Suggestions

[heartsonfire]

A small suggestion:

Oftentimes, at the end of a match a message will display saying "Error, the ladder could not be updated" (or something to that effect). To my knowledge, the ladder does update later, but it's a constant source of complaints and frustration from players when they think their win was not registered. Perhaps the message could be changed to "Ladder could not be updated right now - it will update later"?

[Qegixar]

Here is my list of suggestions.

1. Be able to see all stats for all of your pokemon. Currently, the only stat you can see in-battle is the HP of your active Pokemon. Make these stats visible even if the pokemon is fainted or you are currently trapped. This data is visible in-game; it should be visible in the simulator.

2. At the end of each turn, add a statement to the log naming each active Pokemon (and that Pokemon's species), and what percent hp they are at.

3. Stop changing the names of the tiers. Make things like (suspect test) a modifier, not part of the actual name.

4. Make it easier to find other players, join their games, etc. Have a friend list, or at least a better organized list of players than the giant, constantly-shifting super list that is next to impossible to navigate.

5. Make the player avatar persistent.

6. Add a command to give a description of a tier. Currently, it just links to Smogon, but not all of the tiers available are detailed on the Smogon website.

7. Remove CAP from Random Battles.

[Great Sage**]

Regarding some of your suggestions:

1. You can go to the teambuilder tab to look at your team if you have forgotten while you're in a battle.
2. This is unnecessary, since you can see the Pokemon on the field and their HP percentage anyway.
3. This is necessary so we don't have to wipe the ratings of a particular ladder.
7. No.

[PureQuestion]

Great Sage: I suspect #2 is for when logs get posted, say, on the forum. It would be pretty handy for that.

[Relados]

Originally Posted by Fat PureQuestion

Great Sage: I suspect #2 is for when logs get posted, say, on the forum. It would be pretty handy for that.

It would still be more helpful to post a replay of the battle rather than logs if seeing that is necessary - changing the logs to add insignificant detail isn't needed.

[Zarel*]

When reporting a bug, please please please save a replay. Replays contain a lot of hidden information that a text log won't give. They also run on the exact same battle engine as the PS client itself, so you can see exactly what went wrong for client bugs.

[Qegixar]

Originally Posted by Fat Great Sage

Regarding some of your suggestions:

1. You can go to the teambuilder tab to look at your team if you have forgotten while you're in a battle.
2. This is unnecessary, since you can see the Pokemon on the field and their HP percentage anyway.
3. This is necessary so we don't have to wipe the ratings of a particular ladder.
7. No.

I know I can go to the teambuilder, but I shouldn't have to. Random battles and Challenge Cup also don't have a team that I can look up in the teambuilder, so this is not a perfect solution anyways. Also, I cannot check the current HP of my Pokemon in the teambuilder.

Number two is technically not necessary, but it would be convenient so I don't have to write down each Pokemon's total HP on my own at the end of every turn. However, the actual game does not include this feature, so it is not exactly necessary. It would be nice, though. Also, it does help lend some context to an excerpt of the log. At the very least, the log should state how much HP a Pokemon has on switching in.

Number three may be necessary given the way showdown is currently coded, but it doesn't make it impossible to do. I just get frustrated when I am forced to keep changing my team's tier so that it will be recognized by the system.

As for the CAP in Random Battles, I just want to play Pokemon. CAP is not Pokemon.

[akela]

Originally Posted by Fat Qegixar

As for the CAP in Random Battles, I just want to play Pokemon. CAP is not Pokemon.

Then play OU. Or NU. Or UU. Or RU. Or CC. Or Ubers. Or BH. Or Hackmons. Or Little Cup. Or Glitchmons. Or Haxmons. Holy crap, it looks like you have options!

[Zarel*]

Originally Posted by Fat Qegixar

Number three may be necessary given the way showdown is currently coded, but it doesn't make it impossible to do. I just get frustrated when I am forced to keep changing my team's tier so that it will be recognized by the system.

Oh, so that's what you mean. Yeah, I've been meaning to fix that for a while; don't worry.

[Jukain]

Would it be possible for commands you mess up to not appear in the chat? Like, if you type /rank and the user you put doesn't exist, it shows in the main chat. If you mess up the syntax, it appears in the main chat. Could you make it not do this please?

