Trials Garage Update #2: Multiplayer
Greetings Riders,
We’re back with an all new topic for discussion in the Garage. What are we talking about this month? Multiplayer. This is a big topic so settle in, we’ve got a lot to cover.
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Many of you might remember a time when competition in Trials was only about improving your own times and climbing a leaderboard, never seeing your opponents in head to head races. In Trials Evolution we made our first attempt to change that, introducing both online & local multiplayer modes. The quest to bring multiplayer racing to Trials has come with many challenges. After two iterations of Trials multiplayer in Evo and Fusion as well as a number of updates we’ve made many improvements but we feel that we have yet to get Trials multiplayer to where we would like it to be.
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Trials Evolutions multiplayer was a fun fresh new way to play Trials but as the first iteration there was plenty of room for improvement and players agreed. Single player remained the primary mode for players with 92% of tracks completed happening in single player modes. 87% of Evo players never played an online or local multiplayer match. Looking at the public multiplayer modes, Supercross, Trials & Hardcore Trials, the stats get even smaller. Overall, players spent more time in Trials Evo customizing their character than they spent in public multiplayer modes.
Because of the performance of the feature in Evolution we decided to take a step back and completely redesign online multiplayer for Trials Fusion. Among the biggest changes were the increase in players from 4 to 8, allowing every player to view themselves in the first lane of the track, all new scoring and the end game podium. We also had to take a hard look at matchmaking. With only the small number of players that were playing online multiplayer back in the day, and their wide range of skill, matchmaking is a really big challenge. Of course we want matchmaking to be fast but we also want to match players as closely as we can with opponents at similar skill levels. To address these concerns we consolidated the public multiplayer to just 1 mode. Finally we had to look at ranking where we needed both a system that wouldn’t become too static and could be used to help matchmaking. To achieve this we went with a Glicko ratings system.
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Rebuilding a multiplayer mode from the ground up is no small task. The time needed to develop the feature combined with our big plans for post launch support and the low usage of multiplayer in Evolution led us to the decision to release online multiplayer as a post launch feature in Trials Fusion. Ultimately this has been proven not to be the optimal choice. While players didn’t spend much time in the mode it became clear after the launch of Fusion that it was something that many expected.
Before we go any further this is a great time to point out one of our big learnings from Trials Fusion; don’t launch a core Trials game without online multiplayer.
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There were some other lessons to be learned from Fusion’s multiplayer mode as well. While the Glicko system is great for assessing a player’s skill level, it wasn’t very easy for players to understand it. We love what the Glicko system does for matchmaking but we also think multiplayer could benefit from a more clear method for ranking players on multiplayer leaderboards.
It’s easy to forget that Fusion is only the second time a Trials game has had multiplayer. We’re very happy with the improvements we’ve made over Evo but there is still plenty of room to improve.
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We think one thing we could do to get more players using the mode is to improve the meta-game around multiplayer. We think that creating a stronger link between single and multiplayer modes and giving players some extra goals to achieve through meta-game will help attract more players to online competition.
We’ve taken some steps towards this direction already with the introduction of multiplayer seasons. This was a good first step but in Fusion multiplayer is still very separate from single player. Not only do we want to make the mode more fun to play but we also want to make it more visible and attractive to players who focus mainly on the career mode. These are ideas we are currently exploring with the team.
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Another thing we think about is the intensity of multiplayer matches. Online competition should be exciting both for players and spectators. This means finding ways to keep the stakes high throughout matches as well as having a multiplayer mode that is easy to understand. Providing an environment that creates intensity is particularly challenging in Trials because unlike most multiplayer games there is no direct interaction between players. Players can’t bump into or otherwise try to affect each other and these are things we don’t want to do as it starts to significantly alter some core elements of Trials gameplay. Winning should still be about mastering the bike and obstacles.
Finally we want multiplayer to be interesting for players of all skill levels. One method we think is important is different sets of tracks for different skill levels. This is something we do already have in Fusion but it’s not really working as intended because it’s rare to have a lobby where all players are ranked high enough to have the hardest tracks appear. Multiplayer will be more fun for everyone if they are playing with opponents at their skill level.
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In this month’s Trials Garage Radio podcast we speak with Lead Game Designer Stanislav Costiuc. During our chat we talk about his history with games and touch upon some of the ways we go about designing new game modes or features. Check it out now on the Trials Radio Soundcloud.
Now we’ve spent a lot of time here discussing public ranked multiplayer. This will always be our primary focus when discussing multiplayer since this should be the pinnacle of online competition in Trials but we do recognize that a lot of players also enjoy playing multiplayer privately with their friends. Not only is private multiplayer a great way to enjoy some friendly Trials competition but many track builders also use this mode to test their creations before releasing them to Track Central.
While our vision for public multiplayer is very focused on competition, when we look at private multiplayer our attention shifts towards freedom. In private multiplayer we’d like players to have the control to create the types of matches they want. We added adjustable parameters to multiplayer so players could create some crazy and fun scenarios. We also created the spectator mode to improve the possibilities when it comes to streaming competitions. We continue to look at how we can expand on these ideas or add new ones to provide players with more freedom in private multiplayer.
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Last but certainly not least we should touch upon local multiplayer. We have a small but very active portion of our players that often play local multiplayer so we can’t forget this mode. As more of a party mode the focus for local multiplayer should be on fun. Including the parameter system from private multiplayer is one idea we’ve had to spice up local play but we’d like to find even more ways we can make local multiplayer more interesting for those who enjoy playing with their friends IRL.
Do you have thoughts on what could make public, private or local multiplayer better? Don’t forget to fill out our Trials Garage survey and leave any suggestions in the comments section below to let us know.
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That about does it for our Garage update this month. Stay tuned for more Trials discussions in the Trials Garage next month. Until then, we’ll see you on the leaderboards.