Flight Rising Discussion

Hi ! I have several questions on accessibility for blind/visually impaired people on Flight Rising.
(If my questions have already been answered somewhere else, feel free to link me the posts in question!)

Disclaimer : I am fully sighted. I am not making any statements on how the game should be, and simply wish to know more in order to make my FR profile accessible. Please correct me if I say something ignorant and/or disrespectful.

1. How do sight-based mechanics of FR work for blind people ? I know the Coliseum has been reworked recently to make it more accessible, but I wonder how dragon colors, scrying and dressing up can be playable since they're sight-based.
   
2. Do image descriptions (IDs) need a specific formatting for FR images ? I know almost nothing about BBcode, and seeing the image descriptions made by the game staff, I'm afraid the usual ID format does not work.
   
3. Still on image descriptions, how detailed do they need to be ? For example, an image of a Green Starmap primary, Hunter Basic secondary Snapper. Do the dragon breed and genes need to be described fully, or is writing these FR-specific names enough ?
   
4. Are there other ways besides IDs to make our account profile and dragon pages more accessible ? Such as formatting, font size, etc.

Thank you for reading/listening, and eventually answering. Have a nice day!

@LaChevre Hi! These are great questions to ask, but you might get more buzz asking in [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd][u][b]Flight Rising Discussion.[/b][/u][/url] Help Center is geared towards questions about Flight Rising and its mechanics, while FRD is frequented by many players who are happy to discuss matters of opinion or personal experience related to Flight Rising. From my minimal personal experience, as someone with full eyesight, but close experience in discussions about disability and accommodations thereof: [LIST] [*][b]The captions the FR devs use[/b] are just written in [size=2]size 2[/size] with [color=#B70000]colored text.[/color] The hexadecimal color appears to be #B70000, to be exact. We currently have no way to embed IDs or hovertext into images with BBCode, and no word on having such options in the future, so captions are the best we've got. Otherwise, I recommend reading [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/2235393#post_28360344][u]Crowe's BBCode Compendium[/u][/url] for an introduction to what you can accomplish with BBCode, and get to experimenting. If you have trouble with the code, or questions about achieving the look you want, you're in the right place to ask! [*][b]While I can't speak for those with low or no vision,[/b] the broad recommendations for accessibility on FR is to use default-size text (if not larger) in a simple font with [color=#853390]dark[/color] [color=#005E48]colors,[/color] if you're going to use anything besides plain black. That's probably not news to you, but it's good information to have! Text that would cause the average reader to strain their eyes or struggle to read it due to size, formatting, font choice ( [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingdings][u][font=wingdings]Wingdings, anyone?[/font][/u][/url] ), or light text colors is actually against [url=https://flightrising.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004957106][u]Forum Etiquette[/u][/url] guidelines, and otherwise not recommended for conversation or important information. Personally, you might notice that I always [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_(The_Legend_of_Zelda)][u]underline my links[/u][/url]; this is partially to make them easier to pick out in my long paragraphs, and partially because I realized that the default orange text may appear too similar to black with certain types of colorblindness. I'll sometimes [b]bold[/b] important text that's crucial to the topic, drawing attention to information or links that need to be seen. However, I know that these text additions don't help everyone, and those with low vision or learning disabilities will still have barriers to read what I'm saying. When choosing how to communicate, my best advice is to remain flexible and open-minded to the different needs of different listeners. [*]From what I've learned about image IDs and captions, the most important thing is captioning the [b]basic information[/b] a viewer would process from that image. What's the [i]bare minimum[/i] someone needs to know in order to understand what the image is saying or displaying? That's not to say you can't have fun with it, but the point is to communicate information that one will otherwise miss if they cannot see the image in full. [i]Too[/i] much information can obscure the important parts, to the point where it's less helpful for understanding the image than the short version. As for how much you [i]should[/i] describe, I'd say it's largely dependent on context, with some personal judgement on top. There's no perfect "universal standard" for either captions or IDs that I'm aware of, so it's up to individuals to decide where they fall, and not everyone agrees on the best style of either. What works for one person may be useless to another, so it's important to strike a balance and remain flexible in different situations. Ultimately, it comes down to whether you're describing it in perfect detail for someone who [i]needs[/i] to know every aspect of the image, or just describing the gist of it for the sake of a casual reader. Most of the time,* I'd say images on a forum conversation or clan bio will probably fall into the latter category - if it's posted in the forums, or the clan bio, you're designing something for everyone to read, and anything too long and detailed may be intimidating or confusing to casual readers. [s]Ask me how I know![/s] *(Key word, [b]most[/b] of the time. In practice, the extent of any description depends on many different things, between your audience, your judgement, the image itself, and the topic at hand.) [*][b]By your example,[/b] there are times when explaining the color of a dragon will be relevant, and times where it is not. Again, this will fall to you to decide...but as a writer who's interested in the nature of such things, I can't [i]not[/i] elaborate on the ideas your example sparks. Extending your example, "A green Snapper dragon walks through a rocky tunnel, carrying bags of supplies on its back" is describing an image where the dragon's color isn't inherently relevant to the main idea (the Snapper carrying supplies through a tunnel), but doesn't add much clutter to the rest of the description. Unless, for example, this image was part of a lore story about a conflict specifically between groups of red-colored dragons and green-colored dragons, in which case "A green Snapper" adds notable context to the image that the reader would otherwise miss without a description. In that case, "a green Snapper" makes total sense to include without question. Additionally, if the image were a header for a chapter of said story, further description could take place in a more natural context within the actual text. If the Snapper is named, you could also say "Herbert, a green Snapper" in the caption, allowing the audience to understand his identity, connecting any description of Herbert within the story to his appearance in the image. In general, you'll have to decide how to balance accessible information without being redundant or confusing. To my eyes, "A Snapper dragon with Green Starmap, Hunter Basic, and Dirt Underbelly" is definitely going to be too much information for a casual reader for such a simple image, but others may disagree. That specific example is definitely a little clunky, due to how dragon genes are described, but a caption could still be made to describe these facts more naturally: "Herbert, a dark green Snapper dragon with starry skin, plain wings, and a soft brown underbelly, carries several bags of unspecified supplies on his back. He is carrying them through a rocky tunnel with a determined expression." This doesn't include Herbert's exact genes, or any details about the bags or environment, but describes the basics of who Herbert is and what's happening. You understand his environment, what his colors are, and what he's doing. There's also a bit of a [b]writing trick[/b] that I find relevant here; if that same caption about Herbert was standalone, with no image or added context, the reader would likely assume that the lack of information means that there's [i]nothing else to note[/i] about the bags, the tunnel, Herbert's appearance, or the scene as a whole. The rules are a little different in captions vs. other mediums, but it's a good illustration of why I keep saying "relevant information;" when the goal is to actively describe something for someone who cannot see it, [i]omission[/i] of elaboration is effectively implying that anything outside what [i]is[/i] described doesn't matter. If you simply describe Herbert as "a Snapper dragon" in the caption, the reader may assume that his color, genes, or other details are not specified on purpose, allowing for many different interpretations beyond your own. Even "A dark green Snapper dragon with a soft brown underbelly" is subject to varying ideas. Everyone brings their own knowledge & perspective when they're writing or reading, and even those seeing an image in full may interpret it differently than intended. Written words, whether sparse or expansive, whether attached to an image or not, will face the same subjectivity. Such is the struggle of description. Again, it comes down to who you're writing for; are you writing to explain the view in detail, or making a note for passers-by to understand the image without seeing it? [b]What is the important part you want them to walk away with?[/b] The balance must be struck within the context of what you're describing & why, and the final answer may sometimes surprise you. [*]On top of [i]all[/i] that, note that [i]all[/i] of those examples above are [b]assuming that the reader understands what a Snapper dragon is or looks like.[/b] If the reader does not know what a Snapper dragon looks like in the first place, they will not be able to understand or identify the image based on the caption alone. While it's not your responsibility to explain that in detail, it's a good reminder that what seems obvious to the writer may not be known to the reader. While this specific information should easily be accessible to the reader (you could always link to the [url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?p=wiki&article=23][u]Encyclopedia entry[/u][/url] if you want to be thorough), keep this in mind when describing other images with subjects that aren't as simple. Once again, it's up to you to decide how much needs to be said, and how you plan to say it. Some people appreciate more colorful descriptions that capture a personal element, while others prefer things be straight and to-the-point, while others still appreciate reading the full, exhaustive story when they have the time. [b]Accommodations aren't always one-size-fits-all,[/b] so it's good to listen to a variety of perspectives and stay on your toes! [/LIST]At the end of the day, the best answer I can give you is to do what you're already doing - [b]try your best, ask for help, and keep an open mind.[/b] If you don't get much more insight from Help Center, I recommend [b]asking a [url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?p=wiki&article=83][u]moderator[/u][/url][/b] to move this thread to FRD, or copy & repost your questions there before deleting it here (since "repeated posting" can be considered [url=https://flightrising.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005262326-Spam][u]spam[/u][/url].) I hope this was at least a little bit helpful, instead of coming across as condescending! This topic greatly interests me, and my information above is only based on personal experience and past conversation; if anyone else has more experience, or if anything I've said needs correcting, I would be happy to hear about it, too. [emoji=new friend]

