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Was reading another game related web site and came across an interesting topic and I have not seen it discussed here in length. So I thought I would start it up here to see what others think. VOIP, voice over internet protocol, such as Roger Wilco, Teamspeak and Ventrilo. They've pretty much become a must in such games as team based FPS's, and many guilds use them to coordinate raids of 20+ people. Many feel VOIP destroy's the immersion in a game such as Vanguard and others feel that the maturity level of some players makes using VOIP out of the question. Others even go so far to say that VOIP destroy's a community because chat channels, like global and group become silent.
Newer games like DDO and Tabula Rosa have this built in - is this going to become the norm in the near future?
So what is your take on VOIP? Do you use it?
Comments
When it is integrated yeah I frequently make use of it, sometimes just to listen in but usually to talk. Losing focus to the chat window is something I developed an antipathy for quickly. Mostly I hate sending something that I can see has an obvious typo and I prefer to include punctuation. Also when moving my fingers to and from the keyboard and mouse I lose the home keys and start typing stuff with one hand offset.
I have a teamspeak server running 24 hours, have done for years.
I generally only use it to play with my mates.
I used to use it all the time in Shooter games, and I recently used it to play WoW.
It makes winning games much easier.
It also substitutes for typing with people if you get a comedy bunch, who aren't just going to drone on about "+3 vorpal sword vs Holy avenger"?
Essentially I prefer to just use it with my friends. It's just too invasive. I don't want strange people swearing in my living room. I don't want hard to decypher accents or squeakies talking to me, so that I must constantly say "what? say that again please?" 7 times in a row and then just give up and feel rude.
Great tool for those people I do want to talk to though. So much cheaper than the mobile or international calls.
Since I mainly play on European servers, built in voice comms isn't particulalry helpful. We don;t all speak the same langauages and typing is the easiest way to communicate for most people. You have top join a nationality based guild for talking.
Played: EQ, EQ2, Vanguard, WAR, WoW, LoTRO, CoX, CO, GW2, FFXIV: ARR, AoC, Rift, TSW, SWTOR, TERA, BnS, ESO
I can see how it's great for other people tho. I jus hope people don't say one three three seven pwns joo.
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I wish that games had better VOIP integration in thier games. I have not run across one game where the VOIP was integrated well enough to convince me to use it instead of teamspeak or ventrillo.
More players need to get a headset because voice chat is the way to go.
Personally, I really don't like it. In my experience it can exclude people who don't want to use it. There's a danger of it being a private chat channel in a guild which either forces people to use it just so they don't get left out, or they miss out on what's being said.
I also find that it will almost certainly subtract from any kind of role-play experience.
For some reason, those who do like it often have a hard time understanding why somebody might not want to use it.
I wouldn't want to stop others using it, but any guild (or whatever organisation method the game has) should be set up to either use it or not, so that those joining have the choice at that point.
A game which has it built in would be an immediate turn off, as far as I was concerned.
There are a couple of other threads covering this topic - just if you want more opinions. I'm not suggesting that it's not something that should be brought up again - I'm sure there are many here who haven't had their say.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/96096
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/119568
"Speaking haygywaygy or some other gibberish with your mum doesn't make you foreign."
-baff
I have been using VOIP for years to help my gaming. I log into comms before I even think about loading a game. In our "guild", we play multiple games, and it can help determine which game I will even play that day. We have divisions in 4 games, plus a channel for RTS games we play on the side. Depending on who's online I could play WoW, or EVE, or maybe a FPS like CC:S or AA. Our guild is very voice dedicated and I couldn't imagine playing any other way now.
I have to say though, I really don't care for games to have built-in VOIP, and the reason quite simply is that we run our community in multiple games and keep in close contact with everyone, regardless which game they play within our divisions. A built-in VOIP simply stops us from being in the same server. There's nothing more fun for me, than bouncing from one channel to another and playing games with like minded people in our different divisions.
I'd even go so far as to suggest getting drunk and jumping out of WoW to go shoot some people in CS:S for some fast paced killing is great. Yet, at the same time, if the WoW division needs me, or others for a raid, we're still in the same server and easily found. Do I like VOIP servers dedicated to gaming communities? Hell yes. Do I like built-in VOIP in a game? Hell no.
