Auto-grouping

[eonfreon]

BINGO!

Could be as simple as clicking the LFG box, your matched up, pick your Quest and off you go.

But it IS rather funny to read all the nerdrage, hate, and doom about a new feature we know NOTHING about beyond it's name in DDO.

Yes, but we do know how that feature is implemented in other games, as well as Turbine's own LOTRO. So we have something to base speculation on.

If we wait until Turbine gives us any real information before we give our opinions on how things could be, we would have nothing to discuss, because Turbine is terrible at providing information.

We don't know how the system will be. But we do know what we would not like the system to be.

[HungarianRhapsody]

But it IS rather funny to read all the nerdrage, hate, and doom about a new feature we know NOTHING about beyond it's name in DDO.

I have welcomed the new feature without worry if I hadn't previously heard really bad things about it from LotRO players. I personally don't see any nerdrate, hate or doom in this thread. What I see is players expressing their opinion on what works and what doesn't work in DDO with an eye toward encouraging the development of new features that enhance DDO's game play rather than the lazy way of just trying to herd players into PUGs by dangling shinies in front of the new grouping system while taking shinies away from the existing system.

If it's just a new feature that we can use at our own whim, then that's great. If they try to reduce the number of attractive choices for grouping options by adding carrots to a completely random PUG while taking away carrots and adding sticks to the existing system of LFMs and private grouping, then that's not so great.

[Marcus-Hawkeye]

As long as it's not manditory at any point, I say it's a good addition.

[Monkey-Boy]

I'm trying to understand the demand that this "feature" is supposed to supply.

[MartinusWyllt]

Example:

1. Carefully selected group one is full of proven competant if not downright uber players.

2. Randomly selected group two may contain less skilled, capable, players.

Which group do you have to play better in to succeed? Which group will you have a harder time completing in?

Well...with 1 I don't have to be particularly good, just competent. Depending on the situation I either had to plan ahead to get that group together or I might have to wait around to assemble it.

With 2 comes the challenge, am I really that good? Can I DPS things quickly enough while wand healing the barb and fighter that appear to be new and both were nervous about not having a "healer" in the group?

If I didn't just accept anyone I could have had solo'd it for a 3rd option, I guess, but that gets a bit boring.

Autogrouping could be useful sometimes, just so long as it is optional as I'm pretty sure I won't necessarily want to use it for things like Diplomatic Impunity.

[Crann]

I understand, but group two "may" contain less skilled and capable players. It doesn't have to necessarily be so.

Also you're forgetting group three:

3. Player creates an LFM for a specific quest and gets unknowns in his group. So, by your logic, shouldn't he also get a bonus?

I still say let the feature stand on it's own. See how popular it is on it's own. Let people use it or ignore it. If it's a good feature, people will use it. If it's ****, people won't.

The specificness of the quest has less to do with the success chances than the compostion of the party.

However.............My logic is flawed to begin with. It assumes the player is competant himself.

Lets add:

3. Player is horrible, nobody but other horrible players, or the unsuspectiing will join a LFM with him in the party.

4. Player is horrible...he will placed into an average group, with players more skilled than himself.

Which of those increases the player's ease of completion?

Somerthing to think about.

[eonfreon]

The specificness of the quest has less to do with the success chances than the compostion of the party.

However.............My logic is flawed to begin with. It assumes the player is competant himself.

Lets add:

3. Player is horrible, nobody but other horrible players, or the unsuspectiing will join a LFM with him in the party.

4. Player is horrible...he will placed into an average group, with players more skilled than himself.

Which of those increases the player's ease of completion?

Somerthing to think about.

Yes, I can see the use of an Autogroup feature for people who don't want to or can't create their own groups.

So if Autogroup fills the need of an extra way to group up, why would it also need another incentive to use it?

I know we don't know that there will be an incentive, but judging by how Turbine implemented it in LOTRO, it's a reasonable assumption.

I just don't see any reason why bonuses would be given.

BTW, to answer your question from before, in LOTRO the bonus equals 50% more currency and 5% bonus to Power and Morale (Mana and HP respectively). Although that increase depends on how many Instances you join up for.

