Chat Bubbles: We need an option to enable them for say, yell and emote chat!

[Boccanon]

Im kinda glad its not ingame to be honest, chat is terrible as it is alrdy with all the bs thats bin said ( newest rage hodor crap ) atleast you can turn that off.

theres enough ways to communicate with eachother, and tbh its a game not a comic book

 

and this game has more important issues that needs to be fixed

 

I cant for my life understand why that would be so incredibly hard to program?? There are tons of stuff in this game that I imagine is way harder to program, but they have managed that.

Adding chat bubbles would be like a fart in the universe compared to all the other advanced stuff..

Chat bubble = White (perhaps somewhat transparent) background with chat text.. how hard can it be???

[Inflicktion]

Still no word, huh? Can't underestimate how much chat bubbles can do for a game. TOR definitely needs them!

[Suntaru]

SWTOR doe not need more garbage causing even greater problems for the Game engine

[Krull-]

Im kinda glad its not ingame to be honest, chat is terrible as it is alrdy with all the bs thats bin said ( newest rage hodor crap ) atleast you can turn that off.

theres enough ways to communicate with eachother, and tbh its a game not a comic book

 

and this game has more important issues that needs to be fixed

 

"SWTOR does not need more garbage....."

 

 

 

That why we suggest the ability to turn it off. Perhaps you should turn yourself off and keep your anti-chat bubbles remarks to yourself and continue QQ'ing over lack of PVE/PVP/Cartel content on other forums instead of stepping all over us.

 

Edited July 13, 2013 by Krull-

[NrDLeipe]

first of all QUOTE the right persons, second of all these chat bubbles affects my game play to so im entitled to give my opinion like everybody else.

 

If you dont want any comments that doesnt fit you, i suggest to wright an email towards bw instead of posting in the forums

Edited July 13, 2013 by NrDLeipe

[Krull-]

Your opinion does not matter when this forum is about "Chat Bubbles: We need an option to enable them for say, yell and emote chat!

 

We are simply trying to get BioWare's attention in order to address our matter, for the people that wants this feature in our game in which you can toggle on or off.

 

Toggle on or off.... get it?

Edited July 14, 2013 by Krull-

[Boccanon]

If it takes the devs over 14 months to solve a "performances issue" (They replied on this thread 12 of may 2012),

and claimed to be aware of what their customers wanted, then we can might aswell drop the rest of the inputs in form of new ideas I've seen in the Suggestion box. It will simply take too long time for them to get anything done:

 

New dye system, 3D space freeflying, housing, customizable starships, pod racing, faction change at end game, small character/gear changes, shared legacy bank, a toggle option on cutscenes, etc etc etc..

 

I know that 1 guy like myself wont make a difference if I stop using the Suggestion box, and I'm not asking you all to bojkott this forum, but I'm thrue here.

[MajikMyst]

I cant for my life understand why that would be so incredibly hard to program?? There are tons of stuff in this game that I imagine is way harder to program, but they have managed that.

Adding chat bubbles would be like a fart in the universe compared to all the other advanced stuff..

Chat bubble = White (perhaps somewhat transparent) background with chat text.. how hard can it be???

 

It isn't hard to program, and your post only goes to show how little you know about programming and the issue at hand..

 

Chat bubbles were actually in the game at one point during the beta.. I am guessing the code for them is still in the game.. It has just been disabled..

 

The problem is, rendering the many messages above people's head in crowded areas.. Such as the fleet stations.. The fleet stations are laggy enough as it is, without adding something else to make it more laggy..

 

Turning them off is great.. But it kind of defeats the purpose.. Why enable chat bubbles when 95% or more of the players are going to just turn them off?? That is the part I don't understand..

 

As it is now, most people have turned off name plates to get some more FPS in Ops and PVP..

 

In the end, chat bubbles would be a pain and most people by a huge margin would turn them off anyways.. There really is little to any reason to even add them or fix them..

