Splatoon Problems

[Solemn]

Alright, I just signed up for this forum and first I would like to say... This is a beautiful board. Congrats. I wish you guys success.

I both love and hate Splatoon. While I've been infuriated by it many times, when I try to Google things I have repeated issues with, nobody else seems to be talking about them. Let's get the most important thing out of the way first...

I've only been playing Turf Wars and a tiny bit of single player so far, so if I'm wrong or partially wrong about something, feel free to inform me. Anyway, the biggest problem in Splatoon is that if one person disconnects from a team, you are almost guaranteed to lose. And disconnects have been happening, oh, 50-75% of matches? Sometimes it's in my favor, and sometimes it's not. This is absolutely ridiculous. I did read from one other person complaining about this issue, and they said their best solution was to replace the disconnected person with a bot with a suitable difficulty and equipment level. I think this solution is fantastic.

Make no mistake, this happens MOST matches and it is absolutely infuriating much of the time.

Now for a second problem. I only know so much about this, so it may be properly handled or it may not be. However, the main counter-argument is really stupid, so I'll address it. There is next to no match-making and it is goddamn terrible. Now I've been watching the levels and it is possible that match-making is done by assigning members to teams in such a way so that both teams have a very similar average level. If that's the case, that's cool. But sometimes it doesn't seem to work-- although it just might be the limited number of players you can add to a match at any one time. If it's handled well, great. If not, it needs to be repaired. If anyone has any idea what's going on, any information would be sweet.

The seemingly-universal counter-argument for people complaining about possible poor matchmaking is that levels only determine amount of time played, not skill. However, this argument is dumb for several reasons. Higher-level players have a lot more experience. A level 38 is just going to win against a level 4. You can guarantee it. Higher-level players also have access to a ton more equipment, and if you think that that doesn't matter because they're all equal, well, they're not. Everyone plays differently and it takes time-- and levels-- for people to find the weapon they're good with. But even further, people above level 20 can upgrade their equipment to have up to four slots, and even re-rolls slot abilities. With lots of play, slot-adding, and re-rolling, you can be easily the best player on the field. But only high-level people have access to that kind of money and options.

Three-- I know a lot of people are going to get defensive about this, saying I'm being prejudiced or something, but I'm just giving what I think are cold, hard facts: Japanese players are hardcore and I and a bunch of other people I read from think it would be a lot more fair to have regional servers. About 50% of people I play with or against are Japanese and they are brutal. It's great having them on your team, but sometimes it feels one-sided; and every once in a while, you just get a weird cultural disconnect, as if what they were doing would be unsportsman-like here in the West. I can't prove it one way or another, but I really do get a strong feeling of Japanese brutality, and I'm not the only one who wishes to be able to choose a regional server.

Now for a fourth (non-?) problem. Voice chat. There are two valid sides to this argument, in my opinion. For proponents of no voice chat, I am going to be honest and upfront and say that I am VERY unsportsman-like with what I say when I get mad in a multi-player game. You guys don't want to hear me yell. It's degrading to myself and insulting to you guys. I understand that many people might be like me and nobody should have to hear that. Fine, okay. That's a good reason to not have voice chat.

However, the other side to that argument is that people should be able to ignore specific users' mics. Come on, it's a basic feature. Everybody can ignore me except the people who can put up with my indignities. That's fine. Heck, it might even be a good idea to give people the option by default to ignore the mics of ALL users except the ones they manually choose. That'd work out great, I think.

Now let's talk about relatively non-problems, but things that still irk me. Hear me out for this one before you get defensive, please. I hate deep Japanese culture including Shintoism. I find it immature and unprogressive in many, many ways. Most Western people don't know enough about this culture to get offended at it, but whatever. My main point here is that the game is notably culturally-one-sided, whereas things like Zelda: Twilight Princess and Minish Cap, most of Mario, and Final Fantasy X and XIII at least know how to make things more appreciatable and understandable by other cultures. Judd is my least-favorite thing in the game (outside of disconnects). His design and animations are ugly, lazy, and immature, and I hate even looking at him. And he only exists-- from a meta standpoint-- because Japan loves and over-uses Shinto-styled oval creatures with bifurcated lips, especially ones that are supposed to be "cats". It's not the fact that "it's Japanese" that bothers me-- it's that I find it ugly and immature. Meanwhile, for example, I actually really like Annie and Moe, the anemone hat shop owner and pet clownfish. They are awesome, clever, and NOT generic-and-ugly Shinto creatures. And the duo can hit home with most non-anime-familiar-or-loving cultures, and not with just Japan and China like with Judd.

I also dislike how you can't stick with a specific hair color of your choosing in the Plaza. Sure, it's only the Plaza, but I think it matters for sociality. And speaking of sociality, I wish the Plaza WERE more social, somehow. It feels too... lifeless... compared to what I think it should and could be.

