It's not just Wildstar my friend... It is EVERY SINGLE MMO to come out in the last decade or so. Warcraft, Eve Online, LOTRO, RIFT, WildStar, Guild Wars, Runscape, DC Universe, Ultima, EverQuest, Marvel Heros, Star Trek, etc; Please stop using excuses, because there is no excuse. It simply comes down to USABILITY. Usability and heuristics are design methodologies and development in computer science, communication and informatics. They are international standards. Chat bubbles are simply a game standard that has been in place for a couple decades now in facilitating good communication. You don't impair good communication because of a group of engineers that are either unwilling or unable to fix a basic mechanic in a game engine.

TBH... it's a game and I don't give a damn!

It's not an open source game. So nor do I. But I do hold three different degrees in technology. Actually make that 4. Forgot one. So thanks for the compliment.

This was from 4 years ago. Has anyone verified this carried over from that long ago? I'm going to also go out on a limb and say they probably don't work anymore if they ever did. ???

OK so let's get this straight. Let's use your logic here. 1. We don't need speeders because your character can still get from point A to B and who cares if it takes longer. Your own characters two legs can still get you there. 2. Who needs lightsaber crystals? We only need one color. OK maybe 2. They will do just fine. Not a requirement. 3. Who needs any character customization? Just a plain male/female model will do. 4. Don't need any enhanced graphics in game (not required) 5. Don't need any additional weapons in game (not required) 6. Don't need any lighting, particle effects in game (not required) just basic sun omni system will do. 7. Don't need any real physics engine effects in game (not required) 8. Don't need ships in game (not required) 9. Don't need an economy in game (not required) It's fake money anyway. 10. Heck TBH you don't need the game either to subsist in life (not required) I'm pretty sure basic food/water/and shelter will keep you surviving quite well. Catch my drift? Still want to argue about the chat bubbles not being important? (Eyes Roll)

That is absolutely asinine. I am a former 3D modeler, Maya, Studio Max, Unity 3D, Garage Games, Anark Studio, etc; I'm also a software engineer. And I can tell you right now that whatever and whomever is using this excuse that chat bubbles are a game performance hit are out of their damn minds. Chat bubbles require at a fundamental level a simple binding to a character rig above their head, and a binding to the camera. They do NOT take up a lot of resources. They are very low poly. They require a very simple event bus engine. That updates with basic language support and we are talking about capped character counts in sentences. So please explain to me how every flippin 3D engine I can name for the last 10 years supports chat bubbles for basic communication but one of the largest MMOs can not. Don't give me that crap BioWare. Email me if you have a hard problem going over how to engineer them. I will be happy to give you a 101 on object oriented programming.

Why do I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall about personal preferences? Are you going to argue about your opinion on the matter of give me a scientific reason as to why this is not a usability standard in 3D MMO games? By the way chat bubbles ARE a usability issue. They negate clear and concise communication.

That is completely contradictory. You would not use chat bubbles and scroll through chat. Those are two different things all together. I can't believe I'm having to defend a basic mechanic of a game that has existed since the dawn of 3D game interaction. It is a design standard, a usability issue, a QE/QA issue. A chat bubble is to help facilitate basic communication between two or more parties when they are in the same spatial area. Chat scrolling windows are crowded and are a cluttered forum of area communication. This is not a very hard concept folks. This is fundamental usability. I could care less if a hundred people replied back on this forum that they don't need it. Because the statistical sample size is based on the wrong population of users. The majority of users that probably found this to be a real issue are probably not even playing the game any longer and left because it was a factor in continuing game play. Like I said before, this is the exact reason why I left 4 years ago. It feels robotic, dead space, missing an entire 3 dimensional element of fundamental communication. You don't have to agree with me or even like it. But facts are facts. It is a fundamental usability expectation and standard that today's MMO players absolutely expect from any game.

OK easy.... just one analogy will do... I'm in a heavily dense planet with other players, I run up to you and stair at you then run away. Question. What was it that I was going to say to you? What did I want? What if you did not catch my name when I ran up to you? How the hell do you even know anything that is going on? Are we clear yet? Yes... technically it is not a requirement. But neither is living in your house, having a computer, and short of breathing, eating and drinking proper amounts of water nothing is. Your point?

It's almost like today's McDonald culture is running amuck, and that as an employer its a miracle if they even show up to work every day. Does BioWare even employ devs? Or are they outsourcing there bugs in a 2 year backlog queue to ODesk to a 3rd world country?

As a former 3D modeler, Maya, 3D Max, Unity 3D Developer, Anark Studio, and general all around software engineer, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt there should be no performance hit adding chat bubbles. They are a simple camera bound 3D/2D object of dynamic text with very and I mean very low poly count and should have a very simple text event bus engine. No physics required, No special effects, lighting, textures, NOTHING. That's it. No frills, No fluff. They don't have to support EVERYTHING. They just need to be able to be tied to 3D character model engine. There is no way they can be a performance issue. BioWare. If you think you have an issue here. Please contact me.

Devs... this isn't brain surgery. If you are going to continue to use the excuse that it is a performance hit then give us all the option to turn it on or off for Pete's sake. Seriously... The whole reason why I went back to WOW several years ago, was because of this ONE and ONLY issue, and I just resubed and decided to give it ago after taking a 4 year break and it still is not even an option? Need I seriously have to convince you why seeing what people are saying in proximity to real world distance is even a requirement? Someone rolls up to me and just stairs at me in open world. There are several other people around. And you can't even tell if they need you for anything. It's like playing a game where everyone knows 5 sigh language commands and their is a tiny little chat box you have to continuously scroll through to even see if anyone's names matches up with anyone you can see in your visible area. Are we seriously like trying to take this game back to keyboard console text only days? This element totally destroys the social MMO nature of this game. PLEASE FIX THIS BIOWARE!!!