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MMO's On Consoles: How Do Players Communicate?
Xssiv
Member UncommonPosts: 359
Forgive me if this is a dumb question but how do players generally communicate in console MMO's?
I realize that guilds and RL friends would use voice chat, but what about general / trade / area chat?
It seems that taking away the keyboard would make it difficult or at a minimum quite inconvenient to effectively communicate with other players thus making console MMO's much less social than their PC counterparts.
Comments
Consoles have keyboards.
For example:
http://www.handhelditems.com/xbox-hyperkin-keypad-white-p-168914.html
Trade can be done on AH, and you can have in-game voice chat in public zones.
I realize there are keyboards for consoles but I would venture to guess that the majority of console players don't use them.
Regarding in-game voice chat in public zones.... that sounds like a headache waiting to happen.
The answer is that MMOs for the console will be dumbed-down and automated to the point that players don't need to communicate.
It's already happening. Look at WoW. You can now use Looking For Dungeon, Looking For Raid and pug Battlegrounds and easily level to max level, advance in PvP and even advance through the Raid content without ever typing a single word to another player.
As for players who WANT to communicate and value communicating, they will just have to stick to PC MMOs.
Quite frankly, I dont really know. Whenever I have played an MMO on console I have always used a keyboard.
I think the only console MMO to specifically omit keyboard support is Defiance.
To the contrary, when I played EqOLA on Ps2, as well as other multiplayer titles like Tony Hawk (on PS2), most players I met did use keyboards to chat. I used something like this
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
You could use a generic USB keyboard FFXI and EQOA for the PS2. I don't it being an issue.
Most games don't need them but they are easily attainable compatible with the consoles out there. Also, if they are really into a certain Mmo on console, how difficult would it be for those hardcore players to still use Vent, TS or Mumble on their normal PC's.
I don't see an issue here.
That's an awesome controller!
When I played FFXI on the PS2, keyboard was essentially required for any serious play. I think I knew like one person who played without, and they took a bit longer to type (onscreen keyboard). Playing WHM or BRD at least without a keyboard was pretty iffy though.
FFXIV I think has some semi-interesting setup for skills, which may make a keyboard less necessary for some (assuming you don't need to quick-target a particular party member). A lot of people are using voice chat these days so actually typing to communicate is probably less of an issue too.
However, keyboards (and mice!) have been usable with consoles for awhile.
http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/1/4/6/452527581_885cce5cb7.jpg
http://www.adaptivepath.com/uploads/archive/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/ps3_keypad_cropped.jpg
it's not really like it's hard to write with those :P
they're just as good as a real keyboard for chatting if needed... tho, I use voice chats more than I type lately in MMORPGs on PC.
"Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life."
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Its about smart design.. For example in DCUO you can set premade chat items that you can quickly get to using the D-Pad.
Most of the time a canned chat expression will work for much of what you want to say, and you can customize it for the rest of the time if you find yourself repeating certain phrases.
Once you're inside a group, you can use in -game voice chats as well.
Another game that I enjoyed a lot was Phantasy Star Online/Universe, which had symbol chat for expressions. You could chat normally as well, but in the heat of battle, throwing up a specific symbol chat meant something. The customization of it was also a lot of fun and a sort of minigame in itself.
There are of course, other options, like proximity chat, or channeled voice chats, or text to speech, or on-screen keyboards, or keypads on your controller... I mean there are a lot of solutions to this problem.
In EQOA everyone seemed to have a keyboard. I personally used this big thing.
In monster hunter I just used the pre-made commands. FFXI had them as well with their translator thingy.
players communicate in modern MMOs?
LFD tools are great for cramming people into content, but quality > quantity.
I am, usually on the sandbox .. more "hardcore" side of things, but I also do just want to have fun. So lighten up already
It's been answered already pretty much but..
1) Voice Comms - This is becoming more common in the MMO'ish games on Playstation. DCUO is an example, they have voice chat available for proximity and group chats.
2) You still have the option to use a keyboard and mouse setup just like you have on PC.
3) There are also periphials that are basically mini-keyboards that attach directly onto the controller. These are mini WSAD setups that work nice too. My one complaint of them is that they do add a little bulk / weight to the controller that might take some getting used to.
4) "The slow way" - using the interfeace of the PSN. It's pretty bad, one thing that hopefully will be improved in the next-gen of the Playstation Network
PM before you report at least or you could just block.
And voice chat is mandatory for many guilds when they raid.
If you are talking about communicating with strangers to form a group .. and yes .. you don't need that any more. It is not the fun part of the game for many anyway. I remember the days of spamming channel for members. LFD is much better.
However, groups (particularly in challenging encounter like hard mode raid) still needs to communicate.
If you are talking about communicating with strangers to form a group .. and yes .. you don't need that any more. It is not the fun part of the game for many anyway. I remember the days of spamming channel for members. LFD is much better.
However, groups (particularly in challenging encounter like hard mode raid) still needs to communicate.
The one thing you can do with a keyboard that works a lot better than voice chat is global chat. Something like global, regional or city chat would be nearly impossible with voice chat. I don't know how important that is, but it does add to the feeling of playing a game with a lot of other people.
I've never used one of them, but I would think one of those little keyboards on top of a controller would be the way to go there, and with everyone using teeny, tiny cell phone keyboards, they will just get more common and easier to use.
Maybe at some point there will just be a little bracket on top of the controllers for cell phones and that's what people will use.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Those little thumb keyboards are very similar to that on blackberries .. which was very popular before the iphone kill that market.
So there is plenty of evidence that it works well.
The in-built voice chat also offers opportunities such as realistic jamming of communications or setting up radio masts in a modern or sci-fi themed game. Or it could be as simple as having a directional audio combined with range penalties and adding features such as echo when your character is in a cave.
There's lots of things you can do with voice chat you can't do with a regular chat.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky