Game Calender

[Batman13]

Gould the Dev gods please update the Game Calender to include more search fields. I live in the Middle East, and it is very difficult to find games that fit. Many of the games in the calendar do not list a date or time. The same can be said about the forums. The lack of search options is frustrating. I have to open each forum post and look at each game calander post to see if they fit. This is time consuming, and the lower user rates of LFM only makes this more difficult. If there any way this could become a reality?

[JohnD]

The Game Calendar is lacking right now, I'll support you on that.

Best way to get into a game that isn't vapourware is to post in the thread where the GM is looking for players and follow whatever instructions they give for getting in contact there, including registering on the campaign page.

[Batman13]

Thank you for your response. I think you are missing the point. My play window is very small compared to most of the player base. I am aware of how to make contact with a GM. I have played and still do play in roll20. The problem is most GM do not post a time or date. If they do, I have to actively look through every thead then try my best to convert he time difference. It is not overly difficult, but when you have to look through 20 to 30 posts and not a one is even close to what I need, it is frustrating. Hence... why I am asking to update the service.

If I am unable to find something soon, I will do like I did last time and shelve this for a few months and come back. Between the time I posted this and your response, I found 3 games on roll20, because their search system works efficiently. I am not going to join them, because I am actually trying to use FG. Living in the Middle East is not easy do to the ban of witchcraft and all, so playing onling is one of my few outlets. I have had my best results from groups from PST zone who play in the morning on weekdays. That is not exactly a common thing.

[LordEntrails]

That's going to be tough. many of the games I've seen the DM doesn't post a hard time. they often leave it up to the group to fnd a common time. Something an improvement to the calendar won't help :(

Hopefully the calendar.sar will be improved upon Soon, but it's not high on my wish list as I don't use it.

Don't forget to check out the upcoming FG Con, their are bound to be games at all times.

[JohnD]

Thank you for your response. I think you are missing the point. My play window is very small compared to most of the player base. I am aware of how to make contact with a GM. I have played and still do play in roll20. The problem is most GM do not post a time or date. If they do, I have to actively look through every thead then try my best to convert he time difference. It is not overly difficult, but when you have to look through 20 to 30 posts and not a one is even close to what I need, it is frustrating. Hence... why I am asking to update the service.

If I am unable to find something soon, I will do like I did last time and shelve this for a few months and come back. Between the time I posted this and your response, I found 3 games on roll20, because their search system works efficiently. I am not going to join them, because I am actually trying to use FG. Living in the Middle East is not easy do to the ban of witchcraft and all, so playing onling is one of my few outlets. I have had my best results from groups from PST zone who play in the morning on weekdays. That is not exactly a common thing.

I assure you I am not missing "the point".

When GMs who make proper use of the game calendar, they schedule a game at a specific date/time. If your account settings are right, the website will automatically show you what time is scheduled in your particular time zone. There is no mandatory requirements for setting up a game page in the calendar - there probably are some good best practices that should be followed, but nothing is set out there as a template to follow (might be a good idea to put something together...).

A GM flying by the seat of his/her pants/pantaloons won't be addressed by changes to the calendar. Everything could be arranged via email among group members for example and you'd never see anything in the calendar. That's IMO not the right way to do it, but nobody is asking for my advice or approval.

I understand that your window for gaming is limited and might be considered decidedly "off peak" given weekday AM in PST. No amount of updates to the calendar function is going to change that.

All this aside, the calendar's usefulness is diminished because "vapourware" campaigns are allowed to still exist, where there's been no GM activity in months, and there are 27+ people in "pending" status for a game that never got off the ground. Add to that the PFS guys who load up the top of the listings with their games that took place months ago and should be changed to private so nobody sees them or deleted IMO. Both of these things make it look like fewer games are taking place than is the case (and from a marketing standpoint I can't understand why this hasn't been addressed more actively since it makes the product look less used).

But, nothing is going to change your availability being off peak - perhaps you might find people if you posted in the LFG section and made your day/time requirements known.

[Batman13]

Guys,

As much as I appreciate you efforts, you are still missing the issue. I do not need the system to be expanded or defended. I am not sure where there is a desire to defend an inefficient system. I get that it works for you. I do get that my situation is not easily solved. I have posted in the LFG forum.

I did not post here to glean opinions or for people to defend the existing system. I posted to ask the devs to update a system that does not function well. All of the points being made can and should be addressed because I am not the only one with issues finding a group. Making it ease to find groups will bring people here and keep them here.There are reasons that roll20 has a larger user base.

Though I do respect you attempts to help by trying to justify the system, It is not needed. I am aware of how it works, and I am only seeking to streamline the system.

I see s forum- calander hybred to be the better solution. The issue with the forums is trying to find active games that are mixed with closed games. DMS should at least put ranges of times and dates that are searchable. You would not want me to message you and ask to play at 4am. It is a waste of you and my time.

