Game page filters, language restriction & audio-video!

[Een]

Today we'd like to introduce two new things and one big upgrade!

#1 - The first new feature was requested by the community a long time ago, but of course all good things take time!
You can now use filters on the game page, for example as demonstrated in the image above, to find all games you can play with "2 players", using a "card game" mechanism and with a complexity intended "for core gamers". We hope that this will allow you to get a better idea of the game you want to discover next, or just the ideal game matching your mood of the day!



#2 - The second new feature is the language restriction. This allows you, when configuring a new game table, to restrict access to players speaking a specific language (that you speak yourself of course!). Then only players who configured their language preferences to specify that they speak this language will be able to join. This is important for some games in which a common language is important such as Remember When.



#3 - In August 2015, we introduced "The next best thing" as a very beta feature. Since then, audio-video implementation has seen steady progress in internet browsers, and an update was needed. This upgrade has been done on the technical side, taking into account progress and new standards, and on the interface side: this feature is now directly available through icons in the chat window for easy access.

To make audio-video more reliable, we also subscribed to a set of specific relay servers intended to allow audio-video to work even when browsers cannot communicate directly due to network restrictions. Since these servers incur an extra cost, launching an audio or video call is a Premium feature. But just like for Premium games, if a Premium member launches a live chat session at a table, every other player can participate!

Of course the new feature on language restriction mentioned previously fits very well with audio-video! If you intend to propose other players to audio or video chat, you can specify a language for your table to be sure that everyone can understand you!

Please keep in mind that this is still a beta feature in the process of being standardized into browsers. In case of glitches, try to refresh (F5)!

Have fun!

[N_Faker]

I would like to request the video and audio buttons be placed behind a drop down menu like the smileys and premade messages are, as to avoid accidental clicks.

[JCase16]

Would it be possible to add a filter for most played games? I would love to know which games get the most traffic. If I want to learn a new game then I would love for it to be one of the more popular ones on BGA.

[infrareddandelion]

Do audio and video now work in turn-based games or is it only real-time? The icons show up in my turn-based game so I was curious.

I agree with the idea someone else mentioned about hiding those icons in a menu so you don't click them by mistake.

[Een]

Would it be possible to add a filter for most played games? I would love to know which games get the most traffic. If I want to learn a new game then I would love for it to be one of the more popular ones on BGA.

Well, games are actually sorted by popularity, so... done!

[Een]

Do audio and video now work in turn-based games or is it only real-time? The icons show up in my turn-based game so I was curious.

Yes they do! But obviously it has no sense unless your opponents are actually connected at the same time. It can happen, but not often.
If you meant can I record something that will get played to my opponent when he/she takes his/her turn, well then no.

I agree with the idea someone else mentioned about hiding those icons in a menu so you don't click them by mistake.

That's actually quite the opposite of what we wanted to do, which is making this functionnality more visible and easy to access. Why that fear of clicking the icons?

[infrareddandelion]

Why that fear of clicking the icons?

Because I accidentally misclick things all the time. It's one thing if that's a wrong bug in Hive. It's a totally different thing if it's an audio/video chat button.

[nanell]

I agree with the idea someone else mentioned about hiding those icons in a menu so you don't click them by mistake.

That's actually quite the opposite of what we wanted to do, which is making this functionnality more visible and easy to access. Why that fear of clicking the icons?[/quote]


I agree to move it. It doesn't have to be hidden, but where it's positioned now under the box where you type the chat is not a good spot. I was trying to finish up a turn based game with my opponent and chatting at the same time, and I kept getting kicked off the page either by clicking that area or by my cursor scanning over it and clicking it itself. Either way, I cannot play in a live game and chat during the game. That would be hard since I tend to be friendly.

[Een]

Why that fear of clicking the icons?

Because I accidentally misclick things all the time. It's one thing if that's a wrong bug in Hive. It's a totally different thing if it's an audio/video chat button.

Well, even if you misclick your browser will ask you to confirm access to your webcam/microphone before starting the session (unless you memorized the setting already). Also, other players will be prompted to accept before any session occurs, so if you misclicked you get the time to click again to cancel the call. You can also refuse access to your webcam/microphone the first time you get asked by the browser and memorize that setting.

[yoyote]

Thanks !