Why is it possible to pick the stage in Ranked?

[Cla]

This is an incredibly stupid idea that should be fixed immediately. It was a terrible idea in SC4 and I can't believe Project Soul decided to do it again in SC5. (or that it still exists after 3 patches) There's a reason that you're not allowed to pick the stage in any sort of competitive play. It would be stupid if in a tournament you could just choose to play in the stage that most suits your char. (or most works against your opponent's char)

And while we're talking about it, let me give you all a little protip: On the loading screen before a match, you can tell whether or not your opponent picked a stage. In between both players' titles, it will either say "Stage - Random" or nothing. When it says nothing, that means the player picked a specific stage. Since realizing this, I've notice that A LOT of players do pick a stage that'll help them win. (Mitsurugis picking stages without walls/ring outs etc)

Next time someone talks to anyone from Project Soul, please pass this idea along to them. -_- Thanks.

 

[IamSub0]

I would not be opposed to seeing the stage selection option disappear from ranked. What I really want though, is the option to engage in ranked matches that disallow CAS characters.

I've noticed that when the stage is set to "random," the match usually ends up taking place at the home stage of one of the selected fighters, and some of those stages offer a home field advantage to their linked characters, so there's still that to contend with.

 

[LordSturm]

I pick random stage 95% of the time in my matches across all modes of the game to ensure I practice on all of the stages. The other 5% of the time is when I pick a stage after landing on the Torture Chamber in random every other time and I get sick of it. >.<

But to be honest, I agree, stages should be selected randomly in ranked games. In a scenario where all that counts is if you win one match, stages can give big advantages that can sway the outcome of that match heavily.

I think in an ideal scenario a ranked game would be a best two out of three set where stages were set to random in order to prevent the stage from having too much influence on the match (tourney rules, basically), but that's less likely than what Cla suggested. A random stage best of one would be fair enough, and I think it would improve the ranked system as it stands.

 

[D1mech]

I also pick random 90% of the time. I used to like picking the one where it's like a bridge, with two gates at each side and soldiers at the gates (forget the name) only because I honestly liked the ambient/light/overall mood in that particular stage. But then I was getting some annoying ring-outs, you know, you get the opponent to 10% HP, you're almost still at full HP and they ring you out... yeah I got mad a few times lol, so as of recently I just hit random immediately.

 

[Zekki]

It is possible for the same reason that kiddies can ragequit their way to 100% win ratios. Because Derp.

 

[REPROBEAN_CHILD]

It is possible for the same reason that kiddies can ragequit their way to 100% win ratios. Because Derp.

I don't think they would get very far by doing that. Ragequitting will have you lose 400 points [and possibly your current rank]. The result will probably leave a skewered looking rank (an E5 Rank player with a 100% on ranked match status would look very suspicious). I told this to one guy that quit on me early and he "didn't seem fond" to know about it to say the least lol.

 

[IdleMind]

If we remove stage selection on the grounds of creating a better competitive environment, then CaS ought to be removed as an option in ranked too.

 

[WindupSkeleton]

I don't think they would get very far by doing that. Ragequitting will have you lose 400 points [and possibly your current rank]. The result will probably leave a skewered looking rank (an E5 Rank player with a 100% on ranked match status would look very suspicious). I told this to one guy that quit on me early and he "didn't seem fond" to know about it to say the least lol.

Unless they pull the plug on their net connection.

If we remove stage selection on the grounds of creating a better competitive environment, then CaS ought to be removed as an option in ranked too.

Agreed.

 

[Steven_a]

If we remove stage selection on the grounds of creating a better competitive environment, then CaS ought to be removed as an option in ranked too.

Agreed. I only play ranked if I feel like fighting serious but when you got a player with CaS with a furry dick in ranked, it takes away all the seriousness in the match.

 

[Wandrian]

Why not up the ante?

-disconnects result in penalties, with a scaling effect on how much a player disconnects(like the earned points scaling down when you fight the same player repeatedly, just scaling upwards instead)

-in-game chat disabled


Having all disconnects(intentional or not) result in point penalties would indeed harm a minority of players whose connections just aren't good, but it'd provide an overall better experience for the overwhelming majority by minimizing lag and ragequits. Disabling in-game chat would also reduce lag a bit, not drastically but every bit would help.


