TL: DR: Alltalk sucks, it prevents teams from being able to coordinate/make plans properly and also causes the VC to become cluttered when there are like more than 3 voice happy people on the entire server. Give hosts the ability to turn that off. Thanks.
Not exactly related to the website but I wouldn't know any other place to have a proper talk about this.
I feel like Alltalk is a detriment to the servers and map data, and the servers could benefit from having it disabled or at least giving hosts the option to disable it.
Reasons for this:
1. Alltalk prevents Voice Chat from being used to organize pushes and give your team information the enemy team shouldn't hear. I probably don't have to explain this point, as everyone will understand that loudly proclaiming your plans to the enemy team is... kind of a problem. Or warning your team about a spy behind you with the spy being able to hear it will probably heavily affect how the spy plays. There is also the fun situation where the enemy team is using VC for callouts/planning and now you want to use it for your team's planning/callouts. Do you just talk over them to prevent their communication? It's all pretty, pretty silly.
"Just type it instead" - Takes too long, leaves your character vulnerable standing still. Not viable.
"Just make a bind for it instead!" - There are a lot of things one might want to communicate, and I can't make a bind for all of these. Not only that, but a bind isn't flexible/a text message doesn't attract as much attention from your team as voice does.
As you can imagine, this affects Gameplay pretty significantly, and as such affects the data gained from map tests in a negative way.
2. Alltalk causes the Voice chat to become insanely cluttered when there are more than like 3-4 people active in it. A cluttered voice chat sucks because it's annoying to listen to, and causes the information gained from it to fall apart.
If Alltalk wasn't a thing, you'd need to have 3-4 per 12 people being active for it to become cluttered vs. 3-4 per 24. This overall means you can have 6-8 voice happy people in a server without things falling apart, vs. the current 3-4. And more people being able to talk on the server is always a good thing, since an active voice chat adds a lot to the game.
"If it's cluttered, just tell them to shut up!" - A bad solution. It sure feels pretty silly to not be able to talk in VC because the enemy team is currently using it for call-outs/planning. A solution that encourages people to shut up and not use VC is a bad solution in my book.
A cluttered voice chat is probably even worse than point 1. because it actively worsens the mood for everyone on the server that has VC enabled.
Common counter points tackled:
"What about using VC to discuss map feedback?" - This is a completely fair point, and from my perspective the only reason you'd want to have Alltalk enabled. This is why I am suggesting to give hosts the option to turn it off/on, so you could have a round with it off, and then a round with it on to discuss feedback with.
"The server has been running Alltalk for [timeframe] - why this talk now?" - Appeal to tradition is not an argument. Circumstances change, maybe because of the pandemic people are more talky talky in voice chat nowadays. I don't know. All I know is that this is a problem now, which needs a solution, which is why this isn't an argument.
"Removing Alltalk would ruin the feel of community!" - Completely subjective but I simply kinda disagree. Getting rid of Alltalk would make it far more inviting for people to use VC (the 3-4 to 6-8 situation I have mentioned before) which in turn creates more voice happy people - and more voice happy people creates a far greater feeling of community.
"There sometimes is like only 1 person on the server using VC!" - Point 1 still applies in it's fullest. That single person won't be able to announce to their team that they will sap that sentry and then call for a push when sapped since the enemy engineer will be able to perfectly hear the plan.
"But I want to talk to the enemy team/make jokes/talk to my friend/say "SHEEEEEEEEEEEE" really loudly!" -
Will come down to your mindset but that is something that the Discord chat is for imo. Using the VC for, yknow, actually playing the game will always be more important than casual chitchat.
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Overall, I personally believe simply giving Hosts the option to disable/enable Alltalk on will is the best of both worlds, and can see no reason why you *wouldnt* offer the mere option.
It would also give map creators the unique ability to get both feedback for Alltalk servers playing the map (and thus losing access to certain strategies) vs. non Alltalk Servers.