I have other problems with the game, but at that point I'm just nitpicking. Like how I wish I could change the sub weapon on my favorite main weapon, the Sploosh-o-matic. :D

What do you guys think about any of this stuff?

 

[97Stephen]

I'll try to answer some of your questions.
1. Disconnects
A disconnect does not guarantee that you will lose the match, it just means you'll have to work harder. I don't know why you have that many disconnects, they rarely happen to me. As for bots, they're not going to happen this game. The only bots are the Octolings and they're really lousy.
2. Matchmaking
There is matchmaking in this game, it just isn't as noticeable in turf war. I'm pretty sure level isn't taken into account. It's a little more complex than that. I'm not the best one to explain it but it is there. Most of us think matchmaking is pretty bad though so your not alone. The best advice I can give you is live with it, and get better. I realize that that's not wonderful advice but it's about all you or I can do about it.
3. Regional Servers
First off, I'm against it. I don't know why people see Japanese as hardcore. I think they just invest more time into playing well. I don't know about unsportsmanlike. Squidbagging, rage quitting, it's usually not a Japanese player doing it. For my biggest reason against it I'll have to ask you, have you ever played while a Japanese Splatfest was going on? It took me ten minutes to start a single fight. The average was around three minutes. If they implemented regional, it would be almost impossible to find a game at certain hours.
4. Voice Chat
I'm against it. I think the main issue is language barrier. When my team is all Japanese I don't voice chat would help much. It works best when you're in a team of people you know. Four random guys yelling at each other probably isn't going to be very productive.
This is just my opinion though. Feel free to disagree with me.

 

[Solemn]

I'll try to answer some of your questions.
1. Disconnects
A disconnect does not guarantee that you will lose the match, it just means you'll have to work harder. I don't know why you have that many disconnects, they rarely happen to me. As for bots, they're not going to happen this game. The only bots are the Octolings and they're really lousy.

I am not a bad player, and I don't think I've ever had a disconnect on my team and still won. And I get a disconnect on a team 50-75% of matches. And it's never me disconnecting. I do hear tons and tons and tons of people online complaining about themselves getting disconnected, which was frustrating for me when I was trying to use the search engine to find people complaining about OTHERS getting disconnected.

Maybe next time we'll get bots.

2. Matchmaking
There is matchmaking in this game, it just isn't as noticeable in turf war. I'm pretty sure level isn't taken into account. It's a little more complex than that. I'm not the best one to explain it but it is there. Most of us think matchmaking is pretty bad though so your not alone. The best advice I can give you is live with it, and get better. I realize that that's not wonderful advice but it's about all you or I can do about it.

Fair enough.

3. Regional Servers
First off, I'm against it. I don't know why people see Japanese as hardcore. I think they just invest more time into playing well. I don't know about unsportsmanlike. Squidbagging, rage quitting, it's usually not a Japanese player doing it. For my biggest reason against it I'll have to ask you, have you ever played while a Japanese Splatfest was going on? It took me ten minutes to start a single fight. The average was around three minutes. If they implemented regional, it would be almost impossible to find a game at certain hours.

I forgot to mention that I also hear lag is a real problem for Westerners since the servers are located in Japan. As far as unsportsman-like behavior, I was talking about subtle gameplay tactics, not ragequitting and squidbagging. One might argue that every tactic is fair, but-- like with Super Smash Bros.' Kirbyciding, Deedeeciding, and Bowserciding-- a lot of people feel that just because something is possible doesn't mean it's sportsmanlike.

4. Voice Chat
I'm against it. I think the main issue is language barrier. When my team is all Japanese I don't voice chat would help much. It works best when you're in a team of people you know. Four random guys yelling at each other probably isn't going to be very productive.
This is just my opinion though. Feel free to disagree with me.

I can't agree with you here. Voice chat doesn't have to be universal. It could be on for people who match your language based on region, or maybe you could turn it on for some and off for others-- there are possibilities. The anti-social and unstrategic nature of no talking during a team game just isn't worth the lack of attempt and intuition. Talking makes a team game several times greater and is sometimes nearly-vital-- and there's just no way of going around that fact. They're not excluding it because they think it's not important (and if they are, they live under a rock)-- they're excluding it because they decided that the cons outweigh the pros and haven't realized you can meet halfway.

 

[97Stephen]

I am not a bad player, and I don't think I've ever had a disconnect on my team and still won. And I get a disconnect on a team 50-75% of matches. And it's never me disconnecting. I do hear tons and tons and tons of people online complaining about themselves getting disconnected, which was frustrating for me when I was trying to use the search engine to find people complaining about OTHERS getting disconnected.

Maybe next time we'll get bots.