...As long as ranked is treated by the companies as the place for serious matches, shouldn't it be set up even more like something serious in terms of its features?

 

[AlphaKEG]

I completely agree with random stage selection in ranked matches. If this were to come true then it shouldn't even allow the player to choose "random" because it's not really all that random. I've selected random at the same time for 10 games straight and got the same stage(Free Imperial City Center). This is what I propose:

I. When both players have selected their characters the game automatically chooses the stage at "random" and the message "Please wait while your opponent chooses a character or stage" appears on both players screens. When the stage has been confirmed by the game it'll move onto the character card screen(P1 vs P2).

P.S.

This is bit off topic but I also don't like the fact that you can't see your opponents gamer tag. I hate getting the same opponent that leaves either in the beginning or just before the end of a match(rage quitter or not). It's a waste of time on my part. If you were able to see your opponents gamer tag then you wouldn't have to waste your time.

 

[Wandrian]

This is bit off topic but I also don't like the fact that you can't see your opponents gamer tag. I hate getting the same opponent that leaves either in the beginning or just before the end of a match(rage quitter or not). It's a waste of time on my part. If you were able to see your opponents gamer tag then you wouldn't have to waste your time.

That works both ways. If someone that's going to ragequit sees the name of someone they've lost before they'll just decline the match and it also opens up more trolling and stalking abilities for people who intend to misuse it.

Hell, a couple years ago I had a day off with nothing to do and spent it playing an FPS...What happens when I bump into a group of actual hackers that change the gameplay to suit themselves? After getting booted and seeing the room shut down when I'm kicking their asses(not very good hackers since their hacks benefitted everyone who understood them >:D ), I'm using the XBL player list to stalk their room all day and getting plenty of shiggles from all the RAEG and lack of understanding...Now imagine if someone was doing the same thing in ranked matches for malicious purposes, just to grief someone. Nah, I'll pass.


If you don't want people to RQ before a match begins, just change up your license dealie everyt ime before you go to ranked/GC. if you don't want people to RQ during a match...Good luck with that :|

 

[Sett]

Ranked is a joke. After they fix the grade system then they can focus on all the arbitrary bs.

 

[AlphaKEG]

That works both ways. If someone that's going to ragequit sees the name of someone they've lost before they'll just decline the match

If they don't want to play me then that's fine...decline the match. It's not a big deal.

opens up more trolling and stalking abilities for people who intend to misuse it.

Umm this is going to happen either way.

Hell, a couple years ago I had a day off with nothing to do and spent it playing an FPS...What happens when I bump into a group of actual hackers that change the gameplay to suit themselves? After getting booted and seeing the room shut down when I'm kicking their asses(not very good hackers since their hacks benefitted everyone who understood them >:D ), I'm using the XBL player list to stalk their room all day and getting plenty of shiggles from all the RAEG and lack of understanding...Now imagine if someone was doing the same thing in ranked matches for malicious purposes, just to grief someone. Nah, I'll pass.

How is this relevant? I don't see the intention of this one...sorry. I don't see how you would be able to "stalk" an opponent in ranked matches if you were able to see your opponents GT. If anything, it's easier to do w/o seeing your opponents GT...for this reason:
I. You can change your title and nobody will know the difference when your limited player profile pops up on their screen. They only know who it is when the character card screen shows up(P1 vs P2). The only way to "stalk" an opponent in SCV is to recognize their GT when searching for a player match if they're host. If they're in a room when you join well that's coincidence I would think. You can also join when viewing their GT profile only if their settings allow it.

If you don't want people to RQ before a match begins, just change up your license dealie everyt ime before you go to ranked/GC.

This will only prolong the time before the opponent quits. In GC you're able to see your opponents GT in both "Random" and "Tournament".

if you don't want people to RQ during a match...Good luck with that :|

Nothing will ever stop this! XD

 

[Countee]

I don't play ranked because it is 'serious'. I play ranked for 3 reasons:

1) No point getting good at the game if you are going to get stopped by bullshit. Ranked matches are the ultimate place to test one's anti-bullshit defense.

