if they all disconnect, make it a draw in that circumstance).
Implement that, remove the ability to quit from online games at all, and see what happens.
There's a penalty of one death for quitters, which isn't so harsh that it punishes those that actually have to leave.

Would that work as a system?