Surviving BFBC2 Multiplayer – Part 4

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Read Part 3 here

In this part we’ll look at the in-game voice/mic communication and how to use them. This is aimed at effective communication with randoms, although it’s a good idea to utilise the principles when playing with your team.

Mic Comms

If you’re playing with friends speaking will probably be the communication method of choice (unless you don’t like your friends….) but most people will find themselves in a squad with random peeps from all over the world. Sometimes the people on your team may not be able to understand you, or your language. One thing that is very important to remember is that voice comms should come second to using the Spot function. An onscreen visual cue is much more helpful than babbling into the mic.

There are three things that are critical to effective voice communication:

– Keep the chat to a minimum
– Make sure your mic is only picking up YOUR voice
– Be concise and precise with the information

In the pre/post game lobby you can shoot the breeze as much as you like, but in game you need to be more picky about what you communicate – your funny cat story must take a back seat to what’s going on in game.

Due to the size and nature of the maps in BFBC2 it’s not always possible to have call outs for areas or locations. As such, unless there’s a very a prominent landmark it’s not going to benefit your squad if you report a sniper…..in some bushes…..somewhere. But if you can report a sniper, second floor, building overlooking bravo – then your squad have more to go on.

When playing with random people you need to use very obvious landmarks as most random players do not know callouts. In objective games the objectives are generally a good start followed by easily recognisable structures (for example, the lighthouse). In Squad Death Match games you’ll have to use terrain, or landmarks. Use the spot function whenever you can to ensure that if your voice alert doesn’t get noticed your team will have visual clues.

You should also get in the habit of calling out what you intend to do (but NOT a running commentary): “Flanking Bravo Left” or similar is all that’s necessary so that squad mates know where you’re going, can join you, or even advise you of any enemy they see in that area.

One thing that many people do not consider is letting someone know you are about to spawn on them. It has nothing to do with courtesy, but it does give fore-warning to the other player that there are suddenly going to be footsteps behind them. Notifying them also allows the other player to let you know if spawning on them is a good idea. If their position is being overrun then it’s probably not a good idea to appear in the middle of a hail of enemy M60 rounds…..

Vehicle comms are a very important aspect of squad communication. If your whole squad is in a vehicle then it’s a big juicy target for the other team. As such if you’re a gunner you need to tell the driver/pilot where you want him to go and also call out any threats – nothing fancy: Contact left, Contact Right will do – maybe a bit more info if there are multiple enemies or if they have RPGs or C4 or what not. If you’re the driver you should be listening to the gunners and either make their job easier, or take evasive action – either way communicate with the gunners what you’re going to do so they can adjust their fire accordingly.

And finally for this part….

Mic Abuse
Not necessarily people being abusive over the mic. Inappropriate mic use is what we’re about here. It’s important that your mic is set up properly so that it only picks up your voice and not the sound coming out of your speakers, the domestic abuse in the background, what you want on your sammich, or the baby on your lap (yeah, yeah, I know!). If your mic has a mute switch then use it when you are not speaking – although try to make sure that you use it the right way around so that your team hear your game specific chatter and not the bit that should be muted: “Sheesh this team are a bunch of dumbasses, they never get my callouts….*presses mute* =(okay guys contact bravo left…)= *unmute* Oh for the love of god! What a bunch of donkeys!….”

If you come across someone whose mic is causing you a headache ask them to sort it first (politely!) – but if they continue, don’t respond, or take a huff, press Start, go to the squad menu, select the player you want to mute and press the relevant button (Square on PS3, X on Xbox360). They will then have a little crossed out speaker icon next to their name.You can always unmute them later if you like.

Don’t forget, other players can mute you too. So if you are using the mic and no one appears to be listening then that may be the reason. That is why you should ALWAYS use the spot function.

That’s Part Four over. In Part Five we’ll be looking at levelling up.

Have I missed, misrepresented, or got something plain wrong? Let me know – use the comments.

Peas and loaves.

Find me on PSN – evaDlivE

Check out BackslashGaming.com for gaming news, views and reviews.

Surviving BFBC2 Multiplayer – Part 3

Check out BackslashGaming.com for gaming news, views and reviews.

Read Part Two here.

In this part we’ll look at the in-game communication options and how to use them to best help you and your team.

Automated communication

The first thing you need to do is check the Voiceover settings. These are found in the Audio tab of the Options section:

Got Babble?

Make sure that the Voiceover Language is set to “Localized”, this means that in-game voice is in YOUR local language (in my case – English) rather than the original game locale. If you have it set to Original all team voiceovers will be in their respective language. As I don’t speak Russian it is not much help hearing my team yelling something about Rasputin Turnip Pride when what they really mean is “I say old chap, might I trouble you for some more ammo as I’ve only gone and bally-well run out again! Thanks awfully.” Unless you are multi-lingual, do yourself a favour and use ‘Localized’.

The in-game team voice over is not just random background noise – the stuff your teammates shout out are actual things that are going on – SO PAY ATTENTION.

I need ammo/healing/a repair/a lift!

You can yell down the mic (or at the screen if you don’t have a mic) until you’re blue in the face for the support you need, but your other teammates may not understand you, have you muted, or just don’t give a damn. You can make your life easier by using the in-game comms. In-game comms? What!? EA didn’t explain what this was either! For shame!

Remember in Part 2 the description of the Recon class how to use the spot function? If you don’t then you should go back and have a read…….no, it’s fine, I’ll wait.

Okay, so remember back in…yeah, okay. So the spot button – Select (PS3) Back (Xbox360), Q (PC) – has a dual use. When you look at the enemy it puts a big orange triangle over their head, but if you look at a teammate it tells them what YOU need.

If you’re low on ammo look at an assault teammate, press your comms button and they’ll get the command through – you’ll also have a big flashing ammo box over your head for your team to see.

If you’re wounded, look lovingly at Dr McDreamy, hit the comm and they get the heal command, along with the health pack icon appearing over your head.

In a vehicle you can request a repair from an engineer in the same way, and if you see your teammate jump in a vehicle hit the comms to ge a lift. As with everything else, how well your requests are fulfilled depends on a couple of things – is the relevant person suitably equipped to help you, do they understand what’s going on, and do they give a damn….

On your multimap you’ll also have visual clues as to where you are needed:
Engineer – a spanner icon shows a vehicle that needs repair
Medic – a cross means health needed, a heartbeat icon indicates a revive is required
In a vehicle – a curved arrow indicates someone who wants a lift

If you do use the comms to request something, go to the person you are requesting from – it’s fairly annoying to get killed while chasing someone who has asked for ammo!

Unfortunately there is no: “Hey buddy, I need a foot massage – stat!” command, but maybe if enough people sign a petition……

Squad Commands
When playing objective game types you can specify what you want your team to target by using the spot command on the objective. You then gain points if your squad follow the order, and for any defense/attack kills or activity on that objective. You also get points for following orders. If you’re not giving the orders, do yourself a favour and do as you’re told.

In Part Four we’ll be looking at Voice/Mic Comms. Read it here.

Have I missed, misrepresented, or got something plain wrong? Let me know – use the comments.

Special thanks to Hypermole for helping with the automated comms.

Peas and loaves.

Find me on PSN – evaDlivE

Check out BackslashGaming.com for gaming news, views and reviews.