Does sidechat ruin anyone elses game?

[bad_mojo (DayZ) 1204]

I despise the whole idea of side chat in DayZ. I feel it ruins immersion and takes away the thrill of human contact. I have a few other reasons for hating it so much. But, I'm not really interested in debating the pros and cons.

What I really want to know is how many other people feel the same way I do about it. I can't help but notice that almost every private hive I've ever joined has re-enabled it. Does this reflect the community at large? Or is this a case of server admins not wanting to exclude those who want it?

What's your opinion on its popularity in private hives.

[-Gews- 7443]

Sometimes I like side chat since it can be rather boring running for 20 minutes without seeing or hearing from anyone. It gets bad other times, though, especially with people making dirty jokes over VOIP.

[PracticalTactical 164]

Sidechat is OK. Its when people have entire conversations over it is when it gets lame.

[Maxgor 2314]

I like it at times, but some servers allow for global voice chat and that bothers me. I can see the text as bothersome, especially when people don't shut the hell up, but I'm more against people voicing as that should be left to direct chat stuff.

[The_Man 393]

I've been to maybe 10 servers that allow sidechat and it does getting annoying but only if people are using it like direct communication. Some people don't know any better or sometimes they forget. Most cases when I ask them to switch to direct then they are happy to do it.

[tigerww2 24]

(lisp) omg guysh plsh shtop it ruinsh my immershunzsh guysh relly ...

[Gruso (DayZ) 81]

I like it on dedicated PVP servers, it makes for a fun atmosphere. (When it's only used for text, of course.) For immersive survival style gameplay though, it's not so good.

These tips are always worth reposting:

• In audio settings, turn down VON. You won't hear idiots talking on sidechat any more, but you will still hear Direct voice.
  
• In control mappings, delete Caps Lock from Push To Talk, and reassign it to Talk On Direct. That way you won't accidentally broadcast your voice across the server, and you can talk to locals + type global without the need to fiddle with channel switching.
  

[maxnmike 134]

I usually end up just muting everyone except the server admins because people are too damned stupid to use direct or vehicle chat for all their brilliant observations. And really, telling everyone where you are and where you are going on a PVP server is just stupid.

[bad_mojo (DayZ) 1204]

I guess I should have worded the first post better. I'm not really looking for your personal opinions about side chat. I'm looking for your opinions of why there is a trend in the DayZ community to enable it, despite the fact that DayZ has it disabled by default.

A large part of DayZ for me is the isolation that it provides. When you can type out a message to the guy on the other side of the field, the tension is lost. Is this feeling of tension and isolation something that the majority of people don't want to be a part of DayZ?

Edited January 12, 2013 by bad_mojo

[SteamyBeans 4]

I like side chat. Just mute the people who over use it and your problem is solved.

[dekartz 315]

I think it's more or less to encourage co-operation between strangers.

It fails miserably at this 7/10 times but still...

Also combats some of the monotony. That said, I dislike using teamspeak/skype/vent when I play. Because fuck you I want immersion.

[theszerdi 50]

Speaking as a server admin, I'd say most private servers have it enabled to help deal with hackers. Hard to figure out who the hacker is if nobody can talk to you.

Plus, who doesn't like to brag a bit when they get great kills? :P

[Dancing.Russian.Man 1631]

Sometimes I like side chat since it can be rather boring running for 20 minutes without seeing or hearing from anyone. It gets bad other times, though, especially with people making dirty jokes over VOIP.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, and it entirely reflects my opinion on the matter.

It gets so, SO boring and lonesome in DayZ if all you're doing is running. The side-chat helps with that. And it's kind of helpful if you're pinned down -- or are pinning someone down -- in a building, and want to make a deal with them and not worry about them even seeing your messages or not.

But people using voice chat in side-chat is rather horrible. You can't even mute VOIP entirely, because if you do that, you won't be able to hear someone in Direct Communications if they try asking for help or calling out "friendly" or even "Don't come in/drop your weapon or I shoot."

