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Fix the search feature

A topic by Arks💢 created Apr 18, 2020 Views: 1,307 Replies: 8
Viewing posts 1 to 5
(+3)

There is really no good reason why the search features works the way it does. In the browser it works perfectly and not being able to find what you are looking for often renders the client unusable.

Admin

Can you tell me more about what you’re searching for and what you expect to see? The app search code is a bit different, and we will be updating it but it’s good to have document cases where it’s not working as expected.

Thanks

(+3)

Not a problem.

From a UX perspective the case is as follows:

"When I am searching I expect to find an overview of results with images and descriptions just like I would on the web page. Instead I am provided with a confusing list of results with nothing to put the results into context, except when they are individually hovered. A list that doesn't seem to provide the same results as the main search feature. In addition; hitting 'enter' does not either bring me to an overview of results, as it usually would, but instead brings me to the first result of the search."

- The main problem with this is that it is inconsistent with what users have grown to expect from search field behaviour. Items listed below a search bar are in the most usual cases meant to serve as suggestions and not as the actual results of the search. 

- Additionally it is inconsistent with already learned behaviour from the website, which we can relatively safely assume people use more than the client.


Please excuse my initial post that was written in frustration. I am like many others very grateful for the platform you provide and greatly appreciate all the effort you put into it.

Keep up the good work.

(2 edits) (+3)

I got an example.

I want a game called "see no fear", i type it up, i click enter, https://cool-username-on-itch.itch.io/fun-fun-fun-fun-fun-fun-fun-fun-fun opens up.

I want this:

Not this:

(+3)

I tried to search up "UZG 2", the game's name is literally just "UZG 2 (BETA)" and yet none of the results give me what I want, and instead give me some random ahhh song from a year ago.

(+1)

Was hyped about hearing the app search was being updated to match the website, until I saw that this was posted 4 years ago.

Gonna assume that's not gonna happen, then. Ripperoni.

💢💢💢💢

(+1)

As of this time, this is still a problem.

For example, If I search for "Daggan" on the itch.io website, it correctly lists 2 name matches, followed by something related, and then the rest of the results are similarly named things. I shall list the first 10 results below in order;

  • Daggan (+18)
  • Daggan Pink (+18)
  • Card game, prototype (+18) [Also Daggan Related]
  • Danganronpa Zero: Memory Lapse
  • Dangan GB
  • Danganronpa: Dead End
  • Danganronpa: Lapse
  • Danganronpa: Bursting Love
  • danganhell (2013)
  • Danganronpa Fanfic (DanganFanfic) v2 - New World Order Prologue (Character...

If I type "Daggan" into the search tool in the Itch client, it lists 16 games that have literally nothing to do with Daggan. I shall list the results from the itch.io client below in order;

  • A Dance of Fire and Ice
  • CrossCode
  • Friendly Bunny Mochi
  • Russian Subway Dogs
  • Oikospiel Book I
  • Tales From Off-Peak City Vol.1
  • The Norwood Suite
  • Off-Peak
  • Betrayal At Club Low
  • DLC
  • DYO
  • Monolith
  • DLS
  • Monolith (Demo)
  • Cube Trains
  • The Things We Lost In The Flood

If that was the end of it, I'd merely be annoyed, but to spice things up a bit, if you type "Daggan" into the itch client search bar, it does actually pop up with Daggan! For a moment anyway. After some random amount of time (ranging from half a second to a few seconds), it swaps it out for the botched search again.

But if you then erase a bit of your search and type it back in, the search seemingly fixes itself?!

This seems to be a bug, and it would be great to have it fixed. I know this likely isn't the place to report bugs, so I thought I would put it here.

(+1)

A more detailed example: Let's say I find a game using itch.io's search filters; let's call it "Copper".

If I type "Copper" into the desktop app's search bar (above the tabs), Copper would not show up.

However, if I open Copper's page in the app (using the search filters),  the search bar above the tabs would then start working correctly and searching "Copper" would display the correct result from now on.

But that would still not match the website's search, the website would show much more than just that one result.