Radio discussion (split from:Cantr Vent)

[madfish]

We could have a a more realistic function whereby each radio message is denoted by which direction it is coming from (north-north-east, west etc.). Giving the player more information to determine whether a person is where they say they are and if someone is particularly annoying, they can track them down.

[Slyder_Glyder_Ryder_etc]

Triangulate! Coordinate! KILL! Woot! madfish, you're a genius.

[Piscator]

Since messages are now usually broadcast via repeaters, you would actually have to triangulate a couple of times to find the origin.

I'd also be in favour of recognizing and dynamically naming radio voices (entirely separate from the common dynamic name).

[madfish]

Since all sorts of information can be sent via radio waves we could just assume that the circuitry in the radios can correct for the repeaters.

i.e 1st repeater gets direction and repeats message along with direction info. Next repeater records direction and it's info to message and previous info....and when it finally gets to the radio receiver the circuitry deduces where it is in relation to the original message.

[miirkaelisaar]

Yes, like I said, it would be up to you to use something to distinguish people you've seen from those you've heard, like parentheses, or brackets, or a symbol next to their name. It's not that difficult really XD I get people's names all the time from peoples' actions and put their name on them even though I shouldn't know what their name is. I just keep it marked until I actually know their name and then remove it. I also have a char with frequent memory loss and most people's names are in brackets because he knows them and forgets them, but I still know who they are.

And about the saying offensive things on the radio and then getting attacked, well, if you were on a radio IRL and said some bad stuff, and someone later found you and recognized your voice, the same thing would happen. It's realistic. So if you don't want anyone to recognize and attack you, don't say offensive things XD

[madfish]

People can change their voices and imitate others. Not to mention voices are in no way instantly recognisable IRL, that's why people usually say who they are when they call you, even if you have known them 20 years (it happens less now we have caller ID, however). I generally dislike the recognising voices idea.

[Comy]

I'd also be in favour of recognizing and dynamically naming radio voices (entirely separate from the common dynamic name).

This.

The radio chatter is just awful. Personally, instantly recognizing a voice wouldn't bother me any more than instantly being able to recognize someone you saw once 70 years ago. IRL, I would have difficulty recognizing my closest friends if they made some sort of dramatic change to their hair.

[EchoMan]

Radio messages is an issue just because they are anonymous. Making them traceable should be enough. I would spend all time of a few of my characters tracking down these assholes on the radio.

[RedQueen.exe]

I like Pisc's idea. And while yes, you can change your voice, it's pretty rare that most people can effectively impersonate others well enough to fool someone that's heard the person being impersonated before, especially someone they haven't heard talk before or people of the opposite gender, which is what often happens.

Also, the idea of tracking people down via triangulation and killing them doesn't really work in practicality. All the person has to do when you show up is say : "yeah, when I got here I saw the guy using the radio, he left in that direction yesterday".

With the individual identifiers, that also opens the possibility of squelching particular speakers via the interface or something like a greasemonkey script.

[madfish]

What is rarer is being able to recognise someone you have only ever heard and never seen, by their voice alone. Its completely unrealistic. I'd go with EchoMan's idea to submit the radio id long before that. Despite your idea to make it into a greasemonkey spam filter.

[miirkaelisaar]

You'd be really surprised actually. I've run into old friends IRL that I didn't recognize but I knew their voice. And I'm also so nearsighted sometimes I have to guess who someone approaching me is by their voice if I don't wanna be awkward.

One of my characters is blind and can only identify people by their voice. And hasn't forgotten anyone yet. It's definitely not completely unrealistic =P

[madfish]

It's more akin to listening to radio talk shows and placing each and every caller who calls up to give their opinion on something in your long term memory, so that you can recall them instantly and in just a fleeting encounter several years later the moment you hear their voice. It's more than completely unrealistic in my opinion.

[miirkaelisaar]

Well yeah, that's if you really wanna sit there and tag every moron on the radio XD

I mean, if someone sends out a message saying they're gonna hunt you down and kill you or something drastic like that, and they don't say who they are, wouldn't your life kinda depend on you remembering that voice regardless of the hundred others? I wouldn't be able to forget it XD The other choice is to sit in town and shoot at every person that comes in, assuming they might be the one threatening you.

But you know, it could be as simple as displaying gender and age, and not being able to tag names. Then you know that a man in his twenties on the radio isn't your 43 year old friend from across the island, and you would be able to decipher gender at least so you know how to address people. It seems like a happy medium and not unrealistic. A man in his eighties shouldn't realistically sound like a man in his twenties. And most guys trying to impersonate females wind up with a frog in their throat. You could assume that about half of the time, you can tell if someone's really who you think they are.

[RedQueen.exe]

What is rarer is being able to recognise someone you have only ever heard and never seen, by their voice alone. Its completely unrealistic. I'd go with EchoMan's idea to submit the radio id long before that. Despite your idea to make it into a greasemonkey spam filter.

That is not what I said at all. I said it is rare that people would be able to believably impersonate someone that you know. They are related, but not the same thing. Also, I am not suggesting that you be able to match people in-person to their radio voices. I am suggesting you be able to differentiate between voices on the radio.

And the bottom line is, I would really love an explanation from you of how it is any less realistic than being able to recall the name of someone you met just briefly 80 years ago, as can be done will the current dynamic naming system.

You're also letting the perfect be the enemy of the good a little, I think. As I said, it is also unrealistic that you can't differentiate between speakers on the radio, recognize someone you speak to almost every day, or even tell if a voice is male or female. I think these are more disruptively unrealistic than your objection. I'm also not impressed by realism arguments alone. The game will never be realistic. We should approximate reality within reason while keeping play-ability and the prevention of exploits in mind.

Also, I've already suggested that radio-tagging isn't likely to solve the problem without being able to dismantle them. Good luck being able to confirm when you arrive that any person still remaining in the town was the person who was doing the speaking (in most cases).

[Piscator]

It's more akin to listening to radio talk shows and placing each and every caller who calls up to give their opinion on something in your long term memory, so that you can recall them instantly and in just a fleeting encounter several years later the moment you hear their voice. It's more than completely unrealistic in my opinion.

Considering that Cantrians can identify a person they saw once after seventy years, I don't consider this a valid argument at all.

Identifying a person by voice is far more plausible than identifying the radio in some obscure way.