Gradient Chat v2.7

What Is New in 2.7

Version 2.7 fixes the chat issue that could leave new players sending a blank message before they ever picked a gradient. If a player has no selected gradient yet, the plugin now safely falls back to their normal chat text instead of returning an empty placeholder.

Upgrading from 2.6 keeps all gradients, permissions, player data, presents, and GUI settings. Existing players keep everything exactly as it was, and new players can chat immediately without needing to open the menu first.

No More Blank Chat Messages

This is the main fix in 2.7. The placeholder used by chat formatters now always has something valid to return, even when the player has never selected a style before.

◆ Safe fallback for new players

• Players without a selected gradient now send their normal message instead of a blank one
• Missing selectedGradient in player data is now treated as a normal state, not an error

◆ Better PlaceholderAPI output

• %gradientchat_message% now falls back to the player's raw chat text when no gradient exists
• External chat formatters like LPC now receive a visible message instead of an empty string

◆ Safer text handling

• MiniMessage output is escaped where needed so player text cannot break the format

More Reliable Data and Cleanup

◆ Background loading and saving

• Player data loading and saving stay off the main thread
• The server stays responsive while player data is being read or written

◆ No stale player cache left behind

• Player cache entries are cleaned up properly when a player quits
• Temporary GUI and session state no longer linger in memory after disconnect

◆ Safer update order

• Late data loads no longer overwrite newer selections or style changes

Small Improvements That Matter

• New players now get a clean default chat experience without any setup step
• Placeholder output is more predictable for chat plugins that build the final format themselves
• Gradient rendering helpers were cleaned up to make formatted output more consistent

Upgrade Notes from 2.6

• Replace the JAR and restart, or run /gradientchat reload. No database changes needed
• All gradients, permissions, and player settings stay exactly as they were
• If a player already had a selected gradient, nothing changes in how their chat looks
• If you use LPC or another chat formatter, you can keep using %gradientchat_message% exactly as before

Requirements