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[survey] Voice communication in MMORPG?
sese
Member Posts: 1
hi, everyone
I am working on voice support for MMORPG.
I am strongly interested in your opinion:
what do you think about voice communication in MMORPG? do you think it will be a significant feature in the future? do you have any comments on it?
thanks a lot.
Comments
little 12 year old kids with little girl voices....
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Zimok - PS - Emerald
Zimok - SWG - Bloodfin
#1. NO! The content of server/area wide public typed chat is hard enough to control. I don't want to also HEAR every cuss word. I use'em myself on occasion but it's irritating enough hearing the REAL people around me that are incapable of saying one sentence without cussin'.
#2. NO! Typed Chat Servers cause enough downtime and in-game server side and network lag as it is. Those typed characters are only 8 bytes each. Trying to send VOICE data is going to make it significantly worse.
#3. NO! Pure and simple. Dial-up clients won't have a chance. Chat lag from character-based data is bad enough in a reasonably congested area.
#4 NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
Oh... and one more thing
NO!
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Wu Name? Misunderstood Menace
"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
Thomas Jefferson
I agree with grunty with regard to the technical side of things - I just don't think it's viable at present. Sure it can be done, but as grunty points out the systems currently have enough hassle handling the text, and if you're not going to have the speech high quality (and high bandwith) there isn't much point.
However at some point it's going to have to change - as more games go the way of EQ 2 it's going to limit the immersion when NPCs can vocalise to their digital hearts' content but the players themselves - actual real people - are still hammering away on their keyboard.
The other thing I'd want to see for voice communication in MMPORPG's is software with the ablity to alter the sound of your voice as you speak - so that 12 year old girls can play deep-voiced rumbling dwarves if they so desire - and that is gonna be tricky and expensive to implement well.
Also (just out of curiosity), what will happen with all the typing conventions? I reckon you'll get a fair number of people actually saying "Lol", "Be-ar-be" and "Roffel", at least for the first few years of the change over.
"The greatest trick the devil played on humanity in the 20th century was convincing them that he didnt exist." (Paraphrasing) C.S. Lewis
"The greatest trick the devil played on humanity in the 20th century was convincing them that he didn't exist." (Paraphrasing) C.S. Lewis
"If a mother can kill her own child, what is left before I kill you and you kill me?" -Mother Teresa when talking about abortion after accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979
I can see how voice can be used in online FPS, but in mmorps? no thx. FPS are mostly very fast games where lengthy discussions arent held between players.
I like the privacy of doing my comm in textbased chat, altho i sometimes wish i had and extra arm (no...not for that u silly things :P). Instead id like the ability to have more chat-macros easily accesible...with easily accesible i mean that i dont wanna have to do too many keystrokes to acces a macropanel (perhaps a better voice-recognition system to activate these commands? I know there are some in EQ, but i never actually tried this feature
)
I've met a lot of nice ppl in mmorpgs and some of them i even dare to call my "friends", but ive met them under certain conditions that draws a physical distance betweens me and them...and i actually like that distance. Ive met some ppl IRL that ive met in a mmorpg, and i usually have a whole diff picture of them in-game..a picture that stays the same, even tho i met them IRL too.
This textbased chat-system draws a barrier that i would like to be maintained, both because of the privacy of it, but also because it makes the immersion into the gameworld much easier...how can u seriously roleplay a female lightfooted elven druid, when in real life ur a huge jamaican male rugby-player?
"I and I sez, da big rudeboy-warrior is gonna get dis feelgood heal, mon. U can bling bling me leter, in di neme o' Jah!"...../partystun on
But i must say that i like that idea of a system that can change ones voices...altho it would be hard controlling ones character while lying on the floor laughing at smoe of the more obscure combinations of RL-voices and systemchanged-voicea
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no sig
Don't worry. Being eaten by a crocodile is just like going to sleep. In a giant blender.
There are already plenty of chat voice chat systems that ppl use while playing MMORPGs. 'Rodger Wilco' is one that comes to mind and I'm sure there are plenty others. This works ok in a group of two or three who have been playing together for some time. And all consider each other 'friends'.
