战机世界有关平衡那些事 如何来看待游戏平衡

时间:2016-02-20 00:00 作者:佚名 手机订阅 神评论

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战机世界有关平衡那些事 如何来看待游戏平衡

  Balancing an MMO, and World of Warplanes in particular, is a constant process that aims to create equal conditions for all players, while maintaining variety and attractiveness of the overall gameplay. Today we want to begin a new series, looking at how we see balance in our game, how it changed in the past and how it will evolve in the future. The first part of this series, written by Battle Balance team lead Anton Muskeev, illustrates how many factors the balancing team takes into account when trying to fine-tune the planes, shooting mechanisms, physics and many other aspects that make up our game.

  对于网游,尤其对于**世界这样的游戏,为了保持良好的游戏体验,平衡(锉刀)工作是不会停止的。今天我们来谈点新东西——我们是如何看待游戏中的平衡的。有请平衡小组的组长Anton Muskeev来谈一下当他们平衡飞机的时候到底参考了哪些因素。

  Let’s first establish what balance is to us. Here in the game balancing department, we are responsible for adjusting the values of all aircraft as individual subjects, including all of their possible configurations, for all types of players in all our supported regions. Each configuration of each aircraft consists of multiple combinations of modules, weapons, equipment, ammunition and crew skills. When looking at all these factors, you receive a somewhat oblique average stat value that is difficult to decipher. In these cases we turn to more obvious stats that usually paint a clearer picture. However, it’s not always what you’d think. For balancing for example, it’s not necessarily the win ratio – the stat that most people think about when aiming to determine the overall efficiency of a plane. When you look at it closely, you realise that the win ratio is largely dependent on the team setup that you happen to be playing in: the types of participating planes, their tiers and their classes have a very strong influence on the outcome of your battle. At the same time, these factors can vary strongly dependent on the time of day, the number of people playing, if there have been new planes introduced into the game recently, how the matchmaker works and so on and so forth. If we had the ability to pair up each player in teams where for each participant there were an absolutely equal counterpart, flying the same plane, on the same configuration with the same crew skills, then, regardless of the flight characteristic of the plane or the player’s personal skill the win ratio would always hover around 50%. In fact, it would be a bit lower, because you have to account for some of the battles that end in a draw.

  首先让我们了解一下,到底什么是平衡。作为平衡部门,我们有责任对每个飞机进行调整,考虑其所有的结构,比如模型,武器,装备,弹药,技能。但是就算我们考虑得再周全,你在游戏中还是会出现一些不可预料且难以解释的情况(比如连跪和连胜),所以我们致力于搞清楚这些问题。然而,事情并非是你想的那样。举个例子,数据表明飞机的综合效率决定其好坏,但是大多数人却在以胜率评判飞机。但是你要是仔细去想,你就会意识到胜率很大程度上取决于双方的阵容:双方使用的飞机,它们的等级,类别都对当局战斗起到了很大的影响。同时,这些因素同样取决于你玩游戏的时间,当前在线的人数,如果有新飞机加入了游戏,分房系统如何工作等等。如果我们有能力把玩家完完全全平均分配到每一边:两边完全一样的飞机,一样的配件,乘员技能。忽略玩家水平的差距,那么胜率在统计学上必然趋向50%——事实上,还要更低一点,因为存在平局。

  That’s why the win ratio is not a perfect factor to look at when trying to determine the game balance, which is why we need to look elsewhere.

  这就是为什么胜率并不是完美评估游戏平衡的因素,所以我们要从其它角度看。

  Let’s look at what balancing of a plane is. Each plane is subject to balancing. Let’s take a simple example in which every player has access to only one configuration for each plane. For arguing’s sake, let’s pretend that everybody is bound to only use Premium planes without the ability to strap on additional equipment, special ammunition or use sophisticated crew skills. Everybody starts out with the same conditions. Here’s where already a lot of factors come into play that disturb the precious equilibrium. All the planes are matched into separate teams, consisting of players with different skill levels. Each team battles differently. Every battle involved planes of different tiers. After each battle, the players receive rewards based on their performance. Using these rewards, players can unlock new planes and receive access to new parts of the game. We have many planes in the game that are split into tiers, branches and nations. And all of this needs to be calibrated in a way, so that nobody is at an inherent disadvantage. That’s the job of the game balancing department.

  接着来看看飞机的平衡。让我们来看看一个简单的例子,假设每个玩家都使用金币飞机,没有任何配件,使用普通弹,普通的乘员。每个人以相同的情况开始游戏,马上多种因素打破了这种微妙的平衡,分房的差异,水平的差异,每场战斗都有不同级别的飞机参战。接着玩家们会买新的飞机,这样加剧了情况的复杂化,所以问题来了,如何不让玩家总是处于劣势,就是我们的工作。

  Let’s start at the highest level.

