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In game Word Processing/Spreadsheet

I'd love to have an option in the in game UI to open a Word Processor/Notepad or a Spreadsheet. The only mmorpg I've ever seen with this functionality was Eve, and it was extremely useful. Not everyone keeps notes about stuff they do in game, but most of the website people get advice from were made by people who do. And some of us like this. Adding this won't hurt you people who don't like this idea.

Most of the time I have to alt-tab out of the game to keep notes. I'd like to be able to do that in game, and save them (maybe they save locally, maybe not). I'd also like the ability to send these through the in game mail system too.

Eve also allowed waypoint hyperlinks and other things to be kept in their word processors/spreadsheets , so you could be standing in a location and make a link for it, and clicking on it later would give you an active waypoint to that location. I think these are very useful addons to the game.

Artisan's would probably get a lot of use out of this feature too.

What do people think?
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Comments

  • I don't know how it works in Eve, but I see an instant red flag in form of illegal code execution and exploits through the text editor, especially if it has hyperlink support.

    Maybe I'm just paranoid.

    I agree it would be an useful feature, but I also don't think tabbing out to take some notes, or having a notepad on your desk (this is what I usually do) to write things down isn't much of a problem.
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  • @FliP I don't think it has to be able to interact hard with the game code. I think it would just make a document file in a special game directory for them. You could probably access them out of game too.

    You can already type in chat's of various kinds, so this is the same, except that you can save it. Word processors don't have to have the ability to execute code any more or less than is programmed into them.
  • As long as it can't interact with the game at all, I don't see why they couldn't have something like this. As you say, it can just be a random text file in your install directory.

    It's your "Quest Journal". What you write in it is up to you!
    This link may help you: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/
  • I've seen some stuff happen simply with having a web browser on a game console.

    One would think, how can someone get root access through a web browser, yet it happened (this is why some modern consoles don't come with a web browser btw).

    Chat is different from a word processor, at least the way I picture it. Also, what happens when someone attempts to load a modified text file in the game. There can be protection in place, but people are creative and will find a way to overload or bypass it.

    To me it's just too much risk for a slight convenience. BDO has a notes system which barely anyone uses because it's faster to alt-tab into Google Docs than Esc -> find "Notes" in the menu -> click on "Notes" -> wait for it to load.
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    Eternal Guild
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  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    How Not To Be Immersed In A Fantasy RPG
  • If it was designed by the dev's there wouldn't be any worry about it being an exploit, especially if it was only accessing stuff locally on your own computer. This doesn't hurt any of you who aren't interested in it at all. It's useful functionality that I would appreciate and probably many other people would as well.
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
  • Pannath wrote: »
    If it was designed by the dev's there wouldn't be any worry about it being an exploit, especially if it was only accessing stuff locally on your own computer. This doesn't hurt any of you who aren't interested in it at all. It's useful functionality that I would appreciate and probably many other people would as well.

    I hate to break this to you, but every game with exploits was developed by developers. This team isn’t immune.

    It’s not worth the potential issues when everyone can alt-tab with basically the same speed. It’s easier to organize and search information using other programs.

    Don’t forget that someone made a fully functional version of Pokemon Red in Minecraft. Never underestimate the ability of users to completely flip the program on its head to do things a developer never even imagined.
  • @Dygz There is literally no harm to YOUR immersion in adding this. Don't use it if you don't like it, ask for the ability to turn off your UI view.
  • @Caeryl that's quite literally what alpha and beta testing are for. I've also seen bugs in game when a person take a few steps or attacks that the game crashes, yet they fix it and they're still making games where people and walk and attack. Fear mongering for something that might not even be an issue with an extremely useful functionality isn't helpful.
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Pannath wrote: »
    @Dygz There is literally no harm to YOUR immersion in adding this. Don't use it if you don't like it, ask for the ability to turn off your UI view.
    The devs shouldn't waste any time on it.
    But...they can if they want to.
    I doubt they will want to invite people to break immersion like that, but...maybe.
  • Dygz wrote: »
    Pannath wrote: »
    @Dygz There is literally no harm to YOUR immersion in adding this. Don't use it if you don't like it, ask for the ability to turn off your UI view.
    The devs shouldn't waste any time on it.
    But...they can if they want to.
    I doubt they will want to invite people to break immersion like that, but...maybe.

