Dungeon Finder Needed Badly

[grueber]

Since the LFD haters cannot read a thread let me repeat:

 

Bioware does not have to ape wow's tool. They can make a better tool.

 

If someone is a jerk they can give you the ability to ignore every single toon tied to that player's account.

 

So quit prejudging a tool that doesn't even exist.

[Umbral]

You don't have to wait around in fleet. There are server wide LFG channels players have created.

Which have proven themselves equally as useless as the current tool. There are two major issues with the LFG channels people have created.

 

1. Not enough players join the channel because it's yet another bunch of spam scrolling their chat window.

 

2. There are not big enough pools on the individual servers to fill groups consistantly, or within a reasonable amount of time.

 

 

 

High pop servers will wait longer because low pop servers will be taking people from their pool of people and offer little in return because they don't have the people to contribute. Even if all the servers were equal it would not make things faster. Because as you increase the pool of players you also increase the number of groups looking for players.

High pop servers already wait just about as long as low pop servers. Your logic is very flawed, given that all servers will be in one big pool.

 

I am not saying cross server LFG isn't a solution, it just isn't a good one. It's a duct tape answer to the problem and better alternatives need to be discussed.

There are no alternatives. This is not a new issue in mmos. This has been an issue in mmos almost from the start of them, and better minds than mine and yours, and to be frank, the current design group for SWTOR, have tried to solve the issue.

 

The issue has been solved.

 

It's a cross server LFG tool. It works, and works very well. As has been shown in multiple games now.

 

The only thought that needs to be put into it now is how to tweek such a tool to suit the particular game.

 

Trying to re-invent the wheel makes those trying to do it look foolish. Yes, I know they probably think they're "outside the box thinkers" and that they're trying to be "innovative", but in truth they're just making themselves look like idiots for not utilizing a system that's already known to work well. Other design teams are already laughing their guts out at the SWTOR team for dragging their feet on a cross-server LFG tool. The SWTOR team is essentially handing these other design teams customers on a silver platter. How stupid is that?

[RachelAnne]

Since the LFD haters cannot read a thread let me repeat:

 

Bioware does not have to ape wow's tool. They can make a better tool.

 

If someone is a jerk they can give you the ability to ignore every single toon tied to that player's account.

 

So quit prejudging a tool that doesn't even exist.

 

We are not talking about 1 or 2 rude people here, we are talking about many thousand - no ignore list will give you the ability to ignore them all.

 

And if we talk about prejudice, you guys do this all the time - you never played a game without LFD before but you claim it must be bad... thats hmmm

 

 

It's a cross server LFG tool. It works, and works very well. As has been shown in multiple games now.

 

I would not call beeing insulted a lot, beeing in queue for 40 minutes, beeing kicked out a lot, not beeing able to get the loot you deserve - working very well.

 

The only thing that has improved is the ability to hit a button and come back in 40 to go to a dungeon.

 

Yet it does not give you the guarentee of finishing the run, not beeing robbed, nor having friendly people with you.

Edited February 13, 2012 by RachelAnne

[Glower]

/signed

[Umbral]

We are not talking about 1 or 2 rude people here, we are talking about many thousand - no ignore list will give you the ability to ignore them all.

Yes, it will. It will allow you to never have to group with anyone that you choose not to group with. Furthermore, if you're running into thousands of people that you find rude, maybe the problem is you and your intolerance.

 

And if we talk about prejudice, you guys do this all the time - you never played a game without LFD before but you claim it must be bad... thats hmmm

I've been playing mmos for 12+ years now. I KNOW cross-server LFG tools have improved mmo gaming tremendously, and have allowed people to keep playing mmos. Instead of the alternative given to us by the SWTOR design team causing thousands and thousands to cancel their subscriptions to SWTOR because the game does not allow them quick access to the group oriented PvE content.

 

 

 

 

I would not call beeing insulted a lot, beeing in queue for 40 minutes, beeing kicked out a lot, not beeing able to get the loot you deserve - working very well.

 

The only thing that has improved is the ability to hit a button and come back in 40 to go to a dungeon.

