Galgatha
Smash Journeyman
Hey guys, so I originally thought about making this a video, and perhaps I will if the feedback is decent enough. I actually thought of a way for Nintendo to fix the online for SSBU. Now, first off, I wanted to give a few disclaimers.
Disclaimer #1) I am not a Nintendo employee. I don't have access to their servers, server code, or the program used for match making. I am just coming at this with my career knowledge in Network Forensics, Network Administration, and Cybersecurity.
Disclaimer #2) I dont actually own SSBU yet, considering I don't have a switch yet. I have just seen alot of people complaining about this and figured I would throw in my 2 cents with my background knowledge and a possible solution.
Disclaimer #3) This will get slightly in-depth though I will keep the technical verbiage to a minimum so hopefully everybody can follow along. If you guys think this could work, feel free to spread this around in hopes of getting it (eventually) to Nintendo's attention.
So, now that those are out of the way, I first wanted to explain how I believe the matchmaking system currently works. When you first click into the SSBU Online mode, your Switch goes out and connects with a Nintendo Network Server (NNS). The NNS contains your online profile, your saved preferred rules, your GSP, and your location. When you connect to the NNS, your profile is loaded up into the "active users database" which implies that your Switch is activity connected to the Nintendo Network. When you choose to start a fight, by lets say Quickbattle, your profile is then moved into the "Battle Queue" which is a list of all players, their rule-set, GSP, and location, who are waiting to be matched up for an online Battle. The MatchMaking Program (MMP) then matches up your profile with another profile, and redirects both Switch's to their opponents respective IP address. This severs the connection to the NNS as the two Switches establish a connection between each other.
Now, since I have explained how I theorize the Online Matchmaking process currently works, let's see if we can plan a fix for the problem, which is the MMP. Having re-watched the November Direct, the MMP prioritizes the distance between players above all else. While we may not know the distance limit that the MMP has, we know that the MMP is attempting to match you up with the closest player possible. This is where I think the pyramid of prioritized elements needs to be re-arranged. Currently, it looks like the MMP's hierarchy of prioritization is Location > GSP > Preferred rules. However, this doesn't appear to be working all that well currently, due to multiple people claiming to selecting 1v1 and getting FFAs.
Here is my proposed solution to fixing this issue. First off, the MMP has to have 3 separate "default" functions. The first should be; Player distance < 300 miles/ Identical Rule-set/ GSP +- 20k. Needless to say, this first default won't always work, so the second default is when Default 1 fails to find a partner. Default 2 will be rather complicated, but try and follow along. To start, the first thing that needs to be match is Game Mode (1v1, team battle, FFA) from the Preferred Rules. The game mode must have the highest priority, making it a must for partnering. Second, should be the GSP of the opponent; +- 20k of your profile. Continuing on, the 3rd prioritized element should be Rules (time, stock, stamina), followed by Items (on, off), Stock amount/Time amount, then finally Stages (all, no hazards, battlefield only, omega only). Lastly, the location distance should be the last prioritized element. However, the location should function as the final selector for an opponent.
To help better understand this, let's say you are attempting a quickbattle with a GSP of 575k, and your Preferred Ruleset is (1v1, Stock, 3 lives, 7 minutes, no hazards, no items). The MMP first goes for Default 1 method, and can't find anybody, then it moves to Default 2. Starting off, let's say for Element 1 (Game Mode) it finds 30k people online [this is just a random number]. So, it moves down to Element 2 (GSP difference), and that brings the list down to so 7k people. Then, it checks your rule-set, Stock, and it's now 6.8k people. It checks for items off, now it's 5.5k people. Then it checks your stock count/time limit, and this brings it down to 3.2k people. Then it moves on to your stage choice; no hazards, and finds 0. So the MMP then moves back up to the 3.2k people, and goes to Distance. Let's say the MMP is still set at 300 miles. This changes the amount of players from 3.2k to only 429 people within that 300 mile radius. Now, the game will then select an opponent who either is 1) closest or 2) has the most similar GSP to you.
Finally, there is Default 3, which is when your preferred ruleset is set to OFF. The game should take your GSP +- 20k, and then distance still set to 300 miles, match you up with the next opening game (be is 1v1, or FFA).