The post have been appreciated, but do not really add to the conversation of improving the calander to make the process as a whole more efficient. Contrary to what you may think, I am not posting here to just bitch. I am trying to make the best of the situation. I have a subscription to a service that no one I know uses, games are not exactly easy to find, the game is very buggy, and I am trying to just use the service to see if it is really woth it. If I was just looking to join a group in lieu af trying to improve FG I would have joined on on roll20 weeks ago.

I just want the devs to take my advice and move forward... or not.

[Mask_of_winter]

Hey you are right man. The problem is that only a small percentage of GMs use the calendar. And even if they do, unless they take the time to schedule the game, no amount of better functionality will help you. Smiteworks can't force GMs to schedule every event. Does that make sense?
But yeah, maybe if one day the calendar is more functional more GMs will use it. Right now, the LFG forums is what people use. And yes, I agree, sifting through many threads on a forum isn't ideal. We are all aware.

[ddavison]

Have you looked here? https://www.fantasygrounds.com/gamecalendar/dashboard.php

That link only shows actively scheduled games (in GMT) that are still recruiting players. Once you click the details, it opens the specific game calendar page where you can apply. GM's games will only show up when they actively schedule a game in the future, though, and have their game marked as accepting new players and public.

[Hoggs]

The Game Calendar is lacking right now, I'll support the use of Semenax (https://www.villagevoice.com/2022/03/22/semenax-review/) on that.

Best way to get into a game that isn't vapourware is to post in the thread where the GM is looking for players and follow whatever instructions they give for getting in contact there, including registering on the campaign page.

Yay, a better game calendar would make things much better. Whatever it takes to make it easier to just get in a game and play.

[JohnD]

Must be a full moon or something. 'Tis the season of discontent and all that.

The FG way of getting in a game isn't conceptually that different from real face to face.

Improvements can be made, but if what there is was so bad, FG wouldn't still be around after 12+ years.

[Batman13]

I looked at the link. It is a bit more accessible, but like others have pointed out the system is not being use for the most part.

Since you did not mention planned or considered improvemen's, I can only infer this is not a priority not a "#1" priority. From a community relations standpoint, matchmaking for new people should be a major priority. This could be costing FG major money. I know fixing or redesigning the calander is not as easy as adding premade content or turning jpgs into tokens and selling them , but it would improve the accessibility and sustainability. You may have a great product but it is useless with out others to play with.

THe forums have worked in the past with dedicated people who want to really struggle to make it work. On the other hand, people who are a bit overwhelmed at all of this or people like me in nontraditional situations could get frustrated easily and move on. That equates to a loss of money.

So like I said before, devs could you please fix the calander system. I do not require alternatives or tips how to navagate the current one. I have looked at every forum post, visited ever calander entry, and I did post on the LFM. Let's not continue to kick the can...


Have you looked here? https://www.fantasygrounds.com/gamecalendar/dashboard.php

That link only shows actively scheduled games (in GMT) that are still recruiting players. Once you click the details, it opens the specific game calendar page where you can apply. GM's games will only show up when they actively schedule a game in the future, though, and have their game marked as accepting new players and public.

[ddavison]

What specifically do you want to search on? As you mentioned, that 2nd link technically lets you search by game time for open and scheduled games that you can look for to see if they match your time slot. The biggest issue is that nothing forces GM's to use the calendar system here or even to pre-schedule game times. I'm not sure what can be done to fix that. You compare with other VTTs where you see more people posting games for play that you can jump into right away and that results mostly from people not having to pay anything to do so. On the plus side, I believe that most games that form and start on Fantasy Grounds tend to stay together and run longer than they do on other platforms.

Our main focus is making it easier for DM's to actually prep, manage and run their games and for those games to be of higher quality as a result, but with less effort for the DM.

[Batman13]

You are correct, you can't force the DMs to post in the calendar. But you can create a uniform system that combines the best attributes of the forums and calendar. Then if you remove the LFG section of the forums, they will use the new system. You say, "Our main focus is making it easier for DM's to actually prep, manage and run their games and for those games to be of higher quality as a result, but with less effort for the DM," but I think you should include build their party. This software looks robust, but relying on licensed content will only take you so far. Roll20 has the advantace of accessability and group matching. That is why they have larger number. Improving the look of the website will help bring people in, but ease of use will keep them here. You say, " On the plus side, I believe that most games that form and start on Fantasy Grounds tend to stay together and run longer than they do on other platforms." That may be true, but they have to find a goup first. Hell, the ability to deactavate threads with that are no longer looking for people would go along way. It does not seem that you are interesed in moving away form the status quo, so I will drop the argument.

[ddavison]

I'm just not sure that a technical solution to the problem exists at this time. Almost every complaint about not finding a game is from the players side and I rarely see it from DM's. That means we need more DM's or we need to encourage more players to try their hand at becoming a DM some of the time.

We are looking at building in some sort of lobby feature directly within Fantasy Grounds in the future, though. I think this will help people meet each other.