Posts with tag mumble

Headsets and voice communications have become ubiquitous to group play in MMOs today. Guilds freely share their server addresses with pickup players. PvP groups rely on tight communication to sweep to resounding battleground victories. Even players in random groups often meet up on voice comms to simplify strategy and tactical coordination. Headsets have become quite affordable, and USB connections make it easy to simply plug in and play.

Despite all this, speaking up in a channel full of strangers can be one of the more intimidating and awkward experiences in your group play experience. And then there's the other side of the coin: bearing up under the onslaught of That Guy in Vent who's cursing up a blue streak at every turn of the encounter, leaving his mic open so the rest of us can fully experience his barking dog, his blaring television and his half-chewed mouthful of pizza.

The Voice Comms Etiquette talk probably wasn't part of your mama's standard coming-of-age advice repertoire, so consider this the heart-to-heart advisory every player should receive upon reaching grouping age. Go forth with awareness and the facts!

Not everyone knows or remembers this, but there is actually an in-game voice chat. I don't think anyone uses it because it has rather severe functionality problems. I tried to use it for an It came from the Blog event, but it was painful.

Otherwise, the most common voice chat programs in use are Ventrilo, Mumble, and Skype. Ventrilo and Mumble are very much like text chat programs that use voice instead. Skype is more of an internet telephone service.

I know players who use voice chat as guild chat, which can cause a problem with non-voice-chat-using guildies. Many don't have microphones, have to be quiet, are shy, or otherwise can't or don't want to speak instead of type. A schism can occur between those who do use voice and those who don't. And nobody likes schisms.

When not being used for chatter, players use voice chat to coordinate group activities -- such as dungeons or pre-made PvP. In these cases, not being able to at least hear everyone speaking can make a player a liability to the rest of the group.

Do you use voice chat when you play? If so, which one and what do you use it for? If not, why not?

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12 Days of Winter Veil is under way here at WoW Insider. That means 12 days of giveaways, from loot codes to gaming mice to decor and apparel. Whether you've been a good goblin or a naughty night elf, there's a chance that WoW Insider has a holiday gift for you this season.

Our good friends at MMO-Mumble have set us up with three gift codes for a one-year subscription to a 50-slot Mumble server. MMO-Mumble is a voice chat host aimed specifically at MMO gamers, and Mumble itself is the up-and-coming VoIP service that's quickly solidified itself as a strong alternative to Ventrilo. Many high-end raiders now prefer Mumble for its lower latency, improved sound quality, and myriad of other benefits. A perfect gift for your guild!

To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. You must be 18 years of age or older and a legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). You can only enter once. Three winners will be chosen at random. Make sure the email address you use to post your entry comments is one you check regularly, because that's how we'll contact our winners. Official rules here.

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This post has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

It was before my time, but I still hear nostalgic stories about how TeamSpeak was once the voice communication service of choice for MMO gamers. Barring a few potential holdouts -- who I must assume are raiding from nondescript shacks in the mountains of Montana -- there's been a very clear sea change that has placed Ventrilo quite comfortably at the top of the heap. If you raid, chances are you have Vent.

Like its predecessors, though, Vent has competitors of its own vying to overthrow the current king of speech. Perhaps the one getting the most attention right now is Mumble, which boasts low latency, clear sound, and the pseudo-celebrity endorsements of more than a few WoW Insider staffers.

Personally, my guild started using Mumble a few months ago and hasn't looked back. Now, this is partly because one of my officers pimps it out like she's getting paid, but mostly because so many of the guildies just plain think it's better. We've run into some problems -- mainly with installation or getting the not-always-intuitive client to work properly -- but for better or worse, it looks like we've been transformed into a Mumble guild. We've even started requesting that puggies download it before raids, promising them that they'll never again want to return to Ventrilo.

So, have you tried Mumble yet, either of your own volition or due to peer (to peer) pressure? Did you feel like there were benefits, or did you find yourself missing Vent? Do you think it will ever become as ubiquitous as Vent or will it eventually fade into obscurity? Most importantly, what will you Vent loyalists do the next time you enter a raid and the leader sends you their Mumble info?

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Every week, join us as we present you with the WoW Insider Show podcast -- an hour's worth of WoW community discussion covering everything from the week's top stories here on WoW Insider to emails from our readers and what's been going on with our particular characters in Azeroth.

I'm also pleased to announce that this is the last podcast recorded using Skype. It's been a fun few years, Skype, but the time has come to Mumble a bit more.

Want to have your question answered on the air? Email theshow@wowinsider.com!

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Since servers are still down, here's another contest!

A VoIP server is essential to the fast-paced environment of the raiding game, and WoW Insider and MMO-Mumble want to prove it to you! To enter for a chance to win a 50-person Mumble server for an entire year, all you have to do for is comment on this post before Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010 at 11:59 a.m. ET. We'll randomly pick one winner.

In order to enter, you must be 18 years of age or older and be a legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). You may enter only once. Make sure your profile email is correct, because that's how we'll get hold of you if you win!

Official rules are here.

UPDATE: Contest closed. The winner will be contacted shortly. Thanks!

Addon Spotlight focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week, raaaaaaandom addons!

You are cordially invited to another wonderful Addon Spotlight Grab bag extravaganza! Next week, I'll be talking about the Cataclysm in-game ability notification system that Blizzard is working on. That would have been this week, if my beta wasn't screwing up and I didn't get all the pictures and potentially video required for a proper post for you fine readers. Instead, you get a grab bag of fun, useful and downright crucial addons that might not be the biggest guys of the bunch, but they definitely do ... something. Plus, "grab bag" is fun to say.

Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column in which the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Mondays. Even working from home cannot make Mondays a more exciting day. I think we should just eradicate all Mondays and replace them with a new, more awesome day. Who's with me?

Erinorofdarkspear asked:

Am I going to be able to play through Operation Gnomeregan after Cataclysm comes out, or am I going to need to reactivate my account before Cataclysm hits and do it?

"What's your Vent info?" is as ubiquitous as "What's your GearScore?" Voice chat programs are a fact of WoW life, and by all means Ventrilo dominates the market. After five years of using Ventrilo, I say it's time to change to something better.

One of the most common questions I get from the show Big Crits is "what's the mod that shows who's talking in Vent?" It's actually not a mod, and in fact it's not even Ventrilo. Big Crits uses Mumble, a low latency VOIP program for gaming. It's mostly unknown in WoW, as Ventrilo clearly dominates voice chat in our world. Mumble is perhaps better known in FPS circles, where the low latency really gives it a competitive advantage.

I started this article with every intention of making a pros-and-cons comparison between the two programs, but in truth, I had a hard time coming up with pros for Ventrilo. I'll run through features, but don't be surprised if you come out of this with a new perspective on voice chat options and a strong desire to switch to Mumble.