Universe Wide Chat... Why Is It Not A Thing?

[CoR]

Two words - P2P Connections... Ok 4 words depending how you look at it.

 

[xXCheeChowXx]

The thing is, you have to realize this is a "MMO" with its playerbase mostly absolutely despise the idea of MMO and what it stands for.

So a global chat will likely cause many of these kind of players to rage and complain about how it breaks their immersion. Considering people rose pitchforks against CQC rank being in the main game and wanting to remove it completely just because it breaks their immersion, I think something like this will raise hell over the forum.

I am personally indifferent about the idea, while knowing that it's going to be full of trash talking and profanity that will either go un-moderated or so strictly governed that no one uses the function.

Though some sort of PP communication channel would be great.

I am 98% immersion and I think it would be a great idea. I don't read chat much in most MMORPG's I've played and if I didn't want to read the chat in this game I just would not open the chat Pnl....easy. I think it would be kinda nice to be able to see who's LFG or LFW....hey just think of all the ambushing opportunities it would open up for all you baby seal clubbers .....lol

 

[Lustan]

Two words - P2P Connections... Ok 4 words depending how you look at it.

P2P doesn't prevent open chat, it just makes it challenging. Considering commodities and bounties are server driven, a chat system could be managed (though not necessarily served) by the same servers.

 

[Khelder]

P2P doesn't prevent open chat, it just makes it challenging. Considering commodities and bounties are server driven, a chat system could be managed (though not necessarily served) by the same servers.

Exactly. It would have to be server driven. Essentially a specialised IRC type of thing.

 

[Helgarth]

We need more communication, I don't even care the form it can take but we need it... We could make new friends, new groups, organisation, ... so much easier.

 

[Lustan]

Exactly. It would have to be server driven. Essentially a specialised IRC type of thing.

Server driven yes, but not necessarily a server at FD. It could use a distributed computing model, federated services if you will serviced by our clients.

 

[Khelder]

It could use a distributed computing model, federated services if you will serviced by our clients.

That's an interesting concept. It would add a lot of complexity to what would otherwise be a simple system.

 

[ocflyer]

In addition to the existing instance-wide chat, I can imagine a star system-wide chat, and a major faction-wide chat. And if FD would drop communications relays at key spots outside the bubble, I can even imagine delayed relay communications from explorers. Those would be useful without destroying the immersion with a galaxy-wide chat as though communications across a galaxy would ever be instantaneous.

 

[OamodSias]

In addition to the existing instance-wide chat, I can imagine a star system-wide chat, and a major faction-wide chat. And if FD would drop communications relays at key spots outside the bubble, I can even imagine delayed relay communications from explorers. Those would be useful without destroying the immersion with a galaxy-wide chat as though communications across a galaxy would ever be instantaneous.

Even system-wide and faction-wide would need a bit of a delay considering the distances involved; ED isn't a universe that seems to have a progressed in the field of quantum entanglement.

 

[CMDR Enceph Sagan]

If you have cracked FTL I'm pretty sure quantum entanglement is a drop in the bucket...considering we are already beginning to harness quantum entanglement and yet have little to no ideas about FTL.

I see no reason system-wide/instance-wide chat is immersion breaking. Especially considering a chat that would be accessed how Lustan so kindly illustrated

Plus even if we cut out quantum entanglement, there are still communication buoys and relays...heck there could even be missions tied to it when wanting to expand chat and such into further reaching systems. I know as a n00b I would've enjoyed some kind of way to chat with players and get help in game.

The definition of immersion breaking to me is how they have a link to a youtube video in the main menu showing you how to dock/fight etc. Plus...get over it. I love immersion as much if not more than the next guy, but this is still a game, and you will never forget that (well...maybe with VR)

 

[Vasea Azure]

No. Just No. (- actually, not just . . )

If youre arguing for chat features in a game capable of working while you use teamspeak for online interaction youre simply an idiot. You should feel bad for selfishly demanding a feature that a lot of players do not want, and the community would undoubtedly choose to switch off. If you don't care about others' immersion, tough tickle. Get over it - grow up and develop some compassion - and don't make it everyone else's issue if you cant manage that.

haha very funny commander - as you said yourself - "choose to switch off". Its a game, get over it. It wont brake your "immersion" - I laugh every time I read this word in this forums - if you turn it off. Unbelievable.

 

[hunvagy]

The way I see it it could be another tab in Comms. You wouldn't see the messages unless you were in that tab.

Here's a horrible concept I created using Paint. The names in parenthesis represent channel names. The name after the parenthesis is the commander's name.
View attachment 65135

In this interface you can join and leave any channel at anytime. You can also completely ignore this tab in Comms.

Disclaimer: No actual pursuit was made by Code against Sneezy.

