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New ping rules for next season
eb Nov 29, 2013
The BLooD_DoG vs spec case

The BLooD_DoG vs spec match was quite an eye opener that the DuelMania rules are pretty much lacking in the department of ping rules for EU vs non-EU matches. Although I despise the way spec discussed and behaved, he certainly had a point that an EU player doesn't have to play on a server where the non-EU player has the lowest possible ping. That said, I also have to say that I fully stand behind the admin's decision of continuing to play on the original server, simply because spec played a prac there and agreed on the server. But wanting to change the server after losing the first map is just... sad.

The new approach

In any case, players can agree to play on any server they want. And playing a fair game at equal pings is encouraged. But of course we cannot enforce that, since it's not really a player's fault if the opponent has a crappy connection.

As it stands, I dislike our current set of ping rules. They are too complicated and still incomplete! So, after thinking about it a while, here's my new take:

1) To determine a server to play the game on, both players show their lowest possible ping on a QW server IN EUROPE. The lowest ping values are then clipped to 39ms for EU vs EU matches, and to 52ms for matches that involve a non-EU player. 2) Servers where the DIFFERENCE of both lowest pings is retained are valid to play the match on.

Some examples
  • FI vs SE match with lowest possible pings: 13ms vs 13ms.
    After clipping: 39ms vs 39ms = ping difference of 0ms.
    → The players have to find a server with equal pings.
    I.e. SE server with minping 26ms which will result in a 26ms vs 26ms game.
  • NL vs SE match with lowest possible pings: 26ms vs 13ms.
    After clipping: 39ms vs 39ms = ping difference of 0ms.
    → The players have to find a server with equal pings.
    I.e. DK server with minping 39ms which will result in a 39ms vs 39ms game.
  • US vs SE match with lowest possible pings: 91ms vs 13ms.
    After clipping: 91ms vs 52ms = ping difference of 39ms.
    → The players have to find a server with a ping difference of 39ms.
    I.e. UK server with minping 52ms which will result in a 91ms vs 52ms game.
  • US vs RU match with lowest possible pings: 91ms vs 26ms.
    After clipping: 91ms vs 52ms = ping difference of 39ms.
    → The players have to find a server with a ping difference of 39ms.
    I.e. NL server with minping 65ms which will result in a 104ms vs 65ms game.
  • US vs PT match with lowest possible pings: 130ms vs 13ms.
    After clipping: 130ms vs 52ms = ping difference of 78ms.
    → The players have to find a server with a ping difference of 78ms.
    I.e. UK server with minping 52ms which will result in a 130ms vs 52ms game.
  • RU vs PT match with lowest possible pings: 13ms vs 13ms.
    After clipping: 39ms vs 39ms = ping difference of 0ms.
    → The players have to find a server with equal pings.
    I.e. UK server with minping 52ms which will result in a 52vs vs 52ms game.

These are just make-belief pings that I roughly estimated. Reality will very likely look different. But you get the general idea (I hope). What I like about this set of rules is that it's simple and monolithic, while covering all possibilities. The only adjustment of it is 39ms vs 52ms clipping depending if a non-EU player is involved.

Let me know what you think!
BLooD_DoG 10 years ago
Seems pretty fair at first glance, thanks for taking the time to think about this. Just to play devil's advocate with some unlikely scenarios:

1- After your rule #2: "2) Servers where the DIFFERENCE of both lowest pings is retained are valid to play the match on" you should add a rule #3: 3) Servers with a lower total ping are preferred". Reason: if the ping difference for my match should be 39ms, and we find 2 possible servers: 91ms vs 52ms or 169ms vs 130ms, the second server is arguably less fair than the first because the game becomes less playable the higher the ping (even if the ping difference is the same). This is a bit of an extreme example, but it doesn't hurt to clarify the rules so that people don't try to take advantage. Other example of abuse: a top player always practices with 12ms, and his opponent can play him on a server where they both get 12ms. BUT the opponent wants to be "cheap" and only play on a server where they both ping 77ms instead, hoping that the div0 player won't perform as well and the skill difference will be minimized. Without rule #3, it's not clear that this isn't an acceptable request since the ping difference is still 0ms on the 77ms server.

2- Speaking selfishly, there's a small chance I can "abuse" the spirit of the rule by spending money: Say I find some data center in Iceland or Greenland and decide to pay for a server where I show a minping of 77 instead of the 90 that I get to UK/FR (not even sure if that's physically possible). That means the ping difference for my match would be 26 instead of 39, and I could "force" the opponent to pingup by an additional 13ms, e.g. 90 vs 65 instead of 90 vs 52, and 104 vs 77 instead of 104 vs 65. I wouldn't do this so probably nothing to worry about, but just mentioning it as a possible unintended loophole :)

Cheers,
BD
Faustov 10 years ago
On a side note, people will finally stop saying "kurwa ping" or "kurwa server", time to replace those obsolete expressions with "bliad' ping" and so on ;)
shamby 10 years ago
I think it would be good to have a tool on the side to tell the players what servers meet the criterias and should be used for playing. I think someone posted a link to a similar tool. That would required a official server list and every player would need to ping every server and report the data.

Otherwise the process of finding the fairest server that meets the rules could be quite time consuming.

It's good to kick off a discussion about it. I thought about your ruling a bit and so far I like it. Although I find it a bit complicated and therefore a tool would be nice :)
eb 10 years ago
Thank you, guys, for the input!

@BLooD_DoG:
Yes, it definitely has to be made clear that the lower overall ping is preferred.
About the loop hole: I will maintain a list of valid servers for next season. Matches can only played on these servers. This is not only to prevent the loop hole, but also to prevent matches from getting played on really shitty servers like the dirtbox vs andeh game for example. That server should not be allowed for official games. because it lags and "swallows" packets. If you install a QW server in Iceland or Greenland that's playable and permanent, then I don't see a reason not to add it to the list of official servers!

@shamby:
That's a great idea tbh. I will think about integrating a tool like that directly on the DuelMania page. Maybe a java applet or so. The only problem is that it should take qwfwd proxies into account to find the best route.
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