Search Not So Good

[DeletedUser7629]

IMO the search seems to just not be that good. Or not as "Smart" as say google or other games' wikis (like Oblivion or Skyrim's). Now I know its still very young, and tiny compared to them others, but my point is, is that if nothing is mentioned, then how will it get better. I love this game and everybody's effort into it, I just see improvements can be made.

So far I'm getting so angry that the search doesn't work like a real "comb through everything" brain like others usually do. I came across something about a week ago, and now I can't find it no matter what I search for even if I search the same thing I did before. And this happens a lot.

Similarly just doing random searches, I never seem to come up with what I want. Also the way the search results are laid out is rather "techy" looking and not nice and streamline clean "user friendly" looking (like other wikis) - Honestly, I didn't even realize they were results at first. lol

Hard to explain what I feel in detail, but I just know it ain't right. Can't explain it. Bottom line is I have problems accomplishing anything with this search engine, and I don't anywhere else. So...... yea... hope this helps

 

[DeletedUser]

^Strongly disagree. I am also new to this game and have used/searched the Wiki extensively since joining. I have found everything that I asked for quite easily.

Maybe you need to rethink the types of key words you are using?

 

[DeletedUser7629]

^Strongly disagree. I am also new to this game and have used/searched the Wiki extensively since joining. I have found everything that I asked for quite easily.

Maybe you need to rethink the types of key words you are using?

Well I don't have a problem with any other searches I use anywhere else. I am not saying I can't find anything at all, I am saying I feel its "robotic" nature and results more than some other search engines have a more intelligent feel and result list than this one. That is all I am saying, and it would be awesome to find out what it is the others are using and upgrade to that. IMO.

IE: In other games wikis (Grand Theft Auto, Oblivion, Skyrim, etc..) you can literally type just a small phrase of the dialect from what one of the characters said in a mission in the search box and up will come up the mission, the name of it, the character that said it, a walkthrough, lol, literally a hundred things on the mission of which you never typed, but yet all you typed was what someone said in one part of the mission. THAT is intelligence within the search engine and that is what this one lacks.

Just take any random quest lets say.... that quest "A Threat From Outside". Now take any small line from its dialect, lets say, "I think I know of which tribe he speaks". Ok, type that in the search, NOTHING comes up.

Not a big deal I agree, defend it if you want, BUT my point is, other search engines would pull this off and give you several results on the mission from which that comes from, on top of that everything about it and etc... And this is what I mean. Simply put, it could be better, even though it is working.

This type of power in a search engine is cool, and extremely more useful. Several times all a person can remember is one small thing about something and its great to be able to type it in the search and have the search pull it up for ya.

 

[DeletedUser298]

Yea cause those are wikipedia pages and stuff made by the communitty of millions of people, our wiki is just a small wiki ran by ToT and his Mot's, I don't think the search option is that bad, I find what I'm looking for.

 

[DeletedUser]

Just take any random quest lets say.... that quest "A Threat From Outside". Now take any small line from its dialect, lets say, "I think I know of which tribe he speaks". Ok, type that in the search, NOTHING comes up.

I really do not understand your logic for choosing that type phrase to search, it seems convoluted....IMO. I would think searching for more common phrases or wording, e.g., 'quests' would have provided a more relevant result.

In fact, using your example, I pulled up the wiki page, briefly scanned the portal links on the left hand side of the page and found the entire list of Island Quests - in detail - with almost no effort.

Not a big deal I agree, defend it if you want, BUT my point is, other search engines would pull this off and give you several results on the mission from which that comes from, on top of that everything about it and etc... And this is what I mean. Simply put, it could be better, even though it is working.

I fully comprehend your point - I just flat out don't agree with it. But, to each his own. Good luck.

 

[DeletedUser7629]

Yea cause those are wikipedia pages and stuff made by the communitty of millions of people, our wiki is just a small wiki ran by ToT and his Mot's, I don't think the search option is that bad, I find what I'm looking for.

Yea, I don't think it is that bad at all either. I find what I want too But I am glad you understand what I am saying. And I agree, its the millions of people making them engines operate like that. Thats why in my first post I said "Now I know its still very young, and tiny compared to them others, but my point is, is that if nothing is mentioned, then how will it get better. I love this game and everybody's effort into it, I just see improvements can be made."

