Server-wide /shouts

[kingfury]

IDK, I guess the most we'll see is a small shift of people from port jeuno to Ru'lude gardens with the /yell feature...

If it's not possible (due to mechanics) to extend a shout across a large enough area selectively, then would it be possible to have a PC (or NPC if required) that listens to shouts, and transmits that information to 3-4 'gossip' NPCs who then repeat what was transmitted to them in /say (or shout)?

Example:

1 NPC that listens located midway in port jeuno
3-4 NPCs capable of /say; 1 located in each respective port (or whitegate)

Playercharacter Bob yell/shouts '{Ballista} {Do you need it?}'
Listening NPC hears Bobs yell/shout and sends that message (along with who shouted it) to the appropriate Gossip NPC in San d'Oria.
Gossip NPC Loudmouthlarry repeats the message in /say '{Ballista} {Do you need it?} - Bob

You could probably say something along the lines that Loudmouthlarry has a linkpearl and is getting fed the latest gossip from town... if you clicked him, he'd tell you to hush down as he doesn't want to miss anything.

-------------
Cool Idea Aleste /

The current area messages from Campaign cities that update certain battle outcomes come to mind when thinking about this type of functionality in how it could look on screen. I could definitely see there being a cooldown timer between the "Loudmouthlarry" NPC dialogs to prevent NPC spam though. Maybe like 30secs to a minute depending on how much information they need to pass on. The biggest problem I can see with this is the unnecessary information like conversational shouts getting processed along with the pertinent pick-up, exp, crafting, etc. shouts and clogging up the gossip channel.

An alternative solution along these lines might be placing 3-4 NPCs throughout each city zone that allow players to input their "gossip" (such as pick-up event, exp, crafting, etc. related dialog) directly to these NPCs via text pop-up windows for distribution to other cities and towns. This way players could be prompted to construct their messages using an intuitive subject oriented communication menu that could possibly help filter out the unwanted spam, conversational shouts/yells, and possibly even bridge some communication gaps between non-english speaking players.

Example: Player Bob clicks on a "Gossip NPC" in Lower Jeuno and begins to construct his message via the suggestion menu.
• Possible Gossip Topics: Exp, Magian, Missions, Quest, Synthesis, NMs, and Battlefields
Bob chooses Exp »
• Subject (Exp)/ Location Select: This could possibly either use a drop down list or the use of the auto-translate system
Bob chooses Abyssea Altep »
• Subject (Exp)/Location (Abyssea Altep)/ Request Select + Current members obtained: Choose from multiple sayings that detail possible party request and any event related information you want to add, along with the current party member count.
Bob chooses Dominion Ops + (4/??) »

So the Player Bob would confirm his message:

Bob » Exp Abyssea Altep Dominion Ops (4/??)

And the Gossip NPCs would do the rest in terms of getting it to every other zone that houses a receiving Gossip NPC such as major cities and possibly towns. Coupled with a cool down timer, and multiple spots to construct and receive these messages throughout multiple zones, this could help in the directions of alleviating congestion in Port Jeuno.

I would opt for allowing players to be able to use a "repeat recently constructed message?" option to streamline the process, as well as an "Edit recently constructed message?" option should they wish to change anything. Perhaps even the ability to check through current/recent messages via a list menu supplied by the shouter NPCs. This could also lead to the option of "Use this constructed message?" and then editing the message to fit one's purposes to again streamline the process.

So long as the menus are intuitive, fast, and well thought out, it could be pretty helpful.