Conversation interface suggestion

I thought about a way to spice the conversation interface up a little bit

For this I used some elements from Wasteland 2 and I borrowed a screenshot from the R8 screenshots thread

When you initiate a conversation with an NPC, the conversation interface springs up which is basically the chat interface we have now but with some modifications.

1. The window centers itself in the middle of the screen "below" you character - like shown in the picture below. This way you have the focus of the conversation in the middle of the screen.
2. The camera "locks" behind the player in a way that you look over his shoulders. The camera then focuses on the NPC you are talking to. If you switch between tabs to talk to someone else in your vicinity, the camera stays locked behind your avatar but pans to the other NPC. This way you can switch between the NPCs you want to talk to and always focus them just like in a real conversation in which you look at the person you are talking to.

The window itself would display the text just like it is now (but maybe with black writings on white background to make it more "eye friendly") and you can either click on the highlighted keywords in the text or enter the text you want to say - exactly like it is now. There could be a "Goodbye"-button to end the conversation more easily and quickly.

I also think it would be cool to have the portraits of the avatar as well as the NPC in there to make it graphically more pleasing and a bit more personal but this is not a neccessity.

This alteration of the conversation interface would make the conversations more focused and make them feel more like a dialoge than an IRC chat and you would also know who you are talking to and look at the person just like it is the case with conversations in other games. But the functionality would stay as it is right now.

Below are some screenshot how it could look like. One screenshot with portraits and one without.

 

Love it!

 

Nice, I've been saying we need to look at Wasteland 2s convo system for a while now.

 

Nice suggestion! We are reviewing now!

 

Very awesome even used a screenshot of my mini stage with LB on it lol. My only fear is that snapping the camera onto people could interfere with game play at times and should be able to be disabled but other then that I'd be interested to see this idea in game.

 

Best news I've heard in a long time!

I agree with Link_of_Hyrule, that it should have a toggle (especially for multiplayer), but a zoom-in/camera lock is something we've mentioned a few times on the boards and I'd love to see it come into play. It would really enhance the single player experience!

 

It would be really great if we could get something like this - with or without portraits

 

Wow, you are a genius! Those portraits could just use the avatar+NPCs 3D image so wouldn't require any new artwork from the team.

I REALLY hope they can do something like that - it would make the dialogue feel so much more intimate and directed at the player.

 

As for locking the camera, you could for example unlock it by simply moving the mouse and with the "Goodbye button" you could "escape" very quickly from a conversation if something interesting around you is happening.

 

I would love something like this I hope they consider it!

 

Yea, This would be great....
Mostly with the newest topic intimate relationships

 

Very good idea....why didn't I think of that?

I even have the beta for Wastelands 2 sitting on my computer;P

 

Nice!

 

What I dont like about this system is that if I click on the text "play" I dont know what Im going to say and if its insulting/pleasing... and do I have to go back and click on everything to get all informations? Its confusing.

 

unity info re convos etc click here






Very nice Darkmoon. I love it too. Oh and Richard G popped in. Very cool. I always have to research a bit on things and I saw this. There could be newer versions in Unity but it was informative to me. ***cheers everyone***

 

I like it. I think portraits and messaging style interface is a necessity.

Have been calling for that for almost ages now, but still we must make due with the standard chat log for everything.

Sent from my GT-S5690M using Tapatalk 2

 

Thumbs up, excellent suggestion Lord Darkmoon Hope that portraits will be considered.

 

I like the images appearing in the chat interface as shown. It adds a little to the immersion and makes it clearer who we are talking to.

 

Excellent idea!

 

Since R11: when you talk to NPCs, they become the focus of the screen with a dedicated chat window for the discussion. I like this but I think this is only one of two desirable steps. The chat window remains unchanged and looks still way too ... ahem, lets say simple. Just another mmo chat window in a loveless kind of pure technical-based presentation. Functional but without any rpg romantic

Now take a look at the chat window from the SotA version of the kickstarter campaign. What a difference!

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This is truly a worthy rpg chat window with its font and the brownish background. I would prefer to get back this kind of chat window from the earliest time of SotA

This passed through my mind when I read the thread about the next Hangout of the Avatar - Economy and Chat Systems.

BTW, the compass has already an appropriate font.