Server-wide /shouts

[Runespider]

Though we need to do some more testing, and we are not sure whether it would be possible yet, we are looking into the possibility of making/displaying shouts throughout multiple areas.

To be a bit more specific, we will be looking into grouping certain areas server side so that a shout from one of the areas in that group will be heard from each of the other areas.

For example:
If Ru’Lude Gardens/Upper Jeuno/Lower Jeuno/Port Jeuno were to be grouped together, making a shout in Ru’Lude would be heard in the other areas (Upper Jeuno/Lower Jeuno/Port Jeuno). However, this would ultimately quadruple the server load, so we will definitely need to pay close attention to this.

This sounds like a rough workaround for it, and it would still not let people hear shouts in starter towns which is good for the game (newbs seeing more activity there). Cant they add a 2nd LS type idea? (talk to an npc to get a shout LS that everyone can use that has a 5 minute spam delay).

[Won-Ton]

How about a kind of radio you could acquire, and tune to different cities? Transmitters could be placed in central locations and if a shout was heard by the transmitter, you could hear it as well. Then different cities could be used for different kinds of shouts; Jeuno for Abyssea & w/e, AU for Assault & missions, Bastok for bazaar & item shouts, Windurst for live Ballista games, Norg for conspiracy-theory-themed interview shows, etc.

[Zirael]

Though we need to do some more testing, and we are not sure whether it would be possible yet, we are looking into the possibility of making/displaying shouts throughout multiple areas.

To be a bit more specific, we will be looking into grouping certain areas server side so that a shout from one of the areas in that group will be heard from each of the other areas.

For example:
If Ru’Lude Gardens/Upper Jeuno/Lower Jeuno/Port Jeuno were to be grouped together, making a shout in Ru’Lude would be heard in the other areas (Upper Jeuno/Lower Jeuno/Port Jeuno). However, this would ultimately quadruple the server load, so we will definitely need to pay close attention to this.

My plea was more about being able to go camp a NM in some obscure place or go gather Beehive Chips or /fish and still be able to get a word about a shout group forming for something I might be interested in. Your solution would give me an option to afk in few more zones, but I would still be left with a choice: do I stay hang around city with nothing else to do in order to see shouts, or I move out to do Campaign/camp NM/whatever and miss all the shouts. I want to stay tuned in AND go out do stuff. Is that too unreasonable to ask for?
As for system resources issue: having 3k people online with 700+ people in Port Jeuno alone and people zoning in getting DC during weekends is a proof to me your server can't keep up already. Don't think being able to see a wide range shout would make it worse than that. If the server can't handle sending a packet to 1-3k people simultaneously, it looks to me you need to optimize your code or upgrade that 2Mbit connection. I think there are few games out there that manage to handle that. Is it really not feasible for FFXI?
Anyways, thank you for the reply, at least we can hope for a step forward.

How about a kind of radio you could acquire, and tune to different cities? Transmitters could be placed in central locations and if a shout was heard by the transmitter, you could hear it as well. Then different cities could be used for different kinds of shouts; Jeuno for Abyssea & w/e, AU for Assault & missions, Bastok for bazaar & item shouts, Windurst for live Ballista games, Norg for conspiracy-theory-themed interview shows, etc.

Actually, I like your idea. Maybe something like a new type of linkpearl/key item channel that you could equip/uneqip to tune in to the talk you're interested in.
As for JP people staying in Whitegate, I think they do that more for convenience. Quite a lot of them don't speak EN, so English shouts are meaningless to them, same as for us JP text in chatlog is useless. This way they aren't bothered by people shouting back {Please use autotranslate function.} and we get less spam. Win/win.

[Glamdring]

I suggested back when all that RMT /tell crap was going on allowing us to make our own filters to block messages. This was never implemented, but it would have been helpful to block RMT spam. It is also useful to block offensive or such content, but even better, it can be st to block any shouts that DON'T contain certain words. So if all you want is Abyssea invites you block all shouts that don't contain Abyssea or Aby as an example.

Certainly, not everyone would use it, but the ones who really don't want to "listen" to all the useless, juvenile garbage being shouted in Port Jeuno would almost certainly use it extensively. And since you can't reach a GM with any speed to report offensive content, and there's enough of it that screenshots could fill a 1 TB HD in less than a week, filters are the only way to go... Unless SE wants to actually put GMs in the affected areas so the garbage shouts are headed off in a hurry.

[Rasstog]

I may have a solution for you to consider... rather than subjecting 'every' chat log with what normally 90% inane shout chatter... only now your wanting to add it from the entire 'world'.... how about installing “virtual jumbotrons” in each city area(s) to display server-wide shouts.

That way people that don't have anything else to do can run their little character over and park it in front of the 'big screen' and watch to their hearts delight... and the rest of us would be spared seeing the 'crap' in our chat logs.

This approach should reduce the 'excessive packet' issue of sending the message to those that 'subscribe'... because you would be sending the 'messages' to a single city area 'tron'.

[Mirage]

well it is different in that a linkshell message only needs to be sent to the few dozen (at most) players in the linkshell, while the entire jeuno region sometimes has nearly 1000 players in there, who would all receive every region-shout made in there.

But it would lower port jeuno congestion. Even if people still put their homepoints in jeuno, it doesn't have to be right in Port Jeuno. All Jeuno zones would have a shared chat channel, so everyone interested in shouts could now be spread over 4 areas instead of 1. I know I would idle in Upper Jeuno waiting for shouts if I could, instead of in port.