Fair enough.



I forgot to mention that I also hear lag is a real problem for Westerners since the servers are located in Japan. As far as unsportsman-like behavior, I was talking about subtle gameplay tactics, not ragequitting and squidbagging. One might argue that every tactic is fair, but-- like with Super Smash Bros.' Kirbyciding, Deedeeciding, and Bowserciding-- a lot of people feel that just because something is possible doesn't mean it's sportsmanlike.



I can't agree with you here. Voice chat doesn't have to be universal. It could be on for people who match your language based on region, or maybe you could turn it on for some and off for others-- there are possibilities. The anti-social and unstrategic nature of no talking during a team game just isn't worth the lack of attempt and intuition. Talking makes a team game several times greater and is sometimes nearly-vital-- and there's just no way of going around that fact. They're not excluding it because they think it's not important (and if they are, they live under a rock)-- they're excluding it because they decided that the cons outweigh the pros and haven't realized you can meet halfway.

My laggy players are always western not Japanese. What kind of sutle things? I don't think I've really noticed anything. My opinion on voice chat doesn't count for much considering I've never played a game with it. So don't take me too seriously.

 

[Solemn]

My laggy players are always western not Japanese. What kind of sutle things? I don't think I've really noticed anything. My opinion on voice chat doesn't count for much considering I've never played a game with it. So don't take me too seriously.

I don't remember what tactics I was seeing. I've been playing so many matches it's all a blur. As far as lag, yes, that's what I'm saying. The lagging players are Western. The servers are in Japan. If we had regional server options, this would be less of a problem.

Remember, there are plenty of games out there in which you can choose either regional or worldwide servers. Mario Kart 8 is one of them. It could be an option here, too.

 

[97Stephen]

I don't remember what tactics I was seeing. I've been playing so many matches it's all a blur. As far as lag, yes, that's what I'm saying. The lagging players are Western. The servers are in Japan. If we had regional server options, this would be less of a problem.

Remember, there are plenty of games out there in which you can choose either regional or worldwide servers. Mario Kart 8 is one of them. It could be an option here, too.

I don't think there are enough players to support regional play. Nearly every match I play has three or four Japanese in it. If they left it would be much harder to find games. And I almost forgot about squads. I watched a stream once during a Japanese Splatfest. It took them nearly six minutes each time to find someone. And then they would get the same teams again and again because there wasn't anybody else on.

 

[Solemn]

I don't think there are enough players to support regional play. Nearly every match I play has three or four Japanese in it. If they left it would be much harder to find games. And I almost forgot about squads. I watched a stream once during a Japanese Splatfest. It took them nearly six minutes each time to find someone. And then they would get the same teams again and again because there wasn't anybody else on.

I believe you.

 

[97Stephen]

If you really hate the disconnects the higher ranks in ranked are much less prone to them. Ranked is a lot more rage inducing but that's a different problem. I think if you can prove you're good they'll match you with better people in turf war reducing the amount of dc's.

 

[birdiebee]

Hey, also, with regards to Japanese brutality thing, I think that maybe you've been trying to find a way to justify losing to Japanese players so you sort of imagined these cheap tactics and brutal gameplay in your mind as being exclusively (or mostly) Japanese?

I mean how can you really know? My case is rare but I live in Japan and my display name is in kana, so if you didn't know me you'd call me a Japanese player, but I dont think my play style is particularly Japanese (whatever that might be?), likewise, many Japanese players' names are Roman alphabet words, so how can you know if they're western or not? If anyone is playing dirty, do you just assume they're Japanese? Aside from the fact that Splatoon is most popular in Japan by quite a large margin as was mentioned, I believe a Regional feature would do little to help.

Also, I'm sorry to hear that you're upset about the game's cultural references. I suppose there's little to do to change that.
What are the un-progressive aspects of Shintoism which offend you, and aside from Judd's design, how are they prominent in Splatoon to a degree which irks you?

EDIT: There is a lot going on in this thread, but there's some meaty matchmaking speculation going on in here if you want more info on how it may work http://squidboards.com/threads/ranked-mode-too-punishing.20731/#post-141910

 

[Solemn]

Hey, also, with regards to Japanese brutality thing, I think that maybe you've been trying to find a way to justify losing to Japanese players so you sort of imagined these cheap tactics and brutal gameplay in your mind as being exclusively (or mostly) Japanese?

I mean how can you really know? My case is rare but I live in Japan and my display name is in kana, so if you didn't know me you'd call me a Japanese player, but I dont think my play style is particularly Japanese (whatever that might be?), likewise, many Japanese players' names are Roman alphabet words, so how can you know if they're western or not? If anyone is playing dirty, do you just assume they're Japanese? Aside from the fact that Splatoon is most popular in Japan by quite a large margin as was mentioned, I believe a Regional feature would do little to help.

