Wow, no mention of Auction house / MW improvements

[Kraggy]

There are so many closed minded people on these boards. They think "it works for me, so it must work for everyone else!". In reality they're just used to putting up with the BS flaws in this game.

That's a very, very valid statement.

Yes, the MW now are infinitely better than they were, but when you start with something that's totally broken then any bodged repair job makes it better .. it doesn't however make it acceptable, let alone good.

Some people are so desperate for this game to succeed they're prepared to let SE get away with stuff which, if the game on release hadn't been so diabolical, they'd not put up with quietly.

And no, I'm not a 'hater', I have 10,000 Crysta ready for when they start charging .. well, I did, but it's now paying for FFXI, but my point is clear .. I WANT FFXIV to succeed but I'm not prepared to simply accept sub-standard game mechanics without making my displeasure known to SE.

[Eekiki]

That's a very, very valid statement.

Yes, the MW now are infinitely better than they were, but when you start with something that's totally broken then any bodged repair job makes it better .. it doesn't however make it acceptable, let alone good.

Some people are so desperate for this game to succeed they're prepared to let SE get away with stuff which, if the game on release hadn't been so diabolical, they'd not put up with quietly.

And no, I'm not a 'hater', I have 10,000 Crysta ready for when they start charging .. well, I did, but it's now paying for FFXI, but my point is clear .. I WANT FFXIV to succeed but I'm not prepared to simply accept sub-standard game mechanics without making my displeasure known to SE.

As stated before. Nobody is saying the MW are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Virtually everyone is in agreement that improvements are needed. The argument is that an AH is not the way to go, and that the market wards with further tweaks and interface improvements, can and will be as good or better than any AH.

[Tsuga]

As stated before. Nobody is saying the MW are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Virtually everyone is in agreement that improvements are needed. The argument is that an AH is not the way to go, and that the market wards with further tweaks and interface improvements, can and will be as good or better than any AH.

False.

As I proved with example in the last couple of pages - RETAINERS are the issue. Nobody should have to zone, run, and talk to several npcs just for what should be a simple shopping trip. All of the search function tweaks in the world won't fix that mess of a process. It's absurd and unacceptable from a user's standpoint.

Please tell me how you would fix the mess that is the Market Ward.

[Molly_Millions]

Please tell me how you would fix the mess that is the Market Ward.

I would add more fields to the items search, such as item quality and stats for materia, that should help all the running around. I would also organize the search by item category, rather then item name, that should help with the time it takes to find items via search. I would add a text based way to search that allows wildcards so we can search for an item if we have an idea of what it's called. I would also add a delivery system and a way to flag an item for purchase from the search menu so that it can be delivered to your inbox, maybe for a small fee and a time delay. I would also add more storefronts and more customization options for those storefronts. Finally, if an item exists in a different cities ward but not the one you are searching in, I would add a field to display what city it's in and again maybe the possibility to flag that item for purchase for a slightly larger fee and time delay for delivery.

[Tsuga]

I would add more fields to the items search, such as item quality and stats for materia, that should help all the running around. I would also organize the search by item category, rather then item name, that should help with the time it takes to find items via search. I would add a text based way to search that allows wildcards so we can search for an item if we have an idea of what it's called. I would also add a delivery system and a way to flag an item for purchase from the search menu so that it can be delivered to your inbox, maybe for a small fee and a time delay. I would also add more storefronts and more customization options for those storefronts. Finally, if an item exists in a different cities ward but not the one you are searching in, I would add a field to display what city it's in and again maybe the possibility to flag that item for purchase for a slightly larger fee and time delay for delivery.

So you're saying you would have them implement an auction house?

I'll do you one better: You go to the auction house where other players have put their wares in an item box separate from their storage. Its in the city, no zoning involved. You then use the perfectly logical search function that you described to find your item. You buy it for the price that it's listed at by the seller, and it goes STRAIGHT into your inventory!

Gee, that sounded a lot like our current system huh? Minus two things - RETAINERS, and stupidly named WARDS.

[Molly_Millions]

So you're saying you would have them implement an auction house?

I'll do you one better: You go to the auction house where other players have put their wares in an item box separate from their storage. Its in the city, no zoning involved. You then use the perfectly logical search function that you described to find your item. You buy it for the price that it's listed at by the seller, and it goes STRAIGHT into your inventory!

Gee, that sounded a lot like our current system huh? Minus two things - RETAINERS, and stupidly named WARDS.

where was the auction in my suggestions?

[Tsuga]

where was the auction in my suggestions?

What most people mean when they say AH is pretty much what I described in my above post. A FFXI AH, without the blind auctions, and with a better search function.

[grandm]

False.

As I proved with example in the last couple of pages - RETAINERS are the issue. Nobody should have to zone, run, and talk to several npcs just for what should be a simple shopping trip. All of the search function tweaks in the world won't fix that mess of a process. It's absurd and unacceptable from a user's standpoint.

Please tell me how you would fix the mess that is the Market Ward.

i remember in past FF titles you have always had to run around a few different NPC's to get all the gear. there a place for weapons, a place for items, a place for magic. etc. so running around NPC's is not new.

anyway i'm not against a AH as such. i'm just against the idea its a major issue that needs fixing right now.

yawn. bored now. i hope this thread dies

[TheVedis]

anyway i'm not against a AH as such. i'm just against the idea its a major issue that needs fixing right now.
.

[/QUOTE]

this is the stance almost everyone who is anti "ah now" is

yet the pro AH people still cant understand that

its not that we wouldnt take one if we were given it, but its not as much of an emergency issue as you people are making it out to be

and its nothing that further improvements to the wards wouldnt also cure

[Eekiki]

Please tell me how you would fix the mess that is the Market Ward.

I'd add to the item search counter a small pop-up explanation for each ward describing what kinds of items can be found there.

I would add functionality to allow you to search for more than one item at a time (the star icon would be different color, and possibly would have the name of the item being searched for showing next to it).

I'd allow text input in item searches in addition to menu-based searching.

I'd allow players to be able to differentiate between NQ and HQ in the search results.

I'd allow players to search in all city's wards instead of only the city you are currently in. I can't say I'd support combining the wards right now. The wards in Ul'dah are packed enough as it is.

I'd redesign the actual areas to be wider as opposed to narrow corridors.

I'd force retainers to be standing in a grid instead of bunched up on top of each other. These last two would hopefully alleviate the lag issue enough for them to consider combining all the wards into one.

I'd add functionality to retainers that would allow them to be dispatched to the wards to purchase items for the player (for example, if a certain item isn't being sold, you can assign your retainer to search the wards and purchase it when it becomes available -- this feature alone would make the market wards far superior to an auction house).

I'd add mailboxes and a delivery service.

I'd add tutorial sidequests so new and old players alike can learn how to properly make use of the market wards.