[Suggestion] Local Voice Communication

ScramUK · 2012-08-02, 02:15 AM

I'm sure you guys might of heard of a game called Armed Assault, the military sim done by Bohemia Interactive. If not, it's no loss - I'll post an example of what I'm talking about below.

Anyhow, a feature I've always liked about that game, that I'd like to see carried on to Planetside 2 is the way it handles voice communication. Whenever you wish to speak over the microphone in game, your characters lips move, and your voice can be heard by those around you. The further away you are, the more faint and distant your voice, and vice versa. Now it's a little feature that would make a big difference in the game. Imagine, if you will that within a battle, voices ring out to your left and right. Squad leaders giving out orders, soldiers shouting 'MEDIC' or simply chatting amongst themselves. It adds SO much atmosphere to a battle, that every battle I have played in since ARMA, seems eerily quiet, where its participants have this steely silence about them.

It would also be a factor in stealth getting close to the enemy base, wanting to keep a low profile, you may actually want to whisper to your squad, to avoid the enemy hearing you. On the flip side, you'd also hear them nattering away to one another...

Anyhow - any thoughts? Do you think voice working in this way would work well in planetside?

Guy hunting some chatty snipers

Another one

ScramUK · 2012-08-02, 02:25 AM

I'm sure you guys might of heard of a game called Armed Assault, the military sim done by Bohemia Interactive. If not, it's no loss - I'll post an example of what I'm talking about below.

Anyhow, a feature I've always liked about that game, that I'd like to see carried on to Planetside 2 is the way it handles voice communication. Whenever you wish to speak over the microphone in game, your characters lips move, and your voice can be heard by those around you. The further away you are, the more faint and distant your voice, and vice versa. Now it's a little feature that would make a big difference in the game. Imagine, if you will that within a battle, voices ring out to your left and right. Squad leaders giving out orders, soldiers shouting 'MEDIC' or simply chatting amongst themselves. It adds SO much atmosphere to a battle, that every battle I have played in since ARMA, seems eerily quiet, where its participants have this steely silence about them.

It would also be a factor in stealth getting close to the enemy base, wanting to keep a low profile, you may actually want to whisper to your squad, to avoid the enemy hearing you. On the flip side, you'd also hear them nattering away to one another...

Anyhow - any thoughts? Do you think voice working in this way would work well in planetside?

Guy hunting some chatty snipers

Another one

Xyntech · 2012-08-02, 02:47 AM

While features like this can be fun in concept, there are some obvious problems.

For example, if an outfit wants to avoid ever accidentally blowing their cover, they will just use a 3rd party VOIP program in place of the in game system.

Obviously some people will already do this regardless, but there is no reason to put people who use the in game VOIP at such a disadvantage.

I get the sense that the developers want to make the in game voice chat as appealing as possible, so that a lot of outfits will consider using it in place of third party software. They are even going so far as to make it possible to chat with people who are in game even while you are outside of the game. Why jeopardize this appeal with such an obvious tactical downside?

I just don't think that something like this is right for this type of game.

Sturmhardt · 2012-08-02, 03:00 AM

I think it would be pretty neat, although I see a potential problem with people who spam music or things like that to annoy people. If it is easy to mute people that shouldn't be a problem though. I would love to see a feature like that. It would be really cool to just ask a medic to heal me instead of using a voice command.

@xyntech: that would not be a problem if it was optional to broadcast to the area around you or to your squad/outfit only.
Most outfits will use 3rd party voice tools anyway.

AThreatToYou · 2012-08-02, 04:49 AM

PlanetSide was extremely chaotic. PlanetSide 2 looks to be much the same. This type of system just doesn't have a place here due to the supreme amount of chaos, despite how cool it is. This would benefit only small battles.

Troika · 2012-08-02, 05:06 AM

I remember Higby talking about VOIP in an interview and mentioning that local channel is a possibility.
Since local channel is about 10-20 meters in radius around a player even in large battles you only chat with few people at any given time.
Local channel is good for shouting warnings at people who are not in your squad, and at least in Arma it works really well.

If someone is blasting music over local channel, you can always walk few meters away from him and problem is solved or put couple rounds in his head to shut him up. I have never had problems with griefing in local channel, in global and squad channel yes, but not in local.

Sunrock · 2012-08-02, 05:31 AM

Originally Posted by AThreatToYou

PlanetSide was extremely chaotic. PlanetSide 2 looks to be much the same. This type of system just doesn't have a place here due to the supreme amount of chaos, despite how cool it is. This would benefit only small battles.

How chaotic the battles are is up to the players and it's truly a subjective observation.

But if the players learn to handle the VOIP system the OP suggested I don't think it will be chaotic. Not more so then text chat. In fact I think it will make the fights less chaotic.

Littleman · 2012-08-02, 05:58 AM

There's always an ignore function for music blarers that can't be bothered to set their mic to push-to-talk.

For everyone else, setting up in-game VoIP to as closely resemble third party VoIP is the best way to encourage the use of it. If the enemy could potentially over hear your battle plans, that's an instant third party encouragement for example. Most outfits don't care to attempt working with randoms if it means possible compromise.

Though MAG has taught me enemies picking up local chat isn't really as detrimental as people would imagine, especially if the enemy has to be nearly on top of their enemy to hear them speak anyway, it's just premise that the enemy COULD hear them that is discouraging to the use of in-game VoIP.

Justaman · 2012-08-02, 06:16 AM

deleted because thread merge.

Justaman · 2012-08-02, 06:35 AM

Good idea in concept. Except for the fact it only applies to low population area's with minimal action drowning out that talking noise. Else its just more ambient scattered sounds. The videos show their only real tactical application (stealthy, low population situations), assuming anyone bothers using the in game voice service to "gain" this dis-advantage.

I'm not sure that the depth it adds is worth hearing 12 year old kids screaming obscenities wile they chase me down with their max equipped with dual melee weapons.

Que robotic veloci-raptor nightmares with benny hill theme music.

(also, with so many players in such close quarters, this might add an unnecessary amount of network traffic)

Sunrock · 2012-08-02, 06:50 AM

Originally Posted by Justaman

I'm not sure that the depth it adds is worth hearing 12 year old kids screaming obscenities wile they chase me down with their max equipped with dual melee weapons.

Yes because when you hit 18 you never use curse words or loose your cool.

Its as likely that 52 year old calling you a *piip* *piip* as a 12 year old. Chance is that the 52 year old probably know better how to use his words to hurt you then the 12 year old.

Justaman · 2012-08-02, 06:58 AM

Originally Posted by Sunrock

Yes because when you hit 18 you never use curse words or loose your cool.

Its as likely that 52 year old calling you a *piip* *piip* as a 12 year old. Chance is that the 52 year old probably know better how to use his words to hurt you then the 12 year old.

Implying I said/meant any of that. ^

Your very loose point about age not effecting the looseness of ones tongue and the manner in which they use their language to emotionally dominate/demean someone is notable. But it is, sadly, far from the point I was making.

Besides, little kids use obscenities like badges of honor, because they have something they know their not supposed to do, but since they get away with it when their doing such and such they have incentive to explore that facet of social interaction. We simply view it as being obnoxious.

edit: just so reading between the lines isn't to hard for you, its a F2P game, so the legion of fps demons we call little kids will have unbridled access to the game, sans mommy and daddies credit cards.