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Suggestion Connecting the Players

Discussion in 'The Network' started by ohxd, Aug 27, 2019.

Suggestion - Connecting the Players
  1. ohxd Silver

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    39,193xp
    I read the forums often and I apparently have an unpopular opinion, because I think the MineZ game mode has, for the most part, fixed the skill gap. While the Annihilation skill gap is not perfect, it is nowhere near as bad as it was during 1.9 Shotbow. The few problems I have noticed are all related to a lack of connection between players on the server. For instance, the main difference between Shotbow and bigger servers like Hypixel, besides specific game modes, is the lack of connection between players in game.

    In many other "hub servers" there exists a friend system, a party system, and server-wide messaging. Parties allow players to warp to different game modes and play together. Friend systems let you see when your friends are on or were on last and what game they are playing, if any. server-wide messaging makes it so one is not required to use a third party application such as Discord to communicate with your friend who is, after all, on the same server as you. I feel like not having server-wide messaging is absurd to not have with only one foreseeable downside, which I will address later, and way too many improvements to a players quality of life; I am no expert, but I don't believe this would be too hard to code and implement either; if it would, then this of course would not take precedence over improving the individual games.

    The aforementioned foreseeable downside is fairly obvious but I feel like it should be mentioned anyway. If Shotbow implements my suggestion or any form of it, it should not be over-done or copied from other server's systems. If you make a simple system (no GUI, just a friend list, /friend add (name) command, /msg to anyone on Shotbow) then you are less likely to be accused of stealing ideas from other servers.
    Mistri, Roquel and Cliental like this.

  2. waltster Regular Member

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    133,890xp
    Hey!

    Shotbow used to have a friend system. I do not remember it being particularly game-changing. Since Shotbow now has a Discord, it seems like that would be satisfactory... I know other servers have friend systems, but you can just as easily join the voice channel. Perhaps you have a point about the global messaging, but it is important to remember that it is also a network and there are numerous different instances running.

    Best,
  3. ohxd Silver

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    39,193xp
    If you have more than one monitor for your computer, just having a discord would be fine; playing with discord open on your other screen. But for the gamers using welfare setups such as I, switching between the two applications is a pain. The global messaging system would also be useful for the new players because it's a standard of sorts for servers nowadays. The general multiplayer community is familiar with it, while they would not always want to join a discord server. Shotbow having a friend system was not game changing. What was game changing was when they REMOVED the friend system because of its bugs. My post is just reminding the staff that some people still remember the little things, and that they matter too.
  4. MuffinMinister Platinum

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    116,583xp
    This is why theres a discord overlay available, you should consider trying this out.
  5. connor564 Platinum

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    157,819xp
    Not everyone has discord downloaded. Many people use chrome or mobile
  6. ohxd Silver

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    39,193xp
    I've tried using the discord overlay and it didn't seem to work 100% of the time. I'd rather not rely on a third party application to conduct myself when there's a perfectly viable system that works better on the game I'm playing.

    And for anyone else who tries to say "but discord can do this", apparently it's not clear to you but for every specific way you use discord, there's 100 other ways it's used.
  7. waltster Regular Member

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    133,890xp


    This seems like a bit of a truism... yes, you do not have to use discord, and yes: perhaps there is the means by which to integrate communication in the game.

    I would prefer voice to in-game chat most anytime, especially for Annihilation which (last I checked) is our most popular game mode.
  8. ohxd Silver

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    39,193xp
    It's truism but you just said the exact thing that goes against it. There are plenty of people who choose not to use voice chat. If you want to have a discussion, please use more than your personal opinions.
  9. MuffinMinister Platinum

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    116,583xp
    If the size of the server or other factors demand a friend system to be worked out for the server it will happen, however considering current player numbers and the amount of sub servers there is not too much of a need for it to be quite fair.

    Voice chat or a mix of it (discord/ normal gamechat) is and always will be superior to only using gamechat, not wanting to use either is your own, personal problem or preference, depending which way you look at it.


    TL;DR: Not wanting to use voice chat or 3rd party programs is your problem, not the problem of shotbow.
  10. MuffinMinister Platinum

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    116,583xp
    If you use it on mobile you have it installed as an app i take it

    There is virtually no good reason to not install discord instead of running it in your browser, due to better resource utilisation and hence, performance.
  11. ohxd Silver

    XP:
    39,193xp
    The amount of sub servers is the exact reason why server-wide messaging should be available. How else will new players feel connected? Which brings me to the next point.

