Halo 3 Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: The new Matchmaking, Reputations, Feedback & Trials - explained.
  • Subject: The new Matchmaking, Reputations, Feedback & Trials - explained.
Subject: The new Matchmaking, Reputations, Feedback & Trials - explained.
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

No more cheating. Rankings, Feedback, Free Trials and Matchmaking Systems have all been changed to stamp out cheating and level the playing field. See below.

There will be 2 components, Rank and Reputation.

Your Rank is going to be calculated using the TrueSkill system (Detailed explaination on Microsoft.com, Short Version on www.xbox.com, Short version on www.microsoft.com).

When you first play a game in a playlist, Matchmaking will give you a pre-determined True Rank (probably the usual average rank of the community, not 1). It will then say "I don't really know how good this person is" and give you a large margin of uncertainty in that rank. The more games you play, your True Rank will change based on the result and the system's level of uncertainty about that rank will lessen. Eventually, the system will know where you belong.

So for example, let's say the average rank is 15. I enter Rumble Pit and the system says, you are 15 but your "margin" is 10 so you could be matched with anyone from 5 to 25 with similar rank/margin. You win or lose and the system adjusts your 15 up or down accordingly. The next time, the system's "margin" may only be 9, then 8, then 5. Eventually, you could be a level 20 with a margin of 2. You then get matched with players you are likely to have closer battle with.

This should hopefully mean that good players climb quickly and poor players decline quickly. It will stop the situation where a Lvl 35 in Slayer starts his BTB campaign and has to pwn several hundred people before he gets to his true rank.

As this system was written by some of the biggest math brains in the world, I don't pretend to understand it very well suffice it to say that they believe boosting etc... will be a thing of the past. Further Layman's terms explainations of this new system would be appreciated.

Your Reputation (1 to 5 stars) is determined by the Feedback you receive at the end of a game. If you play well, you may receive good feedback, play poorly, poor feedback. Abusive language, bad sportmanship etc... can all earn you the wrath of your teammates. Your "Reputation" is then amended by this feedback. Matchmaking will then use this grade to pick suitable players of similar reputation from the player pool in that playlist. If you are a 5 star player, it is very unlikely that you will be matched with a 1 star player. It does not mean the you CAN NOT be matched with them, only that the system will pick players of better reputation if available BEFORE them.

Quitters, de-levellers, team killers, racists, griefers, cheaters, modders and all the rest BEWARE, you will all end up playing each other!!!

Is this open to abuse? Well, a cheater COULD give everyone else in the game bad feedback in the hope that it counter the feedback they WILL get. The system however will recognise that they have been given bad feedback by several and given lots of bad feedback themselves and give less "weight" to their feedback. Eventually, the "bad" people of the world will sit in a 1-star world of unfinished games, cheated on and quitted against by racists and biggots and bad feedback will abound. Their only option will be to get a new account as 2 month trials will no longer exist.

Free Trials

2 month trials will no longer exist. Instead, XBL will offer free trial weekends (not every weekend) where "REAL" potential Cusomers can assess XBL and decide if they want to invest in the product. The current 2 month trials will be honoured till June 2006. This will mean people must choose whether to purchase an account and play legit or cheat one weekend in four (or whatever the trial cycle is). "Honest" customers will get their free chance to play on XBL and cheaters will have to buy an account to play.

It has been suggested that it is possible to create unlimited Silver accounts each of which will come with a 1 month Gold Trial. Those that have stated this as fact have not been able to provide a link to an official source on this nor have I been to find anything to back this up. If true, it will make the cheating situation even worse than it is now. Also, this would make the trial weekends completely pointless and Microsoft the most stupid Company ever in the history of Companies which is why I do not believe it is true.

The only problem I forsee with this is that these weekend will become known as Rampant Cheater Weekends. The cheaters will come out in droves on these weekends and spoil the trials for people who genuinely want to try XBL. It will come to pass that the majority of the community avoids MM during these weekends making the whole point of trial a waste of time.


I hope this explains things a little for the new system.

  • 05.16.2006 7:21 AM PDT

There's also some glitch in the new trial system.. or seems to be. I'll look it up again.

  • 05.16.2006 7:24 AM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

If you can find a link, that would help! I've had quite a look around but can find very little other than "claims" by various people.

  • 05.16.2006 3:00 PM PDT