I really think the chat is one of the things that should not be a hassle. So I say no to skill, craftable objects etc that would stop new players from having access to basic chat functions. For me personally that is not an immersion breaker.
If you want craftable communication devices maybe one way could be that you recieve a basic version in the sanctum when entering the first time. Then it would be possible to update it with additional features maybe. Or just visual if it is something that is visible on the character.
Just like @CosminNegoita I loved the chat in world of warcraft.
Oh heck no to global chat or chat channels at all.
Some of us don’t like our screen getting spammed with messages while we’re hunting or strip mining. This isn’t Minecraft. We don’t need a server wide chat. If people want to feel more connected with one another then they should go on exploration trips and find towns, villages, cities, etc. to make saved location points to warp to later on if they want to revisit.
Part of this game is exploring.
I find the communication device solution better cause it limits the amount of spamming on someone’s screen to a few people.
perhaps there could be a compromise? for example, you can have a friends list that you can talk to on a global chat, but everyone else is just proximity? just an idea, and I can see some problems with it already…
No chat channels at all. If I have a guild or in one I expect to use Discord. Not in game communication. Even high traffic locations should be setting up Discord servers to bring the people who visit those locations often more together.
No to private messaging too. There are better solutions to provide us with private communication methods. Such as crafting a letter out of cloth or leaves or wood and delivering it to someone’s mailbox. Even this kind of basic idea could prompt people to charge others to deliver letters or messages to other players.
A lazy solution like having chat channels just results in more stuff being shown up on the screen. Asking for chat channels is one step away from having colored text that just starts putting eye sores on people’s screens. Whenever I join a Minecraft server with a busy chat, I just turn it off cause it fills my entire screen. I hate it. It’s unnecessary.
The only times I believe it’s okay for chat on my screen to be spammy is when I am in a high traffic market place in someone’s town, village, or city. People actually interacting with one another who are actually standing in game near one another is how the chat should be done.
Right now it’s already spammy when 3 or 4 people are talking together. Chat scrolls up so fast cause the more you type into a single message the smaller the right side of the text gets. So you have to break up your sentences and that just scrolls the chat box even faster.
I don’t even like the existing chat system in the game. I had a conversation with whereyoubeen in the game and it was just us. We were breaking our sentences up so each of us could read them clearly. I was missing parts of what he was saying cause I couldn’t scroll back up in the chat box and read what he said. This is a problem and will only scale as more people join the game and start communicating in game in the same place as other people.
How do you imagine a MMO game where social aspects are a huge part of the game with NO chat at all?
And why is discord better than in game chat? I personally find it quite annoying to alt tab all the time.
This isn’t even your typical MMO. Even in your typical MMO I turn off chat or switch it to a chat tab that isn’t very active because the general population of those games I don’t bother interacting with. I can’t think of any guild or player base in any MMO that wouldn’t use an out of game form of communication and use it a their primary communication method.
You want people to interact with each other in this game right? Feel more connected with each other, right? Why not give people a reason to explore the planet they’re on? Give them a reason to actually have to stand next to someone to talk to them. The suggestion of a communication device helps with that. Maybe the proximity of the messages are sent out 1500m from the beacon’s location to everyone in reach.
The reason Discord is better than in game chat is because it isn’t in game chat. You don’t have to be in the game to talk to people who are a part of Pixel Gate or Aquatopia or any other city. It also has a VOIP component which is superior to anything in game. You don’t have chat scrolling issues on Discord like you do currently in game when more than 3 people are talking at the same time in the same area.
Chat channels is just a lazy and uncreative way to do it. There has to be some effort involved by the player to feel as included as they want in the game.
There just my opinions anyways. If chat channels are implemented, I don’t want them global. I would like them to exist only in the place in question, like Pixel Gate or Aquatopia.
I’m with cryptic on this one. People usually organise themselves on discord and other outside game means. In game it’s just so cool not to see chats going on constantly. Forums are good too.
Mailing or having couriers is real mmo cause it uses game world and keeps people interacting differently than just typing.
Well @crypticworlds I can’t say that I agree with you… I want to have guild chats and PM’s. I don’t want to go out of the game to chat with guilds that I’m in, or have a private conversation with someone.
Yes, let’s go ahead and make the shout distance in the game that gives people a reason to go travel and actually interact with other players pointless in the game. Instead let’s replace it with a chat system that allows players to communicate with others halfway across a planet or even across planets without supporting any other game features in the game, such as crafting and building.
