View Issue Details

IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0000698AI War 1 / ClassicSuggestion - Interface Ideas - Multiplayer CommunicationJul 10, 2015 12:28 pm
ReporterLancefighter Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Status consideringResolutionopen 
Summary0000698: Ingame IRC client
DescriptionSo I dont need to pause and tab out to chat on irc.

While we are at it, lets add a forum/bt browser...
TagsNo tags attached.
Internal Weight

Relationships

has duplicate 0003492 closedChris_McElligottPark In game IRC Channel 
has duplicate 0017388 closed Chatbox for quickly meeting up with players. 

Activities

Chris_McElligottPark

Oct 18, 2010 10:52 pm

administrator   ~0001265

Pretty highly unlikely, but perhaps.

Lancefighter

Oct 18, 2010 10:54 pm

reporter   ~0001266

<3
was only mostly kidding about the browser

Volatar

Jun 8, 2011 1:05 pm

reporter   ~0012356

This would be a rather useful feature.

Lancefighter

Jun 8, 2011 11:00 pm

reporter   ~0012362

arg why you people bumping mah decades old threads :s

Chris_McElligottPark

Jun 8, 2011 11:01 pm

administrator   ~0012363

Get off his lawn! ;)

Entrenched Homeperson

Jun 10, 2011 3:36 pm

reporter   ~0012405

This is lawn I'm definitely on.

It's poetry. :P

Chris_McElligottPark

Jun 10, 2011 3:51 pm

administrator   ~0012408

Nice poetry. :D

Lancefighter

Jun 10, 2011 4:31 pm

reporter   ~0012409

*shakes cane at people* damn you kids always on my lawn

doctorfrog

Jun 12, 2011 1:51 pm

reporter   ~0012421

Last edited: Jun 12, 2011 1:59 pm

If the dev cost is relatively low, integrating IRC into AIWar will look better than having the user visit a web site or download an IRC client, and make the overall matchmaking experience appear more integrated and professional. This will make it much easier for new users who are not yet familiar with the game to chat with the faithful, ask questions, and start new multi games.

Voting up re: http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,8670.msg77319/topicseen.html#new

However, since the game does not lend itself to casual matchmaking, there will always be a contingent of unhappy players, who IMO are less likely stick around for a full game anyway. In short, some players who are not willing to connect to IRC/forums to start a game, aren't likely to complete a game anyway. However, if IRC integration is enough to win over some fence sitters, it may be worth the dev time.

Lancefighter

Jun 12, 2011 2:19 pm

reporter   ~0012422

Well like the general idea is that it might be a good idea to let people imgame chat from ingame on irc - thus, those that are in the middle of a sologame would have an easy way to segway into multiplayer fairly easily

Since the advent of unity, tabbiibg out to irc became that much harder, making this much more important

Vinraith

Jun 29, 2011 12:42 am

reporter   ~0012586

Last edited: Jun 29, 2011 12:47 am

Not something I'd ever use, so it's really a matter of whether it'd take up a lot of dev time.

Lancefighter

Jun 29, 2011 12:59 am

reporter   ~0012587

Last edited: Jun 29, 2011 12:59 am

really? you had to bump this just to say you dont support it? thx bro


edit: meant in an entirely sarcastic manner, pretty please dont jump on me because im mean :(

Vinraith

Jun 29, 2011 1:10 am

reporter   ~0012588

Eh, I felt bad voting against (even just "inclined against") without offering an explanation. It hardly matters anyway, it's comfortably in the top ten at this point.

Making it more visible will also more likely help it than hurt it, so the bump's nothing to complain about. :)

Lancefighter

Jun 29, 2011 1:18 am

reporter   ~0012589

My lawn! youre on it! *waves cane*

BobTheJanitor

Jun 29, 2011 4:52 pm

reporter   ~0012618

>Not something I'd ever use, so it's really a matter of whether it'd take up a lot of dev time.

Just going to save that quote for posterity, so I can post it back to you when I see you in the in-game IRC client. :D

keith.lamothe

Jun 29, 2011 7:03 pm

administrator   ~0012621

"edit: meant in an entirely sarcastic manner, pretty please dont jump on me because im mean :("

It's ok, we know you're from EvE, it's understandable.

keith.lamothe

Jun 29, 2011 7:54 pm

administrator   ~0012622

FYI, this is high enough in the vote tallies that I'm doing some brief research on the client and server pieces we'll need to do this. Don't have enough time to really dig in though, AVWW work coming first.

Chris_McElligottPark

Jun 29, 2011 8:01 pm

administrator   ~0012623

There is a free IRC client rough codebase that is in the Unity Asset Store, by the way, Keith. I figure that's a good place to start, but it has to be game-integrated and re-skinned, and I'm not sure how many frills it really has.

