Post by Amy on Mar 20, 2006 9:03:47 GMT -5
Here is the FAQ for Eric's team balancer. I was looking for a solution to banning AWPs, and I think I found it. It tends to keep the teams fair. I played for about an hour on a server with it while waiting for a spot to open up on ours.... [glow=red,2,300]I would like FEEDBACK after you all have played in the server with it.[/glow]
Frequently asked questions:
Counter-Strike: Source already has a team balancer built into it. Why do we need another one?
The team balancer built into Source has only one thing going for it: it's not disruptive. No one likes getting forcibly switched to another team and the team balancer built into Source switches people so rarely that players hardly realize a team balancer is in place.
Unfortunately, the built-in team balancer switches only one person at a time yielding numerically umbalanced teams. It also acts so slowly and makes such ineffective changes that unbalanced teams usually remain so. This was a problem in pre-Source Counter-Strike as well. Ptahhotep's Team Balancer was a plugin in the pre-Source days that worked well to replace the ineffective built-in team balancer.
Eric's Team Balancer is, in spirit, based on Ptahhotep's Team Balancer. Although no code is shared literally or algorithmically, both team balancers hope to offer a better alternative to the built-in team balancer. Efforts have been made to strike a compromise between being non-disruptive and being effective.
How does Eric's Team Balancer work?
Many different algorithms were tested extensively and the one that was found to be most effective is in place. Fundamentally, the team balancing algorithm is very simple. Every player is given a score which is the number of kills they have minus their deaths (the difference is used as opposed to a traditional ratio intentionally).
All the players on each team's scores are added up and each team receives a team score. The difference between the team scores determines how balanced the teams are. If the difference is zero, the teams are considered to be fair. If the difference increases in consecutive rounds (with the same team having the greater score), a team switch is attempted.
When performing a team switch, the team balancer looks at the dead people on either team. The balancer will attempt to find one dead player on either team such that should those two players be switched, the new score difference between the two teams is minimized. This algorithm has proven to be incredibly effective.
The team balancer usually takes the best dead player on the team with a higher score and switches him or her with the worst dead player on the team with the lower score. This is not always the case. If the teams are not as imbalanced, players with more average scores will be switched. Minimization of team scores yields non-disruptive, fair switches.
The etb command shows the scores of players and the teams as well as the current and previous round differences between the team scores.
Is it possible to turn off Eric's Team Balancer while the server is running?
Yes, you can toggle whether Eric's Team Balancer shows announcements and does switches by setting the etb_active variable. The etb command will work regardless of what the etb_active variable is set to.
Does Eric's Team Balancer respect mp_limitteams?
Yes. If the size difference between the teams is equal or greater than mp_limitteams, the team with fewer players can accept new players even if its score advantage exceeds the threshold.
Should the built-in team balancer be disabled while using Eric's Team Balancer?
Eric's Team Balancer should preemptively do whatever the built-in team balancer was going to, so the built-in team balancer is unnecessary. It can run without harm alongside Eric's Team Balancer however. To disable the built-in team balancer change mp_autoteambalance to 0.
How do friends work?
Friends can be accessed by either saying friends or typing friends into the console. If you click on a name in the friends list, a friendship request will be sent to them. You can only have a certain number of friendships (requests are counted as full friendships) specified by etb_friends. If the players you request friendships with click on your name when they access their friends, a friendship is formed. If a friend disconnects, the friendship is broken. Friendships persist as long as the server is running. If the server crashes or is stopped, friendships are lost.
How do friendships prevent players from being switched?
Players who have friends on their team will not be switched if an alternative player with a similar score and no friends on his or her team exists. The maximum difference in those scores is specified by etb_friends_protection.
What does waiting mean in regards to friends?
If you request a friendship and then cancel that request (by click on the requested player's name again), you have to wait until the next round to be able to request them again. This is to prevent people from constantly requesting a friendship with someone to annoy them.
From: www.brandtshaft.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2072
Frequently asked questions:
Counter-Strike: Source already has a team balancer built into it. Why do we need another one?
The team balancer built into Source has only one thing going for it: it's not disruptive. No one likes getting forcibly switched to another team and the team balancer built into Source switches people so rarely that players hardly realize a team balancer is in place.
Unfortunately, the built-in team balancer switches only one person at a time yielding numerically umbalanced teams. It also acts so slowly and makes such ineffective changes that unbalanced teams usually remain so. This was a problem in pre-Source Counter-Strike as well. Ptahhotep's Team Balancer was a plugin in the pre-Source days that worked well to replace the ineffective built-in team balancer.
Eric's Team Balancer is, in spirit, based on Ptahhotep's Team Balancer. Although no code is shared literally or algorithmically, both team balancers hope to offer a better alternative to the built-in team balancer. Efforts have been made to strike a compromise between being non-disruptive and being effective.
How does Eric's Team Balancer work?
Many different algorithms were tested extensively and the one that was found to be most effective is in place. Fundamentally, the team balancing algorithm is very simple. Every player is given a score which is the number of kills they have minus their deaths (the difference is used as opposed to a traditional ratio intentionally).
All the players on each team's scores are added up and each team receives a team score. The difference between the team scores determines how balanced the teams are. If the difference is zero, the teams are considered to be fair. If the difference increases in consecutive rounds (with the same team having the greater score), a team switch is attempted.
When performing a team switch, the team balancer looks at the dead people on either team. The balancer will attempt to find one dead player on either team such that should those two players be switched, the new score difference between the two teams is minimized. This algorithm has proven to be incredibly effective.
The team balancer usually takes the best dead player on the team with a higher score and switches him or her with the worst dead player on the team with the lower score. This is not always the case. If the teams are not as imbalanced, players with more average scores will be switched. Minimization of team scores yields non-disruptive, fair switches.
The etb command shows the scores of players and the teams as well as the current and previous round differences between the team scores.
Is it possible to turn off Eric's Team Balancer while the server is running?
Yes, you can toggle whether Eric's Team Balancer shows announcements and does switches by setting the etb_active variable. The etb command will work regardless of what the etb_active variable is set to.
Does Eric's Team Balancer respect mp_limitteams?
Yes. If the size difference between the teams is equal or greater than mp_limitteams, the team with fewer players can accept new players even if its score advantage exceeds the threshold.
Should the built-in team balancer be disabled while using Eric's Team Balancer?
Eric's Team Balancer should preemptively do whatever the built-in team balancer was going to, so the built-in team balancer is unnecessary. It can run without harm alongside Eric's Team Balancer however. To disable the built-in team balancer change mp_autoteambalance to 0.
How do friends work?
Friends can be accessed by either saying friends or typing friends into the console. If you click on a name in the friends list, a friendship request will be sent to them. You can only have a certain number of friendships (requests are counted as full friendships) specified by etb_friends. If the players you request friendships with click on your name when they access their friends, a friendship is formed. If a friend disconnects, the friendship is broken. Friendships persist as long as the server is running. If the server crashes or is stopped, friendships are lost.
How do friendships prevent players from being switched?
Players who have friends on their team will not be switched if an alternative player with a similar score and no friends on his or her team exists. The maximum difference in those scores is specified by etb_friends_protection.
What does waiting mean in regards to friends?
If you request a friendship and then cancel that request (by click on the requested player's name again), you have to wait until the next round to be able to request them again. This is to prevent people from constantly requesting a friendship with someone to annoy them.
From: www.brandtshaft.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2072
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