One thing that has stood out like a slap in the face over the last few years, is when I play games I really like and get into, as soon as I allow myself to advance to the point of higher content with guilds and voicechat, I lose immediate interest.
I have a very difficult time enjoying a game to its fullest potential when the reality of human behavior overpowers my mind's ability to fantasize. I am really thinking that when I play Pantheon, I might start a guild called "Immersion" and not allow voicechat and encourage emotes etc... Sure it may limit abilities in raids or coordinated group play, but I KNOW I will personally get a lot more out of the game with my mind free to create.
I hope, truly hope, that I am not alone on this belief...
**I created a list of forum players who like less voice chat activity and created a thread in guild recruitment section...
I am another that does not enjoy voicechat for the very reason that it pulls me out of the world. I plan on avoiding it as long as I can and just using the good ol' fashioned keyboard to communicate. If you do manage to get the "Immersion" guild up and running shoot me a PM, I'd definately be interested :)
Despise voice chat. Will use for raids, not for groups (pretty much ever). Wore a headset for 15 yrs at work, oh the trauma..... Lol
Pyye said:One thing that has stood out like a slap in the face over the last few years, is when I play games I really like and get into, as soon as I allow myself to advance to the point of higher content with guilds and voicechat, I lose immediate interest.
I have a very difficult time enjoying a game to its fullest potential when the reality of human behavior overpowers my mind's ability to fantasize. I am really thinking that when I play Pantheon, I might start a guild called "Immersion" and not allow voicechat and encourage emotes etc... Sure it may limit abilities in raids or coordinated group play, but I KNOW I will personally get a lot more out of the game with my mind free to create.
I hope, truly hope, that I am not alone on this belief...
I think that's a great idea since I know a lot of folks feel that way. It just depends on what is more important to you and what you enjoy from the game. I enjoy easy and efficient communications during group/raid combat so for me voice chat is a must. But to each his own.
Ozmani said:. I enjoy easy and efficient communications during group/raid combat so for me voice chat is a must. But to each his own.
For grouping it's not that hard to make a "this is mezzed" or "incoming X" or " stay calm, heal Inc" hotkeyed message. Add is quick to type :p
For raids, it can be trickier lol
Definately understand what you mean. Having the function of voice chat for guild discourse is important though, especially during raids and similar content. Some of the guilds I've been in have had separate quite channels so there could be quiet time and still be just a channel switch for important or required guild comms.
I prefer to only use voice chat when it's absolutely necessary like in a challenging combat situation or raiding. It definitely ruins my immersion, but it's pretty much crucial. I'd say the biggest advantage we have now versus back in 1999 is probably the ability to talk in real time. That's one more reason I think Pantheon should actually be more challenging than even EQ.
Since it is optional and only for groups, raids and guilds, it shouldn't have any affect on immersion, if you choose to use it then hopefully you enjoy the added social features we have included and if not then your ears can enjoy the sounds of Pantheon while your fingers do the typing, it really shouldn't be an issue. ;)
Generally the reason for voice chat is generally faster to give a run down of a complex fight than typing it out. And with how the gaming community is heading towards, some players complain that there is no voice acting in games. Though with Pantheon's crowd I doubt this is the case.
Though if you aren't in voice chat , you'd miss out on interesting drunkards you get on pugs some nights..
Favourite Line:
"Oh my god, please talk dirty!"
Pretty much typed for the rest of the evening.
Back to the topic though, I refrain from entering voice chat for the majority of the time because there simply isnt enough room for 9 more voices to my 9 anyways haha. Which has rubbed a few raid leaders up the wrong way. Guess they had alot of players not knowing raid encounters inside out before starting hehe.
I just hope it isn't voice activation.. lots of people use it and it really bugs the crap outta me.. you ask them nicely to use push to talk and you're ignored. push to talk is way way better and "if" it was up to me.. It'd be push to talk only settings. :P 1 person using voice activation is fine.. possible even a group if you're extremely lucky to have people who know how to set it up properly.. but in raid? It's infuriating.
I dont wanna listen to this while I play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRUDFPYjGHA - but do wanna listen to raid/group chating.
NEXTLEVL said:I really appreciate voice chat as it allows me to play my character far more efficiently. And as a healer, you don't want me distracted! :D
Same here. I will be using voice chat almost always because it allows me to perform at peak efficiency.
Voice chat may ruin roleplaying, but I don't care enough about roleplaying. However, voice chat doesn't ruin immersion - I can still completely lose track of time while playing and using voice chat. I can still forget where I am IRL and what's going on in the real world. Heck, sometimes I've even forgotten to eat lol. All because I'm so focused on questing and leveling up and voice chat does not detract from that at all. If anything, it helps it. I don't ever want to die because I was typing, when I could have just been holding down my push-to-talk key. And I don't want that to happen to anyone in my group either lol.
