Various Chat Modes - Uses?

[t_hum 0]

Newb here with some basic questions about the various chat modes in ArmA/Dayz...

As I understand it there are 4 basic types of chat:

1.Global

2.Side

3.Group

4.Direct

Could anyone suggest the best ways to use the various modes and what to avoid? How does side chat work in dayz when there are not really "sides" per se? Doesn't side chat still broadcast globally in this case?

Thanks gents.

Cheers,

t_hum

[Legacy (DayZ) 1091]

I have no idea what most of them do but Side chat is used as a global chat often apparently.

Direct is currently bugged and doesn't work and is basically a 'radius' in which you can talk. It is not global.

[t_hum 0]

So suppose I meet up with some chaps and we want to talk using either text or voice without having bandits know our position. How is this best achieved?

[Legacy (DayZ) 1091]

Teamspeak 3, Vent, Mumble, Skype, Steam voice.

Any options avail! Your server that you play on might be hosting a Teamspeak.

[orbital 10]

The 6 different voice channels are very useful in ARMA but with the DayZ MOD you don’t really need any other than Direct communication, at least not for now.

But here is a short explanation of them all anyway:

Global: Sends audio to everybody on the server.

Side: Sends to everybody on your team (all players in DayZ)

Vehicle: Sends to all member of active vehicle (Useful in noisy conditions)

Officer: Sends to all Group Leaders on your team/side (No Group Leaders in DayZ)

Group: Sends to your active group only (No Group in DayZ)

Direct: Proximity audio, volume adjusted depending on range from sender

All in all you should ONLY be using Direct! Global and Side is occasionally used but you will piss people off by doing so. We don’t like surprising noises when surrounded by Zed’s now do we.

[t_hum 0]

Nice overview Orbital. Appreciate it.

[orbital 10]

In many cases people chat in Global channel and that is perfectly fine. That does make it troublesome when you're in a tight situation and need to shout out with Direct Voice quickly.

In default ARMA settings your ‘Caps Lock’ opens microphone on the channel you're currently also typing to.

Go to settings->keybinds and find the section with all 6 voice channels. Rebind your Direct Voice to ‘Caps Lock’ (or any desired key) and remove that bind from the default bind.

That way you can stay in the Global channel for typing and momentarily switch to Direct whenever you press the voice key.

(I’m at work and don’t recall the exact names of the different settings, I can elaborate once I’m at the game again if needed)

[Legacy (DayZ) 1091]

It's a damn shame that direct voice doesn't work yet.

[t_hum 0]

Agreed. Being able to selectively chat with other players would be a big help. Though I suppose not entirely realistic as surrounding zombies and players should technically be able to hear banter between persons.

[orbital 10]

The whole Direct Chat issue is beeing adressed as far as I know. For now it seems that the latest Beta patch for ARMA (not a patch for DayZ but fully compatible) does make Direct Chat work.

Check it out at:

http://www.arma2.com/beta-patch.php

(hmm, where is all my HTML tags for posting gone?)

[Legacy (DayZ) 1091]

I heard that beta-patch only works for an hour and more importantly it is a pain in the ass to even consider applying to Arma II. (Steam you know?)

[zombiefan 0]

Sorry for the noob question, but when I chat, it shows:

1 (my name) (what I said)

in green. But everyone else appears to be talking globally and their chat is blue. How do I get mine to go blue? I only see one 'Chat' option under Settings.

[Legacy (DayZ) 1091]

Please consider looking up the controls before you ask these questions, however I will explain.

Blue chat is Side chat, use the < and > keys to switch between channels. Group chat (green) is also global.

[zombiefan 0]

You're right, I should RTFM. Thanks for the help though; it is appreciated!