I don't presume that players with Roman characters in their names are Japanese. I was making my observations based on names with Japanese characters. Still, the more I play, the more I think it might have been perceived. But I certainly wasn't the only one talking about this, as my Google searches showed me.

Also, I'm sorry to hear that you're upset about the game's cultural references. I suppose there's little to do to change that.
What are the un-progressive aspects of Shintoism which offend you, and aside from Judd's design, how are they prominent in Splatoon to a degree which irks you?

Well, I said only loosely that Shintoism was what offended me. Really it's a lot of Japanese art and social culture. I have nothing against Japanese people and I know they mean nothing by it, but I find that they have some tendencies towards certain mentalities and art trends that I find unprogressive, tasteless, or even physically detrimental. And I know Shintoism has a huge hand in many of these things. However, this is a huge, multi-faceted discussion that would take me completely off-topic. Few people in the West know much about Japanese day-to-day life or have experience with discussing ideas and thinking patterns with Japanese people, so there's not a whole lot of people I could be able to discuss this stuff with before hitting some kind of block. People tend to have the mentality that if they don't know anything about something, then neither can the person they're debating with. And they get defensive. So there's not many people for me to discuss such things with.

While there are a lot of aspects around this subject, one I would like to bring up here specifically is... spastic animation and sound in Japanese games and shows. While Japan is known in pop culture as the country that gave a bunch of kids seizures with a Pokemon episode, I would like to say first-hand that there is WAY more of that kind of physically-painful animation and sound going on in Japanese art than most people realize-- and to be fair, most people AREN'T going to "see it" without it being described to them-- or be affected by it at all. Okami and Chibi Robo are kings of causing physical pain to the kinds of people affected by this problem, but Splatoon and Golden Sun and others have some notable instances, too. Meanwhile, I have seen almost nothing in the West even attempt such similar kinds of stylistic choices that could cause adverse physical effects.

And like I said, there is a TON more to this subject than I could add here. Maybe another time. If you want a long, rambling read about someone else who's seen some of this stuff-- even someone who lives in Japan-- here's a great article: http://kotaku.com/5484581/japan-its-not-funny-anymore

EDIT: There is a lot going on in this thread, but there's some meaty matchmaking speculation going on in here if you want more info on how it may work http://squidboards.com/threads/ranked-mode-too-punishing.20731/#post-141910

Thanks for the extra info. You're being very helpful.

 

[BlackZero]

If anyone has any idea what's going on, any information would be sweet.

My theory is that the matchmaker places a player in to one of two groups: inkers and killers. This is based on whether a player's kill value or coverage value is higher. It then builds a lobby of these like-styled players and places them on a team using an Elo rating system. It runs through several calculations to determine which combination of player values on each team averages out to a 50/50 match up. You may get put on a team with 3 other people who are close to each other in skill, or you may get put on a team of 3 crappy players to balance things out if you're really good.

The seemingly-universal counter-argument for people complaining about possible poor matchmaking is that levels only determine amount of time played, not skill. However, this argument is dumb for several reasons. Higher-level players have a lot more experience. A level 38 is just going to win against a level 4. You can guarantee it. Higher-level players also have access to a ton more equipment, and if you think that that doesn't matter because they're all equal, well, they're not.

Likewise, a level 4 who is actually an alt for a person with two other lvl 50's has far more experience than a person with their first account only at lvl 38. You may also have people who have never played this game before playing on someone's level 50 character as guests. Level is no guarantee of anything other than how long someone has played the game with that character.

With that said, the counterargument for poor matchmaking isn't level-based. I don't think there is a counterargument for the matchmaker. It's pretty universally recognized as horrendous because it is oversimplified and incredibly imprecise in how it measures player skill.

Japanese players are hardcore and I and a bunch of other people I read from think it would be a lot more fair to have regional servers. About 50% of people I play with or against are Japanese and they are brutal. It's great having them on your team, but sometimes it feels one-sided; and every once in a while, you just get a weird cultural disconnect, as if what they were doing would be unsportsman-like here in the West. I can't prove it one way or another, but I really do get a strong feeling of Japanese brutality, and I'm not the only one who wishes to be able to choose a regional server.

This isn't offensive. This is just patently false. I've encountered very skilled Japanese players, and I've also encountered many who were very laid back in their play style. I've also encountered many who spend the match throwing squid parties. Japanese players aren't some creatures from a scary campfire story Western gamers tell their kids to scare them. They are people just like us. Some want to beat some record or make it to S+. Some just want to relax and have a chill game. Some may have just gotten the game and don't know their *** from the Rain Maker. To say that Japanese players are some kind of special breed of gaming Ubermensch is just ridiculous and sounds very much like someone is making excuses or has some sour grapes over a few bad losses.