And then there's the server side to consider: we need to host that ourselves, or via some service that we control at any rate, and I'm not sure what is involved for that and if we could set it up on rackspace.

keith.lamothe

Jun 29, 2011 8:56 pm

administrator   ~0012624

I have code for the client side pieces, the gui would presumably just be a modified mode of our chat functions already, wasn't planning on pulling in a 3rd party client due to the need for the gui to be heap-static and so on. But we can look at it when there's time.

And yea, server-side is a bit more complex architecturally. I don't think our Cloud Sites account on Rackspace permits us to install stuff, so a standalone IRC server would seem to be out (unless we want to get a Cloud Server too but that's not cheap). If there's one that runs as a web-service thing or otherwise on top of IIS presumably that would work, though I'm not aware of such an IRC server. Probably a hosted IRC service would be the simplest, though I really don't know how many simultaneous users we'd be looking at here. From what I've seen a hosted solution could support something over 100 simultaneous users for $5/month and something over 1000 simultaneous users for $20/month, though that begs the question of how much we can afford for this feature.

keith.lamothe

Jun 29, 2011 9:00 pm

administrator   ~0012625

Found what looks like an IRCd hosting option with a free trial:

http://www.exsyshost.com/shared-hosting/ircd-hosting/

Just making a note for reference when we come back to this.

Chris_McElligottPark

Jun 29, 2011 9:24 pm

administrator   ~0012626

Neat, that looks like we could do it for only about $15/month, which wouldn't be too bad. And if you have client side code that you're comfortable with, then that's great. I agree that we don't want to do a cloud server, although we could do an Amazon EC2 instance potentially. Those I believe are billed by cycles and bandwidth, so it could work out fairly cheap. But probably not substantially less than $15/month, and it would definitely be more than that if it's popular.

vordrax

Jun 30, 2011 2:34 am

reporter   ~0012627

I would love this, please add.

vehementi

Jul 8, 2011 12:00 pm

reporter   ~0012680

This would be great.

Zephilinox

Jul 13, 2011 3:28 am

reporter   ~0012704

Last edited: Jul 13, 2011 6:27 am

I don't know how feasible/possible it would be, but you could compress messages on the client side, send them server side and convert them back to normal text client side (not the same one, a different client reading it).

the way I understand it, words, or part of them, are replaced by a unique signature stored in a library inside a normal compressed file, which then gets read when uncompressing to restore it to it's orignal state, meaning small texts like those sent in an IRC chat wouldn't be cut down very much/at all.

but if instead of the library being created based on the text you wanted to compress it would instead be pre-created with popular words and phrases that people may often use it could convert what would otherwise be a 50-100 character string to something maybe 20% of that, assuming the words those 50-100 characters represent words that are stored in that library, that would allow more players to chat at a lower price (again, assuming it really is feasible, or even possible, plus I'd imagine it would take a lot of work)

another problem with text files you would normally compress is that the library adds to the size of it, this wouldn't be a problem with my proposed suggestion as the library would only take up a small amount of space on the client's computer, with no extra bandwidth used.

Sorry for the long read, but I'd love to see an in-game chat, not only would it serve to organize multiplayer games but would also bring the community closer together.

Lancefighter

Jul 13, 2011 3:42 am

reporter   ~0012706

i thought the internet progressed beyond needing to compress plaintext? Arent most emails sent via plaintext? why complicate the system >_>

its not like we need the speed or bandwidth of compressing plaintext, and i assume it will be easily opt-outable..

what im saying is, do we really need to compress text?

Zephilinox

Jul 13, 2011 3:52 am

reporter   ~0012707

Last edited: Jul 13, 2011 3:53 am

No, of course not, but it's not as if the dev's have an infinite pile of cash like hotmail, google or yahoo, to quote:

"From what I've seen a hosted solution could support something over 100 simultaneous users for $5/month and something over 1000 simultaneous users for $20/month, though that begs the question of how much we can afford for this feature."

"Those I believe are billed by cycles and bandwidth, so it could work out fairly cheap. But probably not substantially less than $15/month, and it would definitely be more than that if it's popular."

although I do agree with you that it isn't necessary right now, and as the game gets more popular the dev's will have more money to spend on more bandwidth, but it's an idea, albeit complicated and perhaps unnecessary.

Lancefighter

Jul 13, 2011 4:04 am

reporter   ~0012709

well, yeah, but thats more an issue with the number of concurrent users more than the amount of traffic.. at least, thats what I read from it

Zephilinox

Jul 13, 2011 4:28 am

reporter   ~0012712

I think that was just an estimate, since I went to the link and it only showed bandwidth, not user count, maybe I wasn't looking in the right place.

chemicalart

Sep 28, 2011 4:11 pm

reporter   ~0014415

Having this onboard with your next expansion would help retain players...and maybe attract more trial players...

