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Starwars Battlefront doesn't have voice chat on console either

Thanks
Obama
Nintendo.


Anyway, these are shitty practices. Probably they thought it would be better to not have voice chat since this game will convey kids, teenagers, adults, "casuals" and "hardcores", and stuff.

Can you squad up in this game, anyway? I didn't try something like that in the beta
 

JDHarbs

Member
I'm honestly okay with this for this game. This isn't Battlefield. The Star Wars license is going to attract younger players and families who don't want their kids listening to harsh language from older players. Splatoon did the same thing. I get the complaints from the hardcore, but it's really not that big of a deal especially with party chat systems as a workaround.
 
Would've been better if they implemented a Squad system a la BF and allowed chat there. Not everyone has a party or will always play in one.
 

PhineasRed

Neo Member
Maybe it's already been said, but perhaps this has to do with how it's rated with the ESRB. Since a it's multiplayer only I'm not sure they could get the same rating if voice chat part of the experience. They want to market this to kids as well as adults and that could have been a sticking point. I don't support this, but I could see the logic.

Edit: spelling
 
I'm honestly okay with this for this game. This isn't Battlefield. The Star Wars license is going to attract younger players and families who don't want their kids listening to harsh language from older players. Splatoon did the same thing. I get the complaints from the hardcore, but it's really not that big of a deal especially with party chat systems as a workaround.
It can work if the game is designed with that in mind. Are there clear callouts and objectives so players don't need to communicate to work together? Quick voice binds? Was this even a consideration early on?
 

zedge

Member
Who cares? it's annoying, most of us using party system.

Pretty much. I don't want to hear randoms screaming or all those people on PSN with their complete garbage mics blowing my ear drums out. Not a big deal to me honestly.

This of course is my opinion.

However, for those that want it maybe they will add it later if they get enough feedback?
 
What on earth will people do when they find that they don't have to mute heavy breathing, eating chips, kids screaming and bad music blaring?

It's funny as I've always preferred to play with games that support coms and has an easy mute function. I've met some people I'd consider friends through random games because of just that. But I understand the sentiment.
 

JDHarbs

Member
It can work if the game is designed with that in mind. Are there clear callouts and objectives so players don't need to communicate to work together? Was this a consideration early on?
While the objectives themselves are complex (depending on the game mode), the game still presents them as clearly as they can with large icons over objectives and a description at the top. As the beta went on, teams started to work better together after the initial learning curve.

Edit: A better alternative might be to just disable voice chat by default, but allow it to be re-enabled through settings. This way the people who want it can have it while families who will never venture into setting menus will continue to have it disabled.
 

The_Dama

Member
When did it become OK to have voice chat not present in an online game? If you use party chat go ahead but some of us don't and that's how we meet new players. Also, it's a team oriented game, voice chat is a must.
 

moai

Member
The "command" ingame tells you exactly what you need to do or for example when the empire has shut down an uplink. I found that chatter very useful. They even said "the walker is defenseless focus your fire on it". But people ignored those clues.
 

Akhe

Member
NINTENDO WAS RIGHT

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Daylight

Member
I wonder if this decision came from EA or Disney. Makes sense if you want the game to sidestep the idiots online who constantly talk shit, but I wish it had voice chat anyway.
 
While the objectives themselves are complex (depending on the game mode), the game still presents them as clearly as they can with large icons over objectives and a description at the top. As the beta went on, teams started to work better together after the initial learning curve.
I miss the old Tribes 2 days where a commander could select an objective on the tactical map, which would then trigger a voice clip barking orders, and as a player you could hit enter to agree to complete the objective which would trigger another voice clip informing the team that you were on the job. Good stuff but that was old school.

There are definite ways to work around a lack of public voice options if the intent and will is there.

Parties themselves could be made a little less aggressive in cutting other players out too. Don't get me wrong, as that audio firewall from trolls is the killer feature for me, but platforms could make it easier to blend party and public chat. You can do this on the PS4 with "prioritize game" option, but you have to go to the party menu to activate it, and then everybody in the party has to make the same change or else they can get cut out of chat too. Maybe that's changed now though.

Edit: A better alternative might be to just disable voice chat by default, but allow it to be re-enabled through settings. This way the people who want it can have it while families who will never venture into setting menus will continue to have it disabled.
Yeah. Actively removing the option makes me think its less about design and more about time. Can't even fathom what pressure Dice must be under to nail this.
 

BokehKing

Banned
I wonder if this decision came from EA or Disney. Makes sense if you want the game to sidestep the idiots online who constantly talk shit, but I wish it had voice chat anyway.
That opens the door to a lot more sales, this will definitely be a lot of little buggers first FPS I wager
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Wow, that's different. The idea sounds crazy for sure, but for the longest time all I ever did was play in parties with friends. Primarily because 360 / PS3 was primarily made up of people screaming and cussing at each other half the time. I wonder how the majority feels about this.
 

VariantX

Member
It sure as hell helps especially when dealing with large teams. I largely don't use a mic but I very much appreciate the option of using it.

Communication of some kind for pubs have certainly helped the rebel side get their shit together alot quicker in the earlier days of the open beta.
 

TheJoRu

Member
Probably makes it a bit more convenient for EA to market towards families, but definitely makes it more inconvenient for players who voice chat a lot. Personally I don't give a shit.
 

