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His Lovely Wife

So, lately I've been playing GuildWars, a nice little game, I needed some fantasy in my life after all that Hero stuff.
Anyway, I've had occasion to use TeamSpeak. It's a lovely little thing and it makes teaming ever so much easier when you can actually talk to someone in Realtime, no pauses for typing. Is this something we should look into? My understanding is that it's free. I could be wrong. But I know it costs less than Ventrillo.
That doesn't mean that we need to RP in Teamspeak. That would just be bizarre . I'm sure I sound much to female to ever sound like one of the male Mac Hines. But for all that other chatter, and especially for teaming, would it be useful?
-Cindy

Kokuten

I would be interested in this product and or service.
There are pay-ware Vent servers available. the first one I looked at
( www.ventrilo.com/hosting.php?byctry=usa )
Pro Gamer Hosting, USA
( www.progamerhosting.com/ ) offered a 10-seat Vent server for _$3.99_ a month.
12 bucks a month gets you 25 seats.
Edit To Add: Vent Server itself is freeware, Vent Client is also freeware. The 'pay per seat' thing is for someone elses server, bandwidth, maintenance..
So there's nothing stopping someone with confidence in their bandwidth from setting up a server _for_ us. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979
It can be useful, I have and use it for World of Warcraft stuff (it's a guild requirement). And yes, it's free.
--Sam
"And that's just it, Doc, my mind has always been my Achilles' heel!"

Kokuten

Adding again,
Vent looks like it's much more sophisticated in what it supports for audio processing - namely, it's surround aware.
This doesn't sound like a big deal, but this would let me assign individual spatial positioning for any given user that my client can hear. Fr'ex, I could put "All y'all" on back/center, and since most of the action in CoH happens in front/center..

you get the idea.
Vent sounds like a bang-up plan to me. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979
Teamspeak, though, is free. ^.^
--Sam
"Monkey outta nowhere!"
Two items.
1) I also have Guild Wars, and while I haven't played in a while - yes, it really is an awesome game, and...hell, maybe we should see who here has it - or other MMOs - as well. Extend our evil beyond CoH! @_@/
2) I'd be pretty on board if we set up some sort of voice chat thing. That can add a lot to gameplay coordination, plus, y'know, it's just fun to do period with a laid back crowd. I've done that on Auto Assault with a couple friends, but that's my only experience with it.
-- Acyl

Kokuten

EML - teamspeak, vent, both free.
However, you can buy a hosted server for cheap and take the management and bandwidth problem off your hands..
Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979
I'd freak some folks out If I went TeamSpeak...
Would probably get some "say hi to everyone" chatter from the peanut gallery, you see.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

His Lovely Wife

Quote:
Would probably get some "say hi to everyone" chatter from the peanut gallery, you see.
That's half the fun. :-) You'd get that at our house too. Someone saying, Who'se on?; Say Hi to whoever for me; Bolo barking in the background; Bolo singing in the background.
Now I'm off to compare TS and Vent. Back soon! -C-
ETA: Ok, I cheated a little bit and went to the note a wonderful Ventrillo and TS tester did for the Guild I'm in. Here are some of the points they made, not verbatim:
1-Both Vent and TS have functions no one will use, this I think, is a given with every program. TS lets you know when someone has left the channel.
2-TS is a little more user friendly. Personally, I've only played with it twice and I'm still trying to figure it out. Can't seem to get my microphone to work, but I'm working on it! ^_^ It could also be my microphone.
3-Now, this information is European based, so it may not be as accurate. Ventrillo apparently has limited free spots for non commercial use; TS is licensed for 1000 slots for noncommercial use with the only cost incurred being that for electricity, a machine to run it on and one hour of monthly maintenance from the Guild Leader aka whoever we pick as the person to look after it.
Now, I will admit, these guys had an existing TS server, which they decided to stay with. They regularly have about 10 people a night using it. With a maximum of about 42 when they have social nights.
Talking to Rev about it this morning, I reiterated that we wouldn't need to RP on the channel if we didn't want to. Although he does a great Thibor voice. Anyway, debate away. -Cindy
I think by the very nature of the medium, RPing in voice chat is difficult - you're more prone to make out-of-character exclamations, and not everyone is good at, well, ad-lib acting, essentially. Granted, those are the same constraints that apply to tabletop gaming...
Among other things, though, quite a few of us have characters that, well, bluntly are of different sex from our own. =P
I'm fairly sure I could do a decent Superball, Light Errant, or Steam Engine voice. Syndesis or Space Mage might be more of a stretch. I mean, I could do it, whether it'd be convincing is another matter entirely.
Particularly Space.
-- Acyl
I've scared people with my Nogi. Seriously. I threw her at my Pen and Paper RP group.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll
I have, in the past, used both TeamSpeak, and Vent.
Among the notable differences:
-TS has a bit more of a User/Admin settings, there are Unregistered users, Registered Users, Admins and SuperAdmins. Each has their own level of privilege to act. In TS you get a voice announcing "New Player" or "Member Joined" depending on registration status. There is no notification if another player leaves/joins the channel. TS has a much larger connection capacity than Vent as well.
-Vent however, you get (somewhat crude) text-to-speech when someone logs on/off or joins/leave the channel. The Announcments are: "(phonetic) has connected" "(phonetic) has joined the channel" "(phonetic) has left the channel" "(phonetic) has left the server." The phonetic is either your user name if a phonetic is not assigned, or one can specifically be assigned by said user. So you can have Vent call you just about anything, -if- you want. Also in Vent, there is a way to amplify just a single user's volume, as opposed to just total output volume in TS.
That should add a little info to this debate.[Image: smalldarksideoc5.png]
"Nothing really exists, but really, nothing exists."
---

