Aby npc in Heavens tower?

[Babekeke]

Try seacom'ing a quest mission or NM you need help to complete, put you flag up and wait. Let us know how long before you got an invite that actually had anything to do with that instead of a level sync party in qufim or a merit alliance, we'd all be very interested I'm sure!

But the function is there. Just because 90% of the non-JP playerbase doesn't bother to use it isn't really SE's fault.

[GlobalVariable]

But the function is there. Just because 90% of the non-JP playerbase doesn't bother to use it isn't really SE's fault.

When the player base at large doesn't use a function there is usually very good reason for that. This isn't just 90% of the "non JP" playerbase.

Its nothing but a text input field that has to be manually input and the search is limited to just categories. As an example if you want to find people on the same mission, if they all used a search comment for that mission and all had nothing else to do that required a different seacom with that one seacom for that one thing up you still have to read through all those seacoms to find which ones are for that specific mission.

This system does NOT make for simple finding of people needing the same thing as you, it is far simpler to just shout in a heavily trafficked and catch people as they pass through. This is why it has only been seriously used for exp/merit seeking and items(dynamis etc, some slight bazaar usage). And with the advent of abyssea now even xp member finding is done in mainly shout.

It is simply a fact if you want to change the high reliance on shouts we need a better system than seacom + search provides. I don't see that happening anytime soon.

[Zyeriis]

You could just do what this one guy did a few weeks ago to me.

I was afking in whitegate (don't even remember why I was there). I come back, check chat log (by checking the filters) like I always do. Tell filter: Nyzul Isle 55+ Do you need it?

He's psychic! >_> Return the tell, "How did you know!? @_@" > "Eh...coincidence...I was just /telling random people that are currently online." (Oh, so he's a lucky genius.) Well, ended up clearing nyzul with him through sheer random tell from a random person, without a seacom. Practical? No, but it got the job done didn't it?

Now imagine if everyone used /seacoms instead of being lazy and sitting around in Port Jeuno "waiting for a shout"... Practical? No, but it would get the job done a hell of a lot better than random tells from strangers. Could there be a vastly superior system? Yes, but thats besides the point.

Side story for your viewing pleasure:
Me: "Party Do you need it?"
Person: "Yes"
Person: "WHM Friend IFP Can I bring them?"
Me: "I took that into account."
Person: "WHAT!? You mean some one invited me to a party AND read my /seacom!?"
Me: "Yes, weird isn't it?"

[GlobalVariable]

You know whats better than deciding on 1 thing to seacom out of all the things I'd like to try and do today or praying some other people seacom'd the same thing so we can find each other and hoping we find each other with enough time left to go seacom other things? Using a certain websites player search feature to locate other players based on their recorded progress off the linkshell community site. People can set their data to private but the feature is very handy with the number of people who want to show their info proudly. And I could even find that lv85 alchemist I needed yesterday for that synth. If only I could perform that type of search in game. I don't expect an alchemist to leave a seacom up stating his craft levels and what if he himself is seeking for something else? You only get 1 seacom category. What most do now and just watch shout and see which thing I'd like that comes up 1st and join it (or just shout themselves) and they do this because it works.

I'm just saying man, this is why it happens.

[Zyeriis]

You know whats better than deciding on 1 thing to seacom out of all the things I'd like to try and do today or praying some other people seacom'd the same thing so we can find each other and hoping we find each other with enough time left to go seacom other things? Using a certain websites player search feature to locate other players based on their recorded progress off the linkshell community site. People can set their data to private but the feature is very handy with the number of people who want to show their info proudly. And I could even find that lv85 alchemist I needed yesterday for that synth. If only I could perform that type of search in game. I don't expect an alchemist to leave a seacom up stating his craft levels and what if he himself is seeking for something else? You only get 1 seacom category. What most do now and just watch shout and see which thing I'd like that comes up 1st and join it (or just shout themselves) and they do this because it works.

I'm just saying man, this is why it happens.

If people used and actually read /seacoms like they do shouts, it would pretty much be the same thing now wouldn't it? Except for the fact that you don't have to be in the same zone. Most of your points have to deal with the fact that people don't use it...which is the problem? The system, even if un-used, has little to do with it being bad or not. At least in comparison to shout.

Benefit of Port Jeuno shouts:
1) One spot (whms to teleport you, blms to retrace you).
2) Auction House
3) Transportation Hub: Chocobos, Signet Guards (warp scrolls), Airships (to 4 places instead of 1), Abyssea Warps, Whitegate Access in Upper Jeuno, Abyssea - Attowha warp > Buburimu Outpost > Home Nation next to op warp npc > any outpost in the game you have supply run to, and more
4) Shout range, Port Jeuno is small enough to be able to see shouts just about anywhere in the main parts of the area (long as people are shouting from the center)

Benefits of Seacom
1) Can be anywhere/go anywhere (other cities, auction houses, the past, middle of nowhere, places shouts won't reach)
2) Can be doing something else in the meantime (get more done)
3) Can seek out specific people who need it without having to hope that they are in shout range randomly
4) Can list jobs ahead of time

As for the "better than deciding on 1 thing I want to do today", that argument doesn't hold much weight, as in: if everyone used seacom, you would be able to pick the thing you want to do MOST, seacom it, and then search seacoms for other things you want to get done as well, without the waiting for some one to decide to shout for it in jeuno (and potentially get nothing done as well, can you see how the arguments are the same in both cases? I repeat that the main difference is that with /seacom you can be anywhere, while with shout you HAVE to be in one area to potentially get a group). The same goes for "but what if we don't have enough time left?", the same can be said about that shout that finally pops up, right as you're logging out or planning to.

[GlobalVariable]

Would you expect that alchemist to seacom his craft or to be browsing to see if someone needs an alchemist, 24/7? REALLY? And my initial post on the seacom subject was in DIRECT response to sarcasm, I don't have to defend WHY, because it doesn't matter - the fact remains it will not work.

Maybe if SE gave us a function where we could enter a comment for anything that we were looking for, and other players could search those comments to find people who want similar things?
They could call it /seacom^^

Try seacom'ing a quest mission or NM you need help to complete, put you flag up and wait. Let us know how long before you got an invite that actually had anything to do with that instead of a level sync party in qufim or a merit alliance, we'd all be very interested I'm sure!

[Raxiaz]

RE: Seacom

I wish people actually utilized this feature. If it were more flexible and efficient it would get used.

[Greatguardian]

If only there were unofficial and/or sanctioned community websites which had sections in them specifically for finding groups of people with which to do things in game.

[GlobalVariable]

Like ffxiah.com with its nice search function that finds people with specific missions or crafts.

[Eeek]

Try seacom'ing a quest mission or NM you need help to complete, put you flag up and wait. Let us know how long before you got an invite that actually had anything to do with that instead of a level sync party in qufim or a merit alliance, we'd all be very interested I'm sure!

I actually did this exact thing while doing WoTG missions and the 2009 trio of Mini-Expansions-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Those mission /seacoms landed me mission invites damn near every time I used them.

Huge caveat though - I successfully used mission /seacoms only in the week or two after an update that added new missions (extend that to about a month for the 2009 mini-expansions). I fully realize that it wouldn't work if I tried it right now.