VOIP and TEXT communication in MCO( There would be two ways for player to communicate with other player in MCO. By Speeking threw a radia and by sending messages using a computer panel on astronauts left glove )
First of all...I would like to ask if there will be a Voice Communicator implemented in MCO just like in some other games (for instance: Left 4 Dead, Amercias Army and many other)?
I surely hope so!
I know there is Teamspeak or Ventrilo for thatpurposes but that's just not the same...
If there will be a VOIP comm. the game would gain many profits from that (just imagine what).
Ok...back to the topic.
In real life astronauts can communicate to each other by two ways - using VOIP and simply by typing.
Currently in MCO we communicate by typing.
How does it work in real life?
Astronaut on his left EVA-suit glove have a computer panel. Here he can acces some interesting data like: external/internal temperature, atmospheric preasure, atmospheric composition, radiation, oxy/power suply, comm.signal strenght etc...
Here he can also acces suits computer to open some simple programs like: distance-to-suply calculator that will show him for how long he can do EVA or even how far away he can go (it calculates the point of no-return).
One of the programs that can be acceses is a message comunicator (just like IRC).
He can use it to chat with other astronauts using it.
This is how we communicate now in MCO.
http://www.google.pl/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0507/figB.large.gif&sa=X&ei=TAnoTOyVJJCdOpDN8JcK&ved=0CAQQ8wc40wI&usg=AFQjCNFC3U6RG5fBLx0B4vSO_DNBQLhlkwChat using text is used mainly by astronauts when the conditions outside make's it difficoult to speak by VOIP.
(I can see that if VOIP were to be used in MCO, there would surely be situations when the quality of the sound would not be good, and players would like to type instead)
Since astronaut can use this option (Text-message) only by accesing the computer in his left glove I propose that every time a player opens the chat-box ("ENTER" button) avatar would click with his right hand on his left-hand computer.
More than that - when you type a message, avatar would click on his computer aswell.
So...every time player opens the text-chat window on the upper left of the screen with enter button, his avatar would make a move that indicates he is accesing his computer. Every time player types in the text-chat window his avatar taps the computer that indicates he is typing something. When player sends the message, avatar stops accesing the computer and returns to normal.
Basicly - by looking at some other player we see if he types something, becouse he clicks with his right hand on his left-hand computer every time the player is typing something.
Left-hand computer panels seen on the movie "Mission to Mars":
(Player could acces that computer by simply clicking enter, and could type to other players, and other players would see that becouse his avatar would be clicking on the screen every time you type a letter)
EDIT: sorry for my mistake's in text. I'am not on my computer.