The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI
Quote:
Among other things, though, quite a few of us have characters that, well, bluntly are of different sex from our own. =P
I have a good speaking voice, I've even been complimented on it a few times. But it is most emphatically a male one. Can't even come close to disguising it.
I have both Teamspeak and Ventrillo. When I speak, I try not to speak directly in my character's voice if she is female. I say things like "Lora'Lai says,'...'" and go from there.
If playing one of my male characters, like Cyberman 8 or Stalnoy Volk, I'd be much more likely to speak in character.
I can always type in character of course.
-Logan
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"Wake up! Time for SCIENCE!"
-Adam Savage
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As to the tactical benefits of running a voice chat program? They are profound. And I cannot overemphasize them. It's pretty much required if you are running large raids in World of Warcraft.
In WoW, however, it isn't a good idea to just let everyone speak. Usually, in a 20-40 man raid, the only ones who should be speaking are the raid leaders and the team leaders of each element.
In CoH/V, that's no so much of a concern. The largest team only goes to 8. And while you can have large raids like on the Rikti Mothership, they can actually be run without it successfully.
PVP teams on the other hand. If you can talk instantly with your teammates and your opponents have to type? Unless that other team is so well versed in what they do that they don't NEED to talk to each other all that much, you have a major advantage.
In standard missions, it usually doesn't confer that great an advantage, but it is fun and more manageable to not have to stop to type.
I for one, would be much more likely to "combat quip". ^_^-Logan
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"Wake up! Time for SCIENCE!"
-Adam Savage
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Kokuten

Quote:
Also in Vent, there is a way to amplify just a single user's volume, as opposed to just total output volume in TS.
This is a prime prime prime point for me.

As soon as there is consensus, I'm going to setup 15 seats worth of Vent or TS commercial server. That will let us use the software in the 'all up' configuration we'd actually _be_ using, and see how it works.

And, to be honest, even getting 30-40 seats on a commercial server isn't a financial load for me. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979
My question is, given that many of us work with fairly marginal computers for running more than just the game client, how much of a load on bandwidth and CPU/RAM is the program going to be?--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!

--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
The client? Negligible.

I have a GW account, I don't remember where I'm stuck in the game. I remember picking up Factions under the mistaken belief it would let me get the good underlings, and being massively disappointed when it didn't.
I have some slick gear on my R/N, but let me tell you, a Ranger/Necro is *tough* if you don't set him up as a Touch-Ranger.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"

His Lovely Wife

So, it seems people are enthusiastic about this. Shall we put it to a vote?
Kokuten seems to have volunteered to administer whichever one we pick, thank you .
So, which shall it be? TS or Vent?
Ladies and gentlemen, your votes please. -C-
Uhhh, I have a marginal preference for Ventrilo, I guess, but it really doesn't matter either way to me...to be perfectly honest. =)
(As for Guild Wars, I have two reasonably equipped-up characters, an Elementalist/Monk and Dervish/Elementalist, though it does need to be said my builds and gear aren't amazingly good. My playstyle for GW is also rather one dimensional blammy-blammy-blammy or slashy-slashy-slashy. =P)
-- Acyl
Having never done either, I'm a firm vote of Undecided.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll
I've updated my Ventrilo client, so I should be able to hook up to the server you were trying to set up last night.
-Logan
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"Wake up! Time for SCIENCE!"
-Adam Savage
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Kokuten

votes will be tallied in this thread, voting will proceed until the monday after thanksgiving.
So, monday during the day, I will be purchasing our new voice server, and monday evening, we should have voice, new faces in the actual Legendary SG, and I11 to play with..
ought to be an interesting day!
-WG, voting for vent, obviously. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979
I already have a Vent account for use on WoW. I haven't downloaded the software or set up my headset, but a friend set me up otherwise. Which is, admittedly, only one step away from NOT having an account, but it's more than I have on Teamspeak. If that's a vote for Vent, so be it. At this point, I'm pretty ambivalent.Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
I've already got Teamspeak, so there's my vote.
--Sam
"Then he threw a chimney at us!"
Y'know this brings to mind... folks will actually get to hear some of my dialect on some of my toons.
Toons I KNOW I can do via vent and stay IC:
MirrorKnight Hiroshi
Wide Receiver
Ebon Fox
Olive Oomph *don't ask: even if I'm not suitably feminine, I can do the accent*
One and Only Curly
Bullets the Clown
Happy Grin
Bizarre Mouse
Lucien Ferrara

Hmmm. My "digital butt syndrome" will cause amusing problems here... But not as bad as Valles'. [Image: wink.gif]
And.. the peanut gallery will think I've gone insane... but what a bonus! [Image: happy.gif]
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll
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