Combat chatter
- Thread starter Iskariot
- Start date
Yes, comms chatter it is.
It does not only sound good on the bridge of a larger ship though.
If you have played the Homeworld games you know what I mean.
In the Homeworld games it added an extra layer of immersion and a feeling of depth to what was going on. It gave you a feeling of being there in the middle of the action.
It could be optional and the volume of it might be variable too. So the entire experience would be customizable. Personally I want it very badly to be in the game.
Is comms chatter realistic? First you'd have to be on the same channel, which would work if you're in a squadron but Elite pilots are normally individuals. Second comms would probably be encrypted so even if you were on the same channel all you'd hear is blips and screeching unless again you were part of the same squad and had pre-arranged protocols.
Yeah, I agree. The only scenarios I can see where you'd expect to hear combat chatter is flying with NPC wingmen or other players on your side. You shouldn't hear the enemy at all.
In the former case pre-recorded stuff is going to get very repetitive very quickly, in the latter voice comms kinda generates it naturally anyway.
That is why it should be optional.
I do not care the slightest bit whether it is realistic. It worked wonders for the Homeworld series and also for a game like SPAZ. SPAZ comms added a bit of humor too. Doesn't have to be that way for Elite, but it fitted the SPAZ atmosphere. Repetitiveness was never a problem.
Those who want stark realism can simply switch it off and enjoy the silence.
Those who want a certain ambient atmosphere can switch it on.
The latter has my preference.
I would love the contrast after having been in silent deep space, arriving in a crowded core system and hearing the comms in the background kicking in. I think it would be a great feeling of arrival, coming home.
Yes that would work just fine. You would not have to be able to literally understand what was being said.
It would be just an ambient background for populated systems.
What is more there could be a slightly different character to the comms chatter of federation, imperial and independent systems too, or the chatter around a pirate base.
Would be good with traffic chatter. Since it's likely that stations have open protocols and they need to direct traffic.
very much agree with this. Just cannot see the sense in comms chatter when alone in deep space, I for one would be looking for the ****** thats trying to talk to me, before realising it was just fake chatter.
But then arriving at a space station ..the station talking on open comms to various ~npc's floating around...and yet again the odd videos of docking in the space port, I am sure I have heard chatter coming over in the back ground ...I only have beta so no idea for sure...
As I proposed you could switch it of then or lower the volume.
Personally I will not be using TS at all.
So players like me, who are mostly interested in the single player experience (and there are quite a lot I understood), will probably activate ambient chatter a lot more. For us the comms chatter will enhance the feel of a living and breathing Elite universe.
If done well, in a dynamic fashion, it will deepen the experience considerably I feel.
For those in doubt: just play Homeworld again. The comms chatter is very cool. Also the ambient chatter in SPAZ is done wonderfully.
You are completely right, but must have misread what I said. We are in agreement.
That is why I said that the silence of deep space would be great in contrast with the comms chatter in a populated system. It is that dynamic that will add to the feeling of realism and immersion. After a period of deep space mining for example imagine how it feels when you jump into a core system and your comm suddenly comes alive with the voices of civilization.
Also having a dynamic comm chatter that subtly distinguishes between imperial, federation, independent, mining operations, military bases and pirate systems would add to that feeling.
You would learn to recognize the type of chatter and it is relatively small detail like that which will pull you into the game. Very often in games it is background detail like that which without you hardly noticing it gives the world color and realism. It should not be underestimated.
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Hopefully! - I quite liked the chatter in the Capital Ship video.
Yes it was very immersive. But with an on / off switch, to allow free choice
Yes and controllable volume.
In Homeworld 2 you can even choose the intensity of the chatter. I always have it on maximum myself. I love it.
I like this idea a lot
That is why the player can control the volume or switch it of entirely.
It never tired me in Homeworld by the way.
And when it is dynamic and flows like a soft wave through your cockpit it will not be intrusive, but instead only add to your immersion. And when you leave occupied space it will stop entirely.
But again... play some Homeworld battles and you will see what I mean.