I apologize if someone asked about this already, but I think It would be a good Idea if LFS had it's own voice chat function built into the game, like most FPS games today.I know some of you are probably going to say that there are Teamspeak and Ventrillo servers out there already, or that voice chat might cause a multitude of problems, but just hear me out.

Here are some reasons why I think LFS needs it's own voice chat function:

Most LFS dedicated servers don't have a public forum/website, or a public ventrillo or Teamspeak server. Even if they did, most people wouldn't know about them anyway, and if you have something to say to another player while racing, chances are, they are not in Teamspeak, skype, or ventrillo with you, and you would still have to type it out.

There are things that need to be said in-game that cannot be typed out in the middle of a race. I believe that I speak for a large portion of LFS players who use game pads, or mounted steering wheels, when I say that it's a nightmare having to type something out on a keyboard while driving your car. Chances are, both of your hands are on the controller or steering wheel, and taking your hand away for even a second is going to cost you (and possibly everyone on the track,) the race.The quick chat keys (keys F1 to F8) are no big help. After all, you still need to take your hand off of the controller to press one of them, not to mention the limited vocabulary.

Voice chat = better drivers. There is a reason why texting while driving is illegal in almost every state where I live. (I live in USA.) Sure, not every person that types or uses the quick chat keys are on the road, but it's pretty anoyying having to pull over or go to the pits to be able to say something to the other players. I wouldn't mind being able to just press a single button on my Joypad or Steering wheel when I want to say something. The ability to simply 'talk' to another driver without typing would result in better performance and an over all better racing experience in my opinion.

With that being said, I am sure there could be a lot of problems with this as well, such as mic spamming, language barriers, TROLLING, people's microphones being too loud, and bandwidth problems. (Voice chat could possibly lag the game, or even crash the server.) There is also the issue of the Dedicated servers that already exist. For example, lets say that LFS was updated so that voice chat was built in. That would mean that every server that hosts LFS games would have to be updated so they would be able to use the new Client/server voice chat function, and it might take an eternity for most of them to even get around updating.

Even when you take into consideration the various problems that Voice chat could cause, I think the pros outweigh the cons in comparison. In my opinion, for a game that prides itself on its realism, it would be insane not to consider adding this function to the game at some point. You never see any REAL touring car or F1 drivers having to text anyone in the middle of a race, so why should we?

I would like to hear what others think about it, does anyone else think it's a good Idea?.

Quote from ATiRAGEPRO :

You never see any REAL touring car or F1 drivers having to text anyone in the middle of a race, so why should we?

I don't see them picking up the dog and bone and giving each other a call, do you?

Quote from ATiRAGEPRO :

There is a reason why texting while driving is illegal in almost every state where I live. (I live in USA.)

So it's legal in some states?

illepall

Quote from JO53PHS :

So it's legal in some states?

illepall

yep. -_-"
It's pretty stupid that there would even NEED to be a law for something like that. NOT texting while driving should be common sense.

Quote from boothy :

I don't see them picking up the dog and bone and giving each other a call, do you?

um, I don't know what a dog or bone has to do with anything, but I do see Touring car drivers using a headset to talk to people all the time in the races. In NASCAR, (yes, I know NASCAR sucks, just hear me out.) you see drivers talking to other drivers all the time in races. I'm just saying, it makes more sense to have a headset and just TALK than it does to go in the pits to type out what you want to say. Chances are, people who are still racing aren't going to be paying much attention to what you have to say on the upper left-hand corner of the screen. they're going to be too busy DRIVING. Just saying.

I thought I'd heard this somewhere before...

It's good idea i would like to talk in LFS so i can turn off my skype then. Otherwise it would be great if u press one button u can talk all time and u don't need to hold that button. I think it's great idea.

Quote from ATiRAGEPRO :

...
Here are some reasons why I think LFS needs it's own voice chat function:

Most LFS dedicated servers don't have a public forum/website, or a public ventrillo or Teamspeak server.

They don't and apparently their admins know why. Indulge me for a moment here, because I don't find the need to say anything else than "thank you" or "dammit" during a race. I also don't see racing drivers IRL talking to each other.

Quote from ATiRAGEPRO :

There are things that need to be said in-game that cannot be typed out in the middle of a race.

