Chat window and basic message system

[rece ktore leczo]

Firstly about some minor problem i have with chat window. Basically it's that messages are shown in wrong order

I started from sending "1" and then "2" and so on. So to read chronically messages players need to:

1. read a line
2. go 3 lines up
3. read 2 lines
4. go 3 lines up
5. so on and on...

That's the problem because humans read texts from up to down but it's becoming problematic once we want to read messages in order in which they were sent because we constantly need to change the direction of our reading.

Solution: simply change that newer messages are shown at the bottom of the chatbox instead of the top. I think in every other game that's the way it works.



Now a small suggestion to implement a way to fast send a massages to own faction/squad.

Basically what i mean is something similar to system which is in other games like BF, WoT, LoL, etc.
By pressing one key on keyboard the menu would open with basic messages like "attack" or "follow me" and once chosen, it would be send to our faction-mates.
It's just a proved system which would help players without teamspeak or other similar programs.
Nothing fancy but can be handy.



BTW option to create a squadron from players not necessarily from the same faction, with some features like grouped FTL jumps or automatic defense (by turrets and drones) would be great.



PS i know these ideas aren't key ones for the game development and most likely right now there is no time to work on them, but it's always good to throw some new suggestions

 

[WolfChild]

The idea about the binded key that when pressed would automatically send a message like "Attack!" or "Follow me!" is something that would be very useful. It's in World of Tanks, those exact commands included, and it is fantastic. It is easy to spam with it though.

 

[rece ktore leczo]

It is easy to spam with it though.

Yeah that's the flaw. There might be a mechanism which allow sending messages only every 1 - few seconds but imo it's not needed. If we get that binded key message system then it should work only between members of squadron/faction. If one player would be spamming all the time then people wouldn't like to have him in the squad/faction and won't play with him.
Simple and effective

 

[NeonSturm]

The idea about the binded key that when pressed would automatically send a message like "Attack!" or "Follow me!" is something that would be very useful. It's in World of Tanks, those exact commands included, and it is fantastic. It is easy to spam with it though.

Yeah that's the flaw

It is no flaw. Just collapse messages within the last 5 lines which are written repeatedly to one line like "[2x] Follow me!", and make the counter red.

A nice solution would be a tactical view of your team-mates with status-messages (only 1 per person)
|or| having these the next few seconds at your screen border below/above an allied ship just like a text-bubble in comics, but more a terminal-bubble (not that comic-like), unless you are using comic-textures ofc :D


I worry a bit about too many hotkeys. I would approve something like typing "HELP" without opening a chat would send "Help me asap!" without doing actions from s,h,e,l and p keys; triggered by CAP-LOCK keys and choosen with an algorithm about the closest match (for the case of typing errors) to a pre-edited list.

 

[rece ktore leczo]

It may take a form like in Smite (similar game to LoL) where there are plenty of combinations for messages but i'd like to have 6-8 basic ones. What would they say can be decided by poll, but not necessarily.

I like the idea of collapsing messages.

Maybe not the tactical view or viewing team-mates but there might be some visual signs above players ships when using binded key messages.