Speech Dots Feedback

[Steve]

If this addition is staying, is there the option to make the dots 50% transparent or something, so they are the least obtrusive visually, as possible?

And really, if these dots happen also when sending a /Tell, then it should not stay. For the obvious reasons.

[thids]

what is possible but not quite the point I think, is opting out of the vfx showing on your own character.

No, this is entirely the point. I want people to know that I've typed a message after I do so and hit enter, and not a moment before then. I'm 'manually' opting out right now by exclusively using the CE to type, but that's annoying and it would be nice if I didn't have to.

Having to see all sorts of floating dots is dumb, be the core of the issue is controlling the information being put forward about what you're doing.

You can use the W channel/tab in chat ingame to use it without dots showing up. If you don't use /w in the W channel, you will still say things normally and not as a whisper.

[Montleberry]

I am not sure why, but I get a sort of social anxiety feeling now in conversations from the dots. After a few days of it I find I really don't care for it, as I find it makes it harder for me to talk to people. They are distracting to me, I am more seeing dots all over than feeling engaged in the conversation I am having. It almost feel like I am watching and being prompted by the dots, or the ones I am making, than engaging in organic conversations. I find them awkward and uncomfortable. Just my opinion on them. Obviously if more people find them helpful and like them they should stay, but I am definitely someone who doesn't care for them.

[Ithilan]

If it's meant to include people responding to tells and that can't be altered, then I'm heavily opposed to it. This part vexes me terribly and i can understand why people feel anxiety or like its a graphic discord room too. Same reason i disable these functions on whatsapp etc.

So far my interactions have been few, but i caught myself stopping from my natural flow of conversation on the given character, to await responses that never came, due to tells presumably. Its visibility ia not a problem to me, but it does change how we think and act apparently, which is obstructing people's natural flow of rp.

Really mixed feelings.

[SoThereIWas]

I'm seeing a fair amount of complaints that I could summarize my two cents worth in as brief and concise as...

It's not a bad thing, as it is just a thing that's going to take some getting used too is all through adaptation. Think of it like you switching from your favorite internet browser to another, or other programs to type documents up on.

[Young Werther]

seens like it would add annoying visual clutter during mass events where I would rather have none. Talking in smaller groups it's probably fine. So option to turn it entirely off seems like a best of both worlds.

[electric mayhem]

Whenever I need time to compose a response, I utilize a Macro I have setup that, particular to the/my PC, chats: *he pauses for a moment, then responds...*. One click and it buys me time to respond.

99% of the time, that gives others the "clue" that more text is forthcoming from my PC.

I personally like the concept, but don't like seeing floating dots all over the place.

Speaking of the Macros, it would be GREAT if the pages for Macros could be fixed, so we're not limited to only 6 Macros per PC.

My 2 cents. Cheers (and thanks for the general "let's make the Server better" ideas).

^ This

The problem is a patience and education issue. Everyone can work around this apparent issue by improving their way of writing and emoting their characters. I like the idea of using these macros.

And for those that accidently walk away before you can finish typing your final message, what's wrong with a simple tell to the player saying "and she would have waved her farewell as he walked off"... ? It's how alot manage it currently.

I do like the idea of the dots, BUT... only if it's an Opt In. (Or Opt Out if theres an easy toggle)>

What happens to those whom are invisible/stealthed and sending Tells.... do those dots suddenly appear out of thin air?
No, I get it, change to whisper channel first. But, the point is... shouldn't have to.

Oh... and will this put the communication lines between computers and servers under slightly more strain? With continual checks and signals of "player typing". "player typing stops". "player typing" etc? Especially in high traffic areas?

[Steve]

And for those that accidently walk away before you can finish typing your final message, what's wrong with a simple tell to the player saying "and she would have waved her farewell as he walked off"... ? It's how alot manage it currently.

This is how it worked for years...and as I've experienced, worked fine for me. Actually, I always considered the Player that followed up via a Tell, considerate. Which was a positive check in my book, and a general feel good feeling for the Community.

And as Young Werther stated, imagine the Dot Apocalypse in a mass Event!!! Yikes!