 

If it were me, I would just enable them on the RP servers, since it is the RP crowed that for the most part wants them.. At least there they are likely to get used..

 

As for Bioware giving us an update.. Well.. Here it is..

 

We have no updates at this time in regards to chat bubbles..

 

Which is probably why they haven't actually given anyone any updates.. I am sure if they actually had something to add or say they would.. Bumping this thread isn't going to make them respond any sooner.. When they have an update, I am sure they will let us know..

Edited July 14, 2013 by MajikMyst

[NrDLeipe]

Your opinion does not matter when this forum is about "Chat Bubbles: We need an option to enable them for say, yell and emote chat!

 

We are simply trying to get BioWare's attention in order to address our matter, for the people that wants this feature in our game in which you can toggle on or off.

 

Toggle on or off.... get it?

 

My OPINION is about chatbubbles, so i will respond to this threat just like you, your opinion is not better then mine or somebody else your not God, Allah, the Queen or the Pope your a simple human being just like me who cant stop ppl off sharing there thoughts on a certain topic, like i said before you dont want opinions thats not the same as yours DONT POST ON FORUM wright a email.

 

And if you even have read my post im against it tottaly i dont want a turn off turn on switch i dont want it in game at all

Edited July 14, 2013 by NrDLeipe

[Mauglir]

It's still hard to believe that after a major expansion and TONS of game updates that we still don't have the ability to toggle chat bubbles for ROLE PLAYING purposes!!!! BIOWARE!, chat bubbles are for RP... there are a huge number of players that have left (including myself, although I came back to be disappointed again at the lack of chat bubbles) because the RP aspect of this game is SERIOUSLY lacking.

 

FIX IT!

[anonnn]

My OPINION is about chatbubbles, so i will respond to this threat just like you, your opinion is not better then mine or somebody else your not God, Allah, the Queen or the Pope your a simple human being just like me who cant stop ppl off sharing there thoughts on a certain topic, like i said before you dont want opinions thats not the same as yours DONT POST ON FORUM wright a email.

 

And if you even have read my post im against it tottaly i dont want a turn off turn on switch i dont want it in game at all

 

This is the entire point, you don't have a right to suggest that BioWare deny consideration of Chat Bubbles to get into SWToR. You don't want to see Chat Bubbles in game, I understand ... and a toggle on/off addresses your personal consideration. Your consideration has already been addressed from the start, so it's inappropriate to go on and on about how much you dislike Chat Bubbles. You will not have to see Chat Bubbles at all. Worst case scenario for you would be that you'll have to go onto every single one of your characters and disable the Chat Bubbles for each character separately.

 

But more likely, Chat Bubbles will be off by default from the start (what I would strongly suggest) so that people such as yourself who don't want to see them, won't ever see even a peep of Chat Bubbles in game. If BioWare does it right, you'll never even realize they've been put into game whenever they do go into the game. For you it will be as if they never existed ...

 

... and part of the design requirements for Chat Bubbles is that whatever effect they have on gameplay performance needs to be un-noticeable. Which is apparently the primary reason they have not yet been implemented.

[Ghmar]

chat bubbles is a terrible idea!..swtor does not need them!

[mentalmackem]

This is the entire point, you don't have a right to suggest that BioWare deny consideration of Chat Bubbles to get into SWToR. You don't want to see Chat Bubbles in game, I understand ... and a toggle on/off addresses your personal consideration. Your consideration has already been addressed from the start, so it's inappropriate to go on and on about how much you dislike Chat Bubbles. You will not have to see Chat Bubbles at all. Worst case scenario for you would be that you'll have to go onto every single one of your characters and disable the Chat Bubbles for each character separately.

 

But more likely, Chat Bubbles will be off by default from the start (what I would strongly suggest) so that people such as yourself who don't want to see them, won't ever see even a peep of Chat Bubbles in game. If BioWare does it right, you'll never even realize they've been put into game whenever they do go into the game. For you it will be as if they never existed ...

