sometimes the random mats distribution will give 7 or more sequential mats to the same party player
shouldn't the lottery be manipulated when this happens?
prevent mats loot distribution bias
Sat, 05/28/2011 - 17:39
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 05:36
#2
Distribution
I have never seen a case to that extreme but I agree that I have witnessed a single person receiving 3 mats in a row. I was under the impression that the distribution operated on a round robin basis in that player 1 gets a mat, then player 2, and so forth. I don't actually know how it is programmed to operate but this does need to be fixed.
As far as Reaver's point, the collection of materials is non biased for a reason. The idea that all players will receive mats whether or not they are the ones who pick them up is a good one. This prevents people from being greedy and running around to grab every mat. Other games have had such a mechanic and it is annoying to see people on the same team competing for drops. What is even more annoying is if someone does manage to snatch up every material, this instantly creates an instance of conflict within the group.
The system is good, just a little broken, if the distribution was fixed it would be fine. We will just have to wait and see.
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 07:57
#3
There is nothing broken about
There is nothing broken about the current system. It is purely random, and as such it will randomly happen that a player gets 7 drops in a row. The chance of that happening in any sequence of 7 drops is about 0.025% or 1 in 4000. But any run will contain severe tens of such sequences, so yes this will happen sometimes.
Some players perceive this as unfair. But since drops are random in the first place, the current system is (more or less) equivalent to material drops working like tokens (everyone gets them) but the materials dropping at 1/4th their normal rate (for a full party). So it is at least technically fair.
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 10:34
#4
@Trias, That's nice and all,
@Trias, That's nice and all, but what exactly would be the problem with *actually* making it fair in round-robin style?
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 13:45
#5
Mats are given out randomly
Mats are given out randomly to each player in the party. You have a 1 in 4 chance (assuming a full party) of receiving the item. Like getting a UV on an item its a roll of the dice. I have instances in the Citadel where four 5* mats drop and I get none (in a 3 person party which increases my odds of getting one) and I've had Citadel runs where I've received all the 5* mats that drop.
In the case of the guy that got 7 items in a row... he got lucky.
~Gwen
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 13:57
#6
@Daystar - the problem with a
@Daystar - the problem with a strict round-robin is that you can then manipulate who gets a "good" mat. For instance, you know that you're second in line to receive the next mat, and there's a Scrap Metal and a Swordstone currently waiting to be picked up. In this case, you could rush to the Scrap Metal and pick it up, thus guaranteeing that when someone picks up the Swordstone it'll end up in your inventory.
Of course the person who is *first* in line for the mat can try rushing to the Swordstone to pick it up before you can get to the Scrap Metal...
All in all, I'd expect a true round-robin method to cause a lot more friction in the party than the current random system. Yeah, right now you may get the short end of the stick on a given run, but it's strictly the fault of the dice, where with round-robin if you get the short end of the stick you'll likely blame it on the other players...
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 14:33
#7
I just find that scenario so
I just find that scenario so unlikely. Generally speaking people will pick up items as they fall down just in the course of getting coins and heat and hearts and vials/pills, not wait for multiple items to drop, check what the order of distribution is, then pick up the mats in the right order, all the while hoping no one else picks up any items in a different way? While enemies are still up, most likely? Bah.
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 17:50
#8
every person gets every mat,
every person gets every mat, like tokens are now.
problem solved.
Tue, 05/31/2011 - 18:00
#9
>>Every person gets every
>>Every person gets every mat
That would only add to the already MASSIVE material inflation. Random distribution is probably the fairest way to do it. It could perhaps be weighted by material rarity, if it's not weighted that way already. For example, one player gets 10 mats that are 1*, while another gets one 5* mat that is presumably equal in worth to the ten 1*s.
That may still not be a good solution...maybe a crown or heat bonus to the unlucky party member that ended up with the least mats?
I think that would be fair, maybe even preferable to actually getting the mats.
It's a small thing for me, but it can be slightly annoying when you collect the majority of the mats dropped and realize only one scrap metal went to your inventory.