  让我们以更高层面看看这个问题。

  Ideally, players should be able to research and purchase newly unlocked aircraft from different branches and nations at the same pace. The player is supposed to be able to comfortably reach new branches and pursue them to the very top, staying invested in the process all throughout. To achieve this, the player needs to receive a balanced amount of XP and credits for participation in battle. We need to make sure that our economy model applies as planned. That means: the higher the tier, the more XP is required.

  理论上,玩家在研发和购买飞机上应该有相同的历程。意思就是说:级别更高,需要的经验就更多(这不是废话?)

  Consequently this means, that the economic balance and researching balance depends on the speed at which the player receives XP or credits.

  因此,经济和研发上的平衡取决于玩家获取它们的速度。

  Another benchmark for balancing is how well the necessary population across tiers is met in-game. In other words: If there are enough players in the game available for the matchmaker to be able to assemble battles for each level. Most MMOs have the majority of players playing at the lower tiers, while fewer, albeit enough for proper matchmaking, play on high tiers. In the case of World of Warplanes, this is, unfortunately, not entirely the case. However, it is also important to note that players won’t climb to the higher tiers, if they don’t see a reason for it. That’s why in MMOs progression unlocks new features and options for those, who choose to play at the summit of what’s possible. In World of Tanks for example, players bear with the unforgiving Tier X-economy because, in return, they’ll be rewarded with the possibility to play on the Global Map and Clan Wars.

  另外一个平衡因素是当前等级的玩家数量。换句话说:人数多了,分房系统才有足够的能力去形成更好的分房。如果玩家看不清这其中的原因,他们就不会想去升高级飞机。这就是为什么分房系统一改再改,就是为了鼓励大家升高级飞机。在坦克世界中,十级坦克一样收益糟糕,但是作为回报,它们可以参加领土战。

  Ok, let’s assume that we have enough players on all levels. This is where the matchmaker comes in. It is tasked with assembling balanced teams consisting of equal numbers of planes of different tiers and classes, based on the overall level of the battle. It is also important that the matchmaker assembles the classes according to the proportions that we had in mind when designing the battles, in order not to have too many one-sided teams but rather a controlled level of variety. That means we’re looking at the balance of tiers and classes when dissecting what planes ultimately end up in a battle. If there are specific player groups present, as is made possible by the Flight feature, the matchmaker needs to account for that balance too, trying to keep the same number of flights per team. That means that flight balance is also a factor that needs to be considered when looking at the overall balancing picture. Additionally, it’s important to know that, on average, different types of players appear in the player pool at different times of day. Battles played against regular players during lunch time are significantly different to battles that are made up of hardened and Flight-connected ace-pilots, who stalk their prey during hour-long night hunting sessions.

  让我们假设所有级别都有足够的玩家。分房系统就开始工作了,它的任务是将两队分配数量相同,等级和类别不同的飞机。同样重要的是要保持两边飞机类别和等级的平衡。如一边有组队,另一边也同样应该有相同数量的组队玩家。另外,同样重要的是,不同水平的玩家之间的差异也非常明显。

  Let’s continue. The balancing of teams happens based on three main criteria: tiers, flights and classes. However, when assembling the teams, it’s not, as one might think, all about only planes but also about the map and the chosen game mode. The spawning points, elevation of the map, positioning of clouds, objects and AA guns – all of this also influences the main goal of each battle mode: winning. Depending on the rules of the game mode and its inherent rules (destroying opposing planes, capture positions, availability of re-spawns, repair or power-ups), the path to victory can be quite different. That’s where the balancing of the game mode and the arena or – more simply put – the map comes in. The main objective of this kind of balancing is to ensure equal chances to achieve the game mode’s goals regardless of the setup of the remaining team. These goals can be the collection of superiority points, destruction of enemy planes, ground objects or, ultimately, the victory and the acquisition of the appropriate amount of game resources (credits, xp, etc.). Balancing also needs to take into account that all classes need to be equally useful and important on each of the randomly-selected battle arenas.

  接着说。平衡团队基于三个标准:等级,组队,类别。然而,当分配队伍的时候,不仅要考虑飞机,也要考虑地图,模式。增长的分数,地图的高度,云,目标,防空的位置-这些都将会对胜利产生影响。取决于游戏的模式和规则,赢的方式有很多种。这就是平衡工作的切入点——忽略阵容的情况下尽量使双方有相同的机会去赢。制空点数,击坠数,地面目标击毁数,甚至是收益都可以控制。每种飞机在每场战斗都有自己的用处。

  Now it’s time to look at the planes themselves. Don’t forget that, for the purposes of understanding, we look at each plane with only one, primary configuration. If the matchmaker doesn’t use completely ‘mirrored’ teams, the players flying some of the aircraft of a particular class can have an advantage over the players of the other team due to the superior flight characteristics of their specific aircraft. To us, that’s admissible as long as all the planes remain equally useful to their respective teams (based on the role they play) and as long as the planes still meet the expectations of the players piloting them. The next point is very important too: There’s absolutely no need for a plane that nobody flies, just like there’s no use in a plane that everybody flies. This part of balancing is something that we have little control over. It’s usually the players themselves who determine the usage quantities of each plane. By choosing your plane, you vote for what’s popular. At this point it is our job to give the players the freedom to choose from a wide variety of aircraft, while at the same time avoiding that everybody picks the same. The popularity of a plane is also a benchmark for how well it is balanced. Usually players pick their planes based on what plane offers the best compromise between its weaknesses and strengths, their personal preferences in terms of the nation of the plane, and what other planes follow an aircraft higher up the tech tree that the player is trying to get to.

