Devices are slowly increasing in functionality which is good, we are getting more and more debug commands which is good, the UEFN sessions push changes are getting quicker which is good. Discovery is really the only thing that is not improving.
I am not saying discovery is an easy problem to solve. I’m sure creating an algorithm and system to rank maps is not easy so I get there will be pain points and issues with it. But some issues are inexcusable after 5 years.
- The main issue I see is the layout of the discovery page in-game.
I mean a single page can only show 18 maps? Like that is the limit? And there aren’t even titles for the maps until you hover over them.
- Now lets look at the Fortnite website.
Your own website shows 32 maps on one page, with titles. Using the same size thumbnails and with the title of the map displayed.
- Now let’s look at Fortnite.gg
35 maps shown on one page, with titles, and how long they have been in there.
- And just for fun lets look at how the OG in the UGC space does it.
33 maps shown on one page, with titles and with the additon of players ratings.
So everywhere else shows around 30 maps with titles. The worst implementation out of these is the one that players see in-game. 18 maps, no titles, and the need to click a button to see more. Just using the layout of your own website would give almost a 100% increase in the amount of maps a player sees.
Another thing is that there is no clear path for maps to go from new/updated into the main discovery category. Right now the top maps will be the top maps because there are a lot of players playing them, which makes it more enjoyable, which keeps them in the spot. Obviously these maps are there for a reason and I am glad creators are getting success. But how are other creators supposed to have a fair opportunity to get to that point? Tucking them away in the #120 spot where players will almost never see, is not a fair chance.
Additionally, the new and updated tabs are not updating randomly. Frequently, people have to post on X saying the tab is not rotating and then there is a response from the team they are working on it. But how is it 5 years into discovery and we are still dealing with tabs randomly not updating?
I think there needs to be more emphasis on the For You category which could give smaller maps a fair shot. Or maybe some categories that will progress your map. Maybe Underground Category → Trending → Recently Engaging → A place in one of the major categories. A natural way for your map to progress. There is also a lot of wasted space on the Discovery tab. The headings for the Tabs could be minimized to add atleast 3 more categories. And needing to press an arrow to see more than 6 maps is just not a viable solution in today’s day and age. The discovery page has 50% maps and 50% headings for categories and navigation. In my opinion, maps should be the priority, and the discover teams should design the UI so it shows as many maps as possible.
I also want to share some of my personal experience. I released a map called Military RP [Conquest] [32 v 32]. After a week of launch, I was placed in the First Person tab and the map went from the #25 spot to around the #3 or #4 spot and had close to 50 CCU. While the map was in the tab, I updated it, unknowingly, this removed it from the tab which caused the player count to die out. Over the span of 5 months it was placed back into the tab peaking at about 25 CCU and 15 CCU respectively. Now obviously this was not a very successful map but my sessions over 10 mins was >50% both times. However, I have gotten no additional discovery tabs. Over my 2 years of working with UEFN with around 10 maps I have never been in a New or Updated tab for any of them. So for a case like my Military RP map what am I supposed to do? I don’t think my map is objectively bad because of the high session lengths and a map like that is really only successful if there are other people to fight against. However, I have pushed well over 20 updates, a mix of small fixes and major ones like adding AI to fight when there is no one in the game. However, none of these updates has gotten me into the Updated tab. While there are maps that get into the Updated tab the same day they are updated.
This isn’t meant to be a woe is me type of thing but like what am I really supposed to do? I don’t know what is keeping my map out of discovery. I’m not sure if my sophistication score is low so I should spam random devices in the map. I don’t know if the map is just labeled in a way internally where there is no possible way for it to ever make it into discovery again. If there’s an AI that is choosing whether or not my map is in discovery then there should be feedback given to me about what I can do to improve my map.
It doesn’t seem like we are building towards a goal with discovery. Instead, it seems like every once in a while, a major change is made, and we restart from ground 0.