Fallout 76 Is Getting Text Chat, But Not How You’d Imagine

As a long-time gamer who has navigated through various titles with diverse accessibility features, I can say that Fallout 76‘s recent addition of text-to-speech and speech-to-text mechanics is a much-needed step forward. Although the implementation isn’t flawless yet, it’s heartening to see developers like Bethesda acknowledging and addressing accessibility issues.

Since its release in 2018, Fallout 76 lacked a text chat feature despite it being a common element in many games. Bethesda Game Studios only provided local voice chat options, which has been problematic for some players due to accessibility issues. However, this is being rectified as we speak, with the game’s test server now offering a new text-based communication solution.

That’s where the catch sits – it’s tied to accessibility. It’s a text-to-speech or a speech-to-text function designed to aid gamers who can’t use their voice to communicate, or those who have impaired vision.

It’s Progress

In the ‘PTS’ (Player’s Terminal System), users are finding the ability to activate text-to-voice and voice-to-text functionalities.

For years, if you’ve been playing Fallout 76, you may have encountered situations where you needed to talk to other players using text chat. However, this feature has always been missing. But now, it looks like things are about to change.

In simple terms, it functions just as expected. By typing text into the provided text field (which can be accessed on a PC by pressing the ‘.’ key), you trigger an AI-generated voice to speak your words audibly for anyone nearby. Conversely, if other users are speaking near you using conventional voice chat, their words will be transcribed by AI and displayed in the text box.

In the video by Fargassier, it’s evident that the function could use improvement. It sometimes fails to accurately grasp your speech and the quality of the AI voice leaves room for enhancement. Additionally, there seems to be some apprehension about its filtering capabilities.

Progress for Bethesda Game Studios is moving in the correct direction with the addition of this feature, even if it’s been a while coming and appears to be relatively straightforward. It’s an important step towards improving accessibility, which is crucial for many players. There will likely be adjustments required before it’s flawless, but that’s what the Fallout 76 Public Test Server (PTS) is for – fine-tuning the game based on player feedback.

Many PC players have argued that there has been a mod live on Nexus for years that adds text chat to the game, but it’s not an ideal solution and you could run into a ToS infringement for running it.

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