This is a plea to PGI to raise the priority of in-game voice communications.
Voice comms are what makes a premade group so effective. In many cases, premades have never played with each other before but are at a significant advantage simply by being able to communicate effectively. It's not that people in premades have any skill that pug players lack.
Of course anyone can join one of the public TS servers, but this requires a level of involvement beyond simply playing the game. As developers, please do not accept a reliance on third-party software to make your product competitive.
I understand that C3 integration is planned, and to some extent already available, but when? It isn't listed on any roadmap, there hasn't even been a dev posting on the subject more than to say "it's in the works."
What we need is a system that connects a player to a VOIP channel immediately upon dropping, with ingame controls to mute or add friends while in a round, and lobbies that can be accessed while in the mechlab. If VOIP is to be provided by a third-party (C3), then that software needs to be included as part of the installation package, and a tutorial presented in-game upon first login.
Simply put, any player who downloads MWO for the first time needs to automatically have the option to hear and speak with their teammates from the very first drop, with no further setup. And this needs to happen soon.
Edited by Quad Ace, 06 December 2012 - 01:44 PM.