Party Search Window - Suggestions / Improvements / Discussion

Hey all.

I have a number of ideas that I think will help facilitate the trade searching and selling.


1. Add a trade button to the party search window trade area. If you could just click on their name there, that might make it more convinent to sell/buy with this function.

2. Add a way for people to drag and drop for WTS in the trade area. If I want to sell 100 iron, I can drag a stack of iron and input my price per unit. If I want to sell Uber's Green or a rare max Gold whatever, I can just drag and drop it and add the price. Perhaps the item's name can be colored according to the item being sold color.

3. Combining 1 and 2, maybe if I clicked on the person's wts item it'd bring the trade screen up automatically and a chat window as well if either want to negotiate.

4. Similar to 2, allow someone to add WTB requests, item by item and let those be clickable.

5. Maybe a save function (like for skill builds) that'll readd every thing you still have in case you log out, switch towns, etc.

6. Perhaps evolving the trade chat/party search into a unique window that not only shows everyone in the area that's trading, but what they are trying to trade and let them talk about it.

7. Add *a few* Anet-controlled bots that will *occasionally* sell random items for good (or bad) deals on the search, but only there. You just click on the item you want and a trade screen pops up with everything all filled out for you. This will allow people to buy items, but also act as a money sink. It might also encourage people to look on trade-search. I don't think it should work in reverse though.

I don't like most of what you said, mostly because it sounds buggy, and atleast it's alot of work, what with the drag and drop and the icons. It's all just too complicated.

Changing districts? Use copy and paste shortcuts.

Some mild adjustments would be really nice.

1. Seperate Buy and Sell channels/categories in Search, maybe even in Chat
2. Lengthen amount of text in Search.
3. Spamming even with the "excessive" message is too much, drastically increase the amount you get that and more people will use Search.

I was just thinking today that NOBODY practically uses party search.

I've been doing missions and I always see people doing LFG (insert description here). Now, I really only look for people who are doing main missions, and most of the time people are only looking for people doing main missions...
WHy is it that nobody can just click the search button, add in a little tag, and that's it. I feel like a great service that we've ALL REQUESTED for SO LONG is being totally neglected.

I'm not sure if the problem is that people don't notice it or they think spamming LFG in the main window will find them a party faster since most people have the main chat up.

Then there are people like me who never use it because no one ever uses it.

I know I have local chat turned off most of the time. So I kind of rely on it xD

Its pretty related... so I will thorw this thing in here too
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...39#post2450239

Pretty much suggest showing a little icon over head for LFG or LFP, to easier "pick" a player vissually.

Simple.

You decide you want to search for a party or trade, so you:
-click search, enter your tag and click close
-stand and wait
-stand and wait
-stand and wait
-get really bored while waiting
-to break up the boredom, you search for party/trade in chat window like you did before
-realize you are doing the same thing you were doing before
-realize that party search system did not change anything and is not as usefull as it should be
-dont even bother to use it next time...

BUt if other people used it, wouldn't it phase out the who spamming thing? That's what I'm saying, I'm not asking WHY people aren't using it in that manner. The system is *far* better than spamming in general chat, but people don't seem to realize it either exists or are too lazy to take the three seconds to advertise their group.

It's really really anoying to see all of the spam in general chat when you *know* it could be take care of if people weren't so lazy >_>

I completely agree that it is far better than spamming in chat. But, it still has flaws, the main one being the fact that you have to stand in the outpost and waste your time waiting. The other one being too little space to write all you want(need) to write.

Maybe it would be better when I can see members of that group and not only leader in search window. Perhaps on mouse over? And for selling there should be a possibility to make your price list, like drag and drop and give a price next to it, so anybody that opens it, can see what is that weapon, what is it's properties and your price. Then people will use it. This window isn't much of use now, because description is absolutely unusable. It's too small and when you want to sell let's say 4 different things ...

As posted many times, there should be an auction house (but some players are against it and I don't know why ) or at least something that I described. Then the search button is going to fulfill it's purpose.

The search window could be turned into a simmilar system like an auction house, and i dont think that would be a huge job to implement. currently theres an option "show parties from other districts". Just add "show parties from other outposts" (on the same continent offcourse). This though would shift its main purpose from finding a party to finding trade. As i think it was impelemented mainly for party searches, i somehow think this isnt going to happen. But it would be such a HUGE improvement in the trade system.

