In-Game Voice Chat?

[Nickkyboy99]

I know people use SRS, TS, discord, etc.

 

But it would be nice if IL-2 had a built in radio voice chat system where you can talk to people. I feel like more people will actually talk since it can easily be accessed. Personally I don't use SRS and so I never communicate vocally but only through chat. With an in-game VC, I would definitely use it 

[CountZero]

I hope they dont add it. It would put unneccesary strain on already strained MP expiriance this game have. 

More MP stuff is done outside game the better, also if pppl dont bather to spend 5-15min to install any of existng coms programs, why would anyone think they would be of any use on coms... i hope they never intergrate air marshal also, i can not seee how that would not putt aditional strain on game for no use, as al can be done now with ppl who wont to do it.

[Robli]

I think that the original plan was to integrate SRS to the game, but that idea has been dropped now. Probably there did not appear to be enough interest or support for it, which is a shame. 

[IckyATLAS]

47 minutes ago, CountZero said:

I hope they dont add it. It would put unneccesary strain on already strained MP expiriance this game have. 

More MP stuff is done outside game the better, also if pppl dont bather to spend 5-15min to install any of existng coms programs, why would anyone think they would be of any use on coms... i hope they never intergrate air marshal also, i can not seee how that would not putt aditional strain on game for no use, as al can be done now with ppl who wont to do it.

The evolution of hardware cpu/gpu power may compensate for the additional strain over time.

[Robli]

There is no strain on performance worth mentioning, when it comes to features like SRS. I am pretty sure that CZ is also well aware of it and is just in the mood of arguing against something.

[Charon]

There are some nice features that could be added with integrated voice comms, but ultimately there are good enough third-party solution for anyone who wants it, and I doubt even an integrated solution would solve the fragmentation we see today. People would continue using discord or teamspeak for pre-mission planning or to avoid randoms, and CB at least would keep using SRS because of all their integration with it.

 

If the devs want to revisit radios, I think they'd find more value in enhancing the AI's radio calls and giving the player more control over them. It's an area where BoX falls short compared to its predecessors, and would be a large boon for the majority of players who only fly single-player.

[Sitaro]

On 3/22/2022 at 12:08 AM, Nickkyboy99 said:

I know people use SRS, TS, discord, etc.

 

But it would be nice if IL-2 had a built in radio voice chat system where you can talk to people. I feel like more people will actually talk since it can easily be accessed. Personally I don't use SRS and so I never communicate vocally but only through chat. With an in-game VC, I would definitely use it 

There is SRS and there is discord. I do not mean to just criticize but if you won't use the 2 easiest and most commom forms of voice communication,  why would a third make a difference? 

[56RAF_Roblex]

On 3/25/2022 at 12:36 PM, Sitaro said:

There is SRS and there is discord. I do not mean to just criticize but if you won't use the 2 easiest and most commom forms of voice communication,  why would a third make a difference? 

 

Even as someone who almost exclusively uses Teamspeak I can still answer this question.   Teamspeak and Discord isolate you from other players not using the same software or not in the same TS/SRS/Discord server so you don't know if someone nearby needs your help or is trying to warn you of your imminent death.   If there was a built in voice solution available for everyone to use without having to install third party apps and get them set up then more people would use it and teamwork would be improved.

It would have to be well designed though or people would still decide to just use their own comms. My squad uses TS despite most servers having a dedicated Discord Server because vwe don't like the way Discord works and it lacks functionality that we find essential.

My ideal comms software would have to allow squads to have their own internal channels for talking just to our wingmen/squad and to the people with us on a mission as well as hear broadcasts meant for the whole side.  It must be quick and seamless to switch who we are transmitting to as well as, optionally,  hear more than one channels messages at the same time.   

 

We use Teamspeak because it lets us talk to the whole squad as well as whisper just to a selected subset eg The bombers we are escorting  don't want to hear us discussing escort matters & vice-versa but we do want the bombers to be able to tell us they are being attacked or changing direction and they want us to be able to tell them that we have spotted bandits approaching or 'Yes that is us you see above you, not enemies' ?  We have also been in maps where there were several squadrons on the same TS server doing the same as us, ie using several channels just for talking within the squad and there was also another person talking to all squads and  acting as co-ordinator/Ground Control of the whole mission.  Discord is too limited so you end up listening to everyone, often including people who are not even flying and just want to chat or swap jokes and boasts!  The downside of TS is that if someone wants to join our sortie we have no way to talk to them or warn them they have 6.       

 

Simple Radio aka SRS has a lot going for it as you can set multiple radios and tune each to whatever channel you want.  Combat Box has one channel just to be used when talking to the Tower or Ground Control and it can be heard while you are talking on another channel so you get updates about where escorts or defenders are needed etc. It has another channel that everyone can talk on to co-ordinate where they are going plus you have the option to add a third or fourth radio just for your strike package or for squad use.  You can also retune any radio on the fly if that is needed.   They do have an SRS server dedicated just to their server and it connects automatically but people are put off by the perceived difficulty of setting up SRS so it does not get used by as many people as it could and that reduces its effectiveness.