    If you think being connected to Shotbow is best done by not being on Shotbow you probably haven't put much thought into it. The discord is fine for the old geezers that have been here since the early days, and the try hard pvpers that can't fight without using coms. The problem lies in the fact that Shotbow sees very few new players, and the ones they get usually don't stay for long. This *VERY EASY* change could help immensely. The two biggest games on Shotbow, Annihilation and MineZ, are based around having a team, and aren't easy to succeed while playing alone. For the new players, a familiar system that helps them communicate with their teammates would give them just one more reason to stay.
  12. MuffinMinister Platinum

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    116,583xp
    I have been here since 2012 and game chat has been the most tedious annoying thing to use, since why would I use costly time to type things out when I have a perfectly good mouth and lungs to use for comms through discord/ts/skype (the latter 2 being where the actual old geezers are at)

    Anyway, and this is going to be facts not based on opinion; Shotbow does not at the current time have any public plans to facilitate a friend system or network-wide messaging, team chat or DMs can be used to message players in-server. You could consider typing out a nice, easy to read and concise PM to one of the Admins it might get passed on to the dev team if your ideas and arguments are deemed as worth it to spend any dev resources on. Or sending this to the network leads through the contact us button at the bottom of the page.

    TL;DR type this up as a nice suggestion and it may or may not get implemented at some point in the future, I wouldnt expect it however as communication between players has never really been a priority, shotbow during the peak of minecraft was adamant about using mumble and not teamspeak as a public way of facilitating chatting between players, while switching to it anyway years later, and to discord after that.
  13. ohxd Silver

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    39,193xp
    Typing may be hard for you if you can't type very fast. Most middle and high schools teach a typing class, I recommend taking one because typing is very important in today's society.


    This is exactly what I said in my original post. This should not be given any priority, it's just another thing that needs to be done (last sentence, 2nd paragraph).
  14. connor564 Platinum

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    157,819xp

    Discord runs on Chromium, which is what Google Chrome runs on, so technically, it would take up the same resources as the downloaded app. And discord overlay on mobile isn't a real thing lul.
  15. waltster Regular Member

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    133,890xp
    Hi,


    Personal opinions are the foundation of discussion, even if it is simply a discussion on the value of an in-game chat. I hope you understand this. If not, I would recommend Republic or researching Socratic dialogue.

    The beautiful thing about not wanting to use voice chat is that Discord allows you to have chat. If you want to talk to your friends ask them to join the same server or coordinate. It seems like you want to be spoonfed communication methods that do not require much actual planning or organization. That aside, I think that for all practical purposes it is silly to sacrifice that additional overload of a proxy server or database to manage the messages being sent. The development team has already worked hard to integrate Discord into the server. In game chat is tedious, scrolls quite fast, and is not perpetual.

    Discord is free, simple to install, and is easy to use. If you don't like it, that is fine. Hopefully you and your friends can find another way to communicate. I think Perhaps I can suggest falcons, or carrier pigeons.

    In all seriousness, I could see a network-wide integration of Discord beneficial and helpful, but a friend system does not strike me as a large priority. Let's bring Wasted back... ha!

    Best,
  16. ohxd Silver

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    39,193xp
    This is getting tedious repeating myself. I DO NOT THINK THIS SHOULD BE GIVEN PRIORITY!

    Also, I personally do use discord, I'm not suggesting the update particularly for myself but for the new players of shotbow.

    As for personal opinions, a discussion is a mix of opinions and facts. Stating an opinion contributes nothing to the outcome of the discussion other than one more person on one side, which is what he was doing. I know personal opinions are the foundation, but when you have only a foundation, nothing is of real utility.
  17. Mistri Network Lead

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    I remember the good old days when I used to use the friends system, and I honestly really liked it too. As suggested in your discussion, it's not a high priority, but it's definitely on our list. :) You're not the only ones who want it!
    Foxbuscus and Sevy13 like this.
  18. waltster Regular Member

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    133,890xp
    Hi,

    I hope you did not perceive what I said to be rude, I am sorry if it came across that way! I like the idea of being able to connect with friends, but I hated having all of the in-game chat filled with "new message" and the suchlike. I'm sure I could have muted this, but that's okay. I guess I missed a bit of the functionality when it was available.

    Perhaps an alternative would be some way of teleporting across the network to the server that a friend is connected to. Thinking about it, I would like to see that implemented. BungeeCord has some flexibility with that, but making it easy for friends to connect to the same server would definitely be a benefit.

    Once again, I apologize if that came off as rude. I am excited to see new ideas and community returning after the hiatus from the players!

    Best,
    Walt
  19. ohxd Silver

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    39,193xp
    No worries, I was just annoyed because you and MuffinMinister were asking the same questions.

    I'm sure they could make a way to toggle direct messages. As for teleporting; in the original post I said "Parties allow players to warp to different game modes and play together."

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