Communication: Whisper and CB radios

[dallas 5195]

How about we change the default ArmA2 communication channels for the standalone.

One of the major disadvantages with direct channel is, it's very dangerous to use in populated areas, even if you're talking to a friendly, anyone in a 200 meter diameter can hear you and come gunning for you and your new found best friend.

Whisper channel:

I'd like to suggest renaming one of the channels and change it's properties.

We keep direct channel with it's current properties(100m voice and 40m text), but we change one of the remaining channels, rename it to Whisper channel and change the range, so you need to sit side by side, within 3-5 meters to read/hear the channel.

To find other players, you have to enter populated areas, which means more chance of actually meeting someone and an equal risk of meeting bandits. This way when you're done yelling friendly, friendly, you can switch to whisper, to avoid drawing nearby bandits towards your peaceful conversation. When meeting strangers in DayZ, it usually takes a while to get the feel for the other player and if you're broadcasting your friendly intentions, for more than a short moment, your friendly conversations are often interrupted by sudden death.

As a balance between good and evil, less friendly players can also go: "Pssst come over here in safe whisper distance" before they stick a Makarov into your ear and take your DMR from your cold, dead hands.

Radios:

I know Rocket has already talked about cell phones, but I was thinking more about radios. With radios you could offer both stationary CB radios and portable walkie talkies. CB radios might require, working and fueled generations to run, while walkie talkies, could utelize the same batteries used in laser designators.

What I find appealing about radios is you can either head for a fixed known location, where you know for sure you can find and repair a radio, but that since these locations draw lone players looking for company, bandit snipers might stalk them for easy targets. Alternatively you can search high tier locations for more valuable portable radios, but aquiring them comes with an increased risk.

Also if you're broadcasting from a stationary antenna, you never know, who's lisening to you, where they are, if they are friendly longing for another human voice or if they are trying to get you to reveal your location and are stalling you, while they are driving towards you in vehicles, armed with heavy weapons.

With the walkie talie you're more mobile and less exposed, especially if we place CB radios on the top platform of radio towers. However if batteries are rare, you have to limit your usage and practise being short and consice in your transmissions. Maybe one battery has a couple of hours worth of life or they work like a weapon magazine, with 30-50 radio transmissions. When you select "turn on radio/walkietalkie" in your mouse menu, you get access to the radio channel and the radio start either consuming fuel for the generator or battery life.

CB radios and walkie talkies could also allow more than one frequincy, if the engine allows it maybe five. At the moment ArmA provides six channels: Global, side, group, vehicle, command and direct. If three are reserved for whisper, direct and vehicle, maybe the last three could only be accessed with radios or if the engine allows it, add a few, so we have atleast five channels.

What you think?

tl/dr: I liek turtles.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Dallas

[kryvian 123]

sssuuuggggeessssteeddddd bbbbeeeffoooorrreeeee

but yah sure.

[Jonnyd505 0]

It would be cool if the more distances between the cb radios or walkie talkies the harder it would be to understand

[Welch (DayZ) 756]

Isn't it CV radio...?