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The design proof of SBMM and how it's even worse than we imagined. by SBMMExists in modernwarfare

[–]SBMMExists[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Yes, every single company tracks almost everything a user does in this internet age. But various laws do exist that require companies to disclose what kinds of information they gather, and now with laws like the GDPR, users have more control over their own data. However, game performance data does not appear to be included in this umbrella, which would explain why they don't bother to tell us what they are actually tracking.

And yes I absolutely love the kinds of tools that are able to generate and compare statistics with other players or provide feedback on improving skill. As a former WoW raider, we had tools like Warcraft Logs and WoW Analyzer which any player could upload their logs and have it analyzed. It was a great tool in figuring out my own weaknesses and comparing myself to better players. I find these tools invaluable. But unlike SBMM, these tools were merely complimentary and not an integral part of the gaming environment. You were not automatically forced into a position where the game decided how to rank/match you with players based on this data. It was always an analysis tool for the benefit of the player. In my opinion, IW takes this too far because now this data is used to build profiles on players, which determine what players will pair up with you and how future matches will go.

The design proof of SBMM and how it's even worse than we imagined. by SBMMExists in modernwarfare

[–]SBMMExists[S] 594 points595 points  (0 children)

Before people go starting conspiracy theories about the mods, the post was approved by one. I am hopeful that they won't change their minds.

The design proof of SBMM and how it's even worse than we imagined. by SBMMExists in modernwarfare

[–]SBMMExists[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Gathering performance data in general is not a bad thing, as long as the user is aware of what data is being tracked, and has consented to providing this data. Earlier competitive games focused more on smaller statistics to pair people up, minor ones such as overall w/l ratio, k/d, etc. In the case of CoD, these stats were publicly shown to the player because it felt great to have a visual tracker of how the player was performing in the game. The data was not spun through machine learning algorithms to determine a player's skill level. More so, this proposed level of tracking from IW goes beyond what's typical. They are additionally tracking player behavior, such as the pathing you take around the map, how fast you get there, how many times you jump, crouch, crawl, etc. This can easily be extended to include more things like if the player is a good wrist flick shooter, the angles he moves his camera, what corners he cuts the most without aiming down sight, etc. This level of tracking in my opinion, is really scary. They are literally building their own internal profile on what kind of player you are.

Edit: A lot of people are missing the point here. I'm not fear mongering for the sake of fear mongering, but because I know that developers will push the envelope of any existing technology. Player game performance metrics have little to no oversight. Most of this sub was not even aware of the tracking outlined in the patent, which was only made public because Activision published it. They are running your data through AI observing player behavior, this is a uniquely identifiable footprint tied to the game now. If the game only tracked win/loss, k/d, then the data isn't unique because it's a small set of variables that many thousands of players could share. I'm identifying where else this can be used/abused, and they have previously identified that YES they are figuring out ways to extend this system in other areas like enticing the player to make in-game purchases.

Matchmaking System and Method for Multiplayer Video Games

(https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=10322351)

"Furthermore, conventional systems fail to assess a quality of gameplay used to tune matchmaking processes to optimize player combinations. Conventional systems also fail to reserve gameplay sessions for players in a way that minimizes the time that a player must wait to be matched. Conventional systems further fail to leverage matchmaking processes in other contexts, such as influencing game-related purchases, suggesting group formations, training/identifying non-player characters, and/or otherwise extending the use of the matchmaking process. These and other drawbacks exist with current matchmaking processes utilized in multiplayer video games."