There’s No Infrastructure to make Space Communication Accessible / Ten Ton Hammer

[Cosmo]

Elite: Dangerous: Entry #02 | Ten Ton Hammer

"What struck me during the course of this voyage is just how lonely space is. I’ve yet to see anyone, I’ve yet to see any chatter between pilots and I’ve yet to see a single communication while out in space. I appreciate that others are free to go about their business but there’s no infrastructure here to make space communication accessible or easily done. Hailing a ship while out in space is incredibly challenging and it’s difficult to differentiate pilots working for stations or fellow novices like me. I’m genuinely lonely and that’s a strange feeling and something I can’t relate to. It seems incredibly strange that in a space adventure, socialising and the ability to tell tales on your exploits is a secondary feature when it should be at the forefront."

 

[Raf von Thorn]

Kinda agree with you, players are seldom answering... Just yesterday i was scanning for wanteds at a nav point and a cmdr jumped in. While scanning him i said "its empty here, no wanteds" and he ANSWERED "ok, thx, commander" and jumped off. It was really nice feeling to meet someone and exchange even a word. Space can be a lonely place.

I hope the devs will simplify the comms, i agree they are quite uncomfortable to use.

 

[Monk]

I found it disappointing that they didn't point out that this is beta.

It is a fair observation, it is not fair to present out of context.

 

[Reax]

This is one thing i noticed. without a station wide or system wide chat it does seem lonely even when there is players around.

 

[foxpur]

I could see the infrastructure being introduced fairly easy however.

 

[Monk]

This is one thing i noticed. without a station wide or system wide chat it does seem lonely even when there is players around.

Aside from that, NPC comms chatter could use more color. You know, something more than DIE!, NOOO! MY SHIP!

Some extra chatter, like some NPCs getting smart with the fuzz, or requesting docking or relaying to their convoy information about their next jump...optional, of course

 

[StarTux]

Thanks for the link Cosmo.

Most incoming communications seem to get lost, I have had only one or two conversations with other commanders, one I forgot to check to see they had replied and only realised awhile after I had left, but many more simply never reply. Perhaps something as simple as audio indicating an incoming message? Also, a tutorial or two on inter-ship comms? So yeah, improvements can be made, but as Monk mentions they should be viewing this as beta and no-where in that article are you left with that impression, plus my impression is of a person more used to being hand held in other games where objectives are dead easy to find, whilst Elite can be a little daunting due to free-form open play. Perhaps it can be improved without losing the feeling of well, being in space with freedom.

 

[StewartScott]

One thing that would help is a sound when your being hailed to draw your attention to the comm screen. Seems like a no brainer no idea why they didn't add one. Lot's of work needs to be done on comm's, no idea how they are panning to release full game with so much not tested or finished yet

 

[StarTux]

This is the Design archive for comms.

 

[TimYersidies]

I tried communicating by pulling a player out of SC and then flying 100m behind them but they just kept running away?

They only person I have talked to in game is my brother and we where already on skype so that we could organise entering the same island. I hope they put in a simple to use scripted dialogue system so that we can at least make our intentions known to other players regardless of language. Oh and in game email would be nice ...

 

[Beatz0121]

Simply there needs to be a world chat/ System chat/ Trade/ Etc. And you can turn them all off if you want to be left alone. its not "rocket science"

 

[beelbeebub]

I've just sat outside Azeban for 20mins hailing every passing CMDR, not a e bird back
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I feel like the saddo at the party who goes to speak to people and they just ignore me....
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<sniff>
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arrgghhh, someone jsut hailed me, but i couldn't answer, i clicked accept, but nothing.
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Sorry CMDR backer 45somethingsomething.....

 

[Gibbonici]

Yeah, its got to be said that comms are lacking right now. The interface is too fiddly and the actual comms panel is too easy to miss.

I would really love a station chat channel for when you're docked, or even when you're in the vicinity of a station - in fact that really should be a thing. It's stuff like that which would make stations feel like the tiny islands of humanity that they are. I don't like zone chat channels as a rule, but I do think that very busy and populated systems in the core worlds would benefit from a system-wide channel. Again, it would make them feel like they're populated and would lend a greater feeling of isolation once you get into the more barren systems.

Stuff like this matters for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is the fact that communication is the single biggest enabler of emergent gameplay. That's about as obvious a statement as is possible to make, so I'd like to think that FD have thought of it too

The basic facilities are already there and have been tested in beta, and bar a bit of bugginess in the VOIP comms, we know they work. Making them more functional shouldn't be that big a job.

 

[edukainc]

One thing that would help is a sound when your being hailed to draw your attention to the comm screen. Seems like a no brainer no idea why they didn't add one. Lot's of work needs to be done on comm's, no idea how they are panning to release full game with so much not tested or finished yet

Excellent +1.
Or you could have a fade away blue message appear in the corner with the flight computer lady saying, "Message from Commander"
Maybe it could be a different sound/visual display message that is different between NPC and player character?
As long as it's SOMETHING that grabs your attention..

 

[Monk]

You know, come to think of it...the NPCs already have system chat. They spam it constantly during fights. Seems like we should be able to spam system chat too.

 

[Druid]

This game will need system chat for sure .

 

[KEY]

A simple "BEEP" for an incoming message from a player would be really sweet, plus an option to keybind a reply to the last player that hailed me.
Can't be that hard to accomplish for a team that already achieved so much (compared to other developpers).

 

[fleshtickler]

The original Elite was always a cold and lonely experience and consequently also a very peaceful and contemplative way to spend gaming time. You were free to ponder the vastness of the void and appreciate how tiny and insignificant you really were with only the thin walls of your hard earned ship protecting you from the freezing blackness. They managed all that with just wire frames!

Part of my love of the original comes from the memory of the rarefied atmosphere that the game existed in and how it prompted intellectual thought and feelings about something that was a very simple simulation. I love the fact that ED also has that atmosphere in spades. I've no desire to hear that beautiful, intense, provocative silence shattered by the angry and idiotic gnashings of thousand of teenage COD players. Keep comms as low key as possible in my opinion while providing functionality for those that want to use them and the ability to ignore them for those that don't.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

-- Deleted --

 

[foxpur]

Note, because of disability my play stype is either fly or type.. but not both. So it becomes a hover in space as a target while I use comms or fly. I love to watch the comms chatter but rarely will be able to participate.