Would love to see a UI window that allows you to keep a journal / notes. Everything you enter could be saved client-side so there would be zero overhead server-side.
EQ has "/note", but it is a bare-bones, no frills version of what I am talking about. It is very basic and does not have much to offer.
Desired Options:
* Tabs (Ability to create new, delete, and rename)
* Rich Text Editor (so you can change font size, bold, italic, color text, tables, numbered lists, etc)
* Pick-able background page image (Plain white, parchment, lined, etc. Additional themes could be added via UI Authors)
* Reminder option. The ability to set a reminder on a tab for future reference.
* Date/Time stamp button. Click it to enter current date and time before you start typing your note/entry.
* Have an button on the Chat Window(s): Send visible text to a new Note Tab (see below)
The benefits of something like this would be numerous:
* You would not need 50 postits on the edges of your monitor, or have to write things down on paper.
* Log your own quest notes: "NPC in the Town of Blabla needs ItemX so they can upgrade my weapon".
* I owe CharacterX 5,000pp. They loaned it to me on XX/XX/XXXX.
* CharacterX owes me 5,000pp. Loaned it to them on XX/XX/XXXX.
* PC Conversations, email address, phone number, etc. (Sent to a new note tab from a chat window button)
* NPC Dialog (Sent to a new tab from a chat window button)
* Keep track of items you are on the lookout for. Gear, trade-skill items, etc.
* (Popup Reminder) When the reminder date/time expires, a popup shows that you have a note set.
* Copy and Paste your Guild's raiding schedule into a new tab for the month so you do not have to alt-tab out to see it.
I know there is an argument for "Don't bother the Dev's with such trivial things. They have bigger fish to fry.", but this may be a relatively easy quality-of-life addition to implement.
This is exactly the time to be asking for such features. After all, it does not hurt to ask.
Alternatively, sell nice Pantheon themed Moleskin notebooks and have us make hardcopy notes with a pencil. These would make a great stocking stuffer for the holidays and would look awesome on your desk.
I have a beautiful Tolkien version which my daughter gave to me several years ago. http://www.moleskine.com/au/news/hobbit-clothbound-notebook
They're quite classy and reasonably priced for the smaller versions.
Moleskine probably wouldn't do a Pantheon run, but I'm sure a vendor could be sourced to do something similar.
I like it. It is simple, realistic, and useful. They could be a crafted item that can be traded or sold. Need more pages added? Need an awesome dragon skin cover? Just don't accidentally give away the journal you keep all your notes in!
Yea, I love this idea regardless of how minimalistic or comprehensive the quest/beast/npc journal is. Not only would this be great for notes about actual game functions, quests, npcs, etc., it would be a great little personal journal to log interesting stories, adventures, mistakes, successes and so forth. It could operate as pseudo blog, giving players the ability to look back on their many adventures, the people they met, the treasures found, and reminisce over the many incredible memories in Terminus. I love the idea of looking back at notes taken many years down the road. How fun would it be to share Pantheon stories, much like we share Everquest stories, but from the pages of our own game journal. Brilliant!
Beyond that, I love any feature that helps to keep tabletop elements alive. Keeping notes can be a wonderful way of getting more into a D&D campaign and I know it always makes me feel more immersed and invested in the world when I take notes about the events of individual sessions, and especially regarding NPCs, conversations, dispositions and the like. I have been collecting many of the old (and new) single player RPGs that I never got a chance to play for whatever reason - I believe Planescape: Torment has a note system which allows you to set reminders for yourself, though the system is not nearly in-depth as you've laid out here (it could very well be present in Baldur's Gate and the other D&D RPGs as well, I haven't got that far yet!).
I love this idea.
Zeem said:
So yeah just use Notepad or word lol. Why would they recreate a text editor inside the game?
I really hope they dont waste resources of making a text editor when notepad is free
Because not all of us relish the thought of alt-tabbing out of the game anytime we wanted to make a note. Not only that, the ability to dump visible chat window text to a note window tab would be fast, and efficient for quests etc.
As other have said, it could also double as a Blog of sorts, or whatever else you desired to put in it.
I have no doubt that there is free source code out there that could accomplish much of what I suggested so it technically would not be a waste of resurces implimenting something like this.
:)
Bonechip said:
Zeem said:So yeah just use Notepad or word lol. Why would they recreate a text editor inside the game?
I really hope they dont waste resources of making a text editor when notepad is free
Because not all of us relish the thought of alt-tabbing out of the game anytime we wanted to make a note. Not only that, the ability to dump visible chat window text to a note window tab would be fast, and efficient for quests etc.
What he said. Alt-tabbing is a minimal pain in the a$$, but a pain it still is - and one that can easily be fixed.
We talk about immersion til our friggin' ears bleed, but apparently, alt-tabbing isn't immersion breaking? If I'm out in the wild, slaying wolves and adventuring and having a grand ol' fantasy time, don't make me break that spell by alt-tabbing to my desktop. Keep it going.
Not to mention, I've lost count of how many times alt-tabbing out of an MMO has caused other issues on my computer. I'm not a computer guy, and I know my machine is a piece of crap, so I don't know why this is. Doesn't matter. I don't want it to happen, so the more reasons I have to not do so the better.
