Console text chat discussion

Zusia211 · June 2015

wazzaroo wrote: »

NewBlacksmurf wrote: »

It seems like an anti-social perspective in the thread. Or those who are anti guild store and feel that text chat is their place to use as a market.

Ppl pay to block pop-ups and adds...why would they put this into the game for an alternate communication purpose. Maybe a limited 25 character chat bubble but nothing more (with a limit on how often the chat bubble could be used)

I get the response to players who don't use etiquette with their mics but after mute it's not an issue.
I just ask nicely or let them know everyone can hear their background noise and ask them to mute their mic.

If they are rude, I mute them. If they are over the top and intentional or do so with malice I report them on Xbox.

Otherwise, it's a great feature that's far better way of communication.

What on Earth does paying to block pop-ups and advertisements have to do with text chat in an MMO?

Well you will run into issues of people spamming the chatbox. Either constantly saying over and over again about an item they are trying to sell.

Also someone commented that console players are used to only controller and mic? I been using a keyboard since I got the PS3 for communication purposes, and never saw need for a mic. So I am more use to controller keyboard. Also one more point for against voice chat is this - go look at those popular games that has voice chat and just look at how many people are actually using a mic in them.

Milktray · June 2015

Ojustaboo wrote: »

Milktray wrote: »

and generally players only care about their own little world

Pot kettle black

Actually, that was the point .. I don't care about your chat just as you don't care about mine

bedlom · June 2015

I think we definitely do need a proper chat box on console but an option to disable it should be added with it.

Just like we need an option to disable in game voice chat period. It's always a nice though but never quite works the way it should in most games especially if you are used to the quality of xbox party chat.
But that is why I say we gotta have the options because I'm sure VC does work for a lot of players but I need a proper mmo chat box when I'm playing a proper mmorpg like eso.

CommanderROR · June 2015

Useage of voice chat seems to have gone down to almost 0 in Glenumbra. It's sad because it makes this game basically a single player game, but it's brtter than all the distorted noise I got before. Now immersion is about 500% better!
Still, it's an MMORPG, and it needs functional communication to really work, so we need text chat for general and optional voice chat for group communication im dungeons.

symonator · June 2015

The only time i ever hear anyone on mic (eu dagger) is when the vamp/werewolf camping is going on.
Other than that, it's almost extinct.

Group finder is borked. - Never works anywhere past level 10.

frenchyuk86 · June 2015

When I do pug no one has a mic. Only time I use it is when talking to guild. Chat box and text is needed for grouping as the lfg tool generally doesn't work.

LadyDestiny · June 2015

I am hoping they decide to add text chat in the near future. I honestly hate the area chat and sitting in guild chat is just as bad. I for one do not like to wear a headset for extended length of time because they give me headache. The other problem no text chat is causing are the mass spamming of out of game mails in xbox now. So tired of "are you a vamp or werewolf?" and "can I get a bite?" or just wanting to you to give your stuff away

In game chat wheel is ridiculous. Most of the time I just use my play dead emote because of frustration.

Dahkoht · June 2015

Currently Zenimax is converting their ears and eyes yelling la la la la.

They realize their excuses about controller mapping being too hard for console players to understand , blaming gamer tags not being shown on the console makers requirements , and this panacea of voice chat with no text chat being the best thing ever have all been shot to pieces.

CruxAnsata · June 2015

Dahkoht wrote: »

Currently Zenimax is converting their ears and eyes yelling la la la la.

They realize their excuses about controller mapping being too hard for console players to understand , blaming gamer tags not being shown on the console makers requirements , and this panacea of voice chat with no text chat being the best thing ever have all been shot to pieces.

With this giant topic getting no response other than "please keep it civil", I would have to agree it at least appears that way.

Merkabeh · June 2015

CruxAnsata wrote: »

Dahkoht wrote: »

Currently Zenimax is converting their ears and eyes yelling la la la la.

They realize their excuses about controller mapping being too hard for console players to understand , blaming gamer tags not being shown on the console makers requirements , and this panacea of voice chat with no text chat being the best thing ever have all been shot to pieces.

With this giant topic getting no response other than "please keep it civil", I would have to agree it at least appears that way.

