I know this was brought up during the KS campaign during a discussion about adaptations for those with disabilities, but I was discussing this with a friend of mine the other day and it reminded me that I hadn't posted anything on it here since the Forums opened.
I am stone deaf in my right ear. It's annoying, but not generally debilitating unless someone who speaks softly is on that side trying to talk to me. However, it does become an issue on some games when part of the action/story is a sound cue that is a "tell" as to which way to go, where the civilian is calling for help or where a bad guy is about to pop out from.
So, in addition to being able to put the game sounds (All of them, not just the music, please.) in "Mono", I was wondering if we could have a "flash aura" option available that would briefly illuminate the edge of the screen in the direction of something makes a noise out of the viewing area. Perhaps the closer/louder the noise, the wider the flash. The location on the screen edge could be the point between the screen center and the origin on the noise or just one of the basic 9 directions.
There would have to be a way to dampen it in combat, obviously, or else your screen would look like a disco every time you fought a mob.
I know things like this are way down the list of features and I don't want to sound demanding, honestly I am building a new computer specifically to be able to play this game with ALL the bells and whistles on AND have supported both the Kickstarter and the new web comic, so I'm all in whether this happens or not. I just thought I'd make a suggestion that would open the game up to a potential new audience and make it a little more accessible for some of us who are already here.
We carry on, we fight the fight for those who no longer can...
that sounds very useful to me. I'm generally pretty good at telling where sounds are coming from in spite of my tinnitus, but I can definitely see the use in a system like this and would definitely love to see it added in.
An infinite number of tries doesn't mean that any one of those tries will succeed. I could flip an infinite number of pennies an infinite number of times and, barring genuine randomness, they will never come up "Waffles".
@Patribot, I'm glad you mentioned it, also. The very nature of an RPG, whether it be fantasy or superhero, or detective, or My Little Pony, is to play as someone you are not. If I could only hear in one ear in real life I wouldn't want to play a superhero who could only hear on one side either... or maybe I would, but that's not the point. The point is that the player's limitations should not effect the character's limitations, right? Since we already have speech bubbles in game, it would make sense that speech outside the viewable area should appear on the edge of the screen. Likewise, if there are any mission queues that are audible in the game, I would want the option to enable 'Sound Effect bubbles' as well. So every mouse that squeeks, or door that creaks, or lava that bubbles could be represented by a sound effect bubble. I think this is a reasonable request.
I just wouldn't want people who are not hearing impaired to think that they will get a competitive advantage if they turn on these bubbled queues that are really meant to make the playing field even.
I know I said "that the player's limitations should not effect the character's limitations," but I think there are still some limits to that. The forum-lawyer in me is already anticipating the people who will bring up extreme cases that make the rule. Like possibly a quadriplegic player who interfaces with computers through voice only, and how will we design a game that lets them play on an equal footing as every other player... I regret that I even have to address this, but alas, I know this audience too well. So before the other forum-lawyers speak up, let me say that independent play is one thing, but cooperative play is another entirely. And while I would understand if someone with a physical limitation can and should be able to play solo and with understanding friends, it may not be appropriate for competitive/cooperative play if they can not respond adroitly enough to support it at the level expected or understood by other players.
[hr]I like to take your ideas and supersize them. This isn't criticism, it is flattery. I come with nothing but good will and a spirit of team-building. If you take what I write any other way, that is probably just because I wasn't very clear.
I checked - visual cues for audio clues is/was already on the accessibility list.
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[center][color=#ff0000]Interior Map Lead and UI Designer[/color][/center]
That's an internal list, of course. But our accessibility head has confirmed said list has this.
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[center][color=#ff0000]Interior Map Lead and UI Designer[/color][/center]
I'm so proud that you've had an Accessibility honcho, almost from the start. It's an important feature and one of the things that made CoH great. Surely, it will help make CoT great, too.
Be Well!
Fireheart
Asus makes a piece of software for their ROG motherboards called "Sonic Radar". It gives you a overlay that points out the direction of sounds. The example they always use is gunfire in a FPS, but I think it also works on footsteps. My understanding is that it takes the multi channel audio and points out which speakers are making noise. So the tech for this exists, and you might be able to get it from ASUS if you have a particular ASUS motherboard. You might send them an e-mail and see if it's a proprietary software or something that will work on any PC and if they'd be willing to give it to a hearing impaired gamer.
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