Dissolution said:Voice for PvP.
Text for anything else.
If I'm immeresed in a fantasy world playing a fantasy character I dont really want to hear your real voice...because I have already taken multiple steps to escape the real world.
My sentiments too Dissolution. :)
Cana
I prefer voice once I get to know people, although that means it usually starts via text unless I'm already going into the game with people I know. I'm much more social than many seem to be here, though. Text is fine for certain situations, but over time the Discord invites are getting sent out and it's moving to voice. It's a lot of fun hanging out and voice chatting with people, and in my opinion/experiences it leads to a better connection. Doesn't mean I push for it all the time, sometimes we all just want to log on and do our own thing or kill some mobs without hopping into voice. I don't think VC kills immersion any more than having general chat on or having to deal with people's text shenanigans, unless you're an RPer on a RP server. It's also so much easier to try new things, do emergent strategies. It can take forever to properly relay something you want to try via text, especially if it's unusual or requires something novel, and getting 5 other players to understand it and be able to coordinate.
Text chat for the game. Most games if it has voice I disable it anyways. There is so many voice comm programs out there now that are so easy to use to connect to each other why waste work on this. Also anymore anywhere there is a mass gathering of people sitting in relative anonymity a certain small percantage of them are gonna try to get their kicks off bying trying to instigate and troll others. Easy enough to not read chat, much more inconvenient when their crap is coming through my speakers.
Text all the way. I used to lead a lot of large raids in Everquest 1 with just text chat. And by large, well, raid size was 72 in the game UI, and sometimes we had more than that and had to split into two raids. My personal record was a 98 people raid - not a common situation, 50-70 was the common number, but sometimes.
And people say they can't effectively communicate in a group of 5-6 without voice chat? Bleh.
Voice chat breaks all immersion, and makes people talk way too much. Text chat forces them to think at least a little bit.
I am shy, introverted, and a speedy typer.....and it feels like a privacy violation to be forced to talk, ever, even in raids. But it might be nice to have the ability for me to say something by voice and have it converted to raid text, or even a generic speech to text voice. It should be culturally acceptable to not opt into voice chat.
Like many others, I prefer text chat so that I can stay immersed in the game. However, I also recognize that in demanding combat situations voice chat is the only way to go.
In the games I currently play, I have to be in Discord if I want to group with my guildies. There is this divide from guildies who don't interact and play with others because they are not in Discord. Guild text chat channels are dead except for the occasional "hi" when someone logs in. But in Discord, I'm subjected to endless babbling and TMI. It's annoying and distracts me from concentrating on my gameplay.
And people these days just seem...needy for attention. I don't recall this being a problem in voice chat when I played EQ. We only used it for complex combat situations, and people spoke mostly when they needed to actually communicate something relevant to the fight at hand.
I assume there is a reason that a voice-to-text conversion option can't be made technically feasible. It wouldn't solve the problem of people reading slower than they hear, but it could fix the issue of trying to type and play at the same time. I have heard there is a current system called Dragon Speech Recognition that is 85-90 percent accurate. Is that accurate enough? Is anyone working on improving the technology or making it more affordable?
Any thoughts on other ways to solve the text/voice chat divide? It's going to be important to establish some workable norms in Pantheon given the strong emphasis on social play.
Lately, I have stopped playing MMOs because of the TMI/oversharing problem. I've tried changing guilds, but the problem persists. I don't want to be that person who only says "hi" in guild chat and goes off to craft instead of grouping. Why play an MMO at that point?
Hauskat said:I assume there is a reason that a voice-to-text conversion option can't be made technically feasible. It wouldn't solve the problem of people reading slower than they hear, but it could fix the issue of trying to type and play at the same time. I have heard there is a current system called Dragon Speech Recognition that is 85-90 percent accurate.
if it's anything like dragon on my phone, I foresee 'death by typo' to be a leading cause of death in Pantheon
For immersion I prefer text chat; however, I appreciate voice chat for its convenience. AKA: it is easier to tell somebody an extra enemy joined the fight via voice then it is for text.
My vote is having voice chat is a plus; however, do not make it automatic when joining a group. People should be able to choose if they want to join via voice chat or not.
Agree, text by default and not worth dev time to integrate voice.
However, what would be a good tool is if a group or raid could specify a link to a voice channel and when a new player joined group they could click the link.
Restrict links to trusted URL so you dont get people abusing :)
Minimum dev time, maximum function.
Keno Monster said:Sorry we wiped, I couldn't type about that add that killed the cleric while I was smoke bombing to change my loadout.
You didn't make a macro for calling out adds? And couldn't type "A-D-D-Enter" because you needed to press 2 other buttons?
And the cleric and no other party member noticed and typed anything?
Sorry indeed. Good thing it's not a permadeath game.
How about: Sorry the cleric died and we wiped when I screamed "ADD on the cleric!" in my voice chat, but forgot half the party don't have voice chat because [insert one of dozens of good reasons here, including me regularly screaming in voice chat].
Sarcasm is such fun.
Chogar said:For immersion I prefer text chat; however, I appreciate voice chat for its convenience. AKA: it is easier to tell somebody an extra enemy joined the fight via voice then it is for text.
My vote is having voice chat is a plus; however, do not make it automatic when joining a group. People should be able to choose if they want to join via voice chat or not.
