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New Update 9/4: Social Features: Player Directory, Expanded Player Profiles, LFG Tool Overhaul

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Edited 1378306474
Riley D.
Roll20 Team
There's a new update out to everyone today bringing some exciting new "outside the tabletop" changes to Roll20. Read on for the full scoop! Expanded Player Profiles There have always been public profiles for Roll20, but until now they have been a bit...bare. We've expanded this functionality to help you tell a little more about yourself to the community. You can now write a "bio" about yourself, list games that you enjoy playing, earn achievements, and even list yourself in the new Player Directory (more on that in a sec!). You can access your profile by using the drop-down menu in the top-right corner (where it says "Welcome, <Name>"), and choosing "My Profile" . Note that you can also now edit any part of your profile, including your display name and avatar picture, right there on the page just by clicking the element you want to edit, making it easier than ever to make yourself known here on Roll20! Introducing the Player Directory In addition to our LFG tool which allows GMs to post games looking for players, we've heard requests to let players list themselves as "seeking games". With the new player profile features, there is an additional field called "Seeks Group For." If you fill in this field to indicate what games you want to play, you'll be listed in the Player Directory .  The Directory is a new, searchable listing of all the players who have opted-in to show that they are trying to find games to play, letting GMs browse the list to find players for their games. Have a game starting in a few hours and need a pick-up player? Or just want to be really picky about who you invite to your table? The Directory is a great way to find all sorts of players! (Note that it may be fairly empty for a bit until players start opting-in!) Improved LFG Tool In addition to the new tools for players, we're giving GMs some new tools as well. The LFG Tool  has been revamped to be even easier to use, and to promote higher quality listings. Your game's LFG listing is now permanent, and it can be toggled on/off at will, so you can open up your listing when you need to find a player or two, close it when the game is full, and re-open it again later with one click, and without having to re-do any work. We've also made it easier to edit your listing by allowing you to view the listing and click-to-edit any part of the page.  There are some new things to be aware of, though.  To promote higher quality listings, we now require that you enter the next time your game will be played, and that you keep updating that time at least once per month. If you don't, your listing won't be shown (and you'll be told this on the listing page). This is to help eliminate zombie listings which sit on the search results for months on end without any indication of activity. So please check your current LFG listings if you have any to make sure that they are still active! Other changes to the LFG tool: You now enter the TOTAL number of players needed for your game, rather than the number currently needed. We'll then automatically subtract from this number as the game fills up, to keep listings fresh. For now we'll show listings that have a "negative" number of open slots to allow for a transition period, but in a month or so we'll automatically hide listings that are "full". We've switched to a structured, pre-defined list of game types. We're working to expand this list so please let us know if a game you play on a regular basis on Roll20 isn't listed -- if enough players request it we'll add it. This should make it easier to search for and find games to play, as well. Other/Misc Changes It is now possible to send Private Messages directly from your PM Inbox, rather than having to go to the player's profile. In addition you can now send PMs to multiple recipients. When adding a recipient, type their name as it appears in Roll20, and we'll show you a listing of matching players, with "stars" next to any players that you have played games with in the past. The Campaign Details page has been slightly revamped, adding a more convenient toolbar along the top that gives you access to all of your campaign's features (such as the forums and LFG listing) in one place. The Campaign Forums have been reformatted, so there is now a "forum listing" just like the public forums for each campaign forum. In addition only the 10 most recent forum posts (and any stickies) will be shown on your Campaign Details page. This is a better format for campaigns which have many forum posts. The forums on all parts of the site have been reformatted to have more compact listings, allowing more mosts to appear on one page. Enjoy the new features!
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Edited 1378305454
I'm not seeing a way to opt in on the player directory or edit a profile to add games. THe click to edit doesn't seem to be working on Chrome or Firefox, without any addons or extensions.
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Edited 1378306094
Riley D.
Roll20 Team
When you go to this page: <a href="https://app.roll20.net/users/me" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/users/me</a> You don't see a field labeled "Enjoys playing" and "Seeks Group For", with a field next to it that says "Begin typing"? It should look like this: EDIT: You're right, it seems to not be showing up on my test account. Looking into it now.
Okay should be fixed now! Sorry about that! It's always something on update day /sigh :-)
Woot, it's working now.
Shouldn't the Player Directory or Profile have a place to at least provide a Time Zone or Day's Available? &nbsp;While you might expect people to provide this information on their own, most people will either forget or not think that information is important.