I hate deep Japanese culture including Shintoism. I find it immature and unprogressive in many, many ways. Most Western people don't know enough about this culture to get offended at it, but whatever. My main point here is that the game is notably culturally-one-sided,

You don't mean to tell me that a video game made by Japanese developers in a Japanese company based in Japan that is notorious for only caring about it's Japanese consumer base made a video game that was focused on Japanese culture, do you? You've got to be pulling my leg.

And the duo can hit home with most non-anime-familiar-or-loving cultures, and not with just Japan and China like with Judd.

You do realize that China and Japan get on with each other like a house on fire, right? I studied International Affairs for four years as an Undergrad and never met anyone who specialized in East Asia that would accuse Japan and China of having similar cultures beyond the fairly widespread socio-religious trident of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism in that part of the world

With that said, it's up to the developers to design the game however they want. Splatoon wasn't exactly subtle with modeling Inkopolis after Tokyo, so any shock or horror at it having a very heavy Japanese influence is somewhat self-inflicted imo.

 

[birdiebee]

Well, I said only loosely that Shintoism was what offended me. Really it's a lot of Japanese art and social culture. I have nothing against Japanese people and I know they mean nothing by it, but I find that they have some tendencies towards certain mentalities and art trends that I find unprogressive, tasteless, or even physically detrimental. And I know Shintoism has a huge hand in many of these things. However, this is a huge, multi-faceted discussion that would take me completely off-topic. Few people in the West know much about Japanese day-to-day life or have experience with discussing ideas and thinking patterns with Japanese people, so there's not a whole lot of people I could be able to discuss this stuff with before hitting some kind of block. People tend to have the mentality that if they don't know anything about something, then neither can the person they're debating with. And they get defensive. So there's not many people for me to discuss such things with.

While there are a lot of aspects around this subject, one I would like to bring up here specifically is... spastic animation and sound in Japanese games and shows. While Japan is known in pop culture as the country that gave a bunch of kids seizures with a Pokemon episode, I would like to say first-hand that there is WAY more of that kind of physically-painful animation and sound going on in Japanese art than most people realize-- and to be fair, most people AREN'T going to "see it" without it being described to them-- or be affected by it at all. Okami and Chibi Robo are kings of causing physical pain to the kinds of people affected by this problem, but Splatoon and Golden Sun and others have some notable instances, too. Meanwhile, I have seen almost nothing in the West even attempt such similar kinds of stylistic choices that could cause adverse physical effects.

And like I said, there is a TON more to this subject than I could add here. Maybe another time. If you want a long, rambling read about someone else who's seen some of this stuff-- even someone who lives in Japan-- here's a great article: http://kotaku.com/5484581/japan-its-not-funny-anymore.

Yeah, I suppose we shouldnt derail the thread much further. But I think to allow small cultural details in a children's video game to irk you seems like it has less to do with the culture and thinking patterns themselves and may more about your jaded attitude toward them?
Skimming the article you linked, which I will read in further detail in a little bit, the guy sounds awfully jaded and cynical. As I mentioned, I also live (and work) in Japan and communicate with Japanese people on a daily basis. And yeah, many foreigners living in Japan grow frustrated with customs and ways of life here, but I think that's true of anyone living anywhere marginally different from where they grew up. Sure, some things are genuinely problematic, but others, its easier to just become cynical than it is to really acclimate. I'm guilty of this myself, especially as of late.

 

[Solemn]

You do realize that China and Japan get on with each other like a house on fire, right? I studied International Affairs for four years as an Undergrad and never met anyone who specialized in East Asia that would accuse Japan and China of having similar cultures beyond the fairly widespread socio-religious trident of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism in that part of the world

With that said, it's up to the developers to design the game however they want. Splatoon wasn't exactly subtle with modeling Inkopolis after Tokyo, so any shock or horror at it having a very heavy Japanese influence is somewhat self-inflicted imo.

These were the counter-arguments you made that I could address the easiest, so I'll do that instead of posting a giant wall of text.

Go look at more Chinese and Japanese art. Things like Judd's design-- which was exactly what I was referencing when I mentioned China-- are ubiquitous in both cultures. You misunderstood my statement.

As far as the latter paragraph goes, I never said I was "shocked" that the game had heavy Japanese influence. I said I was bothered by several elements in it. Still, my main argument in that post was that-- for a game marketed for both the West and Japan-- there are a lot of culturally-impenetrable Eastern tropes and stylings in Splatoon. Like I said before, most Zeldas, most Marios, and Final Fantasy X and XII had no problem being mostly culturally-independent, and those games are more successful or effective for it.

