The chat systems in this game is very poor compared to other well established MMOs. A few simple improvements and more chat commands could help it along greatly.
Chat Screen:
- Introduce a “chat options” button on the Chat Screen UI. This button will send the player to the chat options in the main menu and will also allow the player to create custom chat channels;
- Introduce a combat log tab so the player can analize combat data after he dies in battle. This is very important for pro players to learn how to defend themselves better. The combat log should contain information like: damage done, damage received, shield/hull regeneration received, buff/debuff received, etc. The format should be like: “[damage_type] done to [player_name] - amount” or “[module_name] buff/debuff received from [player_name]”.
- Save the chat window’s size and position as well as the chat options to the player’s data each time he modifies it, so he doesn’t have to resize it every time he logs into the game;
- Allow the player to move and resize the chat window as he pleases (vertically and horizontally, just like an OS window). Introduce a lock/unlock button that would replace the “chat screen size switch”;
- Allow the player to switch between chat screen tabs with the [Tab] key (configurable in the key bindings section);
- Introduce chat “slash” [/] commands to write in the different chat screen tabs. “/g” to write in Global tab, “/c” to write in Corporation tab, “/s” to write in Squad tab;
- Introduce an invite command ("/inv [player_name]") to make it easier for squad leaders to invite pilots into their squad who are not in their social tab or in their corp (this is a crucial command that is currently missing from the chat interface!);
- Introduce a keyboard reply command ([R] key is the most popular in MMOs). When pressing this key the player will reply to the last player that whispered to him. Pressing [tab] in the chat reply mode will cycle through all the players that have sent whispers;
- Allow the copying of text from the chat screen. Many players will post links, websites or other info that might be very useful, so the player should have the posibility of copying text from the Chat Screen directly.;
- Remember the chat tab the player is in when starting a mission. Most of the times squad members prefer to talk in squad chat and they do not appreciate having the chat switch to the “global” tab after the mission loads.
These are just the things that i found necesarry to bring the chat system into the realm of proper MMOs. If you have other suggestions, don’t hesitate to post them in the replies.
DC
Game Designer