Edit;

I've learned since making that post that lowering VON doesn't affect Direct Communications channel.

Edited January 14, 2013 by Dancing.Russian.Man

[RuecanOnRails (DayZ) 23]

Personally I can't stand side chat in game. A wall of blue text destroys the atmosphere of the game itself.

That's not to say I disagree with having any communication in game. If side chat was changed so you could ONLY talk while in the lobby or while dead to other people in the lobby/dead people I think it would be a lot better.

I'd also like to see radio's added in (a somewhat rare drop, not a spawn item) with the ability to chose frequencies allowing possibly hundreds of channels for people who wish to communicate and other who wish to surf the frequencies hoping to pick up something.

[BC_Hawke 276]

Side chat ruins the immersion, and DayZ is designed to be immersive. I hate it for the same reason I hate "1,000,000,000+ vehicles!!!!! More heli crashes!!!! 24/7 daylight!!!"

I've found it extremely difficult to find any private hives that stick to original DayZ settings. The private hives are all becoming care bear servers and it's attracting all the rug rats that make CoD so terrible to play. All the vehicles, daylight, and the enabling of side chat take away the intensity of the game. I want my DayZ back.

I tried going back to public but I literally get hacked within 10 minutes of joining every time. Looks as though the only option is to wait for SA.

[boneboys 7988]

Ruins the game.

Turn it off, for good.

For those that dare talk over the global, kick em.

I'm categoric here, good thing it's not in SA.

[Angryofficer 89]

Well, I can't actually read or hear direct chat, so my opinion is biased.

Sidechat simply increases the amount of fun I have in dayz. It seems to reduce mindless kos, It creates a certain feeling, that just isn't there when you don't have sidechat. banditlyfe is harder, quite challenging, knowing you will get listed as one if you reveal your name in some way. (being a backstabber, revealing your name to someone to stab dem backz, and getting called out for it) I don't find the bragging about kills, or moaning about death annoying. VOIP can sometimes be. The reactions of a person you attempted to kill, but failed to are pretty funny. More things seem to happen on sidechat servers from my experience, people giving rides in a pedovan and then driving off a cliff, suicide heli bombers, etc. If you want to play medic on a no-sidechat server, it just doesn't happen. There's just so much more to do with sidechat.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Angryofficer

[SmashT 10907]

I'm not a fan at all. It ruins the immersion of the game, increases metagaming and takes away from the randomness of player encounters.

[maxnmike 134]

Hmm... how many of you that say it breaks the immersion of the game use TS Vent or Skype when you play? If so, please stop saying that. Thank You.

[tsandrey 379]

I hope it won't be in standalone. Back in August/July almost no servers had side-chat enabled, and I prefered that. However, I could also deal with Side Chat if it's only text, with disabled VOIP. How can you get immersed when a Russian kid starts screaming in side chat?

Side chat is not all bad though. It could be useful for informing an admin a hacker is online, bugs and etc.

Edited January 12, 2013 by TSAndrey

[Angryofficer 89]

Hmm... how many of you that say it breaks the immersion of the game use TS Vent or Skype when you play? If so, please stop saying that. Thank You.

This. I have seen so many people complain about sidechat being immersion breaking. But Chat programs + these forums (trading, survivor hq, etc) somehow aren't? wut.

Personally it doesn't affect immersion for me at all, sure it's more realistic, but the moments that happen with sidechat are unbeatable.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Angryofficer

[colekern 1364]

I honestly don't like it.

[DemonGroover 8836]

I am not a fan of Side Chat, however i have been on a few servers and it can be good for a laugh.

[theirongiant 200]

I like sidechat text, it's fun grabbing snatches of the craziness that's happening elsewhere and it can be a laugh if you're on a server with people with good patter.

[OrLoK 16185]

Hello there

I'm a massive fan of side chat. I like the banter that goes on beside the game. Make it a server/user choice to enable/disable it IMHO.

Rgds

LoK