GungHo Online Entertainment published an update for Ninjala on Nintendo Switch.The most significant addition is Worldwide Matchmaking, which does away with the previous region-based matchmaking and instead allows players to match against others all over the world.
That said, the developers have cautioned that this may cause lag depending on how far away opponents are from each other.
New in 2.0
- Worldwide Matchmaking
- Rank Matching Improvements
- Weapon Balance Adjustments
- UI Improvements
Worldwide Matchmaking
Up to this point, matching has been broken down into four regions: North and Central America, Europe, Asia/Ocenania, and Japan.
The initial intent of this was to prevent matchups between players located physically far away, which were more likely to suffer from lag and transmission speed issues.
Since then, however, we have taken into account player feedback, in particular that it was frustrating not to be able to play with family or friends who live abroad in another region, or to find opponents in one’s own region late at night or at other times when the player base was reduced.
To address the situation, we have now made it possible to match with players of any region, provided that transmission speeds fall within defined acceptable parameters.
Now that matching has been unified across all regions, we believe it will now be possible to find worthy teammates and opponents at all hours of the day, and that Battle Royale ranked matches will be more rewarding.
In accordance with this change, player rankings—previously broken down by region—will also be unified across the entire world.
From this day forward, Ninjala will become a truly global competition.
*Please note that as a side effect, you may be more likely to experience lag depending on the location of your opponent.
Please confirm your connection speeds via the newly added lag value display and antenna icons.
As a general reference, a relatively smooth gameplay experience can be enjoyed with values of up to 150 msec, but 200 msec and beyond will result in considerable lag. Furthermore, in Ranked and Free Matches, opponents and servers with lower lag values will be prioritized.
To improve transaction speeds, we recommend that you connect with a wired connection or a stable, high-speed Wi-Fi connection.
Matching Improvements
In Ninjala, matching is configured so that you are most likely to be matched with players of the same rank as you. However, when such players cannot be found, the system allows for matching with players of different ranks to avoid situations in which no match can be made.
This was particularly an issue with Battle Royale ranked matches. With matching now conducted globally provided lag is within defined acceptable parameters, you will now be more likely to be matched with players of the same rank, reducing the likelihood of unbalanced matches. Furthermore, the matching settings themselves have also been refined so that it is less likely you will be matched with players of widely varying ranks.
That said, there is a certain degree of conflict between our two goals of ensuring balanced matches and allowing for ease of matching. To ensure an optimal matching experience going forward, we intend to closely monitor the situation and make further adjustments as deemed necessary. Furthermore, there was an issue where the time until a room was disbanded was too long, resulting in long wait times after battles could be started with 6 or 7 players. To address this, we have shortened the time until rooms are disbanded, which we hope will lead to quicker-starting battles.
Full 2.0 patch notes can be found here; https://ninjalathegame.com/en/news/info/patch-release-notes-2_0.html
