Just communication.

[Claxus]

Yeah, title's a reference to something for some reason.

So, I got this game while it was on sale, along with a friend. Amazing game. I've been piloting mostly, and have gotten the hang of it pretty well. I use the V voice commands often, and try to quickly give a gist if I'm going to change our course of action.

But... I chat via keyboard. Long story short it's just a preference due to the environment here. I noticed this is a game where people voice chat quite often. I do try to communicate a lot, me and my friend have no trouble. But sometimes we get a chatty guy in our crew, and it's a little awkward, really. Sometimes I feel like I may be hindering them, partially because the chat box is very small and has very little notification, but it's a little weird to have two types of communication like that... V chat helps a ton, though.

What do you guys think? I kinda wish there were a few more preset voice options, though that's not really the issue at hand. I think I'd feel more useful/fitting if my crew chat was more notable to them. Guess it just feels like I'm not sure if a pilot of written words is deemed acceptable in a game like this.

[Mod Josie]

There's no problem with not using a mic if that is how you're used to doing things. Text chat is visible to everyone on your ship where some people have Voice disabled and wouldn't hear you anyway. The trick here is to make sure people are reading that chat from the start. Once you know they are, you can fly and type to your heart's content.

As for the voice commands, we've had lots of suggestions for expanding this system and are looking into ways of doing so. I hope that they'll be of great use to players such as yourself.

[obliviondoll]

I tend not to be overly "chatty" in-game, but when I'm crewing with people who are fluent using the presets, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything in terms of communication. There's actually one way in which the chat presets have an advantage - after a call, I can check the text chat window to see who recently called something out using a preset (which helps determine how important that call was to me specifically). After a player has released the "X" key, there's no way to look back at who it was. I'm still getting used to the game, and while I can usually get used to the names and voices of talkative crew, quieter people (like myself) require me to think ahead and watch the chat window when that player speaks.

I've also worked with a couple of people who used text chat exclusively, and while I'm more comfortable with voice for this game, I can (usually) keep track of what's going on there.

It would be nice to have an option to view recent voice chat users, and it would be nice to have an audio cue for in-match text comms so it's easier to know when to check for them. Beyond that, the system works surprisingly well.

[Imagine]

Unfortunately, voice chat is rather crucial in this game, especially as a pilot as you have to relay new information to your crew constantly as to what you want them to do. That is not to say that you cannot win without it, but between to equally skilled crews, the ones whom are using voice chat will generally prevail.

That having been said, most people will be pretty understanding if you let them know that you're not able to use a mic. As long as you're trying and making an effort to let your crew (and at the very the captain of your teammate ship) what your plan of action is, what targets you think is best to focus on, what ammo/tools you'd like them to bring, that will go a long way in people being accepting of you not having voice chat access.

Though I still do highly suggest trying to get that going, especially if you're planning to pilot

Edit: Just noticed that you put "due the environment here" into your post, and I'd like to assure you that once you get out of novice matches and into games with some of the more veteran players (which, incidentally is an extremely good way to learn the ins and outs of the game as long as you're willing to listen and take into consideration their suggestions and tips), the community here is rather accepting of any/everyone. Yes, unfortunately we will get our bad apples at times because, well, internet, but (especially) if you get to know some of the folks if someone harasses you for some reason you'll quickly find that player shunned and reported. Muse takes the code of conduct pretty seriously, and the worst offenders you hardly see again.

[Dutch Vanya]

I spent about half my time in this game without a microphone, you can do fine. Just give some instructions before the match and use the voice commands. Also definitely make use of the captains target with 'B'. This target is very useful if both enemies are near eachother and it isn't clear who should be targeted, or if you are switching targets.

[Mean Machine]

There are few things you can do to improve your experience.
First, getting into nice clan or getting a group of friends to crew with, will let you enjoy the game a lot more.
Second, you can give instructions to your crew in lobby already. You can type there what you can't tell them with "V commands". For example, tell them how loadout of ship you chose works, which enemy ship is priority, what ammo to use in each situation, assign postitions for every crewmate (main deck, lower deck, guns etc..) ...

[Claxus]

I feel a bit more confident, thanks for all the replies. And when I mentioned the environment here, I meant... Here, where I am. I haven't been around too long, but this is easily one of the nicest communities I've ever experienced, plenty of good sportsmanship going around and no hard feelings, discussion with no insults. It's almost like flying a ship in heaven after some of the game communities I've been through. So yeah, that's not the problem.

Of course, I'm still in Novice rooms, but I've been able to lead some satisfying triumphs and gotten out of tough spots with chat and voice commands. Maybe it helps that I can act more charismatic without sounding a little silly IRL? 

Right now, explaining builds is minimal with only three ships and three presets, but I kind of dread that leap into the real world where people can run any of the other list of ships with totally free customization, but that's a story for another time... I think I should just find/form a crew of keyboard warriors (not in that sense), but I'm going to be playing with more randoms for a while.

[Dutch Vanya]

You communicate. You are already too good for novice matches.

[obliviondoll]

Honestly, I'd recommend a trial by fire before you hit that point where you can't go back.

Voluntarily put yourself into a non-novice room. Create or join, doesn't matter. Pick whichever role you feel most comfortable with, and stick to it. If you're asked to change role, type "I'm not confident enough to play that role outside of novice matches" and change ship if your Captain won't accept that. I'd recommend being open to at least small changes on your loadout under a Captain's advice (unless you're the Captain, but even then, listen to your crew even if you shouldn't feel like you have to do what they ask).

Make your lack of voice clear in text chat, but point out that you're fluent with the presets and will be using them as needed.