If people would just actually use it, it would be perfect. Exept the description you can give of yourself needs to have a higher character limit.

It seems like its not going to happen, it has ben suggested like a gazillion times by now, and nothing has been done about it.

Yup, that's pretty much what I've observed myself. I used the party search window for a mish the other day...no response.

Tons of people spamming LFG in the local channel. I didn't intend on sitting there repeating my LFG, so I decided to form one.

I say in the local chat "Forming group for [mission], invite self" - literally, 5 people requested to join me at the same time. Dang.

I'll add my voice to the chorus of people who like the idea of the search box, except that no one seems to use it. From now on I think I will put my ad in the search box, even if I have to ask in chat as well. Maybe it will, eventually, catch on. Feel free to join me!

But then, I suppose that since the majorty of people refuse to use trade chat for trading, it shouldn't come as a surprise that they refuse to give up spamming 'LFG' messages.

Also, I think a mouseover to show other party members would be a really good idea. It'd make thngs easier - I'm sick of applying in desperation to party leaders, only to find their party are all henchmen!

I am not sure if it was worth it as no one uses or puts together parties anymore thanks to heros.Then ppl still don't use it for trades or even recriuting so i am not sure how to improve it unless you force players to use it.

since no one is using the search panel for its original purposes, I suggest making the Search panel into a Trade House, where you don't have to talk to the seller or buyer to trade, you will deposit your item(s) in the search panel and it will stay there for a selected time frame, if its not sold after said amount of time, you'll get a notice after that time frame and seller can then decide to sell it to the merchant or give it to friends.


The search panel will have the capacity to search off course, say if you want to buy an axe for 1k and must be one handed and green then you can narrow down the item on sale in the "trade house"/search panel

Once the player have deposited the item into the search panel it will stay there even when the player (seller) goes offline.

same for buyers you can deposite/offer X amount of gold for an item, if seller see that the amount is reasonable they will do the exchange on the search panel.

Plus this would narrow down people cheating noobie like myself by giving them/me 1 g instead of 1k of gold in the trade window

Get rid of the henchmen in all the outposts except the beginning islands and pre searing..

And this would help beacuse? this is what i would not like 2 see that means ppl will be forced 2 work together, wich is bad for chars like my survivor, and some ppl just don't like the whole idea of pugging.

Back 2 topic, the reason why i do not use party search is simpely beacuse 1:No one else use it, and there for no one will ever read the things i type. 2: Lack of space for the descriptions. i like the ideas u stated in the first post Winterclaw it would make the search more flexible, no doubt about it.

lfg, wts, wtb, or running

If someone starts to type any of these 4 highly used acronyms in it should automagically open the search feature.

Ok, i posted this in a previous topic.

You know the little message boxes that pop up at the beginning of missions? Well use that same box in all outposts and towns say "Don't forget to check the Party Search, for party and trading needs." Ok so people would (i would think) check it, and people, knowing that others will check it more often will post something in there.

A way to turn your add off again. It annoys me deeply that I have to zone to a new town to stop my add, just because I'm going afk.

EDIT: And we are still in a dire need of a higher character limit in the Party Search

I wish it worked like the chat window. It is very hard to read sometimes when a lot of people are posting because it jumps around so much. In the chat window you can freeze it and proceed at your own pace, scrolling up or down with the arrows. I hate to be such an old lady but it is very hard on the eyes the way it is. So how about making it easier to read and eliminating a bit of eye strain in the process.

It appears that the tags are already seperated into certain catagories (hunting, trade, mission...), so why not split them further by tag? Wts = Selling, Wtb = Buying. This doesn't seems like a big deal, but it will improve usage if it's more comprehendable.
The most important thing by far is the length of the description string. This one item will further the usage of the party window to the Nth degree. I'm ok with having to type my own description of the item I am trying to buy or sell, as long as I can actually have what I typed in the party window. I'm am frankly tired of trying to abbreviate everything about the item, include the price, state my flexibilty on the price, and how to contact me in 30 characters or less. That simply does not work. It is also the reason the trade channel is flooded with spam. I can put it in the chat window as intended, so I will continue to do so until this change is made. I am a big supporter of the party window, I use it all the time. It needs this one improvement at least to be fully functional as a viable trade medium.