Speech Bubbles - Thoughts?

[pyranicetus]

I tolerate that there are now (!) above quest NPC's heads, barely. That alone makes me feel like SE is a) holding our hands while we play and b) they are catering to the WoW crowd. Catering to the WoW crowd I can understand because it could potentially bring new players to the game which is good for everyone all around. However, chat/speech bubbles are going too far. Having the screen crowded with chat/speech bubbles would turn me off of the game. It is too much of a distraction and makes me further feel as if my hand is being held while I am playing. I am a veteran XI player, I know how to play a FF title with or without tutorials, I certainly do not need anyone holding my hand while I am playing. That is just my opinion.

[Majidah]

You're totally right, placing the chat in a box is a lot more hardcore.


Wait, what?

[JAH]

I just dont like the chatbox idea cause it could be cluttered and hard to see when multiple people speak.

[Dreamer]

I just dont like the chatbox idea cause it could be cluttered and hard to see when multiple people speak.

Anybody who has every played a game that has used a chatbox/bubble system knows that this is simply not true.

Are people just hung up on the 'bubble' part? It doesn't have to be a bubble - it can be floating chat boxes, or even just text by itself ala Neverwinter Nights. Just something that doesn't require you to glue your eyes to one corner of the screen to communicate.

The chat system in City of Heroes uses this to an especially good effect - you really only need to glance at your chatbox for tells - the rest is easily seen on screen. And it doesn't have to be in that style; like VS, as some have mentioned, the style can be catered to fit FF. And as always, you can simply turn if back off if you decide it doesn't work for you.

[Vesperia]

How can you guys be against something like this if it is optional?

I would not use this feature but I am not against it. Just put it on a toggle.

This isn't like the "aggro icons" fiasco. Because unlike the aggro icons, speech bubbles wouldnt actually impact on gameplay. Sure, maybe they are an eyesore, but they don't impact on gameplay or anything.

[AlmaMalma]

FFXIV speech bubbles would go like this :

"Hey guys"
<perform craft move>
<press />
"Hey guys I got an idea"
<perform craft move>
<press />
"Hey guys I got an idea lets fix"
<perform craft move>
<press />
"Hey guys I got an idea lets make speech work before implementing bubb"
/die

[Xmbei]

lol I do hate the resetting of the chat log on almost any occurance....

[Nabiri]

FFXIV speech bubbles would go like this :

"Hey guys"
<perform craft move>
<press />
"Hey guys I got an idea"
<perform craft move>
<press />
"Hey guys I got an idea lets fix"
<perform craft move>
<press />
"Hey guys I got an idea lets make speech work before implementing bubb"
/die

Funny because it's so true.
Thanks for the laugh. ^^b