What does this suggestion change/add/remove:
Change how communication works in regards to using externals such as TeamSpeak3, discord etc for ingame conversation, callouts and scenario response to use in game systems already established.
Add new frequency bands for leadership of departments / introduce new way of communication ingame similar but separate to radios.
Remove the requirement for any person on the server to have to use teamspeak3 [or any other external communications system outside the game] for communication about in game scenarios and general conversation.
Has something similar been suggested before?:
Not that I know of.
If so, why is your suggestion different?:
My suggestion is to have an official staff ruling on the use of TeamSpeak and preferably its removal as a REQUIREMENT from the server in ANY instance as well as discord and any other externals for in game communication or any communication in that area, obviously for OOC issues or discussion people can use discord and whatever else they wish. This is purely for the removal of external comms, mainly TS3, as a requirement that can be enforced for anyone on the server.
Possible Positives of the suggestion (At least 2):
As this technically isn't a server rule, I could not find it, however it being forced upon departments and MTF for "easier communications" by SA and FCOM this becomes a semi staff issue and I would staff to provide and official ruling for this please.
Additionally the lack of clear guidelines on what information from said 'Secondary comms' can be used in character leads to lots of moments that borderline on meta gaming, information being said such as SCP callouts for someone else to call out during combat, information you cant verify was communicated before or after death. Also the constant mixing of casual conversation and supposedly in character information makes it difficult to decypher.
This has time and time led to teamspeak being used as a platform to incite drama and division within the playerbase as people complain about departments out of character while interacting with them in character.
Teamspeak takes down the quality of roleplay substantially as people either cannot hear properly, are busy conversing or have it muted and miss out on this in/out of character callouts.
As well as these facts, teamspeak is harder to monitor and therefore moderate by staff due to the exclusivity of chats for obvious reasons however this means if someone says something that violates server rules it might not get reported which causes problems of its own.
Finally, from a roleplay perspective how does it make sense that for example someone like ISD/A1/O1 witness me do something and telepathically summon a small army to detain me without speaking a word text or vocally ingame. This is a metagaming issue which also falls into the monitoring issue as people wont incriminate their friends or department members over something small which I wouldn't be able to prove nor would staff.
Using radios would resolve every issue on this. It would also lead to it being able to be monitered by staff quickly and efficiently as well as meaning players can clip footage with more ease, and roleplay and conversation being improved drastically.
Possible Negatives of the suggestion:
Besides the slightest inconvenience of using a different key to PPT on the radio there are literally no negatives to this.
Based on the Positives & Negatives, why should this suggestion be accepted:
This suggestion should be accepted because it improves roleplay quality, transparency, fairness, and staff oversight. Removing the requirement for external communication platforms such as TeamSpeak3 and Discord would ensure that in-character communication occurs through in-game systems that can be witnessed, recorded, and moderated. It would reduce metagaming concerns, prevent off-platform coordination that cannot be properly monitored, improve accountability, and create more immersive interactions by encouraging players to rely on radios and proximity communication rather than third-party applications. While the change introduces a minor inconvenience in requiring players to use in-game radio systems, the benefits to immersion, evidence gathering, moderation, and overall server consistency significantly outweigh that drawback.
- Kind Regards
- Maksim "Enigma"
P.S
I just want to clarify I think people are mistaking my suggestion. I do NOT want/am pushing for TS3 Removal or even discord, I am instead pushing for it to not be a REQUIREMENT for IC Comms and therefore no punishment IC for not using it. Teamspeak is important for staff and higher clearance personnel to communicate easily but ultimately for the average player and combative departments it just opens the doorway to inappropriate conduct and conversation including metagaming etc and it's use as IC Comms shouldn't be enforced but rather a choice in the same way as sitting in discord vcs with your friends.
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Trial Game Master