In any case, I think it should be built in to all games. It's basically the future. The only thing that annoys me is actually hearing the people in these damn games. A lot of people don't realize it, but their voices are annoying, especially when they talk like a hardass. I mean, if you're a suburban white guy in your twenties, and you've never played sports or enlisted in the military, and all you do is play video games, it takes about two seconds to identify that from your voice. It's usually not anything pleasant about the way you sound. Couple that with the fact that such people are usually the most outspoken assholes telling people how to play, and you're starting to understand why some people hate voicechat.
I use it quite a bit, from FPS's to MMO's. In group activities its almost essential vice trying to type orders or relay messages while fighting at the same time. The key is teamwork, a semi chain of command and discipline when you are fighting to only pass info when needed. Of course, I have been on a few VOIPs where it was useless to be on. Folks yelling over each other or just BS'ing in a battle channel. It actually creates more confusion than helping out. Global and group channels should still remain for folks that prefer not to use it or do not have a headset to use. I notice that most global chat channels get little to no use after a while because they usually end up getting spammed by bots or AFK players selling ingame items or web based services (leveling, gold, etc.).
I can kind of see how some say that it destroys immersion in-game. However, what is the difference between talking and roleplaying on EQ2 vice a PnP AD&D game with everyone around the table? If a person is immature then you can always silence them or kick them off the channel.
As far as the built in VOIP's in games, so far I haven't been impressed with any. They seem to 1) Never get used or 2) Actually create more lag than a stand alone server of TS, Vent , etc.
Just my two cents.
"If we don't attack them, they will attack us first. So we'd better retaliate before they have a chance to strike"
I only use it if theres chicks on it
I use it sometimes, but not all the time. Im not a chatty person, I chat enough at work. I also dont like talking to kids. If im going to talk to someone, theyre going to at least be around my age.
I think kids are the main reasons I dont use voice chat as much as Id like to be honest.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
-chatting kills the f in the fps
i would love to have intergrated voip in my games
cause it makes communication easier-
talking is just natural so what should be bad about it?
if it kills your immersion cause the bearded dwarf talks like a 15year-old child
then they just have to implement voice modificators
anyway i prefer a 15year old dwarf over writing a half hour what i could have said in 5min...
Pi*1337/100 = 42
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
"Speaking haygywaygy or some other gibberish with your mum doesn't make you foreign."
-baff
I don't need it.Anyone that is half serious about the game they are playing,should know how to play there job and know what there role is.The very little extra knowledge that is needed for a raid type fight or a quest should easily be transferred by the leader to the players in a matter of minutes.I have been a little frustrated my self in trying to communicate with players at times,but this is because they are inadequate players or noobs as you will.Usually in these cases its more of an arguement over who knows more,to wich i don't need that type of heated arguement over a chat speak.The player with most knowledge or at least the tank with most knowledge should be leading the way,noobs shouldn't be rushing out front.
Simple know your job,play it well and that's all you need to know.If you need to frantically wail out instructions to players during battle,then you have brought the wrong players with you,hence noobs.Yes noobs can be high level players,who do nothing more than speed level with no actual thought process to the game.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Its about here that I came to the conclusion that you're essentialy talking out your ass, and have most probably never participated in an end-game raid in your life.
"Speaking haygywaygy or some other gibberish with your mum doesn't make you foreign."
-baff
thats just like 1 out of 100 situations where communication is needed
so what about the rest?
@ Theodoryk
Its about here that I came to the conclusion that you're essentialy talking out your ass,
and have most probably never participated in an end-game raid in your life.
na, i think its true for a lot of classes which main task is to deal damage
-just dont aggro it and sometimes you gotta stop dealing damage at certain steps in a boss fight
to avaid death -no big deal.
Pi*1337/100 = 42
VOIP is very handy in gaming, be it coordinating a group or just chatting with guildies while grinding. I use it all the time for guild chat or grouping with regulars but no way would I use it for pick up groups. As someone mentioned you don't know who your going to get on the other end, whether you'll be able to understand them either cause of language differences, accents or poor mic setup. The written word works better in avoiding confusion in those cases and causes less headaches.
Depends on the game and the particular instance being discussed, to a degree. Still, even the simplest of 40 man raids requires alot more preparation and instruction during the actual fight than "K, I'm going to take a couple minutes to run through shit with you guys, and if you wipe, you're a bunch of noobs."
"Speaking haygywaygy or some other gibberish with your mum doesn't make you foreign."
-baff