EDIT: hmm idk I've seen people type like /changeavatar and it appear in the main chat

[Zarel*]

Originally Posted by Fat pokemon0078

Would it be possible for commands you mess up to not appear in the chat? Like, if you type /rank and the user you put doesn't exist, it shows in the main chat. If you mess up the syntax, it appears in the main chat. Could you make it not do this please?

No one else sees it, you know. The message is private to you. There isn't really a better place to put it...

[naagza]

Originally Posted by Fat Qegixar

Number three may be necessary given the way showdown is currently coded, but it doesn't make it impossible to do. I just get frustrated when I am forced to keep changing my team's tier so that it will be recognized by the system.

As for the CAP in Random Battles, I just want to play Pokemon. CAP is not Pokemon.

To add on to #3, I'd like to suggest the idea of being able to add more than one tier modifier to a team such that it can be shown to be for more than one tier. This is something I could see being particularly useful for Balanced Hackmons teams, as many BH teams are actually good for Hackmons as well.

Oh, and if you hate CAP so much, they don't appear very often in Random Battles anyway.....

I also have another idea (not really a high priority thing and idk if it could be done): What if after a user is muted/banned, an auth member can choose to ERASE the comments he/she made that led to being muted/banned from chat. I could see this being particularly useful for whenever a user posts one of those .tk links.

[heartsonfire]

Originally Posted by Fat naagza

To add on to #3, I'd like to suggest the idea of being able to add more than one tier modifier to a team such that it can be shown to be for more than one tier. This is something I could see being particularly useful for Balanced Hackmons teams, as many BH teams are actually good for Hackmons as well.

Oh, and if you hate CAP so much, they don't appear very often in Random Battles anyway.....

I also have another idea (not really a high priority thing and idk if it could be done): What if after a user is muted/banned, an auth member can choose to ERASE the comments he/she made that led to being muted/banned from chat. I could see this being particularly useful for whenever a user posts one of those .tk links.

The ability to erase a user's comments prevents that user from taking a screenshot or log in order to make an appeal of any sort, though.

[MJB]

Originally Posted by Fat heartsonfire

The ability to erase a user's comments prevents that user from taking a screenshot or log in order to make an appeal of any sort, though.

If they are banned they cannot make a screenshot anyway...

a universal /clear for auth has been thought of before, but im not sure if its actually in the works or not

[naagza]

Originally Posted by Fat heartsonfire

The ability to erase a user's comments prevents that user from taking a screenshot or log in order to make an appeal of any sort, though.

Well...perhaps they could make it that the spammer/"moron" is among the few that can still see the comments made if it were to be done. Maybe make a certain rank auth and the individual can see them afterward, while hiding from the general populace online at the time?

[heartsonfire]

Originally Posted by Fat MJB

If they are banned they cannot make a screenshot anyway...

a universal /clear for auth has been thought of before, but im not sure if its actually in the works or not

To my knowledge you can still grab a screenshot anyway; I asked Mikel about it and he test-banned a mod to see if they could grab a screenshot. IIRC the disconnect box would pop up but you could still see the screen.

[Joim]

I don't know if this has been asked before, probably yes, but we really need a /faq command so we voices and up (or any user who reads /help) can answer fastly without having to repeat the same things over and over.

/sim/faq could mention how decay works too.

In fact I want the command so badly that I've made it myself:

case 'faq':
case '!faq':
case 'stafffaq':
case '!stafffaq':
showOrBroadcastStart(user, cmd, room, socket, message);
showOrBroadcast(user, cmd, room, socket,
'<div style="border:1px solid #6688AA;padding:2px 4px">Need some questions answered?<br />' +
'- <a href="http://www.smogon.com/sim/faq" target="_blank">Frequently Asked Questions</a><br />' +
'- <a href="http://www.smogon.com/sim/staff_faq" target="_blank">What does the staff do? How do I become a voice?</a><br />' +
'- <a href="http://www.smogon.com/sim/faq#decay" target="_blank">Why this guy who just lost gained a lot of points?</a><br />' +
'</div>');
return false;
break;

The next thing I want to suggest is kinda situational, some days, like today, there's something important happening and users keep asking what's happening, like when the forum was down. When you are working or just doing anything you keep copying things, so it would be cool if there was a command, perhaps only available to voice and above, that buffered a text and a second command to send it to the chat whenever, something like:
/savetext or /st message
/sendsaved or /ss and the message is output in the chat.

