Guild Wars 2

Proposal

Add Commander Tag Squad Messages to Mini-Map Tooltips

Introduction

Hello! I am here to suggest a solution to a problem I, and I suspect many more players, encounter on a regular basis. This solution is based upon existing technology in the game.

Problem:

There are often multiple commander tags on a map, and there is no easy way to discover what each commander is doing.

Currently, when you enter a PvE map, you have no idea if a tag is offering portals, leading a map completion, doing a guild event or asking for help with an open world experience.

Available Technologies:

1) Mini-map elements show applicable tooltips when rolled over.

2) Squads have a “squad message” capability.

Solution:

In addition to the commander name, include the text of the squad message in the tooltip. Commanders will be able to describe their activities in the squad message, to ensure the most relevant players follow them.

Potential Obstacles:

1) Maximum length of squad messages is excessive for a tooltip.

2) Reading the squad message database object generates a heavy performance hit on the server when used in this manner

3) Commanders may create disruptive squad messages.

Conclusion:

I think there’s a huge value to this. What do you think?

That doesn’t sound too bad.

It’d be nice if squads had the ability to put an LFG-style title on it. Offensive/disruptive messages are already covered under regular rules so that’s not an issue.

It’d be even cooler if people don’t want text to have little icons that would represent an activity.

I think this would be a great idea, with the following change:
A summary section or headline is added to the squad message, to be displayed on mouse-hover over the commander’s tag.(instead of the long message.). Enough for one decently long sentence like: “Map clear, no hearts or events”, “Chest train – all welcome” “Mastery point and hero point train”, etc… this would deal with 1), and somewhat with 2).
As for 3), troll commanders can do this in other ways if they’re going to.
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I think that this would be a very useful feature for mentor tags as well.

I’d also ask for one more thing: That the mouse-hover squad message headline/summary be set by default to “I’m a poser idiot who just wants to be seen from space!” So that people who buy commander tags as a vanity tag and make no attempt to actually learn about commanding will be seen for what they actually are.
<edit>
I think that this would be an excellent feature to add to mentor tags, as well.

A commander prefix in maps would be helpful, too. mentors get one when their tag requires 0 effort to actually get, and commanders have to dump a significant amount of gold for their dorito (which still needs black and white flavours, by the way).

But yes, a way to describing exactly what I’m using my tag for on a map that someone could see at a glance would actually be a great help

Elden Arnaas.4870:

I think this would be a great idea, with the following change:
A summary section or headline is added to the squad message, to be displayed on mouse-hover over the commander’s tag.(instead of the long message.). Enough for one decently long sentence like: “Map clear, no hearts or events”, “Chest train – all welcome” “Mastery point and hero point train”, etc… this would deal with 1), and somewhat with 2).
As for 3), troll commanders can do this in other ways if they’re going to.
<edit>
I think that this would be a very useful feature for mentor tags as well.

I agree that it would be nice for mentor tags, too. Does a mentor tag enable a squad message too?

No, mentor tags don’t allow you to form a squad, so there’s no squad message. This is why a short tool-tip style mouse hover message would be very nice for mentor tags. “Helping with map clear”, “Guided tour of [Map]”, “Answering questions”, etc…

Elden Arnaas.4870:

No, mentor tags don’t allow you to form a squad, so there’s no squad message. This is why a short tool-tip style mouse hover message would be very nice for mentor tags. “Helping with map clear”, “Guided tour of [Map]”, “Answering questions”, etc…

This makes sense to me, though the “Apple panic” maps full of mentors might be a problem with all the tooltips. Maybe this is value that comes with spending the gold on a commander tag.