I love the Code channel xD

But honestly, if something like this gets implemented, I really want filtering options, because that looks very very annoying, given how the comms panel is located, and how it works. Also good luck noticing any pertinent information with only one line showing per default, if this scrolls past as fast as your usual zone chat in an MMO. Unless you keep staring at the comms panel, you won't see any of this.

 

[OamodSias]

If you have cracked FTL I'm pretty sure quantum entanglement is a drop in the bucket...considering we are already beginning to harness quantum entanglement and yet have little to no ideas about FTL.

Possibly, although it's not a good idea to compare current research against the research that may or may not have been done in the ED universe. It's possible they did research but found it wanting (QE, if my Mass Effect history is on par, enables instantaneous communication anyway in space between two points, that's it - for an interstellar civilization) and ultimately dropped it, who knows?

I see no reason system-wide/instance-wide chat is immersion breaking. Especially considering a chat that would be accessed how Lustan so kindly illustrated

I see no real issue with system/instance chat either, or even galactic .. my issue is the instantaneousness of it that would be immersion breaking.

"Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space."
As such, an instantaneous chat system that has no basis in lore is immersion breaking; not to mention one of the main things which gives ED that sense of scale is the fact that you can't just open up a chat window in game and start talking to a plethora of people. Being in deep space, tens of thousands of kylies from home and being unable to communicate with people really brings it home that you are alone out there. Instant chat to your friends is bad enough as it is. Of course, this is my personal opinion and is no way rooted in fact; but I suspect a great many people feel the same.

As far as I am concerned, it has to a) fit into lore, and b) have an element of realism to it; by realistism I mean, whilst in human space, your chats are delayed - that delay gets shortened the closer you are to a communications relay (such as a station), at a station for example, there could be almost no lag time; it's perceptible but is minute. However, the farther you get from human space the longer the delay until ultimately, you can't global chat with anyone (this should be implemented across friend chat too).

Side-note: What people do outside of the game is their own business, if they want to TS they can. That's no business of the game.

Plus even if we cut out quantum entanglement, there are still communication buoys and relays...heck there could even be missions tied to it when wanting to expand chat and such into further reaching systems. I know as a n00b I would've enjoyed some kind of way to chat with players and get help in game.

If we cut out quantum entanglement and use modern radio waves (for example) to send communications, it would still take 4 years for a signal to get from Earth to our nearest neighbour as radio signals are a form of electromagnetic radiation and thus move at the speed of light. Even if they were to shorten that down to say, a few minutes, it would STILL take a long time for signals to get around human space.

When I was a noob, I was grateful for the lack of hand holding; I am sick to death of games holding my hand. I adore ED's style of dropping you into the deep end and saying "have it, Cmdr." Plus the lack chat actually helped my immersion by giving off the sensation that space is big - doing that in a game isn't very easy to do, and, imho, almost impossible when you can just be like "meh, approaching the eastern spiral arm, 75,000ly from Sol... so what you guys up to?" to a thousand players.

The definition of immersion breaking to me is how they have a link to a youtube video in the main menu showing you how to dock/fight etc.

Why are you trying to get immersion when in the main menu? That makes no sense.

Plus...get over it. I love immersion as much if not more than the next guy, but this is still a game, and you will never forget that (well...maybe with VR)

Of course I (and others) will never forget that, but we don't want it thrown in our faces every second through a global chat system which, quite frankly, was left out of the game for good reason (the devs didn't want chat spam which is inevitably what will happen).

So how about no, I will not get over it; I am entitled to enjoy my immersion, and I am equally entitled to express my displeasure at anything that I feel breaks that immersion. Just because YOU want something, doesn't mean other people must just roll over and take it.

 

[Helgarth]

BTW I would like to add something constructive (for once) that is itching me reading the comments...


I won't really argue about adding a chat or not (however I want it to be real)


BUT

Whatever you say, Elite IS a MMO, that's a fact, not a point of view. It's even stated as a MMO by Frontier itself.

The fact that you see it as a Solo game with online element is not bad but because most of the MMO's are a solo game with online elements (big one or not) but IT'S a MMO... I wouldn't maybe have considered buying it if I didn't see the MMO "title" given by Frontier.

+ seeing this as a solo game with online element is not opposite to seeing the chat as online element added.

Anyway I'll now argue about the fac tthat I'm for it.

Elite seems to be a niche game (like EVE) I agree that there can be sometimes a bit of spam but do you think that it will be as much as a classic MMO? I really don't think so. I remember 1 poil that was gathering the average age of the players. You are all (don't mind that) old fellah guys! And I hope wise enough to not spam the chat! You have to remember that the average age was something like 35. Do you really think that 35 years old guys will spam the chat like preteenagers? I hope not because I really do think that the world would be........ in danger...

