Update to handheld radios

Development Feature Requests
1

Handheld radios operate as a separate, more physical communication channel for players to use with certain quirks and mechanics that provide a chance for interesting interactions. However, in their current state all communication that uses a handheld radio gets lumped into a single channel, making it difficult to filter out people you don’t want to communicate with. (This issue has presented itself when I have tried to use radios to communicate as a member of salvage)

Goals:

  • Allow players to separate their handheld radio comms into separate frequencies
  • Expand on the more ‘physical’ limitations and capabilities of handheld radios
  • Provide security with the means to deal with unauthorized/antagonist comms
  • Create interesting emergent gameplay for roleplay

Changes:

  • New Radio Controls:
    - Frequency Selection: in order to use a radio, a frequency must be selected. Radios will only transmit and receive between similar frequencies with a small bleedover range (this is more realistic to how radios function irl, bleed could be simulated via the usual whisper obfuscation)
    - Volume Selection: changing a radio’s volume increases/decreases the range it can be heard from, allowing multiple people to listen in from a single device (this would switch from whisper to normal talking volume)
    - Speaker/Microphone Toggles: toggling the speaker or mic allows players to make a radio dedicated to only sending or receiving communications (this creates opportunities for players to listen in without sending their own voice, or to create ‘bugs’ that quietly transmit any conversations they pick up. this could be done with buttons or with a specific wirecutting mechanic)
  • New Radio Limitations:
    - Range: radios now only are able to communicate within a certain meter range and only between radios on the same map (previously radios were able to communicate over any range and even to salvagers on an expedition. this introduces more downsides that players will have to consider and work around when using handheld radios)
  • New Items:
    - Frequency Scanner: a detective item that allows players to listen in to or communicate on radio frequencies at a larger distance than regular radios (this could utilize a spectrogram-like menu, where communications create a ‘spike’ in activity at the frequency they are on. I also just enjoy the noir style aesthetic of a detective using a police scanner)
    - Tape Recorder: a detective/reporter item that when turned on allows players to record and play back any conversations that it picks up (this would create a text log for however long it is active for, separated out by times. could be used as a ‘wiretap’ of sorts when placed next to a radio: giving a detective a passive means of gathering information or simply allowing them to share private conversations with other players after they occurred)
    - Syndicate Bug: a cheap but niche uplink item that records and transmits any conversation it picks up to an operative once placed (this would serve as a much more discrete alternative to placing a full handheld radio in a room and would need to be actively searched for to detect)
4 Likes
2

I like the frequency selection, each handheld could have its own frequency and be paired with another handheld by taping them together, similar to how multitools and network configurators can connect doors. Not sure if this should be done with or without a network config…

Range is an interesting Idea, but it would have to be very well implemented to create an obstacle and not an annoyance.
All station radios(headsets/frequency scanner) should work regardless of proximity as long as they are on the same map as the station’s communication server.
For the handhelds, they would have a set range after which more and more of the signal is lost, similar to the whisper mechanic. This range could be increased with upgrades from RnD or salvage.

Frequency scanners would be a great addition to make sec more proactive against threats and make crew antagonists have to plan their communication more, making both roles more interesting.The FS could sync with the station’s comms servers(like the camera monitors do with their own) and tap the lines.

I’d like to add two more ideas to the mix, changing the way intercoms work and adding a HAM radio.

  • intercoms don’t add as much to the game as they could. they have two reasons for existing and both aren’t well fulfilled. The first is to reduce radio clutter in commons by adding another way for crew to communicate, the handhelds do a much better job at that and are more portable. The second is to communicate with people inside a Department you don’t have access to, here they also could be better as people in the department need to set them up by turning all of them on and setting them to their department instead of commons, which most don’t bother doing.
    I propose that intercoms start the round set to their department and are always on, the buttons instead turn on loudspeaker, that way crew can see someone is talking on the intercom even if no one set it up. This is also more similar to how IRL intercoms work, with one person activating theirs to talk and their other automatically turning on to receive. next replacing the always on mic with a push to talk would make it easier to communicate(automatically changing to radio) and reduce background noise on the line.

  • HAM radio or long range radio. Would be a large stationary radio station which is able to communicate across maps, with the ability to select frequencies both from the station’s comms servers and from outside devices such as handhelds or shuttles. It could provide a more RP way for visitors to seek permission to dock or even just to communicate with the station, and add another layer of separation between different maps.