14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has shared more details about two new systems that will be built into the Xbox Live online service of the Xbox One next-gen console, in the form of the Smart Match and Reputation ones, which pertain to matchmaking and player pairing online.
The Xbox One introduces not just a more powerful device, but also a suite of improved services for those who play online.
Microsoft has just shared quite a few details about the smart matchmaking system that takes into account filtering by different criteria of games and the reputation of the players who are gaming online.
According to the blog of Xbox Community Manager Larry Hryb, the Smart Match system allows players to start looking for an online experience and then do whatever they want until the match is found.
"The new Smart Match service allows titles to change their match model from traditional peer-based host searching for players typical in Xbox 360 to now completely untethered cloud-based," the description read.
"Plus over time Smart Match empowers Xbox One titles to unlock many more ways to play online without the penalty of segmenting the available pool of people each night to match with. This same pattern depending on the title can include player attributes to search for such as very specific skill or social elements like spoken language or even people of similar age."
Besides taking into account the different filters set by players, the Smart Match system also has a Reputation component that classifies users into three categories, depending on how they behave online.
"We all care a lot about behavior on Xbox Live and player feedback options in Xbox One allows you to help educate those who don’t seem to follow good social gaming norms. We simplified the feedback mechanism also to be less of a “survey” and more direct feedback options, even linking things in like block or mute player actions into the feedback model."
"Most players will have good reputations and be seen as “green” good players you’d enjoy playing with. Xbox Live is looking to identify players that are repeatedly disruptive on Xbox Live. We’ll identify those players with a lower reputation score and in the worse cases they will earn the “avoid me” reputation. Looking at someone’s gamer card you’ll be able to quickly see their reputation."
The new system will be rolled out alongside the Xbox One in November.