Just saying...you can use this to both enhance gameplay and get more players.

keith.lamothe

Sep 28, 2011 4:13 pm

administrator   ~0014416

It's something we intend to do at this point, there's enough interest in it. I already did the preliminaries on sending IRC messages from the game, there's just a ton more work that has to be done for it to be an actual usable feature, etc :)

Lancefighter

Sep 28, 2011 5:22 pm

reporter   ~0014443

Yay :D

I'm guessing it will still have a backseat priority to doing avww for the meantime, butwhen that finishes it should be awsome and all

keith.lamothe

Sep 28, 2011 5:36 pm

administrator   ~0014447

Yep, so in theory you'll be able to idle and talk about LoL from within AIW! Ah, modern convenience ;)

Lancefighter

Sep 28, 2011 5:53 pm

reporter   ~0014449

Its not all about LoL anymore... there's some World of Tanks , a little bit about SC2 when tournies are going on, and even some victoria 2 being discussed at the early hours of the morning!

You should visit more often ;)

Entvex

Oct 2, 2011 12:59 pm

reporter   ~0015291

I would like to see this too.

Spikey00

Feb 10, 2012 9:52 pm

reporter   ~0018875

Last edited: Feb 10, 2012 9:52 pm

Sorry to necro but I think this would be something to strongly consider during the length of the next expansion. You guys had several sales and bursts of new players, but saw very little of that traffic materialize on the IRC, forums, and the AI War group. I'd like to see the community flourish beyond the few regulars (and personally because the currently IRC is on a flatline, but there are still occasional players popping in looking for a game, only to be turned away and never seen again).

Even if it might be an on-the-fly Q&A chatbox over organizing games, that's more helpful for new players who are reluctant to register on the forums to ask a simple question, and gives some comfort to those who think the game's community is [totally] devoid. And you'll give us more people to talk with, because you devs hate us and have abandoned us.

Chris_McElligottPark

Feb 10, 2012 9:54 pm

administrator   ~0018876

Yes, it's certainly one we're considering. The sarcasm isn't terribly appreciated, though.

Spikey00

Feb 10, 2012 10:55 pm

reporter   ~0018877

Heh, at least Keith who has yet to pay us a visit since his short pre-Spire release Q&As. >_>

Chris_McElligottPark

Feb 10, 2012 10:56 pm

administrator   ~0018878

How so? He's updating the game, responding on the forums, and such more than I am. He might not be in IRC, I don't know, but that was always an off-hours thing.

Spikey00

Feb 10, 2012 11:04 pm

reporter   ~0018879

Mostly poking fun at his way (although it would be nice to have at least one of you here with us; would help with the vacancy of AI War in here). Apologies since you took the wrong way.

Chris_McElligottPark

Feb 10, 2012 11:07 pm

administrator   ~0018880

No worries, I just can't tell tone. IRC has never been my thing, though, in general -- too many interruptions.

Xeph

Mar 13, 2012 12:21 am

reporter   ~0020800

Of the 2,500 or so members of the Steam AI War group, typically 50-200 players are in-game at any given time of day. 0 of those players are ever in the Steam group chat, and 15-18 are in the official IRC channel. An in-game client would spike those numbers so high and make multiplayer matchmaking so much more common it's scary!

Also, it would be cool to talk about LoL and idle from in-game. xD

Lancefighter

Mar 13, 2012 4:45 am

reporter   ~0020806

"Also, it would be cool to talk about LoL and idle from in-game. xD "

THIS GUY KNOWS OUR SECRETS!

Arkillion

Sep 23, 2012 12:05 am

reporter   ~0028482

Dam that's something I'd definatly want.. LoL and Ai war at the same time ?? League of Ai ??
It would also make me less lonely while playing

onyhow

Dec 19, 2012 3:48 am

reporter   ~0029148

Oh, so we have this already? Yeah, I'm supporting this too...should help a lot with matchmaking...

At least Achron and Star Ruler already have implemented this relatively successfully (integrate with official channel, TOME 4 chat is separate from their official channel so it's a bit different...)

AdamMil

Aug 6, 2014 9:14 pm

reporter   ~0038883

I'm against a general/simple IRC client, but if it had integrated matchmaking support, it would be an excellent addition to the game. For example, the game could automatically advertise your hosted game in a channel and also be able to parse advertised games from the channel and allow you to easily join them.

But I'd rather see you just set up a simple web service backed by database that keeps track of ongoing games. For example, if enabled, the game would register the game in the public database on start (if # players > 1), refresh the game every 30 minutes or so, and remove it from the database when the host quits or more than 40 minutes pass without a refresh. Easier to implement, and less bloaty.

Radiant Phoenix

May 13, 2015 11:27 pm

reporter   ~0040767

Last edited: May 13, 2015 11:28 pm

While I think the overall idea might be useful, I will note that chatting without pausing seems like a *bad idea* most of the time.

