Hello. I’ve been planning out a system which will affect the way players communicate in game, and I’d like to share it with you. This is what is in my planning:
Distance
To communicate to each other, players will have to be within a certain distance of each other, ranging based on the player’s selected volume. When the player speaks, if another player is within the vicinity, they’ll be able to receive the message.
However, the message sent may be partially ‘broken off’ or partially unreadable based on the distance, clearing up the closer the player is to another player. The distance the player can be heard from will depend on a few factors.
Radio
Once the player finds a radio, they’ll be able to communicate to other players by the use of a radio, which runs on a rechargeable battery. Much like talking, player’s can communicate over a long distance. However, volume will also effect the radio as well (see sound).
Player’s can turn down/up the volume on their radio or entirely mute their radio, affecting the clarity and the sound the radio makes.
If another player is nearby a player who has a radio that is on, they’ll be able to see any messages coming through that radio as well, while also being able to speak through it if the sound they make meets the radio (though the clarity will also be affected based on distance).
Sound
Sound is a ‘factor’ which is unique to the game. Whenever the player sends a message, they’ll produce a ‘radius’ of sound which depends on their volume, alerting nearby entities. Likewise, if the player receives a message through the radio, they’ll produce a sound based on the talking player’s volume.
Summary
Basically, player’s are limited to a radius as to which they can speak to each other in. My goal was to make it so that players who were generally farther away from other players would feel more isolated. Furthermore, this also makes it so that sometimes, the player has to avoid speaking if, for example, they were trying to sneak around something hostile.