    How does it break immersion to have an in-game notebook/journal, but it doesn't break immersion to have to alt-tab out of the game into Google-Docs?
    This link may help you: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/
  • @daveywavey They're just fear mongering and nay saying to be negative. They said their opinion but keep pushing no just to be negative at this point. The game also isn't VR, so having your hands on a keyboard and mouse and looking at a monitor already breaks your immersion.
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Nay-saying is inherently negative.
    Again, it's unlikely to happen, but...not impossible.
  • Pannath wrote: »
    that's quite literally what alpha and beta testing are for. I've also seen bugs in game when a person take a few steps or attacks that the game crashes, yet they fix it and they're still making games where people and walk and attack. Fear mongering for something that might not even be an issue with an extremely useful functionality isn't helpful.

    Do so love to see “agree with me or f*** you” mentality. Good to see any concerns are “fear mongering” even though they can and have happened in similar systems.
  • On the flip side, I believe there is a hidden game embedded within Excel.
  • Shoklen wrote: »
    On the flip side, I believe there is a hidden game embedded within Excel.

    I said spreadsheet, I didn't say excel. Excel is an example of a spreadsheet, but not the only one in the world. I wasn't asking to be able to open up MS Office inside the game. I was asking for an integrated word processor and spreadsheet in the UI. As people have already said, there is already a journal, it would be nice if you could write in one too.
  • I like the idea of having a journal were you can write whatever you want in it. Of course in order to keep immersion I would prefer if it was an actual book you have in your inventory instead of a GUI element in the menu. After all since there will be a scribe profession in the artisan system and they will be able to write books I don't think this will lead to feature creep since it would just be a part of the scribe system.
  • why even waste the time to implement an infertior version of a tool everybody has access to already?

    It's literally just a waste of development ressources. Without any tangible advantage.

    Opening a spreadsheet ingame takes the same effort it would take to open a 3rd party program.

    Alt-Tabbing isn't an issue with borderless mode, and a screen wozld make ut easier to utilize a program that isn't within the game, unless Ashes has dual monitore support with the ability to open multiple shared windows..
  • And yet it works amazing in games that have implemented it like Eve. Why do anything when someone else has done it before? If you don't like it then don't use it if they put it in.

    @Warth I did make a previous post about dual monitors and having a monitor specified as a support monitor to drag UI windows over to without impeding in game view.
  • BobzUrUncleBobzUrUncle Member
    edited December 2020
    But why? What is wrong with using your computer and not putting in things that are already built?

    I can just see some fantasy medieval monk walking along. He sees a pretty flower. Pulls out a tablet, takes a picture, looks on the internet and identifies it. Then goes back to walking by a peasant hoeing in the mud. But he doesn't notice the earbuds the peasant is

    Yeah. Using a spreadsheet in a fantasy realm doesn't break immersion...

    Have you ever thought of how much work it would be to program in your ... ideas on what the developers should do?
  • Just like, keep word or excel open while you're running the game.
    I don't at all see why it should be part of the game itself when you can simply have multiple programs open at once on your personal computer.
  • BobzUrUncleBobzUrUncle Member
    edited December 2020
    Dang it, hit the wrong button... Please ignore.
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    At least Eve is a sci-fi setting rather than a fantasy setting.
  • NoaaniNoaani Member, Intrepid Pack
    Dygz wrote: »
    Pannath wrote: »
    @Dygz There is literally no harm to YOUR immersion in adding this. Don't use it if you don't like it, ask for the ability to turn off your UI view.
    The devs shouldn't waste any time on it.
    But...they can if they want to.
    I doubt they will want to invite people to break immersion like that, but...maybe.

    I specifically remember you being keen on an in game journal suggestion from a few years ago.

    That is essentially what this is. It's odd that you aren't so keen on it after people used the terms "word processor" and "spreadsheet", even if these are simply tools that can assist in good journal keeping.
    FliP wrote: »
    I've seen some stuff happen simply with having a web browser on a game console.
    EQ2 has had a web browser built in to the game client for about 15 years now, and has had no exploits because of it.

    I'm unsure if you are referring to game console as in the in-game command system that many games have (which is called a console), or actual gaming console hardware such as a PlayStation or Xbox.

    If the former, I've never seen any exploints to this end, and would be interested if you could point me in the direction of the game and specific exploit you are talking about, as a good laugh at poor execution is always good. It is also worth noting that of these two things, this is the only one that would apply to adding an in game browser to an MMO client.

    If you were referring to consoles as in hardware, that is a totally different thing. Because consoles give software basically bare metal access to hardware, if you give people software that allows them to execute what ever code they want (such as a browser), then yeah, obviously that can be exploited. This is a fact of consoles (previous generation ones, at least) not having the built in security features that PC's and Mac's have from their operating system, because consoles were assumed to be a closed system where general users had no means of running any code other than which was approved.

