BLACK SQUAD BASIC COMMUNICATIONS GUIDE: How To Converse With Other Players In Or Outside of Matches

This guide is to serve as a basic introduction to communicating with other Black Squad players within the confines of the game structure itself. It does not nor will it attempt to address the usage of third-party communications software such as Discord, nor will it address how to communicate with other Steam members on the basic Steam platform outside of Black Squad.

This guide is written with non-gamers in mind as well as average gamers so as to not inundate the reader with gaming terminology they may not be familiar with. This guide is not intended to be the end all-be all of this topic but to help Black Squad players get started with basic communications to enhance their gaming experience.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

II. BASIC COMMUNICATIONS

A. The Globe Icon (Global Messages)
B. The Double-Arrows Icon (Private Messages)
C. The Shield Icon (Clan Messages)

III. IN-MATCH COMMUNICATIONS

A. In-match Team Communications Center

IV. CONCLUSION

I. INTRODUCTION

This guide is to serve as a basic introduction to communicating with other Black Squad players within the confines of the game structure itself. It does not nor will it attempt to address the usage of third-party communications software such as Discord, nor will it address how to communicate with other Steam members on the basic Steam platform outside of Black Squad.

This guide is written with non-gamers in mind as well as average gamers so as to not inundate the reader with gaming terminology they may not be familiar with. This guide is not intended to be the end all-be all of this topic but to help Black Squad players get started with basic communications to enhance their gaming experience.

II. BASIC COMMUNICATIONS

There are two ways to communicate with fellow players in Black Squad. Real-time text messages (chat) can be sent from a lobby waiting area, or real-time text messages (chat) can be sent during actual match gameplay. As of this writing, Black Squad does not offer a way to verbally communicate with other Black Squad players, nor does it offer a way to send a text message to an offline player to be read at a later time when the player logs back into the game. These issues can only be addressed with third-party software such as Discord. Future revisions of this guide will address any changes to the basic Black Squad communications structure.

(Please note: The 'Voice Key' function listed among your keybindings is for future development of voice chat and does not currently function as of this writing.)


The Communications Center in the waiting area is on the left hand side and allows you to talk to people in three ways: Public messages for everyone in the particular waiting area (the Globe Icon), private messages intended for specific individuals (the Double-Arrow Icon), or private messages specifically for all online clan members if you happen to belong to a particular clan (the Shield Icon). At the very bottom is a box you can type your messages into. Depending on which icon you click helps determines who is the recipient of your message and what messages you see at any particular time.

A. The Globe Icon (PUBLIC MESSAGES)

When you enter a waiting area, the Globe Icon is chosen as the default. Anything you type into the box that doesn't have a specific command will be seen by everyone in the same waiting area when you send (ENTER) the message. The Globe Icon also allows you to see all communications between you and specific people in one area without having to switch to different icons. But remember, just because YOU can see all the messages in the Globe Icon section doesn't necessarily mean everyone in the same waiting area as you can see them. Communications also relies on specific commands typed just before your message:

/? - Displays the list of all available chat commands
/w Callsign - Sends a private message (Whisper) to a specific online player. Example: /w AlphaClark Wanna joing me for a round of TDM?
/r - Reply to the online player who just sent you a private message (Whisper). If you are whispering between two different players, /r will send a reply to the last player that sent you a Whisper.
/fa Callsign - Sends a friend request to a specific online player. Example: /fa AlphaClark
/fd Callsign - Deletes a specific friend from your friends list. Example: /fd AlphaClark
/fb Callsign - Blocks any future communications attempts to you by a specific player. Example: /fb AlphaClark
/claninvite Callsign - Sends an invitation to a specific player to join the clan you are a member of. Example: /clanintive AlphaClark
/c - Sends a message visible only to all clan members currently logged into the game. Example: /c Who is playing TDM and who is playing Arms Race?
/who Callsign - Displays public details about an individual player. Example: /who AlphaClark
/Playtime - Displays how much time you've actually spent playing the game today.

