Current Microphone and Speech Settings
Update 0.1.73 enables automatic microphone leveling by default. To adjust the phone microphone manually from 50% to 200%, turn automatic leveling off in General settings. The earlier Hotfix 3 introduced a saved sensitivity control; 0.1.73 changes its default behavior.
The same update adds Moonshine English speech recognition for the compatibility path, including older Windows CPUs without AVX. Whisper was restored on older CPUs with AVX but without AVX2. These are developer-described compatibility changes, not guarantees that every microphone or processor will work.
Qwen3 Voice Download
For non-English languages, the launch announcement asks players to let the Qwen3 text-to-speech download finish on the main menu for higher-quality voices. A launch hotfix moved those downloads to a dedicated server and improved download reliability.
The game now warns before hosting or joining when higher-quality voices are not ready, offering the choice to wait or continue. Hotfix 2 also added clearer troubleshooting messages and a reminder that Qwen3 can be disabled if it is too slow.
Update 0.1.73 says Qwen3 requires a compatible GPU and automatically switches off if speech takes more than seven seconds to start. This is newer than the five-second threshold stated in Hotfix 3.
Speech Recognition Does Not Start
The developers fixed speech startup crashes affecting some PCs, including reports involving GTX 1650 and RTX 4060 Ti systems, and later added protection for older Windows CPUs. These are patch-note fixes, not new hardware requirements.
Typed dialogue remains available. If speech startup still fails, the official notes support continuing with text while checking the latest developer announcements for additional fixes.
Hotfix 2 also reduced speech-recognition delays and filtered more false captions triggered by music. The notes report an improvement, not a guarantee that every delay or transcription issue is gone.
A main-menu warning now appears when speech recognition is unavailable and reminds players they can type. Update 0.1.73 also includes browser-based Steam sign-in and bug-report fallbacks for players with authentication problems.
Caller Voice Loading
Hotfix 2 addressed caller voices that could remain stuck while loading and a Qwen3 startup state that could block caller input. It also reduced memory use while loading custom caller voices.
AI Access and Status Messages
The first hotfix fixed cases where an incorrect PC clock prevented AI access and added clearer clock guidance. Hotfix 2 changed AI failures and temporary usage restrictions so they display status messages instead of simulated caller dialogue.
Those messages should be treated as service or configuration information. This guide does not infer a cause beyond what the game reports.
Before Joining Multiplayer
If the voice-readiness warning appears before hosting or joining, players can wait for higher-quality voice files or continue. Multiplayer reliability during temporary Steam network congestion was also addressed in the first hotfix.
For current room limits and joining options, read the Multiplayer Lobby Guide .
For the full official change summary, see Launch Hotfixes .
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play without voice input?
Typed dialogue remains available according to the official Hotfix 2 notes.
Should I wait for the Qwen3 download?
The game now lets players wait or continue. For higher-quality non-English text-to-speech, the launch announcement recommends allowing the download to finish on the main menu.
Can Qwen3 be disabled?
Yes. Hotfix 2 added a reminder that Qwen3 can be disabled if it is too slow.
Why does the game show an AI status message?
Hotfix 2 introduced clearer messages for AI failures and temporary usage restrictions instead of presenting those states as caller dialogue.