 

Yet it does not give you the guarentee of finishing the run, not beeing robbed, nor having friendly people with you.

.. and there is nothing about not having a cross-server LFG tool that eliminates these things from happening. Except that with a cross-server LFG tool the waits are on average 5 to 7 minutes, and even in the event they are longer, players are able to go out into the game world instead of stand around Fleet getting ever more bored and frustrated with the game.

 

Not to mention that there's the ultimate panacea for your particular issues readily available.

 

YOU DON"T HAVE TO USE THE CROSS SERVER TOOL, OR YOU CAN FORM YOUR GROUP AND THEN QUE.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Umbral

[Ethern]

Umbral I agree wholeheartedly with your two above posts. Just telling you are losing your time responding to Rachel. Since the previous iteration she repeats the same loop, and offers no real counterargument.

All her concerns are easily solvable and can easily be fixed.

[Nepumuk]

http://web.archive.org/web/20091107221055/http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade/townhall/lookingforgroup.html

 

It is an overview of the system that I talked about earlier that WoW had during BC.

 

The tool limited you to only select 3 of any quest, dungeon, etc. and it does not allow role selection. I think that's the reason no critical mass used it on my server during BC. I have seen similar tools in LotRO and other MMOs which nobody used either. Those kind of tools are just a very basic minimal framework and not well designed at all for the purpose of making players actually use it.

 

The most important aspect of any tool should be that everyone who wants to pug will use it. Unless they can already fill their group with guildies and friends, for those the tool would just be a backup.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Nepumuk

[Ranas]

Just spent an entire weekend trying to get a group to do some flashpoints, I spent hours spamming chat and had my LFG tag up on the social screen, THE SYSTEM SUCKS!!!, I started to do PvP to kill time, that was a load of fun... 3 WZ's over and over, 2 world PvP zones, one is a barren graveyard of nothing, the other a zone had maybe 1 or 2 people in it at a time, I like calling them the unlucky few that stumbled into a PvP zone to get ganked without knowing what was going on, not my ideal way to see content.

 

Stop worrying about the few people that take everything as an insult and do something to fix the problems in the game, an LFG tool is needed badly, I have played WoW for years, rude people are part of an MMO, if I run into one I ignore them and carry on having fun.

 

In a few months you won't have much of a player base unless you address the issues at hand, LFG would help me stick around and maybe bring some others back, right now once my time card runs out this game is going to get tossed on the shelf and forgotten.

 

I am the only one in my guild that has logged on in the last few weeks, I am the only one that keeps coming back, just so I can punish my self looking for a group because I want to see some content.

[BlueSkittles]

Funny how all of the debate has now moved to General. Apparently a LFD is no longer a Suggestion and just a General fact that can be debated.

 

So I've been back to lurking on these boards after the big info release on Friday. And I'm still glad to see they are at least talking about cross-server more, even if it's still like 6 months to a year away. But I think I've said about all I can say on the subject and it's now up to Bioware to do what they think is right for their game.

 

Personally, I'm willing to keep my subscription until patch 1.2 to see what happens with the game and if it is still enjoyable for me. Hopefully by then we'll know more about a LFD type system and I can know if I'll quit for awhile or stick it out longer.

 

I'll still occasionally post on these threads but for now. Thank you Bioware for a great game. Thank you fellow pro-LFD posters for fighting the good fight along with me. Looking forward to seeing how SWTOR improves with time.

Edited February 14, 2012 by BlueSkittles

[Umbral]

Not me, 4 more days of game time and then I'm done until I've read that there's a functioning cross-server LFG tool. I'm not wasting any more of my time, or money until that happens. Another game that is smart enough to be inclusive instead of driving players away will get my money.

[Ethern]

Not me, 4 more days of game time and then I'm done until I've read that there's a functioning cross-server LFG tool. I'm not wasting any more of my time, or money until that happens. Another game that is smart enough to be inclusive instead of driving players away will get my money.

Same. Except that for me it's only 3 days remaining.

