Without commenting on the suggestion itself, because it's 1am and I'm tired... I will put in a little side-note, just in case it's any reassurance.
Rest assured, this has nothing to do with whether or not you're on the spectrum in any way (though it understandably will feel like it does, for someone who experiences these sorts of social hurdles in other circumstances). The vast majority of people have complained about this at some point, and it's a frequent issue of poorly communicated prompts that you will be able to see lots of flak for. You are not alone, I promise.
I understand you are intending to be reassuring, but I assure you it absolutely does make a difference. Sure, everyone can misunderstand an ambiguous tone, but when that misunderstanding is something inherently different about your brain chemistry that it happens in every day situations - work, school, wherever - that it impedes life in a way it doesn't for others, carrying that forward into an escapist pass-time is inherently different. Like, perhaps you've never ended those poorly-stubbed ME conversations thinking, "Crap. Am I ever going to understand <i>anything</i> anyone says? I have a physics degree! Why can't I understand words?"
When first meeting Gale, he apologizes to Tav and says he's bad at something, and one of the response options is something like "Bad at introductions?" I have no idea whether that's supposed to be just funny, or a nasty dismissal of Gale that will lead to him being antagonistic,
Neither do any of the rest of us, I promise you! There's no way to tell until you try it out, unfortunately. Some will make assumptions one way or the other (that it's fully antagonistic, that it's jovial and jokey, etc., etc.,) and those who assumed
correctly will be quick to say that it's 'obviously' intended that way to others... but the reality is, there's no real clue, and anyone making those assumptions is guessing as much as the rest of us. They just happened to think similarly to the writer of the line in that particular case.
I've got absolutely no objections to wanting more clarity about the tone and intent of the choice you're making for your character - and it's something that I think everyone would benefit from, spectrum or otherwise (and let me be honest here, I lean strongly towards the idea that the concept of 'neuro-typical' is a theoretical concept that doesn't really exist as a tangible thing that can be pinned down or pointed to, and that everyone's mind works just that little bit differently from everyone else' and there is no such thing as a completely neuro-typical person... and that's okay. What matters is that we do our best to be understanding of one another, forgive our misunderstandings when they occur, and do our best to clarify when we can).
I respect your right to have a differing opinion about neurodivergence and neurotypical brain chemistries, but one assumes you have the luxury of doing so from a somewhat safe space where it is an intellectual exercise, not a matter of quality of everyday life that often makes what other people consider to be normal social interactions a hellscape. My issue with that line of thinking is that it seems to be the same as telling someone with depression that "it's not that big of a deal. I get sad sometimes, too." Though I know it isn't your intention, that often comes across as "you'd get it if you just tried a little harder." A blind person isn't ever going to read the text, no matter how hard they squint.
Think of it as language fluency. I systemically do not understand the unwritten language that seems to enshroud verbal or text communication. Call it nuance, if you will. So pretend it's Spanish. Now, you might speak very good Spanish, but no one knows every Spanish word. I can't speak Spanish, though I know a handful of words and phrases. From your position (presumably but I could be wrong. From a normative position, let's say), you can function in a Spanish-speaking world. From mine, I cannot very well do so without assistance that "Everyone misunderstands a Spanish word now and then" just doesn't cover, no matter how kindly meant. And, before the metaphor gets stretched too far, I would learn more Spanish if I could. I really would.
It's not a matter of dipoles, but of the hit-and-miss ratio. Misunderstand a few Spanish words here and there, no biggie. Misunderstand 60-70% of what's said... biggie. And a huge psychological burden to have to sort through each and every day trying to figure it out. (Imagine having to pull out a Spanish-to-English dictionary for every conversation that wasn't completely straightforward and literal. Looking a word up now and then? Sure. Stopping everything to look up every 2nd, 3rd, or 4th word... drudgery.)
Sure, everyone is on a spectrum. A lot of them, I imagine. But when you're leaning heavily towards one end, and most people are at the other, life becomes more difficult because quality of life is built mostly around statistical norms, from everything to right-handed scissors to the standardized sizes of clothing.
But I do understand that your intention was harmonious, and I agree it's on all of us, not one group, to communicate better and more thoroughly.
I'd add that, as well as tags (hidable/revealable, ideally) to indicate tone or mood of response options, ones to indicate whether you're speaking truthfully, speaking with intent to deceive or betray a promise where appropriate, and other such things, would all be extremely helpful for a game with conversation trees as twisty as this one. Far too often already can you say a thing to appease an enemy or put one over on them, only to have your companions turn around and hate you for siding with the villain - because there was no way to communicate your deception to the game, distinct from actually doing what you say.
Guess I did end up talking about the suggestion as a whole. I should go to bed ^.^
Yes, I definitely had something that just wouldn't show up at all unless you wanted it to in mind. And I support the whole speech mode (deception, flattering, honest, hostile) thing as well. Especially since there are a number of after-battle chat interactions that automatically kick in when the last body drops. Which means getting the chat option wrong means doing the whole thing over.
