Re-implement side chat?

[Anton17 97]

Forgive my ignorance but I'm oblivious as to why it was removed in the first place. Researching Rocket's answers on it brings up it was removed for an undisclosed reason. The only thing I can assume is that it was trying to make it more realistic and see how social groups interact without it and as we've seen, its sort of took a turn much for the worse.

I've played on servers that still have side chat enabled, even though it apparently now seems taboo, and the sense of community and general gameplay experience is tenfold when put against the majority of other servers without side chat. You can still be a bandit with side chat, you can even let your victim know what's coming right before you pull the trigger. You can also pick and choose your targets, as well as your friends. People could simply stay silent and use meta-gaming to stalk side chat and get your location, but as long as you're not a newbie you can use reconnaissance and code words to help you meet up and then you can simply use direct chat. I even shot a guy not knowing who it was and after he questioned who it was, I admitted to it and gave him a blood transfusion to make up for it, then we went our separate ways. I don't want to promote the idea that it causes more "friendlies" but it certainly adds less ignorance and more thought into what you're doing than we're currently seeing on most servers lately. I've been able to talk to, meet up with and play with complete strangers a hell of a lot more with side chat since you're not placed directly into panic mode on sight. You also have the opportunity to question your killer or ask where a person is before you shoot. With the current hacker situation, it also provides a medium to immediately warn others when their characters or the server is in danger.

I know its a heated debate topic and a controversial one but in my personal experience side chat has not only made the community more pleasurable but the overall gaming experience. It is still a game and I'm of the belief that something that makes the experience better shouldn't be tossed away so freely.

[TheMachine 803]

I agree, perhaps an option to turn it off if it pisses you off too much perhaps?

It is enjoyable reading it though.

[Hinaru 96]

Like this idea. I'm playing sometimes on servers with side-channel too. I like to communicate with the other guys. :3

[Anton17 97]

I agree, perhaps an option to turn it off if it pisses you off too much perhaps?

Would be nice to see but it would probably have to be a server admin decision for the whole server rather than individuals. If they by default disabled using a mic in side chat then all would be for the better but not sure on how hard that would be to implement.

Edited August 3, 2012 by Anton17

[thehumandove 344]

If I had the option to turn it off, I wouldn't really care

[Rock (DayZ) 95]

I know what you mean Anton, side chat has plenty of uses. Sure, in real life you won't have a scrolling wall of text in the lower left corner of your vision unless you're the T1000, but love side chat because of all the funny conversations people have. That's how I learned outhouse doors could break legs, from side chat.

Personally I'd prefer it back, but I'm sure there are valid reasons to both put it back in the game and leave it out.

[moriak 35]

I hope global channels won't get re-enabled until there is an option to disable them in client

[daspope 146]

I agree, if you are one of the people that think that side chat is too unrealistic, keep this in mind.

1) Dehydrating while standing in the middle of a pond just because you don't have a canteen is unrealistic.

2) Viewing yourself in 3rd person and having a crosshair showing you where your gun is pointed is unrealistic, unless you are on copious amounts of hallucinogenics.

3) Not being able to use empty cans or whiskey bottles to carry/drink water is unrealistic.

4) Curing a broken bone in minutes with morphine is unrealistic.

the list goes on and on... so whats the harm in side chat? maybe make it where its disabled on vet servers, or an option of the server admin?

I get lonely in the woods and wouldn't mind some chat to help the time pass.

[Seanyboy360 39]

If they let morphine heal dem bones INSTANTLY, why not make one more little exception for the community :)

[Spoleto 25]

I love side chat and I make a point recently of playing on the few hive servers that still have it enabled that I know of, I have been able to give and receive blood transfusions in areas where it would normally be impossible, answer questions that new players to the mod ask (and there are a lot of them), warn other surivors when I have been lured into ambushes over side chat and just generally feel like dayz has some semblance of a in-game (read: not meta) community.

Some people will inevitably come in here saying " boo hoo its not realistic, this is meant to be a lonely apocalypse " these people will also defend there use of TS3 and other third party VOIP programs by saying " they are just like ingame radios idiot "

Well if you need a RP reason for side chat we will appropriate your defense of TS3 - it's just a text based ingame radio, get over it, the game is far better for non clan players with it enabled.

