Oolite Bulletins

How about building an IRC client into Oolite so that we can chat with fellow players while we're playing the game? It would still be single-player, but it could help build a community atmosphere while playing.

It could autojoin channels for each system, and allow players to create their own channels for friends. A newbie channel would certainly help new Commanders learn the game. Veteran Commanders could talk them through the harder things to learn, like docking and combat.

That's a neat idea, but I don't really see the big advantage over just playing it in windowed mode and have an IRC client running at the same time.
Also, I think it's complicated to show the text ingame (show it all over the screen? Annoying. Just show 2-3 lines? You'll miss a lot if people talk much).
Typing ingame is problematic as well. I'd rather use speech - just make a Skype conference or set up a TeamSpeak-Server.
Would be kinda cool if there'd be a TS-Server or something you'd join before starting up Oolite and chat with fellow commanders.

Corny wrote:

That's a neat idea, but I don't really see the big advantage over just playing it in windowed mode and have an IRC client running at the same time.

It'd bring in a lot more people than just those who have an IRC client set up and remember to sign in when playing. Especially the newbies who would need help the most.

Corny wrote:

Also, I think it's complicated to show the text ingame (show it all over the screen? Annoying. Just show 2-3 lines? You'll miss a lot if people talk much).

Good point, I imagined it off in some unobtrusive corner, or in the communications log. If it were in the normal message position that'd just get in the way of the crosshair all the time.

Corny wrote:

Typing ingame is problematic as well.

Well you certainly couldn't do it while in combat, perhaps it would have to be only while paused, or perhaps using a press to talk key which reads all key presses as input.

Corny wrote:

I'd rather use speech - just make a Skype conference or set up a TeamSpeak-Server.
Would be kinda cool if there'd be a TS-Server or something you'd join before starting up Oolite and chat with fellow commanders.

That is a cool idea, it would work well for small groups. The main problem with VOIP is that it severely limits the number of people you can have in the same room, plus good ones aren't exactly cheap. IRC servers are cheap and simple because they only need to relay text, and you can easily fit a hundred or more people in a room if you wanted to.

I think that this could work as an OXP when docked at a station (thinking like a mission screen).


Also I think that this conversation should be split into a new thread?

You can connect to a server using an OXP? Wow, that would open up all sorts of possibilities.

Hawk wrote:

You can connect to a server using an OXP? Wow, that would open up all sorts of possibilities.

I don't know if you can, just thinking of how best to integrate such a facility in the game.

In-flight would probably not be possible, at the moment, probably because text messages only can come up in the centre of the screen and not in a separate area of the hud.

Hawk wrote:

You can connect to a server using an OXP? Wow, that would open up all sorts of possibilities.

Very definitely not. (Except for the debug OXP.)

Ahruman wrote:

Hawk wrote:

You can connect to a server using an OXP? Wow, that would open up all sorts of possibilities.

Very definitely not. (Except for the debug OXP.)

Fair enough, that would have been quite surprising. I can imagine that would create some security implications too.

Perhaps the IRC client could be chain-run into another window. Just something to get the newbies involved with the community. Elite/Oolite is one of those fantastic games that so many people miss out on because it has a very steep learning curve. I am certain it will help a great deal if they have instant access to a pool of veterans who can give them a push start.

The IRC channel was pretty much dead when I went in and checked it out. 5 people sitting there and all AFK.

Hawk wrote:

The IRC channel was pretty much dead when I went in and checked it out. 5 people sitting there and all AFK.

What? Even FIVE? Must've been a rush hour
Well, you could be there more often, so there's at least one person not afk... maybe the users will become more then
I'll try that strategy.