[RachelAnne]

Not me, 4 more days of game time and then I'm done until I've read that there's a functioning cross-server LFG tool. I'm not wasting any more of my time, or money until that happens. Another game that is smart enough to be inclusive instead of driving players away will get my money.

 

You would had run off to the Panda´s anyways dude, so please be honest and dont say you are would had payed money to BW forever just because of LFD.

 

Those that like wow will always go back, no matter what BW would copy - wow is your game

 

They are better off to make those that left wow for a reason like LFD, Addons etc. happy, as they are what you call loyal customers.

[suzy_lee]

I think a better LFG tool would be cool. A WoW/Rift style instant-teleport machine? Please, no. Don't need and don't want.

 

If a tool is added, I really hope it just makes finding people to group with easier, but doesn't turn into the anti-social grind-o-matic those other games have. Anything that further trivializes the social aspects of the game isn't a good thing.

 

 

IMO it is incredibly frustrating making your way to the fleet to meet up with a group to do a FP, especially when you are in a questing area. I have denied guild invites purely because of the time that it would take to get to the fleet when my fleetpass is on CD along with quick-travel.

 

I don't like holding up a group, I used to always say (I'll be right there) frequently by the time I get there, someone has to log, or they are just gonna do this 1 quest real quick in the meantime. Then we're waiting on them, most times we end up quitting group with tenative plans------Maybe Later.

 

If there was a proper Q system, you'd be able to form a group from all shards/worlds and yes, insta-port to the inst. I agree that the game should be challenging, I just do not find huge travel times to be challenging in the way I'd like. Sometimes travel to the fleet can be quick and fairly painless, however as a player that tends to use the fleetpass every 18 hrs, it takes considerably longer.

 

So, yeah, I support the CROSS-SERVER LFG 100% for soo many reasons, I'd rather play in an environment that is not encumbered by limitations, and who's on right now.

[Mcfondles]

IMO it is incredibly frustrating making your way to the fleet to meet up with a group to do a FP, especially when you are in a questing area. I have denied guild invites purely because of the time that it would take to get to the fleet when my fleetpass is on CD along with quick-travel.

 

I don't like holding up a group, I used to always say (I'll be right there) frequently by the time I get there, someone has to log, or they are just gonna do this 1 quest real quick in the meantime. Then we're waiting on them, most times we end up quitting group with tenative plans------Maybe Later.

 

If there was a proper Q system, you'd be able to form a group from all shards/worlds and yes, insta-port to the inst. I agree that the game should be challenging, I just do not find huge travel times to be challenging in the way I'd like. Sometimes travel to the fleet can be quick and fairly painless, however as a player that tends to use the fleetpass every 18 hrs, it takes considerably longer.

 

So, yeah, I support the CROSS-SERVER LFG 100% for soo many reasons, I'd rather play in an environment that is not encumbered by limitations, and who's on right now.

 

This is exactly how i feel but couldn't come up with the words to express it

 

I would even be in support of cross-server heroics... It's basically pointless to spam general chat in search of a group while you're leveling up.. I mainly skip every heroic I come across and apparently so does everyone else because I can never find groups for them..

 

But.. I would be happy with cross server flashpoints..

[Umbral]

You would had run off to the Panda´s anyways dude, so please be honest and dont say you are would had payed money to BW forever just because of LFD.

 

Those that like wow will always go back, no matter what BW would copy - wow is your game

 

They are better off to make those that left wow for a reason like LFD, Addons etc. happy, as they are what you call loyal customers.

I'm not going "back to WoW". That game isn't the only one with LFG tools that work, and more games are coming out soon that are making sure they have functioning LFG tools in place at release.

 

As I have stated numerous times, I only have so much time a day to participate in my hobby. A huge part of enjoying that hobby is getting in groups with others to do content designed for groups. I'm not paying to have that precious time wasted (sometimes my entire allotted time for that day) having to stand around Fleet and spam a LFG message every time I want to do group content.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Umbral

[Sendrel]

You would had run off to the Panda´s anyways dude, so please be honest and dont say you are would had payed money to BW forever just because of LFD.

