New Survivor Item & Mechanics- Walkie-Talkie
Many people (not including myself) have the desire or need to be able to communicate with their teammates, so I came up with the idea of imagining how it would be, and I designed a new item for my friends.
First of all, we know that quite experienced SWF players tend to be punishing when they encounter novice killers, as they have the overwhelming advantage of being able to communicate remotely and with unlimited time via Discord. But what if we added that mechanic into the game, but with just the right limitations to make it a bit more realistic and immersive?
For example, we would have a new usable item for survivors called "Walkie-Talkie" with which we would now have the ability to temporarily communicate with our teammates in a specific area.
They would work somewhat like the flashlight, the same types of accessories would apply to the walkie-talkie, adding more signal range and more usage time.But, unlike the flashlight, adding the special interaction of occasionally breaking down due to the fragility of the antenna, and because of that, not being usable for a few seconds until it is repaired.
Description
Walkie-Talkie (Green, Blue, Purple)
The base item would have the ability to communicate with other allied walkie-talkies in:
- Green:
- An area of 24 meters in diameter.
- Usage time of 60 seconds.
- Reparation time of 25 seconds.
- Blue:
- An area of 32 meters in diameter.
- Usage time of 60 seconds.
- Reparation time of 25 seconds.
- Purple
- An area of 40 meters in diameter.
- Usage time of 60 seconds.
- Reparation time of 25 seconds.
Notes:
- Talking reduces time and listening also reduces it. So you can turn it off or on, in case you go too far from other survivors, or if you want to save it just for the endgame.
- Time is only consumed when the microphone detects your voice, or that of others.
- Listening to the allies' voices consumes battery at a rate of 50% of the normal speed.
- Since it is a team-working object, equipping it in the waiting room without anyone else equipping it will show an alert that no one else has it equipped, which lets the survivor know that it's not a very good idea to carry that object, as you won't be able to communicate with anyone. However, still carry it, as there might be a possibility that someone finds it in a chest.
- All of this should be tested to determine which parameters would be the most appropriate and to balance it.
Accessories:
- Antenna (GREEN, BLUE, PURPLE):
The antenna slightly expands the area in which survivors can communicate with each other. And each higher level adds less communication downtime.
- Green Antenna: 8 additional meters – Repair time reduced to 20.9 seconds.
- Blue Antenna: 16 additional meters– Repair time reduced to 16.8 seconds.
- Purple Antenna: 24 additional meters – Repair time reduced to 12.7 seconds.
- Batteries (GREEN, BLUE, PURPLE):
Each one adds additional seconds to the walkie talkie's usage time.
- Green: 20 additional seconds
- Blue: 40 additional seconds
- Purple: 60 additional seconds
- Case (Blue, Purple):
It reduces the probability of the object getting damaged by a fall or any other interaction by a percentage.
- Blue: It reduces the probability of breaking by 15%. (staying at 30%)
- Purple: It reduces the probability of breaking by 30% (staying at 15%).
- Protected device (SPECIAL CASE - IRIDESCENT):
It prevents communications from being interrupted in any way, neither by fall damage nor by the doctor or EPMs.
SPECIAL INTERACTIONS:
- Signal interruption:
This interaction has a 45% (varies depending on the object's level) chance of occurring when you are knocked down, and it assumes that your walkie-talkie has a possibility of getting damaged from the fall. After this, you receive a notification that your walkie-talkie is damaged and you have to repair it for several seconds (the base time would be 25 seconds, which is halved with level 3 antennas, or this may not happen if you have the "Protected Device" item).
The action of repairing is designed to be done while standing still or walking, but it can also be done while running, in the middle of a chase for example, but with a reduced repair speed.
It's similar to shaking off the artist's crows; it can be done in the middle of a chase, but in this case, the repair is slower by 50%. And the repair action can be carried out while on the ground, but not at the same time as the recovery.
As I already mentioned, the case and the antenna are accessories that work based on this interaction, as they reduce the time and the probability of a malfunction in the object.
- The doctor:
In this case, the doctor has a special interaction with this object. Being a killer with the ability to affect survivors with electricity, this will also impact the functionality of the walkie-talkies, affecting their audio, either distorting or cutting it out, and sometimes completely damaging the walkie-talkie, rendering them unusable until they are repaired.
- The Onryo:
Due to its spiritual, digital, dimentional and virulent nature, the onryo has the ability to affect electronic objects, in this case to spread its curse. The interaction has the following effects (2):
- That while the walkie-talkie is being used, strange noises and voices can be heard, adding suspense, and also the possibility that occasionally an event is triggered where the terror area of the onryo can be heard near the survivor with the affected device. (something like a dark devotion of the plague, but with a smaller area and shorter duration)
- Being a spirit with psychic powers that go beyond the earthly plane, its powers are so strong that no one escapes its curse. While the onryō is within 10 meters or less of a survivor, the device starts to release water thru the speakers, affecting communication and completely interrupting it. Ignoring the effect of the iridescent accessory "Protected Device." After leaving the 10-meter area, communication is restored.
- The singularity:
Being a creature that must be fought with electromagnetic pulses, using the pulses also has a chance of affecting the operation of the walkie-talkies. Giving a 50% chance of damaging the walkie-talkie when using an electromagnetic pulse near one of them.
