Steam Release: Open a popup window for conversations
issueid=3473 12-17-2014 11:06 PM
Senior Member
Number of reported issues by Dogbreath: 74
Steam Release: Open a popup window for conversations

So right now with the new scrolling message buffer, conversations are... bad. They just look really weird, and it's easy to miss them. So when you go and "C"hat with the druid, for example, nothing seemingly happens, you have to look at the message buffer to realize he gave you a quest.

My solution would be for conversations to open a new "window", much like achievements do, or various tutorial hints. You could hit "ok" at the bottom once you've finished reading/interacting to signify that you're done with the conversation. This would help for interactive conversations (like with the dwarf elder or the master thief) as well as non-interactive (like with Guth'Alak), and keep players from frustration. :)
Issue Details
Issue Number 3473
Issue Type Feature
Project ADOM (Ancient Domains Of Mystery)
Category All Steam Versions
Status Implemented
Priority 5 - Medium
Suggested Version ADOM r54
Implemented Version ADOM 2.3.0 (r73)
Milestone "Ease of Use" UI
Votes for this feature 9
Votes against this feature 0
Assigned Users Zeno
Tags (none)




12-22-2014 10:46 AM
Ancient Member
Good idea! I also got the impression that currently conversation with NPCs appears very cold and impersonal. Your solution would definitely improve role-playing aspects and atmosphere.

12-22-2014 12:01 PM
Ancient Member
Actually I think this would improve by putting the message buffer back on top, which is the prominent area and the one you instinctively look at most of the time.

12-22-2014 01:04 PM
Senior Member
I think both ideas could be implemented effectively. ADOM is the only RPG I've seen that's attempted putting a message buffer in the bottom left. Because of the way most languages work, you read top to bottom, and most (all?) European languages are left-to-right. So you automatically look in the top left corner for new texts. (I automatically look in the top right corner, but I'm used to it by now. :)) So reading the message buffer in the bottom left just feels very uncomfortable. Especially when I'm in a shop and walking over items - it's actually difficult for me to focus and figure out what I'm reading, since my eyes just naturally don't go there. I feel that there should be more context based messages in general - putting absolutely everything in the message buffer seems wrong somehow. (i.e, maybe stepping on gear or herbs or whatever would appear transparent in the middle of the screen, so you can know what you're walking over without looking away)

12-22-2014 01:55 PM
Ancient Member
Actually most popular roguelikes have got the messages at the bottom at the moment (bottom left for DCSS and ToME, bottom right for Cataclysm DDA etc.). But actually in these games I always had more problems focussing on the messages. Maybe that's because I was socialised to roguelikes with ADOM, though.

12-22-2014 02:57 PM
Ancient Member
Quote Originally Posted by GordonOverkill
Actually most popular roguelikes have got the messages at the bottom at the moment (bottom left for DCSS and ToME, bottom right for Cataclysm DDA etc.). But actually in these games I always had more problems focussing on the messages. Maybe that's because I was socialised to roguelikes with ADOM, though.
Both variants exist and I don't think either is clearly dominant over the other. For example, Brogue, DoomRL and Dungeons of Dredmor are also very popular and have them at the top.

12-23-2014 05:23 PM
Ancient Member
Pop-up box for conversations would be really terrific. One could also have the sprite of the person talking to you appear at the top of the message box. Ostensibly it would be similar to how monster memory entries are displayed.

In general a lot of the long messages from NPCs just aren't suitable for the message log.

02-02-2015 06:09 AM
The Creator
This RFE is really interesting but it would mean to touch 2525 (!) places in #ADOM's code. This gives you an impression about the depth of the game...

02-02-2015 12:07 PM
Senior Member
Related problem: In ASCII mode, if you are talking to a trainer (the one in Thieves guild or with Garth), the options are scrolled away, so you only see the last line - and not what you are choosing from.

02-09-2016 07:04 PM
Junior Member
Quote Originally Posted by adom-admin
This RFE is really interesting but it would mean to touch 2525 (!) places in #ADOM's code. This gives you an impression about the depth of the game...
that is a shame because it would be a very good idea imo.

02-10-2016 02:22 PM
Ancient Member
Can conversations to a forced [more] that happens despite your "ctrl-k" settings? (With some other config to revert to previous behavior)
Or at least, happens on the default "ctrl-k" settings?


Could you put a conversation in the tutorial dungeon? (With help text to describe it?)

07-14-2017 11:05 AM
The Creator
By now things are looking very well for this ticket. The ASCII version is done and I'm waiting for the graphical version to catch up.

07-14-2017 12:13 PM
Ancient Member
Wondering if the implementation accounts for cases where NPC's talk without you initiating, e.g. Rehetep.

07-14-2017 12:29 PM

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