The problem is, when 3 choose voice and 3 choose text, the 3 with voice just talk to each other, even though the 3 with text talk to everyone.
I don't know the answer. I think enough people will use voice that it will regularly cause problems, but I will be using text in most situations as long as I can.
Galden said:Agree, text by default and not worth dev time to integrate voice.
However, what would be a good tool is if a group or raid could specify a link to a voice channel and when a new player joined group they could click the link.
Restrict links to trusted URL so you dont get people abusing :)
Minimum dev time, maximum function.
Much as I dislike voice chat in games, I imagine raid leaders will just set up a temporary Discord channel and send an invite in game text.
The problem is, unless there is a generally accepted practice, random, confusing practices will spring up.
With the Discord example, I would be 'ok' (not happy, but ok) to listen to a raid leader, but not have to listen to raid members, but this means raid members would all have to remember to mute themselves, or I would be having to click click click those mutes, and then, of course, they have to realise that not everyone is listening to them, so would have to type what they want *everyone* to know and if the raid leader doesn't mind people using voice, then those muting will be out of the loop of many comms, etc, etc, etc.
Bascially, if voice becomes the de facto for Pantheon, text users will be having a very hard time.
I'd like to add one more consideration to this.
Allowing voice could actually feel more connected to the community or certain players within that community.
So in a sense, it's actually a kind of fuel to keep the engine going.
You've got that sense of familiarity, even though you don't know the people in real life. And for some people, (lacking some degree of real life connection or just those that really seek that extra social aspect within agame, no judgements here), it can really be beneficial to their own happiness in real life. So I wouldn't want to underestimate the value of allowing voice chat within a game. As long as it's an option.
Viewing in game voice chat as a boon to the longevity of a community could be an weighty consideration.
There are plenty of 3rd party options for voice chat.
I've noticed that in game player interactions have become less meaningful since the advent of voice chat in RPG/MMO games. You are less likely to do things with somebody who is not part of your established voice chat clique.
It can be awkward to explain why you are not taking part in voice chat when another player is trying to speak to you.
People may be expected to talk if voice is a built in feature.
Kilsin said:I like voice chat for raids and complicated fights. And I do use it regularly for the guild. But I don't like to use it 100% of the time. If I'm casually grouping or just doing other things that don't require extensive communication, I prefer text. That's not to say I don't use voice often. I just like the option not to have someone screaming in my ear every few seconds, even if I like them. ;pCommunity Debate - Text Chat vs Voice Chat, which do you prefer and why? #PRF #MMORPG #MMO #communitymatters
I text chat with people I don't know well and voice chat with people I do know well.
As for the game I think it should have voice chat just because you can't stop it. Being told you can't join a group because you won't download their voice chat app is rough.
I don't like it with people I don't know, but I can use it since it will be considered necessary anyways.
It took me a while to reply. I know it shouldn't mean anything or it doesnt make a difference and most of the times it doesn't but unfortunately, I remember the times when it does.
First of all let me say I do like it when - like in a raid situation- the leaders are in voice and they are the only ones speaking. Also I like hearing the banter and good-natured ribbing if someone messes up or "no big deal" attitude. I guess what I mean to say is those people that I hear, set the tone. Some guilds/groups take things very seriously and thats fine, and you get that from the tone and so you know what to expect. So if they sit someone out, no one is offended because they know the tone from the top.
Like someone said, you do get a feel for the person with their voice and for RP'ers its great because you can tell when they are turning it on and off. I remember hearing about party lines when phones first started being available- I'm talking about LAN lines. Apparently you would pick up the phone and there was a possibility of a private conversation already going on that you would openly eavesdrop into because you and they were on a so-called "party line". Oddly, years later you may remember those 900 numbers that would charge people for the same service lol. So getting into voice chat is like the old party line, but you know whose on the line, you're on a call with however many people. Do it enough and relationships start to form, pictures get shown and then there is a tendency to get closer, often this is not a bad thing Comicons, DnD (Fantheon?) etc.
Sometimes it can be uncomfortable, especially if you are of a gender or race that is not the make up of the general server population. But what if there just happens to be a national, political upheaval of which you are a participant just by virtue of your race and or gender. Then all of a sudden you become the source for questions, concerns, arguments, validations, accusations from everyone else seeking answers that you are also trying to discover for yourself.
In one MMO when I let out my race and gender before I switched back to EQ. I discovered those who do NOT feel the same way as the general populous and they were relentless. Not in public, but in tells, in private insinuating conversations, in alts you never knew were associated with them. Suddenly the fantasy world I went to, to escape and become someone else in to have fun breaks down. The fourth wall is broken from inside the PC and outward into RL because they know what you look like, they know what you sound like and maybe what state you live, maybe even your first name. It's not everyone, its just a few. But everyone else is in that box, and the few, sometimes I felt the few might not be confined to the box when I hear things like, I know your I.P. , your name and your city. What is that supposed to mean?
Tbh there was 1, only 1 creep a long time ago. Harmless but a creep nonetheless that got a little too close, I mean letters and suggested trips and to a 16yr old it was freaky. So, my moms BF just set up everything under his name, he pays I play. Still does and refuses if I offer to pay him back :)
So I like voice, I really do, from leadership, but I feel more comfortable for myself with typing right now. I can type pretty fast and I also like seeing typo's when people are nervous or eager or upset from typing so fast, lol.