However if I had a game that I was forced to voice chat with whomever was in my party, I prolly wouldn't get the game. Simply stated it is often bad enouph to have to read all the cussin and language that some ppl have to type. I would hate to have to listen to it!
Also get into a large group, imagine listening to 10 ppl talking at once and cussin each other out for somethin or other. I doubt the groups would last for very long.
This is why games stay mostly text based....so you can filter out language and ignore the real pricks.
*A game does not rule all other games...espcially if it hasn't been released yet.*
*A game does not rule all other games...espcially if it hasn't been released yet.*
We tested a 3rd party voice com within our org in AO. It was decent, but I prefered typing mainly because it gave me the ability to not respond to everything everyone said, not to mention everytime my phone rings, dog barks or roomates whnt to strike up a discussion I don't have toi mute or worry about anyone hearing. (I have a roommate who likes verbaling expression his dislike for online games and the peolpe who play them). Not to mention caughing, sneezing, or making a funny noise because what you just poped into your mouth tastes like it expired
.
We evetually so few people used it we just shut it off, although it did have one major up side. If I wa focused in a fight or something, I'd tend to miss tells people would send me. Hearing "Hey dumbass" normally got my attention.
you ever in a group where some idiot dies and YELLS AT THE HEALER becasue he didnt save his dumb ass, and just wont let it drop.
i dont want to hear that idiots voice screeching and crying.
I dunno...Teamspeak works fine with my guild on EQ, and we usually have 20+ on the TS server constantly, jumping up to the 40's with raids sometimes. Having worldwide voice chat would be bad, but smaller localized voice chat wouldn't be bad.
AHH! Run away from the monster! He's going to eat us!
Socializer 80% Explorer 73% Achiever 33% Killer 13%
Killer 100% Socializer 40% Explorer 33% Achiever 27%
After experiencing the voice communication system in Unreal Tournament and having to mute the voices of 11 year old idiots, im a big NO for voice communication in mmrpgs UNLESS its fully optional, turned off by default, and primarily used for group channels. Besides there is always ventrillo and teamspeak that you can always install/setup to get voice communications if you really want em.
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Played: AC1, DAoC, E&B, SWG
Tested: AC1, AC2, DAoC, Eve, Planetside, Rubies, Lineage 2
No way!
I have tried a game with voice comm. once before (Phantasy Star Online for Xbox) and it was horrible. There were too many off-topic nonsense, childish blabbering, and sometime offensive insults and flaming that was a lot more annoying than ordinary text.
Of course an ignore button would have to be included, but then many players would be ignored.
I also think that voice Comm. takes away from the immersion in a roleplaying game, few people are comfortable roleplaying even with typing out their words and actions. Speaking is even more difficult.
I think Voice communication can be quite a good idea. When i played Planetside teamspeak was the aspect that put many platoons over others cause u could easily plan your next move and inform others. For a game like PS it is obviously an advantage but with a more rpg based MMO i agree that you probably wouldnt really need it.
By the way sketch i just saw ya signature and BRING IT ON!
All glory to the Hypnotoad (monotone voices)
All glory to the Hypnotoad (monotone voices)
My old UO guild, back in the day (pre-99) used Roger Wilco for voice chat, but that was a game where you had to be on the same screen as someone else to see what they were saying to you, so a combination of ICQ and voice chat was useful for coordinating.
So long as you only have to hear/talk to the people that you WANT to talk to, you have to press a key to speak (so you don't hear every cough and sneeze), and it doesn't slow things down too much on the server/network end, I think it has potential to be cool. I have known some people to use the phone to communicate in EQ for the purpose of getting their act together for raids, and also, I have found that my husband and I are quite a formidable duo in a lot of games because we have the advantage of being able to talk to each other without the delay of typing.
~*~
neschria
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This is where I draw the line: __________________.
yep roger wilco was cool, and very simple to use
I don't think it's worth a developers resources to try and impliment such a system when it is already available and more importantly, OPTIONAL, in the form of TeamSpeak and Ventrillo. If it was built in and always on or requiring me to constantly manually /ignore people, that would be reason enough to skip a game.
Not unless it's optional
YES!!!
As long you do it right, voice comms is a godsend...
1. Include a good voice to text system.
- Anything I say should go out as text to other people.