[Kiran]

I absolutely love it.

As a quick typer it means I am able to see if people wish to respond on something already said and I can slow down the flow a bit of the conversation, whilst they are typing giving them visual queues to how my character is standing, sitting, doing, expressing himself while i wait for a reply.

Have not had an incident where there has been a mix up with them actually sending a tell and we just sit silently staring at one another yet.

Great for DM events too if the DM's have it above themselves so people know to stay quiet for a bit while the DM respond to the wall of texts people usually spam at them during small/medium and 100% big events.

[Svabodnik]

While I can see it being potentially immersion-breaking (maybe due to the novelty of the feature and the similarities it draws to a similar feature in chat programs), there's an argument to be made that it can actually serve as a simple visual cue for "people are 'talking/doing things' here". I mean, it's not like our elfland RP murderhobos have the ability to churn out a sentence in a microsecond while remaining static the rest of the time. For me, walking past a group with a whole bunch of "..." hovering overhead gives an impression that there is an active conversation going on, rather than a multiplayer staring contest. Of course, this probably isn't a commonly shared perspective, but for someone whose first RPG was displayed in a form of extended ASCII, imagination helps tie up the loose threads left by the graphics.

On the note of looking for 'whispers' not portraying a visual cue for conversation, I'm rather surprised at the amount of characters who practice ventriloquism. One would imagine that leaning over to share hushed mutterings could be noticed further than what the voice can carry. Cheekiness aside, if it would be possible to set a limit for the range at which one could perceive the "...", depending on method of input (far for 'local', medium for 'whisper', nonexistant for 'tell' or 'dm'), I figure that would be ideal.

[Archaos]

I love it. It prevents awkward silences and it aids in immersion by making you think that this person is preparing to say something or is taking the time to say something, instead of having text appearing instantly.

Also now you always know if someone wants to say something, so you can stop moving/grinding and wait for their response.

It's hard to explain but it's like giving dialogue an extra dimension, instead of just "not talking" and "here's a paragraph".
It adds a sense of time from when someone starts talking, and when they're finished.

I find it a big quality of life improvement to RP imho.

[Nyssis]

If this addition is staying, is there the option to make the dots 50% transparent or something, so they are the least obtrusive visually, as possible?

I can't speak for others, but this would be a tremendous help for me. Being able to locally turn off the display of everyone's dots for my screen would be preferable, but if that isn't possible, this is the next best thing.

I likewise express concerns about large events due to the number of people that will be typing simultaneously. Even a fade distance on how far you can see the dots won't help in that situation, as everyone will be required to stay bunched up for the ease of the DM(s) involved.

[Endelyon]

The dots won't show up to people if you are invisible or in stealth mode (and they don't have some way of seeing you, at least).

Also, iirc, the dots are already set at only like 25% opacity. They should be pretty transparent. I can try to make them more transparent though.

what is possible but not quite the point I think, is opting out of the vfx showing on your own character.

No, this is entirely the point. I want people to know that I've typed a message after I do so and hit enter, and not a moment before then. I'm 'manually' opting out right now by exclusively using the CE to type, but that's annoying and it would be nice if I didn't have to.

Having to see all sorts of floating dots is dumb, be the core of the issue is controlling the information being put forward about what you're doing.

As stated multiple times, you can just change to the "W" channel to suppress it without using the CE, but I'm pretty sure I can add a button or text command that turns it off permanently for yourself.

If it's meant to include people responding to tells and that can't be altered, then I'm heavily opposed to it.

As also stated before, a fix to exclude text beginning with the / character (like tells) is in the works.

[Avanos]

Not sure if this was mentioned, but the dots can be seen when chatting via "Tell"

Personally, If i want to have a tell conversation with someone- i don't need others to know/assume what i'm doing.

[DiceyCZ]

Love it, love it, love it! Really thanks Endelyon. I don't see it immersion breaking as said before before you know you are waiting for someone to say something, instead of few people looking at each other in awkward silence waiting for someone to response only to find out lot later that everyone is waiting for others to response as well.