Okay so this is just an idea I had to solve a problem which I'm sure everyone has run into. PROBLEM 1: that jackass team member won't stop doing (X annoying thing), and he has his mic turned off. PROBLEM 2: you want to communicate with your team but you can't stand the constant barrage of profanity, insults, etc. Solution: for the next Halo game, 343 Studios should create a set of generic messages that can be sent to any team member by targeting them with your reticule and pressing the appropriate button on the D-Pad. (The messages appear as text on the HUD) These messages could be context-sensitive, meaning if you have a sniper rifle, you can say to a teammate "Watch your back", "Look above you", or "Hang back" from long range, while if you are driving a warthog you can say "I need a gunner" or "I need a passenger to get the flag" or even "Stop it, I'm driving and you're not." There could even be "proximity" messages (which go to any teammates near you) that you can send after you die while waiting to respawn such as "No-shields on my X" or "I dropped a power weapon." Yes, I know jerks could constantly spam people with messages, but 343 Studios could make this feature like a Warthog horn, where it temporarily stops working after repeated use. And yes, I know that communicating by mic will always be easier, but it would make matchmaking a lot more bearable. What does everyone else think about this idea?
That's actually quite an interesting idea. For the more casual standard MM playlists like TS and BTB it could be really effective since meaningful team communication with mics is so rare. To solve the spamming issue you could just include these messages within the mute function, muting someone would also block these things and anyone spamming them would be dealt with as easily as a screaming team mate is right now. It would need a decent amount if tweaking to get right, but overall it doesn't sound like a monumental undertaking to add to H4. Have you posted this over at the halo waypoint forums? I think it's the kind of idea that is definitely worth putting out there as it adds to the game without taking away in any other aspect, unobtrusive additions like that, especially ones which wont take up loads of dev time, are often easier to pitch.
You could issue these commands on the original Counter-Strike for Xbox, but they weren't used very often or taken very seriously. It seems even less likely they'd be useful in a less tactical game, especially if there are any new features that might be able to make better use of the controls. You also have to determine how to handle the current use for the D-pad, such as switching modes in Forge and selecting player cameras in games.
The time taken to aim at someone possibly moving would be about the same time taken to press back scroll down to there name press mute. But if there actually doing something annoying a xbox message will unlikely be read or provoke them to do it more if there doing it on purpose. So I was thinking Reach has firefight voices how about having some way to turn them on during matchmaking like sitting in a warthog gunner with no driver it automaticly says "I need a driver" or something and right on the D-Pad makes you shout "Stop doing that" something like that could work.
I kind of like the idea but practically speaking it seems like it would be tough to use (to memorize which button press equates to which message in various contexts, specifically), and I doubt that most people would use it, either because it's too hard to remember or they just don't care. I'd certainly give it a shot though. I own a mic but when I play with randoms I mute everybody and don't even plug my headset in - otherwise the game experience just frustrates me to death.
I remember Shadow Run had messages such as this mapped to the d-pad. Each area had it's own name, much like in Reach and you could use these functions to call for back up, alert your team there were enemies or call out that you were moving through this area. note the bottom left you can see the callout for the current location of where you are which in this case is "Floor of Dragon Hall". 3 D-pad symbols: Left - Warning symbol - Need back up at [current callout location] Up - Eye - Enemies spotted at [callout location of enemy] Right - Person - Moving through [current callout location]
I really like this idea, a 3 call system based on where you are and generic enough such as help, location, and enemy spotted to be effeiciently used. I'd support this. Hopefully 343 gets word.
In an ideal world this would work great, but after a while of people using it to mess with their teammates everyone would just start ignoring it. It only takes a few people abusing a good thing to make it worthless. When you're playing with friends it's easy to warn them with your mic, and it MM games there will be fewer people using it than abusing it. I think there are plenty of more useful things they could do with the D-pad.
I kinda had an idea like this not long ago whilst playing Snipers. Except its more akin to Portal 2's ping tool. I wanted to point out where an enemy was camping constantly to other players on my team and it was hard for me to explain it properly. Then I thought, "man, it would be some much easier if I could ping where I was referring to". But, again, you'd have the problem of the idiots spamming the crap out of it. A "ping block" option, much like the mute option, could apply here, but I dont know if this would be worth putting in just for one gametype, really, as I cant see much use for it in other games.
So a bit like the spot system in Battlefield? I always it was a clever concept that should be implemented into other games, but alas, it never happens. tl;dr As for the OT, what you're suggesting is a good idea - but, like most subtle good ideas it will probably be ignored. If it was implemented correctly, then it would communication in MM a lot easier, but this kind of system, with all the different variables you are proposing, will quickly become very complex and hard to use. It would become inefficient quickly if not done properly. There is also the problem of griefing which will quickly ruin the system if some form of anti-grief system isn't put in place. TL;DR Basically everything that's been posted earlier in the thread.
Uhm, probably? Ive never played BF, so I wouldnt know. Obviously its not a stupid idea then, if other games have already implemented it. But like you said, it would cause to much griefing by nubs that just want to be nubs.
I remember some game had something similar to this... and it was pretty annoying having the text appear on your screen while you were selecting your option. I can also see this as another way some griefers will abuse the commands and just keep pressing buttons to the point where it will help nobodyand just annoy everyone.
Thanks for summing that all up. I agree that context-based messages are too complicated, and yes people would probably ignore it or spam it if it was text based. But I really like that other guy's idea of using firefight voices instead of text. Mic communication is always paid more attention, and using a basic three- or four-button message system would really simplify in-game communication because players could simply press a button instead of wasting brain power on talking.
The reason I really like this idea, especially the way Shadow Run implemented it, is because not everyone knows the call out names and by the time they figure out a name to call the area they are in, either not everyone else knows where that is or they die. This way you are constantly able to be aware of teammate locations and more easily learn call outs. I really hope this happens. A small message appearing at the bottom or top of the screen would be easily integrated into the HUD and players would hardly notice it after a few games- just react.
lol... at that point, what's the point of even adding the preset text messaging then? I mean most people disabled voice because of annoying squeakers and those that play **** music in the background. This may slightly increase % of players that communicate in some form, but in the long run it will still fall far short of what people hope this will accomplish. All it will take is one person to spam the preset messages and I'll disable the option... as will many other players.
This sounds good, but it would definately require a lot of testing. For the spot system, i like it. It's beneficial for your team (and for you if they add some sort of assist bonus for spotting), it fits with the halo waypoint system. However, it should just be in some playlists.
I could see something similar to the Comma Rose in BF2/2142 (PC) games which could be implemented; a dumbed down version of it if you will. This will help teammates communicate with each other, especially those without a headset. Also, a spotting system to reveal enemy positions (which I'll bet would reduce camping/hiding) would come in handy. Either have their positions shown on the map with a waypoint... or, they could go with Battlefield style and have a mini-map somewhere on the HUD, showing an enemies position with a red dot (this idea may not be original, but it is effective). Just a couple things I thought of while reading comments posted here.
This sounds really cool, and it would seem it is a viable option. The question is, will 343 hear the little guy?
You'd be surprised how much they lurk forums like these. But even if they do see our ideas, its highly unlikely they'll be included in any games unless they're extremely popular and pretty much every Halo community forum has the same basic ideas. Popularity prevails over ingenious little ideas like this one, unfortunately.