New Looking For Group addon - LFG

[Dhana]

**UPDATED to v1.0.3 on Oct 13**

Hi All,
I've just finished the first release of an addon to help form groups for dungeons/raids/battlegrounds.
Although it is called LFG, I believe it doesn't have the pitfalls of the LFG feature Blizz added in the expacs, as you still have to contact and talk to the people you wish to group with, and it's obviously not an *pop* instant group tool.

Basically, it allows you to see who is looking for what, without having to constantly spam /LFG /World channels.

Here's what it looks like:


The addon can be downloaded from here: http://tonicturtle.com/LFG.zip (182KB)
and includes only the normal lua files (lua/xml/toc) and a few small icon, and the 2 screenshots above.
It also has a README file with more info (if needed the readme is available here http://tonicturtle.com/LFG/README.md ).
There are no executables to steal all your keys and loots.

Let me know what you think of the addon.
This is my first addon, so obviously some of the code will not be super-optimized. Feel free to contact me for bugs / suggestions / advice at [email protected]

Happy grouping!
Dhana (60 Druid on Kronos I)

 

[Revo]

so ppl got to have this addon installed to "participate"?

 

[Dhana]

You don't need to have the addon to join the groups, but you will need to addon to be visible to others with the addon, yes.

It's an addon that allows you to 'Fire & Forget' your LFG requests, keeping your dungeons wishlist visible to others without you having to spam channels every 2 minutes basically.

 

[sipertruk]

Hello I gave it a try.

I like the interface simple enough and effective.

Little problem I had : Minimap button bags hides my buttons causing a lack of update. I suggest putting "this:SetScript("OnUpdate", LFG_OnUpdate)" in LFG_OnLoad instead of attaching it in the xml.

Unregistering takes a bit long time to take effect in the list, maybe a new type of message can solve that.

The list could show the number of group members.

I would be happy to see a lfg tool replace the cancer spreading world channel.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Thyestefles]

You know just a few posts down is the addon vque which does the same thing. What is the difference other then trying to split the people up using the two addons which makes them both ineffective?

 

[Dhana]

@sipertruk
Thanks for the comments - You should be able to move the minimap button just by dragging it. I'll look into the adding the script into the OnLoad.

The unregistering takes up to a minute, as it's waiting for that ping to happen. I'm looking into a 'cancel' message to make it quicker

Adding the number of people currently in your group is a great idea - adding it to the list


@Thyestefles
Thanks for the feedback. I tried vqueue before deciding to create my own, but didn't like it too much and decided to come up wiht mine. vQueue reads your channels and shows up interest based on keywords, whereas LFG uses a dedicated and formatted channel for this, removing spam from world/trade etc.
THere's other addons like CallToArms as well, but didn't work for me I guess.
Why create another? Well it's a fun project for me, and there is always room for improvement!

 

[moh]

Little problem I had : Minimap button bags hides my buttons causing a lack of update. I suggest putting "this:SetScript("OnUpdate", LFG_OnUpdate)" in LFG_OnLoad instead of attaching it in the xml.

Myself I suggest to not rely on attaching update frame to Minimap at all, as it causes lack of update for players who have it hidden ( like me ).

 

[Dhana]

I'm fairly new to addon development - how do you get a similar onUpdate action when you hide the frame/minimap?

I added the minimap button assuming it would always be there, and therefore would keep pinging

 

[moh]

Using Lua approach:

local updateRate = 5 -- seconds
local LFGUpdateFrame = CreateFrame("Frame")

LFGUpdateFrame.elapsed = 0
LFGUpdateFrame:SetScript("OnUpdate", function()
	this.elapsed = this.elapsed + arg1
	
	if this.elapsed >= updateRate then
		this.elapsed = 0
		-- your code to run every 5 second
	end
end)

OR

Using the XML approach:

<Frame name="LFGUpdateFrame">
	<Scripts>
		<OnLoad>
			this.elapsed = 0
			LFGUpdateFrame_OnLoad()
		</OnLoad>
		<OnUpdate>
			this.elapsed = this.elapsed + arg1

			if this.elapsed >= 5 then
				this.elapsed = 0
				-- your code to run every 5 second
			end
		</OnUpdate>
	</Scripts>
</Frame>

(code was written on fly without testing, so may not necessary work )

Basically, the frame doesn't have to be visible to player to run the code you want.

@edit

Doesn't the OnUpdate script only trigger while the frame is visible though?

Exactly, but it have to be only visible only from "game point of view", for player it may be invisible (no textures, text, nothing; hell it doesn't have to be attached to any visible on screen fames to work)

 

[Dhana]

That's Awesome thanks Moh.

I've just released an update (1.0.1) which shows the number of people also in the group of the requester, and which should also remove people from the list quicker when unregistering.
The link in the Original message should point to the updated addon



Will look into adding your changes to the next version, Moh.
Doesn't the OnUpdate script only trigger while the frame is visible though?

 

[sipertruk]

So I went to Uldaman and as soon as I entered the zone (not the instance) I was unregistered. Maybe it would be better to unregister only when the group is full, because I could even be inside the instance and be still looking for people.

Another cool feature would be to display a custom message. It could be that way : you register, then in the list hit a button located on your own line. A pop up box let you input your message.

 

[Dhana]

The automatic unregistering can be toggled in the Settings panel, but i like your idea of only applying it on a full group.

the message bit is nice too, i'm actually addin something similar, where the addon parses the official LookingForGroup channel and logs requests in the addon with te message (similar to vQueue). I could have a custom message added there too.
will look into it.

thanks for your input!

 

[Dhana]

New Update now available (1.0.2)

The addon now parses the LookingForGroup and World channels and detects random LFG request from players in those channels and adds them to the list.
They show up with the name, and the Whisper/Invite buttons, and hovering the mouse over their name shows the actual message they wrote.



The addon tries its best to decipher the message and put it in the right Instance group (a la vQueue) but it quite simple at the moment. I'll improve it over time.
This really helps get more activity in the addon. Random requests from those channels stay visible in the addon for 5 minutes (instead of 1min, since they don't get repeated as often)

I'm also added the suggestion of only unregistering when entering a dungeon with a full group (as opposed to by yourself)

I'll work on adding the interface to add a custom message next (for example BRD "lava run", or DM "tribute").
As usual, any issues, questions, suggestions - let me know.

http://tonicturtle.com/LFG.zip

Cheers
Dhana

 

[Nervz]

I tried it and i really liked it.. It doesnt detect all the msgs but still it is great and you can find people for instances much easier!
The only problem i found is that while it is active it bugs out the addon Aux!

 

[Dhana]

I tried it and i really liked it.. It doesnt detect all the msgs but still it is great and you can find people for instances much easier!
The only problem i found is that while it is active it bugs out the addon Aux!

Thanks Nervz, I also saw some errors popping up (everytime i got some xp basically) and added a quick fix for this in version 1.0.3.
Hope it fixes your issue too.
http://tonicturtle.com/LFG.zip

 

[oldi]

could you move to a more transparent resource like github?
And I did not understand the fundamental differences from vQueue. What features of vQueue are present and which are missing in your addon, and what's new, what was not before?

 

[meeoty]

That's how vanilla died, they made LFG tool :/

Beside using hidden channel for announce roles and dungeons, does this addon monitor [world] and [LFG] channels? Would be great, if you lfg/lfm and people saying LF Dungeon name (or abbreviation), at least bring this to your attention. Also auto spam in these channels would be great (and by spam I mean like once in 5-10 minutes, with meaningful text like LFM "Dungeon names" [LF Tank:0 Heal:1 DD:2], + for invite (LFG addon vX.Z), with auto inviting people who /w inv or + .

Diversity option would be great as well, if 5th member is rogue and trying to get invited, at least warning "we have 1 druid, 1 shaman, 2 hunters" will make some sense. You can add info [Plate:0 Cloth:2 Leather:2 Mail:1].

PS: Ignore half of this post, somehow I missed previous message from you