Here's Microsoft's dumbass reply to the custom games browser complaint:
http://360.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=11455
Either they're really stupid or just bullshitting (my money's on bullshitting). Seriously, how hard would it be to implement a server browser with a ping? I could search for games with a low ping (and other basic things, like specific map templates and specific gametypes). Servers show up. I look at the different gametypes. I highlight a server that is using a custom gametype, and it displays everything that's different from the default about that gametype, and the description. Let's say someone is playing Stealth Scuds. I see the description, and in the stats box I see that it's Always Cloaked, Rockets Only, Infinite Ammo, 50% Gravity (as these are the only things different from the default). I decide to join, and by joining, I join the host's party. I also am able to jump right into a game in progress like every other FPS ever made (unless the host decides to turn that off).
It's pretty simple. It's like they've never seen another FPS and it boggles their mind to think about a server list.
Here's what one guy said in the
custom game search bitching thread:
I might be impossible to add to the game but I still want it. Here is what the options should be:
Base Gametype (CTF, TS, etc)
Edited Gametype (Yes, No)
Base Map: (Last Resort, etc)
Forged: (Yes, No)
Min Players; (1-16)
Max Players: (1-16)
Makes perfect sense to me, and would not be "impossible" to implement. That's just BS.