-edit-
Oh hey I know. What if we got a system where we could "subscribe" to a specific area's shout channel? Like when I logged on, I would type for example "/channel add portjeuno", and then I would get shouts from Port Jeuno in my chat log no matter where in the game I was. If I wanted to change that to a different channel later, I could do that with "/channel add someotherzone" whenever I felt like it. Or turn it off with "/channel remove zonename".

To save server resources, it could be made so that if you didn't actually perform any actions (run around, chat, sort inventory, whatever) on your character for like an hour, the subscription would be dropped. Whenever you got back from your AFKing, you could just re-subscribe I guess.

[Zirael]

well it is different in that a linkshell message only needs to be sent to the few dozen (at most) players in the linkshell, while the entire jeuno region sometimes has nearly 1000 players in there, who would all receive every region-shout made in there.

But it would lower port jeuno congestion. Even if people still put their homepoints in jeuno, it doesn't have to be right in Port Jeuno. All Jeuno zones would have a shared chat channel, so everyone interested in shouts could now be spread over 4 areas instead of 1. I know I would idle in Upper Jeuno waiting for shouts if I could, instead of in port.

You've got a point, but wouldn't those 1k people rather idle at campaign tower, at a NM camp or wait for magian trial weather? You go to a city for wide range of reasons and go out, but you afk there for more than 10min for either showing off your 'town gear', bazaar or catching up with shouts.

-edit-
Oh hey I know. What if we got a system where we could "subscribe" to a specific area's shout channel? Like when I logged on, I would type for example "/channel add portjeuno", and then I would get shouts from Port Jeuno in my chat log no matter where in the game I was. If I wanted to change that to a different channel later, I could do that with "/channel add someotherzone" whenever I felt like it. Or turn it off with "/channel remove zonename".

To save server resources, it could be made so that if you didn't actually perform any actions (run around, chat, sort inventory, whatever) on your character for like an hour, the subscription would be dropped. Whenever you got back from your AFKing, you could just re-subscribe I guess.

Yeah.

[Gwynplaine]

When I suggested this before it was partly because I assumed just opening up shouts would be the most straight-forward and easiest way to go. But I guess nothings ever easy in MMO's.

I think server-wide would be ideal, but failing that at least if there were one specific zone within each city to hang out and watch for pickups or buy/selling that would still be great. For example, tie all shouts from Port Jueno, Bastok Mines, Southern Sandoria, Windurst Woods, and Aht Urhgan Whitegate together. Here's a suggestion I have that could help implementation, but it's probably a lot of coding and work so I've no clue how practical it could be.

Instead of just expanding shouts, it could use a more limited and moderated form of communication. In order to that you could limit the choice of words and terms used to specific things similar to auto-translate. For example, if you want to communicate across the "international" channel lets call it, you have to enter in information. First enter in a purpose (similar to /seacom) for doing a party, quest, or mission, or buying/selling, etc. Second enter in what the quest/mission/item is you're pertaining to. Third enter in a level range you specify, if one is needed. Fourth enter in how many players are tagging along so far, and how many total you need. Fifth enter either generic class types you still need (support, front line etc.) or specific jobs if applicable.

This is pretty much the standard model for shouting players have banged out over the years. Limit each players communication on this channel to one message sent per minute to prevent spam. Requiring only communication pertaining to party/pickups/trading also eliminates the usual shout talk and bickering and also any potential RMT messages. Like I said, I have no idea how overly complex or practical that is. But I think the general idea could be worth considering for Square to put its own spin on it.

[Glamdring]

must just be me... I've always been more interested in finding ways to get rid of irrelevant chatter, not encourage it and force it on the rest of the population. I don't want to see this AT ALL without some heavy-duty revision of the filters. Like, I don't see even 1 shout unless I specifically ask to, and then only on the specific content I care about.

[Zirael]

must just be me... I've always been more interested in finding ways to get rid of irrelevant chatter, not encourage it and force it on the rest of the population. I don't want to see this AT ALL without some heavy-duty revision of the filters. Like, I don't see even 1 shout unless I specifically ask to, and then only on the specific content I care about.

Fair enough. also, don't get me wrong, I'm not asking for this to be able to get spammed with every drunk idiot's past-midnight thoughts.

When I suggested this before it was partly because I assumed just opening up shouts would be the most straight-forward and easiest way to go. But I guess nothings ever easy in MMO's.

I think server-wide would be ideal, but failing that at least if there were one specific zone within each city to hang out and watch for pickups or buy/selling that would still be great. For example, tie all shouts from Port Jueno, Bastok Mines, Southern Sandoria, Windurst Woods, and Aht Urhgan Whitegate together. Here's a suggestion I have that could help implementation, but it's probably a lot of coding and work so I've no clue how practical it could be.

Instead of just expanding shouts, it could use a more limited and moderated form of communication. In order to that you could limit the choice of words and terms used to specific things similar to auto-translate. For example, if you want to communicate across the "international" channel lets call it, you have to enter in information. First enter in a purpose (similar to /seacom) for doing a party, quest, or mission, or buying/selling, etc. Second enter in what the quest/mission/item is you're pertaining to. Third enter in a level range you specify, if one is needed. Fourth enter in how many players are tagging along so far, and how many total you need. Fifth enter either generic class types you still need (support, front line etc.) or specific jobs if applicable.

This is pretty much the standard model for shouting players have banged out over the years. Limit each players communication on this channel to one message sent per minute to prevent spam. Requiring only communication pertaining to party/pickups/trading also eliminates the usual shout talk and bickering and also any potential RMT messages. Like I said, I have no idea how overly complex or practical that is. But I think the general idea could be worth considering for Square to put its own spin on it.

It's up to SE how far they can improve current system, but I think it could and maybe should be improved.