Yes, let’s advocate for a chat system in the game that doesn’t actually promote player interaction.
Hey hey hey, calm down and try to keep this a civilised conversation. we don’t need an argument,
Any way lets try to keep this friendly and have a good chat and come to a compromise about this problem.
Don’t want to start an argument as your points are quite good.
Any way, the point that you made here:
Is quite odd as most players will only interact with people they see “face to face” in-game and not over a chat channel, for the most part.
Here’s the thing that I understand so far from what people want who have posted in the thread.
Player interaction
Sense of connection with the world
Global chats in MMOs have never accomplished this. Traditionally in MMOs the chat systems have been very basic and standardized across not just MMOs but most multiplayer games. This doesn’t mean Boundless needs to follow this same traditional approach to its chat system. In fact, we already see this with the shout stat.
If you want to achieve more player interaction and sense of connection with the world, then you can’t have that by giving the player base of a game the equivalent of real world text messaging. Cause when I text my friend that’s 500 miles away, I am not interacting with them. I am interacting with my phone to send them a message.
These two things that people want more of also can be solved with a larger player base.
I do think it would be pretty cool to have an Oort Ham Radio to send broadcasts to other towns though or craft mail letters or packages and leave them in someone’s mail box.
Stuff that makes people craft or build more things in the game is a great thing. Stuff that makes people want to travel from place to place is also a great thing. I think suggesting these types of things enriches the gameplay and if it helps with communicating with other players then that makes it perfect.
Anyways, I hope I didn’t get on anyone’s nerves. I know I can be pretty ‘aggressive’ sometimes and stubborn in my positions when joining discussions. I just want to see the game be more amazing than I can imagine it can be. Now back to mining some diamonds on Andooweem!
Yes it is great if we can build and craft more things. But since the function of a simple text message is so easy to send other ways, Im not sure a restriction in the game will have a real effect.
If you want to send 1000 blocks of refined sedimentary stones it is a totally different story. That cant be sent via Discord or a pm on the forums. Then it is great to have a mailbox for example.
/Edit
I like the idea to be able to send a crafted letter with text in the game. I just have a hard time imagining that being widely used if you have to deliver it to the door. And perhaps you dont even know where the person lives. So I would prefer to pop it into my own mailbox and it would be delivered to the recipient. Otherwise I would probably use it once or twice for the novelty.
people can’t PM each other, instead they have to send letters. If you are 12 or even 8 years old and you’re not very social at this point you will hardly ever communitate through 3rd party softwares. In this situation game tells you “WE DON’T WANT YOU TO TALK WITH YOUR FRIENDS”. And remember that most minecraft players are not even teenagers. Adults world is different than kids world, they may have milions of reasons not to join discord but still may want to be a part of a guild.
Game with no PM system basically blocks you from simply asking “Hey, are you home? Maybe you want to hunt some mobs?”. Instead you have to travel through world to reach your friend.
Game with no public chat makes you feel lonely. Ofc you see lots of people around but when no one is talking you ask yourself “What is going on? No one is talking. Is this game dead?” because in every online game THERE IS a chat. Let’s not make boundless different. At this stage I’m playing this game and I know it’s full of life because I’m active at forums and at discord. But most players don’t even know about discord, neither they check forums.
I agree with that if you want to create something more, form a solid guild you need an external forum/discord but limiting players posibilities in game is just bad. It’s like telling group of friends at a meeting to communicate with each other only using written words when they could just simply talk.
According to letters, I highly support an idea of offline messages you can put into other players mailboxes when they are offline. I never really used built in chat, mail system.
Game with no public chat. Kind of funny. We already have a public chat in game that is restricted to a radius around your character. Just because it isn’t planetary doesn’t mean it isn’t public chat.
If you want longer range of communication in the game then find a more creative suggest than “let’s add planetary wide global chat channels so little kids can feel more connected to other players”.
Yes, let’s make it different. Cause then what’s the point of playing it over a game that’s older, with a larger player base, and far more established communities of people? Not really a whole lot outside of better graphics.
The game already has things in place that can support more creative ways to deliver communication to players long distances away. I think those ideas need to be explored before just adding in global chat channels. This is a game about being creative with what you build, right? Let’s try and suggest things that expand upon that. That’s one of the points I’ve been trying to make.