In their defense, on the topic of text chat, they had promised console would have text chat previously in a different thread regarding text chat on console and when ZOS decided it wouldn't be included, they had to deal with the backlash from that.

So they are probably not stating anything right now to be completely noncommittal in either direction.

All we can do is continue to voice our desire to have text chat in the game and each of us as individuals decide if the lack of text chat completely ruins the experience for us (thus quitting playing the game). Personally, while I am 100% pro text chat, and believe it should be added to the game for a variety of reasons, it isn't a deal breaker for me yet; however, I can understand people saying the lack of community/grouping due to insufficient communication and grouping tools may be a deal breaker. That is on each person to decide as an individual; and I guarantee, if enough people reach that point, ZOS will have to take notice, but for now, we raise our voice asking for it, to hopefully prevent the game getting to that point, since by that point, it may be too late.

CruxAnsata · June 2015

In their defense, on the topic of text chat, they had promised console would have text chat previously in a different thread regarding text chat on console and when ZOS decided it wouldn't be included, they had to deal with the backlash from that.

So they are probably not stating anything right now to be completely noncommittal in either direction.

You are probably correct there, it's still just frustrating.

Ace_of_Destiny · June 2015

My Opinion...

No Text Chat = NOT a fully functioning MMORPG

I paid for a fully functioning MMORPG.
If I wanted a half-arsed attempt at a "console mmo" I would have kept playing Destiny...it has the same voice-only chat, limited/broken matchmaking, and endless grinding...but, I like grinding.

As it is right now, I log into ESO, do a couple of quests, and log out.
Why?
I get lonely, and there are more people to talk to in here (The Forum) than in the game.

I did TRY giving the area voice-chat a chance.
But, I have to have the volume turned up quite a bit to hear the NPCs...since they also didn't include subtitles for us.
So, after having my ears blasted out almost to the point of bleeding by random "people" blasting crap music, or screaming something that is so distorted by the volume that it is noncomprehensible anyway...I gave up on it.
I use voice-chat with people I KNOW...not "randoms".
Plus...I don't want my expensive headset to be ruined by some "person" blasting LOUD NOISES through it and blowing a speaker.

Just my even more frustrated $0.02

dreatern · June 2015

+1 for optional text chat.
it's very important

who do not want to use, let it off
tha will not hurt anyone have the option there.

navyspeed · June 2015

bedlom wrote: »

I think we definitely do need a proper chat box on console but an option to disable it should be added with it.

Just like we need an option to disable in game voice chat period. It's always a nice though but never quite works the way it should in most games especially if you are used to the quality of xbox party chat.
But that is why I say we gotta have the options because I'm sure VC does work for a lot of players but I need a proper mmo chat box when I'm playing a proper mmorpg like eso.

You have the option to leave the chat channel in game.

Topazseeker · June 2015

Hmm... Get folding table for keyboard to be place on. That's not too hard to do.

Place needs of other people first before you, so your opinion is nothing.

ZOS made poor choice for not thinking people's needs first, not people's wants that are more likely selfish.

If you really care about people's needs, you wouldn't reject text chat to be added in first place. If your friend is deaf, speech problem, or any problem and found out you don't approve text chat in case your friends/family might decide to play one day, they will think you're traitor and want nothing to do with you. Is that what you want?

I believe all forms of communications should be available, one can turn voice off and use text while other can turn text chat off and use voice. It's win-win for everyone.

Muletide · June 2015

"Text chat wasn’t added to the consoles because of a number of factors. First, many of our early tests demonstrated what we already knew: it can be cumbersome to type in a text chat with a controller, especially when time counts."

I'm just going to leave this pic right there... laying around... for maybe a dev to see....

Also, smartphones can be connected and used as a keyboard with the PSN app.

use-smartphone-tablet-as-playstation-4-keyboard.w654.jpg

use-smartphone-tablet-as-playstation-4-keyboard.w654.jpg

Dahkoht · June 2015

Dahkoht wrote: »

Merkabeh wrote: »

NewBlacksmurf wrote: »

It seems like an anti-social perspective in the thread. Or those who are anti guild store and feel that text chat is their place to use as a market.