A sentry spot might be able to be dealt with if the enemy team can coordinate very well through VC, but impossible to break through if they lose that ability. That is very interesting information that can be great food for thought.
Leave your thoughts below.
Not exactly related to the website but I wouldn't know any other place to have a proper talk about this.
I feel like Alltalk is a detriment to the servers and map data, and the servers could benefit from having it disabled or at least giving hosts the option to disable it.
Reasons for this:
1. Alltalk prevents Voice Chat from being used to organize pushes and give your team information the enemy team shouldn't hear. I probably don't have to explain this point, as everyone will understand that loudly proclaiming your plans to the enemy team is... kind of a problem. Or warning your team about a spy behind you with the spy being able to hear it will probably heavily affect how the spy plays. There is also the fun situation where the enemy team is using VC for callouts/planning and now you want to use it for your team's planning/callouts. Do you just talk over them to prevent their communication? It's all pretty, pretty silly.
"Just type it instead" - Takes too long, leaves your character vulnerable standing still. Not viable.
"Just make a bind for it instead!" - There are a lot of things one might want to communicate, and I can't make a bind for all of these. Not only that, but a bind isn't flexible/a text message doesn't attract as much attention from your team as voice does.
As you can imagine, this affects Gameplay pretty significantly, and as such affects the data gained from map tests in a negative way.
2. Alltalk causes the Voice chat to become insanely cluttered when there are more than like 3-4 people active in it. A cluttered voice chat sucks because it's annoying to listen to, and causes the information gained from it to fall apart.
If Alltalk wasn't a thing, you'd need to have 3-4 per 12 people being active for it to become cluttered vs. 3-4 per 24. This overall means you can have 6-8 voice happy people in a server without things falling apart, vs. the current 3-4. And more people being able to talk on the server is always a good thing, since an active voice chat adds a lot to the game.
"If it's cluttered, just tell them to shut up!" - A bad solution. It sure feels pretty silly to not be able to talk in VC because the enemy team is currently using it for call-outs/planning. A solution that encourages people to shut up and not use VC is a bad solution in my book.
A cluttered voice chat is probably even worse than point 1. because it actively worsens the mood for everyone on the server that has VC enabled.
Common counter points tackled:
"What about using VC to discuss map feedback?" - This is a completely fair point, and from my perspective the only reason you'd want to have Alltalk enabled. This is why I am suggesting to give hosts the option to turn it off/on, so you could have a round with it off, and then a round with it on to discuss feedback with.
"The server has been running Alltalk for [timeframe] - why this talk now?" - Appeal to tradition is not an argument. Circumstances change, maybe because of the pandemic people are more talky talky in voice chat nowadays. I don't know. All I know is that this is a problem now, which needs a solution, which is why this isn't an argument.
"Removing Alltalk would ruin the feel of community!" - Completely subjective but I simply kinda disagree. Getting rid of Alltalk would make it far more inviting for people to use VC (the 3-4 to 6-8 situation I have mentioned before) which in turn creates more voice happy people - and more voice happy people creates a far greater feeling of community.
"There sometimes is like only 1 person on the server using VC!" - Point 1 still applies in it's fullest. That single person won't be able to announce to their team that they will sap that sentry and then call for a push when sapped since the enemy engineer will be able to perfectly hear the plan.
"But I want to talk to the enemy team/make jokes/talk to my friend/say "SHEEEEEEEEEEEE" really loudly!" -
Will come down to your mindset but that is something that the Discord chat is for imo. Using the VC for, yknow, actually playing the game will always be more important than casual chitchat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall, I personally believe simply giving Hosts the option to disable/enable Alltalk on will is the best of both worlds, and can see no reason why you *wouldnt* offer the mere option.
It would also give map creators the unique ability to get both feedback for Alltalk servers playing the map (and thus losing access to certain strategies) vs. non Alltalk Servers.
A sentry spot might be able to be dealt with if the enemy team can coordinate very well through VC, but impossible to break through if they lose that ability. That is very interesting information that can be great food for thought.
Leave your thoughts below.