Also, make sure it can be hidden/minimized for those of us with small screens.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Oct 18, 2010 10:51 pm Lancefighter New Issue
Oct 18, 2010 10:52 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0001265
Oct 18, 2010 10:52 pm Chris_McElligottPark Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Oct 18, 2010 10:52 pm Chris_McElligottPark Status new => confirmed
Oct 18, 2010 10:54 pm Lancefighter Note Added: 0001266
Oct 20, 2010 1:47 pm Chris_McElligottPark Status confirmed => considering
Jun 8, 2011 1:05 pm Volatar Note Added: 0012356
Jun 8, 2011 2:00 pm Chris_McElligottPark Relationship added has duplicate 0003492
Jun 8, 2011 11:00 pm Lancefighter Note Added: 0012362
Jun 8, 2011 11:01 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0012363
Jun 10, 2011 3:36 pm Entrenched Homeperson Note Added: 0012405
Jun 10, 2011 3:51 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0012408
Jun 10, 2011 4:31 pm Lancefighter Note Added: 0012409
Jun 12, 2011 1:51 pm doctorfrog Note Added: 0012421
Jun 12, 2011 1:59 pm doctorfrog Note Edited: 0012421
Jun 12, 2011 2:19 pm Lancefighter Note Added: 0012422
Jun 29, 2011 12:42 am Vinraith Note Added: 0012586
Jun 29, 2011 12:44 am Vinraith Note Edited: 0012586
Jun 29, 2011 12:44 am Vinraith Note Edited: 0012586
Jun 29, 2011 12:47 am Vinraith Note Edited: 0012586
Jun 29, 2011 12:59 am Lancefighter Note Added: 0012587
Jun 29, 2011 12:59 am Lancefighter Note Edited: 0012587
Jun 29, 2011 1:10 am Vinraith Note Added: 0012588
Jun 29, 2011 1:18 am Lancefighter Note Added: 0012589
Jun 29, 2011 4:52 pm BobTheJanitor Note Added: 0012618
Jun 29, 2011 7:03 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0012621
Jun 29, 2011 7:54 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0012622
Jun 29, 2011 8:01 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0012623
Jun 29, 2011 8:56 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0012624
Jun 29, 2011 9:00 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0012625
Jun 29, 2011 9:24 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0012626
Jun 30, 2011 2:34 am vordrax Note Added: 0012627
Jul 8, 2011 12:00 pm vehementi Note Added: 0012680
Jul 13, 2011 3:28 am Zephilinox Note Added: 0012704
Jul 13, 2011 3:36 am Zephilinox Note Edited: 0012704
Jul 13, 2011 3:36 am Zephilinox Note Edited: 0012704
Jul 13, 2011 3:42 am Lancefighter Note Added: 0012706
Jul 13, 2011 3:52 am Zephilinox Note Added: 0012707
Jul 13, 2011 3:53 am Zephilinox Note Edited: 0012707
Jul 13, 2011 3:53 am Zephilinox Note Edited: 0012707
Jul 13, 2011 4:04 am Lancefighter Note Added: 0012709
Jul 13, 2011 4:28 am Zephilinox Note Added: 0012712
Jul 13, 2011 6:27 am Zephilinox Note Edited: 0012704
Sep 28, 2011 4:11 pm chemicalart Note Added: 0014415
Sep 28, 2011 4:13 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0014416
Sep 28, 2011 5:22 pm Lancefighter Note Added: 0014443
Sep 28, 2011 5:36 pm keith.lamothe Note Added: 0014447
Sep 28, 2011 5:53 pm Lancefighter Note Added: 0014449
Oct 2, 2011 12:59 pm Entvex Note Added: 0015291
Feb 10, 2012 9:52 pm Spikey00 Note Added: 0018875
Feb 10, 2012 9:52 pm Spikey00 Note Edited: 0018875
Feb 10, 2012 9:54 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0018876
Feb 10, 2012 10:55 pm Spikey00 Note Added: 0018877
Feb 10, 2012 10:56 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0018878
Feb 10, 2012 11:04 pm Spikey00 Note Added: 0018879
Feb 10, 2012 11:07 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0018880
Mar 13, 2012 12:21 am Xeph Note Added: 0020800
Mar 13, 2012 4:45 am Lancefighter Note Added: 0020806
Sep 23, 2012 12:05 am Arkillion Note Added: 0028482
Dec 19, 2012 3:48 am onyhow Note Added: 0029148
Aug 6, 2014 9:14 pm AdamMil Note Added: 0038883
May 13, 2015 11:27 pm Radiant Phoenix Note Added: 0040767
May 13, 2015 11:28 pm Radiant Phoenix Note Edited: 0040767
Jul 10, 2015 12:28 pm Dominus Arbitrationis Relationship added has duplicate 0017388