Ppl pay to block pop-ups and adds...why would they put this into the game for an alternate communication purpose. Maybe a limited 25 character chat bubble but nothing more (with a limit on how often the chat bubble could be used)

I get the response to players who don't use etiquette with their mics but after mute it's not an issue.
I just ask nicely or let them know everyone can hear their background noise and ask them to mute their mic.

If they are rude, I mute them. If they are over the top and intentional or do so with malice I report them on Xbox.

Otherwise, it's a great feature that's far better way of communication.

Yes muting people repeatedly is a blast... No, wait, it is not; what happens is people just get fed up with it and remove themselves from the voice comms completely; leaving exactly 0 ways to effectively communicate (I'll concede those quick chat options as communication when you can describe a boss with mechanics with it) with these people, or with other people if you remove yourself from the voice comms.

No communication channels is never better then multiple communication channels. Many people are abandoning voice chat with randoms in this game; my social guild (http://alessianorder.enjin.com/, 145 members currently) has many people who instantly remove themselves from Area chat.

Finally, you must be ignorant if you do not see that text chat and voice comms both have pros and cons, and there are scenarios where one option is obviously superior to the other. For example, text chat has voice comms beat hands down when it comes to multiple channel communication. I can have 1 chat window showing me messages from multiple channels at once; I can also type to multiple channels at once. With these voice comms, I can hear only 2 channels at once, and can't communicate effectively through those channels without monkeying around joining/leaving channels. There, off the top of my head, I can name at least one scenario, common to MMOs, in which text chat is the superior option; nullifying your last statement.

Last note; I've been lurking on this board since PC launch, just an idea, but stop speaking for "console gamers"; I've seen you do this way too often when there were no console gamers here (because we couldn't post until we owned a copy of the game); limit your opinions to yourself, I am a console gamer and disagree with almost everything I've seen you stand for on this site.

One more time as this post by Merk says it best.

Ojustaboo · June 2015

Milktray wrote: »

Ojustaboo wrote: »

Milktray wrote: »

and generally players only care about their own little world

Pot kettle black

Actually, that was the point .. I don't care about your chat just as you don't care about mine

I care about voice chat, I love it for groups.

But I don't want it for area, I want text.

StaticWax · June 2015

Dahkoht wrote: »

Dahkoht wrote: »

Merkabeh wrote: »

NewBlacksmurf wrote: »

It seems like an anti-social perspective in the thread. Or those who are anti guild store and feel that text chat is their place to use as a market.

Ppl pay to block pop-ups and adds...why would they put this into the game for an alternate communication purpose. Maybe a limited 25 character chat bubble but nothing more (with a limit on how often the chat bubble could be used)

I get the response to players who don't use etiquette with their mics but after mute it's not an issue.
I just ask nicely or let them know everyone can hear their background noise and ask them to mute their mic.

If they are rude, I mute them. If they are over the top and intentional or do so with malice I report them on Xbox.

Otherwise, it's a great feature that's far better way of communication.

Yes muting people repeatedly is a blast... No, wait, it is not; what happens is people just get fed up with it and remove themselves from the voice comms completely; leaving exactly 0 ways to effectively communicate (I'll concede those quick chat options as communication when you can describe a boss with mechanics with it) with these people, or with other people if you remove yourself from the voice comms.

No communication channels is never better then multiple communication channels. Many people are abandoning voice chat with randoms in this game; my social guild (http://alessianorder.enjin.com/, 145 members currently) has many people who instantly remove themselves from Area chat.

Finally, you must be ignorant if you do not see that text chat and voice comms both have pros and cons, and there are scenarios where one option is obviously superior to the other. For example, text chat has voice comms beat hands down when it comes to multiple channel communication. I can have 1 chat window showing me messages from multiple channels at once; I can also type to multiple channels at once. With these voice comms, I can hear only 2 channels at once, and can't communicate effectively through those channels without monkeying around joining/leaving channels. There, off the top of my head, I can name at least one scenario, common to MMOs, in which text chat is the superior option; nullifying your last statement.

Last note; I've been lurking on this board since PC launch, just an idea, but stop speaking for "console gamers"; I've seen you do this way too often when there were no console gamers here (because we couldn't post until we owned a copy of the game); limit your opinions to yourself, I am a console gamer and disagree with almost everything I've seen you stand for on this site.

