Jadd Hatchen
KILL-EM-QUICK
725
   |
Posted - 2014.12.17 16:37:00 -
[1] - Quote
You hit the nail on the head for why new players don't stay, but your idea to fix it only make the issue worse.
New players need MORE communication, not less. If you give them less they won't have any way to ask questions, find out about promotions, figure out what skills are needed, find out what tactics and strategies work as given to them by the vets, etc.
I'm mean just telling new players that the direction you are facing when dropping a Drop Uplink onto the ground is the same direction someone will be facing when they spawn on top of it (thus facing a wall or corner when deploying them is VERY BAD), is just one example.
I agree that team coordination does increase the likelihood of winning, however what's really missing is a way for new players to just chat or talk to veteran players about how the game works and why.
So what *I* meant by needing communications improvements were things like the following:
- Add in a way to see that a chat channel has just been typed in DURING a match. As in if someone types something into your corp or alliance or private chat channel while you are in combat asking you something important, then you get a flashing icon in the top right corner of the screen so the next time you get a moment you can just hit "Select" and read it. Hell and even better idea is to color code the icon: Purple for Team/Squad chats and then Blue for anything else. Make sure the Purple over-rides the Blue.
- It is possible to enable time-stamps for messages in the chats, however this is MEANINGLESS without a clock. However the only way to see the clock is the CLOSE THE CHAT AND OPEN THE NEOCOM!!! How stupid is that? People end up responding to messages in chat that are hours old because they don't know when the fell in time. Please FIX the clock so it is always shown in the bottom left corner of the screen even during matches. This will also help with timing things like poitn captures, PC orbital strike timing, and even vehicle active module cooldown stuff.
- Right now when voice is enabled, when someone speaks the voice icon "lights up". Why not extend this so that whenever someone speaks, their name appears at the top center of the screen (even en quarters) so that people can start identifying voices with actual characters that they play with. I know this is possible, because in EVE when you are voiced up with DUST players, the last person to talk has their name displayed in the chat windows.
- Add in the freaking coordinate grid to all maps! Also please put the title of the map at the top of the screen on the map views!!!! As communication is key, accurately conveying information with that communication is the goal. You already have them labeled and gridded and labeled in the Map Feedback section of the forums:
https://forums.dust514.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=180951&find=unread
- There needs to be a fix to how the PTT mode for voice works. When it comes to battle there is this little thing called COMMUNICATION DISCIPLINE! An open microphone means you are interfering with others' ability to communicate and that other may be your commander trying to give orders or a scout trying to relay intel. Instead I get to listen to some idiot screaming in the background about taking out the garbage or doing the dishes etc while a cloaker decloaks behind me and I never get to hear the decloak sound effect. Most REAL (as in not the crappy voice provide CCP has contracted to make this part of the game for them) voice programs used with games allow for the option to either use a VOX (voice activated) mode or to use a PTT (Push To Talk) mode. You have a PTT, however you choice of button for doing it is ABYSMAL!!! You also make it so that it is impossible to do any pre-match coordination using PTT because you CANNOT PTT when on a loading screen or when on ANY neocom screen (to include fittings), when on a chat window (WTF? this is part of the communications), and most importantly when on the respawn screen during a match!!! This more than anything needs to be fixed! Not to mention when I hear someone else's static all the time it not only slows down the bandwidth of the game, but it also constantly drains the battery in my wireless headset.
- Stop switching the active chat channel to the freaking TEAM CHAT once deploying to a match!!! This causes more frustration than you can imagine. It's already tough enough to enter text in to the chat channels in this game, but to have to scrap it all when joining a match because it will end up posting in the TEAM CHAT instead of the chat you started out in, is like some kinda trolling mechanism for CCP to watch the players screw up all the damned time! Just stop it!
- It would be AWESOME if there was a way to select an individual who is already in your voice chat and designate them as a "whisper" target. So that when I talk in voice it only goes to them so that I can "mentor" or just idly chat with a friend in the battle without having to clog up the overall voice comms as I explain stuff to the new guy. Whisper should become "muted" or "over-ridden" when someone else (more important) talks.
- There needs to be a tiered way of doing communications throughout the TEAM. As in squad members can only talk to others within their squad, but squad leaders should be able to be heard by all members of the team. Also squad leaders should "talk-over" or have higher priority to speak.
I know there are more issues than the above list, but that's a good start.
|