Chat

Tutorial for the Shadowbane Chat Filter System

Intro

The new filtering capability is accessed through the channel Configuration Window (brought up by the Window Configuration Menu -> Channels). This Window allows the user to subscribe and un-subscribe to the channel and add, remove, and move the priority of the filters. When a user first subscribes to a channel, there are no filters applied and all messages that correspond to that channel are allowed through.
When the user adds a filter, a specific filter Window will appear depending on the channel and what can be filtered. For example combat can now be filtered by hits, misses, defense, information, or errors while the tell channel can be filtered by who is sending or receiving the tell, information or errors.

Subscribing to a Channel

To subscribe to a channel the user will bring up the context menu for the Channel Window that he wishes to see the channel in, then clicks on the channels menu option. Then channels list Window will be displayed where the left hand side is the list of channels and a checkmark beside each one that the user is currently subscribed to. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the channel click its checkbox which will toggle the checkmark.

Adding/Editing/Removing a Filter

Once the user is subscribed to a channel, he can add a filter to make the messages more readable and reduce the amount of clutter in the channel Window. To add a filter, click on the subscribed channel and then click the add button under the filter list. This will bring up one of the specific filter Windows and allow the user to specify what he wants to filter. The changes will not be permanent until he clicks OK on both the filter Window and the channel Window.
Editing a filter is just as simple. Select the channel, then select the filter to edit and click edit under the filter list. To change the color of the text that the filter allows click on the color square and set the color. Again the changes will not be permanent until the user clicks OK on both the filter Window and the channel Window.
To remove a filter from a channel, Select the channel, then select the filter to remove and click remove under the filter list.

Defining a Channel Filter

Once you create a channel you will have several options to define what you want displayed from the channel. Options vary among the different channels. All channel filters need a name, in order for the user to identify the filter in the list.
Some channels have a way to add characters to filter on. On these channels, to add a character, select the specific character filter option. Then click add and type the characters name (or shortened id with an ‘X’ in front). The name will appear in all caps in the list. When the filter looks in the list for the character it will search the name in a case insensitive way. If you want to ignore the characters in the list check the Not In List option above the list.
Other options are switched by changing the checkbox or radio button.

Application and Usefulness of the Chat Filter System

Now that you have all the technical stuff out of the way, here is the real information you want... how to actually do this and what to use it for. If you're like me, you get a ton of different information while playing... tells, group information and chat, city and leader chats, fighting, etc, etc. It is so much easier if you can filter out certain things or even specify where it is shown. Before we get into that, we'll go over the basics.
First thing to do is open up the Configuration Menu on the chat Window you wish to update and go to Channels. This hasn't changed from the way things were done before. The difference is when you actually use this option you will see a split window... one showing the Channels you can subscribe to and the other where you can Add, Edit, and Remove Filters. You will notice that the Filter options are currently closed to you, denoted by the red shading. When you subscribe to a Channel by putting a checkmark in the button next to it, and then highlight the Channel, you will notice that you can now use the Filter options.
Another thing you will notice is a small colored box next to any Chat Channels you have subscribed to. When you click this box, it will bring up a small Channel Colors Configuration Window so you can adjust the color of that Channel to what you want.

Default Filters

Group Filters

There is not too much to filter out in Group Chat. It is occasionally beneficial to divide your Group Chat into two windows; one containing only Group Communication and the other containing Group Information (such as Gold Splits and who grabbed what items). That way you don't miss what group members are saying and can still see where all the loot went!

Combat Filters

One of the most important filters is the ability to show what Combat information you wish and do not wish to see. On top of that, you can even separate it to see different information in different Chat Windows. First things first, you will want to put all of my Combat Information in one window so you can see what "YOU" am doing. The first one you will want to add is a filter that just shows you Hits and titles it appropriately. Then add Filters that will also show all your other Combat Information such as Misses, Passive Defense, Information, and any Errors all in the same window.
In the Chat Window next to it, you may want to add Chat Filters for Hits by group members and Hits by others. Some people even set it up so all group member Hits would show up with yellow text while Hits from others would show up in white text; that way one can see if someone else has entered the picture who isn't in that person's group. You may also want to add in the Powers Channel for good measure so that all of your Combat Information shows up in a chat window while your group member's Hits show up in another window. You can also see how easy it is to notice Combat Information from non-group members.

Tell Filters

Some people get a ton of tells, especially if you're a Class that can summon individuals. With all of these tells, it is easy sometimes to miss the important ones. Some people set it up so all their Tells go to the single Chat Window but there are some from people they don't want to miss. So they may filter tells to show in a different Chat Window for select individuals. There is a trick, though, but it is easy to fix. Using the "Not In List" option on the Tell Filter, all Tell correspondence chosen individuals will show up in the one Chat Window while all other Tells will show up in another. You can set this up for as many people as you want.

In Closing

As you will have noticed, there are other Chat Channels such as Nation, Command, Powers and even an Event Splash Window. There is much more to the Chat Filter system but the above should give you a good understanding of the capabilities of the system and how to use it.