Default card - bug report + feature request

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tengu avatartengu 3 years
{"ops":[{"insert":"When a card is first searched or added as directly in text, sometimes the default version selected seems incorrect. (Scryfall usually has a good default card displayed)\n\nCurrently it (seems to) default to the latest printed version. This has a few issues, one I believe to be a bug and the others are personal requests. Of course, just my personal opinions :)\n\nIn order of importance:"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \n 1. Default is foreign language version, if the latest printing is not in English [bug]\n • Request - "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"show most recent English printing"},{"insert":"\n • Example - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Cho-Manno, Revolutionary (default is \"Cho-Manno, revolucionario\" from Salvat 2011 - PS11)"},{"insert":"\n\n 2. Default is highest collector number, if multiple alternate boarder/art versions\n • Request - "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"show lowest collector number in a set"},{"insert":"\n • Reasoning - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"\"Upgrades\" are not a good default state and can have a significant price disparity"},{"insert":"\n • Example - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath - default is #343 TBD, instead of #229 TBD"},{"insert":"\n\n 3. Default is masterpiece frame, if it is the latest printing\n • Request - "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"show last non-masterpiece version"},{"insert":"\n • Reasoning - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Alt frames are not a good default state and can have a significant price disparity"},{"insert":"\n • Example - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Swords to Plowshares - default is STA"},{"insert":"\n\n 4. Default is digital version, if it is the latest printing\n • Request - "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"show most recent non-digital version"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":" (if available)"},{"insert":"\n • Reasoning - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"A mix of digital and paper versions is visually jarring. Also paper versions generally have cleaner formatting."},{"insert":"\n • Example - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Aeronaut Admiral - default is KLR "},{"insert":"\n\n 5. Default is secret lair, if it is the latest printing\n • Request - "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"show most recent non-secret lair version "},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"(if available)"},{"insert":"\n • Reasoning - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Individual Secret Lair cards are not commonly owned and are not a good default state. Also visual styles vary widely."},{"insert":"\n • Example - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Decimate - default is SLD"},{"insert":"\n\n 6. Default is the List or Mystery Booster, if it is the latest printing\n • Request - "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"show most recent non-list & non-Mystery Booster"},{"insert":"\n • Reasoning - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Low individual print numbers make the prices unreliable, also why have the planeswalker symbol when you can have the identical original printing?"},{"insert":"\n • Example - "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Council's Judgment - default is PLIST"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"In summary:"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" 0. Display latest printing by default, with the following exceptions\nIgnore latest printing if there is not an English version"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"If multiple collector numbers in a set, use the smallest number"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ignore latest printing if \"is:masterpiece\""},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ignore latest printing if \"is:digital\""},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ignore latest printing if \"set:SLD OR is:promo\""},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ignore latest printing if \"set:MB1 OR set:PLIST\""},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n* Wherever possible, of course some only have these versions\n\nIt seems that for all the examples above, Scryfall chooses the most \"standard\" card as one would expect.\n\n-----\n\nI believe this is different from "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/forum/thread/19355/1"},"insert":"Cheapest card version available"},{"insert":", which is a feature to request all cards to set to the cheapest version. This instead requests the search and text upload defaults to be set differently.\n\nIf any of the above changes are possible/desired I would be grateful. It would certainly save me plenty of time going though and reverting all the random alt versions to the standard cards. Especially as Wizards continues to make ever greater numbers of \"special versions\" of the cards, this would become an ever greater task. Of course, players opting into special versions should not be limited, only discussing the default state.\n\nThank you for reading and all you do!\n\nCheers!\n\n(all examples are as of Feb 21, 2021)\n"}]}
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{"ops":[{"insert":"Thank you for the very thoughtful suggestions! I apologize for the slow response, but I wanted to go over this with our lead dev so I could respond as accurately as possible.\n\nSo while what you describe here would indeed get us to the \"best\" version of each card to display by default with a search, the difficulty comes in with the number of queries we'd be doing in sequence. Essentially, every additional search parameter to check before a result is provided slows down the process a bit. Unfortunately, this can add up very quickly. So we have to sorta tread the line between providing \"good\" results (i.e., versions of cards like you've described above) and fast results. I certainly won't claim we have a perfect balance at the moment, but having the site feel snappy and responsive is very important to us. Bogging each search down with too many additional queries comes at this expense.\n\nNow there is a possibility we could get around this a bit by preprocessing the database. This means instead trying to figure out which version of Sol Ring to show every time a search that would yield it is performed, that version would already be stored somewhere. This would get around the snappiness issue, but present some new challenges for us in terms of data storage-- we would need to have that information saved for every card in the game "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"and"},{"insert":" keep it up to date with every new release. \n\nSo that's a rough summary of the situation we're working with. It's absolutely an area that needs addressing, it's just a bit of a balancing act to do so without disrupting other aspects of searches. Regardless, we appreciate the suggestions-- if not directly implementable, it's an excellent thought exercise for how to conceptualize what an ideal search looks like. Thank you for your time! \n"}]}
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tengu avatartengu 3 years
{"ops":[{"insert":"Thanks for the response! I appreciate the effort in reviewing the technical implications of this, especially for such a large and constantly updating database.\n\nA thought for if/when you start preprocessing the database:\n> It appears that Scryfall has selected the 'best' version under \"default cards\" https://scryfall.com/docs/api/bulk-data\n(as far as I understand)\n\nOf course, not sure if you use them and the challenges of managing the storage.\n\nDefinitely appreciate the work you are doing. Cheers!\n"}]}
Edited 2/26/2021, 10:22:28 PM
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