One more time as this post by Merk says it best.

yeffy · June 2015

As a person with physical vocalization impairment, it is pretty critical for me to have a different form of communication to interact with other players.
This also poses an even bigger problem with the hearing impaired, rather it be partially deaf, or completely deaf. Voice communication is just not an option. It's an online game and there needs to be alternative forms of communication so that everybody has the equal opportunity to contribute.
This is really the first real MMORPG to hit console, so of course there are things yet to be addressed, but this is an easy fix and it should definitely be added to the game.

pecheckler · June 2015

Yet another day passes with no meaningful response from Zenimax. It seems as though Zenimax does not care what their customers want.

Dahkoht · June 2015

Would like to see what smart-ass , and juvenile excuse the speakers for not wanting anyone to have the text chat option have for leaving out the deaf and mute players of the world who for years have used mmo's as a place that they can be a part of.

I posted this in another thread , and suggest everyone take 2 mins out of their life to watch this segment of a video documentary , and see why text chat is an option needed.

This fine fellow , a member of the gaming community for years who writes on gaming sites like the Escapist and many other blogs , is kept from playing because of the no text chat decision.

youtube.com/watch?v=V_2FycHamfA&t=72m36s

Dareloth · June 2015

At the very least give us an option to set voice chat to be always off, literally the first time i played some idiot was cussing and screaming outside of davons watch. I'd like to play the game in peace, free from this kind of thing.

Orthodoxa · June 2015

I really hope that the devs will give us a text chat option and the ability to switch off area voice chat and have it REMAIN switched off when we go into a new zone, etc.

I am so sick of using a wayshrine and immediately having my ears blasted with unwanted noise pollution.

Uberkull · June 2015

CruxAnsata wrote: »

In their defense, on the topic of text chat, they had promised console would have text chat previously in a different thread regarding text chat on console and when ZOS decided it wouldn't be included, they had to deal with the backlash from that.

So they are probably not stating anything right now to be completely noncommittal in either direction.

You are probably correct there, it's still just frustrating.

They replied back when....LINK

lottasay_ESO · June 2015

Please INCLUDE text chat and allows external USB keyboard support.

HeathenDeacon · June 2015

you know what immersion is?
being in a mmo with no text chat, then joining a guild that creates a psn chat that i have to exit the game completely to read every time i want to talk to someone. smh.

DCUO on ps3 had both voice and text. noone ever used prox chat except to blast music in the common areas when they were bored. In fact after a few years alot of players stopped using VC completely b/c eventually Vc was always a drama fest in the end game community, and it was alot easier to remain calm and mature through text.
We even had custom chat channels which was amazing.
i could sit in my player housing all alone and switch between trade channels, LFG channels, zone, pvp, etc. , or turn it off when i liked. 99% of the dungeons/raids were all preformed using text. queuing in with a 'group tool' was never a serious means of finishing content unless you were overpowered and planned on nuking everything yourself with no heals//tank.

& anyone that doesnt think text 'works' for console hasnt actually been in a game that used it effectively.
virtual keyboards worked fine for most, but there are a ton of $10-20 keyboards out there for console as well.
and the main things you would use text for used abbreviations. EG: TANK LFG (dungeon name abbreviation), etc.
Many times for trade or LFG all that would be required to type was "INVITE" to respond to a request.

Orthodoxa · June 2015

HeathenDeacon wrote: »

you know what immersion is?
being in a mmo with no text chat, then joining a guild that creates a psn chat that i have to exit the game completely to read every time i want to talk to someone. smh.

DCUO on ps3 had both voice and text. noone ever used prox chat except to blast music in the common areas when they were bored. In fact after a few years alot of players stopped using VC completely b/c eventually Vc was always a drama fest in the end game community, and it was alot easier to remain calm and mature through text.
We even had custom chat channels which was amazing.
i could sit in my player housing all alone and switch between trade channels, LFG channels, zone, pvp, etc. , or turn it off when i liked. 99% of the dungeons/raids were all preformed using text. queuing in with a 'group tool' was never a serious means of finishing content unless you were overpowered and planned on nuking everything yourself with no heals//tank.

