Mandatory auto select better for fast games

[nkossman]

I wish it was mandatory for fast games to make everyone play with auto select better. Or add an ultra fast category that requires auto select to be on. OR allow me to filter only opponents that have auto select on. I feel like this would create an enhanced experience for those that want to play a faster game.

[ufalumbc]

...and on top of that, it amazes me that this game has been in play so long and we're still forced to select auto stuff EVERY game. As if programming and offering players a way to just set it as their default is some sort of Herculean effort that is beyond the pale of average mortals.

I'm only at about 2500 games, though.
I can't even imagine how frustrating it would be if I was the OP, with his 9200+ games.

[Suoivax]

...and on top of that, it amazes me that this game has been in play so long and we're still forced to select auto stuff EVERY game. As if programming and offering players a way to just set it as their default is some sort of Herculean effort that is beyond the pale of average mortals.

I'm only at about 2500 games, though.
I can't even imagine how frustrating it would be if I was the OP, with his 9200+ games.

You realize this is all done by volunteers, yeah?

[ufalumbc]

You realize this is all done by volunteers, yeah?

Interesting. I never saw that note on the bill I get every year to pay for this service.

*yes, I realize this game is maintained by people who volunteer, but the real question is: do you realize that when people volunteer, they do so of their own free will? what...we should all just fall upon our knees and thank the gods for the volunteers, without ever suggesting things could/should actually be improved?

[Jellby]

Interesting. I never saw that note on the bill I get every year to pay for this service.

Did you see what you're actually paying for?
https://boardgamearena.com/premium

[Meeplelowda]

what...we should all just fall upon our knees and thank the gods for the volunteers, without ever suggesting things could/should actually be improved?

Requesting improvements and pointing out inefficiencies in the interface is fine.

This condescending tone is not:

As if programming and offering players a way to just set it as their default is some sort of Herculean effort that is beyond the pale of average mortals.

[ufalumbc]

Did you see what you're actually paying for?
https://boardgamearena.com/premium

Actually, I did, thanks.
On that page - the one you linked - it says the following:
"Board Game Arena is dedicated to bringing the joy of board games to a global audience. To achieve this, we offer our core service for free. However, to sustain our operations and ensure fair compensation for game creators and publishers, we rely on the support of our Premium members. By subscribing, you directly contribute to the platform's growth, enabling us to expand our game library, improve our services, and continue to promote the wonderful world of board games."

Fair compensation for game creators and publishers.
Directly contribute to the platform's growth...improve our services...

In general, this discussion seems to have gotten off-topic, largely because people are more interested in discussing my tone or seeming lack of appreciation, when in fact, the website itself says the kinds of things the OP posted are well within the bounds of the compensation provided.

And Meeple...I wasn't being condescending. I'm more than capable of that, but this wasn't that.
This was frustration. What...you're telling me that in all these years, it never occurred to the devs to offer a default for players to set their game play preferences as OP suggested? Or that it's simply too burdensome, given their existing workload?
If we want to have those discussions, fine...then say that. Whether they're volunteers or not is irrelevant to the discussion at hand: that there's a game improvement that, quite frankly, should have been made years ago has nothing to do with whether the task is managed by volunteers or not. And yes, it's frustrating to have to keep clicking three times at the beginning of every game - in the same way that it's frustrating to have to go through several clicks to open a new tab in Chrome rather than simply middle-clicking once. These are first-world problems, but again - what is it we're supposed to say? Please, oh please...gracious volunteers, please do the thing that apparently the website says they pay you to do? And we're not allowed to express the least amount of actual frustration in the process, lest some Grand Master of Communication Tone Judge deems it to be condescending?

The comment I made was, as I said, frustration. It was me saying "Look...I'm no great programmer or anything, but I do know that it's not that hard to program a default." The same as I know it's not that hard to program an actual set of filters for watching games in progress (although offering to sort "by relevance" is awesome when you've provided no filters to determine what would make a game relevant or not). And I'm more than happy to request these things, as Meeple deemed was "fine" for me to do. I did.

And what was your response to that, Jellby?
Oh, that's right...it was you basically telling me how I'm supposed to enjoy the game. Because it's much easier to tell people that we should change than to actually make the relatively small change I asked for?
So we can pay for a service which says that part of the charge is to continue to improve the services, and we can ask for services to be improved, but when we're basically ignored and/or told to change who we are, we should maintain a tone free of frustration.

That how it works?

*also note: I was asked to be a Guru for this game, which - as I understand it - is to provide inputs, because ostensibly, the inputs I'd give might be valuable to improving the game experience.

[Suoivax]

Do Guru's do more than just vote on the next arena settings?


I've been a Guru for numerous games... never had any involvement in development or maintenance.

[nkossman]

Dang, how did this turn into a Nextdoor rant?!?

[ufalumbc]

Dang, how did this turn into a Nextdoor rant?!?

Yeah...my apologies. Had I known that people would twist what I said into an excuse to be victims, I'd have just kept my keyboard shut.

Perhaps now someone will address the actual suggestion.