The in game Announcer, Athena, is an information let down

General Discussion
1

Hello Everyone!
I feel like we should take a moment to talk about the game announcer, Athena.
IM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE VOICE ACTORS! THEY DO A LOVELY JOB
I think in game, the announcer should, well, announce more.
The only points where there is voice in the game is from beginning, end, and huge elims.

One thing I miss from Team Fortress 2, is the information DIRECTLY told to you about the game.

I’ve played one too many Payload games, where people just FORGET about the payload.

I feel it’s important for the announcer to DIRECTLY tell it’s players what is happening in the game, and to aide the visually impaired.

It’s unfair, and I would say, irresponsible(?) to not provide these voice lines to everyone.

  • When a point is being captured, and everyone is too tunnel vision to care, is the reason we need these voice lines
  • When a cart is not moving for a long length of time
  • When a point is enabled.
  • When the cart is being contested.
    This goes on, and on.
    It seems like a lot of work, but I feel should provide something so core to the game genre.
    It’s just lack luster.
    I don’t need the same emotion as ellen mcclain, i just want to hear game important information
  • wiki dot teamfortress dot com/wiki/Administrator_responses

Stuff from general, down. I don’t need A LOT of voice lines like this, i want to hear when my point is being captured, contested, when the cart has stoppped moving, and hasn’t moved for a minute, when a point isn’t being attacked, i want to hear MORE relevant game information instead of small sound queues, and music. It needs to be CLEARLY announced to the team. I want to hear the game say

  • “The payload is NOT being contested! Defend the cart!”, or
  • “Defend! Go Go Go!”
    and the same in reverse!!
  • “Attack the payload! Go go go!”,
  • “The payload is stopped! Attack the cart!”
    I feel the players NEED to hear this!!!

And according to Athena’s quotes on the fan wiki, she says some of these things, but I have hunted up and down looking for a way to turn it on, but I swear. If they actually have these voice lines recorded, why aren’t they in use!!!

  • overwatch dot fandom dot com/wiki/Athena/Quotes

Please, I would hope many people agree with me, and can rally to get a change like this?

8 Likes
2

Thats on the players, they should be punished for tunnel visioning

Now what I do think could be voicelines would be things like the cart not moving, point enabled, only things along those lines

for convienince I could definently see the use in allowing an “enemy is revived” voiceline but most heros already have one

4 Likes
3

But heroes already make announcements like “we need to move the payload”.

8 Likes
4

Heroes already do that btw. When payload stops moving each character (on attack team) have a voiceline to it.

3 Likes
5

Would be too annoying, honestly. Besides characters sometimes will say something about the payload not moving anyways.

3 Likes
6

There are many indications of the payload being moved, both visual and aural.

5 Likes
7

The payload/point hud is easily ignored. That’s why they recently added the yellow arrow to help some. It be less ignored if the TAB menu was removed and the PVE ult hero hud was in the left corner. Why they don’t just have Athena alert people, makes no sense. They are acknowledging that the HUD is being ignored. But won’t all the way. Characters don’t always say they’re voice lines about the cart. Remember when everyone spammed I sense there’s a teleporter. That is what you need. You need to ANNOY to get people to the cart.

3 Likes
8

Paying attention to the hud is part of basic gamesense. If you won’t pay attention to it, that’s entirely your own fault. Having an announcer for everything would get both annoying and disruptive.

The teleporter voice lines were only relevant because it was a “permanent” deployable that gave the enemy team a big advantage.

2 Likes
9

Options and more options to turn on and off.

Why isn’t it back than?

10

I agree, ish. If a person is comfortable enough with the game, I agree that THERE SHOULD be an option to disable. but hero voice lines are NOT loud enough. and as a TEAM game, one player tunnel visioning throws off the balance… People need reminders.

2 Likes
11

The current Symm TP is nothing like the old one.

12

Well, it’s a team game. If you have enough game sense to pay attention to the objectives and payloads, then it should be your right to turn the voicelines off! Expecially, if for you it would be distruptive and annoying.

I know one too many players that would actually need this kind of announcement. I’ve played ONE TOO MANY a game where tanks won’t contest, people focus too much on elims, and not playing the game. I feel like, if more players are told by the game to do the POINT of the game, it would benefit low gold to bronze players with a low game sense.

2 Likes
13

No, it can be done the same way. If you spot the teleporter. That person should call out it was deployed. So that people, especally people who are returning from death, know. Same goes for the logic with the hero tab list being hidden. They want it to be a team game. But they don’t make everyone get revealed when someone sees the enemy. Say Mercy spots Pharah. That hero gets revealed. And so on. It requires YOU to see everyone. This is where Sombra would help 100%.

14

The characters saying voice lines about the game is barely noticeable, and if for you, would be too annoying, then you have the liberty and freedom to turn the voice lines off. I for one, would love it. I feel, people below gold, down into bronze elo, absolutely need these in game reminders about, well, the game. AS a team game, I despise playing with people with low game sense.
Some people entirely forget about the objectives and payloads, and wander off to try and get kills alone.
People. Need. Reminders. Not everyone will pay attention to a HUD

1 Like
15

An announcer won’t change that.

No, the TP has nowhere near the range of the old one and isn’t an ult. If you aren’t seeing the enemy Symm using her TP at all, it’s obvious that she’s using it as a taxi.

The “hero tab list” doesn’t reveal them for the first 15s. Use voice chat if it’s a problem.

16

I don’t think the announcer will outright change and fix everything, but it absolutely would help. I’m positive you are a Diamond elo player, and probably don’t run into the types of players i run into most often, where an Orisa/Rein holds the S button while the cart keeps moving forward, where a mccree can fire 12 shots and only hit a pharah once, where a lúcio and zenyatta on a team could mean utter defeat.
Where I am, people, players, casuals, may need these reminders.
The game needs to tell these people, hey, you aren’t helping your team, contest, attack, etc.
It obviously wont fix it, but you’re wrong if it won’t help at all.

1 Like
17

Sorry, many times where I’ve realized the team is flanking behind Industries. The rest of my team is waiting at the choke. Without a automated voice alert, we lost the point. The group up command is useless in this regard. I do not use voice chat with strangers. This is not an option. This is why more options are wanted. Why is it okay in TF2? Is TF2 easier? Is TF2 lame for giving prompts?

2 Likes
18

The group up command is seen as flaming at some points in this game. I’m in an elo where people won’t listen to each other. I remember from my days of TF2, these announcements were a lot of fun. It helps to know when the cart isn’t being attacked, the announcer made both teams more aggressive! Things start to happen, the prompts, well, prompt players to PLAY!
If people don’t want the voicelines, then it should be an option to turn them off, but can’t you see how this can benefit both NEW players, and low game sense players, low elo players?

19

You know something? I wouldn’t have realized this had you not mentioned it. Even MOBAS have more announcements and phrases that overall makes the game more fun. I would like to hear if someone is Godlike in this game, or if someone is dominating.
I guess they figured that everyone would be paying more attention to the actual game rather than listening out for announcer messages.

Play Nice, Play Neutral

|DoritoDiet|

2 Likes
20

I’m not sure how having an announcer would change that…

Oh look, a rank gibe.
How original.