Hey all,
With today's update, we're going to try something new. LS-RP revolutionized the standards and flexibility of role-play on SA-MP in many ways before, there's no denying that. Thanks to SA-MP and LS-RP's nature, players are able to portray a wide variety of actions and scenarios through very simple manners, often just text or simple objects. That's what makes LS-RP great after all, that the only limit is your creativity.
We however understand that sometimes it can be difficult to express yourself, especially if you aren't able to put the right choice of words together, or if you don't feel confident enough about your English. After all, the majority of LS-RP aren't even native English speakers. Often times it's also time demanding to type a sentence out if you're in an uncomfortable situation - such as getting shot at or being chased. And that's what led us to this idea - a language everyone around the globe could understand. After a bit of brainstorming, we realized something like that already exists and is used by almost everyone daily — Emojis.
Today, we're allowing support for Emojis in the emote and local chats (read: /me, /do, /low, etcetera). Our main goal is to be able to express the mood of your character quickly without unnecessary words. Why waste time typing out long description of how your character's face is looking, when you can express more with a mere symbol. As the saying goes - "Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times"
It would not be possible for Juan Hernandez to form an elaborate sentence under such pressing circumstances.
The only advantage, however, isn't just for the ones who have to type the emotes out. If you approach a large group of people, with each of them portraying an emotion in /ame, it's very difficult to read them all in time before they disappear. With emojis, it's as if you were seeing the faces themselves! Now, you'll be able to comprehend the general atmosphere of the group in no time compared to long, redundant text.
I understand that not all changes are understood from the start. When Apple first removed the headphone jack, everyone thought they were crazy for doing so, but have you ever tried a Bluetooth headset? It's brilliant. I personally believe this is a huge step forward and despite unavoidable hiccups at launch, I've no doubt the Emoji Integration will be one of the shaping elements of roleplay for years to come.
Kind regards,
Mmartin