twmac Posted October 20, 2016 Hello, Working on an article about the changes to Xbox Live and I wanted to link to a video about Overwatch and (I think) TF2. I can't find it by searching Youtube and recall seeing it on Idlethumbs forum. Can anyone link me it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperBiasedMan Posted October 20, 2016 Sounds like this video by Campster: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twmac Posted October 20, 2016 That is the one! Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eot Posted October 22, 2016 I agree completely with Campster in that video. I'm aware that I'm a bit of a luddite, and that people find match making convenient, but there are so many upsides to dedicated servers that I don't understand why it's a dying trend on PC. It's especially weird to me that even Valve seem to be moving away from them, considering the community self moderating aspect of them seems like a very Valve thing. Maybe things weren't better before. You'll probably never convince me why an ocean of free skins and weapon sound, character models, maps and spray tags, on servers that had a sense of community is better than paying extra for all that while being match made with people screaming in Russian (maybe complaining about their poor ping) and with no recourse to deal with abusive players other than voting. We couldn't stream opening weapon crates on twitch back in my day though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badfinger Posted October 23, 2016 I think drop in/drop out matchmaking is extremely correct for Overwatch because the game isn't scaleable. It's a 12 minute 6v6 all the time forever. It has A game type: matchmaking. Do I want servers? Yes, absolutely. For Battlefield, and Titanfall. I think the key point that's perhaps missing in the discussion is the things that have happened between the release of TF2 and Overwatch, and by things I mean DOTA 2 and League of Legends. TF2 and Overwatch are similar in game type but not in game style. TF2 is closer to BF2 in the ways the video is pointing out than it is to Overwatch. If you want that (and I do, BF1 having a server browser is major points in its favor for me), it's there. Free is a relative term, but let's call TF2's nightmare of crates and drops free, it still comes with the requisite abusive language and xenophobia. That's one spot where your game of choice doesn't limit the potential. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zerofiftyone Posted October 23, 2016 14 hours ago, Badfinger said: Free is a relative term, but let's call TF2's nightmare of crates and drops free, it still comes with the requisite abusive language and xenophobia. That's one spot where your game of choice doesn't limit the potential. The thing about community-hosted dedicated servers is that that sort of behaviour can be directly discouraged through server bans. It's like being on a forum with its own rules and culture, vs a purely public place like Twitter or something. I have fond memories of playing TF2 and hanging out in the same server every night; one of the cool things about the server was its strict policy on abusive language. The same set of regulars would appear on most nights, and newcomers would come and go; but if anybody broke the rules they would be reported and gone. It was nice; and it was one of the only places I've been able to chat on open mic to a bunch of strangers and make friends. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twmac Posted November 10, 2016 Anyway, if anyone is interested, I wrote this on the history of Xbox Live. It goes into Player/Ranked Match mindset. The weird years where no one liked anyone anymore and Microsoft's attempts to remedy that:https://medium.com/@twmac/xbox-live-communication-devolved-cab512f54d66#.oxkua24po Share this post Link to post Share on other sites