Side Chat.

[KEEPCARLM 146]

This could be seen as a suggestion I suppose, but I would like for there to be a discussion on the matter rather than just suggesting it in suggestion forums since I am aware this isn’t anything new.

Basically, after playing on a private lingor server last night which had side chat enabled, I had probably my best experience on DayZ yet. Some quality people, some quality moments (some guy was taking shots at me with a Makarov and I couldn’t find him for ages, eventually found him though) everyone was willing to have a laugh about things, there was some bitching at one another, accusations of cheating/scripting but all-in-all I found that having the side chat enabled was a positive thing.

I know that, in the grand scheme of things if I want the chat there, I can join private servers with it enabled – that limits me to playing on one server but that choice is there.

I also appreciate that, in actuality – side chat isn’t something that is ‘feasible’ or ‘authentic’ in the real world. So therefore it doesn’t make sense to have it in the game.

Perhaps for stand-a-lone there should be some kind of addition of walkie-talkies as a lootable item. There could be residential grade variants that reach a mile or so (1600m) and there could be military grade that can cover the whole map. These would basically create an authentic way of communicating with other players in the world, and detecting presence of other people, for good or bad reasons.

I know this is nothing new, I’m not claiming it as my idea I just want to hear what people’s opinions are on side chat.

[Jim Bean 157]

Not exactly fitting with the realism thing the game is going for imo. Walkie talkies would be great, especially if you can broadcast and tune into a massive number of channels.

[CerebralZombie (DayZ) 151]

I'd like certain servers to have it, but I have yet to see one. I would also like the ability to have the radio in every server used as a version of it. So anyone with one could dial into on channel, or dial into their groups channel. I enjoy playing without side chat, but would also enjoy playing with it to when I feel like it. It couldn't hurt to have a few servers with it. If anyone knows of any, post em' up!

[cfnz 15]

I'm not particularly interested in side chat in text form. I do like the idea of some kind of global communication so people can ask for assistance (or whatever else) in game rather than externally via this or other forums. The problem of course is whether or not it gets abused by some.

[herd 69]

Where is the 4th option? Make it server dependable like crosshairs etc.

[sasrecon 133]

Walkie talkies would be awesome but as-long as they have a realistic range and maybe even different channels so it would be possible to converse with friends or intercept other conversations.

[director 12]

side chat with only writing without talking would be good. but when two guys use it for private audio talk they fuck all server. you dont hear anything what is going on around you.

so if side chat can be only writing/reading chat i am for that. if it was like now disabling is better.

[moriak 35]

side chat with only writing without talking would be good. but when two guys use it for private audio talk they fuck all server. you dont hear anything what is going on around you.

so if side chat can be only writing/reading chat i am for that. if it was like now disabling is better.

when a group of people is using it as their group chat it is quite annoying too.. global chat (in any form) only if it can be disabled on client (i.e. toggle it off in options, turn off walkie-talkie)

[director 12]

that would be better than now if all of us can setup global chat rules. for example :

side chat audio ON/OFF

side chat text ON/OFF

that would solve a lot of problems. But problem is when i write to someone who dont wont to write, he will talk to me, i would not hear him and he will kill me :) . if side chat audio is disabled for all than he knows he need to go to direct chat to talk to me or he must write on side chat to talk to me. In other words you dont need to think why he dont answer if you have clear rules about that.

[tzstutler@gmail.com 0]

Might be nice if Rocket added compatibility with the ACRE mod that is usually used with ACE. What it does is bypass the somewhat buggy ingame voice chat by using Teamspeak 3. There are several different radios that have different ranges, frequencies, etc. This does also include vehicle mounted and backpack mounted radios. It also takes other things into account, such as the type of radio (UHF or VHF) and terrain/obstacles. Quite realistic.

[rushcrush 20]

If I recall correctly, Rocket removed it due to people abusing the side channel and tricking people.

[fosty99 160]

I'd like certain servers to have it, but I have yet to see one.

ANZ 1 has it.

[herd 69]

If I recall correctly, Rocket removed it due to people abusing the side channel and tricking people.

Tricking people is part of the game and adds gameplay depth.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Roboserg

[director 12]

tricking is still ingame. "friendly ?" bang and red river starts from your head :)

[DazTroyer 227]

I played on Lingor last night, they had side chat and it made the game feel much more sociable. I think it should be an option in the menu, so if you don't like it you can turn it off. Everyones happy then. :)

[Kra 151]

Poll could use a couple more options. I see side chat as being default on in 'Regular' servers, and off in 'Veteran' servers. With the option to switch on and off of course.

Servers need customisation options to stand out in the crowd.

[sausagekingofchicago 4711]

Sidechat on public servers is probably the most annoying shit in the world. Nothing destroys immersion like some fart noises or a kid screaming into the mic.

[spliff (DayZ) 24]

biased polls suck.

[x] No.

[s4pphire 45]

Side chat is just a trolling tool, if you make it part of a high-end item (radio), you'd also limit its use to serious players only, which is exactly how it should be.

[HeyTikO (DayZ) 3]

After playing some Lingor Island too, i can say that i missed the side-chat!

I missed the time when we could help people via the side-chat lol. I think we need a server-side option or client side option for a global-text-only-chat. So if a guy doesn't like it, he just goes to another server or turn the global-chat option off.

And for the voice/audio, keep it for the direct communication! Cause, having some guys talking about his grandma stuffs on the global chat is just lame!

[Intake 1]

I played dayz back when it still had the side channel enabled on all servers, and i really enjoyed having it. I know its a simulator but i dont play games to be anti social, i enjoyed having little conversations with random players as i roamed around the landscape.

[manseedcannon 5]

sometimes the game gets boring while sneaking around or waiting for something. side chat wouldnt be all that bad as an extra thing to stay entertained between towns and whatnot.

[m.w. vindicator 880]

If there are radio's you should be able to broadcast recorded messages. You could go the forsaken place and broadcast a message to all radio users. You could set it to repeat every half hour or so until it was turned off.

You might find a camp and broadcast the coordinates all over the map.

[m.w. vindicator 880]

Morse Code would be badass too. I can't really translate it though.

[TheRazL 0]

I browse the forums almost daily but never felt the need to post until now... I also played in a side chat enabled Lingor server last night. I came into DayZ after side chat was removed, so this was my first experience with it. It was the most fun I have ever had in DayZ. There was more cooperation in two hours than I had experienced in the previous two months. I was able to communicate and find players who--I can't believe I am saying this--didn't shoot on sight!. I do think side chat should be enabled, and for realism purposes, lootable radios sounds like a good idea.