All commands work regardless if you click on the Globe, Double-Arrows, or Clan chat icons.

B. The Double-Arrows Icon (PRIVATE MESSAGES)

If you click on the Double-Arrows Icon, you will only see private whispers between you and specific players. You still need to enter commands in order to send private whispers to specific individuals. You can also left-click on a player's name in the communications center for a shortcut to specifically send them a whisper. Finally, you can also left-click on a friend's name or a clan member's name in the Messenger Section (upper right hand corner of a match room) and then left-click Send Whisper in the pop-up menu that appears for that specific player.

C. The Shield Icon (CLAN MESSAGES)

If you click on the Shield Icon, you will only see messages from specific clan members intended for all other clan members. To send a message to your clan from this area, just type the message with no commands and hit ENTER. It will automatically be sent to all online clan members automatically who will see it whether they are in a waiting room or playing in a match. But remember, you have to use the /c command if you are in the Globe Section or in the Whisper Section.

III. IN-MATCH COMMUNICATIONS

Black Squad has a Communications Center in-game as well that you can access any time by pressing ENTER/RETURN on your keyboard. The Communications Center pops up on the left of the screen and is ready to accept your commands and messages. By default, the first option allows you to send messages visible to all your current team members. Pressing TAB will toggle whether your message is read by all players in the match or specifically to all online clan members whether they are in the current match with you or not. Only specific commands are available during a match:

/? - Displays the list of all available chat commands
/w Callsign - Sends a private message (Whisper) to a specific online player. Example: /w AlphaClark Wanna joing me for a round of TDM later?
/r - Reply to the online player who just sent you a private message (Whisper). If you are whispering between two different players, /r will send a reply to the last player that sent you a Whisper.
/block - Blocks any future communications attempts to you by a specific player. Example: /block AlphaClark
/c - Sends a message visible only to all clan members currently logged into the game. Example: /c Who is playing TDM and who is playing Arms Race?

(Please note: If you TAB to Clan Chat, /c is not necessary. It's only needed for ALL Chat or TEAM Chat.

A. In-Match Team Communications Center

Black Squad offers a way for you to send a number of common urgent tactical messages to your team or to send a common urgent reply to such a tactical message while in-game.

Pressing '5' (default keybinding) on your keyboard brings up a list of tactical commands (RADIO MESSAGE-TACTICAL) you can issue to the rest of the team by pressing the corresponding number:

1 - Move Forward
2 - Fall Back
3 - Stay Close
4 - Cover This Area
5 - Follow Me
6 - Eliminate Enemy


Pressing '6' (default keybinding) on your keyboard brings up a list of tactical responses (RADIO MESSAGE-PERSONAL) you can use to respond to someone else in game by pressing the corresponding number:

1 - Roger That / Affirmative
2 - Enemy Contact
3 - Need Support
4 - Area Secured
5 - Well Done
6 - Negative


(Please note: You have the option to change RADIO MESSAGE keys in your keybinding options screen, so make sure which keys actually access any functions before you proceed in game.)

IV. CONCLUSION

Black Squad offers many different ways to communicate with your fellow players tailoring messages to a specific audience no matter where you are within the Black Squad environment. Any future developments in this area will be addressed in updated versions of this guide. If you have any additions or corrections for this guide, please send them to AlphaClark via messaging on Steam, or email at [e-mail].

Thank you for your time and attention.

Have fun playing Black Squad!

ver. 1.0 Updated 12/06/2020

[AlphaClark]

My problem had always been that I wanted to say "GG" at the end of a match like everybody else, but I had absolutely no idea how to do it. I looked around for a guide that would tell me what I needed to do, but there wasn't one. I finally started making friends and learning how to work the comm system in Black Squad. I know there are other players out there just like me who don't know their way around the comms, so I decided to write the kind of guide *I* would want to read to learn what I needed to know to at least get started. I hope you'll give it a looksee, and if you have any corrections or additions or suggestions, drop me a note here. I answer every message, and constructive criticism is always appreciated!

Have fun out there, and I'll see you on the battlefield!