Overlapping messages in chat while using TextChatService

While playing games that use the TextChatService, messages sent by any player in the server (either my own messages or the messages of another player) will occasionally move to the next line, overlapping with the subsequent message that is sent in the chat. This does not appear to happen in games that use the legacy Chat service.

This happens at random, regardless of the length of the message, and occurs whether or not the “Automatic Chat Translation” feature is turned on or off.

Most of the time, both messages become unreadable, making it more difficult to use the chat. Here are some examples from a variety of games:


untitled tag game [recode]

Example #1 (Chat Translation On)

Example #2 (Chat Translation Off)



Tower Defense X

Example #1 (Chat Translation On)

Example #2 (Chat Translation Off)

  • Interestingly, in this example, only one word from the end of a user’s message moves to a new line and overlaps with the next message. In most cases I’ve observed, the entire message moves to the new line.



Murder Mystery 2

Examples (Chat Translation Off)
Murder Mystery 2 Example1

Murder Mystery 2 Example2


The following 2 screenshots were taken in the game called Farming and Friends. On my screen, the latest message from “Pollo45put” is not visible. After more messages are sent in the chat, that user’s message appears but it is overlapping with a custom system message from the developers of the game.

However, I asked my friend who was in the server if they were able to see what Pollo45put had said in the chat, and my friend told me that they were able to read it (the second overlapping message was “hahahaha”). This has led me to believe that some of my display settings could be causing the text to overlap.

For reference, in my Windows display settings, I have the “size of App and Text” set to 225%. As far as I am aware, my friend has theirs set to the default of 100%.

Farming and Friends Example1

Farming and Friends Example2


Date First Experienced:

  • 2023 (or earlier)

Reproduction Steps:

  1. Join any game that is using the TextChatService.

  2. Open the in-game chat.

  3. Wait until other players send messages, or, send your own messages in the chat.

  4. Occasionally, observe how some messages will be moved to the next line, causing it to overlap with the next message that is sent in the chat.


System Information:

  • Windows 10 OS. Version 10.0.19045 Build 19045

  • Relevant Display Settings:

    • Monitor resolution is 2560x1440
    • Windows “size of App and Text” scaling is set to 225%
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz

  • Memory: 32.0 GB

  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080

Expected behavior

The expected behavior is that separate chat messages should never overlap, ensuring that each message can be read without being obstructed by another chat message.

5 Likes

I have experienced this bug a lot and it’s so annoying. It affects both Mobile devices and Windows devices.

2 Likes

Thanks for the report! I filed a ticket in our internal database and we’ll follow up when we have an update for you.

1 Like

Hey! I wanted to follow up regarding this bug report now that TextChatService is becoming mandatory to use within a few months from now.

The issue outlined in the original post is still occurring as of today, January 3rd, 2025.

It’s alright if there hasn’t been much progress on this yet, however, it would be greatly appreciated to hear back before April 30th, which is when every game will be required to use TextChatService (because if this issue is not resolved by then, it would go from an issue that only affects games that use TextChatService to instead impacting the ability to communicate with other players in every experience on the platform).


Edit: Here’s an example of it happening today, in the game called “something evil will happen”, which uses TextChatService:

2025 TextChatService Example


Edit #2: Here are some more examples from the game called “Mining GO!” (the last screenshot showcases a time where it directly affects the conversation since I am unable to read how they described a certain feature within the game.

It also shows on a smaller scale how regularly this bug can occur; it happened twice within the same conversation across a timeframe of ~3 minutes):

2025 TextChatService Example2

2025 TextChatService Example3

2 Likes