Its just they offered a forum for suggestions to make things better, so hey, I mention it. Ultimately I think they are doing a great job ! And I think we all can agree anyone who thinks a giant forum and/or wiki and/or game for that matter can be perfect with no room for improvement so early in its life is just immature thinking.

 

[DeletedUser]

Hi there,
Thanks for the feedback.

I fully appreciate what you're saying, however something to consider is the fact that this game is much less complex than the others that you listed.
There is less detail to go into, so rather than having many pages for different things on the wiki, I group them all together. If you want details on quests, you need to go to the quests page. Searching for a part of a quest's text may well bring up that page, however it would be better to just search for 'quests' and then search that page for it.

The wiki is not even low down on the dev's list of jobs, it isn't even on the list. I can do changes to content and the like, but cannot do anything about its interface or features.

Sorry!

Tom

 

[DeletedUser7629]

The wiki is not even low down on the dev's list of jobs, it isn't even on the list.

LOL ! Wow - Ok, that I didn't know.. and that is pretty funny.

Hi there,
Thanks for the feedback.

I fully appreciate what you're saying, however something to consider is the fact that this game is much less complex than the others that you listed.
There is less detail to go into, so rather than having many pages for different things on the wiki, I group them all together. If you want details on quests, you need to go to the quests page. Searching for a part of a quest's text may well bring up that page, however it would be better to just search for 'quests' and then search that page for it.

The wiki is not even low down on the dev's list of jobs, it isn't even on the list. I can do changes to content and the like, but cannot do anything about its interface or features.

Sorry!

Tom

Absolutely no needs for apologies brother,(please) - I think you are doing a outstanding job, and honestly, I really like the Wiki and I can see and appreciate the extreme amounts of hard work and thought that went into it and that goes into its progression. I knew the staff working on the Wiki were small, simply due to the popularity and size and (like you said) complexity (or non-complexity) of the game, but dude, I had no idea the Wiki Staff was that small or unimportant to the deb's. Dang ! Hope they realize one day that Wiki's now a days are a games strongpoint (of course after the game itself). But my point is Wiki's are now overtaking purchasable cut down trees Strat Guides... they a part of the past now, its all about the Wiki, and how fast you can find the info your looking for without having to comb through pages.

Wiki's are a must IMO.

And yea, I know a better way to search for the example I was giving, but my point was, the example was showing situations players get into... (I guess something MalloryKnox just ain't seeing or wanting to try to understand), see sometimes we came across something briefly a few days ago, but want to find it again, or learn more about it, but can't remember if it was a quest, part of the main storyline, nothing at all, maybe another game even (lol medical stuff) and well, we want to type in just the small segment that our brain remembered that day... See ? So per Mallory's or your suggestion, how would we type "quest" ? We wouldn't know if it was a quest or not. Cause we know so little about it we can't think of a better word or group of words to search for. See what I'm saying ? Top that with the fact that we want it quick.

In any case, Tom, man your doing a excellent job, and lightyears better than most people (or I) could ever do, so definitely tip my hat to ya on that. All I was doing, was bringing up a opinion coming from a seasoned gamer that uses Wiki's like crazy and I figured the staff might want to hear about my experiences with their newly developed system compared to the others/the competition, I use etc.. Definitely not a big deal as I really love the game and am having a awesome time tooling around on the Wiki and forums.

 

[DeletedUser]

And yea, I know a better way to search for the example I was giving, but my point was, the example was showing situations players get into... (I guess something MalloryKnox just ain't seeing or wanting to try to understand), see sometimes we came across something briefly a few days ago, but want to find it again, or learn more about it, but can't remember if it was a quest, part of the main storyline, nothing at all, maybe another game even (lol medical stuff) and well, we want to type in just the small segment that our brain remembered that day... See ? So per Mallory's or your suggestion, how would we type "quest"? We wouldn't know if it was a quest or not. Cause we know so little about it we can't think of a better word or group of words to search for. See what I'm saying ? Top that with the fact that we want it quick.

In any case, Tom, man your doing a excellent job, and lightyears better than most people (or I) could ever do, so definitely tip my hat to ya on that. All I was doing, was bringing up a opinion coming from a seasoned gamer that uses Wiki's like crazy and I figured the staff might want to hear about my experiences with their newly developed system compared to the others/the competition, I use etc.. Definitely not a big deal as I really love the game and am having a awesome time tooling around on the Wiki and forums.

