Universal Chat

[die_volker]

BAD IDEA.

[Burn]

If i would be new on the server i would have no idea whos navy or evilclan.I might aswell green a Reaver or BL.
Instead of taking the time to PM each online player i could make things much easier for myself and use the uni chat.

I dont agree with this idea. Cheers, Sal.

BAD IDEA

and why?


Okey so let's say that the unichat doesn't pass the staffs approval...
What other feature have you prepared for the players of the Void?
You have to give them something (pvp ladder,godlike message,revards for in game activity/experience visible on forum etc) because right now we're slowly dwindling away.

Staff,don't you also think that it would be much better if you would discuss this on the forum instead of the lounges?
You can discuss private stuff all you like there but this issue concirns the community as a whole.

So i'm expecting some activity of you guys on the forums
If not...well conclusions can be drawn very easily then...

[McViper]

@ Burn : =D>

I think it's a good idea, when we want to do announcements and when we are ones of server staff, it would be good to have uni chat.

Same if a new player comes to server and needs help and FAQ aren't on, he can asks in Uni chat.


And since you can disable it or enable it, I really don't see the problem : You see moans spread on U chat, okay, disable it. So where is the problem?


Regards
Viper

[geromix]

My arguments in support of /u chat-

Imagine a server with 5 people online(that is the average number now) and with players in different parts of Sirius.
Shouldn't the aim be to connect them? Shouldn't the aim be to bring them together or closer for more interaction?

/u chat won't make much sense for heavily populated servers where the chances of spamming and misuse are greater. In heavily populated servers there are so many players well spread that there is no need to bring them together in this way.

But in servers with very low population like Void with 5 players spread around 60 systems+ ,one really needs something to bring players together and increase interaction.
/u chat should be used only for RP purpose as has been said earlier. A conversation between a trader and a pirate in one part of Sirius would get relayed everywhere and that would seriously perk up people's interest. It is a great way of building RP in empty servers.  :D

And if there are enough Admins around in-game  to enforce the rules or as has been said, then what is the problem?  

Also unlike private chat etc, in /u chat the chances of getting reported for violation is greater than ever before as everything will be out in the open. People will actually be far more careful in /u chat than in other chatlines. Fewer slips of tongue are more likely. (Transparency and openness tend to discipline people! The opposite is only true in unregulated spaces and Void has Admins and vigilant players to regulate this.)

As far as "mute" is concerned, people have got it the wrong way!
You(the admin) need to 'silence' the offender and it should not be the other way around with players muting others.
When the offender is silenced and can no longer chat in /u chat then where will be the wall of text?
I don't know whether Admins can disable chat options of players but developers should have such a feature that can allow Admins to 'silence'  offending players by making the server not display what they have written in /u chat.

^^And such walls of text can only be written in forums,and that too by people like me.  :P (Who is going to write this in-game?)

Finally,it is not correct to pass judgment on an idea that has not been tried. Try this for 1 month and then see..
If the negatives outweigh the positives then disable it.
But why oppose this right from the start due to some preconceived notion of how it may work in a hypthetical scenario?

My suggestion - Try this for 1 month,if it fails then it fails and then remove this option.
But you have must try it on an experimental basis. There is no harm in trying. There is little left to lose now.

-Geromix

[Zsoca]

My suggestion - Try this for 1 month,if it fails then it fails and then remove this option.
But you have must try it on an experimental basis. There is no harm in trying. There is little left to lose now.

BUMP

[AlphaWolf]

Considering it would be myself most likely that actually develops this, I'll step in to the conversation now.

Universe chat, as Cursed_One stated, would bypass the protections and anti-cheat system within FLAC as it is an admin command.  To have it do otherwise requires additional development work with a FLAC plugin.

IF this is to work, I see certain caveats as being necessary.

1) The chat that players use needs to be a different colour to the admin universe chat.  This is simply to facilitate ease of distinguishing what is a staff announcement and what is an RP player announcement.

2) There would be a built-in limitation of the amount of messages sent to ensure spamming is kept to a minimum. IF a player shows initiative in engaging with RP via this channel and does not "over-use" the facility, perhaps that can be increased on a per-player basis.

3) There would be an in-game command for staff to enable / disable this facility either per player or entirely.

4) There would be a separate log kept of all use of the facility to provide staff with the ability to ensure it's correct usage and to facilitate ease of handling reports of spam or abuse.

This is neither a post for or against this being implemented and does not necessarily represent the view of the staff as a whole.  This is a constructive technical post regarding implementation if this proposal were to be accepted.

-Alpha

[cmdrsaman]

Hm, if all those you said could be done, then I'd be in favour of it. Shouldn't be that hard to keep it clean, then :P

[geromix]

^^ Yes,if the all the 4 features that AlphaWolf has mentioned are implemented then the all the naysayers should support the development of /u chat for the Voidserver.

-Geromix

[AlphaWolf]

I'll add my personal thoughts about this separate to the earlier post.

Knowing the amount of work that would be involved in implementing something like this in a robust and efficient manner, as well as current projects that would need to be delayed, I do not feel that this would be an appropriate use of time or effort, nor would it be in-line with current development direction.

I appreciate the points that have been made but in all honesty they are points that can all be handled within the current system; not having universe chat ability has never restricted players efforts.  I also do not think it would add to "RP" in anywhere near the level that people think it would.

Unfortunately I am short on time at present so I cannot expand on my statements right now.  I work as a software developer dealing with the full cycle from initial requirements analysis to developing the application to providing end user support.  I simply do not feel that the Cost Benefit ratio of such a project is high enough to warrant the additional development in relation to other projects that are presently in the works.

I welcome any and all constructive comments / suggestions but please note these are my thoughts and feelings on the matter and are not representative of any other individuals thoughts or those of any group to which I hold membership.

-Alpha

[Burn]

as well as current projects that would need to be delayed

If you or someone of the staff would be so kind to tell me/us on what exactly new projects you are currently working?
I am very curious about this...(the community feels probaly the same)
We do have a right to find out don't we? Or is this secretonomy going to continue?

[AlphaWolf]

There is no conspiracy, no "secretonomy" or otherwise.

Firstly, I'm refering as much to other projects that I personally have to attend to within deadlines than any development that's VOID related and no, I'm not going to share them as they have little to do with Void apart from the fact they take up time outside of my normal working hours and it is I who would be working on the universal chat plugin.  Some of the work is directly on FLAC with Eagle and may benefit VOID if it is to be used but it is not directly for VOID nor is it within my remit as a request made by the a-team of VOID.

I've deleted at least half of what I was going to say as it would evidently be a waste of breath.  Out of everything I said you pick up on that one tiny aspect.  That says alot to me, far more than maybe you intended.

Keep it to the topic please.  Any further requests for information not directly related to this you can present in a new thread or to me personally in PM.  Any further diversions from the actual topic will be removed.

-Alpha out.

[geromix]

Well thanks for saying that AlphaWolf and most importantly being honest and straightforward.
Saves a lot of time and energy.(This is what i was referring to - Suggestion adoption/rejection mechanism)

I had a feeling that you will analyze the Cost Benefit ratio and come out with a conclusion in the negative.

I just hope that whatever projects you are working on gets completed soon before its too late.

-Geromix