Hello Paxians!
Today, we want to discuss the chat system. In parallel to other additions to Pax Dei during Early Access, enabling players to communicate with one another as smoothly as possible is a clear goal for the team. We have news on that front.
On Wednesday, November 20, at 1 pm UTC, we’ll be patching the game. We anticipate a 1-hour maintenance for deploying the update. After that patch, Pax Dei’s chat system will be powered by Discord. We’re very excited about this collaboration and the opportunity to open a fresh approach to in-game discussions and socializing, allowing you to connect more seamlessly with your friends, clanmates, and fellow adventurers.
Below, we discuss what it means and how it works, and we also touch on ideas for cool new functionalities in the future.
Let’s dive into it.
What’s new?
While we completely replaced the underlying systems, the chat in Pax Dei should look very familiar at first glance. Proximity chat, direct messages, party chat, clan chat — it’s all there.
This first iteration is more than under-the-hood changes, though, and our revamped chat is already bringing some additional benefits to the game:
- Zone chat: you can now communicate with all players within a zone.
- Friends list: keep your friends close, they say.
- Online presence: see who amongst your friends is online, making it easier to organize group activities or hop into a conversation.
- Block and mute: sometimes, you’ll want to keep people at arm’s length (yes, it happens).
Stay connected to your Pax Dei friends anywhere.
In addition to making it easier for our team to deliver a state-of-the-art communication system, the real bonus behind an MMO chat system powered by Discord is enabling friends to remain connected even when outside the game.
Link your Discord account to the game, and your Pax Dei friends will appear in your Discord Friends list. You’ll be able to message them from the game as usual and via the Discord app — from a PC, tablet, phone… anywhere you have it. Your character name and Discord name will be displayed to your friends, so you better know who is who.
Want to check what your friends are up to and prepare for that dungeon expedition directly from your mobile phone? Just open Discord, et voilà!
It’s important to note that this functionality is purely on an opt-in basis. If you don’t have a Discord account, don’t want one, or prefer to keep your Discord and Pax Dei lives separated, the choice is yours. If you don’t link any Discord account to Pax Dei, the chat system will behave as you’d expect and operate solely within the confines of your game.
Please check the FAQ at the bottom of this article for more information!
Coming next
For those who enjoy using Discord already, this integration will enhance your experience by adding convenience and familiar features. We’re also very excited about the possibilities it opens to bring additional benefits to the game, things like:
- See if a friend is in a specific world before choosing where you want to play will be an option in the future.
- Clan chat in Discord and clan announcement broadcasts to the chat system are features that are coming soon.
- Voice chat is also planned for future updates.
This is all very new — we’re proud to be one of the early partners testing these new possibilities in partnership with our friends over at Discord. We’re looking forward to the feedback and we’d love to hear ideas from the community on how that collaboration can best enhance their game experience.
Pax vobiscum,
The Mainframe Team
FAQ
Do I need a Discord account to play Pax Dei now?
No. There’s no additional sign-up required for Discord - you can just go ahead and start playing. Pax Dei will generate a provisional Discord profile for you, with a random user name and a generic avatar, so you can chat with other players from within the game. You can decide to connect a Discord account at any point to benefit from the additional ability to interact with the chat from outside the game. That remains fully optional.
What if I don’t want to link my Discord profile with Pax Dei?
You don’t have to! If you don’t have a Discord account, don’t want one, or prefer to keep your Discord and Pax Dei lives separated, the choice is yours. If you don’t link any Discord account to Pax Dei, the chat system will just behave as you’d expect and operate solely within the confines of your game.
How do I jump in?
When logging in after the maintenance, you will be invited to link your Discord account in the chat window. After entering your details and accepting the terms, your Pax Dei friends will appear in your Discord Friends list, and you’ll be able to message them from the Discord app as well as from the game itself.
I have multiple characters. How does it show in the Discord app?
When chatting with a friend, they will see both your Discord username and the name of the character you’re currently playing.
Can I change my mind?
You can decide to unlink your accounts at any moment. Simply open the in-game chat and click on the chat settings on the left side of the navigation, where you can find the unlink button. A simple click and confirm will unlink your Discord account.
I already linked my Discord account to get a Founder’s Role. Do I have to do it again?
Yes. The permissions required for the additional chat functionalities differ from the Founder’s Role for the Pax Dei official Discord server. So, you’ll have to link your account again - directly from the game this time. For more information, check our support section.
How do I manage my Online presence indicator?
Once you have linked your Discord account, you can set your presence in the Discord app. It will also show up in-game.
How much data is being shared with the account linking?
To unlock the ability to chat from outside the game, Discord requires you to grant Pax Dei access to your profile, as described during the linking process.
Mainframe Industries Oy respects your privacy and protects your personal data. Our Privacy Policy is available here.
Fighting Toxicity: Moderation with GGWP
As with any online community, maintaining a positive environment is crucial. To help with this, we are also integrating an automated chat moderation tool with our partners at GGWP, which will help monitor and curb toxic behavior.
Some of you reported that the system was a bit aggressive at the beginning of Early Access. Since then, we have increased its tolerance, especially in Clan and Party chat, and whitelisted many terms. We will keep iterating to ensure that everyone can enjoy a healthy in-game environment.