Critical Issues with Matchmaking - especially with low population

Product: Battlefield 2042
Platform:PlayStation 5
Please specify your platform model. Sony PlayStation 5
Are you using any software with an overlay? No
Which part of the game is the issue happening in? Multiplayer
Which part of the mode? Conquest
Please select your region Australia
On which server did this happen? all
When did this happen? (dd.mm.yy hh:mm) all the time
Summarize your bug Critical Issues with Matchmaking when population is low. Cross play turned off since us Console users shouldn't be forced to get constantly owned by PC players - that is not a fun experience.
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Refer to the next section that has formatting
What happens when the bug occurs? Cant get into a match and play the game
What should be happening instead? Match making works, or a server browser is available to use

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I have identified and documented several issues with matchmaking and the match making logic, particularly when the population is low.

ISSUE 1 : Matchmaking has a propensity to start a new instance instead of filling an existing instance

How this was identified:

• After starting a new match, me and my squad mate would quit and try to rejoin because of the loadout bug. Upon searching for a match again, it would always have a tendency to put us into a new queue rather then the existing server that just started.
• After sitting in the queue for a while we would quit and try again
• It would put us into the same queue (you can tell by the map and other people in the squad) several times
• Once we quit enough times, it would put us back into the original match we quit. The server was NEVER full (usually around 40v40)

Expected behaviour:

• Fill existing servers before trying to create new ones

ISSUE 2: Matchmaking logic doesn't try and consolidate multiple queues when wait times are too long

How this was identified:

• Starting a game puts you into a queue for Map1. After waiting for too long, quit and try again
• Next queue is for Map2. After waiting for too long, quit and try again
• Now you're back into the queue for Map1 which STILL hasn't started (we can see other people going through the same thing, jumping between queues and being joined onto our squad during the above phases)

Expected behaviour:

• When queues are waiting too long to start a game, just start one and move the other queues into that server

ISSUE 3 : Threshold for starting a server with Bots is too high/doesn't work when population is low

For all of the above issues, at no point was a server with bots started. Rather then staring at an endless "looking for players" screen, we would rather play against bots and have people trickle into the server

ISSUE 4: Servers disbanding

The above issues are exasperated when the server disbands at the end of each match. Rather then keeping people together and joining more onto them, it starts from scratch. Often, it'll try to spin up multiple servers - contributing to ISSUE 2 - instead of putting people back into the 1.

ISSUE 5 : No server browser 

Nothing more needs to be said here. Obviously we would like the option to pick a game to load into rather then wait for matchmaking logic to make a decision on if we are allowed to play.

A server browser would show us which games are available for us to make a choice from.

Current situation is:

1. Want to play Rush? Queue up. Wait 1-2 mins. Can't find a match? Maybe it's bugged. Quit and queue up again. Rinse and repeat until frustration kicks in
2. To much frustration waiting for Rush? Ok lets load into Breakthrough. Wait a while finding a game. Nothing. Try again. Frustration x2
3. Time to queue into Conquest........try again
4. 45 minutes has now elapsed and we have not played anything, and are still staring at a "looking for players" screen.