 

... and part of the design requirements for Chat Bubbles is that whatever effect they have on gameplay performance needs to be un-noticeable. Which is apparently the primary reason they have not yet been implemented.

 

Actually he has every right to say he doesn't want them and doesn't want them to be considered.

 

While chat bubbles may be good for role-players the extra strain they add to the server COULD effect gameplay for everyone no matter if you have them turned on or turned off as has happened in other games.

 

So YES he has every right to say he does not want them even considered as while they will keep role-players happy it could have detrimental effect on other peoples game play through extra sever stress.

 

Welcome to the world of not everyone sharing your view and have the right to stand up and put there view across.

 

The only person that has said anything wrong is you Claiming he has no right to put his view across....

 

Last I checked he has a right to put his view into the debate until Bioware says enough

Edited July 14, 2013 by mentalmackem

[Kahotep]

chat bubbles is a terrible idea!..swtor does not need them!

 

You're probably right about SWTOR not needing chat bubbles.

 

Most of the people who really want them have probably left the game by now. Personally, I don't play this game like an MMO any more because it doesn't have chat bubbles. I turn off all chat, ignore all the other players and it's not a bad single player game.

[anonnn]

You're probably right about SWTOR not needing chat bubbles.

 

Most of the people who really want them have probably left the game by now. Personally, I don't play this game like an MMO any more because it doesn't have chat bubbles. I turn off all chat, ignore all the other players and it's not a bad single player game.

 

heh. nice

[uberamd]

I just don't know of any MMO where communicating with the player directly in front of you is as complicated as this game. How any modern MMO would be unable to handle chat bubbles when areas are as unpopulated as they are is baffling.

 

To those who are saying they are unnecessary - a toggle wouldn't hurt. The chat system in this game, in general, is laughable.

[WEIRDLITTLEBRO]

Nope. We're still here, and we still want chat bubbles. And everyone I've met in-game has expressed the need for chat bubbles as well. It's only on the forums here that I've heard any opposition to the idea. It wouldn't be a huge graphical change as long as they are toggled off by default. And considering how standard they are in the MMO genre (especially MMOs that are built on EQ/WoW-style game mechanics), it shouldn't be as much of a technological leap as it's being made out to be. Even other MMOs based on the same engine technology as SWTOR often have chat bubbles. If it's implemented correctly and toggled off by default, it should be virtually unnoticeable to those who don't want it.

 

I used to be very opposed to chat-bubbles in SWTOR myself. But over time I came to realize how much of an inconvenience it was not to have the option. And that is the key word at the heart of this whole issue, and other issues like it. The key word is "option." Let players customize their experience in the way they allows them to enjoy the game the way they want to. If you want to turn off all chat and experience the game as a single player RPG, you are free to do so if that is how you enjoy playing. If you like the current system, then that should be the default so the addition of new chat options doesn't hinder your experience. If you, like me, and many other players (not just role players) believe that the option to enable chat bubbles is an important step towards making the game more enjoyable for the players that choose to use it, then Bioware should be supportive of that. Just like they supported UI customization when it became clear that a lot of players wanted it. In my view, chat bubbles are an interface customization issue rather than a roleplaying issue, although I can see how especially important it is to role players.

 

While you do have the right to state your opinion that you prefer the status quo and don't want chat bubbles to even be considered, I would like also exercise my own right to state that I don't see how you can justify denying a large demographic of the player base something that they have been passionately requesting for a very long time. Especially when both your concerns and theirs can be met so that both sides of the debate get the experience they want and enjoy.

[mentalmackem]

Nope. We're still here, and we still want chat bubbles. And everyone I've met in-game has expressed the need for chat bubbles as well. It's only on the forums here that I've heard any opposition to the idea. It wouldn't be a huge graphical change as long as they are toggled off by default. And considering how standard they are in the MMO genre (especially MMOs that are built on EQ/WoW-style game mechanics), it shouldn't be as much of a technological leap as it's being made out to be. Even other MMOs based on the same engine technology as SWTOR often have chat bubbles. If it's implemented correctly and toggled off by default, it should be virtually unnoticeable to those who don't want it.

