Key Takeaways
- Many ranking systems are flawed, making it difficult for users to compete or find suitable challenges, which can make applications less attractive.
- The True Skill ranking system, developed by Microsoft, is a dynamic and responsive ranking system that adjusts a player’s rank after each game, taking into account the skill levels of other players.
- The True Skill system uses two variables to rate a user: one representing the perceived skills of the user and another that represents how much ‘confidence’ the system has in the user’s skill value. The system adjusts these values after each win or loss.
- Implementing a dynamic and responsive ranking system like True Skill can make applications more engaging and personalized for users, offering different features and interfaces that better fit their skills and interaction patterns.
Rankings
What is the Proposal?
The mathematical description of a ranking is quite simple, as you can see at Wikipedia“A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either ‘ranked higher than’, ‘ranked lower than’ or ‘ranked equal to’ the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of objects.”A ranking by itself is quite easy to implement, basically sorting a number of items according to some criteria, but what is the purpose of a ranking? A ranking is not only an opaque information, it’s being used on games and applications to engage users to improve themselves and achieve higher positions, usually competing against each other. What often happens is the early adopters will reach the top of the ranking really fast, and improve so much that it will be too difficult or even impossible for new users to surpass them or even try to challenge someone with the same skill level. So if you were trying to make your application more attractive with rankings, chances are that you have failed! No one wants to enter in a competition where it is impossible to actually compete. But how can we make rankings something more interesting, to transform this old social technique into a powerful tool to keep users engaged? That is our goal and the real purpose of a Ranking implementation.
Making Rankings Effective
Think about a ranking as an piece of data. Data is essentially good and when you have it, you have power. It isn’t just about sorting items, it’s about building an application that fits every level of each user’s needs. The idea is that, if you have a ranking, you have a resource. For example, when ranking users, the parameters can change as the user progresses. Those changes can be the interactions between each other, but the condition to change those parameters and get a higher or lower ranking must be compatible with the resource skills and current position. It’s quite simple and when I thought about the essence of it I came up with the following short list that defines the purpose of a ranking:- Organize and order a resource.
- Make it possible to change positions.
- Find challenges/conditions that are compatible with the user’s current rank and skills.
True Skill
Microsoft has published a lot of research related to the new business areas that it has ventured into in the past few years, such as the game console market. The Xbox is one of the most incredible devices on the market right now and its updates and features are always bringing innovation. One of those features is the True Skill ranking system.“TrueSkill is a Bayesian ranking algorithm developed by Microsoft Research and used in the Xbox matchmaking system built to address some perceived flaws in the Elo rating system. It is an extension of the Glicko rating system to multiplayer games”TrueSkill was developed based on the Elo Rating system , one of the most well known algorithms, that is used in a lot of different ranking tools; it was the initial implementation of statistical estimation on rankings. It matches the short list that I mention above. It not only sorts users, but it also make it dynamic, providing challenges that fits the skills of every user.
How it Works?
The basic idea and a basic implementation of True Skill is that every resource has two variables: One that represents the perceived resource skills, that we will reference by using the letter S, and another one that represents how much ‘confidence’ the system has in the S value, that we will reference by using the letter C. A default value for S and C have to be defined in order for new resources to have an initial position in the ranking. In Xbox Live, the default values are S = 25 and C = 25/3. The S value will increase or decrease after every win or loss, but what will make the difference in the resource position is the value of C and how “surprising” the outcome of the challenge is to the system. So, if the outcome is actually the expected result (the favorite player wins, for example), it will not produce a huge increase in the user’s position. A Resource rating is estimated by using the following formula R = S – 3 * C. The True Skill system can be applied with any scale, in Xbox Live it’s using a 0 to 50 scale. This is just the beginning of the concepts behind True Skill. There are a lot of details when thinking about all possible results. A draw, for example, or a competition between various players at the same time. There are some peculiar results that are quite interesting when using True Skill, for example an initial loss can actually make a user achieve a higher position on the ranking, because the C may have a bigger loss then the S variable. Let’s see an example:Example
Imagine a new user, “John”, on Xbox Live. We can assume the S = 25 and C = 25/3 , so John’s rank would be calculated as R = 25 – 3 * 25/3, resulting in a rating 0. In the first challenge, the system is expecting that John will win, but he actually loses. His skill level will decrease by 5, resulting in S=20. It was not the result expected by the system, so the system doesn’t have much confidence in this new skill. This will result in a bigger loss of the C variable, for example C=15/3. The thing is that John’s rating result will be higher then the initial one. Losing his first challenge results in R = 20 – 15 = 5, because the system does not believe that the loss represents John’s correct skills measure. However, if John keeps losing, the confidence of a smaller skill will increase, resulting in a huge rating loss.What and How?