Voice chat is a great feature in MMOs. I'm afraid those that are so against voice chat are stuck in nostalgia and are unwilling to embrace change, simply because it's not what they're used to, even though the change would be beneficial. I know everyone plays games for different reasons. And I can't blame roleplayers for not wanting to use voice chat. But there's a difference between roleplaying and immersion.
I find voice chat highly undesirable and look for guilds that don't use it. Too many tiny female characters have large male voices - and vice versa. Also I tend to enjoy the game auditory ambiance and in many MMOs the combat and crafting sounds actually give useful information.
I reluctantly accept it for raiding though I would prefer to just type, despite the inefficiency.
I'd say yes. It ruins immersion a lot. Like everyone else, I understand that it's ideal for organizing and executing raids.
Has anyone ever experienced a guild or group that used audio, but only in character? I would be first to sign up for a group that did that. Dwarf bard in the group has a drinking problem? I hope we get to hear him singing from time to time. Or let that Ogre druid in the group explain to us why we shouldn't fear the rough terrain of our next adventure. Fun times!
Many of my most memorable moments playing MMOs have come from doing content with friends or my guild and hanging out in Ventrilo/Teamspeak/whatever. If anything, I've found it makes it much easier to be immersed, as I can play the game and communicate at the same time much more easily. For others, though, it's not a thing they enjoy, and that's okay.
Voice chat is something that not everyone will agree on. There is really no right answer to "Does voice chat ruin immersion?" For some it might, for some it won't.
That's why options exist, and VR is doing their best to provide options. No one is being forced to use it. If you don't want to, great, do your thing and enjoy the game. If you do, that's great too. I'm sure everyone can put a little effort into finding like-minded people and forming guilds that accommodate their respective playstyles.
I think having an in-game voice functionality is pretty important. I remember playing EQOA and FFXI many years ago and it was a real pain trying to communicate anything. I remember, as the raid leader, setting up dozens and dozens of macros that I would use to explain the mechanics/strategy of a given fight. The language barrier in FFXI was a challenging obstacle in the game but it wasn't really that bad. I thought it was pretty cool to use emotes or small translated messages to communicate with someone that spoke a different language. I even remember learning a small amount of Japanese. In the end though, as others have suggested, voice chat is extremely important when it comes to the most difficult content. I can say pretty confidently that my guild will require all active raiders to at the very least be capable of listening in on the voice channel while we are doing any sort of progression raiding. I will also encourage people to have a mic, but there could be some leniency there. It really depends on how challenging the content is. If it's as hard as I really hope it will be, I would seriously entertain the idea of everybody be required to have a mic. The most difficult content should require very efficient communication and force players to make split second decisions. If a person is unable to communicate in voice, they are technically limiting themselves to what type of roles they can be trusted to fill in a raid setting. The only people who got away with not having a mic in my EQ2 guild were some of the DPS classes.
@Pyye
Although this is obviously speculation.. I'm sure that at the very most, raiding will be the only thing that might requirevoice chat. Otherwise, I'm sure there are enough people who share your views and that with a little work, you'll be able to find them in game and be part of a guild that doesn't use voice chat for grouping, and even perhaps raiding.
Also, I'd keep in mind that Twitch streamers are first and foremost entertainers, and aren't representative of all younger gamers. They're purposefully giving up paying complete attention to a game for the sake of creating a fun atmosphere to gain views/subscribers. From my experience, using voice chat in game with your friends/guild when you play and group and raid or whatever else certainly isn't analogous to Twitch streaming, and doesn't break the immersion aspect for many people.
Pyye said:One thing that has stood out like a slap in the face over the last few years, is when I play games I really like and get into, as soon as I allow myself to advance to the point of higher content with guilds and voicechat, I lose immediate interest.
I have a very difficult time enjoying a game to its fullest potential when the reality of human behavior overpowers my mind's ability to fantasize. I am really thinking that when I play Pantheon, I might start a guild called "Immersion" and not allow voicechat and encourage emotes etc... Sure it may limit abilities in raids or coordinated group play, but I KNOW I will personally get a lot more out of the game with my mind free to create.
I hope, truly hope, that I am not alone on this belief...
So you never played tabletop DnD, did you. Or if you did was it a requirement that only men could play male characters and womena only female characters? Did you make sure everyone voice matched their race? After all you can't have a gnome with a booming basso voice while that hulking human warrior rattled on in his Truman Capote-ish voice?
RP guilds that use voicechat are quite good at keeping all communications within the scope of the game world. Find one of them.
I believe what makes it difficult is that there are so many people spamming text it can be hard to read. Sometimes openning multiple chat windows or at leat one for the group leader helps. Typing text fast with a keyboard is not that difficult. It seems to be a large issue in raids, but not as much in small group content. I prefer solo and small group so I don't generally have to worry about it. I usually skip raiding in all games as I've never found it that enjoyable. Perhaps the lack of immersion is part of why. It's to focused on combat, strategy, and getting loot. There isn't enough focus on the adventure and having a fun time. I always thought raids would be more fun if they were spontanous and someone everyone just joined in instead being so directed and strategic like the military. Sort of like when Smaug attacked Dale.