    So yeah, a browser in an MMO is not at all a bad thing, and offers no security threat if the develoeprs do it right.

    This would have the advantage of allowing players to browse the games forums from within the game, to access community websites, or even to consume content about the game, from within the game.

    There would then also be scope for people like @Jahlon to host google documents (a web browser would cover spreadsheet and word processor) of various popular things on their site for people to use, all while staying in the game. I am sure there are also many other things that various content creators could come up with that would add to the game, and more importantly add to the community.
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    A journal is different than a word-processor/spreadsheet.
    I am not interested in writing a journal. I would just record my gameplay and turn that into machinima.
    The only type of journal I'd be interested in is one that is created by the game as a summary of experiences characters have. Like as part of a character sheet that other players can read.

    I think Landmark did have an in-game twitter interface - which was nice.
    But, that wasn't actually immersive narrative gameplay.
  • NoaaniNoaani Member, Intrepid Pack
    Dygz wrote: »
    The only type of journal I'd be interested in is one that is created by the game as a summary of experiences characters have.
    That sounds incredibly boring.
  • Noaani wrote: »
    Dygz wrote: »
    The only type of journal I'd be interested in is one that is created by the game as a summary of experiences characters have.
    That sounds incredibly boring.

    Considering who’s idea it is, are we surprised by it

    There’s just no point wasting resources on a journaling system when there’s a better, free option already. Why not keep an actual journal at the desk?
  • LeiloniLeiloni Member
    edited December 2020
    Pannath wrote: »
    I'd love to have an option in the in game UI to open a Word Processor/Notepad or a Spreadsheet. The only mmorpg I've ever seen with this functionality was Eve, and it was extremely useful. Not everyone keeps notes about stuff they do in game, but most of the website people get advice from were made by people who do. And some of us like this. Adding this won't hurt you people who don't like this idea.

    Most of the time I have to alt-tab out of the game to keep notes. I'd like to be able to do that in game, and save them (maybe they save locally, maybe not). I'd also like the ability to send these through the in game mail system too.

    Eve also allowed waypoint hyperlinks and other things to be kept in their word processors/spreadsheets , so you could be standing in a location and make a link for it, and clicking on it later would give you an active waypoint to that location. I think these are very useful addons to the game.

    Artisan's would probably get a lot of use out of this feature too.

    What do people think?

    I think calling it a word processor or spreadsheet scares people away that don't understand the idea. Aion had an in game memo pad with some of these functions and it was insanely useful and everybody used it. People would even share links/text outside of game that you could copy to your in game note pad.

    The primary use for it was that it would save map waypoints via links in your note pad (back in the day before rift locations were on the map, you had to save the locations via your in game note pad so you knew where they were, or you might also save world boss spawn locations, or special spawns like Tears of Luck for the Miragent/Fenris quests, etc.).

    So you could save important locations in your note pad with the link and a description of the link, and then just click the location in your notepad and it would put an X on your map. You could also use the notepad to copy/paste these links to other players in chat.

    You could use it to keep lists/notes for yourself about other stuff as needed, or you could also use it to copy/paste frequently used text into chat. Whatever the hell you wanted it was insanely useful, but also much, much easier and faster to do this stuff in game as opposed to alt tabbing (which is irritating, many people won't want to do, and doesn't work for in game map location saving/sharing most importantly).

    And yes it was saved locally, so your note pad was permanent. Every time you logged into your character the same notepad information was there.

    The map location saving/sharing feature alone is a massively useful aid in an open world game like this.

    Edit: For the people worried about coding exploits, aside from plain text, the only other stuff the Aion notepad could take is in game locations, whose code looks like this or random crap like emotes which look exactly as you'd expect.
  • FliP wrote: »
    I've seen some stuff happen simply with having a web browser on a game console.

    One would think, how can someone get root access through a web browser, yet it happened (this is why some modern consoles don't come with a web browser btw).

    Chat is different from a word processor, at least the way I picture it. Also, what happens when someone attempts to load a modified text file in the game. There can be protection in place, but people are creative and will find a way to overload or bypass it.

    To me it's just too much risk for a slight convenience. BDO has a notes system which barely anyone uses because it's faster to alt-tab into Google Docs than Esc -> find "Notes" in the menu -> click on "Notes" -> wait for it to load.

    You can always just have a keybind for your notes. I know BDO didn't really do keybinds which was stupid, but Aion for example you could hit Shift+M for the memo pad by default, but you could also keybind it to anyone else you wanted. Seems far easier than alt tab (especially when, as mentioned above, the notepad could work with in game chat/map systems, which your alt tab programs won't).
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