As title says. Running plus either through the file folder or through the launcher does not launch the game with a chatlogger.

This is a local setting that you can configure for yourself! You can read about this and related settings on the website.

This is good to know, Has it always been that chatlogger is disabled on default? It's been a while since I installed through the plus installer. I tried it agian on a fresh install folder and on 6.6h the chatlogger is also disabled by default. I'm so convinced that it used to be that whenever you plusified through the installer, the chatlogger would be enabled on default.

Since it's the prefered of online players is to play with windowed mode + chatlogger, I have a feeling now this feature is a bit hidden for new players seeking the online experience. Then again I know the chatlogger isn't really the most eyecatching feature, but it's very practical. I guess I'm also hoping for alternatives for the chatlogger to come soon.

I think it has always been /chatlog on and /savesettings and restart JJ2 for the chatlogger to appear automatically.

Originally Posted by FawFul

Has it always been that chatlogger is disabled on default?

No, this was introduced starting August 6th.

Briefly put, the vast majority of people who play JJ2+ do not care about online play and probably do not want to play the game in windowed mode. There is a minority of people who do want to try online play, and then a smaller minority within that minority who might benefit from having a chatlogger. Those are all people who are able to read the documentation, chat with each other, post on this forum, or read plus.ini... and in any of those ways, discover [Logging]Chatlog in plus.ini.

For everyone but that minority of a minority, though, the chatlogger window is an unattractive, inexplicable inconvenience that does not provide them any benefit.

As you say, also, there will be an alternative to the chatlogger window that does work in fullscreen at some point. I don't have a timeline for that, but the nature of default settings is that you can't change them once somebody has already installed JJ2+, so it made more sense to make the more conservative choice sooner rather than later.

Disabling the chatlogger by default is a shit move, imo.

It makes almost everyone's lives worse, and the people who do benefit from it generally already had JJ2+ installed, so it doesn't affect them.

Now, it's probably possible to rethink the logic of when the chatlogger appears, if you don't configure it to appear all the time. Maybe it could appear at times other than when the game boots up? Like if you join a server in windowed mode, or get a local angelscript error in windowed mode? But having it appear when the game boots up, without your opting in, when you want to play Formerly a Prince... that's not a good user experience.

If the vast majority of people prefer to play single player maps in fullscreen mode, then why bother removing the chatlog window if they can't even see it in their fullscreen game? I already had someone complain about a missing chatlogger after reinstalling JJ2+. (Have to double check whether they reinstalled JJ2+. Can't get the log since I'm currently on mobile)

This new change forces a player who wants the chatlogger back to either edit plus.ini or to host a server to use the dropdown menu to enable the chatlogger. (The chatlogger option is hidden, under "Server" which is greyed out unless you host a server)

I took some time to collect my thoughts on this, I'm leaning more towards Shakers opinion here. If the majority (if not all or close to a 100% of the) online players prefer using it, then it's a good feature and it's good for players to have it whenever they reach a moment where it could be useful. I think we overestimate how big of a problem it is for SP players when the chatlogger appears. If fullscreen they don't notice, if windowed it's really not that bothersome. And if it is they can click it away which sounds a lot more simple than having to find the toggle or the existence of the feature itself. If players only care to play EP1-4, a chatlogger realistically does not stop them from doing that. These are players not super interested in JJ2 anyway except for a one off nostalgia trip.

The claim that the chatlogger making lives worse is a bit exorbitant, because the inconvinience is near neglible and non-existent. And why do we have to cater to people playing SP fullscreen maybe just once and having the chatlogger behind a fullscreen, if it's that bothersome they X it. Atleast they know it exists.

On the other hand it has a huge impact for those who happen to reach further interest in online or levelmaking to not have the logger. It would likely be until someone tips them off. It is true that online is a minority in terms in overall players, but not in hours and devotion. Having an approachable chat where you can have a thought later, save links and talks is one of the first steps to join the community. I'm not saying this is impossible without a chatlogger, but it's definitely a core feature that helps with making a first connection. These people could be the future of the game, so I think we should be more proud to share a taste of MP features.

I'll just state the obvious here that we can not expect new players to look up and read through the jj2.plus website when just starting out.

I also thought that the chatlogger could open conditionally when you reach the serverlist, but I'm just not a big fan of stuff launching/opening seemingly random for the player long after the game launch. I also don't know how windows would react to how the game is in focus and what happens and the logger pops up, or if you happen to alt+tab on a same interval. I'm sure it can be done in a non-interruptive way, but better safe than sorry.

At the very least the chatlogger option is as far as I know a clientside option and should probably be underneath JJ2+ options and not underneath Server options.