 

I used to be very opposed to chat-bubbles in SWTOR myself. But over time I came to realize how much of an inconvenience it was not to have the option. And that is the key word at the heart of this whole issue, and other issues like it. The key word is "option." Let players customize their experience in the way they allows them to enjoy the game the way they want to. If you want to turn off all chat and experience the game as a single player RPG, you are free to do so if that is how you enjoy playing. If you like the current system, then that should be the default so the addition of new chat options doesn't hinder your experience. If you, like me, and many other players (not just role players) believe that the option to enable chat bubbles is an important step towards making the game more enjoyable for the players that choose to use it, then Bioware should be supportive of that. Just like they supported UI customization when it became clear that a lot of players wanted it. In my view, chat bubbles are an interface customization issue rather than a roleplaying issue, although I can see how especially important it is to role players.

 

While you do have the right to state your opinion that you prefer the status quo and don't want chat bubbles to even be considered, I would like also exercise my own right to state that I don't see how you can justify denying a large demographic of the player base something that they have been passionately requesting for a very long time. Especially when both your concerns and theirs can be met so that both sides of the debate get the experience they want and enjoy.

 

The strain it could cause on the server. There Justified. If you happy with chat bubbles but suddenly the server is under strain and less stable then it currently is then you decision to push for them is effecting my gameplay. If they can find a way to guarantee that it wont effect anyone else then sure go for it, but it has to not impact on the gameplay experience for the rest of the game.

 

Like it or not the chat bubbles would be a pure social item, for that it needs to make sure that it does not impact on the actually game content that is playable.

[Glzmo]

The strain it could cause on the server. There Justified. If you happy with chat bubbles but suddenly the server is under strain and less stable then it currently is then you decision to push for them is effecting my gameplay. If they can find a way to guarantee that it wont effect anyone else then sure go for it, but it has to not impact on the gameplay experience for the rest of the game.

 

Like it or not the chat bubbles would be a pure social item, for that it needs to make sure that it does not impact on the actually game content that is playable.

Obviously you don't realize how chat bubbles work. Chat bubbles are purely client side. There has been a rumour floating around that chat bubbles caused server-side strain, but that was just that. There is no merit to it as there is no additional communication with the server needed. All the data is already being transmitted as it is. All they do is display the text you already get to the chat window in a second way - rendered above the head in a bubble or just overhead text, which happens purely client side. If somebody does /say Hello! the "Hello!" is still only transmitted to the server and broadcast to the clients once. The client then makes sure to display it in both the chat window and the chat bubble. There is no additional strain on the server from it (except that the server might have to handle more chat as people might just socialize, roleplay and talk with each other more if they had chat bubbles instead of running around solo without talking to others - which is a good thing in a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game!). The only performance issues they could cause are client side, just like any other graphical and interface features that can be turned on or off (nameplates, flytext, etc.. also fall into this category). With the option to toggle them on and off, they wouldn't impact anyone that turns them off at all. Bioware has already stated that they know how to fix the performance issues (and they also said they have actually fixed them, although they contradicted themselves), as it's the same fix as it was with the nameplates but they didn't have time to do it for chat bubbles in time for launch. I hope this does alleviate your concerns some. Edited July 14, 2013 by Glzmo

[WEIRDLITTLEBRO]

The strain it could cause on the server. There Justified. If you happy with chat bubbles but suddenly the server is under strain and less stable then it currently is then you decision to push for them is effecting my gameplay. If they can find a way to guarantee that it wont effect anyone else then sure go for it, but it has to not impact on the gameplay experience for the rest of the game.

 

Like it or not the chat bubbles would be a pure social item, for that it needs to make sure that it does not impact on the actually game content that is playable.

