New lobby (integrated to game page)

[Sjarmtrollet]

Here: https://boardgamearena.com/gamelist?menu=favorite

You're welcome.

That doesn't work. I believe games are supposed to be defaulting to your last played state (I can't find the post detailing how that was supposed to work), but for a number of games, including ones I've started recently, it's incorrect, most notably having the real-time setting on instead of turn-based, which is most of what I play.

What do you mean? It does work, you can start several Arena games at the same time, like you (EDIT: the other poster) asked for. If the default is wrong, it's very quick to change it with the drop-down list. In the old lobby you had to switch at the top, here you have to switch mode for each game. It's just different.

Perhaps you started a realtime arena game of those games after you recently started turn-based ones (because it is currently not possible to start turn-based arena games at the end of the arena season), that would probably update the settings.

One thing that doesn't seem to work, though, is to start both an arena match and a normal match of the same game at the same time from the gamelists. The icon is grayed out. You have to go to the game page or the old lobby to do that.

The other issue is that it's not easy for me to switch between simple and arena for the same game - sometimes a friend might ask me to start a game with them, and I decide I'd like to play it in arena too. This is easy in the old lobby, and impossible here - I am forced to go to the game page. Sure, not a big deal if I'm only doing it for one game, but again, I have had the scenario where my friend asks for 3-4 different games and maybe I want to play all of them in Arena, and now I'm going around to several game pages. Or you know, I can do it all within 30 seconds in the old lobby.

Could you explain how you do this within 30 seconds in the old lobby, I don't understand it. The lobby stops searching for any games if you switch game mode between normal game/arena games. At least it does for me, so I just use game pages instead.

EDIT: I see it's possible if you first create and open a manual table for your friend (that is four clicks and going to another page if you stay in the same tab, for each game). When you return from arena mode to normal mode, all your tables are collapsed and have to be reopened.

And it's not impossible from the new game list - as long as you have played both modes for the game. You just click on the drop-down list to change game mode. And as you stated, I think it defaults to your last played settings of the game.

[nik592]

What do you mean? It does work, you can start several Arena games at the same time, like you (EDIT: the other poster) asked for. If the default is wrong, it's very quick to change it with the drop-down list. In the old lobby you had to switch at the top, here you have to switch mode for each game. It's just different.

For me, the drop-downs all seem to have only a single option and it's often the wrong one. I checked the first four rows on my game page (20+ games) and they all had only a single option. I've played 172 games in the last 60 days according to my profile and I guarantee 95% (or more) of those were turn-based. I haven't played any real-time games for ages, except for a few Lucky Numbers which I dabbled in recently.

For example, Ark Nova defaults to 2p, real-time, default options. Going to the game page shows my actual last settings, 3p, turn-based, Custom Setup. I'm currently in 3 turn-based Ark Nova games, all of which I created, as two are with friends, and the third I created through the old lobby. I've never played real-time Ark Nova, I don't usually have that kind of time to commit to BGA with two small children running around.

Memoir '44 as another example also shows real-time. Since about December last year, my partner and I have been working through the different scenarios - I haven't played with anyone else. We only play turn-based.

This might just be a bug, but I can't find any other report of it, and I'd assume it may just be because of the way I use the site that it hasn't saved settings in there. That said, searching for bugs this generic is difficult since the searching only supports a phrase and not multiple individual keywords.

Perhaps you started a realtime arena game of those games after you recently started turn-based ones (because it is currently not possible to start turn-based arena games at the end of the arena season), that would probably update the settings.

No, I haven't started any new arena games since the ability to start turn-based ones ceased for this season, as is usual for me at the end of the season.

Could you explain how you do this within 30 seconds in the old lobby, I don't understand it. The lobby stops searching for any games if you switch game mode between normal game/arena games. At least it does for me, so I just use game pages instead.

I misspoke - 30 seconds is what I meant for starting up my Arena games. Creating the tables does take a bit longer, moreso due to the loading between the lobby page and table pages. But the lobby doesn't stop searching for turn-based games if you switch - perhaps it does for real-time, but I don't generally play real-time.

One thing that doesn't seem to work, though, is to start both an arena match and a normal match of the same game at the same time from the gamelists. The icon is grayed out. You have to go to the game page or the old lobby to do that.

Hmmm. I was going to acknowledge that if the drop-downs worked as you describe, the game list COULD do what I wanted to quite similarly. I would have to go into game pages to create games with specific opponents, but that's not significantly different to going to the Create table page. But if it means that after creating the table for my friend in the game page, I then can't start an arena game for myself, then it's useless.

The other problem is that the game list seems to default sorting to relevance. I prefer last played, and that generally makes games easier to find as I have an idea when I last played a game. But the game list doesn't hold my preferred search (which the old lobby does), as you seem to know, having raised a bug recently for that. Yes, bugs are expected in a new interface, and hopefully that one will get fixed, but until it does, it's yet another reason why the game list is not a reasonable alternative to the old lobby - in a list like favourites, relevance may as well be random and that's not helpful in finding games quickly.

