Picture/Video Communication

[Overstatement]

a quick communication system in bf2/2142 style is sufficient.

Sufficient for some, apparently not for all. If it's easy to do and you can turn it off, why not put it in?

[Bionic-Blob]

just stay with text. hones the fast-typing skillz :D

[InvisibleMan999]

a quick communication system in bf2/2142 style is sufficient. this screenie/vid stuff is a nice to have feature, but it should be implemented carefully.

What do you forsee as balance problems with this setup?

[Farley4Fan]

I can see some balance problems, but they aren't that huge.  If you could keep that screenie up all the time then you could see what the merc was seeing at all times, if you saw a spy on his screen then you would know where a spy is and where a spy isn't bla bla.  You know, not a big deal.  Imagine if someone was idle, he could just hide in a dark corner where a spy wouldn't detect him and he would pretty much be a camera for the other merc. :-\

[Gawain]

papa skull talks completely bs as always...

a quick communication system in bf2/2142 style is sufficient. this screenie/vid stuff is a nice to have feature, but it should be implemented carefully.

What do you forsee as balance problems with this setup?

it could distract the player, overlap something important, be spammed, etc.
tbh i don't care about it much, because i got a mic and some regular mates...

[Overstatement]

Umm...everything in that can be said about mics. Overlapping is a stupid reason, no one spends a single second without moving their mouse so whatever is covered will quickly be uncovered. However, mics can "overlap" lots of important sounds.

[Spekkio]

Listen, this is a bad idea on multiple fronts:

1. For the people who have mics, it clutters the screen
2. It changes the way the game is played by being able to be aware of both you and your partner's surroundings. Two mercs looking at a screen to find a spy is better than one.
3. Most importantly, it compensates for someone's laziness. Look, if someone chooses not to communicate, then that's their perogative. There ought not to be a mechanism that makes up for someone's shortcomings. You might as well stick auto-aim into the game while you're at it. If they add a couple of one-button voice commands like "cammed" "let's coop" and "both here," then that would be sufficient. If you want any more careful planning than that, either type it out or get a microphone. It's fucking $20, and if you can't afford that it's time to get a fucking job.

In response to Overstatement's OP: It's not the fact that your opponents have mics that is making you lose; it's the fact that they probably have worked on strategies and tactics together whereas you are playing with someone random.

[InvisibleMan999]

it could distract the player, overlap something important, be spammed, etc.
tbh i don't care about it much, because i got a mic and some regular mates...

I think you're missng what I'm saying. I don't want the Picture in picture crap.

I just want it to be like camnet. You press a button and you can see through your partner's eyes (losing your own view in the process and staying stationary). Meanwhile your spy or merc goes into camnet or sticky cam animation and you're stationary while you're viewing your partner.

So there are certainly drawbacks to doing it.

It doesn't clutter the screen that way, but it's another option for people who want to use it.

[Gawain]

I don't want the Picture in picture crap.

I just want it to be like camnet. You press a button and you can see through your partner's eyes (losing your own view in the process and staying stationary). Meanwhile your spy or merc goes into camnet or sticky cam animation and you're stationary while you're viewing your partner.

So there are certainly drawbacks to doing it.

It doesn't clutter the screen that way, but it's another option for people who want to use it.

sounds like a nice feature to me, but it has to be implemented very very carefully (+ there is no real need for it). for example, one should only see exactly what the other one is seeing (maybe with some additional static noise) and there needs to be a (different) animation like using camnet.