Activision shared some information earlier this year about the Call of Duty matchmaking system. Now, however, it has decided to delve deeper into the issue and share its strategies with the rest of the sector. Everything will be contained in four treaties and the first of them is available. The topic is the ping.
Ping, or the time it takes for data to travel from a player's game to the server that manages it, is considered the most important factor for matchmaking of Call of Duty. High ping can cause a bad gaming experience.
Activision explains that the most important statistic when it comes to ping is the one it calls delta ping, which is the difference between the best possible data center for a player and the data center he ends up playing on. While it's possible for a player to queue only for their optimal data center, Activision explains that this would lead to long wait times for players looking for an early morning game, for example, or who queue for modes that require a large number of players.
How ping management works in Call of Duty
The complicated matchmaking algorithm look for the best possible option that balances ping with other factors like skill-based matchmaking, platform, and input devices, all while keeping wait times as low as possible.
Call of Duty's approach uses a function called “backoff”. In short, the longer a player waits to be matched, the more flexible the game will be on other elements of matchmaking. COD uses delta ping for this system, with the acceptable threshold being slowly “lowered” as the player waits. Delta ping ultimately has a fixed cutoff point above which a player will not be matched, though Activision notes that this limit is lower in popular regions like North America and higher in regions like Africa, where there are not many players online at any time.
Overall Activision says the system works well for Call of Duty, with statistics showing that the 95% of players are matched within 20 milliseconds from their best data server. While there are some outliers, these usually include players trying to connect at times that are unpopular for their region.
If you want to test your ping, remember that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer is free this weekend.
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