[MJB]

Originally Posted by Fat Joim

I don't know if this has been asked before, probably yes, but we really need a /faq command so we voices and up (or any user who reads /help) can answer fastly without having to repeat the same things over and over.

/sim/faq could mention how decay works too.

In fact I want the command so badly that I've made it myself:



The next thing I want to suggest is kinda situational, some days, like today, there's something important happening and users keep asking what's happening, like when the forum was down. When you are working or just doing anything you keep copying things, so it would be cool if there was a command, perhaps only available to voice and above, that buffered a text and a second command to send it to the chat whenever, something like:
/savetext or /st message
/sendsaved or /ss and the message is output in the chat.

So for point 1 this has been discussed quite a bit and I think the final consensus is it would spam the chat more then just answering the question each time.

Also you can send a pull request yourself if you have a github account (which take about 5 minutes to make) so you can just add your code yourself (if Zarel accepts it anyway :P)

For the second point this is an interesting idea.

[Zarel*]

So, you want macros? They're an interesting idea and implemented in some games, but sort of unnecessary for PS if all you're using them for is to answer common questions.

The point of the !whatever commands is to be a scripted response to common questions. If there's a common question and no command for it, you can ask for it to be added...

[Joim]

Oh, I didn't know, though I'd rather see if it gets a warm welcome first :) imho it wouldn't be that spammy, just as !intro or copypasting for the 9000th time "That's decay, X, you lose rank blabla then gain it blabla" or "go to staff faq here's the link - LOL staff fag", heh

Edit: Well, my idea was to macro answers, yes, but macros in general would be awesome.
I'd like a /faq as I said, it seems hard for people to find both faq and staff faq.

[heartsonfire]

!FAQ broadcast command would be good if people would read the FAQ when linked. Cynical me thinks some users might not bother reading through it all, but I suppose it's worth trying (I am assuming it's something that can easily be added to PS).

A slightly more complicated idea: multi-part !FAQ command. Allow me to explain. Some websites, like Wikipedia, have links within their article that jump to certain parts of the article (for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokemon#Video_games) that go directly to that part of the article. If the FAQ page could be modified to accept URLs like that (for example, http://www.smogon.com/sim/faq#GXE would take the page directly to the question "What is GXE?"), there could be broadcast commands that take you directly there. !FAQ decay or !decay could broadcast a link that will take users right to the explanation of decay.

I don't think it would be necessary to create a URL/command for every part of the FAQ page, just the ones that are commonly asked about and harder to explain (harder to explain = an answer that is more than a few words). Decay and ladder problems (Nice new ladder corruption message, by the way) come to mind as the two most common questions.

Also, it seems the question "Why isn't the ladder working" on the FAQ page has an incorrect answer. To my knowledge, the ladder usually updates even when it gives an error message in the battle. In the FAQ page, it says/implies that ladder errors mean no change to rating at all, no matter what.

[Joim]

Yeah, hearts, that'd be HTML anchors which are really easy to add to a page. I'm all for a FAQ revamp to add the common questions about the ladder!

[Relados]

Putting in a !faq command has been debated and is usually rejected - not that we could do anything if it was added, but it is generally agreed that having it would result in it being used too often, clogging up the chat with a lot of !commands. I used to support putting it in (as I helped make the faq) but the objections of others have convinced me otherwise. Another problem is what you've already mentioned, how users don't read the !commands. I don't even think shortening !commands into linking parts of the faq will help - it all means nothing if people don't read it.

(I still support the FAQ being added as a link like the bug reports are, which I've suggested before)

[mikel]

Originally Posted by Fat Joim

Yeah, hearts, that'd be HTML anchors which are really easy to add to a page. I'm all for a FAQ revamp to add the common questions about the ladder!

If you want, tomorrow night or something when I'm on, we can hammer out a revamp kinda thing and I can put it on-site. Idk about putting in HTML anchors - the FAQ page isn't too big and it's probably going to end up as more effort than it's worth.

[Joim]

Originally Posted by Fat Mikel

If you want, tomorrow night or something when I'm on, we can hammer out a revamp kinda thing and I can put it on-site. Idk about putting in HTML anchors - the FAQ page isn't too big and it's probably going to end up as more effort than it's worth.

Yeah, sure, that'd be great, I'll be on at my usual time!
Maybe it gets bigger after a revamp, but you are probably right.