Replace written status cues with verbal 'thoughts'

[Roshi (DayZ) 396]

I've been trying to nut out a better system for relaying interoceptive feelings and drive states (i.e. thirst, hunger, illness etc) than the written cues in the bottom left. Obviously we are going from multiple senses IRL down to basically sound and vision in the context of the game, so this is hard.

 

So I had a thought that maybe some audio cues but 'inside the players head' i.e. not audible to other players (at least most of the time - see below). So rather than seeing the cues, you would hear them spoken. Kinda like the slightly dodgy Czech voice-acted "Fuck it hurts" from ARMA2 that made it into the mod, but with a ton of work added.

 

Or you could have both as options to meet different players' preferences.

 

A few fine points:

- Bohemia could probably afford some decent voice actors if they went this way.

- you could vary the volume and intensity of the voice in accordance with how intense the drive is - e.g. "My arm hurts" could be "MY ARM FUCKING HURTS".

- gives room for the quality of the voice to convey the more emotional content of the message to tell you how severe the sensation is (assuming decent voice actors here).

- male and female voices (and possible variation in voice within each sex)

- If the sensation (e.g. pain) gets past a certain threshold, then the character could actually start voicing the message so it was audible to players near by. The reality is if you are in enough pain, you start vocalising as pain is a drive state - it makes you act sometimes against your better judgement. 

 

I think this would add a lot more to immersion and get rid of the text along the bottom that clutters the screen.

[Beck (DayZ) 1768]

Or you could have both as options to meet different players' preferences.

It would need to offer this for players who don't have sound. I really like this idea though.

[Guest]

Its a clever concept, however it may get irritating, e.g You are in desperate need of a drink, you see a town 600m away, you would need to have a time limit in which these audio cues could take place

[Roshi (DayZ) 396]

Its a clever concept, however it may get irritating, e.g You are in desperate need of a drink, you see a town 600m away, you would need to have a time limit in which these audio cues could take place

 

Yeah I thought about that a bit - I think if you had the soothing tones of Morgan Freeman, Sean Bean or the guy who plays Jean Luc Piccard (sorry trekkies - can't remember his name) then it might be a pleasurable experience. 

 

But these kinds of sensations should drive you to act to sort out the issue, and become more insistent as the need gets stronger. Not sure yet how to make this side work without becoming irritating in an unhelpful way.

[Guest]

Yeah I thought about that a bit - I think if you had the soothing tones of Morgan Freeman, Sean Bean or the guy who plays Jean Luc Piccard (sorry trekkies - can't remember his name) then it might be a pleasurable experience. 

 

But these kinds of sensations should drive you to act to sort out the issue, and become more insistent as the need gets stronger. Not sure yet how to make this side work without becoming irritating in an unhelpful way.

 

 

Morgan freeman would be good, or perhaps Arnorld schwarzenegger !

[Roshi (DayZ) 396]

Morgan freeman would be good, or perhaps Arnorld schwarzenegger !

Hahaha... "I need to let off some steam..."

[Awruk 216]

Do you have a favorite song? Set it as your ringtone and one day you'll realise how much you hate it.

[waffen-79 32]

Totally agree with this

 

but the voice should not be in -the head-

 

it should be audible in the direct chann radio, so if your team mates are around they could be annoyed by the sounds and take care of your hunger or injuries hehehe

 

come on BI! 1 million copies @ 30usd you can even afford Angelina Jolie as the female voice set

Edited January 14, 2014 by waffen-79

[Roshi (DayZ) 396]

Totally agree with this

 

but the voice should not be in -the head-

 

it should be audible in the direct chann radio, so if your team mates are around they could be annoyed by the sounds and take care of your hunger or injuries hehehe

 

come on BI! 1 million copies @ 30usd you can even afford Angelina Jolie as the female voice set

So long as she doesn't try to put on an accent...

[ZedsDeadBaby 2287]

Sorry, downbeans. No way. The text is distracting enough, hearing my own voice talk about how hungry or hurt I am would be unbelievably annoying. Especially if you had voice for a variety of conditions, all of which I might have at once. "I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. My arm hurts. My leg hurts. I feel sick. I have a headache. I need to shit." Holy shit no thanks shut the fuck up.

 

The text system is stupid, period. Respect to Dean, but it makes absolutely no sense. Pain, hunger, thirst, cold - these are emotions. They are things people feel, not things that they think or say. They are ever-present and they do NOT manifest as English words either in our heads or audibly. Hunger is just hunger. I might think to myself "gee, I could go for a hot dog," but hunger itself is just a feeling.

 

Say what you will about HUDs but on-screen icons are the ideal solution for these types of conditions. I shouldn't have to think "my arm hurts" to know my arm hurts. I just know it. My arm hurts, right? You don't actually have to talk to yourself to know that you're in pain. It's silly and there's no reason we should enhance this type of feature in the game.

 

I'm hoping that the addition of the hunger/thirst meters to the inventory screen is a sign that Dean recognizes that the text system is a bust and a go-nowhere solution to the problem.

 

Bring back icons, they worked fine.

Edited January 16, 2014 by ZedsDeadBaby

[Roshi (DayZ) 396]

Yeah this sort of stuff is exploratory - I want to see what other possible ways there are of getting around some of the more fiddly problems in the game (e.g. ghosting, expressing sensations/drive-states in a limited interface). Just because I suggest something, doesn't mean that's the way I think things should go - more testing the possibilities... So happy for critical (but not for uncritical) feedback :)

[joshuabeatdown 2]

Well IMO I think the pain sound is fine for injuries. What I think should be done is moving away from the text cues, and use rumbling stomach for hunger. Use a refreshing "ah" type sound for being filled, and a gagging sound when over full. I think the thirst should be some sound of cotton mouth sound, like being sticky I suppose. Then same with the food, "ah type sound when filled, and gagging when full. THe straving/dehydration sounds could become more frequent the more you need either. Would clean up the text spam, as well as add realism.