[cigma]

Here: https://boardgamearena.com/gamelist?menu=favorite

You're welcome.

That doesn't work. I believe games are supposed to be defaulting to your last played state (I can't find the post detailing how that was supposed to work), but for a number of games, including ones I've started recently, it's incorrect, most notably having the real-time setting on instead of turn-based, which is most of what I play.

Thank you for trying to help, Sjarmtrollet. But this is less more comfortable than the old lobby to me. It’s the same as nik592 described. When I click on a +-icon there, it says: "By clicking this button, you can quickly start a table search using the options selected on the bar next to it (by default it displays the latest settings you used)." But this is not true, these are not my last settings in these games. So which are they?

As you said in another thread:

If I need more options, or to check what options are available, I go to the specific game page. One thing, I wish that it displayed more info in the drop-down list, more than only stating "custom options" and arena.

If I have to check the specific game page to see which settings are actually set, what is this page good for? I need to have full information. I don't want to find myself in any game I didn't intend to play!

And beyond: The new lobby (either in this overview or the game specific page) doesn't tell me anywhere about the exact game speed per turn and the game time bonus. E. g. for Azul it says a fast game lasts 10 min, a normal game 11 min and a slow game 12 min. If I think I need 1 min per turn, which speed should I choose? It doesn't tell me. Thus conflicts about time exceeding are often to be expected.

Also, in the new lobby
- you can’t find the game chat
- it’s hard to see if the game is open to other players
- you can’t kick a player who went offline

KenFin1 has listed a lot more here: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewto ... 9&start=30

The day the old lobby is put off is the day I will very carefully think about leaving BGA!

[Wreckage]

I know this is an old thread. When this announcement was made two years ago…

As it is now, and according to the tests we have made, the new lobby is way better than the current one to start a specific game...

… the vast majority of members said: “we don’t like it”, “it’s frustrating”, “it’s confusing”, “it’s less functional”.

BGA answered: members always complain when there’s changes, so when we make a change we’re just going to ignore the feedback, and in the long run you’ll get used to it, and like it!

We’ll it’s been 2 years now and it’s still terrible. We all try to avoid this page if possible, but those of us you who use “rematch” are forced to this horrible page. All the old complaints are still valid.

One feature that is especially annoying is that you can’t chat with the table if you haven’t joined, or if you have joined but accidentally closed the chat box. This is terrible when running an event with lots of player, and there is no way to talk to a full table of players, and you’re in a hurry, to say what you need to before they start, and rush to another table of players and not be allowed to talk to them either.

I don’t like that I sound negative here. I’ve been a long time member, and I enjoy the site. But most changes after 2020 have made the experience worse, and my opinion has always been disregarded no matter how positive I’ve tried to be in the past. Being ignored again and again along with hundreds of other people gets old after a number of years.

[Stroom]

Every time I open the old lobby it now FORCES me to select what game mode I want to play. Have to do 6 clicks every time.
Simple game/arena/tournament
Real time / turn based
Friends/automatic/manual

Seriously horrible UX. Who comes up with these stupid ideas? Keep this selection in the memory and never change it until I do it myself.

[Lilly-Fee]

stimmt doch gar nicht ich spiele auf der alten lobby. man stellt alles einmal ein und dann bleibt das gespeichert. Ich stelle auch nicht jedesmal ein echtzeit oder rundenbasiert. ich verstehe dein problem nicht den bei der neuen seite mußt du auch auswählen echtzeit oder rundenbasiert oder hast du eine andere seite die ich nicht kenne.

[Meeplelowda]

Every time I open the old lobby it now FORCES me to select what game mode I want to play. Have to do 6 clicks every time.
Simple game/arena/tournament
Real time / turn based
Friends/automatic/manual

Seriously horrible UX. Who comes up with these stupid ideas? Keep this selection in the memory and never change it until I do it myself.

Mine remembers my selections (currently), but I've had and seen similar complaints to yours from time to time.

[Meeplelowda]

We’ll it’s been 2 years now and it’s still terrible. We all try to avoid this page if possible,

You can tell from my signature how I feel about this.

[Jellby]

… the vast majority of members said: “we don’t like it”, “it’s frustrating”, “it’s confusing”, “it’s less functional”.

No, the vast majority of members who bothered to say anything in the forum.

I don't like the "new lobby" and never use it, but messages posted in the forum are not a proper statistic of anything (except of messages posted in the forum).

[Tof63]

Hello everyone,

there's an extension that lets you (among other things) force the use of the classic lobby.

You'll find a (not super up-to-date) list of features here :
https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/ChromeExtension

as well as links to install the extension.



Enjoy