I have been flying in MSFS using VATSIM and it truly brings a whole new experience to flying virtually. I was thinking more like a mic connected to the game so you may talk to ATC and other pilots. ATC can give taxi instructions as well just use your charts.
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Coincidence, because I literally was just thinking that same thing as I am an X-Plane 11 VATSIM pilot around NJ.
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Hello, the developers have said that this will most likely not come to the sim because of language barriers and accessibility. This also makes it less friendly towards newer users. As for taxi instructions, this is coming in the future.
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I see, yeah that is what I was thinking as well because their discord don’t have mic chats to talk with other people due to language.
Yeah… this would be amazing but I understand why the devs don’t want to add it.
If they do come up with a way to make it more for pro users or just safer it would be cool though.
yeah like the Expert Server can only have the mic version and Casual and Training still the current ATC we have til this day.
wait I am sorry, less friendly? Do you mind explaining I can’t quite understand
It would be harder for new users to understand and use
I’ll answer this with the perspective of being someone who only just recently got into VATSIM and continue to learn bit by bit each day.
VATSIM is incredibly structured. It appeals to those who are serious about simulation and are looking to be controlled by those who invest a significant amount of time into controlling. While it could be argued that IFATC also offers this to an extent, there is still a large skill gap between the two.
Infinite Flight also has a larger skill variation than those who are on VATSIM given that plenty of casual players are on Infinite Flight, though may not have the interest to learn the intricacies that are found on VATSIM. Not to mention, the infrastructure limitations are certainly another aspect to consider when a feature like this. It isn’t just a couple of people talking on frequency; it’s hundreds of people on a VoIP on an already bandwidth-constrained network.
When addressing chart usage and proper procedure, there’s very little in the way of actually ensuring that those who are taxiing know where they are going to go. Not everyone has access to charts and charts get updated incredibly regularly, meaning that keeping up to date on proper procedures will be a costly investment.
Moderation is also another aspect that is considered when you discuss voice ATC. While I don’t have any solid numbers on this, I could probably say with high certainty that the age and maturity found on VATSIM and other networks exceeds what is found on Infinite Flight. To again reiterate, Infinite Flight is catering to those who are casually looking to scratch their itch for aviation while also balancing realism. To expect time investments seen only by a handful of people, Infinite Flight is not really even considered.
At the end of it all, there are plenty of complexities with implementing a system like VATSIM. When also constrained by the limitations of being a mobile application, you’ll also quickly see why the current ATC system we have is as good as it can get. I’m certainly hoping to see something like this one day, but that day is still far from near, in my honest opinion.
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what if the mic connect is only for Expert Server so it is more experience pilots knowing what is going on and the newer pilots and ATC users will have to use the current one right now only on Casual and Training.
Have you seen some pilots on the expert server? Just because the server is named expert, does not mean that the pilots are. While a good idea in theory, I do not believe that this feature would work in Infinite Flight
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yeah I understand that it would be lots of people talking those events don’t joke around literally lots of pilots and ATC helping them get in the air safely and getting on the ground safely the bandwidth would sky rocket, so yeah I do understand that hopefully it does come though.
you know what you are correct some pilots don’t know what they are doing on Expert Server people can reach it easily by landing and flying that is basically it, though I do hope one day it happens you know.
I got it what about a test to activate the mic feature such as like the IFATC test if you pass you will be able to talk to people if you don’t well then they will just have to use the current one right now.
I appreciate and respect Dev’s concerns regarding the barrier language. I also don’t feel the urge for voice controlling features in IF on the short term - even though it could be an interesting to experiment at some point. Trying is succeeding, and that’s something IF has proven its ability to leverage.
Just curious as to why/how it works on desktop computer flight sims. Are there language-specific servers? Or is it simply mostly used by people living in English-speaking countries?
Thanks and All have a beautiful day!
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everywhere on the VATSIM network is English Communication. Like all around the world so where ever you fly to you will still be able to communicate.
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I think it would be too challenging to effectively moderate the voice chat. I mean you could develop a program which writes a transcript and then bans someone if a certain word has been said, but it might be harder to bring forth messages as there might be a lot of people talking over each other.
I dont think language could be the problem if maybe they can make 2 options of voice and typing or simple make an addon for translation for IF.
Thanks!
So presumably it would be a similar situation for IF in theory.
Only differences / challenges I can think of is that the average user age is lower in IF which could make voice controlling uncomfortable for a larger segment of pilots in IF; and/or an equipment limitation (voice feature I reheated to the IF app or necessity to use a side device on which voice feature would be hosted thereby impacting the mobile flight simulator focus IF positions itself as).
In my opinion, these are sufficient considerations to side any voice control feature for the time being as IF is really ramping up on everything else.
But hey, they always get creative so those hoping for such feature should definitely keep their hopes up.
Thank you for this detailed and interesting insight @LordWizrak.
Not that we’re brainstorming to decide whether or not IF should / will implement that functionality of course 😆, but it’s always valuable and pleasant to share views and information.
All you described makes a lot of sense.
I’m guessing that - IF Infinite Flight decided to move forward with a voice controlling environment, the only option would be through a dedicated server.
This would allow for a specific profile filtering (age, language, skills, charts access, training, etc…), as well as a dedicated IF skies for those interested into it.
Assuming that VatSim is an independent third party, using their audio platform and overall structure could make for an interesting partnership for IF (and maybe extra revenue flows).
The improvement of ATC’s organization in IF has been continuous over the years, thus not making voice controlled areas an immediate necessity in my opinion; but certainly understand other pilots may think differently, and I would certainly be interested myself if it came at some point.
It’s a little but like every other feature, really. I’m dying for IF and/or a third party to deliver a reliable joystick solution since it significantly enhanced the flying experience in IF while it was working. But that’s my top of the wishlist, and there are as many wishlists as pilots in IF :)
Have a good one!