2) I usually don't feel like plugging in my mic. Since I'm stuck in the same room for a while in Player Matches it feels awkward to not talk to anyone, while in ranked I have no pressure to talk to random assholes at all.

3) Global Colosseum doesn't have a '4 bar connection or better' filter.

Because of reason 1 I have no problem with opponents picking the stage. Put me on that raft with Nightmare - that's just the kind of bullshit I came here to practice against (as opposed to thunder drums and lag switches which range from a minor annoyance to a complete waste of my time).

 

[Wandrian]

Oh, I muddled up my point in there somehow...

Wandrian: 1
Thought: 0


....................................Yeah.

 

[acefrost]

Thunder drums and always picking infinite stages is how I got to A1 so fast. Ranked is a joke and most likely always will be, I personally find just going along with it much more appealing than taking it seriously and complaining all the time. If I wanted to be serious about this game ranked is the last place I would go.

 

[Cla]

I'm glad a good amount of people agree and also that this thread hasn't turned into another "LOL RANKED IS STUPID DON'T PLAY IT" rally. Perhaps we could get a petition going or something that catches Project Soul's attention.

What I really want though, is the option to engage in ranked matches that disallow CAS characters

If we remove stage selection on the grounds of creating a better competitive environment, then CaS ought to be removed as an option in ranked too.

Agreed. I only play ranked if I feel like fighting serious but when you got a player with CaS with a furry dick in ranked, it takes away all the seriousness in the match.

Given the general logic for removing stage selection in Ranked, that logic should technically also apply to CaS. HOWEVER, I don't think that the solution has to be to ban CaS from Ranked entirely. But rather, Project Soul should FIX CaS.

I don't understand why they thought it would be a good idea to give you the option to change the height of the CaS which in turn affects (and sometimes BREAKS) hit/hurtboxes as well as damage. I ALWAYS create chars that are the recommended height so that the gameplay is identical to the original char. (althought I'm not even 100% sure that is entirely true) Perhaps at the very least, they could make it to where chars that aren't recommended height are banned from Ranked. That would be a simple and quick fix. Then in the long run, they should just have CaS automatically be the identical height of the official char. (so that ALL gameplay is 100% IDENTICAL)

And for those who find CaS distracting, then the solution would be to give an option that allows you to see the official character on your screen while the other player sees their CaS on their screen. (again, it would be pertinent that Project Soul fixes the CaS system as described above in order to be able to implement this idea properly) Also, I could live with Thunder Drums being banned from Ranked. Those were just stupid to put in period, much less as a Special Equipment where you can put on 3 of them AND make them all huge. (yes I ran into a player who did that. That was the ONLY time I found a CaS too distracting)

It may scrubbish of me to say, but I LOVE custom chars and it is one more thing that adds a HUGE amount of enjoyment in this game for me. And I only care to play Ranked, so taking CaS out of Ranked entirely would be a huge blow to me. I've spent a lot of time making awesome chars and I want to show them off. Virtua Fighter and Tekken have shown that you can make customization systems that are tournament legal (the ARCADE versions prove this anyway) and it's a shame that SC hasn't managed to garner that kind of respect with its robust customization. (being as that it technically has the best customization system of these games) I would love to see the day when you can carry your CaS with you on a USB flash drive and use them at a tourney. (as in, gameplay with CaS is 100% identical to the official char and CaS can be loaded without slowing down a tourney) I think it'd be a clever idea for Namco to encourage this by giving a bonus prize at EVO to the best-looking CaS used in the tourney. (voted by attendees and people watching the stream, of course)

But anyway, maybe this would be a good topic for a new thread. I've said my piece on the matter, so someone else can feel free to make the thread if they think there's still more worthwhile discussion to be had on it.

 

[Slade]

CaSes even with the recommended height have different hitboxes. Plus, there's the thunder drums and other obscuring outfits to contend with. The best option is to simply remove it from Ranked entirely and allow it in the casual modes like Global.

 

[TiZ]

I'm with Cla here. I'd like them to fix CaS so that hitbox discrepancies do not exist on characters made to be competitively fair and viable, as well as other issues like the drums.