Thank you @NightmareJudge and @Kasael for your replies, they are very helpful ! I will try moving the thread to FRD. Have a nice day!

edit : Hello @Alphaeon, would it be possible to move this thread to Flight Rising Discussion please ? Thanks in advance!

@LaChevre, okay, I've moved this over for you. ^^

Something nobody has brought up yet, for question four - link text should be descriptive and tell people where they are headed. Bad links would be things like:

x Marketplace
Click here for marketplace

Which a screenreader would read as:
link x
link click here

A good link would be:
Marketplace

Which the screenreader would read as:
link marketplace

[quote name="blaireau" date="2023-07-18 22:08:20" ] Something nobody has brought up yet, for question four - link text should be descriptive and tell people where they are headed. Bad links would be things like: x Marketplace Click here for marketplace Which a screenreader would read as: link x link click here A good link would be: Marketplace Which the screenreader would read as: link marketplace [/quote] this is such an important thing I never knew about. I definitely have used the "x" as a link to sort of save space in a post before, but will keep this in mind for any future links.

Oh, blaireau that is super handy, ty!

i hope there can be a guide made specifically for communicating this on flight rising for those of us with other disabilities that can make communication and understanding what information is important really hard. i don't have full aphantasia but i get the feeling i was probably supposed to be imagining the scenery and setting when i read fiction as a kid.

i want to try to write for my images and badges but im afraid i'll miss the forest for the trees (is that the right analogy?).