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
Maybe it's because they expect a lot of younger people to be playing it and don't want foul mouthed fools giving them problems? Still odd though.
 
Maybe its because I am a PlayStation 4 owner, but this doesn't bother me at all. In fact I like not having to worry about taking time to mute everyone. I have heard that a lot more people on Xbox use mics though. When I want to talk in games I'll make a party with my friends. I barely used voiced chat throughout the entire PS3 era and not once yet on the PS4. The only time I hear people talk are in COD or ESO. Not once in two years have I heard anyone on Battlefield 4. There honestly isn't a point when there is system level party chat, people aren't going to want to use game chat.


I think this may be a decision from LucasFilm/Disney to keep the game more family friendly though.
 
Maybe it's because they expect a lot of younger people to be playing it and don't want foul mouthed fools giving them problems? Still odd though.
Esrb ratings go out the window with online so they aren't accountable for that.

That said, 90% of the people who call me a nigger faggot queer piece of shit are like 10-12 years old so nothing is lost
 
Weird that they left VOIP out, even if I don't care for it. I guess I won't have to mute at least a couple of idiots per game as I do in CS:GO.
 
Could it be Disney not wanting their property to be sullied by foul mouthed gamers?
It definitely could. Just kind of weird to hear about this now, in this way, with no new in-game features to help players communicate without in-game voice support. What I posted is just my gut feeling. Though its fair to note that my gut is often full of shit.
 

RiccochetJ

Gold Member
I can't remember the last time I used game chat. I've been in party chat from the day they were introduced.

Sucks for those that would want to use it though. Seems like an odd omission.
 

KJRS_1993

Member
I'm not salty about this at all personally.
I have absolutely zero interest in hearing 12 year old Jimmy try and bark his e-sports MLG tactics down the microphone while shouting at his Mum to fuck off and make him chicken nuggets.

An opt-in system for people who do want to shout at minors would be sensible though.
 

The Argus

Member
What are the chances Disney was the one that prevented this? Probably for the best, party chat is where it's at and it keeps the literal mouth breethers out of my ears.
 

MADGAME

Member
I can see how Walker Assault can be won by either side without public chat, but it does make the learning curve steeper. So many times I would have like to say to a teammate "That's a vehicle turret, probably not the best idea to deploy inside the base" or "Might not want to use that Orbital Strike on that lone Stormtrooper on the mountain, it's a game winning pickup so save it", etc.

I'm guessing some modes will be more vital for communication. On EA's site, they even stress the importance of communication. In the description for Droid Run:

So, in tight and fast 6-versus-6 matches, your objective is to capture and hold all the three Droids before the 10-minute time limit is up. You’ll get help from weapon pickups but Heroes, Villains, and vehicles won’t be joining the run. Communication is vital, so let your teammates know if you've spotted a Droid somewhere, how to find it, and if there are enemy forces nearby.

Basically they are saying communication is the key to success but not providing that tool in-game. Will suck to play without a dedicated party.
 

Canon

Banned
Thank God. I can't tell you how many times I would've swore to some young kid if Splatoon had voice chat. Without it, I've saved many young innocent ears.

And this isn't some bullshit that is beyond saving like Call of Duty where everyone is deplorable, this is a Disney property with some brand image to maintain. Like it or not it is the truth, they don't want you messing up their shit.

I've never used voice chat and never will, it has never been necessary except to vent frustration - which isn't necessary either, since you can swear to yourself without a mic on.
 
Thank God. I can't tell you how many times I would've swore to some young kid if Splatoon had voice chat. Without it, I've saved many young innocent ears.

And this isn't some bullshit that is beyond saving like Call of Duty where everyone is deplorable, this is a Disney property with some brand image to maintain.

I've never used voice chat and never will, it has never been necessary except to vent frustration - which isn't necessary either, since you can swear to yourself without a mic on.

There's the hyperbole.
 

xRaizen

Member
In-game voice chat is shit and should die a fiery death. It has no use or justification to exist. It's nothing but crap.

Party chat exists for a reason.
I've met tons of people over the years through random lobbies in CoD, Uncharted, Halo, etc. Just because you didn't use it doesn't mean others haven't. It's been super useful to me, since I am not social in the real world (social anxiety problems), yet able to talk freely online so I can add many people to play games with.

There's a simple solution for those who don't like voice chat; a menu option to turn it off completely. If not, most games feature a simple way to mute people that takes ~6 seconds manually to mute the whole lobby.

That DICE didn't want to put it in game, along with other reasons, means I will probably wait until the game goes down to $40-ish.
 

joecanada

Member
Yup, I can't remember the last time I played a game where people were using the in game chat.

all this means is whatever team has more people in party chat will win 80 % of the time. but I'm not going to spend the time to create a party every time I want to play a quick game. team chat is very important this will just mean even more silence.

And annoying 12 year olds were never a problem in battlefield, you just switch squads to find some cool people it was easy as shit. there's like 7 squads in every game.

there's nothing really good about this decision.

some people either haven't played or are snipers on the top of a radio tower.
 

LowSignal

Member
That's horrible, the absence of general voice chat is not a feature. I'll most likely just skip on Battlefront all together now.
 
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