autobalance rant

[hooahguy]

ok, so i was in titan mode, and i fought pretty well as the PAC, and we just destroyed the EU titan. get this: as the enemy titan was blowing up, and as i was in the air going down, the server switched me to the EU team! i was so pissed! i hate autobalance so much! they should make it so you cant be moved after the titan is blowing up!
argh!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:
/rant

[xslaneyx]

were you in a squad???

if not then best bet is to join one to avoid being teamswitched. also it switches the person that dies first on your team when theres a shortage on the opposing team:salute:

[Skates]

You were switched in the air while you were alive? I haven't seen that happen. For it to switch you, you have to be dead. Server admins can't even switch you while you are alive. They can set it to switch you but it won't happen until you die. Even if you get killed and then revived, it won't switch you until your next spawn in.

[hooahguy]

maybe i was hit by a plane and switched at the same time? i remember i died too....

[Skates]

That, or you could have been shot by someone on the ground waiting in an APC or something, killing guys on the way down.

The best way to avoid being switched is still to be in a squad and stick with your squad so that you get revived. It can't switch you until your next spawn in. Being in a squad doesn't guarantee you won't get switched, but it does help lower the odds.

[hooahguy]

ah, so i guess i will make sure i am in a squad from now on....

[DesmondLocke]

Trust me, you don't want Autobalance off. I played about 3 rounds on CampG on a server you could select your side. Out of the 30 people on the server 20 would always select PAC. You can imagine the quick, boring rounds those were.
Being in a squad helps keep you on your side. Usually lone wolves go first to the other side. Maybe a server admin can elaborate, but I don't know if it's a default setting, or if the admins set it, that lone wolves go first, then squad members.

[Skates]

If you are using "Smart Balance, then lone wolves always go first. For Smart Balance to work though, Auto Balance must be off. Thus, it could say that Auto Balance is off but still switch players using Smart Balance. (Unfortunately there is nothing in the server browsers to say if you are using Smart Balance. If it is just Auto Balance, it will switch the person who happens to be dead at the time it decides things are unbalanced and need to be fixed. The reason being in a squad helps you is because if you are in a squad and sticking with them, the odds of you being revived are much greater. If you don't die and have to respawn, it can't switch you.

Personally, I would rather use Smart Balance as it doesn't seem to get bugged as often. You've all seen those rounds where it says Auto Balance is on but yet it won't balance the teams. No real explanation other than it gets messed up and won't work for a little bit. usually an admin turning it off and then back on will fix it. The problem is that if you switch AB off so that Smart Balance works, the browser says AB is off and then people stay away from your server.

[Minmaster]

sometimes i join a server and immediately it says i have been switched and i have a negative score without even pressing a button. that sucks *** too.

[Fingulfin]

You normally get a free death and fries to go with it too :|:

[sempf]

that happens somethimes when you leave a server when the round is still going on. it thinks you have spawned so you get a -2 for suicide. it only happens if you join pac.

[Skates]

sometimes i join a server and immediately it says i have been switched and i have a negative score without even pressing a button. that sucks *** too.

You join the server and while you are loading in 2-3 players leave the other side. By the time you click Join, the teams are unbalanced and because you are dead, it switches you. Not sure why you get the negative score though. Unless as was said, it is a server that you were on and you were just rejoining.

[Minmaster]

naw when it happens, sometimes i was automatically spawned and i see my dead self i think with a negative score. unless its someone else's dead body.

[Skates]

Could be related to when you Join on a game and you automatically spawn in as assault with the default AR and no unlocks selected. Maybe you have two things happening at once, the auto-spawn in and then a team switch. Who knows. Just tag it as another one of those bugs that makes us love this game sooo much. :laugh:

[Fingulfin]

How about the floating people (where it spawns you in before you hit join, and you are floating in the air)? I betcha all of them are related :p

[Minmaster]

yea that's what i'm talking about, my corpse is floating before i hit join with assault kit w/o unlocks. damn annoying, but it is pretty rare i guess.

[Fixxxer]

If you notice yourself switched, try switching back to the team you were just on before you spawn in. I'm pretty sure if you can get back on your team, you don't suffer any penalty because you haven't technically spawned into the game on the other team...............then if you make it back, join a squad.

[Fingulfin]

If you notice yourself switched, try switching back to the team you were just on before you spawn in. I'm pretty sure if you can get back on your team, you don't suffer any penalty because you haven't technically spawned into the game on the other team...............then if you make it back, join a squad.
Doesn't let you, cause switching (whether manual or automatic) gives you the "Killed" flag. You can only switch when "Alive" (spawned in or critically wounded). You have to spawn to switch back.

[Minmaster]

naw you can switch (manually) when your dead. the auto-switch though, happens only when you're dead.

[Fingulfin]

Sorry, I said that wrong :p
What I meant was... After switching, whether automatic or manual, you can't switch back until you spawn.

Dangit, I'm tired.