The Daily Grind: Do you prefer open or closed chat?
Tribes: Ascend has an open chat system that might seem unusual to players more familiar with MMORPGs than MMOFPS titles. Anyone can lay down whatever smack-talk he wants in the traditional open chat... but almost no one does. Instead, players make use of quick macros to audibly announce enemy movements, signal for aid, praise comrades, and taunt opponents. Truth is, time spent trash-talking the other side in chat is time enough for that side to shoot you in the face, so players stick to simple short-cut communication, keeping the game relatively clean of the sort of chatter that makes your eyes bleed.
Roleplayers would never go for such a limited chat system, I realize, and I'm right there with them when it comes to annoyance that factional chats limit communication between, say, the opposing teams of World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic. But at the same time, it's refreshing to see a streamlined chat that sticks to gameplay and isn't bogged down with Chuck Norris jokes and clever ways around the profanity filter.
What do you think of closed vs. open chat?
Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
