Chat Functionality

[CornThatLefty (DayZ) 0]

The current ArmA 2 chat is good for an army sim, bit not necessarily for a zombie apocalypse sim.

I think chat should have 2 channels:

-Direct

-Radio

Ok, first direct.

Direct chat, as it is now, is ok, but sometimes it costs you your life. Every once and a while, I can't hear someone, even when they're up close to me. I think a whole settings menu should be devoted to audio: testing your mic, adjusting volume, etc. But I think there should be a HUGE emphasis on mic ability. I want to know if my mic is playing through the game or not, and if it is loud.

Another small feature I think would be cool: while you're typing (for those without mics) your character should do a sign language animation. As if they are mute, and are using sign language to communicate. This will potentially stop people from killing those who stand still via typing.

And final addition: vehicle functionality. The drag of having to switch from vehicle to direct chat when entering and exiting a vehicle has also cost me a few characters. I think that while in a vehicle, direct chat should automatically play throughout the car, plane, etc. But, also have the ability to open a window. This would make you a bit more vulnerable to gunshots, but also allow you to talk to people outside the car via direct chat.

Basically, direct chat should be a combination of vehicle and direct chat whilst inside a vehicle. But, you can only talk to those outside the car while your window is open.

Next, radio chat.

I think as a replacement of side chat, there should be radios. Radios should be about 80% as rare as GPS systems in the current mod. (AKA, hard to find, but not near impossible.)

Basically, the radio will have 3 'frequencies.' A military frequency, revealing heli crash sites, a player frequency, and a distress frequency.

The military frequency will just give coordinates AROUND where a heli crash site is. It will basically say "There was a heli crash in Chernarus! It happened between x and y coordinates!" And this will be an automated message, that could sometimes be false. Sometimes there will be no crash.

Secondly, the player frequency. This will allow you to talk to other players with radios. This will be MICROPHONE ONLY. There will be no text chat allowed in the radio frequency, because people are better at lying via text. If you heard someone say "There are guns located at x" you would be able to tell if they were planning a trap better than if they typed it. This all goes along with the human nature aspect of the game. If you can hear a lie in someone's voice, you might just be able to find and kill them. (The ability to mute certain players and turn the radio off will still be in place, due to idiots who would spam.)

And finally, the distress frequency. The distress frequency will allow you to record 30 second snipets of audio from a radio tower, and send it to all the radios. Whenever a player's radio is set to a distress frequency, they will hear the distress signal from a radio tower over and over again.

In the 30 seconds that the person at the radio tower has to record, they will have to use their time wisely. If they want to be rescued, they must say where they are, because there are a ton of radio towers in Chernarus. Or this could be used for trolling, which would actually be funny.

After the distress signal is sent, 10 minutes must pass before it can be overwritten by someone in another tower or the same person. However, the signal will play forever until it is overwritten or deleted, so you could be heading to an empty radio tower to save someone who died 2 days ago.

And that's basically it :D

Just some upgrades to chat and communication that I'd like to see.

Let me know what you think, and I'll add on any replies that I like, because I know I missed some things.

[CreepySalad 108]

i don't agree with the radio channels thing.

I think they should be like, channels 1-100, and players can talk on them. Or listen.

It'll be up to the players to create a public chat channel.

But besides that, everything's cool.

Edited January 31, 2013 by CreepySalad

[enforcer1975 1111]

ACE already has that feature, you speak, everyone around you hears it. You speak via radio, everyone around you hears it and everyone on the radio set on the same channel hear you... They should just take the idea and place it into the SA.