Alliance Chat - Overlay Chat on main window

[Chianti]

Alliance chat, even in the top alliances (I'm in the top alliance right now, incidentally) are all dead 90% of the time. There are sporadic times where some conversation happens, but for the most part its just plain dead because of how inaccessible and out of the way alliance chat is.

If you simply made alliance chat appear on the bottom of the screen as an overlay - perhaps just 2-3 lines at a time (with transparency so you don't take up precious space) things would change. Everyone in the alliance would see what is being said in alliance chat irrespective of where they are (attacking, simply upgrading buildings, whatever). You could also allow for alliance Elders and the Leader to make a general "announcement" which would appear in a different color - who knows.

So just to clarify - I'm not implying you should create a text box on the bottom of the screen. I'm simply saying that alliance chat should be overlaid on the existing graphics for everyone to read. If they want to respond, they can jump into alliance chat just as we do now.

[crusader7]

You're probably playing on an iPad. But what about a 4" screen? That would be either too small to read, or it would take too much space.
My suggestion is it might have a shortcut btn, let's say under the 'rank' button, with a realtime counter in it: 1 new msg, 2, 3 etc. Also, the chat panel might be non-modal, so when I chose to open it, it stays open until i close it
I'm speaking only about alliance chat, the global chat is the Babel tower for me, I don't understand how anybody can make anything out of it.

[syllrag]

You're probably playing on an iPad. But what about a 4" screen? That would be either too small to read, or it would take too much space.
My suggestion is it might have a shortcut btn, let's say under the 'rank' button, with a realtime counter in it: 1 new msg, 2, 3 etc. Also, the chat panel might be non-modal, so when I chose to open it, it stays open until i close it
I'm speaking only about alliance chat, the global chat is the Babel tower for me, I don't understand how anybody can make anything out of it.

I know a game with two lines at the bottom for chatting with a button on the right for a quick access to the chat panel full screen. The chat is still readable. Though with two lines, if there were too many messages, the chat would scroll too fast.

But yes, quick access to the chat panel would be ok. It should only require one click to access the chat panel, instead of two clicks as of now, plus clicking the alliance tab after the game crashed.

Adv: Join BLACK DEFENSE, we have active chat room :)

[kwhales]

Alliance chat serves it purpose I guess. But when 10 members are chatting, it can get confusing to follow a train of thought. I still would like to see NOTES opened up more. Right now it just shows who is requesting troops. Why can't it be used for individual conversations or notes from one member to another. As a leader, I sometimes want to write info to certain members and chat just doesn't work. Especially when it is a private note. Yes I know there is pms here in forum, but quick access during game play would be more beneficial.

[Chianti]

I'm actually playing on an iPhone. I know the screen real estate is small, but it would still be nice to see when someone responded to something I've said, or if another person asks a question. Right now, people go into alliance chat sporadically, so there is very rarely a cohesive conversation. You can get caught up in the game and forget to check if someone answered you, and by the time you do check, you realize they answered 12 minutes ago and are gone. This chat overlay would be a perfect solution.

[Chianti]

Come to think of it, this would be an acceptable solution which can be coded in roughly 20 seconds. Simply add a blue notification bubble for chat like you have a red notification bubble for troop requests:

10828

[sand]

Come to think of it, this would be an acceptable solution which can be coded in roughly 20 seconds. Simply add a blue notification bubble for chat like you have a red notification bubble for troop requests:

10828

I like the idea of Push notification for Alliance Chat activity, although the poor thing may explode on some of the more active ones I've personally witnessed! LOL

I'd like to also suggest giving us the ability to ping an ally to join Alliance Chat. Want to talk to an ally or bring her attention to a comment or discussion? Visit her town and tap an Invite to Chat button. On her end, she will see "Archers of Athena wants you to join Alliance Chat" in her Inbox. This will hog much less memory than one-on-one chat since the route will terminate in the same shared chat space.
The Invite to Chat button could be used to summon alliance members to meetings or to reach a quiet member whom you suspect may be inactive or who needs to be notified of something.

[crusader7]

woo hoo chat is not modal anymore in the new version. I don't know if this thread has anything to do with it, but I love it :)

[crusader7]

woo hoo chat is not modal anymore in the new version. I don't know if this thread has anything to do with it, but I love it :)
can I take that back? :D I'll take it back. I was hoping I can redesign my base while having chat open, but it's not the case. oh well... maybe in a future update?

[Grog76]

To compliment the existing alliance chat, is it possible to have a horizontal rolling banner at the bottom of your kingdom screen just indicating the last message posted in alliance chat? Plain white text over a partially greyed out bar would be fine. This should be unobtrusive enough to add value the game without being an annoying distraction.