Comms SOP

[TheBigC]

With the introduction of a stable VON (Voice over Network) it has become necessary to outline how radio communications will be conducted.
Voice communications are critical for any mission success with ArmA at TG. That being said, how we use the comms is become ever so important.

To alleviate any confusion prior to an event or before the start of a mission, we will continue to utilize TS (Team Speak) for organization. This will allow for Squad Leaders and Admins to organize and plan the impending mission or conduct an AAR afterwards. While the game is running, TS should be running for Squad Leaders and Team Leaders in case there is a message that must be conveyed to the leaders. Team members are not required to use TS at this point and are encouraged to stay off those channels to allow for other leadership issues.

Now the in-game VON has to be broken down as to who uses what channel. This is a simple break down of who uses what and when. It is important to realize what channel you are in when you go to speak. The default keys to change channels are “<” and “>”, once pressed it will show you what channel you are in. As for the chat itself, the default key is “cap locks”. If for some reason your talk option stays on, double tap the key and it will release the talk option. It is also suggested you change the default key, I do not want to read any typed messages in caps. Internet etiquette suggests you are yelling when you type in all caps, so be aware of it. It also is recommended you find a bind for each channel that you can remember so it makes communications easier.

Channel usage:

Global Chat (White): Admins only. This will not be utilized in game by anyone, minus an administrator for messages that must be conveyed to the entire game. Abuse of this channel will result in being banned from the server.

Side chat (Blue): This is for communication for the Squad Leader to his Team Leaders. Both elements may utilize this channel to conduct movement and contact reports. This channel will get busy with the command elements, so team members are discouraged from jumping on and speaking once the mission has started. Let the leaders talk, you can listen in, but they are in charge.

Group chat (Green): This is your bread and butter channel. This is where the basic team will conduct all of its business. The Team Leader will convey all commands as well as any other communication to their team. You may communicate with other team members only on this channel, but that should be plenty of people to talk to.

Vehicle chat (Yellow): This channel is utilized when you jump into a vehicle. This channel has to be utilized when your team jumps into a vehicle that has members from a different team piloting or riding in it. A good example is most helo pilots are on separate teams, so when a fire team boards a helicopter the only way to tell him where to land will be vehicle chat.

Direct Communication (Purple): Most mission have built in teams and squads. There is the occasional mission that is uploaded that is lacking proper team break downs. This is a good time to use direct chat to communicate with the element you have created and members around you. It is limited in how far you can talk, so you will have to be close to them to communicate. To help better the game, if you run across a mission that does not have teams broken down correctly, please post in the forums the mission name and we will see what we can do about editing the mission to accommodate leadership roles.

Mission Selection/Seagull/Deadman (Group chat): Talk away with other members as much as you want. Avoid jumping on any other channel to avoid who is in what channel.


Now that the channels are broken down, we need to discuss what will be communicated and how over the channels. Listening to dozens of people talk can get confusing at times. So we need to streamline what is conveyed. When you are given a command, there is no need to debate the orders or confuse people anymore. If given a command you will TYPE “cc”, meaning I understand. This is so much easier than everyone trying to talk over the radio at once.


There are also some key points with voice communication that must be obeyed or you will be removed from the game:

• Phonetic Alphabet. Use this, this is a standardized pronunciation of the alphabet that is easily recognized by all and can streamline any information being passed without confusion. The following link easily lays out how everything is pronounced.
  
  
• Singing, yelling, screaming, or swearing. None of it is needed nor do we want to hear it. This has been posted before and will not be tolerated on the TG servers.
  
  
• Voice activation. This is annoying in any sense of the word. Disable it and stay away from it so we don’t hear your ambient noises.
  
  
• Over-talking. Wait until the person talking is done than communicate. We cannot understand when everyone tries to talk over each other, it comes out garbled. The Team Leader always has priority communicating, let them give their messages first than you can talk.
  
  
• Mic Checks. Perform a microphone check before a mission. This will ensure that you can use Von and people understand what you are saying. Perform a mic check and people will respond based on the loudness and clarity.

  
  Signal Strength (Loudness)
  
  1--Faint signals, barely perceptible.
  2--Very weak signals.
  3--Weak signals.
  4--Fair signals.
  5--Strong signals.
  
  Readability (Clarity)
  
  1--Unreadable
  2--Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable.
  3--Readable with considerable difficulty.
  4--Readable with practically no difficulty.
  5--Perfectly readable.

*This SOP may be adjusted for future improvements with the game, but until then we will abide by the guidance put forth here to standardize the way we enjoy this game.