Perhaps few examples of these "must say" things would help here. BTW, with a bit of scripting it's no problem to bind F-keys to buttons on the wheel.

Quote from ATiRAGEPRO :

Voice chat = better drivers. There is a reason why texting while driving is illegal in almost every state where I live.

Well, yeah, but there is also a reason why holding a cell phone while driving is illegal in CZE. People leaning towards a microphone would be dangerous too, not everyone uses a headset.

Quote from ATiRAGEPRO :

(snip too long to quote)

The trolling issue is what bothers me the most. For example Counter Strike has had voice chat since early 1.6 days and it's very rarely used. And that is considering the fact that CS is a game where some communication among teammates does make sense. I used to be a frequent CS player a while back and I've never found voice chat anyhow useful on public servers. Upgrading won't be an issue here, all servers have to upgrade whenever a new patch is out

All in all, I don't think such feature is really that essential to be implemented directly in LFS. I guess that cruisers would benefit the most from it and it's very easy to setup a Ventrilo or TS server if they need to chat so badly. BTW, you have my respect for actually thinking about your idea rather than just mindlessly spitting it out

Well, if it is going to be implemented for real, it should be available for only S1/S2. So it would be something encouraging to buy for demo users.

I wonder... when you connect in public server full of racers and MOST of them are talking! How do you think to understand anything? Don't think about that someone connects to server and start talking sh*t... I think this is bad idea!

why do we need this? Teamspeak and ventrillo work fine.

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Even if they did, most people wouldn't know about them anyway, and if you have something to say to another player while racing, chances are, they are not in Teamspeak, skype, or ventrillo with you, and you would still have to type it out.

Yeah, that's why I don't really talk to anyone Since I don't have TS or Vent, and I don't want to start typing, (especially, since I use mouse+keyboard for driving, so I can't write and drive at the same time). They have to wait, until I'm done with racing.

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I am sure there could be a lot of problems with this as well, such as mic spamming,

Just don't remove voteban, and it will be fine.

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language barriers

Why, if you are typing a message, you don't have any language barriers?

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TROLLING

See above.

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people's microphones being too loud

Set incoming sound power to 1 db by LFS?

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and bandwidth problems. (Voice chat could possibly lag the game, or even crash the server.)

Nah, TS behind LFS doesn't crash anything either. Or have 2 servers, one race server, and a chat server, and the text typing is also moved to chat server.

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I don't know what a dog or bone has to do with anything,

I heard that "dog and bone" is a Celtic izé for "telephone"...

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anything else than "thank you" or "dammit" during a race. I also don't see racing drivers IRL talking to each other.

"Give me way!", "Sorry, I can't let you pass right now, since the curve is small", "I'm gonna let you pass" and "Stop ramming into me damnit". Ahh, and "What did you eat for lunch today?"

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why do we need this? Teamspeak and ventrillo work fine.

Good way issuing anyone to join to TS, because you want to talk to him

that will be good idea but it will cost alot of connection

Servers would lag like hell for us with only 1mb connection.

Also it would be funny if someone would talk like Arnold Schwarzenegger and yelling at you "Let me pass if you want to live!"

Quote from Live For Kill :

"Give me way!", "Sorry, I can't let you pass right now, since the curve is small", "I'm gonna let you pass" and "Stop ramming into me damnit". Ahh, and "What did you eat for lunch today?"

Give me way is definetly not needed. Blue flag has exactly the same meaning.

Saying the curve is too small is pointless, an intelligent driver should know without saying if a curve is wide enough.

Saying you're letting someone pass. Well, that's a rare exception, being indeed useful, but then again, not really needed.

Saying to stop ramming... after the race.

And people starting to talk about lunch is exactly why where shouldn't be such a feature.

Well, we could talk about Max Mosley´s sexual likings

surely you could have something like we do now

by this i mean to chat to someone specifically, we click on their name then type a message, so why couldnt we have it so we click on someones name, then speak?, but make it private, so only they can hear you

well if that issued the only thing on swearing on mic will received...

TUUUUUTTT you knw you are a bunch TUUUUUUUUUTT get a mTOOOT-TOOOTH

LoL just imagining that words being blocked lol

I do strongly recommend not to introduce voice chat. This will cause a lot of hate, racism, and lot more to go trough the mic.