Yeah, I suppose we shouldnt derail the thread much further. But I think to allow small cultural details in a children's video game to irk you seems like it has less to do with the culture and thinking patterns themselves and may more about your jaded attitude toward them?
Skimming the article you linked, which I will read in further detail in a little bit, the guy sounds awfully jaded and cynical. As I mentioned, I also live (and work) in Japan and communicate with Japanese people on a daily basis. And yeah, many foreigners living in Japan grow frustrated with customs and ways of life here, but I think that's true of anyone living anywhere marginally different from where they grew up. Sure, some things are genuinely problematic, but others, its easier to just become cynical than it is to really acclimate. I'm guilty of this myself, especially as of late.

Fair enough. Thanks for understanding. I am a little jaded to Japanese culture, but I would hope that I spend more time rationalizing about it than being close-minded. And to be fair, I dislike a lot of things from other cultures, too. There's a whole lot in the US to dislike. And I also dislike the way England doesn't put any effort or dignity into its cartoons and cartoon-style art, as if they think cartoons should only be sloppy and mindless.

 

[Ryuji]

I for one don't want regional servers. Not because it wouldn't be good to have, but because finding matches with other players in your region is time consuming. Whenever Japan has a Splatfest going on, finding rooms is considerably more difficult, what with having to have people of your rank in the room and the fact there seems to be a shortage of skilled western players. I'm actually thankful that you mainly see Japanese players online 24/7 because without them, you'd have to sit and wait in the lobby for who knows how long.

 

[BlackZero]

Go look at more Chinese and Japanese art. Things like Judd's design-- which was exactly what I was referencing when I mentioned China-- are ubiquitous in both cultures. You misunderstood my statement.

Judd's design vaguely resembles the maneki-neko or a tanuki, both of which are very definitely Japanese in origin and not Chinese. You really should learn to spot the difference between objects of Japanese culture and objects of Chinese culture. At least that way you know exactly what culture you find disgusting. Simply labeling things as "oriental" is so 1900's.

I said I was bothered by several elements in it. Still, my main argument in that post was that-- for a game marketed for both the West and Japan-- there are a lot of culturally-impenetrable Eastern tropes and stylings in Splatoon

So what? Just because people plan to sell something in Western countries doesn't mean they have to strip all non-Western cultural elements from it. If that were the case, Wuxia movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and House of the Flying Daggers would't exist. Neither would Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan movies, as those use Eastern martial arts as their main draw. The style someone chooses to use in a creative work has nothing to do with the geographic region they plan to market that work in. If that were the case, anime as we know it probably wouldn't exist because the first animes drew artistic elements from Western animation. Likewise, a lot of Western animation we have now wouldn't exist because the West then borrowed a lot of artistic elements from anime. It's called exposure to other cultures and it hasn't been the sole cause of death for anyone I'm aware, of though there are people who seem to think it can kill.

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

This is like SJWs demanding Disney to make movies about a non-Western culture but then complain that the movie they do have that is based on a non-Western culture has too many Western influences such as when I saw someone nitpicking on Mulan. It is pretty hard to be 100% accurate of another culture and free from the originating culture the product came from.

 

[Solemn]

You guys are misunderstanding my argument about cultural-impenetrability vs. cultural-independence.

 

[Airi]

I've only been playing Turf Wars and a tiny bit of single player so far, so if I'm wrong or partially wrong about something, feel free to inform me. Anyway, the biggest problem in Splatoon is that if one person disconnects from a team, you are almost guaranteed to lose. And disconnects have been happening, oh, 50-75% of matches? Sometimes it's in my favor, and sometimes it's not. This is absolutely ridiculous. I did read from one other person complaining about this issue, and they said their best solution was to replace the disconnected person with a bot with a suitable difficulty and equipment level. I think this solution is fantastic.

Make no mistake, this happens MOST matches and it is absolutely infuriating much of the time.

If your immediate thought in a 3 VS 4 is that you're going to lose.... You're probably going to lose. When you think that you're going to lose, your mind subconsciously will make you work less hard for a win. After all, why try if you've already given up? The thing is that 3 VS 4 matches are not impossible to win. I've been in many 3 VS 4 matches where the team of three won. It depends entirely upon the skill of the players and how well you will work together. How hard you are going to work for the win is also a very big factor. This sounds silly but it is true. When we tell ourselves that we are going to lose, we will usually always lose because we stop working as hard, essentially making it into a 2 VS 4.

Now for a second problem. I only know so much about this, so it may be properly handled or it may not be. However, the main counter-argument is really stupid, so I'll address it. There is next to no match-making and it is goddamn terrible. Now I've been watching the levels and it is possible that match-making is done by assigning members to teams in such a way so that both teams have a very similar average level. If that's the case, that's cool. But sometimes it doesn't seem to work-- although it just might be the limited number of players you can add to a match at any one time. If it's handled well, great. If not, it needs to be repaired. If anyone has any idea what's going on, any information would be sweet.