That's why they were removed during beta testing, which was the right call IMO. We want a chat bubble system that works. Not one that breaks the game. That's what the public testing server is for. And that's why patches go through a process of closed internal testing before they even hit the PTS. Even if we have to wait months or over a year or longer for the UI team to get it right, then so be it. All we want at the moment is a little assurance from the developers that our concerns and your are being taken seriously. The only Dev post here so far basically boils down to, "we're thinking about it" and that just doesn't cut it. If they really have shelved this issue, we want an honest explanation from them as to why it has been shelved. And we need more specifics that just "it causes performance impact" because other hero-engine MMOs have been able to have chat bubbles, so SWTOR should be able to fix it. If it can't, we want to know why it can't. If chat bubbles are in development, even if they are on the back burner, we want to know that we have not been ignored. Ultimately, what we are asking for is more transparency from Bioware on this issue that is very important to a great many players.

[mentalmackem]

Obviously you don't realize how chat bubbles work. Chat bubbles are purely client side. There has been a rumour floating around that chat bubbles caused server-side strain, but that was just that. There is no merit to it as there is no additional communication with the server needed. All the data is already being transmitted as it is. All they do is display the text you already get to the chat window in a second way - rendered above the head in a bubble or just overhead text, which happens purely client side. If somebody does /say Hello! the "Hello!" is still only transmitted to the server and broadcast to the clients once. The client then makes sure to display it in both the chat window and the chat bubble. There is no additional strain on the server from it (except that the server might have to handle more chat as people might just socialize, roleplay and talk with each other more if they had chat bubbles instead of running around solo without talking to others - which is a good thing in a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game!). The only performance issues they could cause are client side, just like any other graphical and interface features that can be turned on or off (nameplates, flytext, etc.. also fall into this category). With the option to toggle them on and off, they wouldn't impact anyone that turns them off at all. Bioware has already stated that they know how to fix the performance issues (and they also said they have actually fixed them, although they contradicted themselves), as it's the same fix as it was with the nameplates but they didn't have time to do it for chat bubbles in time for launch. I hope this does alleviate your concerns some.

 

Obviously you dont realise why the chat bubbles where pulled from the game in the first place.

 

They were pulled cos of the strain they put on the server and it was affecting the server and causing gameplay issues because of it.

 

If they believed the problem was fixed they would be back, clearly they do not think it is.

 

People asking for Bioware need to realise they did consider it and they pulled them, they have probably's considered it many times since. If they felt they were fixed they would be back in.

 

And really people dont communicate in an MMO because of no chat bubbles. That is peoples own fault IMO you cant say no chat bubbles so i wont communicate that then creates a problem for yourself and I have personally never seen this issue on my server (ToFN) if people truely needed chat bubbles to talk eve would be in mega trouble.

Edited July 14, 2013 by mentalmackem

[Glzmo]

Obviously you dont realise why the chat bubbles where pulled from the game in the first place.

 

They were pulled cos of the strain they put on the server and it was affecting the server and causing gameplay issues because of it..

Yes, I realize that an apparently ill-informed Bioware representative (who I remember was not an UI programmer and thus may have used unfortunate wording in her or his post) may have worded it that way and people doubted this was the case. Also, TOR UI programmer Cory Kolek has rebuked that since and made it clear that the performance problem was client-side as chat bubbles were taking up too much video memory (just like the nameplates before they were fixed). This also explains why beta testers with high-end video cards that sported above average amounts of video memory like myself (I had GeForce GTX580 video cards with 3GB of video memory each back then which was way above norm) never had any performance issues with enabled chat bubbles during testing, even in crowded areas with lots of people talking in /say chat while people with little video memory did notice performance issues with chat bubbles enabled. Edited July 14, 2013 by Glzmo

[mentalmackem]

If that is the case then they again would need to make the chat bubbles so they worked on all systems that can play the game. I still see it having some effect on the server even if the majority is client side.

 

In all honesty if they thought it would work without issue and without a lot of complaints in would be in game. That is clearly not the case.