- The Dredge:
When the dredge activates its nightfall ability, communications reduced. It's like being in hell, communication is just as limited as the field of vision.
- Walkie Talkie Noises (Optional/possible mechanics)
The killer cannot listen what the survivors are saying, but they might hear effects of trivial or unrecognizable voice noises (like the sounds produced by a walkie-talkie) when they are near(2mts) a survivor communicating with others, such as the sounds heard when breaking a totem, light noises. Which would indicate and alert the killer that someone is nearby. To counter this, it would always be best for the survivors not to talk to avoid producing that sound on the other active walkie-talkies, or to turn off the walkie-talkie when the killer is nearby to avoid producing it and revealing their location, because even when inside a locker, he could hear the characteristic noise that the active walkie-talkie makes.
This mechanic is precisely for the purposes of immersion and suspense, like in a horror movie.
- Walkie Talkie Usage Alerts (Interface)
When communicating via walkie-talkie, a symbol will appear next to the box of the survivor who is speaking, or the box of the speaking survivor will light up to identify which survivor is communicating when using the walkie-talkie, so there is no need to ask additional questions or avoid confusion.But, it would be great to add this option to the accessibility settings, so we can choose or customize how we want to see that alert, whether it's the survivor's box highlighted, or the audio symbol next to it, or simply the survivor's photo appearing in the middle of the screen, either at the top or bottom, to make it easier to see who is speaking without taking our eyes off the action too much.
Note:Despite the difficulties that implementing this feature may entail, such as the differences in languages among survivors, it adds immersion to the game and can be a very fun mechanic, as it is optional and can be the choice for people who wish to play that way.
The current option will still exist, which is to use Discord to play with friends, and many will probably continue to communicate that way, as it is a simple method that makes the game easier. However, for those who do not know each other, speak the same language, and desire total immersion in the game, this mechanic is the right one for them. And finally, it will also serve as support for socializing and making new friends.
Moreover, this mechanic will give a bit more popularity to these killers.
Comments
-
Or they can just drop an In-game VC feature like many others have already been asking for and just like basically every other online game created nowadays.
-1 -
Me picking up a Walkie Talkie from a chest and hearing every possible racial slur under the sun in the span of 20 seconds.
I think this game needs a quickchat wheel/menu, but not voice chat.
1 -
dont pick up the walkie…. simple. for someone not easily offended i will take it instead
-2 -
so instead of making it BASEKIT LIKE DBD MOBILE DID, in text or even basekit vc.
you instead thought, it was a good idea to make into an item, an item that has limited charges.
so instead of jumping into a swf to do that infinitively and without needing said item, you expect me to use this over a toolbox and medkit?.
i rather have an actual unique and useful item like a ping/tracker that tracks or shows gens (including progress via aura intensitiy) or killer.
but then again if we do get a new item, chances are the killer mains will get it gutted to the ground and complain about toolboxes and medkits…0 -
Doing that, in the best and beautiful scenario, would involve reworking many killers and improving them to the point where communication over kilometers of distance doesn't affect them (it's not realistic to communicate with another survivor who is on the other half of the map and warn them that the killer is heading in that direction)
Discord is not part of the game, it's just a tool that makes the game easier, it's like a legal cheat, since it's a team game. However, in the best-case realistic scenario, if a permanent voice channel were officially added to the game, it would have to be proximity-based, within a few meters of another survivor to avoid a huge buff to the killers, as that ruins strategies by giving survivors more surveillance power.
Information is power, a very dangerous power.
The idea of limiting communication with an object is so that it is optional, and to avoid causing a wave of reworks to the game, as it would create a huge imbalance by giving too much power to the survivors.
For a reason, perks like Yoichi Asakawa's (Empathic Connection) exist, which allow tracking other survivors if they are injured. With the permanent voice chat implemented, allies aura perks are no longer needed, and perks like those would be useless and would have to be completely changed.
Moreover, many people in the same way, if the chat existed, would avoid talking, for whatever reasons, to avoid insults, others' instructions, other things. And simply play casually, quietly and peacefully.
Most of the time I play solo, and I'm not interested in communicating with them, I only do it with friends, so the idea of turning it into an object and making it optional is the best for the randoms who want to communicate and would avoid a massive wave of changes.
You are very naive to believe that a change like that can be made overnight without completely changing the game.
0 -
As I mentioned, it's an immersion item in the game, do I have to repeat it? and it's an optional item. True, why would you prefer to use the walkie-talkie when you have Discord? But the question is, do you have friends to do it with? And what if you don't have friends and your idea is to have the possibility of communicating with random people?
And in the case that survivors could communicate at a distance without proximity limitations like in Discord (because that's not part of the game), it would lead to killers receiving a huge buff, because this game is a strategy game, a PvP game, and that would ruin many one-sided strategies, the killer side, like using Insidious or the complete gameplay of a stealth killer. Giving everyone unlimited voice chat will give survivors absolute power of observation, surveillance, and information, as if they were a hive mind, which will ruin the gameplay for killers who are slower or need to prepare the ground to start their game, or who are simply weaker.
Due to that, they will receive a buff, and the people who play Survivor and don't like using voice chat are the ones who will be affected.
And in the case that it is already implemented on mobile, playing on mobile will never be the same as playing on a computer or console. They will always be different ecosystems. For the same reason, Wild Rift is not the same as League of Legends even tho they are the same game.
-1
