Voice chat

Reaver_PrydeReaver_Pryde Join Date: 2002-05-11 Member: 599Members
in NS General Discussion
<div class="IPBDescription">Regarding voice in ns</div>I'm relatively new to these forums, so I apologize in advance for any questions I ask that may have already been answered. I tried to read as much of the posts as I could, but I probably missed a lot.

Will Voice Chat be supported in NS? I have a good voice setup on my computer and have really enjoyed using it on Counterstrike, TFC, and especially Mechwarrior 4. There are a lot of mods out there that don't support it, though, which I think is a huge mistake (unless it's something like Wizard Wars or Mastersword where the subject matter doesn't make it appropriate). I can imagine how unbelievably cool it would be to be shouting over the comm as hordes of aliens converge on your position. Please put VC in NS! : )

Also, I have a thought, since wordless communication among the Aliens is a big deal. If you include voice chat in the game, would it be possible to figure out a way to disable voice on the Aliens side while enabling it on the Marines side?

Reaver
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Comments

  • RhoadsToNowhereRhoadsToNowhere i r 8 Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 33Members
    Voice Comm is definitely in NS AFAIK.  If I'm not mistaken, it actually works for basically any HL mod built in the latest version of the HL SDK, although it may need some tweaking for things like teamplay.  Not sure if it'd improve the game if the aliens couldn't use voicecomm or not...I know the aliens aren't as teamplay-oriented, but they still need coordination in order to be effective.
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  • Reaver_PrydeReaver_Pryde Join Date: 2002-05-11 Member: 599Members
    Well, wasn't the point of the Aliens to be team oriented not through actual communication but through the cool see-through-walls thing and wordless communication? My concern is kinda for the roleplaying element of it. It'd be kinda hard to really get into the role of being a bloodthirsty close-combat monster bent on the destruction of humanity (or whatever the heck the aliens are into) when you've got some guy on the comm speaking english and asking for backup or yelling for help when he's under fire. It's a proven fact that the more you get into your role in a game, the more fun it becomes.
    Also, I don't think the aliens would even <i>need</i> voicechat. If the "About Us" description is any indication, the aliens will, through their wordless communication system, be able to tell:

    1) Where their teammates are
    2) Where the enemies that teammates can see are
    3) When they or their teammates are under fire

    The only remaining thing that voice comm could be used for is to tell eachother what you'll be doing. While this is a big one, I'd say that the other three would eliminate about three quarters of the voice comm traffic that would go on in a game like Counterstrike, and people don't even use voice that much in games like that as it is.

    So basically, since I think that not having voice on the aliens side would not only not hurt them, but would actually detract from the experience if it were included, the developers should find a way to disable voice for the alien team while enabling it for the Marines.

    I'm kinda bad at keeping my posts short, huh? : )
    Reaver
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  • realityisdeadrealityisdead Employed by Raven Software after making ns_nothing Join Date: 2002-01-26 Member: 94Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
    The "Hive Sight" you may have heard mentioned around here is what makes 1 2 and 3 possible.

    I personally would not like to see voice for the aliens taken out. There are limits to what hive sight can do, and realtime communication would only help.

    Though it would make sense to better fulfill the "Communication without words"...

    Quoting from Molec's sig: "Everything is subject to change."


    <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->I'm kinda bad at keeping my posts short, huh? : )
    <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    We're used to it. And prefer it.
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  • ComproxComprox *chortle* Canada Join Date: 2002-01-23 Member: 7Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS1 Playtester, NS2 Developer, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Silver, Subnautica Developer, Subnautica Playtester, Pistachionauts
    The hive sight does provide all those items. But if a few aliens want to try and cordinate an attack, you need voice for that. Unfortunately, you cant tell a guys actions but where he is moving. He could be going towards marines, then climb into a vent and head off away...
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  • the_stalkerthe_stalker Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 49Members
    bleh, the voice chat makes me sick, i can never hear what anyones saying -_-
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  • FlayraFlayra Game Director, Unknown Worlds Entertainment San Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
    Yep, voice comm is definitely in NS.  It's not an automatic thing for mods, you do have to be using the latest SDK (which can be very difficult for some mods).  I was never a huge voice fan in games (actually, quite the opposite), but after playing NS with voice, there's no going back.  It really enhances the experience.

    A lot of people have expressed your concern about voice detracting from the "alienness" of the alien team.  It seems like this would be the case, but it just isn't in my experience.  Would any of the other playtesters give their 2 cents on this?

    The big problem with removing voice from the aliens would be a huge backlash the pro/clan community.
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  • MoleculorMoleculor Namer-of-Bob Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 9Members
    Knowing what you're planning Flayra, I'll join in and say that voice is just fine for the aliens. It won't be necessary, so it'll eventually get used for just idle chatter amongst the aliens, or very special circumstances.

    I myself thought that removing voice would be a good thing, but there's no real point. It'll hurt the mod a LOT more than help the 'feel'.
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  • Reaver_PrydeReaver_Pryde Join Date: 2002-05-11 Member: 599Members
    I guess I'm just biased by how many dorky roleplaying games I play. : )

    Reaver
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  • MoleculorMoleculor Namer-of-Bob Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 9Members
    Ach, I'm a roleplayer myself. -Love- Morrowind. Been waiting it for a LONG time (never beat Daggerfall though... <!--emo&:(--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('><!--endemo--> )

    Trust me when I say that with what Flayra has planned, the presence of voice will not ruin the feel of the game much, if at all.
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  • realityisdeadrealityisdead Employed by Raven Software after making ns_nothing Join Date: 2002-01-26 Member: 94Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
    Yes, I think the voice on the alien side is really great. In no way did having Moleculor screaming "Get to the fan room!!! We've got three marines in here!!" ruin the "alien" atmosphere. It just didn't, not sure why.

    I thought it would make it all that much less believable, but it doesn't. And again, I certainly hope it isn't taken out. It really helps.
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  • MoleculorMoleculor Namer-of-Bob Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 9Members
    <!--emo&:D--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'><!--endemo--> I scream a lot.

    However.... Argh. Can't say. Don't have permission to get more specific about stuff.

    Just trust me. Voice will -not- be a problem.
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  • GreedoGreedo Bounty Hunter Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 37Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
    I don't think that alien voice comm has any issues.  Like Ken said, it just didn't feel "wrong" for some reason.  I mean, I'll admit that I rarely used it, but that's just me.  And nothing beats the horiible screech of Moleculor's Texan accent causing you to rip of your headphones. <!--emo&:p--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'><!--endemo-->
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  • DaxxDaxx Join Date: 2002-04-16 Member: 460Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    Just consider it like Star Trek.  Everyone speaks the same language, no matter how screwed up you look <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->

    Couldn't you just see Bob speaking with a British accent?
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