Proximity voice chat which functions near identically to DayZ

Game mechanic feature.

As explained by OpenchatGPT:

In the game DayZ, proximity voice chat allows players to communicate with one another in real-time, but only if they are close enough to each other in the game world. The game uses a 3D audio system to simulate the effect of distance on sound, so that players' voices will become quieter or muffled as they move further away from each other. This creates a more immersive and realistic experience, as players must physically move closer to each other in order to communicate effectively. Additionally, the proximity chat feature is a useful tool for players to plan and coordinate with each other in-game.

I do not believe Discord is a substitute for this function, and if anyone does not want to hear anyone, there should be good muting controls.

I also believe this would be an absolute net benefit to all player experiences, especially interesting to people who are not currently interested in the project. ie, a good and relatively easy implementation to attract players.

 

Finally a way to actually hear how people from all over the world butcher the english language while talking with heavy accents, hidden dialects and foreign language mixed in.

Instead of seeing one post orderly after the other in the chat window all people can talk simultaneously creating a choatic cacophony of noises...

 

Maybe toggle the mute function or disable it.

 

Muting should prevent any voice data being fetched if this was implemented - maybe a lot of players are on unlimited fibre broadband, but others wouldn't want the overhead of streaming multiple audio sources simultaneously.

It would be much harder to monitor audio streams for abusive/possibly illegal content and take appropriate action, I'm not sure what the ramifications of that might be.

I'm interested in the concept of technology like this but consider it very much a "nice to have" rather than necessary addition for SotA. There are other areas which I think need to be prioritised with the resources available, unless it turns out that this could be implemented and maintained with very little effort and isolated from other game systems so as not to accidentally and adversely impact them.