Anyway for the immersion part. Well we already have a universe wide chat with friends within the same wing... Why it is impossible to have it wIth others? (sorry if I missed that but went to write this reply after seeing the solo game thing for the 5th time). We have the galnet news that you an read far far far away from home... I don't understand how this would be immersion breaking...

+ I really do think that it can result in good social interactions with new players (I was very happy to find some help on EVE, really!). It can help grouping as wings (and maybe making friend to play after), it can help with the powperplay thing (organise strategies, groups, ...), it can help to trade, to bounty hunt, to defend against griefers (care a griefer at XXX system called XXX!!). I see much good things in that that I found more positive than the immersion breaking thing when we already have universe wide friend chat.


I also agree that it has to be made very well hey! It has to be optional obviously! Like everywhere else...!

EDIT: I do really think that the most of the beautiful things in this game were made by social interactions...

EDIT 2: Well are you sure about the fact that one day we will be able to fly in space exactly like in Elite? I can't... Neither being sure that instant communication like that would NEVER be possible... This game is as surrealist as it's whole content...

 

[OamodSias]

haha very funny commander - as you said yourself - "choose to switch off". Its a game, get over it. It wont brake your "immersion" - I laugh every time I read this word in this forums - if you turn it off. Unbelievable.

Pro-tip: Stop thinking that everyone is like you.
Yes, a chat system could easily break some peoples immersion.
We know it's a game; but it's a game we like to be immersed in; and a lack of chat helps with that. Or rather, the lack of ability to instantly communicate with everyone across the vast distances of space helps with that. Some of us actually feel the chat to friends feature is going to far.

We are entitled to our opinions, we are also quite aware of what will and what will not break our immersion - YOU however, do not have a clue what works and doesn't work for people. So no, we won't "get over it."

 

[Vasea Azure]

Some of us actually feel the chat to friends feature is going to far.

Really? That's.. unbelievable. Whats the point of MP game then? Also how do you feel about galaxy wide Galnet that you can read everywhere?

 

[Varrag]

We are entitled to our opinions, we are also quite aware of what will and what will not break our immersion

That's okay... your sense of immersion is yours and yours only. Hopefully, you can accept the fact that other people may have slightly different definition. So when you talk about it, try to understand that some of us find lack of communication tools in one multiplayer game not only awkward, but also immersion-breaking.

 

[Robert Maynard]

That's okay... your sense of immersion is yours and yours only. Hopefully, you can accept the fact that other people may have slightly different definition. So when you talk about it, try to understand that some of us find lack of communication tools in one multiplayer game not only awkward, but also immersion-breaking.

Regarding the communication and the number of players - when does communication stop being effective simply because the rate that is comes in at exceeds the rate at which players can assimilate it while playing the game?

Using the 50,000 players each typing 100 characters per minute example above, if 100 characters was 3 lines in the text window then the text window would be rattling along at 2,500 lines per second....

 

[Helgarth]

Regarding the communication and the number of players - when does communication stop being effective simply because the rate that is comes in at exceeds the rate at which players can assimilate it while playing the game?

Using the 50,000 players each typing 100 characters per minute example above, if 100 characters was 3 lines in the text window then the text window would be rattling along at 2,500 lines per second....

It won't ever be the case...

Anyway if should be made it has obviously to be made in a proper way... With channels, everybody won't be in the same "room".

 

[OamodSias]

Really? That's.. unbelievable.

Some people really feel that, in a game where there is only instant communication across short distances, an instant chat system across the galaxy to your friends just throws the entire purpose of short range communication only, out of the window and whilst not game breaking is somewhat immersion breaking; it..spoils it; for want of a better term.

Whats the point of MP game then?

I think therein lies the rub of the problem. I don't see ED as a multi-player game; I see it as a single player game with multi-player elements (and I know I'm not the only one). I see it as thousands of Cmdr's going about their own business in the galaxy, impacting it in their own way. Thousands of individual solo experiences sharing the same galaxy. Thousands of solo's who can choose to work together if they wish. Pretty much like life, lol.

Imagine WoW, right - but without the raids, or the roles, or the dungeons. A world in which you can live and go about your e-life, doing what you like. Farming, trading, soldiering and so on. That's kinda like how I see ED.

It's MP in the sense that we're all in the same place, but we're meant to "blaze our own trail!"

And, I think, this is where the issue of a GalChat ( ) comes in; it breaks the idea of ED systems being separated and independent from each other; where communication is ultimately spread around through the ebb and flow of mankind as they move about space, or through short range communication buoys.

Also how do you feel about galaxy wide Galnet that you can read everywhere?

I don't like it. My preference would be for something like this: [ Unable to establish a connection with Galnet: You are outside of Galnet communication range ] when you attempt to open GalNet when outside of human space.