It would be awesome if games like Only War, Deathwatch, Black Crusade, Rogue Trader and Dark Heresy Version 2 can be added or a way for users to submit games that arent on the games list yet. I could have missed if such a forum thread exists since i only recently joined this community.
It would be very good to be able to submit games that can be added. For example, I'd love to run Pendragon or Marvel Super Heroes FASERIP and would like that to be searchable.
Agree with Mirthless and Sam that there should be someway to add or submit additional game choices such as Spycraft or D20 Modern. I know there are way too many to add but maybe give users the ability to add their own entries.
I said this in another thread, but I thought I would re-post it here since it's pertinent: As for the various editions/gaming systems, right now our rule of thumb is to only list a "category" if it's feasible that at least 1,000 people on Roll20 are playing it. So for example there are most definitely 1,000+ people playing each D&amp;D 3.5 and 4E, but right now there aren't 1,000+ people playing each individual Shadowrun edition. Our goal with this is to have a list that is succinct, yet where no single category gets overwhelmed with too many game/player listings. We'll keep an eye on it though and see how it goes. ...just so you know what our thought process currently is.
OK! How about making an "Other - See Description" category?
Awesome Sauce!
Times / time zone availability on the profile page would be awesome. Other - See Description category for games. +1 to both those
Calendar tool does not seem to update the Game Time.
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Edited 1378362401
Alex L.
Pro
Sheet Author
HoneyBadger said: Times / time zone availability on the profile page would be awesome. Other - See Description category for games. +1 to both those +9000 to time zone and availability almost pointless without it. Also dam you for making Achievements i must now get them all, speeking of achievements do you have a list, and is there a 1000 hour one as I'm just about to hit that.
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Edited 1378372384
Lithl
Pro
Sheet Author
API Scripter
Alex L. said: Also dam you for making Achievements i must now get them all, speeking of achievements do you have a list, and is there a 1000 hour one as I'm just about to hit that. A list would be nice. I made userboxes on the wiki for all the ones I found: I Know You're Out There : Listed a campaign LFG Patron of the Arts : Bought something on the market See Me Rollin' : Set your avatar (Gravatar does not count, even if you uploaded an image for your Gravatar) Getting to Know You : Complete your profile (avatar, bio, "enjoys playing" list) Getting Started : Played 10 hours in Roll20 games Warming Up : 50 hours Getting Good : 100 hours Group Gatherer : Played with 5 different people Socialite : 10 people Citizen : 25 people Bureaucrat : 50 people Representative : 100 people Edit: Found a few more achievements on some users' pages: Sands of Time : 250 hours K Club : 1000 hours Senator : 250 people
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Edited 1378367005
Roger A.
Sheet Author
ditto on the calendar tool not updating the next game. I selected the date and tried to save it, but it said it didnt recognize the format so i should try something else....
What is the criteria for people played with? Is it only from this point on? My profile is saying no players
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@Riley D. I understand your logic but what if i was an avid Only War and Deathwatch Player? I would look on Roll20 and see that i am not able to look for those roleplays. I might be discouraged to use your tool. I would like to suggest an option to perhaps be able to select a main catagory, "Shadowrun", "Dungeons and Dragons" or "Warhammer" .&nbsp; The player himself could then, go in to detail and specify in this main catagory of "Warhammer", That he is looking for a Warhammer 40k Only War or Shadowrun 4e or Dungeons and Dragons 3e roleplay.&nbsp; It gives Roll20 the option to not make to many catagories but also allows the flexibilty of the previous system when looking for that specific niche.
Mirthless said: @Riley D. I understand your logic but what if i was an avid Only War and Deathwatch Player? I would look on Roll20 and see that i am not able to look for those roleplays. I might be discouraged to use your tool. I would like to suggest an option to perhaps be able to select a main catagory, "Shadowrun", "Dungeons and Dragons" or "Warhammer" .&nbsp; The player himself could then, go in to detail and specify in this main catagory of "Warhammer", That he is looking for a Warhammer 40k Only War or Shadowrun 4e or Dungeons and Dragons 3e roleplay.&nbsp; It gives Roll20 the option to not make to many catagories but also allows the flexibilty of the previous system when looking for that specific niche. That is what we want to do. Put main categories for things like "Shadowrun" and "Warhammer." Just not every individual Shadowrun edition. Sorry if that wasn't clear. And I believe both of those examples are already included in the list. Let me know if there are others like that.
LochaberAxe said: What is the criteria for people played with? Is it only from this point on? My profile is saying no players Hmmm...there's a script running that is attempting to backfill. Let me know if it still says no-one the next time you play in a game.