I totally agree here. :p Splatoon's matchmaking for Turf Wars is absolutely horrendous. It needs a way to filter by skill or level. Everyone is thrown together by default and there's very little real algorithm to how it is done.

The seemingly-universal counter-argument for people complaining about possible poor matchmaking is that levels only determine amount of time played, not skill. However, this argument is dumb for several reasons. Higher-level players have a lot more experience. A level 38 is just going to win against a level 4. You can guarantee it. Higher-level players also have access to a ton more equipment, and if you think that that doesn't matter because they're all equal, well, they're not. Everyone plays differently and it takes time-- and levels-- for people to find the weapon they're good with. But even further, people above level 20 can upgrade their equipment to have up to four slots, and even re-rolls slot abilities. With lots of play, slot-adding, and re-rolling, you can be easily the best player on the field. But only high-level people have access to that kind of money and options.

Level =/= Skill.

Someone who is level 50 may not be a very good player. Being a high level doesn't mean that someone has any skill at the game. It's not representative of that. The only thing that level represents is how much time someone has invested into the game. Someone can get to level 50 by losing and/or getting carried in every match if they invest enough time. Not everyone rerolls their gear. You'd be amazed at how many S rank players have gear that's all over the place. Level 50s often have gear that's everywhere as well. It's not a good indicator of skill. :)

Three-- I know a lot of people are going to get defensive about this, saying I'm being prejudiced or something, but I'm just giving what I think are cold, hard facts: Japanese players are hardcore and I and a bunch of other people I read from think it would be a lot more fair to have regional servers. About 50% of people I play with or against are Japanese and they are brutal. It's great having them on your team, but sometimes it feels one-sided; and every once in a while, you just get a weird cultural disconnect, as if what they were doing would be unsportsman-like here in the West. I can't prove it one way or another, but I really do get a strong feeling of Japanese brutality, and I'm not the only one who wishes to be able to choose a regional server.

This is going to sound mean but it is the truth.... This excuse for losing against the Japanese players is extremely old and extremely tiring at this point in the game's history. The Japanese players are not some anomaly. They're like everybody else. Some are very good at the game and some are terrible at the game. It's like Westerners. Some of us are great at the game and some of us are very lackluster at the game. If you're losing against Japanese players, it is probably because you have a more passive playstyle. Most people who complain about the Japanese, I've noticed, are very passive in their playstyle.

Japanese players are notorious for being "aggressive". They will splat you if they see you. Is this bad? Actually no. It's quite smart. Why leave someone around and let them keep inking? It's not going to make progress for anyone. Splat them and send them back to spawn. Delay their inking so your team can get ahead. I'm an "aggressive" player as well and I have no trouble against the Japanese players. It's probably because my playstyle is so similar to many Japanese players though. I'm not afraid to splat and I will take you out if I see you. There is no such thing as "Japanese brutality". It's a matter of skill level and different playstyles.

Regional servers would also not work very well for Splatoon. Think about how the game is when the Japanese are in a Splatfest. It is a lot slower than normal. A majority of Splatoon's player base is Japanese. When the Japanese are taken away, it's very hard to get matches because there are so little people on anymore. Regional servers may not be worth the time and money due to how little Westerners there are in comparison to Japanese players.

Now for a fourth (non-?) problem. Voice chat. There are two valid sides to this argument, in my opinion. For proponents of no voice chat, I am going to be honest and upfront and say that I am VERY unsportsman-like with what I say when I get mad in a multi-player game. You guys don't want to hear me yell. It's degrading to myself and insulting to you guys. I understand that many people might be like me and nobody should have to hear that. Fine, okay. That's a good reason to not have voice chat.

However, the other side to that argument is that people should be able to ignore specific users' mics. Come on, it's a basic feature. Everybody can ignore me except the people who can put up with my indignities. That's fine. Heck, it might even be a good idea to give people the option by default to ignore the mics of ALL users except the ones they manually choose. That'd work out great, I think.

The fact there is no voice chat is the reason many people have come to love Splatoon. It's a shooter that everyone can enjoy without being yelled at. The game is better off without voice chat. You can always use Skype or Discord with your friends. Random matchup doesn't need voice chat. We could use more D-Pad commands though. Help or Danger would be super appreciated.

