Lunchtime Discussion: Voice Chat
Hello? Is anyone there?
Published: 12:00, 14/09/2010 by Blair [mynameisblair].
44It’s late at night, you’ve had a long day at work and you just want to relax with your favourite online game. Then, out of nowhere you hear someone that surely isn’t old enough to own the game in question shout “hacking n00b”. Wait, how did that happen? Where did that come from? Surely they didn’t program the game to shout that at you?
Suddenly, a little icon pops up in the corner of the screen next to a name; what does this all mean? You’re sitting there, wondering what this strange phenomenon is, when you suddenly realise that it must be other players talking! Of course, how could you be so foolish? They must have purchased some form of communication device to enable them to broadcast their feelings to the entire lobby of gamers. Crazy stuff, there.
Now, I really doubt that voice chat is an unknown feature to anyone reading this, and I’m sure that some of us have even used it once or twice. Don’t worry, there’s nothing to feel guilty about. Talking down the mic to other players is actually a big part of online gaming; clans use this feature to discuss strategies, friends use it to have a laugh, random teenagers use it to convey their suspicions of you hacking the game, even strangers have been known to use it to become friends.
There’s not much that’s better than sitting with a few friends and playing some splitscreen, but does voice chat work in the same way? Is it better to see your friends in real life rather than listen to them down the headset? That, however, is just the friend part of this feature; there’s a whole load of people that use for the sole purpose of insulting other players. Do people really find it fun to yell down the headset at someone who is simply trying to have fun?
Then there’s the clans that I mentioned. Playing tactically works, we all know that. Commanding your clanmates to get to a specific point on the map using a headset also helps, as it’s the quickest option. Do people take it a bit too seriously when playing like this? How about the silent assassins; those that choose not to use headsets, but play the game tactically, reveling in their victory alone.
Personally, I believe that online gaming is all about being part of something rather than playing as you would in a single player game; although I’m inclined to use this feature less when I’m not playing with friends, unless I’m aware that the people I’m against are cool dudes. So, what do you think of online chat? Is it useful or do too many people abuse it? How do you use your headset?
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14/09/2010 at 12:06
Member since: Forever
I bought a headset a year ago, because I thought I was missing out.
It turns out the only thing I was missing out on was garbled speech, people arguing with their partners, people playing music down the headset and babies crying (presumably the person supposed to be looking after them is busy gaming)
There are of course exceptions like TSA Meets etc but they’re the exception rather than the norm.
When playing in an organised fashion with a headset you’re unstoppable, for example in Warhawk… sending in a lightening gun to clear landmines, then a binocular strike to kill everyone in radius, just before a couple of jeeps break into the enemy base with a tank or two for support along with some air support is unstoppable on a flag raid. Never happens in the wild though, all you get is the shouting/music/babies crying etc but when it does its amazing.
14/09/2010 at 12:06
Member since: Mar 2009
Online chat is brilliant, although I mainly play my PS3 for gaming and media stuff, I use the XBOX to play CoD (don’t stone me.. all my friends play it.. I need to keep in social circles!!).
Voice chat enables players to have a great time gaming while also talking to their friends, its a fantastic feature. Especially on XboxLive where you can talk to your friends in a party while playing the same game, this is great for muting out the annoying players..
Speaking of which, the annoying ones that insult 24/7, both on PS and Xbox don’t bother me, as most games have a lovely little mute feature to shut the little blighters up, allowing me to have a better time talking tactically and friendly with people.
I’m sure there are better headsets around, but the PS3 official one leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion.. The sound quality isn’t great and has a habit of picking up a lot of background noise. Compared to the Xbox official headset which works very well.
(Apologies if this is sounding like a fanboy comment, truth me told I prefer PS3 in every other way than the above).
14/09/2010 at 12:24
Member since: Feb 2009
Saying you prefer the Xbox360 headset over the PS3 one, really isnt a fanboy comment! You give good reasons why, which makes it an opinion.
The quality of a lot of headsets is really bad when im playing online with people, and I usually end up resorting to using skype on my laptop with my friends rather than us use our headsets through the game. I would really like to see the quality of headsets improve somehow.
14/09/2010 at 12:40
Member since: Forever
The worst is the PSEye mic
It seems to pick up all the noise in the room including the tv the game is running on making it unusable for everyone else in the session
14/09/2010 at 12:30
Member since: Dec 2009
Got a Jabra Headset and its very clear…..
Have you tried one of those?
14/09/2010 at 12:37
Member since: Mar 2009
I’ve tried one of the basic ones, I found the sound quality was OK, but the microphone picks up too much background noise, and other players struggle to hear me. (Even when I adjust the microphone volume settings etc on the console).