[Phax]

These new grouping options will be in addition to the existing DDO grouping mechanics/LFM.

If you don't want to use the new system, there is no requirement to do so, and no bonuses attached to it.

It's a solution that is very DDO specific and integrated into the way DDO party/LFM mechanics already work.

I'll talk with Glin about getting more info about the system to you guys soon. I just want to tamper the Doo0000m!!! .

[KillEveryone]

I just want to tamper the Doo0000m!!! .

Good to know it will be a option then and not mandatory.

I don't think you'll ever tamper the DooOoOOOOoooOOommmmmMMmMMMmMMM!!!!!11!!111! though.

We are very fond of DooooOooOOoMmMMmMmmMM!!11111!!!11!!!

[eonfreon]

These new grouping options will be in addition to the existing DDO grouping mechanics/LFM.

If you don't want to use the new system, there is no requirement to do so, and no bonuses attached to it.

It's a solution that is very DDO specific and integrated into the way DDO party/LFM mechanics already work.

I'll talk with Glin about getting more info about the system to you guys soon. I just want to tamper the Doo0000m!!! .

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know.

[Hendrik]

These new grouping options will be in addition to the existing DDO grouping mechanics/LFM.

If you don't want to use the new system, there is no requirement to do so, and no bonuses attached to it.

It's a solution that is very DDO specific and integrated into the way DDO party/LFM mechanics already work.

I'll talk with Glin about getting more info about the system to you guys soon. I just want to tamper the Doo0000m!!! .

Thank you Phax for the valuable info!

[Frotz]

I was thinking the other day, in response to the "PUGs are dead!!!" thread, that some kind of automated alert that there was a group, either LFM outside or recently started and in-progress, for the dungeon you were just about to enter might be a nice way for more casual groups to form. But I suppose that presupposes that there are multiple people/small groups running the same quests at the same time without being herded into them with an LFM.

[See this cookie? If you don't do what I say, I shall punish you by giving it to someone else! BWAHAHAHAHAHAA!]

[HungarianRhapsody]

These new grouping options will be in addition to the existing DDO grouping mechanics/LFM.

If you don't want to use the new system, there is no requirement to do so, and no bonuses attached to it.

It's a solution that is very DDO specific and integrated into the way DDO party/LFM mechanics already work.

I'll talk with Glin about getting more info about the system to you guys soon. I just want to tamper the Doo0000m!!! .

This makes me very happy and reduces me from worry-level Orange to worry-level Green.

Thank you very much for posting in this thread.

[HungarianRhapsody]

I was thinking the other day, in response to the "PUGs are dead!!!" thread, that some kind of automated alert that there was a group, either LFM outside or recently started and in-progress, for the dungeon you were just about to enter might be a nice way for more casual groups to form. But I suppose that presupposes that there are multiple people/small groups running the same quests at the same time without being herded into them with an LFM.

Something like this would be an enormous benefit to me. I solo fairly often both because I am sometimes interrupted and because I just don't want to wait for people to get into the quest and get started.

Having a game option that would let me mark various quests for an "LFM Alert" would be wonderful. I would group much more often if there were something that notified me when a Shroud/LoB/ToD/Abbot/Devil's Assault LFM popped up. I'd be happy to recall out of whatever scroll farming/eardweller farming/whatever farming that I'm doing in order to jump into a specific quest or raid that I've been looking forward to.

[bigolbear]

auto grouping most certainly could work in ddo, i know we all have fears about it tho.

Personaly im the kind of player that generaly groups with his freinds list, chat channels and guildies. I run in static groups, semi static groups, Solo, duo etc.

There are times however that I just want to do soemthing random.

There does need to be incentives for autogrouping or you can bet players like me will simply never use it, and the purpose of it as a feature - to get old vets rollign with new players wont happen.

Id there fore suggest:

1.Auto grouping must not be mandatory at all, under any circumstances including events and such like mabar.
2.Any TR, or character that has veteran status will gain a +10% (mentor) xp bonus for using auto grouping - this replaces their 10% no deaths bonus.
3.Auto grouping must take into account squelch lists.
4.Auto grouping will not break bravery streaks, but will also not add to them.
5. an additional feature for current lfms 'apply as mentor' causes points 2 and 4 to be applied to regular lfms when you apply.