[WEIRDLITTLEBRO]

Chat bubbles were not implemented correctly in beta. Neither were nameplates. Nameplates and chat bubbles were originally implemented on server side instead of client side. This was Bioware's first MMO, so that was probably the result of an oversight. However, they fixed nameplates, so they should be able to fix chat bubbles.

 

You also cite EVE online. And I agree that chat bubbles would make little sense in EVE. But EVE is not SWTOR. EVE is absolutely nothing like SWTOR. They are so fundamentally different in their core gameplay mechanics that OF COURSE chat bubbles would make no sense in the context of EVE. But we are talking about SWTOR, not EVE.

 

You also say we should have them because we don't need them. But guess what, you also don't NEED a group finder. You don't NEED ui customization. You don't NEED character customization options. You don't NEED story content. This is not about when you, i , or anyone else needs at the bare minimum. This is about how can players optimize their own individual experience to so everyone can enjoy it each according he their own preferences.

 

Don't like chat bubbles? That's why we support the option to toggle them on and off like nameplates and flytext. In addition, we want them to be toggled "off" by default for the convenience of those who don't want chat bubbles on their screen.

 

Worried about performance impact? We know that chat bubbles can be implemented client side so they don't impact performance any more than name plates or fly text. Other MMOs have been doing it for years. It's perfectly possible. And Bioware proved it when they fixed nameplates.

[Stubacca]

If that is the case then they again would need to make the chat bubbles so they worked on all systems that can play the game.

That isn't a valid excuse. There are many other features that take an even bigger performance hit than chat bubbles, like Anti-Aliasing for example (just calculate how much video memory anti-aliasing requires at a given resolution and you'll see), that can be toggled on and off and don't even work on all systems that can run the game. Yet they still put it into the game. So this excuse just has no merit at all. As long as there is an option to toggle any feature on or off, it's all good and the choice of the player.

 

]I still see it having some effect on the server even if the majority is client side.

Um, no. Not the majority. It'd all be handled client side, hence it wouldn't cause any additional strain on the server. Speech bubbles would rendered completely client side and the data they need from the server to display text is already being transmitted between client and server now, as it's the same data that's being displayed inside the chat window already. The positional data should also be calculated client-side, so there aren't any issues in that regard either.

 

]In all honesty if they thought it would work without issue and without a lot of complaints in would be in game. That is clearly not the case.

The devs already said they have the fix or at least know how to fix it. They have applied it to nameplates before launch that had the exact same issue, but ran out of time to apply it to chat bubbles as well. If you don't believe me, just read the dev quotes in the top post of this thread (they are hidden inside a spoiler tag nowadays). They just need to put it on a higher priority and allot some time to finally complet ethe fix and implement them instead of pushing it back again and again all the time because they don't think it's important enough as it doesn't concern PVP or PVE (although it can be very helpful for those PVPers and PVEers not using shady third party voice chat programs, as numerous PVEers and PVPers have stated in this thread in the past).

If EA hadn't insisted on pushing the game out and the launch had been postponed for a couple of months instead, I'm sure we'd had chat bubbles in it since launch as they'd have had enough time to fix it and said it was a top priority to do so back then. We'd likely also had many of the features that were added in later (and were already in various beta versions but withheld from launch because there were issues - although many of the features later made it live with just those issues still present) at launch, too.

 

Basically, many players want chat bubbles, Bioware should take the time to give it to them. It isn't a new plea, we have been promised them since before launch and many kept paying their subscription in good faith and have been waiting since then. Many have also left the game, but a good chunk of them would give TOR another shot if chat bubbles would finally make it into the game. so one would think it's in Bioware's and EA's best interest to add this feature ASAP. I for one have had enough and won't renew my subscription when it's up again this time. They've taken enough money from me and others to cover the development of chat bubbles, as that's the sole reason I kept paying subscription money for. Once chat bubbles are in, I'll reward Bioware for implementing them by resubscribing and perhaps even buying some cartel coins. Simple as that.

Edited July 14, 2013 by Stubacca