I imagine a pricier one would be much better of course. I would be tempted to get one in the future though, but I find the quality of other players sound to be much lower than that on XB also.
14/09/2010 at 12:43
Member since: Aug 2008
The xbox one has the massive advantage of the mute switch where it joins the controller. I frequently want to talk to my girlfriend without broadcasting the conversation to the lobby!
I have a headset with a mute button but it’s a bluetooth headset and the button is on it so it’s a pain if i’m mid-game to keep switching it on and off.
14/09/2010 at 13:32
Member since: Mar 2009
Turns out I have an amazing top notch quality headset I use at work that works on the PS3.. I am getting right on that tonight! :D
14/09/2010 at 12:07
Member since: Mar 2010
Its a GREAT tool for online gaming, and you can always mute the morons.
14/09/2010 at 12:11
Member since: Apr 2009
Call of Duty has drilled into me: when online, mute all players.
14/09/2010 at 12:41
Member since: Mar 2010
well the ideal is to play with friends.
14/09/2010 at 12:08
Member since: Aug 2008
I use my 360 headset a lot when playing a game of Gears or Battlefield with some mates but I have never used a headset on the ps3.
14/09/2010 at 12:15
Member since: Nov 2009
I think online chat is a great addition to the online gaming scene. The annoying part is the idiots who just come on to play music and other noise down the mic, or feel it is their god given right to abuse people as they find it easier when they don’t have to come face to face with that person in real life. This is where party chat is a great feature on xbox live, or in Sony’s case not as we continue with the on going farcical of excuses.
14/09/2010 at 12:15
Member since: Apr 2009
My headset see’s plenty of use. Everything from Borderlands to Modnation, they are all more enjoyable if I can chat with my teammates for various reasons. Whether it be tactical direction in things like Killzone, laughing at a friend whom I’ve just blown off the track in Modnation or listening to a grown man have a melt down that ended in him crying over incompetent teammates in Fat Princess, my headset has brought me plenty of laughs and only ever enhanced the good times I’ve had playing online this generation.
14/09/2010 at 12:16
Member since: Mar 2010
“How about the silent assassins” good thanks how about you
yeah as i always say “the worst thing about online gaming is the other players *coughdickheadscough* yet that is also the best thing about it sooooo yeah fucked if i know” so there it is children its a double edged sword just like anything
KILL DA STUPIDS
14/09/2010 at 12:17
Member since: May 2010
When I owned a 360 I used the headset loads.
Since having a PS3 and I bought a little Jabra 125 for a tenner off ebay.
I’ve used it once maybe twice and the sound quality was better than the 360 headset and as it’s a Jabra I can use it with my mobile phone as well so it’s the ideal solution.
I just can’t put my finger on why I don’t use it more.
14/09/2010 at 12:22
Member since: Forever
Wonder if its because on PS3 its a bit start-stop as there are no party features
14/09/2010 at 12:22
Member since: Mar 2009
I found the sound quality was alright, but people had difficulty hearing me, and/or the background noise would go straight through.
14/09/2010 at 12:20
Member since: Jan 2009
I’ve never owned a headset, and don’t think I ever will. Not now anyway. If I play online (which isn’t too often) I play on my own. I don’t like having small children talking to people through the playstation, and I think I spent a good 10 minutes looking for the option to shut someone up on BFBC2 before (don’t think I found the option, just left the match in the end.) It just puts me off.
14/09/2010 at 12:25
Member since: Aug 2008
Part of the problem is that it can be difficult to isolate the dickheads in order to mute them. They make the most noise mid-game when you can’t really afford to be faffing about in menus.
.
I just had a great idea. Someone should put a feature in game that records a random bit of each speaking player so you can play it back to yourself in the lobby to figure out what the annoying little shit’s user name is.
14/09/2010 at 13:01
Member since: Dec 2008
Jumping Monks, go to the squad menu where you would invite friends, you can select the member and mute from there I think
14/09/2010 at 16:00
Member since: Jan 2009
Cheers buddy :)
14/09/2010 at 12:20
Member since: Aug 2008
When I first started online gaming on PS3 I used a bluetooth headset and found that there was a lot of the crap you mentioned. I slowly used it less and less and now I only use it very rarely and mostly when online with friends or in TSA meets. I have had a few occasions where I had proper chats and a laugh with strangers but it is almost always less mainstream titles.
I have played Xbox online a few times and, jebus! That is some offensive shit goes on there! It’s ten times worse than PSN!