List menu instead of a full list on text channels

[Neils Iyssada]

Hi !

When you hail on trade / fleet etc channels, all the answers are listed on a confusing list. Same when you ask an item to a broker or a ship's status.

What if instead of listing all on the channel, saying "X spacecrafts answered" or "see the list of our offers for the object XXXXX" etc. Then you click on it and it open a menu, with the content depending of the action (more or less informations).

This way if you hail for a trade on a ringworld with many stations / brokers / airports etc, it won't open a dozen useless channels. You would just have to open the list and select the one you want.

[Deantwo]

So just to make sure I understand your suggestion.
Currently it is like this:

Code:

Deantwo: Hailing cities in the solar system.
Ravehale airport terminal: Channel opened.
Ravehale broker: Channel opened.
Ravehale military airport terminal: Channel opened.
Fire Fox airport terminal: Channel opened.
Fox Ghost airport terminal: Channel opened.
Fox Hills airport terminal: Channel opened.
Fox Shore airport terminal: Channel opened.

You instead want:

Code:

Deantwo: Hailing cities in the solar system.
God: 7 new channel requests pending.

And then you double click the message to see a list to choose from.

While the idea is interesting, I don't think it would feel "real". What/who would the sender of that merged message?

I think it would be better to redesign the whole chat system a little to make this better as a whole.

[Neils Iyssada]

You understood it, exactly.

I haven't thought about the name displayed yeah... Maybe "System", or no name for this kind of message ?

I came to think about this problem when I had the idea to build a giant "cannon station" on each part of a ringworld. Then if you want to communicate with the main trade station, you'd have all the cannons opening their channels too.

[Deantwo]

Maybe if new channels you were being invited to didn't automatically open themselves. Instead a little red dot indicator with a number in it (similar to a Discord ping count) would appear, then you click that and a context menu with all the channels is shown, they don't appear on your channels list if you don't pick them off this list pending.

But yes they should probably still all reply on the channel you hailed them on. If you don't want replies from everyone, simply change the range you are sending messages at, I personally prefer to use the Planetary range when trading.

[jakbruce2012]

Radio: communications detected on 7 frequencies. Check list of returns to open individual channels.

[Neils Iyssada]

Though again about it and it could just be a message named after our character, but visible only for him (if possible).
Or you idea Dean, the number of hail answers drawn next to a new "list" button or next to the actual "other channels" button.

Anyway it would be a must to render lists and hail answers viable when there's a lot of answers / items.
Think about a big fleet orbiting a single world, or a maxed-out ringworld with dozens of cities / bases.
Or when you ask something to buy and there's so much lines sent to the comm that it's longer than its max line count and you can't see the first items to sell.

[Deantwo]

Think about a big fleet orbiting a single world, or a maxed-out ringworld with dozens of cities / bases.
Or when you ask something to buy and there's so much lines sent to the comm that it's longer than its max line count and you can't see the first items to sell.

See:

If you don't want replies from everyone, simply change the range you are sending messages at, I personally prefer to use the Planetary range when trading.

[Neils Iyssada]

And then if I need to contact a ship at the other end of the solar system the problem's still here in case of a multi-player empire shipyard / home planet or a big fleet.