Rankings are not only about competition between users, as you can measure anything that you want. Having a good ranking will help you to find out what better fits any position. You can rank your users and, depending on their spot, offer different features, interfaces, and ‘customizations’ that better fit their skills and how they interact with your application. The rule is simple, if you can rank something, you can make it more personal to everyone. The whole True Skill implementation is not available on the web, it’s patented by Microsoft and can only be used if a license is acquired. But derivations of it, such as Glicko rating system are free to use. Unfortunately, there is just one implementation of True Skill system in Ruby that I’ve found on the web and it’s not completed yet. But, you can find a lot of Glicko and Elo implementations in other languages. Right now, I’m implementing a derivation of the True Skill system in Gioco. I’ve opened an issue on github to add this feature in the next release, so it will be easier to have a correct and good ranking implementation in your application that will help you to engage your users. Stay tuned!Frequently Asked Questions about Ranking Systems
What is the TrueSkill ranking system?
The TrueSkill ranking system is a skill-based ranking system developed by Microsoft for use in multiplayer online games. It uses a mathematical model to estimate the skill level of a player in a game. The system is designed to be fair, providing each player with a rank that accurately reflects their skill level. It also adjusts a player’s rank after each game to reflect their performance, making it a dynamic and responsive system.
How does the TrueSkill ranking system work?
The TrueSkill ranking system works by using a Bayesian inference algorithm to estimate a player’s skill level. It takes into account not only the outcome of a game but also the skill levels of the other players. This means that if a player wins against a highly skilled opponent, their rank will increase more than if they had won against a less skilled opponent. Similarly, losing against a highly skilled opponent will not decrease a player’s rank as much as losing against a less skilled opponent.
How does the TrueSkill ranking system compare to other ranking systems?
Compared to other ranking systems, the TrueSkill ranking system is more dynamic and responsive. It adjusts a player’s rank after each game, taking into account the skill levels of the other players. This makes it a more accurate reflection of a player’s current skill level. Other ranking systems, such as the Elo system, do not take into account the skill levels of the other players and do not adjust a player’s rank as frequently.
What are the benefits of using the TrueSkill ranking system?
The main benefit of using the TrueSkill ranking system is that it provides a more accurate reflection of a player’s skill level. It adjusts a player’s rank after each game, taking into account the skill levels of the other players. This makes it a more fair and balanced system, as it rewards players for winning against highly skilled opponents and does not penalize them too harshly for losing against such opponents.
How can I improve my rank in the TrueSkill ranking system?
The best way to improve your rank in the TrueSkill ranking system is to consistently perform well in games. Winning against highly skilled opponents will increase your rank more than winning against less skilled opponents. Similarly, losing against highly skilled opponents will not decrease your rank as much as losing against less skilled opponents. Therefore, it is important to always strive to improve your skills and to challenge yourself by playing against highly skilled opponents.
Is the TrueSkill ranking system used in all online games?
No, the TrueSkill ranking system is not used in all online games. It was developed by Microsoft and is primarily used in games on the Xbox Live platform. However, other games and platforms may use similar skill-based ranking systems.
Can the TrueSkill ranking system be manipulated?
The TrueSkill ranking system is designed to be fair and resistant to manipulation. It uses a mathematical model to estimate a player’s skill level, and it adjusts a player’s rank after each game based on their performance. While it is possible for a player to intentionally lose games in order to lower their rank, this would not be beneficial in the long run, as it would not accurately reflect their true skill level.
How does the TrueSkill ranking system handle new players?
The TrueSkill ranking system assigns new players a provisional rank until they have played a certain number of games. This allows the system to gather enough data to accurately estimate their skill level. Once a player has played the required number of games, their provisional rank is replaced with a regular rank.
Can I see my TrueSkill rank?
Yes, in games that use the TrueSkill ranking system, you can usually see your rank. This allows you to track your progress and see how your skill level compares to other players.
Does the TrueSkill ranking system affect matchmaking?
Yes, the TrueSkill ranking system is often used in matchmaking to ensure that players are matched with opponents of a similar skill level. This makes games more competitive and enjoyable for all players.
I’m a leader engineer and manager, currently living in São Paulo, Brazil. I'm an enthusiast technologist that love open source, a blog author in RubySource and my own blog, and also a speaker of some international and national conferences like TakeOff Conf in France, Ruby Italian Day in Italy, GURU, SevenMasters and others.