2. Make it so I can choose who hears me.
- By default, have only text go to others. Then people I have enabled to hear me do if they want to.
3. Make it so I can choose who not to hear.
- If someone I don't know starts talking to me, I only want to see text.
4. Have a good voice masking system.
- I choose what I want to sound like.
There is no reason it can't work. if not for anythig other than a voice to text converter, so people can play the game without having to type.
Nothing worse than dumb crap like "inc" and "add" when grouped. Having to type these crappy things because you are running from a pull just sucks. All because you don't have time to stop and type a proper message.
How much nicer would it be to see. "Got an extra Orc Warrior. Zen, you Mez him. Everybody else get the Shaman."
Beats the heck outta: "add". And just praying everybody does what it takes to survive the mistake.
I wouldnt mind some kind of voice activated text chat, but thats about as far as it goes.
I like keeping the relationships between characters as just that, i dont want to think of the people i play online with as 'people' i want my elven healer to be an elf as far as i am concerned. And there is not going to be a system which can change your voice very well within the next few years thats for certain.
And one more thing i that i dont want to have to shout and scream at my pc, anyone walking past will think i am some kind of wierdo asking for 'buffs' etc
MUAHAHAHAHAHA
MUAHAHAHAHAHA
World wide voice chat will likely never happen. The bandwidth would be too much for dial up users, and the cost to the company would likely drive up the cost of the game. On the other hand, voice chat channels are already in games through outside programs, so integrating them into the game is the next logical step.
As for immersion, what type of rpg is more immersive? MMORPGs (using typed chat), or pen and paper games (using voice chat)? The big advantage of a built in voice chat would be the ability to add voice masking. A big brute of a guy could sound like a dainty wood elf girl if he wanted, while a small girl could be a big burly ogre.
Another plus is less downtime. Downtime is a very important part of online games. Everyone hates it, but that is when the friendships are built. People chat durring their downtimes. That is one reason EQ, with all it's downtime, became so popular. With built in voice chat, you don't have to stop playing in order to chat and build those friendships. They can make the game faster paced with less downtime, and still have those all important friendships (which keep people playing).
Voice chat is coming.
XBOX live uses voice changing technology. They had a game comming out call true fantasy live online that was gonna be voice only. but they canceled it. anyways I think it is possible to be able to change you voice.
I think that the option to talk and it to enter as text would be best atm so you can say "quick! get the mob off my ass! I am t3h l337" while running from a mob
A gaming community guild that I have been in for a while, when we moved into SWG and began PvPing, adopted a teamspeak system. As fairly long term buddies who had played together a lot, and had come to know each other quite well, it wasn't too much of a problem for most people. I had my doubts, as to whether real life and my gaming should be connected in such a way, so I only participated now and again, when it was neccesary, such as on highly coordinated raids. Often I just listened, for example if there was a meeting going on, then it would be held both IG and on TS at the same time.
Recently I have had a go at Planetside. I joined a nice outfit after meeting some fun people. The outfit uses teamspeak. I wasn't able to participate due to a faulty microphone. If it had been working I would have. I have used voice chat in FPSs before, and found it very useful. It doesn't destroy emersion at all in an FPS, and is extremely useful, as typing in an FPS is a real pain.
In an MMORPG, I wouldn't like to see voicechat as a core communication format. If it was, I would like there to also be the oppertunity to type, and to also switch it off. So that you dont miss anything, maybe a game should require you to type normally, but gives you the possibility to voice chat to voice chat to your group or your guild. This would at least give you a little more control over who you talk to. Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to have to listen to other people talking, but being allowed to choose to listen to people I know would be good.
A voice typing would be inaccurate .. they always are
I wouldn't bother using it unless it was worthwhile, and by that I mean near perfect.
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MMORPGs: Treadmills that make you fatter.
www.silkyvenom.com <-- a good site for Vanguard information
when you want to talk to your friends ingame set up a teamspeak server.
everyone in your guild you can give the password so they can loggin.
if this will become a standard in mmorpg i'm not gonna play any.
hate the people that spam the textbar.
imagen that they are screaming....
you dont want to walk into a city then :S
The misconception that people have is that games will actually have world wide voice chat. It will NEVER happen in any game that doesn't double the monthly fee and require a high speed internet connection.