I like voice chat. Some may find it awkward or obnoxious, but I think it's just a matter of breaking the ice. Sure, I may be playing with a total stranger, but that doesn't mean I can't still make comments and jokes while being helpful and serious at the same time. What's the point in having voice chat active if neither party is going to lighten up and enjoy themselves? If somebody finds how I act annoying, then nothing's stopping them from leaving and finding someone else. Of course, that all really only applies to coop. Unless there's an emphasis on team play (like Battlefield), I wouldn't have voice chat enabled in a competitive game.

Do it on the 360 for a few months and you will be weary about voice chatting with others.

I only did it 3 times, and one was long term since it was someone I dated. I prefer to voice chat under that circumstance more than anything though. If it's a friend, I'm cool with it. But random people in a game...not so sure anymore. I've had people make fun of my apparently southern accent.

Voice chat is useful if you can get a group together that won't be asshats and micspam. When I played on XBL frequently I noticed that you didn't really come across the mic spammers much. More often than not it would be a completely silent game or one with the occasional "Watch out, sniper on your left".

For ME3 people rarely ever use a mic, but this is on the PC. This wouldn't be a big deal if there was a text chat. There's not.

I deliberately join the "talky team" as I call it in TF2 on the server I frequent. I use my mic, both to chat with friends, and to help my team by calling out what I see along with where I see it.

TF2 is kinda my social life though. I have a lot of (online) friends who play it.

Most butt-heads don't last long on the server when a bunch of regulars are around.

And then there is Dan.........(Dude never shuts up, but he's amusing at least.)

We have one guy that comes and goes, and he's known to be a loud mouth. People just don't know how to handle him (them). They start say "shut up" and/or swearing at him, fueling his rant. I simply diffuse him, as soon as he joins, by simply saying, "Hi dude". He never bugs me any more, and he's pretty easy to manage....if you know how to.

P.S.

This is PC. I don't do 360/PS3 chats.

I can never find a good talky TF2 server. Most servers that I visit are mostly either quiet or annoyingly loud. Or full of Russians. Which wouldn't be so bad if I could understand what in the hell they were talking about.

Mostly sandviches, I'm sure.

@OP: Your experiences may differ, but I've played TF2 for years and the number of times voice-chat has been useful for coordination (or even just a random chat) is greatly outweighed by the number of mic-spammers and music blasters, to the point where I don't leave voice chat on anymore (got tired of manually muting ppl every few minutes) and just stick to text.

In a private team-based game, sure, it's invaluable (using Vent or Teamspeak) but until you get a group that have some decent comms discipline, it's just a wasteful distraction.

I pretty much only use my mic on Xbox Live when I'm playing with people I know, I can't bother chatting with most of the other players.

Voice chat should be private, for clans or groups of friends, via ventrilo or teamspeak. Never public. I don't want to hear some random 14 year old turd's voice while playing on a public server...

Same, but I will plug in my mic to respond if I hear someone else talking.

Why should you get to be the sole decider on a public server? I'll talk when I want to. (Note: not mic-spam, but talk, game talk.)

Then don't play online FPSers on public servers? Problem solve.

If I'm playing a game and the rest of the people don't have mics or aren't talking I quit. I've hardly found anyone talking in ME3 survival mode yet, it's really annoying. I'll give them a few minutes and then just bail on the group until I find a group with mics.

Well actually, the server admin should decide (assuming it's a dedicated server and not some match-making crap).

If you want to talk on public servers though, just use text chat. That's the way it was back when I used to play FPS games a lot. Text chat in public - private voice chat for clans. Voice chat is only really benefitial if you wish to play seriously as a team or chat more freely with people you know... and if that's the case, you should join a [censored] clan instead of looking for that kind of experience on a public server with random strangers.

Disagree entirely. You can have conversations with strangers while playing a game, it's actually pretty interesting. And you can trash talk and just have a good time. Why wouldn't you? That's kind of what online gaming is all about.

You can do that in text chat though. It's far less intrusive that way. People can join in with the banter when they like, or choose to ignore it entirely.

Again, voice chat is only really advantageous over text chat if:

- You're playing seriously as a team with lots of tactics involved (you should join a gaming clan if you're after teamwork; barking orders at random people who just want to mess around and play for fun doesn't work).

- Or if you want to have a lengthy conversation with someone you know, as you would over the phone (which random people shouldn't have to listen to).

Or, TF2 being an FPS, you not wanting to stop in the middle of a firefight just to respond to someone's off the wall comment. Though, in general, there are two conversations going on: The Text conversation and the voice conversation.

If you can get on a good server with evenly matched teams you can get some good back and forth friendly ribbing. Always fun.

This pretty much.

Yes. (I've only tried voice chat with a few old D&D buddies, in D&D Online. With the built-in mic in my iMac. That didn't last very long, people just didn't show up to game often, and that attempt at reconnecting fizzled out.)


Mostly? I don't really. I've never been a big talker/joiner. I don't spend lots of time on the phone, I'm not into "social media", etc. Never wanted to join a fraternity or team sport. My circle of IRL friends is small. (and, unfortunately, either on different platforms - we've got a not-terribly-overlapping mix of PC/Mac/PS3/X360 - or not playing the same games.)

Honestly, this forum (and a couple others) is the majority of my online socializing.



Probably the reason I don't do online games so much. Of course, they seem to be trying to make everything an "online game" these days.
(I do play some MMOs. Originally WoW with the guy who got me into it - who then quit before the first expansion; but various other ones since then. All of them solo. )

More often than not, the mic-persons (at least in shooter games) are either foreigners screaming in their own language, or someone playing bad music loudly into the mic.

Exactly, if it's enabled, it's there to use, whether you like it or not.

Please don't tell me how to play my games. You play how you like, and I'll shall do the same. Don't like listening to people, find a quiet server. Don't order us to play by your rules, unless you own the server of course.


Indeed. I've met a lot of people in online games, and been added to friends lists because I talk, and help my team. We rib each other, talk about real life crap, whatever. It's a public server, full of regulars who like to talk. Just how I like it.


.....in your opinion, which, in mine, your are wrong! Why take 30 seconds, stopping all other actions, to type what I can say in 3 seconds while continuing to kick ass? (Yeah, I svck at typing! )

Don't come to SourceOP Valve maps. You'll hate it when most of the regular talkers are on. Boy, would you love Dan.......or Duplex. HA! I can see you pulling your hair out already.....

Quiet teams are boring teams!

Uh, isn't that pretty much exactly the same? "Don't tell me how to play my game, now play it by MY rules or get out"?

Nope.

"My rules", are the admins rules, seeing they are the ones who allow, or don't allow it. If the feature is enabled, it's there to use, no?

I have yet to play on a server that does not allow voice chat. Voice chat has always been part of my online experience in FPSers. I find it odd they have such an issue with it. 90% of the people I play with use their mics, to varying levels.

I've been lucky to avoid most of the online pvssyr people hate. I'd say about 90% of the time I've had good experiences online, with the other 10% being either someone who's just being an ass or a kid who hasn't made it through puberty (so annoying ).

Yeah, but the point was wanting to change it. If someone says "it should be disabled", the way you're being forced to play by their rules is in no longer being able to use voice chat. Yet by having it enabled, the way they're having to play by your rules is having to put up with it. It's a fairly equal either/or situation, and "don't use that option" doesn't seem any more demanding than "don't play on this server".

I use the tools provided by the game. They are not "my" rules.

If someone chooses not to use the same tools provided to them, that's fine, but don't tell me I can't because they don't like it. It is their problem, thus their responsibility to find a server that has this option disabled. Simple as that.