#85 [Localization] Unable to whisper characters with non-ASCII names

Status: Awaiting review · Area: UI & Interface · Chat & Social

In the Chinese client you cannot whisper characters with Chinese names, because the chat box gets stuck after entering the name.

Current behavior

On the Chinese client, whispers cannot be sent to characters whose names contain Chinese characters. After entering a whisper target, the chat edit box displays the target in a form similar to: /cw 中文名 Once this happens, the whisper cannot be sent regardless of what the player subsequently types or how they interact with the chat edit box. Character names containing only ASCII letters or numbers can still be recognized. The issue has been confirmed with Chinese character names. However, the affected pattern suggests that other non-ASCII names—such as Japanese, Korean, or accented Latin names—may also be affected. The issue appears to originate from the following code: When `RegionalUniqueNamesEnabled()` returns true, the target-matching pattern uses `%w+`. Lua's `%w` character class is not UTF-8-aware in this context and only recognizes ASCII-style alphanumeric characters. Consequently, localized character names containing non-ASCII characters are not parsed correctly as whisper targets.

Expected behavior

The chat system should correctly recognize localized character names and allow whispers to be sent normally. For example: /w 中文名 测试 should send `测试` to the character named `中文名`.

How to reproduce

1. Launch the Chinese client.
2. Enter a whisper command targeting a character with a Chinese name:

   
   /w 中文名 测试
   

3. Press Enter.
4. Observe that the chat edit box displays `/cw 中文名`.
5. Continue typing or attempt to send the whisper again.
6. Observe that the whisper cannot be sent, regardless of subsequent input or interaction.