And a list of achievements? That would ruin the fun... :P
@riley, not sure the ultimate feasibility of this, but under the option other, creating another input box where you can type in the game name. That way when searching for players who play "Other" it'll not only allow people looking for a less popular game to find people with similar interests, but also allow new members who look under the "Other" category while searching to see exactly how many different systems are supported. Perhaps if when searching under "Other", the game choices would fill as "Other-misc. games list" under the player name? I'm okay with the system as it stands, but that should remove the prior concerns of turning people off of playing R20 because they're not sure their game will work.
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Alex L.
Pro
Sheet Author
Riley D. said: And a list of achievements? That would ruin the fun... :P is Patron of the Arts working correctly? I got some packs off the market today its not on my profile yet.
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@Emile I. Yeah.. something you as a user can define. like i can put in title that is not really supported but still shows to all others that i am interested in that title. I just feel that roll20.net needs to be broad and support all roleplays instead of saying "Sorry, your roleplay isnt popular enough."
@Mirthless, I definatly agree as far as user definition. We can currently add it into the Bio section (see Gauss as an easy example), but I don't think it's saying too much about popularity of a game. Just having the "Other Games" option shows people that roll20 accommodates a wide variety of systems. As players prior to the update we already know this, the biggest thing is making sure that new players are aware of exactly versatile the site is. If I have an odd game I want to play, I'll post it in the LFG forum, but it'd be a solid idea to make it possible for new players to look under the other games (because it's a large tab, and will attract lots of attention) and see exactly HOW many games are being played by the community.
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Please consider a label like non-D&amp;D TSR games- this would cover Marvel Super heroes, Top Secret, Buck Rogers, Conan, and Star frontiers. I would also ask you to consider Barbarians of Lemuria. and Hollow Earth Expeditions for tabs. I understand you dont want to have a large list but if Numenera made the cut and its been out only a few weeks I think a case can be made for TSR Games Thanks
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Edited 1378395790
Jay B.
KS Backer
Riley: If I can make a suggestion; Since you can only load a certain number of achievements on mouse-over in campaigns, perhaps load only the highest level of tiered achievements. For example I have several achievements but on mouse over it shows the 250, 10, 50, &amp; 10 hours played achievements + one other achievement. With those same five icons I could have all my achievements listed on mouse over showing only the most recent or highest level of each tier. Superfluous; but achievement mouse-over on forum icons would be great.
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It would be nice to be able to word-search the profile bio, since a lot of people tagging "Other Games" will likely be elaborating there. People playing an obscure system, or looking for players interested in a very specific focus or element in their game (investigation, crime, exploration, horror, steampunk, specific campaign settings, etc.) would more easily be able to find suitable connections in this fashion.
I know it'll be booed out, but could we have a Palladium Books listing? There are a handful of Palladium system games on here.
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Some others have mentioned this already, but there needs to be a way to add or otherwise sub-divide more games. &nbsp;Some of these have small player bases already and roll20 is the perfect place to expand them and find players, but that will never happen under the umbrella of "Other Games." &nbsp;I just took a look at my inventory of RPGs and have dozens of games, the majority of which are not listed. Obviously you don't want an endless drop down menu, but there should be a way to handle it through either an authoritative vocabularly with a more hefty catalog as it's dictionary or setting that drop down menu into a hierarchy. &nbsp;People obvisouly need to make sure they are all referencing the same games without typos or different spellings for discoverability but just putting them all under a blanket term to get around that issue isn't the way to solve large list issues.
I completely agree with others when it comes to RPGs not listed. &nbsp;If there was no drop down menu, at least be able to start typing and it automatically starts finding games that match with what you're typing. &nbsp;Also, I don't really see the harm in adding individual game systems as it just ends up being a large list. &nbsp;As long as systems are added regularly you would have a comprehensive list in no time and eventually not much effort will be required later on. &nbsp;I can immediately think of a couple systems by some major companies that are either already released, or are about to be released. &nbsp;Iron Kingdoms RPG and Through the Breach RPG. &nbsp;Add those two, and I'll be super happy.
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_role-playing_games_by_name" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_role-playing_games_by_name</a> &nbsp;this is a list just of user inputted tabletop RPG's. It does not include board games, card games, or war games. I apologize if I'm out of place in saying that making a massive list probably would add more hassle and confusion to new players, especially if they're new to the tabletop gaming scene. Having a core list that includes games that are more "popular" makes sense as many players will gravitate towards those games, and there's more of a community to help/further those games. I still agree having some form of input from players in the community, but it should be kept as free flowing as possible to avoid having an overwhelming number of gaming systems that have a very very small following.
