To talk with other players, you have to:

1. run Trem
2. connect to server

How about:

1. not needing to connect to the server
2. a dedicated standalone app that allows chatting without running the game at all

Imagine you could talk from browser level inside Gametracker server status screen. Or Apelsin with chat.

I remember that uBP used IRC connected with Tremulous, so that you can chat from there.

I am not sure about this one because It could be disturbing for players in game. Maybe just for spectators but still - it would be talking to "ghosts" - to someone who is not connected.

Hmmm ok, picture this: in most matches there were some spectators who either went AFK or simply chatted with other players. To be one of these "chatting" spectators you had to run Trem and connect to the server. Now - how about conjuring an app that would allow you to be in spec team and talk with everyone BUT without the need to run the game.

The thing is - given the prevailing market or everything mobile - the "mobile addicts" (99% of people born after 1995 IMO) would have a cool thing: you can chat with other players even if you're not in a position to play. So despite not playing you can still "participate" in the games. How about "hey i'm in school now but i'll be online in 2h" and so on.

Add some simple activity to mobile that would allow "mobiles" to stay connected. Chat, mobile-online-minigame (BASIC, 2d Trem deathmatch, real time or turn-by-sms based). A simple server-mobile pinger that sends current scores, info about match end/start. A notification of someone on your friends/clan list just logged in-game or is mobile-online (get it? mobile texting between "YOUR players only" that uses free-wifi and therefore costs the user 0$) .

AFAIK nobody in game industry has this yet, so perhaps Rcz crew could rush them like some noobs on ATCS

Eh, a mobile app designed solely for the purpose of spectating matches and chatting might be useful, but it would definitely be something to work towards many months after the initial release of the game after a good amount of bugs have been squashed, and finances are more secure.

Plus, I'm not positive that anyone at AAA knows how to program mobile applications.

A more efficient solution may be to simply incorporate some sort of Teamspeak or IRC protocol for use server-side.  I'm sure there are many mobile IRC apps already out there, which would save the devs here at least a month or so of work if they wanted to do something like this.


I'm not opposed to the idea of having a direct mobile connection to the game, but I just don't think it's high enough on the To-Do list to really consider yet at this point.

spectating matches

Not spectating. You connect to server using Rcz-irc client, You can only talk in text. Imagine Trem conslole (and only console) as a standalone app.

many months after the initial release

Perhaps it's not that hard. Perhaps it can be made in-house. Perhaps it can be outsourced for couple hundred bucks, in which case it's well worth it. Perhaps it is hard, but perhaps it's not and that's the point.

Plus, I'm not positive that anyone at AAA knows how to program mobile applications.

Again - perhaps they can, perhaps they can't, so don't assume. Perhaps they can outsource, perhaps outsourcing this will cost too much to be worth it anyway. Perhaps not and that's the point.

but I just don't think it's high enough on the To-Do list to really consider yet at this point.

I agree about To-Do list. And only about that.

Anyway, a quick google around the subject of "chat" reveals - get someone who knows programming a bit to ask about "how much a cross-platform messenger app will cost". Server already sends it anyway, so why nor use outside software to connect to that stream sent by server. Nothing fancy I assume (and hope I'm right it's not).

It'd be irritating me. And as Rotacak pointed out, it would be used for ghosting.

And as Rotacak pointed out, it would be used for ghosting.

Apparently you have no idea what ghosting is.

Well, this should be possible, but still I am not sure about that feature. Maybe yes, it can be like IRC but in that case we can directly use just IRC connected to game.

Spectators have still different position in that chat. They see things in game, but others are blind. So others could talk only about offtopic = not about actual game.

Now imagine this IRC on mobiles, with friends lists and notifications.

About the spec not being able to see - they don't need to. Rota, you probably know about "server console" - you can do admin stuff without really "loading" the entire game.

Well I just realized that it couldn't be ghosting when he doesn't see anthing.

Apparently.

I can see an IRC link to the game being useful in particular for clan-servers where there are a lot of regular players that put many hours into a particular locale who want to be able to chat with other regular players and friends when they cannot actually play the game (like at work in an office, or at college, etc.).

It probably won't get used nearly as much on official servers or other places that players don't tend to settle on as their 'home' server(s).