Yeah there is more deaf pilots in EVE, Three are in my corp, myself included. They PVP a lot more than I can (College keeps me busy) and they are pretty good at it. We've come across other deaf pilots in different corp/alliances but we don't know them personally. I recruited two deaf players from my college two months ago and they are still playing. So yeah there is more deaf pilots out there that I am not aware of.

Often we get lucky to get a nice person willing to relay for us, sometime it doesn't happen so we tend to avoid those fights because we often get left behind. A relay channel does help for us. Relaying the other stuff not related to the mission isn't an requirement but a nice bonus.

I personally can hear sounds above 80db so my earphone is cranked up high (Destroyed several headphones due to this... lol.) I can recognize sounds such as shield/armor getting low alarm, nearby explosion, guns firing, running footsteps, etc etc. Just that I can't understand spoken words.

I believe that you were one of my relay in one of the previous fight. I died in that fight but wasn't your fault. Got alpha'd inside a bubble. I would gladly fly with you again.

Thanks for being awesome and helping us deaf pilots out, it's appreciated!

I turned all eve sounds off the first day I subscribed my second account.

I was in fleet the other day and one of the fleet members was deaf. The FC asked for someone to relay commands, and I x'ed up. Fleet chat was busy with banter and noise so I opened a private chat specifically for the relayed voice and invited anyone in fleet to it.

As it was only myself and the person who needed the relay were there. This sort of surprised me because I often miss a voice command and have to go back and read through chat or look at the broadcasts to see what is going on. A dedicated relay channel would be awesome.

Anyway I typed all the voice commands and tried to relay some of the idle banter; little arguments and calls to clear comms, FC thinking out loud, and laughter that you sometimes hear.

I'm not a great typist or a good multi-tasker =-P We both died! But I had a good time and it was interesting to think about the game in a new way.

Are you unable to hear sounds in Evef? have you worked with a deaf person in game? What would you like to see and how can you best be incorporated into fleet? Do you have access to a talk to text program? or does that lag things up too much? Is it better if a dedicated relayer interprets fleet chat or would it be better if everything is broadcast using the fleet broadcast tool?

Anyway, thanks for your time and for anyone that has a handicap thanks for playing, it helps me to see the game in new and interesting ways.

I used to play with a girl that was a deaf/mute. I talked quite a bit with her cousin and he helped her out quite a bit since they often stayed in the same house.
...edited for space...
I dont know what else they could do to make it easier tho... Not many people have the patience to sit and write out commands like you did in the middle of a fleet, and even for those that do its so easy to mess it up somehow (especially when english is not your native language, or its an odd accent).

However im sure the broadcast system can be improved on to be even faster and easier to use, and have some more options (like a big "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" button) but honestly i think the only people who can really answer what would make it easier are people who are deaf and have experiense being in fleets.

I remember flying with a guy that was a quadriplegic. I kid you not. I can't remember how we even got to the topic one day when we were flying but it completely blew me away.

He has a special system that he used his chin and something else to do all of the commands. He ended up linking us the systems he used. I was impressed that he was still able to go on roams and do so much despite what we think of as a disability really made me take a good hard look at people that complain about minor inconveniences in life.

I personally don't play with a lot of in-game sound. I'm usually too busy talking/listening on TS. Kudos to you my friend for taking the time to write to the guy and keep him updated on what the FC was saying.

+1 from me for a great story.

There are deaf players out there. Unfortunately most of them just creep by using the "oh yeah i cant use voip sorry" with whatever reasons they can muster to make excuses. Most of the more ambitious corporations are really useless when it comes to a relay channel. The few times they tried, they did their best but they just weren't able to do it and eventually got tired of relaying it which only worsens the problem.

It's sad though, I'd play the game more if there were dedicated relayers. Anyways it's neat to see that CVA has some deaf pilots, but I don't think I'd be able to join CVA on my main (hence why I'm posting on this alt to prevent embarrassment) due to his... ahem... UK history.

But yeah, the corporations I have been in are totally useless when it comes to relay that I've just given up on them altogether. I once tried to make a "deaf only corporation" on a character called Nonexistent Face (he is not me, I sold him a long time ago) but it never became successful because... well it was just my two deaf irl friends and I ... no one else joined for nearly a year or something iirc.

EDIT: Hmm, it appears that my main is not actually KOS. It's just his (admittedly pirate-based) corporation that's KOS so I guess if I left I could apply...? I may get in touch with you dudes after all :)

Considering how common the question "EVE has sound?" is, I'd say there are a lot of deaf players. In fact, they may be the majority.

Yeah I would love to see some more work done on the broadcast panel, it is a great part of the UI and really makes fleet actions a lot more coordinated, with or without voice.

I'm not sure how I would improve it actually! Maybe resizable/bigger buttons, hotkeys and a few more command options.