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Group Finder - but without instant teleportation and group finder with que and application
VekoKrava
Member
I think if AoC teams adds QoL feature to finding groups in this group finder through application and que system it would be much better then writing on chat (spamming usually because of how crowded server is - or not).
What do you think, is it good to have some QoL system to finding groups. I don't like WoW instant group que finder, but I like feature that they added later (WoW team) to que or apply to group via finder application.
What do you think, is it good to have some QoL system to finding groups. I don't like WoW instant group que finder, but I like feature that they added later (WoW team) to que or apply to group via finder application.
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So you go to a tavern and post something on the board in the tavern or outside it. It is only active while you're in the tavern but you receive apps from the same people who go to the tavern and use the board as well.
I like this idea because it gives players a reason to go to the tavern AND there's supposedly going to be games and a way to get a rested buff at the tavern so it creates a great synergy.
Now obviously that's a lot of assumptions and there's even more unknowns, but when you don't have a global (or a fucking cross-server) partyfinder, the amount of people in your general vicinity, who would also want to party up at that exact point, will probably be fairly low. And because of that, the chat itself wouldn't be as spammed. Especially if Intrepid make a good chat UI with a separate "looking for party" functionality that would streamline the process w/o a direct UI window of "just stare at this and wait till it fills up".
Instead of shouting in the city about needing people for X dungeon or activity, maybe have a Bulletin Board section where you can post an announcement for a party for X dungeon.
You can post your ideal party composition (say you request 2 tanks, 2 healers and 4 dps) or you can request that at least 1 tank apply. Or you can leave it open entirely.
Players sign up, and once the full party is filled, you get put in a party chat, where you as the one who posted the announcement can give more details and offer a meeting spot and time.
It still requires some of the social interaction, but it's better than wasting time sifting through the many miles of text in cities.
You could also balance this by having the mayor decide if a Bulletin Board is put up or not. This could be done to limit ease of grouping, allowing the main Guild in town to retain control of much of the resources.
In that era of the game if you wanted to LFG you could flag for it. It showed your name, job/subjob, level, and then gave you the ability to write around 30 characters of info in a pop up box.
If you wanted to build a party, you would type (cause in those years a lot of commands were typed vs. ui elements) "/search lvl x -x" and could add modifiers like specific jobs, areas, the whole server etc. You could also just search for all , say, pld, not just those lfg. Occassionally, if you were hard on for a job you could whisper and hope they were game even if they weren't flagged.
No one shouted in global chat for a party. If anything, it became courtesy to whisper soneone and inform them how many you had in your pt already or how full it was.
I actually really liked the system. Due to server size, you had a reputation in that game just like ashes has hopes for player reps to matter. I personally believe that insta-que with anonymous automatch shouldn't be an option so that your reputation will matter and follow you for partying but I can also respect certain counter-argunents.
I dig the tavern idea for sign up. I guess ultimately I'm of the opinion that allowing an anonymous party-finder to do all the matching is a huge detriment to the community of an mmo. So as long as they decide on something better than that I'll be happy.
This need not happen at the time of party formation. It would be more efficient to post something like "Healer looking to form party on 8/8 4PM Central at Irish Tavern. Buff meals supplied. Depending on party strength we will either hunt grizzly bears or venture into WildMan's Cavern. No players known to go corrupt allowed." Then the party forms up at the date and time indicated and, if the party works well, it becomes a regular thing.
Keep in mind that some taverns will be in Node's town/city, so those parties might tend towards townsfolk. Other taverns will be in freeholds on roads, so they may tend towards traders and travelers. Other taverns will be on freeholds out in the semi-wilderness near an entrance to the Underworld, so those parties may fill with hunters, underground dwellers and those hiding from civil authorities.
If your server has a wild area known to be the haunt of corrupted players, nearby taverns might have parties form of Bounty Hunters for group hunts of the corrupt...could there also be parties of corrupt hunting the Bounty Hunters?
In a node with a temple of a certain religion, the tavern board might include planned groups of players doing quests for the advancement of the node religion. Other posts might seek groups for quests for crafters, thieves, animal husbandry aficionados, brewers, spies or Rangers each doing quests for their respective profession. Heck, post you are seeking a party made up only of dwarves, just for the fun of it!
I think taverns which specialize in efficient party formation will attract more customers and make more money off sales and games of chance. If we the players utilize the bulletin boards anywhere near their potential, it will turn into a really fun part of the game.
"Short, fat Dwarf seeks to form party of beautiful, slender female humans and elves...archers preferred"
"Group of dwarven adventurers seek 14th member to gain revenge on dragon. Thief preferred." (We all know how that one worked out.)
Don`t see the numbers stacking up. With viable groups dependant on is it 5 or 7 players of x class distribution, the number of parties that can group up within a given node, even at prime time will be quite low
I would go as far as saying let it show the listings of any adjacent nodes' group finder as well. This will increase the pool of players that see the postings without needing to dip into other servers or create a global party finder.
This way, I'd assume, there's gonna be a way easier time trying to party up with random people in Ashes than in most other mmos. Well, that is if Intrepid succeed. So I do think it's gonna be possible to bring the amount of valid party combinations as close to the maximum amount of available players, at any given time, as possible.
But I’d rather folks rely on actual communications and community instead of anything that smacks of dungeon Bumble.
I want there to be an active social experience in my MMOs. Talking with people, forming groups, making connections. Automating the grouping process harms that.
imagine spending 2 hours in town yelling LFG when you could have been playing the game T_T
And if there is a party that suits you in/around your node - they'll get you pretty quickly, because they'd be looking for exactly your kind of character.
party finder for instances is nice and there arent many instances in ashes. im not sure why people hate the system
Should clarify that 'global chat' didn't EXIST in FFXI until 2011-ish.
People shouted in Jeuno and other hubs for Parties all the time, which I don't think was a negative, but I don't think it's a 'good idea' if Ashes has the same type of Search because the FFXI one reveals your location, yet this is much less useful if you can't SEE the location of the search-result players to use it for your judgement of if to ask them.
It's an MMO.
As long as you're not an ass, I'm sure you'll meet people you can whisper and get to know each other.
Finder -
Shared board across all nodes would be fine as well (with filter function)
Doesn't take 2 hours to form a group, if you are having trouble you should consider joining the right guild. Spamming is part of the experience in the correct channel. Gives you a bunch of options to look for groups and join.
Board +
Finder -
I would not like to have it be across all nodes. I don't think there is a global or trade chat that goes across all nodes, I dont think there should be a way to communicate across all nodes in mass. Gotta have PMs, but apart from that I think they should be separated.
I like the idea of nodes being these separate places where different cultures emerge. Where you have to visit the city yourself or hear it from another person what's going on over there.
I'm sorry, I worded it incorrectly. All connected nodes under the same Metropolis umbrella. Like a regional bulletin board, as many nodes close to each other would share the same content.
Each Node having their complete separate one would just lead to increased inconvenience, longer search times for no added benefit at all.
If you don't connect those bulletin boards, you might very well not have any at all, as everybody will just use discord instead to make up for the QoL.
That way you meet people in the tavern, you make friends in the node. You interact. The taverns become necessary to visit, the nodes become populated, they become real places.
Sure, it is ok to yell in an area chat "Tank LFG about level 23ish" and see if anyone yells back, but it would be more efficient to go into the tavern and see who all is gathering in there and eating the meals to get buffed, making plans, telling jokes and stories and playing the games of chance.
its even worse with guildies cuz u cant kick em out