How to use voicechat effectively.

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Earthman, Oct 15, 2013.

  1. Earthman

    Voicechat exists, but at present, a good number of players turn its volume down or mute it entirely.

    Why?

    It's not just the dubsteb that "ironically" or not is polluting warpgate chat. It's also how irritating, banal, and unhelpful its usual users are.

    If you want to have a good chance to have people listen to what you have to say, you can take a few tips from a public speaking course, which can be distilled down to some pointers below.

    1. Say it once, say it clearly. Enunciate what you are asking. If necessary, say it one more time and only one more time.

    The "drill instructor" approach isn't all that effective unless you're actually yelling and in someone's face. Worse, most people who say "move the sunderer move the sunderer move the sunderer move the sunderer move the sunderer" say it in a sleepy, quasi-high nasal voice. This doesn't work well.

    2. Say things when you have something to say.

    If you're just going to mumble about how terribad the scrubs are and how exasperated that your side isn't winning at the moment, save it for /yell. Or better yet, don't do anything.

    3. Proper mic distance.

    Too close and we'll hear blowing on it, and spittle. Too far and it will be tinny and distant. See suggestion 1.

    4. If you can say it in less words and still say what you need to say, say it in less words.

    Saying once or maybe twice "sunderer over northwest hill" works better than "wow guys really why didnt you see the sundy over there wow just wow guys this is terribad".

    You can't turn off the mutes that are already going on, but you can prevent further dis-use of voicechat. Do your part! Would you like to know more?
    • Up x 2
  2. gigastar

    It never hurts to overact in giving your orders, so long as you dont end up compromising the integrety of what must be said.

    People tend to apprciate ham in thier PL.
  3. Earthman

    I suppose "overacting" is all right, too. But that's just it, it has to be OVERACTED. Mumbling something repeatedly only makes the information retention ratio that much lower. If you got a strong assertive voice, by all means. To some extent.
  4. gigastar

    Damn right. Thats one of the first things i learned when i found myself PL'ing way back when. Practice your hammy voice so people are more likely to listen, learn what tactics are later.
  5. Earthman

    Channeling Brian Blessed's got to help.

    Who is going to make you charge:

    A lispy soft-voiced vaguely high-sounding 12 year old muttering "move it move it move it move it move it move it"

    A booming roar that says CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!
  6. RHINO_Mk.II

    1. Make sure you have your mic on all the time, so you don't have to bother with those pesky push to talk buttons. Particularly if you have a loud fan or crying baby in the next room.
    2. Keep talking. Downtime on air is unacceptable, dammit. You're like a radio show host, you can't just go away and leave silence for more than a second at a time.
    3. Naturally, you have priority when speaking under all circumstances. If they joined the platoon you happen to be in, they must have done so to hear your sultry tones. If they were all in the platoon and then you join it, it's your responsibility to introduce them all to the wonderful sound of your own voice.
    4. SPEAKING LOUDER MAKES WHATEVER YOU ARE SAYING MORE IMPORTANT. EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS IMPORTANT. KEEP SPEAKING LOUDLY.
    • Up x 1
  7. uhlan

    Yeah, keep that mic on so we can hear your bodily functions and your mom telling you to come out of the basement...

    The game is filled by people with pure "internet" sensibilities and modes of conduct that leaves voice chat vitually unusable.
  8. Earthman

    The pot head mumble is the worst. It reminds me what company I keep when I play games. :/
    • Up x 1
  9. IamDH

    I'd also like it if the person speaking on the mic showed some emotion/ a sign of life


    Really kills my mood when someone who is about to fall asleep tells me that i need to go to the terminal or something.
  10. Earthman

    That's exactly what I'm talking about. I know apathy is fashionable with the cynical edgy young people crowd, but damn it sounds annoying.
    • Up x 1
  11. uhlan

    Types of voice chat..

    The "OMG, you guys are complete F%@k *****!"

    or,

    *insert repair or heal spam here*

    or,

    "Ok, *crunch, crunch* time to take *crunch* that tower over there. *crunch, crunch, swallow* Ok, alpha *crunch, crunch* *cough* get the point at *crunch, crunch, swallow, burp* oh yeah, go get point A *crunch, crunch* NO, WAIT! *crunch, crunch* go get B... NO WAIT *crunch* go get A...

    or,

    Imagine this chat with the voice of an 8 year old on helium...

    <near actual transcript of an incident at a bio lab>

    "C'mon, get in my sundy" "My brother is *insert supposed 100 br monster player* and he'll kill you if you don't get in my sundy. I have guns on my sundy, c'mon get in my sundy, will you heal me? C'mon join my squad, why doesn't anyone want to get in my squad? My brother is *insert supposed 100 br monster player* and I'll have him kill you if you don't heal me. Why doesn't anyone want to join my squad?"

    Yes, voice chat is useless...
  12. Wizz

    Long live MsScarab!!!!
  13. Earthman

    You missed the "wow really? Really?" statements said in a low droning bored monotone.
  14. Caserion

    Oh god, please don't remind me of voice chat. A scythe once followed me while jamming ''it's okay to be gay'' the whole time. The NC were really confused when suddenly all Vanu turned around and killed their air support...
    • Up x 1
  15. PelicanDynasty

    I'm pretty new and it already gets on my nerves when people ***** about TKs. They weren't mine, but I saw a moron walk into a grenade and curse over the mic...Or run in front of a friendly max
  16. ViXeN

    You forgot one. Don't talk when someone else is talking. If multiple people are speaking at the same time we aren't going to be able to understand any of them.
    • Up x 1
  17. MorganM

    Keep in mind you can mute individual players! That annoying ***** who always spams terrible techno or annoying rage metal instantly goes away!

    hit ESC and click on Social at the bottom
    Click on Voice and Chat on the left
    In the middle now click on the General or Proximity tab
    You should see everyones' names listed and a little volume control by their name
    Just click on the speaker icon to mute them.

    Also if someone is just really quiet and doesn't get the hint to turn their junk up... just turn up their volume a bit.


    I'd really appriciate if people actually gave the location of what the heck they were talking about. Also tell us if it's friendly or enemy.

    Bad example: "Sunderer coming"
    Is it frnedly and we can all catch a ride to the next base?
    Is it enemy and we should be going to intercept it?
    Either way I must know WHERE it is... north on the road? South over the hill? Behind that rock to the west? Near the ammo tower?

    Good example: "Enemy sundy heading west near ammo tower!"

    I can't count how many times someone has said "sunderer over there"
    I run all around the base with C4 looking for a sunderer and find one behind a rock... and it's friendly. Neat; thanks man... NOT
  18. PapaMojo

    Also, medics love it when you use proximity chat. We'd like you to continue yelling "I need a medic" over proximity chat. Usually, we'd like you to do it somewhere between 30 to 50 times, so we actually know you want to be rezzed, and aren't just someone posing as a corpse. Also, since proximity chat doesn't actually show us where you are on the map, please don't use voice chat when calling for a medic to tell us where your body is. Everyone knows good medics are psychic and only newer medics can't use proximity chat to find dead bodies.
    • Up x 1
  19. Earthman

    Especially if you are "That Guy" with the horrible mic that has a loud scratchy static-filled playback.
  20. Earthman

    I love this story.

    Reminds me of this guy who was playing "platoon commander" with people who weren't in his platoon. He was just standing around and insulting people with a sneering nasal lisp in his voice.

    "you guys are all scrubs honestly I mean really why cant you guys win one alert, really wow you're all bad and should, like, honestly, uninstall..."

    He's fragged.

    "wow really see this is what I'm talking about, mad because bad..."

    Fragged again.