 

I don't often think to my self wow I am hungry with audio, so I don't see why would in game. I get my stmoach rumbling, and think what I have to eat. Which I can do while palying anyways. IMO sounds like stomach rumbling would be better. No offence just my opinion.

[ZedsDeadBaby 2287]

What I think should be done is moving away from the text cues, and use rumbling stomach for hunger.

 

What about when I'm slightly more hungry? Close to starving?

 

Does my stomach rumble louder, or more often? What about thirst? Does my bladder rumble?

 

Again, I can't imagine this being anything but extremely annoying and it doesn't mirror reality at all. I don't have to hear my stomach rumbling to know I'm hungry any more than I have to hear a fart to know I need to take a shit. I just know, because that's how human sensation works.

 

Until they figure out a way to plug into our brains and pipe sensations or emotions directly into our cerebellum, on-screen icons are the best possible solution to these problems.

[joshuabeatdown 2]

 

 

What about when I'm slightly more hungry? Close to starving?

 

Does my stomach rumble louder, or more often? What about thirst? Does my bladder rumble?

 

Again, I can't imagine this being anything but extremely annoying and it doesn't mirror reality at all. I don't have to hear my stomach rumbling to know I'm hungry any more than I have to hear a fart to know I need to take a shit. I just know, because that's how human sensation works.

 

Until they figure out a way to plug into our brains and pipe sensations or emotions directly into our cerebellum, on-screen icons are the best possible solution to these problems.

 

Well considering there is not bathroom function atm, the bladder thing is irrelevant. You stomach should rumble louder, and more frequent. Have you never been starving IRL? because my stomach sure as hell makes more noise the more hungry I am. I don't think I am hungry till I get cues from my body, my mind is not just randomly like hey I am hungry, there is a reason for that to happen. Hence stomach rumbling. There have been times I've gone without food for long time in real life, and of coarse its annoying hearing your stomach, that would add realism. Sure the water one is bit harder to replicate, but I would rather the sound cues than text. Since you cannot feel those those thing from a game avatar, sound cues is closest we can get to realism.

 

I am not against icons for now, but the text has to go, and also the text for eating, and drinking. I know I am drinking from a well, or eating a can of tuna, I initiated those actions.

 

Also some people don't have mics, or afraid to use them. So it would be hard to see "friendly" amongst the text spam when I am eating, or at the well.

 

The thing is audio cues, can also be paired with visual actions. Such as holding your stomach. I wish the engine was capable of things like your abdomen stretching when you need to pee, or take a shit.

 

These are just suggestions, and bit from real life. Atm my stomach is rumbling up a storm, because I am waiting to go to out to eat with my girlfriend. Which has increased in the past hour. I really want fish 'n' chips as well.

[ZedsDeadBaby 2287]

Well considering there is not bathroom function atm, the bladder thing is irrelevant.

Well considering there is not bathroom function atm, the bladder thing is irrelevant.

 

It's not about pissing; it's about an empty bladder representing thirst. You need to differentiate between thirst and hunger because you can die of both separately. So if rumbling stomach is hunger, what's thirst? Dry, crackling mouth noises? Raspy breath?

 

Then you've got groaning for pain, "Brrrrrrrrr" for being cold I assume, or rattling teeth? Labored breathing for being afraid. I guess some kind of gagging or wretching for sickness or poison?

 

And all of this gets louder and more frequent as the conditions worsen?

 

Yeah, sorry. No thank you. I'll pass on literally stumbling around like some kind of goddamn bodily function mariachi band popping off random noises left and right. I would sooner turn down the volume and listen to Justin Bieber's greatest hits while I play.

 

Have you never been starving IRL? because my stomach sure as hell makes more noise the more hungry I am.

 

That's not the point. Yes, a rumbling stomach is a real thing that does happen, but it has nothing to do with knowing whether or not I'm hungry. Sometimes it rumbles, sometimes it doesn't. The sensation of hunger is ever-present and I don't have to hear a noise to be reminded that I'm hungry. I just feel hungry.

 

I don't think I am hungry till I get cues from my body, my mind is not just randomly like hey I am hungry

 

Okay, now you're just being ridiculous. You're telling me you have no way to tell if you're hungry until you hear your stomach make a noise? You never just feel hungry, independent of "cues?"

 

If that's really true, see a doctor immediately because that's definitely not how real hunger is supposed to work.

 

Since you cannot feel those those thing from a game avatar, sound cues is closest we can get to realism.

 

Using sound cues to determine what condition someone is in would make sense if I were observing another person and trying to figure out if they were hungry, but I'm supposed to be the player. I shouldn't have to hear sounds to know how I feel. That's not how feelings work "realistically." Feelings are feelings.

 

I don't see how sound cues come any closer to reality than an icon, which is a visual representation of an emotion which we can all agree current game technology is incapable of representing in a truly realistic way.

 

I am not against icons for now, but the text has to go

 

Oh, we absolutely agree on that. The text is far and away the worst possible solution and I have no idea what Dean was smoking to think it was an acceptable one.

 

But, I just want to go back to icons rather than blorp-gurgle-brrrr-hrnnng'ing my way around Chernarus like some kind of drunk Oompa Loompa.

[somethingbloody 118]

I absolutely do not want my character to voice anything other than maybe pain, vomiting. No speech. The voice of the character is my voice, hearing another one come from my character breaks immersion.

I wouldn't be opposed to icons as long as they stay on the character screen and the HUD remains clear.