Accomodation for Colorblind Players?

[Aerothorn]

I think Planetside had, on the whole, a brilliant design. But one thing that always bugged me was the color scheme. I'm colorblind; not in the monochromatic sense, but in the sense that similar colors are difficult to tell apart. On the map, it's impossible for me to tell the difference between NC and VS (which forced me into playing TR during my planetside days).

At the very least you could zoom in on the bases and see the faction icon, but with towers I was plum out of luck.

Given the screenshots I've seen of the PS2 map, this doesn't seem to be changing, and there aren't even any icons on the hexes! How will colorblind players be able to tell the difference between Vanu and NC controlled areas?

[super pretendo]

Yeah, I too am colorblind-american. the discrimination in the video game industry is pretty bad. BC2 always messed with me with the minimap

LoL has a colorblind mode and it helps

[Ratstomper]

Hmmm. That's actually a very good point. Maybe adding a faction symbol to hexes?

[PhoenixDog]

Honestly...In this day in age of gaming...Almost every game that relies on colour to separate players should have a colourblind mode.

[zomg]

I'm slightly colorblind with shades of green and brown as well. Would be nice to have something.

The easiest way to get around this would be to let you just choose the colors yourself. Not a big deal to let players mod the UI colors to suit their tastes I think.

[MyMeatStick]

Originally Posted by super pretendo

Yeah, I too am colorblind-american. the discrimination in the video game industry is pretty bad. BC2 always messed with me with the minimap

LoL has a colorblind mode and it helps

They have colorblind mode on BC2, unless you were saying it's useless?

[CrystalViolet]

Some accessibility features would be nice, but I don't expect to see them right off the bat. I myself have trouble with small text and wouldn't mind seeing text to speech feature implemented. Alternatively, if the data they release includes chat streams, the chat window from the game could be fed into a TTS compatible chat client such as Trillian. Just throwing out some ideas for the devs.

[Gonefshn]

Seeing that this is a huge MMO I think they will accommodate people with these issues adequately though I'd love to hear a dev speak up about it. Doesn't seem like the type of thing they couldn't discuss or want to keep under wraps.

[super pretendo]

Originally Posted by MyMeatStick

They have colorblind mode on BC2, unless you were saying it's useless?

Guess I should use it

[TheRagingGerbil]

I am pretty sure Higby addressed this concern early on in one of the podcast. If memory serves me, he said they were going to do some things, but it wasn't a high priority because the percentage of players (like 1/2 percent) were the only ones affected by it.

[RadarX]

We are going to do everything we can manage to ensure colorblind players are able to enjoy the game just as much.

[Russ]

Thanks RadarX. Im not colorblind, but even in games like BF3 i use the colorblind option. Colors are more dull and less bleeding (that holographic aura on panels or HUD). So i like that option to be inplace, plus it helps those who do have it. So its a win/win.

[RadarX]

Originally Posted by Russ

Thanks RadarX. Im not colorblind, but even in games like BF3 i use the colorblind option. Colors are more dull and less bleeding (that holographic aura on panels or HUD). So i like that option to be inplace, plus it helps those who do have it. So its a win/win.

I understand and please remember feedback like this is crucial for us. I can remember a few years ago working on a strategy product and someone letting us know they weren't able to play well because they couldn't see the base of the game pieces on the map. It took a developer about a day to add an option in to change the tint and resolve the problem entirely.

[Xaine]

Its pretty standard today to have it in, i'd be surprised if it wasn't.

[Harrod]

I asked this a few weeks ago, glad there's a nice concise answer this time

Thx RadarX