In Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, there is a degree of ambiance, especially with the banter between the four characters, that is lost when people use their mics, and this is the polite, if talkative ones. Some who share my opinion may equip mics but refrain from using them except when necessary.
Myself, I have a system of over 100 prefabricated lines of text dialogue that I use to keep my fellow survivors informed (say, to alert regarding an incoming horde, or the breath of a lurking tank), yet minimizing my footprint in the game's atmosphere.
I for one, don't mind the shrill squeaks of a tween or young teen if his vocal commentary contributes to the play.[footnote]Most kids I've encountered on L4D have been fairly well behaved, possibly more because of the teamwork-intensive play than the M-rating.[/footnote] Far worse are obnoxious drunkards who will blab a continuous monologue over the play, often with racial or sexist epithets regarding the non-white and female characters in the game. I've hotkeyed code to turn their mic input off, and a tip that explains to others how to do the same.[footnote]"Tech Tip: You can use voice_show_mute and voice_mute # to target and mute unwanted chatter, respectively."[/footnote] Once posted, said obnoxious guys will usually start gunning me before getting themselves kicked.
Of course there's plenty of folk who are obnoxious even when not in their cups. Some will get offended if we don't cordially welcome them into the game via mic. And then there are those who will pipe in their own music, clipped movie audio or other soundtrack, because they can. These were the guys who drove me to learn how to cut off specific-player audio input in the first place.
So, no. Until the human race becomes an entirely more civilized bunch, I'd say no. In fact, I look forward to a time when speech-to-text is fast and accurate enough to be integrated into games.
238U.
Myself, I have a system of over 100 prefabricated lines of text dialogue that I use to keep my fellow survivors informed (say, to alert regarding an incoming horde, or the breath of a lurking tank), yet minimizing my footprint in the game's atmosphere.
I for one, don't mind the shrill squeaks of a tween or young teen if his vocal commentary contributes to the play.[footnote]Most kids I've encountered on L4D have been fairly well behaved, possibly more because of the teamwork-intensive play than the M-rating.[/footnote] Far worse are obnoxious drunkards who will blab a continuous monologue over the play, often with racial or sexist epithets regarding the non-white and female characters in the game. I've hotkeyed code to turn their mic input off, and a tip that explains to others how to do the same.[footnote]"Tech Tip: You can use voice_show_mute and voice_mute # to target and mute unwanted chatter, respectively."[/footnote] Once posted, said obnoxious guys will usually start gunning me before getting themselves kicked.
Of course there's plenty of folk who are obnoxious even when not in their cups. Some will get offended if we don't cordially welcome them into the game via mic. And then there are those who will pipe in their own music, clipped movie audio or other soundtrack, because they can. These were the guys who drove me to learn how to cut off specific-player audio input in the first place.
So, no. Until the human race becomes an entirely more civilized bunch, I'd say no. In fact, I look forward to a time when speech-to-text is fast and accurate enough to be integrated into games.
238U.
