How do you turn off the action text box from appearing -- ever!

[Mytherus]

This is about the new feature the latest update put in. I tried searching for this on my own before I came here but even asking AI its telling me looking for "show action text" in settings and there's no such option.

I'm running 5e 2024 ruleset. The most promising looking options are Desktop combat list size, Desktop On-Screen Notifications and Desktop Restore windows on start.

I know combat list size and restore windows on start have nothing to do with it so I turned "Desktop On-screen notifications" to off that stops the information boxes from appearing down the screen, but the dialogue boxes still appear.

there is an option called "chat: display location" but since there's no off option even when you cycle thru them I don't see how that would stop it.

I hope there's a way to disable this pop up dialogue box thing I hate it with a passion.

[Trenloe]

Chat: Display Location = Chat Only will mean that dialog etc. will only appear in the chat window.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEgQkZGxpvc

Use the "08:48 Turn Notifications Off" link in the description for a demo of all of the options - the dialog options are described around 12:00.

[Moon Wizard]

The option currently labeled "Desktop: On-screen notifications" can be turned off to disable all the toast / pop-up notifications.

Regards,
JPG

[tahl_liadon]

.

this option is not available to me (see image) -- i have a pf2e and a pf1e table and neither has that option.

where else could it be?

thx


https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66323

[LordEntrails]

.

this option is not available to me (see image) -- i have a pf2e and a pf1e table and neither has that option.

where else could it be?

thx





What ruleset and extensions are you using?

[ju95]

.

this option is not available to me (see image) -- i have a pf2e and a pf1e table and neither has that option.

where else could it be?

thx


https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66323


Double check that you don't have an unpacked (folder) version of CoreRPG or any other ruleset you are using, as that will interfere with updates as well.

[tahl_liadon]

.

thx for troubleshooting ideas...

removed the .pak ruleset files in question then re-updated to download fresh versions. that worked and option is now available.

[Mytherus]

I posted too soon . Even with "Chat Only" I did a mock combat to test -- still get the dialogue box

Btw I took a screen shot of the message with the options (showing you what I selected and the fact the box still pops up) I did click insert file and it seemed to upload but I don't see it indicated anywhere on the post there's a file attachment.

If I knew how to show the screen shot I gladly would.

look its not the end of the world if there's no fix for this but it does bum me as I really do not like that you guys added that as a default.

I have no use for that box popping up -- I enjoy my own narration over discord.

[Lo Zeno]

If I knew how to show the screen shot I gladly would.

If the upload from the forum does not work, you can always upload it to dropbox/google drive/onedrive and share the link here (that's what I do when I need to share videos of a bug I encounter in FG).

It's clearly a bug that you're experiencing, though, because I set a test game to "Chat Only" in a 5e 2024 game and it does not pop up the box. First thing I, as a user, would try would be to disable all the extensions if you have any; second would be to try and create a new campaign and see if the issue is consistently repeating.

[Moon Wizard]

It's not a bug; there are two different options. The second option is the one that controls the pop-up notifications, not the first one, which only controls speech.

Chat: Display location = Changes location where speech text is displayed
(Chat = only chat window, Chat and Image = Chat window plus on side of map containing actor token, Chat and Token = Chat window plus over actor token)

Desktop: On-screen notifications = Changes whether the pop-up / toast notifications are displayed

Regards,
JPG

[charmov]

@mytherus

I'm with you. I don't hate it. What is even the point of it though?

Hope you're well!

[Mike Serfass]

The intention is that players need focus on fewer UI elements. They don't have to parse chat messages, and can keep more focus on the map like at an in-person game. The toast messages, token animations, dice rolling on the desktop, all help that in-person game feeling.

[tahl_liadon]

.

The intention is that players need focus on fewer UI elements. They don't have to parse chat messages, and can keep more focus on the map like at an in-person game. The toast messages, token animations, dice rolling on the desktop, all help that in-person game feeling.

i’m comfortable agreeing to disagree on this.

this new feature isn’t inherently unwelcome, but it also isn’t particularly welcome for me.

speaking from a neutral perspective as someone who works in ui / ux with accessibility in mind, the theory behind what you described makes sense. that said, it feels like the feature may not have been thoroughly tested across a broader range of real-world user scenarios.

i believe someone previously mentioned—though the comment may have been removed—that this feature was negatively affecting their adhd. from an inclusivity standpoint, it would be more accommodating to offer users the option to disable the feature if they choose, rather than requiring them to publicly disclose or justify personal conditions in an open forum simply because the feature is always on by default.

from my own experience as a gm running higher-level tables, there are several situations where the feature has become more distracting than helpful, and doesn’t add meaningful value:

- when a magic user targets multiple allies and applies a spell effect, the notifications appear in rapid succession—effectively “machine-gunning” across the screen. this becomes even more overwhelming when multiple effects are applied frequently.