  是时候来谈谈飞机本身了。别忘了,为了让你们好理解,我们将每个飞机都看成配置相同。如果分房系统没有形成两个“镜像”队伍,那么有一些使用强势机的玩家将对其它人形成压制。对于我们来说,只要这种机会对所有玩家都是均等的,那么这种情况就可以存在。还有一点也很重要:绝对没有毫无用处的飞机。通常玩家会自己决定飞机的用处,使用一架飞机,相应也增加了它的人气,同时我们也要避免大家都玩一样的飞机。所以飞机的人气也是平衡的指标之一。

  Going even deeper into the subject, we of course have to acknowledge that aircraft can have multiple module configurations from stock to top, the ability to install additional equipment pieces, ammunition and even the capacity to train the pilots that fly them. And, lastly, you also have to take into account the player himself, who can be more or less skilled at the game, have different connection speeds to the server and be in different physical states (one being fit and ready and some other playing tired and over-exhausted). Apart from you, there are 29 other of such players in each battle that the matchmaker assembles. All of these factors lead to a very varied situation at the beginning of each battle, which only continues to diversify as the battle progresses. We think that that’s good – because change and variety is inherent to all life and also to games.

  往深处想想,我们让飞机有多种装备可以选择,有额外的配件,有不同的弹药,并且,玩家的水平,网络状况,精神状态也都不同,另外29个和你一样的玩家也都是如此,这让游戏变得多样,复杂。我们觉得这样很好-因为变化和多样不仅是游戏,人生也是如此。

  So with all this in mind, how do we manage to balance planes in the end? We look at a multitude of factors and draw our conclusions from that. As such we observe different configurations of planes, groups of players with different skills, and assess from that the popularity of a plane, how much damage it’s capable to dish out, how many planes or ground targets it can destroy, how many superiority points, XP and credits players earn on it, and many other metrics. Additionally, we also take into account our community’s subjective opinion on planes, which shows through their feedback from the forum or other media, super tests, special balancing tests or the personal feedback of our game balancing specialists during their obligatory sorties on each aircraft that needs adjusting or qualifying. We almost never rely on average values of one key metric to assess a plane and always try to look at multiple key metrics together to determine a warbird’s final efficiency.

  既然带着这些想法,那么最后到底该怎么去平衡飞机呢?我们会根据这些大量的因素去得出结论。我们会观察不同的飞机,不同水平的玩家,飞机受欢迎的程度,伤害,目标的数量,制空点数的多少,经验和隐蔽的收益,还有其它方面。另外,我们也会在飞机上加入自己主观的想法,通过它们的反馈来决定是否平衡。我们永远不会仅从一个方面去看一架飞机,而是不断尝试从多重角度来评判它们。

  To sum all of the above up, it’s clear that balance is something very complex that is not very tangible and only reveals itself under very careful examination. Pretty much every feature of a game impacts the final balance of it. In the case of video games, where the subjective experience sometimes even overweighs the underlying statistical and technical reality, even the visuals and audio of a plane can influence, how a player perceives the efficiency of a certain aircraft or its armament. In World of Warplanes, the game balancing

  department acts as a last line of defence, capable of preventing (or affirming) changes that could potentially change the eco-system of the current aircraft power structure in-game. In most cases, we’re able to do just that. Sometimes, we miss something and need to make corrections. We’ve made many adjustments since release already, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Ultimately, it’s not only the perfect balance that we’re after. We aim to make the game fun, comfortable and as varied a gaming experience as possible.

  总结一下之前所说的,平衡工作是一件非常复杂抽象并且需要小心翼翼的事情。每一个游戏中的因素都与平衡息息相关。玩家主观的经验与感受可能与真实的情况有所不同,平衡部门在这里充当了一个底线的角色,预防一些潜在的变化影响到整个**的能量结构。大多数情况下,我们可以做到,但是有时候我们也会疏忽,也需要去改正。这么长时间以来我们做了很多改动,但是依然有大量的事情要做,最后,我们不仅仅想要游戏变得平衡,更重要的是,我们会尽力让游戏变得好玩,令人舒适,给大家多样的游戏体验。

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游戏信息

中文名称:**世界
英文名称:World of Warplanes
制作公司:wargaming
官方网站:点击进入
运营公司:空中网
专区编辑:The_Only_7