Magnum50

I know I don't get to play with you guys much, if at all, due to having our own ArmA server... but I know we both share the same goals and ideas....so was wondering if anyone knew...

We have just started using the v1.11 beta... we tested the in game VON last night, it is working better then before but still issues...

1. Volume: anyway to control the volume of the VON? We barely hear each other no matter what VON mode we are in, and in a firefight it really is a pain... There needs to be a way to make the games NON louder then the game, we tried turning down our sound settings but then the VON turns down also.

Thats the only tech issue were having, but now for a gameplay issue:

2. Fireteams: If you've played any of our SimHQ missions you know that we break down the squad into fireteams giving fireteam leaders the ability to control and order there fireteams... now fireteams are lead by a squad leader, and the fireteams are suppose to be working together and in close contact with each other... but if you use the group VON, then you only talk with your fireteam, this is causing fireteams to act like there own squads and doing there own thing... then fireteam leaders and the squad leader switch to side channel to talk with each other...

Is there anyway better to use the VON system with our squad/fireteam layouts?

I know that if we have a pilot and a gunner they move to a vehicle channel and play support... i know that if you have a tank driver and a tank gunner they can use vehicle... but then how would a tank platoon commander talk with all the tanks in his platoon without getting to side channel where the infantry might be.

Thanks for any info or feedback.

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Magnum

Thanks for the games, thanks for the memories... See ya.

Shafik

This is exactly what I thought about last night. I told Bobik that TS, in some ways, worked better, but found it hard to explain. It got messy at some point, really hard to make out who was talking and to whom. Small groups can use direct chat, which worked beautifully, but it doesn't solve your question. Maybe some rules, side channel for group leaders only?

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Atomic Dog

We've been using VON wonderfully since 1.11 release. Side Channel is used for the SL to speak to FTL's and Group and Direct Comms are used to speak on the Fireteam level. I think it's actually helped for organizational purposes on our end.

You might also consider using both TS and VON as well.

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Magnum50

Ya looking into that... but when a SL and FTL talk on group... doesn't everyone hear it? I don't think i would want my fireteam to hear the leadership talk, because they may think in mission "thats not what the SL said to do", when the FTL may have a better direction to support the squad with the fireteam...

but we may have to use a duel TS/VON system after all...was just trying to get away from TS for ArmA...thx

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Magnum

Thanks for the games, thanks for the memories... See ya.

Gogeta

I had this same problem too... Dsylecxi told me to turn up the effects slider and now Dir. Comms come in beautifully. I also turned up the radio slightly, which also helped. I only had to slide the effects up from a quarter of the way up to just under half, wasnt really that much tbh, but it sure helped alot. Hope it does for you too.

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|TG-4th| Gogeta

Dslyecxi

The only advice I can give is to look at the way ShackTac is doing it and see how that relates to your organization. The way we have comms set up is tried-and-true, and works from the fireteam level all the way up to a platoon plus of people.

TS usage:
- Pre- and post-game talk in the main channel
- "Dead man channel" in the main channel during a mission in progress
- Squad-level communication (ie: B1 fireteam talking to B2 fireteam, or B SL talking to B fireteams
- Platoon-level communications, utilizing channel commanders (ie: B SL to C SL, or PltCo to all SLs)

VON:
- Direct Speaking, for anything locational or not fitting to say on the squad TS channel
- Group Chat - For any fireteam-specific management or comms
- Vehicle Channel - Anything that is really only relevant to the occupants of a single vehicle
- Side channel - Rarely used. Would be appropriate for any message that needs to be heard by everyone on one side, ie: PltCo talking directly to all players at once, without having to have the SLs relay his message
- All channel - Never used.

This system simply works. It has worked for us, flawlessly, for as long as I can remember. VON was a natural extension of it and we have already had a good chunk of time to make sure that our VON concept organization worked in reality - it does.

I have told this to you and the rest of the SimHQ people already, Magnum. It's up to you to figure out if your playerbase has now grown to the point that it can handle these kinds of communication rules.

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Shafik

I think he was looking for a way to ditch TS completely, and you've shown it can't be accomplished effectively.

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Dslyecxi

It's the exact same thing I've said in the past. The kind of comm he wants is not possible with just VON. It has been explained already. VON has no capacity to do anything similar to channel-commander or split-TS-channel organization. It has great use as a complement to TS, but it cannot replace it currently.

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Krako

The way I see it, everything should be direct comms as much as possible. It forces people to stick together. For longe range comms, we can use TS. When I say longe range comms, I mean radio comms (simulated by TS). So it's important, to make it as real as possible, that only squad leaders speak on TS


In an ideal world, I'd like to see that pushed even further. I don't know if it's possible to mod a new comm channel that would only be accessible to players with radios in their equipment. Or maybe just lock the side channel to players who don't have a radio.


Basically, I'm saying that a system like BF2 would be great. squad members can talk to eachother, but only squad leaders can talk to the commander.

vanity11

I'm with this on the Direct Comm. In Ivan's squads he uses it almost exclusively and it works great. You can hear where he's moving, you know if you're too far away or not, it's just a solid way of keep situational awareness of your SL and mates.

If 2 guys are walking point while 2 guys sit back 50 yards in a Humvee, I don't want to hear them chitchatting back at the Humvee. I just want to hear the guy next to me in case he spots something I'll know immediately. If we do come under fire, we can quickly switch back to Group Chat. But I'm hoping that more and more players stick together and utilize Direct Comm instead of Group.

At the squad-level, blasting a God-like voice in Group Chat personally doesn't help me much on the battlefield. Hearing exactly where that sound is coming from (and it's distance) instantly gives me much more information.