Now let's talk about relatively non-problems, but things that still irk me. Hear me out for this one before you get defensive, please. I hate deep Japanese culture including Shintoism. I find it immature and unprogressive in many, many ways. Most Western people don't know enough about this culture to get offended at it, but whatever. My main point here is that the game is notably culturally-one-sided, whereas things like Zelda: Twilight Princess and Minish Cap, most of Mario, and Final Fantasy X and XIII at least know how to make things more appreciatable and understandable by other cultures. Judd is my least-favorite thing in the game (outside of disconnects). His design and animations are ugly, lazy, and immature, and I hate even looking at him. And he only exists-- from a meta standpoint-- because Japan loves and over-uses Shinto-styled oval creatures with bifurcated lips, especially ones that are supposed to be "cats". It's not the fact that "it's Japanese" that bothers me-- it's that I find it ugly and immature. Meanwhile, for example, I actually really like Annie and Moe, the anemone hat shop owner and pet clownfish. They are awesome, clever, and NOT generic-and-ugly Shinto creatures. And the duo can hit home with most non-anime-familiar-or-loving cultures, and not with just Japan and China like with Judd.

If you think the Shinto religion is immature and not progressive, you do not know very much about the Shinto religion. Based upon this entire section of your post, it is clear that you don't know very much about the religion. That is beside the point though. The games have a very strong cultural background in Japan because they are made by Japanese developers. It is only natural that developers will take inspiration from their own countries. If people in a different country cannot enjoy a game for this reason, it is their own problem and not the fault of the developers. We should not be so closed off to other cultures like that.

I think you're seriously overthinking Judd's design.... He's a cat. That's literally it. Judd was put in the game - most likely - because they needed a referee. They couldn't use Inklings because Inklings are always battling and Octolings are obviously out of the question. The Jellyfish don't seem like the most intelligent species in Inkopolis so they wouldn't work as referees. Annie, Moe, and Kick seem to be the only ones of their species around. So what else to use? Something everybody likes... Cats. There's not really a lot of thinking to be done about Judd.

He's a cat. That is literally all.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Fair enough. Thanks for understanding. I am a little jaded to Japanese culture, but I would hope that I spend more time rationalizing about it than being close-minded. And to be fair, I dislike a lot of things from other cultures, too. There's a whole lot in the US to dislike. And I also dislike the way England doesn't put any effort or dignity into its cartoons and cartoon-style art, as if they think cartoons should only be sloppy and mindless.

As a Wallace & Gromit fan, I take a small amount of offense to that.

Another thing I want to say is that Splatoon is an unstable game, connection-wise. I'm not really sure why, but disconnections are a part of it. But yeah, as you play, they become less frequent. The matchmaking system, however it works, is most likely responsible for that.

And as for the reputation of Japanese players being ruthless, after playing the game a bunch (and I did NOT get this on release), I can say that the Japanese are just like the westerners, only there are more of them. So when you find a player who's giving you major trouble, chances are that player is Japanese simply because there are more Japanese players than players from other countries.

But there IS some truth to difference in playstyle. In general, a Japanese player is more likely to have a splat-oriented style, and a western player is more likely to focus on inking and not care about their opponents. But there are plenty of Japanese players who prefer not to engage in combat too, and plenty of Japanese players who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

 

[BlackZero]

You guys are misunderstanding my argument about cultural-impenetrability vs. cultural-independence.

I gather don't like Eastern culture. That's fine. There's no need to rationalize anything. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I just think it's kinda stupid to expect a video game made by Japanese people to ignore their own culture and play up other cultures just to suite people who don't like their culture. This makes someone look like a spoiled brat who thinks that the world must cater to their expectations.

If you don't like steak, don't go to a steakhouse. If you don't know whether you like steak, take a bite and find out. If you learn you don't like steak, don't go order another one and ***** about it tasting like steak. If you don't like the different Eastern cultures, stop playing video games from Japanese or Korean developers and companies.

If you think the Shinto religion is immature and not progressive, you do not know very much about the Shinto religion. Based upon this entire section of your post, it is clear that you don't know very much about the religion. That is beside the point though. The games have a very strong cultural background in Japan because they are made by Japanese developers. It is only natural that developers will take inspiration from their own countries. If people in a different country cannot enjoy a game for this reason, it is their own problem and not the fault of the developers. We should not be so closed off to other cultures like that.

I think Donald Trump has infiltrated our board.

But there IS some truth to difference in playstyle. In general, a Japanese player is more likely to have a splat-oriented style, and a western player is more likely to focus on inking and not care about their opponents. But there are plenty of Japanese players who prefer not to engage in combat too, and plenty of Japanese players who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

I may be off base, but I've also noticed that Japanese players tend to use a "favorite" strategy over and over again, which usually involves a rapid advance to the middle or enemy camp (depending on weapon). Westerners tend to use more "improv" in their strategies resulting in less predictable gameplay. It would be pretty interesting to see how these two "gameplay cultures" matched up. Would rehearsed optimal tactics beat out "free-style" gameplay, or would a wild card team using improv win over skilled, but predictable players?