While this isn't something we as a community can really change right now, nor really control given how customizable you can make your Preferred rules, this is certainly something that Nintendo can and probably will fix in the future. So, thanks for reading this far. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with me? Or disagree with me?
Disclaimer #1) I am not a Nintendo employee. I don't have access to their servers, server code, or the program used for match making. I am just coming at this with my career knowledge in Network Forensics, Network Administration, and Cybersecurity.
Disclaimer #2) I dont actually own SSBU yet, considering I don't have a switch yet. I have just seen alot of people complaining about this and figured I would throw in my 2 cents with my background knowledge and a possible solution.
Disclaimer #3) This will get slightly in-depth though I will keep the technical verbiage to a minimum so hopefully everybody can follow along. If you guys think this could work, feel free to spread this around in hopes of getting it (eventually) to Nintendo's attention.
So, now that those are out of the way, I first wanted to explain how I believe the matchmaking system currently works. When you first click into the SSBU Online mode, your Switch goes out and connects with a Nintendo Network Server (NNS). The NNS contains your online profile, your saved preferred rules, your GSP, and your location. When you connect to the NNS, your profile is loaded up into the "active users database" which implies that your Switch is activity connected to the Nintendo Network. When you choose to start a fight, by lets say Quickbattle, your profile is then moved into the "Battle Queue" which is a list of all players, their rule-set, GSP, and location, who are waiting to be matched up for an online Battle. The MatchMaking Program (MMP) then matches up your profile with another profile, and redirects both Switch's to their opponents respective IP address. This severs the connection to the NNS as the two Switches establish a connection between each other.
Now, since I have explained how I theorize the Online Matchmaking process currently works, let's see if we can plan a fix for the problem, which is the MMP. Having re-watched the November Direct, the MMP prioritizes the distance between players above all else. While we may not know the distance limit that the MMP has, we know that the MMP is attempting to match you up with the closest player possible. This is where I think the pyramid of prioritized elements needs to be re-arranged. Currently, it looks like the MMP's hierarchy of prioritization is Location > GSP > Preferred rules. However, this doesn't appear to be working all that well currently, due to multiple people claiming to selecting 1v1 and getting FFAs.
Here is my proposed solution to fixing this issue. First off, the MMP has to have 3 separate "default" functions. The first should be; Player distance < 300 miles/ Identical Rule-set/ GSP +- 20k. Needless to say, this first default won't always work, so the second default is when Default 1 fails to find a partner. Default 2 will be rather complicated, but try and follow along. To start, the first thing that needs to be match is Game Mode (1v1, team battle, FFA) from the Preferred Rules. The game mode must have the highest priority, making it a must for partnering. Second, should be the GSP of the opponent; +- 20k of your profile. Continuing on, the 3rd prioritized element should be Rules (time, stock, stamina), followed by Items (on, off), Stock amount/Time amount, then finally Stages (all, no hazards, battlefield only, omega only). Lastly, the location distance should be the last prioritized element. However, the location should function as the final selector for an opponent.
To help better understand this, let's say you are attempting a quickbattle with a GSP of 575k, and your Preferred Ruleset is (1v1, Stock, 3 lives, 7 minutes, no hazards, no items). The MMP first goes for Default 1 method, and can't find anybody, then it moves to Default 2. Starting off, let's say for Element 1 (Game Mode) it finds 30k people online [this is just a random number]. So, it moves down to Element 2 (GSP difference), and that brings the list down to so 7k people. Then, it checks your rule-set, Stock, and it's now 6.8k people. It checks for items off, now it's 5.5k people. Then it checks your stock count/time limit, and this brings it down to 3.2k people. Then it moves on to your stage choice; no hazards, and finds 0. So the MMP then moves back up to the 3.2k people, and goes to Distance. Let's say the MMP is still set at 300 miles. This changes the amount of players from 3.2k to only 429 people within that 300 mile radius. Now, the game will then select an opponent who either is 1) closest or 2) has the most similar GSP to you.
Finally, there is Default 3, which is when your preferred ruleset is set to OFF. The game should take your GSP +- 20k, and then distance still set to 300 miles, match you up with the next opening game (be is 1v1, or FFA).
While this isn't something we as a community can really change right now, nor really control given how customizable you can make your Preferred rules, this is certainly something that Nintendo can and probably will fix in the future. So, thanks for reading this far. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with me? Or disagree with me?