& anyone that doesnt think text 'works' for console hasnt actually been in a game that used it effectively.
virtual keyboards worked fine for most, but there are a ton of $10-20 keyboards out there for console as well.
and the main things you would use text for used abbreviations. EG: TANK LFG (dungeon name abbreviation), etc.
Many times for trade or LFG all that would be required to type was "INVITE" to respond to a request.

This has been my experience as well. I've played DCUO since it had its' beta over 4 years ago, and text chat was always the main way that the CONSOLE PLAYERS used to communicate. Other than things like raids or leagues, where you had control over who was in your channel, voice chat was not used much because of the problem that has already cropped up in ESO -- some people take delight in purposely blasting loud noise into a channel to disrupt it, and in a large public area most people will not bother trying to figure out which of the multitude of people in the area is assaulting their ears, they will just turn voice chat off.

FilteredRiddle · June 2015

Please, please, please, please! Community is such an important part of MMOs, and Voice Chat simply doesn't meet those needs. I feel like I'm playing a single player, that happens to have other people playing the same game.

FilteredRiddle · June 2015

Apologies for the double post; now that I've read through many of the others' posts, I had some additional comments.

1. I did not buy the Xbox One version, because I was "choosing" VC over the PC version and text chat.

I bought this version because the Xbox One is where I actively play video games. Many, many years ago I played EQII, WoW, etc on the PC but I found the upkeep to be financially cumbersome. Given the longevity of consoles when properly cared for, and my interests in only a few select games, consoles better fit my needs.

My choice has absolutely nothing to do with preferring VC on Consoles, to text chat on PCs. I cannot stress this enough. I play 99% of my games on console, and I wholeheartedly prefer text chat in MMOs.

2. I care about game world immersion; voice chat only hurts it.

I enjoy the game world for its lore and experience. If there were an RP server option, I'd be on it. However, short of this option, I would at least like the ability to (1) permanently leave voice chat and (2) utilize text channels as I need them. Having a quest related NPC conversation, only to have the NPC drowned out by someone screaming their name over and over ruins the in-world atmosphere.

Some people have argued that people may RP over VC. (1) Most people who would RP in-text will not RP over voice and (2) I don't want pseudo-LARP...

3. There are many possible options for integrating non-console controllers, to allow for text chat.

The Xbox One offers Smartglass on Windows 8, and any Apple iProduct. I can't speak for other products, but I would assume it's available beyond those choices; an earlier poster mentioned using their phone for PS4. Given how integrated games have become, I imagine it is plausible that a desktop website or program of some sort could be created, to allow for in-game text communications for those without additional technology.

The latest Assassin's Creed had an entire PC side-game app which actively communicated with the console game's world. There must be some solution for something which seems so simple.

4. The inclusion of text chat does not, in any way, affect VC.

If there are those who genuinely prefer VC, including text chat for those of us who do not, does not and would not affect the VC players in any way. Let those who want to use VC use it. Let those who want to use text chat use it. If anything, it will simply become a descriptor for various guilds.

Guild A will say it uses text chat, and only requires VC for raids and end-game. Guild B will say it uses voice chat, and only requires text chat for recruiters. These two options are not mutually exclusive.

AskMo at massivelyop sort of hit the nail on the head for me -

But the core of MMORPGs — real MMORPGs — is community, and communities that can’t communicate are doomed alongside their games. We need to be able to talk to each other, to reach out to each other, to group and trade and teach and learn. We don’t need to be around people all the time, and we don’t need to be engaged in conversation every moment we’re logged in. I don’t want either of those things myself. But without some measure of communication and a reason to chat — even if it’s an imaginary language or wiggly scarf trails — everyone around us may as well be AI. That’s a far worse fate than the irritating abuse and chaos we face in chat now. I’d rather have that messy something than nothing at all.

We’ve lost too much of what makes our genre our genre in the last decade, a truth devs and players of dwindling MMOs are slowly realizing. I don’t want to willingly give up more.

The voice chat, for me, has hurt my game experience and thus gets turned off. With VC turned off and no ability to communicate in a way which is meaningful to me, the world around me may as well be AI. What's the point of playing an MMO when it feels more like a massive single-player online RPG?