And the fact you can warn the server about snipers and the like in my opinion is offset by the fact that any aspiring bandit can easily track players who use side chat for more kills so it shouldnt upset the player killers, either.

[daspope 146]

I for one would like to see the introduction of illegal drugs... like LSD... hmmm is that zombie real? or am I just trippin' balls?! lol

then again all the "zombies" are just people on bath salts. They need rehab, not a bullet to the dome.

[Momiji 46]

The few servers i played with it on, were a lot more enjoyable to be honest.

Trekking from the coast to the north is a lot less mind numbing when you can have a conversation with people.

Course it can be abused with giving away camps, vehicles and whatever, but how many forum posts do we see with "Camp at xxx-xxx on Server XX"

Hell i spent twenty minutes lying under a tree cause i was walking near stary and thought someone saying in side chat he saw someone in my area was me.

Abuse happens enough as it is without it, don't see the harm in letting servers have communities, if of course they make mics not work with side/global.

[Zarathustra (DayZ) 87]

It would also be useful for allowing players to communicate any sightings of hackers. As it is, if I see a hacker, all i can do is disconnect - I can't warn anybody else!

[MajesticShitstain 12]

When side chat was still in the game I actually teamed up with people. Made about 20 friends because of side chat. Oh but when it was removed everything went to shit. Now EVERYONE kills on sight and so do I, simply because I don't trust anybody unless I'm in teamspeak or some kind of verbal communication with them aside from direct chat. And if I see someone when I'm sniping in a side chat enabled server, I tell them to spin in a circle then go prone, if they do this I protect them on their looting journey through elektro or cherno.

[Spoleto 25]

Got to give beans to all of you people, I saw threads like this pop up when side chat was first removed and haters immediately swarmed in to tell everyone how much better the game is without it, I wonder if they feel the same way now.

Hopefully we can get some sort of consensus now on it at least being a server option that doesn't risk blacklisting, as it should be.

[K1NGjzs 1]

Yeah, i played alot on servers with side chat and i have much better experience there, bandits can bait their victims, you can ask friend or foe from safe distance, when it comes to direct chat, 40m is too close, i shoot when guy is facing me from 100m out. Not having side/global chat is game breaker, just disable voip there.

[csharp 47]

I hope global channels won't get re-enabled until there is an option to disable them in client

I totally agree with this. Never ever liked it. Usually its full of friends looking for each other, while somebody shouts to his killer, and at the same time somebody asks how to use hunting knife to stab killer69 who is standing in front of him. Didn't find it usefull, just annoying.

[Daffy Duck 15]

Side-chat is definitely a benefit to the community. Once I chose to use it to find out if a person was friendly when they were out of direct comm distance, but I'll never do that again because of the authenticity of meeting strangers face to face without knowing if they're friendly. Besides that, it's useful for gaining DayZ friends.

[Cysquatch 5]

I would love to see a CB Radio item implemented that would give you access to server wide voice communication with others who also have the item. I know this has been suggested before and I think I even saw Rocket talking about it. It would be the perfect solution.

Edited August 3, 2012 by Cysquatch

[MastaOfDisasta 30]

I don't want it. I like communication being limited to an 80m radius and using voice. The way it is now, it's much easier to be immersed in the game. Side-chat would take away from it.

[Zarathustra (DayZ) 87]

Got to give beans to all of you people, I saw threads like this pop up when side chat was first removed and haters immediately swarmed in to tell everyone how much better the game is without it, I wonder if they feel the same way now.

Hopefully we can get some sort of consensus now on it at least being a server option that doesn't risk blacklisting, as it should be.

Yes, I remember. Depressing wasn't it? I never wanted to see side chat disappear and foresaw people missing it if it left. Apparently it improves immersion. Though in a game where most people are communicating with their friends on teamspeak, I fail to see how other players communicating with text on the side of the screen diminishes the immersion to any greater extent.

[Turn5ignal 7]

How am I supposed to gloat when I kill a bbb clan member if there is no side chat.

[robosheriff 13]

All inside my mechanoicol

[xarok777@gmail.com 205]

If people would stop spamming their mics in global channels, this wouldn't be an issue. But they won't so they are off.

[DemonGroover 8836]

I agree. Like servers where 3rd person and crosshairs is turned off perhaps you can have Side Chat enabled/disabled. I've heard there are still servers with Side chat enabled.