74 replies to this topic

[Jack Gallows]

I think that we're getting mixed signals.

The idea is that people are going to default to voice programs outside of MWO, even if MWO has it's own VOIP.

I'm agreeing that if someone doesn't play with the team, you don't make any concessions and you play without them. I try to get people involved and onto my vent/etc if possible, or I can drop to using the MWO voice if it makes it easier on everyone.

I'm flexible, some people are not. You don't and should not cater to them. If they don't want to play as a team, you let them die.

[Firefly]

I agree completely with everything you said. I most likely will not ever use VOIP because I generally play with my "clan-mates" in BWC and we are legion, so to speak. If I somehow encounter a situation where I have no one online in my group, I'd be happy to comply with accepted protocols for whatever unit I temporarily merc with - and if they have no comms, I will propose they hop on my server. If they have one, or use VOIP, that's fine as well.

[Woodstock]

It would be nice to have a TEAM voice coms ... ME and my friends ..well we can handle our own comms ..but the people we dont know .... a built in voice comms would be great

[MaddMaxx]

In-Game would be ideal but if bandwidth is an issue any other external works.

"Bravo Team, this is Command Designate!"

"Contact has been verified. Please switch to Tac 3 on 3.460 Mhz. Orders are forthcoming!"

"Roger Tac 3 Command!"

"Lance Bravo confirm call sign on Tac 3 and prepare for enemy contact. Lead element will direct from this point on! Over!"

"Lead on Tac 3! Form up Tango left. Maxx, I need eyes forward please!"

"Roger that Lead. Heading out now. Will report contact on secure channel Theta, Out!"

"Roger that Maxx. Heads up everyone. It could hairy anytime now! Over"

Edited by MaddMaxx, 05 November 2011 - 01:10 PM.

[UncleKulikov]

A push to talk system would work fine.

[Grafix TM]

Firefly, on 05 November 2011 - 09:32 AM, said:

In-game voice makes me shudder. Sorry, but having ripped it up in Team Fortress 2 and Global Agenda, I do not want in-game voice. *IF* it's added, please make it come with a toggle button. I do not want to be forced to listen to some 12 year old who just learned the F-word from overhearing his mom entertaining Johns in the bedroom. I sat through that one match in Global Agenda, this kid was angry because he was getting owned and for a solid ten minutes it was eff this, eff that, homophobic slurs and racial epithets.

No thanks. At best, please include a toggle. Because I'll just adopt a policy of "if you want to run in my lance, here's my TS3 IP".

I do agree and that is why the BattleField games have a built in mute button for each member in your squad. The squad leaders can even mute the commander if the commander that they got for that round is clueless.

[Vaneshi SnowCrash]

Silent, on 05 November 2011 - 09:36 AM, said:

You're still going to need a way to communicate vocally with the people that aren't on your personal Vent server.

Why on Earth would I want to talk to the people I'm shooting at?!!?

[Grafix TM]

Vaneshi SnowCrash, on 05 November 2011 - 04:19 PM, said:

Why on Earth would I want to talk to the people I'm shooting at?!!?

We are talking about Voice Commuications with YOUR TEAM MATES not your enemy.

[Damocles]

My take on in-game voice (totally overdone, but I would dig it.);
3 channels, default operated by the numpad.

Binds:
- = switch between pub/team and leave private channel
+ = join private channel, key channel #123 (whatever 3 number combo)
* = mute/unmute channel
w/e = push to talk

Channels:
Channel 000- Public channel
Channel 111-Team channel
Channel xyz - Private channel

Additional details:
Visual/HUD- it would be neat if on your cockpit console, or maybe on your HUD you could see the prompts for which channel you are in. Maybe have a radio panel show your channel number even in a corresponding color
(red, public-green, team-blue, private).

audio:
If you are in a public channel you might get a slight static. (may not be necessary as we all know some ppl have awful comms anyway)
Betty telling you which channel you are in/switching to, maybe who has connected to it if it is private.
"Keying private frequency four-four-one"
"Channel muted"

Other factors:
I like the idea of being only able to hear ONE channel at a time and being limited by having an ALL MUTE for the channel. I still think you should have the ability to mute individual players as your voice comms could be totally useless if you have griefers, BUT the other solution to that would be "+123" (join a private channel). But having voice in-game as both an assistance AND with its own limiting factors imo would add to strategic and tactical play.

