14 DAY TRIAL // On February 1, the 343 Industries development team working on Halo 5: Guardians has delivered a new server side update for the multiplayer side of the shooter that's designed to introduce a range of matchmaking changes for the experience, improving the experience that players get when they are searching for a match.
A new official site update from the studio explains that the most recent tweaks are the result of a long-running process that started in December 2014 when the first beta for the shooter went live and allowed the company to see how the new system was working and which areas could be improved.
Since the launch of Halo 5: Guardians in the fall of 2015, the company has been collecting both player-related data via automated systems and the feedback they have been offering to enhance and tune matchmaking.
343 Industries explains that "For the vast majority of our players, the system is performing extremely well. Since a large indicator of match quality is a player's ping, it’s a metric that we often like to use as a broad, simple indicator. At a worldwide level, 95% of the Halo 5 matches played since launch have taken place on servers with 125ms ping or better."
According to the company, the plan is to address all the remaining 5 percent of matches by using code based, infrastructure and geographic solutions, with a new testing process set to be introduced early during next week.
Apparently, Asia and South America represent two of the regions where 343 Industries could improve the experience of players by getting ping under 125 ms for more players.
Halo 5: Guardians will get more granular matchmaking options
The development team says a test that took place in late 2015 worked well and convinced the company that they should introduce a new set of infrastructure enhancements that will open up more control over settings linked to the process of finding and joining matches.
343 Industries says it will deliver many of the changes next week and that it will test the way they can eliminate latency via a test that will involve a limited percentage of the player base.
Two of the elements of Halo 5: Guardians that will continue to be analyzed is how matchmaking is impacted by both the player's skill rating and by the composition of the party he is working with.
The team is also monitoring the way the system is working on dedicated servers, although no improvements are planned for them yet.
343 Industries has announced that it plans to deliver a new big update for Halo 5: Guardians during February, although it has not yet offered any details on the kinds of maps and extra items that gamers will be able to experience.
For the first year of the shooter's life, the company will offer free content to keep the community engaged in the multiplayer modes.
Halo 5: Guardians is preparing for the finals of the World Championship, which will take part in March of this year with a prize pool funded by the players’ community via their real money transactions linked to REQ packs.