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by 56RAF_Roblex

[Pikestance]

Yeah,... I don't get this love affair for Discord. It is just for chat really. TS is better and SRS has potential to be better. I am 52 and I had zero problems setting it up. 

[56RAF_Roblex]

13 hours ago, ACG_Pike said:

Yeah,... I don't get this love affair for Discord. It is just for chat really. TS is better and SRS has potential to be better. I am 52 and I had zero problems setting it up. 

 

I agree as far as IL2 goes.   I do actually use it in another game because it is one where there is no need to talk to anyone apart from the handful of players in your squad so it is quite handy to use the forum part to discuss game topics then click on the voice part to talk in-game and it is only used by people actually in the game.  It is also handy that you can see who is in-game on voice without committing to go in-game. Sometimes I am curious to see if any of my squad are playing IL2 but the only way to see is to go into the game and join the server or log into Teamspeak in which case whoever is there will expect you come join them or at least stop for a chat and I am an unsociable git ?

[Sitaro]

On 3/25/2022 at 10:50 AM, 56RAF_Roblex said:

 

Even as someone who almost exclusively uses Teamspeak I can still answer this question.   Teamspeak and Discord isolate you from other players not using the same software or not in the same TS/SRS/Discord server so you don't know if someone nearby needs your help or is trying to warn you of your imminent death.   If there was a built in voice solution available for everyone to use without having to install third party apps and get them set up then more people would use it and teamwork would be improved.

It would have to be well designed though or people would still decide to just use their own comms. My squad uses TS despite most servers having a dedicated Discord Server because vwe don't like the way Discord works and it lacks functionality that we find essential.

My ideal comms software would have to allow squads to have their own internal channels for talking just to our wingmen/squad and to the people with us on a mission as well as hear broadcasts meant for the whole side.  It must be quick and seamless to switch who we are transmitting to as well as, optionally,  hear more than one channels messages at the same time.   

 

We use Teamspeak because it lets us talk to the whole squad as well as whisper just to a selected subset eg The bombers we are escorting  don't want to hear us discussing escort matters & vice-versa but we do want the bombers to be able to tell us they are being attacked or changing direction and they want us to be able to tell them that we have spotted bandits approaching or 'Yes that is us you see above you, not enemies' ?  We have also been in maps where there were several squadrons on the same TS server doing the same as us, ie using several channels just for talking within the squad and there was also another person talking to all squads and  acting as co-ordinator/Ground Control of the whole mission.  Discord is too limited so you end up listening to everyone, often including people who are not even flying and just want to chat or swap jokes and boasts!  The downside of TS is that if someone wants to join our sortie we have no way to talk to them or warn them they have 6.       

 

Simple Radio aka SRS has a lot going for it as you can set multiple radios and tune each to whatever channel you want.  Combat Box has one channel just to be used when talking to the Tower or Ground Control and it can be heard while you are talking on another channel so you get updates about where escorts or defenders are needed etc. It has another channel that everyone can talk on to co-ordinate where they are going plus you have the option to add a third or fourth radio just for your strike package or for squad use.  You can also retune any radio on the fly if that is needed.   They do have an SRS server dedicated just to their server and it connects automatically but people are put off by the perceived difficulty of setting up SRS so it does not get used by as many people as it could and that reduces its effectiveness.

 

I originally tried to use SRS on the Finnish server. The issue wasn't with the program. The issue was with everyone wanting to only be in their own group and using either TS or Discord. So, even if there was a built in system, you would still have the same issue. Really, I prefer SRS over Discord. I prefer it over TS. Because of the ability for everyone on the team to be able to communicate. But people don't want to and therefore, don't use it. This is the main reason it doesn't work. 

[Pikestance]

2 hours ago, Sitaro said:

I originally tried to use SRS on the Finnish server. The issue wasn't with the program. The issue was with everyone wanting to only be in their own group and using either TS or Discord. So, even if there was a built in system, you would still have the same issue. Really, I prefer SRS over Discord. I prefer it over TS. Because of the ability for everyone on the team to be able to communicate. But people don't want to and therefore, don't use it. This is the main reason it doesn't work. 

 

I think this is something we can all agree. There are now 4 ways to communicate; In game text, SRS, Discord, and TS. When I fly with my squad, I have both SRS ad TS running. On Finnish, I have been unsuccessful getting anyone to even respond to me. They really do need to be one system that allows enough flexibility for everyone. The problem is, there is no money in developing such a system. 

[56RAF_Roblex]

7 hours ago, Sitaro said:

I originally tried to use SRS on the Finnish server. The issue wasn't with the program. The issue was with everyone wanting to only be in their own group and using either TS or Discord. So, even if there was a built in system, you would still have the same issue. Really, I prefer SRS over Discord. I prefer it over TS. Because of the ability for everyone on the team to be able to communicate. But people don't want to and therefore, don't use it. This is the main reason it doesn't work. 

 I totally agree but my point was that if something that looked like SRS was built into Il2 so nobody had to install it and it was available on every server then most people would use it. Going to third party software would gain you nothing and lose you much functionality.  I can't wean my squad off TS and onto SRS because if finish is full and we have to fly in a different server then it propably does not have SRS.