Already Frustrated w/ CONVO!

If you play in single player mode, and you actually ask questions instead of just typing the keywords, you'll see it's actually better than any previous Ultima from the 80s - that's Ultima III, IV, V only btw.

there are some pretty clever questions and responses, and it feels better. in MPO mode it's it a bit more chaotic so you don't really notice it

 

I never used keywords in sota. I tried to type normal phrases and I found that NPCs often doesn't recognize my intentions, even if my sentences are pretty simple.

Mentioning 1980s I didn't mean early Ultima with keywords. I remember some RPG series, like Wizardry, with the same attempts to recognize typed text, and the same problems like it's now in sota.

 

Yeah. I mean it's not going to be perfect. Not ever. You could spend the 3.6 million completely on a text recognition parser and it still wouldn't be perfect.

The other choice is to have a super dumbed down pick the multiple choice answer where there is NO chance of you finding out something for yourself or feeling like you can ask anything you want.

That's what some people want, and was discussed earlier in the thread. I do not understand why they want LESS choice. that is my position.

 

I support the idea of text conversations, but as I said before, It's better to find some complete AI Conversational Interface and integrate it into the game. It'll save time and money .

Look at SIRI or WolframAlpha

This the directory of Companies working on Intelligent Virtual characters

 

Wow, game development in hyperdrive in the last 30 years! Text speech is so much better, and so much more superior than anything out there these days! Current devs could learn a lesson from the old timers!

<grins></sarcasm>

 

I think having the highlighted keywords be clickable would be a great compromise. I also agree with the person that said there should be an option to turn the highlighted words off. I think that would solve much of the problems.

 

NO offense to the NPC's, but I don't feel like wasting my time talking to them.

 

I agree. If this system is, for some reason, a critical part of the game - then options for the player to choose their level of interaction with it are necessary. It's band-aid design, but not every battle can be won.

 

Been trying to converse with some npc's and can see how it can be better once polished. I really hope they fix it so that u can stay in a conversation without mousing the cursor back to the chat box

 

I believe there is an option to do so, called "continue chat after submit."

 

Nope. This is going to be our big push conversation system-wise for R5; pretty much exactly as you describe.

 

Including, perhaps, having the phrase written and highlighted somewhere in the journal entry?

 

I enjoyed talking to all the NPC's, I really did. I was able to piece SOME quests together, while others (as listed above) eluded me.

This push would really help. It wasn't for lack of trying that I could not link the quests, and I think that became the biggest frustration, knowing what I wanted to do yet not being able to convey it, or find the right person who needed to hear it.

At the end of the day though, I'm very impressed with the growth. It's coming along nicely. I would hate to revert anything else.

 

I hope so. I basically ignored the conversation system after R1. I did try out some quests in R4 as that was part of this release, but alas the two I tried were broken. Red sashes didn't work, for one. Freeing Myron didn't seem to work either, as Myra kept giving me keys to his cage.

But those are just bugs and I'm sure will be worked out. I'm a big believer of the input conversation system and I think it has the greatest potential to be a game changer. Interaction with NPCs touches upon two major aspects of what we do in the game: buy/sell gear and to obtain quests. But it can also be so much more than that. Which reminds me, I still owe Richard my formal proposal for the SmackTalk system -- which is way more than just leaving "fun" messages with the barkeep

 

All you have to do is hit 'enter' and start typing, no need to move the mouse at all. (Plus the option another poster suggested, I guess, although I haven't tried that.)

That's how it worked for me, at least - perhaps it was buggy and didn't work that way for everyone, but when I lost my chat box completely and couldn't get it back I was still able to type and ask for help just by pressing 'enter', without needing to see what I was typing.

 

Lum, is there any form of conversation window "redesign" in the works as far as aesthetics goes? The current design is very bland, obtrusive and clunky; like a Microsoft Notepad dumped into the game.

Perhaps something more streamlined / compact with a nice border and background transparency is in order. Transparency would be great for the chat window, because as it stands, it is just an eyesore.

 

So, back to the old EQ system for convo then. I still think it's the best way of handling stuff.

 

Still have fun typing at the NPCs, but often I just find myself asking about the keywords in a "Ale?" "Tavern?" "What sort of Dungeon?" kind of way. Mostly so I don't bore people around me who are forced to listen to my queries out of context.

 

Thanks for clarifying. It helps me decide what I had planned to do about pledging more or not (turns out not).

That was the final nail in the coffin.

 

Try not doing that; spice it up, you can still keep it short and sweet.

It makes it flow a bit better, and you might discover secret conversation paths.

Was really only possible in SPO mode tho and I think it will get better.

Multiplayer Convo is so messed up you can't really notice it in MPO