I've taken myself out of novice matches a few times today - including a short run as a level 1 Gunner, in spite of never having played the role before (it wasn't intentional... I forgot I was in an unrestricted lobby when I decided to make the change). It's rough, but because everybody has the same tools regardless of level, it doesn't feel quite as scary as similarly unbalanced matches can in other games. They might have custom-built ships with different loadouts from the presets, but you have all the same tools available to you. In several matches - close enough to 50/50 win/loss ratio - I've seen players on the same crew as myself using text and presets to communicate. WIth competent players, HOW you communicate is less important than making sure it's all about the voice.

[Claxus]

I actually did accidentally end up in a non-novice room. I noticed but just rolled with it, hopped onto a Squid. It was pretty fun, had a run on the canyon map and the city ruins map. The Squid's speed and control in both of those maps full of obstacles was a fun change of pace. Went up against some new ships, and a double flamer Squid... It's scary but exciting to see new things like that in combat. In the canyon map I managed to coordinate a pincer flank around a wall with our other team! Seems like pilots get more options outside of novice.

But currently I think I'll stay in novice rooms a little more, gonna spend some time with the other two classes for experience and insight, without worrying about much else.

Hey, obliviondoll, are you the same guy who plays Armored Core?

[Mean Machine]

I support your idea of staying in novice matches a little longer, but I'd just like to say that I got a feeling that you think "normal" or "non-novice" matches are hard or scary. They are not. Only thing that is scary and hard there is new player that doesn't communicate and doesn't take any advises from his crew and captain. Since you're not that guy, I think there's nothing to fear. More likely, you would benefit from it. if you would try moral matches and get a good captain that would explain things to you.

Maybe before you go to normal matches, hop in to few more novice matches and play engineer and gunner (I assume you mostly played pilot so far). When you learn how gunner and engineer works, then you will really get the most of your "feel" for the ship. As pilot, it's very helpful to know, what each weapon can do, what are their arcs, what are their limits, cons and pros... same for engineer.
When you put yourself in that spot, you'll see what your engineers must do when you're the one on helm. You'll see for example, you can't leave moonshine on for 10 seconds, because engineer won't be able to keep it up with repairs - just one basic example.

Long story short, to be as effective pilot and captain as possible, you have to know your ship and how all the classes works.

[Claxus]

Yep, I've mostly just been piloting, but I've played some of the other two for precisely what you said. After that I got better at knowing how to engage at angles where the front and side weapons both can hit, and how to react to try and give my engineers an easier time.

Well, I don't really mean it's scary, but leaving novice games is quite a gap. In hindsight, all the different ships isn't that much to take in, but you never know what weapons you'll be dealing with. There's a lot more options... Like flamethrowers on two sides. Goldfish can squeeze in anything they want along with those manticores, unlike being bound to one preset like in Novice where you know what to expect.

I do look forward to it, though, but I'm very wary of some sets I've been hearing of that can really mow ships down. For now, I'm gonna step down from the wheel a bit to focus and see more up close and personal more on how each weapon hits and hurts, so I can plan for and against loadouts.

[Squidslinger Gilder]

If people get chatty and it is causing a problem when giving out commands then just temp block them for the match. If they don't like it, not your problem.

Same principle works for lobbies. I've been in some with kids screaming or some very obnoxious people who won't stop. Block list at the first sign of it, problem solved.

Learning to use the block feature is probably one of the greatest things you can do in this game. Sure you start off hopeful and full of ideals hoping to share your knowledge or be friendly with people. But in the end, you block list. Moral of the story, you start to figure out what to look for real quickly and block before people become problems for you.

Then when people find out you have hundreds in your block list they go "Thats terrible!" or think your terrible for blocking so quickly. Don't let them get to you. Putting up with players worthy of block list are one of the reasons why people leave the game. Don't let them ruin the game for you. Best thing you can do is just block them and enjoy the game the way you want. Then you find yourself sinking hundreds of hours in and still finding reasons to continue.

Course then comes the nerfs and changes which just is never ending balancing that is why PVP games ultimately suck. You either do one of a few things when it happens. 1: Roll over and take it. 2: Quit the game and never come back. 3: Become public enemy on the forums by launching a crusade to try to get things changed back. Note: often people shift between all 3 depending on what happens.

Find a good clan you like and join it. Probably the only thing that will keep this game fresh for you in the long run. Or if you come across someone who can match you in the air, form a clan with them. What I did. Which has it's ups and downs. Don't attempt it if you don't think you'll have the time to commit to things.

[obliviondoll]

But currently I think I'll stay in novice rooms a little more, gonna spend some time with the other two classes for experience and insight, without worrying about much else.

When I said to go for a run outside of novice matches, I meant exactly what you did - just a few matches to get a feel for things. I wasn't trying to tell you to step out into those games and stay with them even though you're still new. I'm certainly not doing that myself yet - I'm still spending more time in novice matches than not. Good on you, by the way, it sounds like you did well and had fun I look forward to seeing you in-game sometime.

Hey, obliviondoll, are you the same guy who plays Armored Core?

That would be me, yes. It's a (pleasant) suprise to be recognised!

[shaelyn]

There's no problem with not using a mic if that is how you're used to doing things. Text chat is visible to everyone on your ship where some people have Voice disabled and wouldn't hear you anyway. The trick here is to make sure people are reading that chat from the start. Once you know they are, you can fly and type to your heart's content.

I'm just going to say that I have a real hard time keeping an eye on the voice chat.  generally I'm too preoccupied with not hitting that cliff or putting out fires or watching my aim to pay it any mind until we're waiting to respawn - and I suddenly realize there were messages.
if crew chat - the entire message - were bolded or a different color, that'd probably catch my eye a little better.
if a crew mate uses the preset commands though, I'm good.