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Edited 1378402587
Pat S.
Forum Champion
Sheet Author
How about a check mark to activate a persons profile in the player directory to indicate that they are looking for a game. That would then turn it into a easier tool to find people that are actively wanting to game and combined that with the game tag types, you would be able to find all&nbsp;players&nbsp;actively seeking a game for your game system. I'm not seeking any game right now but it lists me as seeking games just because I completed my profile which included the seeking games because sooner or later I will be seeking and it would easier to just preset it and just have a checkmark to turn it on and off. I posted something similar in the suggestion board on another thread already.
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@emile, Yeah, i think that would bloat the list which the developers are trying to prevent. What you would need to have some form of organizing and flexibility. What you could do is give the option to define a general catagory like Dungeons and Dragons and then give the users the ability to define a variable. ( variable = Version type or corebook) example: Dungeons and Dragons - 4th Edition, Shadowrun - Second Edition or Warhammer 40k - Only War Dungeons and Dragons, Shadowrun, Warhammer 40k being the main catagory and then after the " - " is the variable. How do the developers feel about this alternative? It could work in a database since you have the initial catagory predefined.&nbsp;
Really need to break down the Warhammer 40k category some. Deathwatch and rouge trader are not really the same game.
Marvel Super Heroes (FASERIP) isn't on here? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Super_Heroes_Role-Playing_Game" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Super_Heroes_Role-Playing_Game</a>
Posted a question on the Mentor forum regarding Other games but after reading all of this forum, I understand your rational, Riley. I just advertised Roll20 on Google + and will direct them to my game on this site. BTW, I am playing American Civil War miniatures using Fire and Fury rules for Army/Corps/Division action and am having Devin Knight draw up custom tokens for WW2 skirmishing with the Bolt Action rules for US now and will then have him do German, British, Russian, Japanese, Australian, French, Polish and all the other various ones. If you are interested in this type of gaming, give me a PM and get added to my list and we will continue the development of this excellent avenue of this exciting software. Dale (Bronco_6)
Mirthless said: @emile, Yeah, i think that would bloat the list which the developers are trying to prevent. What you would need to have some form of organizing and flexibility. What you could do is give the option to define a general catagory like Dungeons and Dragons and then give the users the ability to define a variable. ( variable = Version type or corebook) example: Dungeons and Dragons - 4th Edition, Shadowrun - Second Edition or Warhammer 40k - Only War Dungeons and Dragons, Shadowrun, Warhammer 40k being the main catagory and then after the " - " is the variable. How do the developers feel about this alternative? It could work in a database since you have the initial catagory predefined.&nbsp; This idea is worth exploration. Beyond that, to reiterate what Riley said-- we're not looking for an all-inclusive / overwhelming list to exist in the automated format. &nbsp;In the previous incarnation of the Looking for Group system the most bemoaned flaw was the generality of searches making for missed connections. For example, people who typed "4E" vs. "4th Edition" vs. "DnD4E" vs. whatever other variation. &nbsp; We want to organize the BULK of requests in this system. &nbsp;Games that don't have a large amount of players in the first place, we aren't currently looking to support in this venue. &nbsp; We're very much aware that part of the appeal of Roll20 is the ability to get together a group for a game that finding a local interest for would be difficult. &nbsp;But we first need a system that's working for the major points of interest. If you're interested in making a proactive case about games with a smaller fan base, the best course of action to take is to FLOOD THE LOOKING FOR GROUP FORUMS &nbsp;with actual attempts organizing play (which is the ONLY reason for a category to exist). &nbsp;The games that are on the list now are things where on past surveys and current threads we saw a demand. &nbsp;Additionally, suggesting to others who are posting those "bulk" games in the forums that they might use the SYSTEM would be appreciated. Now there are absolutely some large games we've missed! &nbsp;The list is absolutely going to evolve. Having hundreds of categories for games that each have one (or zero) active searches is NOT what this system is seeking to accomplish.