The idea of what 'role' you wish to fill in the group should be incorperated into regular lfms making life easier all round on mele divines, bards in general, offensive caster divines, repair speced arcanes, splash rogues...... etc etc.

If any thing the 'role' indicator will be the biggest problem here as roles in ddo are not so easily defined as 'tank', 'healer', DPS.

[Xeraphim]

I PuG a lot, even on a Legend TR. Sometimes due to deaths and people wanting quick completions, the overall XP total gets a heavy hit so I stop PuGing and solo some things to catch up.

I was entirely too generous this way on my Monk and it took 18 months to cap him as a Legend due to all the newbs/noobs/nubs. This is the main premise for my request in an XP balance for all levels with TRs instead of putting the bulk of the need at lvl 16-20. Even with XP pots, I simply could not cap him due to all the fail in groups. I managed to use 3 Slayer areas and several Raids to cap him off, though as stated before it took entirely too long.

On a firstlife or Hero, I have no problem with PuGs and will probably enjoy the auto-group feature.


I look forward to the future of DDO.

[eonfreon]

auto grouping most certainly could work in ddo, i know we all have fears about it tho.

Personaly im the kind of player that generaly groups with his freinds list, chat channels and guildies. I run in static groups, semi static groups, Solo, duo etc.

There are times however that I just want to do soemthing random.

There does need to be incentives for autogrouping or you can bet players like me will simply never use it, and the purpose of it as a feature - to get old vets rollign with new players wont happen.

Id there fore suggest:

1.Auto grouping must not be mandatory at all, under any circumstances including events and such like mabar.
2.Any TR, or character that has veteran status will gain a +10% (mentor) xp bonus for using auto grouping - this replaces their 10% no deaths bonus.
3.Auto grouping must take into account squelch lists.
4.Auto grouping will not break bravery streaks, but will also not add to them.
5. an additional feature for current lfms 'apply as mentor' causes points 2 and 4 to be applied to regular lfms when you apply.

The idea of what 'role' you wish to fill in the group should be incorperated into regular lfms making life easier all round on mele divines, bards in general, offensive caster divines, repair speced arcanes, splash rogues...... etc etc.

If any thing the 'role' indicator will be the biggest problem here as roles in ddo are not so easily defined as 'tank', 'healer', DPS.

Well, a Dev has said that there won't be any incentives. That it will simply be an additional feature.

Personally, I don't think the intended purpose of it is to get veteran players to play with new players. There are many cases where that wouldn't be a benefit at all to the new players.

If you were to go by your "TR or Veteran Status gets a bonus that replaces the no death bonus" then you're getting TRs who want to blow through the content grouped up with people who want to learn the game. Not a really good recipe for teaching new players the ropes.

I think the Autogroup can fulfill the need of those who are too shy or unsure to start their own LFMs and don't want to sit there staring at the LFM panel waiting for something to open up in their range. Hopefully autogrouping will allow them to set parameters and alert them when a group is ready that matches those parameters.

There absolutely does not need to be incentives to use it. The incentive should be to group up when you're new and unsure. Not to create a new metagame with "how to milk" the system.

An Autogroup feature that is purely optional and has no carrots attached sounds like a good idea. Anything more and you're just asking for people to game the system.

[fenrissulf]

Apologies for my phrasing, it detracted from the point I was trying to make.

That said the dev response on auto grouping is quite welcome, and it sounds like a valuable extra tool instead of something forced onto us. Personally glad to hear it.

[Phemt81]

Awesome. I'd have suggested this feature if they weren't already adding it

[BlackSteel]

glad to hear that this is in addition to n not replacing

honestly I'd be ok with a 10% bonus to offset the idiot who joins and then directly proceeds to die on the first encounter

wouldnt change my party habits at all, which would normally be solo or short man, and when feeling bored taking the first five. Just now I would have a reason to take on others while atm I have compelling reason not to take on harbor gimps