 

Those that like wow will always go back, no matter what BW would copy - wow is your game

 

They are better off to make those that left wow for a reason like LFD, Addons etc. happy, as they are what you call loyal customers.

 

So everyone who left WoW did so because they didn't like cross server LFD and/or addons?

[Ranas]

****************************************************************************

That being said, our design team doesn't philosophically believe that cross-server Flashpoints are good for the game at this stage in the game's lifespan. There is huge social pressure to not be a jerk that goes away when the odds that you will never see these people again is high. I'm not saying never - there may come a time in the future where we reevaluate this - but at least in the short term, we believe this will cause more damage to the community than good.

**************************************************************************

 

How much more damage could cross server LFG cause the community on my server?

 

I'd say none, there is no community, my server is dead, you can try for hours to get a group and not get one, I'd say the piss poor choice to not have a cross server LFG is doing more harm than some guy telling another player they suck.

 

I have big shoulders, I can take it when someone insults me if I do something stupid.

[Krenz]

****************************************************************************

That being said, our design team doesn't philosophically believe that cross-server Flashpoints are good for the game at this stage in the game's lifespan. There is huge social pressure to not be a jerk that goes away when the odds that you will never see these people again is high. I'm not saying never - there may come a time in the future where we reevaluate this - but at least in the short term, we believe this will cause more damage to the community than good.

**************************************************************************

 

How much more damage could cross server LFG cause the community on my server?

 

I'd say none, there is no community, my server is dead, you can try for hours to get a group and not get one, I'd say the piss poor choice to not have a cross server LFG is doing more harm than some guy telling another player they suck.

 

I have big shoulders, I can take it when someone insults me if I do something stupid.

 

 

Man I dont care about a cross-server LFG, I will be happy with a server LFG. Sucks to be all the time just questing and passing all the FPs because lack of ppl. we NEED a LFG Tool. is retarded that we have only a pvp tool. the actual system is broken, we need a new one asap. im thinking also to quit paying until we have a LFG tool.

[Mac_Garen]

Yes! I vote for a dungeon finder.

Give us options so we can choose whether we're willing to team up with people from other servers or not.

I don't mind waiting longer as long as I can do whatever the hell I want meanwhile.

[Umbral]

 

How much more damage could cross server LFG cause the community on my server?

 

I'd say none, there is no community, my server is dead, you can try for hours to get a group and not get one, I'd say the piss poor choice to not have a cross server LFG is doing more harm than some guy telling another player they suck.

 

I have big shoulders, I can take it when someone insults me if I do something stupid.

The unfortunate thing about all this is that these designers apparently have no idea about the history of the genre, and how design teams have consistently gotten themselves and their games in dire straights when game designers start trying to be amateur gamer sociologists. Especially when they very clearly don't have the gaming experiences to base any of that amateur gamer sociology on. Edited February 15, 2012 by Umbral

[harpuax]

X-server is fine as long as its a choice.

 

Random groups is not fine because its not a choice.

[Ethern]

 

Random groups is not fine because its not a choice.

er... what?

[darkcerb]

er... what?

 

I believe he wants a lobby like system where you pick and choose who to query about joining your group, why he wants that when strangers remain strangers no matter how they're picked is beyond me. Perhaps he feels that an ignore system and/or friend system wouldn't be enough to keep the rif raff from his group?

 

Don't know why as it makes it literally impossible for the system to join you with someone on your ignore.

 

Or maybe he wants a way to pick people based on gear? a pretty elitist and shallow argument with many faults not the least of which being how else can people acquire the gear and/or exp?

 

Until his terms are clarified I'm just speculating.

Edited February 16, 2012 by darkcerb

[valiorik]

+1

Give us LFG!

Less spam in general + faster grouping = better fun game.

[Slugamaniac]

Being on The Harbinger, I will have a dilemma soon: with the new AZ servers being set up there may/may not be a mass exodus from the server as guilds transfer there. It's hard enough finding a HM flashpoint as it is, this will make it worse.

 

Dungeon Finder, please!!!!