- a monk using flurry of blows produces a similar result: a large volume of visually dominant notifications appearing in the center of the screen. i haven’t found a way to relocate them elsewhere. i’m already accustomed to tracking this information in the chat box, where it’s contained and manageable.

- many routine actions—such as removing a creature from the combat tracker, deleting an item, and other common interactions—now trigger these popups. at times, they feel less like helpful feedback and more like intrusive pop-up ads during gameplay.

i genuinely appreciate the time and effort that clearly went into developing this feature. i would appreciate it even more if users were given the option to disable it.

[Trenloe]

i genuinely appreciate the time and effort that clearly went into developing this feature. i would appreciate it even more if users were given the option to disable it.]
You absolutely can disable the new notifications. See the video I link in post #2.

[tahl_liadon]

.

You absolutely can disable the new notifications. See the video I link in post #2.

as always, your prompt attention is appreciated :-)

[charmov]

The intention is that players need focus on fewer UI elements. They don't have to parse chat messages, and can keep more focus on the map like at an in-person game. The toast messages, token animations, dice rolling on the desktop, all help that in-person game feeling.

It's not a feature I particularly care for. Though it is interesting that you feel it gives a more "in-person" effect. My question would be why not get rid of the chat altogether if there are pop-up notifications? An option to hide the chat if pop-ups are on maybe?

[LordEntrails]

It's not a feature I particularly care for. Though it is interesting that you feel it gives a more "in-person" effect. My question would be why not get rid of the chat altogether if there are pop-up notifications? An option to hide the chat if pop-ups are on maybe?
There is not an option to turn off the chat window, but you can unlock it and move it off the screen.

[snupy]

Chiming in just to say that I personally really like the feature. There is definitely room for finessing it, like allowing to choose where notifications appear, for how long they stay on and maybe grouping similar notifications when a lot of them occur, but it's a welcome feature. 3/4 of my players were also very positive about it, with the remaining one not caring much about it.

[ddavison]

We are working on combining the messages where appropriate, and I believe this will help in the situations that are currently overloading the user with feedback. You can also turn it off on a per-user basis if you don't like it.

The chat window is still there now, but this is a direction we are moving where we hope to streamline the experience and make it optional to turn off the chat window if you want. There are many CRPG games where dice rolls and chat messages are written to a certain window but not necessarily visible at all times. If we can make the results of those dice rolls and actions obvious enough within the framework of the image, then those other areas become mostly for digging in deeper to find out why certain things happened. If you are attacking an enemy NPC and they are dropping in health until they are defeated, you will likely just move on and continue the fight. If you find that your damage isn't getting through, you might pop over to the chat window and see why the damage is getting blocked. "okay, it has damage immunity to slashing."

[Mephisto]

I like the new toast notifications, especially if it gets some more refinement which I'm sure it will. What I as a developer would also love to see is to get some more control on the layout of chat messages to give them a more structure/table like appearance. At the moment, we are gluing together string after string but the result isn't necessarily easy to read. The toast is already better with that. Icing on the cake would be a way to implement "reaction" buttons where the GM or an event could ask for a roll by a player (like a save or a defense).

[Mytherus]

Thanks. I agree. So do 10 other players and DMs i play with between two games. We all say who even asked for such a feature?

[Mytherus]

The intention is that players need focus on fewer UI elements. They don't have to parse chat messages, and can keep more focus on the map like at an in-person game. The toast messages, token animations, dice rolling on the desktop, all help that in-person game feeling.

Never been a problem in my groups. It really stinks about the code limits on not having multiple screens work with FG i turn off the toasts noticed because its more clutter in the screen not because im lost and need more info. And my screen is 45”.

And stretching across monitors is not a solution thats junk. Lol

[ddavison]

The new update now combines damage, effects, and attacks into single, summarized notifications instead of a flood of individual notifications. The wizard doing a massive fireball on a room of enemies will now see the total damage dealt and a list of affected enemies.

[Mike Serfass]

I saw the video of this you posted in City Hall. That's a nice improvement. Thanks!
For damage, will it aggregate by how much damage was done, or will it be a single message no matter how much damage individual targets take?
Can I control this programmatically in the ruleset?
In Savage Worlds, damage is done differently. Targets of an aoe may take different numbers of wounds or be shaken with no wounds.

[Moon Wizard]

I already added an override in the SW ruleset changes pushed today to disable batching for SW. you can update that override to change the behavior how you want.

Regards,
JPG

[Mike Serfass]

I already added an override in the SW ruleset changes pushed today to disable batching for SW. you can update that override to change the behavior how you want.

Regards,
JPG

Thank you.