Tralyan said:Bonechip said:
Zeem said:So yeah just use Notepad or word lol. Why would they recreate a text editor inside the game?
I really hope they dont waste resources of making a text editor when notepad is free
Because not all of us relish the thought of alt-tabbing out of the game anytime we wanted to make a note. Not only that, the ability to dump visible chat window text to a note window tab would be fast, and efficient for quests etc.
What he said. Alt-tabbing is a minimal pain in the a$$, but a pain it still is - and one that can easily be fixed.
We talk about immersion til our friggin' ears bleed, but apparently, alt-tabbing isn't immersion breaking? If I'm out in the wild, slaying wolves and adventuring and having a grand ol' fantasy time, don't make me break that spell by alt-tabbing to my desktop. Keep it going.
Not to mention, I've lost count of how many times alt-tabbing out of an MMO has caused other issues on my computer. I'm not a computer guy, and I know my machine is a piece of crap, so I don't know why this is. Doesn't matter. I don't want it to happen, so the more reasons I have to not do so the better.
I can see a use case for notes but to build a rich text editor with fancy tabs for blogging in the game is not the best use for developer resources. Get another monitor and open your favorite word editing program and have at it. Just add a copy text/chat button and paste it in word, done. Or better yet use a pencil and a notebook.
Depending on the game engine running windowed mode vs full screen is a performance hit as well as some times the controls also go a little wonky so relying on Alt tabbing can be very detrimental. There are a lot of player generated content options that would require a small word processing function and the chat channels are honestly already most of the way there. You would just need a UI bit that can open an editable text log in an in game window which would be a matter of an afternoon worth of programing if it is not already in the engine as a developer tool already.
I could see this being taken further as a way to maybe create an in game player generated newspaper of some sort or guild charter rules and the like.
Bonechip if you’re up for it would you mind adding this to my Brainstorming Player content options thread? Or with your permission I will write it up and add it myself.
Trasak said:Bonechip if you’re up for it would you mind adding this to my Brainstorming Player content options thread? Or with your permission I will write it up and add it myself.
Feel free to do what you wish with the info. I feel that things like this should be open for discussion in any context. :)
Edit: Good idea with the "newspaper of some sort or guild charter rules and the like". The possibilities are endless.
I like the idea. I have no idea how this would impact ui development but it would be great to see. That said, this doesn't have to be built from scratch either. It should be possible to leverage the capabilities of the underlying OS to provide some, if not all of this functionality, and just have the game hook those things so that it can be presented in-app rather than externally.
Zeem said:I can see a use case for notes but to build a rich text editor with fancy tabs for blogging in the game is not the best use for developer resources. Get another monitor and open your favorite word editing program and have at it. Just add a copy text/chat button and paste it in word, done. Or better yet use a pencil and a notebook.
I don't think anyone is suggesting a full fledged word editor. No spell check, no fonts, none of that stuff, just a place to record keystrokes. It would actually be fairly simple to add and likely wouldn't require all that much additional effort considering the complexity of the in-game chat system that already exists. As to the suggestion that we all buy a second monitor instead of supporting OP's suggestion...lol really?
We know that VR plans on rolling out some sort of friend finder network. It has been unofficially dubbed as "P-Harmony" -- I wouldn't be so sure that any kind of fleshed out text editor would be a waste of resources. It's quite possible that there is already a plan in place to utilize something like this and a feature as described in the OP could not only compliment it, but possibly be used as the source code to generate profiles, messages, etc. I think it's a good idea and I would like to see it in the game, especially if P-Harmony ends up being a thing.
I wouldn't mind something like this if it's a fairly simple thing to incorporate.
However, I don't want to open up the program in game and have a blank white page with a bunch of modern options like I'm looking at a fresh Word document. I'd enjoy it much more if it were immersion-friendly, like "writing" in a tome of faded parchment / vellum. :D
Kaen said:I wouldn't mind something like this if it's a fairly simple thing to incorporate.
However, I don't want to open up the program in game and have a blank white page with a bunch of modern options like I'm looking at a fresh Word document. I'd enjoy it much more if it were immersion-friendly, like "writing" in a tome of faded parchment / vellum. :D
Absolutely. I'm thinking something like an old soldier's war journal.
Kaen said:I wouldn't mind something like this if it's a fairly simple thing to incorporate.
However, I don't want to open up the program in game and have a blank white page with a bunch of modern options like I'm looking at a fresh Word document. I'd enjoy it much more if it were immersion-friendly, like "writing" in a tome of faded parchment / vellum. :D
That is how i'd like to see it implemented if done at all. Tabbing in and out of game is not only annoying to me, but really detracts from the immersion of being in a living breathing world. Admitedly I'm not sure why some are so worried about how VR spends VR's resrouces. As Kilsen said in another thread, how about letting VR worry about VR's resources :)
Can we have Powerpoint in game too so I can make spreadsheets and flowcharts ? /sarcasm off
In this day and age of cheap displays how hard is it to have a second monitor to keep track of whatever is needed ?
IMO this idea is a waste of effort along the lines of having in game voice chat.
The more stuff like this you add the more crowded the in game UI becomes.
Kiz~