Enhanced Chat Legibility

[CodingSquirrel]

NOTICE: This mod has been integrated in 3641. This mod is now obsolete.

CodingSquirrel again, with another UI mod. Enhanced Chat Legibility

This time I've taken the time to try and enhance the ease of reading text in the chat. This mod will:

• Add a dropshadow to all text in the game's chat.
• Optionally add a background to the text to make it even easier to read. background can be turned on and off by typing /enableChatBackground or /disableChatBackground into the chat window. Default is background turned off.
• Fix an issue in the existing (not just my mod) chat, where the chat feed will only display the last two lines of chat shortly after the game starts.
• Optionally add chat persistence after you close the chat window. In the game now, if you close the chat then immediately all of the chat feed disappears until someone says something new. The chat persistence will let them slowly timeout after closing the chat window, as if you had never opened and closed the chat window. You can turn it on and off with /enableChatPersist or /disableChatPersist. Default is persistence turned on.

Sample image:


The first image is how it looks now.
The second image is how it looks by default with the mod.
The third image is with the text background turned on.

[ZenTractor]

This is pretty awesome.

I don't really have anything else to add. It works a treat, especially on the redder maps.

[Col_Walter_Kurtz]

Good, this is really necessary. Especially in casts or streams where quality is somewhat lower it's just impossible to read.

On a side note: anyone know how I resize the chat window so that it shows more than the default 4 lines of text? It is possible but for the life of me I can't find the right button.

[ZLO_RD]

Good, this is really necessary. Especially in casts or streams where quality is somewhat lower it's just impossible to read.

On a side note: anyone know how I resize the chat window so that it shows more than the default 4 lines of text? It is possible but for the life of me I can't find the right button.

put mouse on right bottom corner and stretch thing like any window, i think that how it works...

[CodingSquirrel]

Uploaded V2 to the vault.

• Fixes an issue in the existing (not just my mod) chat, where the chat feed will only display the last two lines of chat shortly after the game starts.
• Optionally adds chat persistence after you close the chat window. In the game now, if you close the chat then immediately all of the chat feed disappears until someone says something new. The chat persistence will let them slowly timeout after closing the chat window, as if you had never opened and closed the chat window. You can turn it on and off with /enableChatPersist or /disableChatPersist. Default is persistence turned on.

More detail on the bug fix:
When the game first starts whenever someone types something into chat if your chat window is closed it will show as many lines as your chat window would fit. However, once those messages start timing out the chat will only display as many lines as are still visible, until only the last two lines are ever shown. To show more than two you would have to open the window again, but once it was closed again you would still only ever see 2 in the feed.

I fixed it so that it behaves like it should. The chat feed will always show as many lines as your chat window would.

[speed2]

This should be integrated.

[Col_Walter_Kurtz]

Good, this is really necessary. Especially in casts or streams where quality is somewhat lower it's just impossible to read.

On a side note: anyone know how I resize the chat window so that it shows more than the default 4 lines of text? It is possible but for the life of me I can't find the right button.

put mouse on right bottom corner and stretch thing like any window, i think that how it works...

Thanks, I think I only got the whole window to move around doing that, but I'll look again.

[CodingSquirrel]

I discovered an issue where if you scroll your chat up when you close the chat window it will still display the backlog as if it was scrolled up, and only the more recent entries will start timing out as usual. The older ones will just sit there indefinitely, until you scroll back down.

I've already fixed it locally, but will sit on the fix to see if anything else comes up before uploading it.

[CodingSquirrel]

Some good examples of what a simple drop shadow can do.

[Aurion]

This should definitely be tested if stable and then integrated.