I have no idea what you're complaining about. It's a very comprehensible wiki. All of the information you may need can be easily found in less than a minute. What else do you want? A wiki that read minds and knows exactly what you want before you type it?
Searching for 30 secs for something isn't at all "convoluted". The Grepo wiki is one of the most newbie-friendly wikis I've seen.

How will you not know if it's a quest or not? There's a clear distinction between everything in the game. You spend 30mins in the game and you already know what quests are, building upgrades, researches, units etc etc. Once you know that, you can search anything easily.

Your example of "see sometimes we came across something briefly a few days ago, but want to find it again, or learn more about it, but can't remember if it was a quest, part of the main storyline" is unclear to me (much more so than the wiki ). So, you saw something 3 days ago and don't know what it is? Wouldn't you at least remember if it was a quest, unit, divine unit or anything like that? If you remember a phrase from 3 days ago you will definitely be able to know what it was connected to and you can find it within minutes. And even if on the off chance you can't connect it to anything - welcome to the forums, ask us a question...

~Torgaddon

 

[DeletedUser]

(I guess something MalloryKnox just ain't seeing or wanting to try to understand)

Mallory understood you just fine. It seems that you took offense to someone simply not being in agreement with your assessment of the wiki. But, there is always someone on the forum happy to help - glad you got it resolved.

Searching for 30 secs for something isn't at all "convoluted". The Grepo wiki is one of the most newbie-friendly wikis I've seen.

I agree wholeheartedly, but just wanted to clarify - Infa Red did not claim that searching for 30 seconds was "convoluted". I suggested that his choice of search phrase(s) (as in his example) was "convoluted" and that it could be a reason why the search did not yield the results he'd hoped.

 

[DeletedUser7629]

Gotcha all. Your all great.

Guess the real foundational point is being missed here, even when we say its not. Forget it, its ok, and I do appreciate the effort and time you guys took to chime in. At least we are keeping the forum alive aye ? lol.

Side note (just to understand the real point here - no agreeing or disagreeing, thats not applicable in this thread really): Tom the builder of the Wiki confirmed he understands and knows what I'm saying, BUT at least gave me the reasons why, and I agree. This Wiki is too young, literally a 1 man staff (at least a 1 man genius though ), game not as complex as them other games to cause the search to act like that, etc...

So again, how could there be agreement or disagreement ? Really the point is not to find a work around for help (though thanks), nor is it to ask why would I forget, or type this or that or anything (cause I like to be a idiot and not spell things right if I want). None of that is the point of the thread. Its just to note that other Wiki's searches work differently (which by fact are indeed better undeniably), and why is this one not operating like them. Thats all. I was answered. Its done. Its a fact. And its ok. And yes, you can use it great I understand, so can I. But until you use them others and this one both regularly, I guess you won't see the difference or my point to the thread.

Its not bad, or a agreeing or disagreeing thing. Its more like, (hilarious example, but) - I notice Wiki A running "Search Engine 4.0", this Wiki is running "Search Engine 2.0" . Can we fix ? How do you disagree to that ? You could say it don't bother you, or it does bother you too, etc.. but you can't agree or disagree. Its a fact this Wiki's search doesn't operate like them mentioned others. But it doesn't for good reasons for the time being. Saying: "so what", just cause this Wiki can be used, isn't the point either. Its a "A" vs "B" thing, not a "I can use it or I can't use it" thing, or a "heres how to use it better" thing. Its "A" vs "B". Thats all.

 

[DeletedUser]

I agree wholeheartedly, but just wanted to clarify - Infa Red did not claim that searching for 30 seconds was "convoluted". I suggested that his choice of search phrase(s) (as in his example) was "convoluted" and that it could be a reason why the search did not yield the results he'd hoped.

Yeah, I know, I just decided to use the same word, probably should have removed the quotation marks. My apologies for the confusion.
I stand by my statement though, the Wiki is easy to use.

~T.

 

[DeletedUser]

My apologies for the confusion. I stand by my statement though, the Wiki is easy to use.

~T.

No apologies necessary, my friend - you and I are totally on the same page.

 

[DeletedUser3146]

Tom does a great job in keeping the wiki up to date. If you think there is something missing all you have to do is let him know and he will research it and if needed then he would add it.

I find it very useful when doin some research that I may need and Tom knows the game very well and if he does not know the anwser to your question then he will find it.