/Damo

Edited by Damocles, 05 November 2011 - 04:32 PM.

[Threat Doc]

I love the OPs ideas for voice commo, and the ability to limit it, if necessary. Can there be a decent commo system built into the game that's controllable from controls in your 'Mech? (shrugs)

[Grafix TM]

kay wolf, on 05 November 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

I love the OPs ideas for voice commo, and the ability to limit it, if necessary. Can there be a decent commo system built into the game that's controllable from controls in your 'Mech? (shrugs)

It is doable since the BattleField Series of games has it integrated in their games.

[Damocles]

Aegis Kleais™, on 05 November 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

You put way too much time into this...

...and came up with some shack ideas! Nice.

Haha yeah I was up last night thinking about it. Totally over done but hey why would we want even smaller aspects of this game to be like anything but mechwarrior?

/Damo

[Damocles]

Maybe if you are in ECM range of an enemy mech your private channels get jammed and everyone in em bumped back to team voice?
+Complete with flashing lights indicating channel useability!

Edited by Damocles, 05 November 2011 - 04:53 PM.

[Vaneshi SnowCrash]

Grafix™, on 05 November 2011 - 04:21 PM, said:

We are talking about Voice Commuications with YOUR TEAM MATES not your enemy.

Ahh but you said people not on corp comms. So they wouldn't be on my team now would they?

[Corsair114]

Gimme in game voice chat. My ISP screws TS over, but when I play games with it integrated I have no connection problems at all.

[Raj]

I've been playing Nuclear Dawn which is a heavily team oriented fps. They have built in voice coms and I think the game really could not function without it. In a pickup up and go public game people certainly won't be on a single vent/TS server so in-game voip is good. How much MWO needs it will depend on the gameplay but if the commander really has an active role then being able to tell people you need someone on the left flank is much more effective than typing it or putting a defend mark on the map.

[Ghost]

It just occurred to me that there is an example out there of extremely well done in-game voice communication. I'll let Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins explain:

"In Chromehounds, Voice is even tied into the story: without communication towers to boost the signal, no communication is possible. That’s true for nations, but it’s also true in the confines of a match. From the console of my Ordinator Mk. VII, it was my job to watch the battlefield map and issue orders. But without towers, the map was just topography devoid of enemy data: suitable for framing, but not what I needed to wring another victory out of my squad. When I sent a player - or multiple players - to get one of these things, I lost commincation with them the moment they went out of range. It was often the case that, in a rush to secure the front, my entire team would be out of range.

It was very, very quiet."

If Information warfare is as key to the game's design as they say it is, in-game voice chat jumps from a useful feature to an absolute necessity. Because then you can jam it.

[Bishop L]

kay wolf, on 05 November 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

I love the OPs ideas for voice commo, and the ability to limit it, if necessary. Can there be a decent commo system built into the game that's controllable from controls in your 'Mech? (shrugs)

Yes, there can be. Other MMO's I have played have them. So I don't see why it can't be implemented here.

[Raj]

Bishop L, on 05 November 2011 - 08:15 PM, said:

Yes, there can be. Other MMO's I have played have them. So I don't see why it can't be implemented here.

The Call of Duty games even have an eavesdrop perk that allows you to listen to enemy voice coms. It was completely useless in that game but I could see that being added to light mechs abilities.

[Eradikitten]

My take, as someone who actually RPs the universe; Voice com integration is essential. Tying it in to ECM/ECCM and dropping people out of your command net when they get killed is good for immersion and RP. As far as that goes, using something like Vent is kinda cheating.

Anyhow, there should be some hierarchies in game for the Voice Chat. Every person in a lance should be on the same Com (Encryption or frequency. Doesn't matter.) Each lance commander should have coms with the Company Commander, and the other lance leader. So the lance commanders would have the ability to broadcast to just their lance or their lance +command frequency. Also everyone should have the ability to broadcast in the clear; to everyone presently alive.

It would be interesting if they integrated something involving mechs with sensors (Wooo raven) triangulating the position of people who broadcast too much.