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Gamma World. My very first campaign I ran on Roll20 was gammaworld. In Fact before Roll20 I had played Gamma World online via maptools for months.&nbsp; Question though, I like to run Indie games on here ever so often. How do I list those under the new system, since I can't expect you to add Fight! The Fighting Game RPG since what maybe 3 people on here even own it. -solved by actually reading "Other Games"
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Nolan T. J.&nbsp; said: Beyond that, to reiterate what Riley said-- we're not looking for an all-inclusive / overwhelming list to exist in the automated format. &nbsp;In the previous incarnation of the Looking for Group system the most bemoaned flaw was the generality of searches making for missed connections. For example, people who typed "4E" vs. "4th Edition" vs. "DnD4E" vs. whatever other variation. &nbsp; We want to organize the BULK of requests in this system. &nbsp;Games that don't have a large amount of players in the first place, we aren't currently looking to support&nbsp; in this venue. &nbsp; We're very much aware that part of the appeal of Roll20 is the ability to get together a group for a game that finding a local interest for would be difficult. &nbsp;But we first need a system that's working for the major points of interest. The all above here is great, and I agree having something with broad categories to quickly plunk down some staples, genres or major players works, but you need to take some hints from the library world here and include a text field with auto complete from a controlled vocabulary to fix that terrible problem you list in the first paragraph there. Forgive me for linking if you already know what this is, but I am amazed at how many developers I talk to have no idea: &nbsp; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabulary" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabulary</a> &nbsp;. &nbsp;There are plenty of places to suck down or scrape a more or less comprehensive game list to populate such a vocabulary and then tweak it to fit what people are looking for and mitigate the problem you are having with game title authorities. edit: and just a little more info if the above link intrigues you and it is a new topic:&nbsp; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authority_control" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authority_control</a>
I like the system so far, but lack of timezone and general availability or preferred play times really limits the use.
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Edited 1378412840
Tom
Pro
Nice and helpfull update guys I would like at some point on your next update though 1. Separate "hours played" as a GM, and another as just as a &nbsp;player in your profile. 2. Some type of rating system for GM's as well as players here. &nbsp;Now that can be a huge fish to fry I know, but something simple to start with. Start with a list, icon or whatever of GM's who completed a whole game, be it a short mod to a full fledged Campaign. Same with any player completing a full RPG type game. Have some sort of short poll for GM's and players alike, for those fully completed games to fill out on the site here, was on time and never MIA most of the time, would you play/GM with X in another future game here? Short and sweet but meaningfull for players and GM's to look at what is/was happening in this community and who is a good GM/Player to get on your next game sort of thing. Cheers, thanks Tom
With regards to the list of systems, first a correction: "A Song of Fire and Ice Roleplaying" is incorrect, it is "A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying" (SIFRP). There are many systems I would like to see on the list to make it easier to find others who play them. For example: Palladium systems like Rifts and Robotech. However, one system that I hope has enough users to warrant addition to the list immediately is Mutants &amp; Masterminds.
Alex L. said: Riley D. said: And a list of achievements? That would ruin the fun... :P is Patron of the Arts working correctly? I got some packs off the market today its not on my profile yet. There was a bug earlier. Should be fixed now.
You guys continue to update the site to great effect. Thanks for all the continued hard work.
Rider ἀρετή said: With regards to the list of systems, first a correction: "A Song of Fire and Ice Roleplaying" is incorrect, it is "A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying" (SIFRP). Fixed that, thanks for pointing that out.
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Edited 1378455844
Alex L.
Pro
Sheet Author
Marcus B. said: I like the system so far, but lack of timezone and general availability or preferred play times really limits the use. @Riley: +1 to this, would save a lot of time to just be able to search for someone who can play when your game is. Also I'm now only missing one known achievement.
I'm just very glad to see Traveller now has its own category. Having said that, I'd like to give my support to the idea of sub-categories of games. Traveller is definitely an example. Someone looking for a Mongoose Traveller game can be spared the disappointment of searching for Traveller and finding only Classic and Traveller5 games currently available, neither of which would fit the bill. I would say that this scenario actually makes differentiation of editions MORE important for the smaller games, because often you'll run into this with games like Shadowrun or Traveller.
I'd like to be able to list *any* game. &nbsp;I have a hankering for old school runequest but it's impossible to find players.
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Edited 1378489104
earn achievements Cancerous gaming culture where everyone needs their hand held and recognition for petty tasks is spreading to what I thought was one of the few bastions of gaming not covered in memes, edition wars, and armchair *** who think everything is sexist. How do you disable those consolation trophies from crapping up your own profile so people don't end up using them as weapons against yourself and other users to create a hostile circlejerking community? The second a website starts keeping score is the same second it starts to go downhill. Look at Reddit for god's sake. Edited by Riley D. on 9/6/2013