devtrackers.gg
The thing about skill-based matchmaking is that it can't be implemented without removing the ability to join official servers through the server browser, and also they would have to prevent people from joining the team of their choice. TF2 did a matchmaking update and it was the most hated update in the game's history.
There are alternate solutions for massive teamstacks, though.
- Teamscramble vote: Within the first 5 minutes of the round starting, anyone can call a vote, which both teams vote on, for the teams to be randomly scrambled. This vote requires 75% of the server to agree to pass. Each player can only call this vote once to prevent spamming (though it can be called by different players multiple times in the first 5 minutes).
or
- Handicap: The game adds up the levels of Red Team, adds up the levels of Blue Team, and compares the totals. If the total level of one team is more than double that of the other, then that team has its respawn timers increased.
There should also definitely be a soft autobalance system in place. Normally new players joining fixes team imbalances, but in rare situations I've seen one team be more than 8 players down compared to the other one.
Currently we're working on some stuff that'll do the best it can without forcing players (too much), including team scrambling on map start that's not super aggressive. This mainly means moving entire parties first, and then filling the missing spots with non-partied players, the remaining players being also used to balance out the skill levels. After that, team switching works as it does now. It's not perfect, but it should be better than it is without being too obnoxious.
The autobalance forcing someone to switch teams mid-game is a bit annoying, so we're not sure yet how to approach that yet, but some soft incentives could work in this situation.