If you want to speak with friends, use programs such as Teamspeak 3 Beta and such.

Quote from rockclan :

I do strongly recommend not to introduce voice chat. This will cause a lot of hate, racism, and lot more to go trough the mic.

If you want to speak with friends, use programs such as Teamspeak 3 Beta and such.

Quote from ATiRAGEPRO :

Most LFS dedicated servers don't have a public forum/website, or a public ventrillo or Teamspeak server. Even if they did, most people wouldn't know about them anyway, and if you have something to say to another player while racing, chances are, they are not in Teamspeak, skype, or ventrillo with you, and you would still have to type it out.

Quote from ATiRAGEPRO :

By the way, rudeness and racism aren't limited to someone's voice. Speaking aloud doesn't make someone more racist than they would be typing. Sure, you probably can't censor them as effectively when they talk as you could if it were text, but hate-texters can get around that pretty easily. All you have to do is replace replace the vowels with @-3-!-0-U letters.

Besides, you can always just ban the player who's acting like a D()usch3 B@g.

PS: I'm getting kind of annoyed with all the threads that bash a progressive Idea because of a few noobs and @$$holes out there. I just saw a thread that discourage LFS from advertising because there was a contest in which the winner would receive a real racing drivers license, because noobs only bought the game to be in the contest.

http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=69955

I just find it bizarre that someone could say that LFS shouldn't have new players because noobs get on your nerves. most of the reasons I'm hearing that VOIP is a bad Idea in this game is because "oooOOooh, there might be a troll or a racist out there! They might say something offensive, and I'm scaaaAared!:scared:"

Seriously. Man up, people. Text never prevented trolling or racism before, so what makes you think it'll be any worse? If someone's being a Dou$chebucket, or you don't like what another player has to say,
BAN HIM. I nor anyone else should have to miss out on a potentially useful feature because there might be some @$$hat out there in the real world that decided to be an annoying little pr!(k in a videogame!! I host a CS:S server in the states! my server gets plenty of morons from all walks of life that like to mic spam the most annoying music they could find, as well as say stupid SH!T like how they believe the holocaust never happened!!:gnasher: Do you know what the players on my server do about it??? They VOTEBAN!

I can understand some other complaints about why this isn't a good idea, (for example, some people's mics might be garbage, and some other people's voices might be unbelievably annoying,) but this just isn't a compelling reason. I say again, text never stopped anyone from being a p!ss-ant before, and voice-trolling is a good way to get them banned quicker, in my opinion.

@ATiRAGEPRO
I have to agree 100% on that, it's the most frustrating and backwards thinking you can imagine. But people seem to somehow think it's going to work that way.



If someone is going to be a retard, they are going to do so regardless if it's through text or voice. I've been on thousands of servers spanning more than a decade of voip enabled gaming, many more servers with text chat before that. You know what the universal solution is for people that act stupid? A KICK OR BAN. Giving them voice communication does not make them kick or ban proof, you can still do it.

Also, You know how often I've come across morons? I can count it out even after said decades and thousands of servers. I come across no more than one or two retards a month, A WHOLE MONTH. And I used to play every day, for a few hours.

Quote from DragonCommando :

Also, You know how often I've come across morons? I can count it out even after said decades and thousands of servers. I come across no more than one or two retards a month, A WHOLE MONTH. And I used to play every day, for a few hours.

Wow, only two a month? holy $#!t XDDD

well another admin option could be mute, so its kick, ban or mute. and there could be the audio wave thing to gauge who is needing the mute. so say im trolling, or abusing it, or spamming the voice thing, my wave display thing would be showing alot of movement, so the admin could judge by that to mute me.

Wave thingys?

Are you talking about a Oscilloscope If so, It's Impossible to judge a person off one of those. All the talking is rerouted to one channel and then is fed through, meaning there is one channel with everyone talking, you would have to find it before, A mute option would work well. However, I see the great plus to this chat, You could ask a local fellow you know to help you draft up, Maybe repay the favor another race, or you could call him a two shoe'd #(@#@*&#(@* @*&#@(#*@ @*&#*@ But um, Yeah, Aside from that.

However, I rated down, Because I already get discriminated in chat, Wouldn't want to have the pipsqueaks abuse me over a microphone. Not to mention the under 12 group.