In Game Voice Chat

[Amused]

I feel like I might catch some hate for this but I honestly dislike using voice chat in MMOs. Having to listen to other people talk really kills the mood and immersion in the world. I'm not saying I never use voice chat, but when I do, it's reluctantly.

I want to edit in that it's not that I dislike socializing with people so much as I like getting immersed in the game's world. Listening to other people's real voices and things that might be going on in the background really takes me out of it all.

[WHS]

Most players probably don't get that voice chat for the most part is just party only. Whether that be 4 man, 8 man, or 24 man. It's not like you can pop into Mor Dhona and instantly hear the whole zone. So for those most precious needed moments it would be very helpful. The only time I have ever needed or should say wanted a vc system was coil. Would it be useful elsewhere in game? Sure!!! I would like to see it implemented at least on the party level which I think would work for the most part. I came over form Lotro and used it there. Did we have players that did not want to use it in party and raid? Sure. Did we troll them to death and kick them. No . Hell no. Lotro has a very respectable community I would like to add. VC is never a requirement in any game but it sure comes in handy. Please think about adding it for parties.

[Errors]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...e-chat-support

Hi all, it’s ‘coming down with the flu’ Yoshida here,
Thanks for the discussion regarding voice chat. I wanted to present my thoughts on the subject, too.

Conclusion
We currently have no plans to implement voice chat into FFXIV, even for Version 2.0.

Level of Communication
I’m also an online gamer when I have spare time, so I use voice chat when playing MMOs, online games, FPSs, and fighting games. However, voice chat is mostly used by the “hardcore players”. In MMORPGs, “chat” is the main form of communication and because it is text based it is fairly simple to use. However, hearing everyone’s voices when you’re communicating amongst a huge group of players can be highly irritating. Risks put aside, I think that the communication level in comparison to chat is a few steps higher.

Pros and Cons
Everyone pretty much said everything already.

The main cons:

• There will be times when voice chat will be mandatory for things like instanced raids.
• In particular, there is a fear that female gamers will get harassed when the say something and will then want to stay away.
• A gap will appear between those that have/don’t have a mic.
• As this will eat up more bandwidth, there will be more bandwidth costs.
• We will need to create some kind of sound management, like creating an effect so that it's not your “real voice” that is being heard.

The main pros:

• It is much faster than chat for direct communication so when playing as a party it is much easier.
• If you can get along well with the other person, it is convenient, just like being on the phone.

Alternatives to Voice Chat
There are loads of great alternatives to voice chat such as Skype and Ventrillo. If we don’t officially support it, I think that there will be fewer cases where people will be forced to use it and told things like "come on, just use voice chat for crying out loud!" So for linkshells and what will become the Free Companies, if you can come to an agreement, I think that it would be good to consider using external software for voice chat purposes.

Summary
We will continue to make it so that our FFXIV players can play safely across all regions. Even if we can technically support it, for things that involve communication, we would have to make it official, but I think we would really need to think about this carefully so it won't be a stressful experience. So with that in mind, we will not be having official support for voice chat.

[Riepah]

Lotro has a very respectable community I would like to add.

Well, this game doesn't, so I'm not confident it would work as devoid of trolling and kicking as it may have worked there.

[SarcasmMisser]

We will need to create some kind of sound management, like creating an effect so that it's not your “real voice” that is being heard.

Not that I disagree with yoshida or think this game needs it's own voip (it doesn't) but this is a really weird reason why not. Do we have to all be Deep Throat? Are we bringing down the Nixon administration? Why does this matter?

[Nicobo]

For me, those voice ruins the fantasy world. IMO it should not be added. ^^;

[Rysir]

"-There will be times when voice chat will be mandatory for things like instanced raids.

-In particular, there is a fear that female gamers will get harassed when the say something and will then want to stay away.

-A gap will appear between those that have/don’t have a mic."

Thing is about this is that these 3 are not prevented at all except for those who never ever raid/do extremes, there are party finder groups that will boot you if you dont use a voice program and some raids are labeled as voice mandatory by groups of players, and female gamers still get harassed on pick up groups using voice programs.

so technically the cons vs pros is actually 2 against 2.

So many games have voice nowadays and games in the past have had voice already, if those gamers survived the oh so horrible cons of voice chat in gaming Im pretty sure modern day gamers will survive as well.

[Chessala]

I agree, this game could do with in-game voice chat. Why wouldn't a game like this offer it when games that are way older (DDO for example, released in 2006) have it and it is working a charm.

No need to have some stupid service running on the side and to listen to people that you have absolutely no interest to listen to. If you don't want/can't be on voice, just switch it off, easy. It can make communication much easier, especially in a rushed party.

-In particular, there is a fear that female gamers will get harassed when the say something and will then want to stay away.

If you are a female gamer and afraid you will be harassed, simply leave your voice chat OFF. I have used in-game voice chat in DDO in PUGs so many times and have never had any kind of problem.

[Tiggy]

This will never happen. As long as the game is on the playstation platform it will be impossible to add a voice chat system directly into the game. Pc players are unable to voice chat with playstation players. Period. They will never add a broken system to the game that only allows you to converse with people on your own platform.

[MageBlack]

Things i dislike about Voice chat is hearing everything going on in the room of the other people. At least use Push To Talk... I really don't want to listen to you munch on a bag of chips open mouthed while I try to play, I don't need to hear you yelling at your mom in the background "I'll be right there!", and I don't think you all want to hear my kids yelling at each other.

Sorry, who am I kidding. This is the internet, no manners required...