BetterIngameChat

While voice-over-internet-protocol remains the most efficient and immersive way of instantly communicating and cooperating with teammates in the heat of battle, many players sometimes wish to avoid the privacy implications of giving an online game access to their microphone, which is where a dedicated mod known as BetterIngameChat comes into play to enhance the text-based interaction system.

Despite the main game’s lack of official upgrades, talented members of the modding community poured time and effort into unshackling the title’s otherwise inflexible game engine through the aptly named Venice Unleashed modular platform, leading to the development of openly available add-ons such as Advanced-Chat, the original template that the fork at hand improves upon.

On top of the layout being able to automatically adjust its scale according to the game’s current resolution, player name tags are color-coded to make identifying them easier when glancing at the chat board. Messages meant to be viewed privately by the receiver can be sent by executing a quick hotkey combination followed by selecting the respective player name of the spawned drop-down menu.

Another interesting option is the ability to chat even after the round ends, thus allowing those who would otherwise move to a different server to receive feedback on their performance. Servers equipped with the spectator functionality may find good use in the add-on’s support for an extra chat section dedicated to spectating players and assessing any possibilities of spotting cheaters.

Squads seeking to avoid inundating the main team chat with personalized coordinates and orders have a separate chat window activated by pressing the Shift and all-chat keys simultaneously. Finally, server administrators who wish to privately advise players to cease griefing or camping behavior will also benefit from custom hotkey combinations.

For some, the adjustments outlined above could feel like a drop in the ocean in terms of game-changing functions. However, those with lower visual acuity facing difficulties in terms of differentiating between game tags due to the HUD’s bright blue hue should be well served by the BetterIngameChat add-on.