Matches

Matchmaking allows players to be matched based on common attributes they share within a game. Using entirely customized threshold criteria and time-based rounds of matching, players can be strictly or loosely matched with an unlimited level of precision.

Tutorials? You can find tutorials on how to set up and work with Matches here.

Matchmaking Availability? The Matchmaking feature is no longer available to games created on or after February 19th, 2019, or for games created before February 19th, 2019 that had not yet used the feature. If you require Matchmaking for your game and do not have access under your current plan, please contact us to discuss the Enterprise Pricing Tier.

FAQs? You can review Frequently Asked Questions about creating and managing your Matches.

Managing Match Configurations

The Configurator > Matches page displays the list of existing Match configurations, allows you to create new Match configurations, and lets you edit or delete existing ones.

You can use the following options (highlighted above):

• Add - Add a new Match.
• - Edit Match.
• - Delete Match.

Creating a Match Configuration

1. Click Add to add a new Match. The page adjusts:

• Short Code - The Short Code is a mandatory field used to give the Match a unique identifier for use elsewhere in the Portal, in Cloud Code, and the Test Harness.
• Name - The Name field is a mandatory field used as an identifier to help the user find the Match in the Portal.
• Description - The Description is a mandatory field which you can use to describe the Match and explain its purpose.
• Min Players - The minimum number of players required for a Match to be found. This number will be used to find a Match, only if a Threshold is selected to accept this minimum number of players. Typically, a Match will not be found unless the maximum number of players is found. You can use this option to ensure that a Match is found on the basis of one of the Match Thresholds but for only the minimum number.
• Max Players - The number of players required for a Match to be found if the minimum number of players is not accepted.
• Realtime - Select for a Real-Time Match.
• Realtime Script - For a Real-Time Match, you can select a Realtime script, which will be run on the Real-Time server when the Real-Time session starts. See the Realtime scripts section here. Realtime Availability? The Realtime feature is no longer available to games created after February 19th, 2019, or for games created before February 19th, 2019 that had not yet used the feature. If you require Realtime for your game and do not have access under your current plan, please contact us to discuss the Enterprise Pricing Tier.
• Drop In/Drop Out - Select for a Drop in/Drop out Match. In this type of Match, the player list found for the Match doesn't remain fixed after the Match is made. Players that meet all of the matching criteria can enter or leave the Match. There are two important constraints:
  • The number of players can change but it cannot exceed the set maximum number of players for the Match.
  • If all players drop out, then the Match is deleted. Note: For the initial step of the Match being made, the normal rules for minimum and maximum number of players are applied, together with any Accept Minimum Players applied to a Match Threshold. After the Match is made and during the Drop In/Drop Out period, although the maximum still cannot be exceeded, the minimum players is no longer applied. This allows for new drop ins to occur that will bring the player numbers back up to or above the minimum.
• For Drop In/Drop Out Matches:
  • Player disconnect delay (seconds) - The number of seconds after a Match is found before a player in the Match who disconnects is removed from the Match. If you do not enter a value or enter zero, then a player in the Match who disconnects is removed instantly.
  • Expire in seconds - The number of seconds after a Match is made that players can drop in or drop out. If you do not enter a value or enter zero, the drop in/drop out period for the Match doesn't expire.
• Manually match players - For custom completion of the matching process. Select this if you do not want the Match to complete automatically when all matching criteria have been met, but want to use your own custom mechanism to complete the Match. The platform will find players that meet the matching criteria for you, but you control the choice of which players are put in the Match.

2. Click to Add the Thresholds you want for your Match:

3. Enter details for each Threshold:

• Period (seconds) - The period of time that a Threshold should look for a Match based on the matching criteria.
• Type - The type of range calculation to use when looking for a Match. This can be Absolute, Relative, or Percent. For more details see the Threshold Types section on the Matching Players page.
• Min/Max - The minimum and maximum values used for the type of range calculation used in the Threshold.
• Accept Min. Players - Select this option for a Threshold, if you want a Match to be made on the basis of the Threshold for the minimum number of players and not have to wait until the maximum number of players are found that fall within the Threshold range.

At Least One! You must add at least one Threshold to a Match. If you don't have at least one Threshold in the Match, when you try to matchmake from the client you will get an error.

4. You can use the Custom Script panel to add a script for your Match:

The Custom Script you add for your Match configuration allows you to control what happens to a Pending Match when players either join or leave the Match. The script you add here:

• Operates only against a Pending Match.
• Is triggered each time a player joins or leaves a Match.
• Can use only a limited number of methods.
• A limit of 1 second is imposed on the script execution time, at which point the script will fail:
  • Note that the time taken for your script to execute doesn't affect any Threshold periods you've set for the Match.

Custom Scripts - More Details? For more details of how to work with Custom Scripts for Matches, see the Working with Custom Scripts section on the How to Match Players page. For a list of the methods you can use to build the script, see Appendix 1 at the bottom of that page.