- Joined
- Aug 9, 2019
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VoIP do we need it?
- Thread starter Bloodydavyflint
- Start date
VoIP good. This is a game with pirating. No one has a good time when pirates have to send demands over text, the paniced defenders miss the chance to see it, or take forever to respond, and more shots are fired, etc. Bad time all around.
On the end of the gameplay spectrum, RPing with only text, or asking for help, or collaborating with new people... everything is worse over text compared to VoIP.
VoIP's a big deal. I wouldn't consider it a deal breaker to not be in at EA launch or anything, but this should be high on the list of extra features to implement after, instead of an afterthought
On the end of the gameplay spectrum, RPing with only text, or asking for help, or collaborating with new people... everything is worse over text compared to VoIP.
VoIP's a big deal. I wouldn't consider it a deal breaker to not be in at EA launch or anything, but this should be high on the list of extra features to implement after, instead of an afterthought
Do we really need to go over why in-game voice is not the same as third party voice ? They don't serve the same purpose. One is to talk to friends and one is to talk to strangers. We absolutely need VOIP, being able to negotiate with people with voice is a lot more interesting than text chat. I'm amazed we have to even ask for this. Please consider adding voice, it makes the game feel a lot more alive.
In a game where you can board people's ships and ostensibly hold them at gunpoint after you work your way to the cockpit, and a game where there's all kinds of factions, negotiations, treaties, friendships and rivalries being considered, to be limited to text would dampen interaction in a way that would really make it difficult to have any sort of quick negotiations that would provide for nuanced interactions.
Nobody has time to type in a fight. Obviously the game isn't out yet so I don't know exactly how it works, but from the videos we've seen, with the fast paced boarding and all of that combined the importance of resource mining I imagine there could be all kinds of reasons people might want to strike up a deal to preserve their ships and the cargo on board.
With text it's very difficult to have any kind of conversation in the heat of the moment that might result in something other than just combat. You can't stop and type out a vie for peace while simultaneously trying to run to a tactical position and ready yourself to shoot a motherfucker, but with VOIP you can instantly be like 'I'M FRIENDS WITH THE BIG FACTION IN THIS AREA, SERIOUSLY ASK THEM, DON'T KILL ME'.
The thing that makes ambitious games like this so interesting are that they aren't about just killing for the sake of killing. There's so much more to think about when it comes to relationships between groups, mutual benefits etc. However without a voice most of those potential interactions that aren't just straight murder will be lost to a lack of viable quick communication.
I hope they reconsider adding VOIP, to me it seems absolutely essential to this kind of game.
Nobody has time to type in a fight. Obviously the game isn't out yet so I don't know exactly how it works, but from the videos we've seen, with the fast paced boarding and all of that combined the importance of resource mining I imagine there could be all kinds of reasons people might want to strike up a deal to preserve their ships and the cargo on board.
With text it's very difficult to have any kind of conversation in the heat of the moment that might result in something other than just combat. You can't stop and type out a vie for peace while simultaneously trying to run to a tactical position and ready yourself to shoot a motherfucker, but with VOIP you can instantly be like 'I'M FRIENDS WITH THE BIG FACTION IN THIS AREA, SERIOUSLY ASK THEM, DON'T KILL ME'.
The thing that makes ambitious games like this so interesting are that they aren't about just killing for the sake of killing. There's so much more to think about when it comes to relationships between groups, mutual benefits etc. However without a voice most of those potential interactions that aren't just straight murder will be lost to a lack of viable quick communication.
I hope they reconsider adding VOIP, to me it seems absolutely essential to this kind of game.
I disagree with VOIP in Starbase in terms of always-open, always able to talk into someone's ear.
The main reason is the development time to implement it isn't worth it. It barely gets used outside of messing with someone. Everyone generally remains quiet to not give away information, or to not let someone know their voice, or to not give away their position. Most bulk teamwork voice chat is done on Discord, Teamspeak and Mumble, so it's not like it adds much utility.
In addition, we're robots, and it doesn't fit the theme to hear someone's accent or human language coming across from robots. Although VOIP is useful in niche cases of heated combat, it's overall just a lot of noise that breaks people out of the game experience.
I think more effective than VOIP would be emote sounds, where unique beeps, boops and doots are sounded from our robots when we emote. We'll know that some random person said 'yes' by their unique emote, or 'charge!' or some other thing, and if we can get some variation on the tone of those sounds, we have somewhat unique voices, and a gameplay themed way to communicate in game. Although people running around spamming the latest meme-song at max volume seems fun, it's not worth the dev time, and more intricate and immersion-creating options should be looked at instead.
Some small form of VOIP like ship-to-ship hailing like what Elite does might be ok, but not something I'd expect at the start.
The main reason is the development time to implement it isn't worth it. It barely gets used outside of messing with someone. Everyone generally remains quiet to not give away information, or to not let someone know their voice, or to not give away their position. Most bulk teamwork voice chat is done on Discord, Teamspeak and Mumble, so it's not like it adds much utility.
In addition, we're robots, and it doesn't fit the theme to hear someone's accent or human language coming across from robots. Although VOIP is useful in niche cases of heated combat, it's overall just a lot of noise that breaks people out of the game experience.
I think more effective than VOIP would be emote sounds, where unique beeps, boops and doots are sounded from our robots when we emote. We'll know that some random person said 'yes' by their unique emote, or 'charge!' or some other thing, and if we can get some variation on the tone of those sounds, we have somewhat unique voices, and a gameplay themed way to communicate in game. Although people running around spamming the latest meme-song at max volume seems fun, it's not worth the dev time, and more intricate and immersion-creating options should be looked at instead.
Some small form of VOIP like ship-to-ship hailing like what Elite does might be ok, but not something I'd expect at the start.
There is a radio receiver, so you could for example have communication with another ship through this device if they opened up a channel. Players will develop known channels that are meant for certain use, like CB and HAM radios in real life. I think what you want is possible already in game with some player ingenuity. Though talking with your voice over it, I don't think exists. Being able to send a code that confirms you as being a member of a friendly faction seems more possible and fun for roleplay.
A similar system to Elite Dangerous would be good. Not an always on system but something based around ship hailing.
Essentially if your within range of another ship you can initiate a hail which can be rejected or accepted, you can also add other pilots into the hails. This is a fairly simple system and solves alot of issues some people might have i.e voice spam, It also makes sense in a space setting.
Like a few others said however this is something that can wait but is something that should definitely be visited in future.
Essentially if your within range of another ship you can initiate a hail which can be rejected or accepted, you can also add other pilots into the hails. This is a fairly simple system and solves alot of issues some people might have i.e voice spam, It also makes sense in a space setting.
Like a few others said however this is something that can wait but is something that should definitely be visited in future.