PC Gaming communications opinions wanted...

[SGT_2AD 10]

Hey All,

I have some questions regarding PC communications and the different systems.

Some background. I started out on PC's for gaming a few years back, but switched to consoles after awhile. After finding ArmA I've reinvested in a PC, and am going to play the pc version of ArmA II.

There are different communication systems for the PC. You have Teamspeak, xfire, and others. Consoles are pretty straight forward.

I would like the community's opinion on the various systems out there from the ones who use them. PLEASE don't turn this into "my voice communications is better then yours" flame war. I know the importance of communications, and I want to implement a good system based on my needs. I would just like opinions on the pros and cons of each individual system, not which is best between each other.

Edited April 11, 2009 by SGT_2AD

[PhilippRauch 0]

check out mumble and murmur (its client and server) ... since its opensource, i like it best and since teamspeak(2) isnt developed anymore afaik, it seems the best bet. Also you can use asio devices and has generally better algorithms for voice comms...

[kavoven 4]

In my experience most people are using Teamspeak... Back in my WoW days *ahem* it was some kind of basic gear you had to have, though some already changed to Ventrilo (I never used it)

[PhilippRauch 0]

yeah, thats why i try to promote murmur/mumble since those dont have any fees connected with them... since teamspeak and ventrilo have fees for their servers afaik, right?

[kavoven 4]

Uh... I know that you can freely download the TS server software and put up a server on your own computer.

[PhilippRauch 0]

yeah, but only for a few users its free afaik, bigger servers need some licensing, read the eula... but this could have changed i read it the last time though.. just wanted to note it.. :) maybe my memory plays songs with me...

[SGT_2AD 10]

What about microsoft's "Game for Windows"?

They say if it is a "Games for Windows", it has voice comms built in. True?

I only play ArmA now, before xbl and game for windows?

Any word on what "ArmA 2" is going to have?

[Dwarden 1125]

there is

opensource Mumble client / Mamutu server * excelent application with 0 cost and instantly available source

then there are

TeamSpeak 3 (2 for public) * 3 is rumored to be uber godly great but noone saw it except some rare developers

Ventrilo * lot of bugs and not so simple to use

Xfire (voice/IM) * still not as good as dedicated IM

STEAM (voice/IM) * no log2hdd, no antispam

GamesForWindowsLive(voice/IM) * terrible design

Impulse (IM) * not so user friendly

and then we got tons of IMs like MSN, ICQ(AIM), JabberIM, YahooIM and ofcourse IRC and for some VOIP users (mainly biz) Skype :)

but in the end my opinion about solving problem 'how put players together' lays in this post

http://forums.bistudio.com/showpost.php?p=1267255&postcount=35

such lobby can contain everything IM like messaging and friends, IRC like chat, VOIP, server list and browser, favorites, addon/maps/mods/missions downloader etc.

Edited April 12, 2009 by Dwarden

[SGT_2AD 10]

there is

opensource Mumble client / Mamutu server * excelent application with 0 cost and instantly available source

then there are

TeamSpeak 3 (2 for public) * 3 is rumored to be uber godly great but noone saw it except some rare developers

Ventrilo * lot of bugs and not so simple to use

Xfire (voice/IM) * still not as good as dedicated IM

STEAM (voice/IM) * no log2hdd, no antispam

GamesForWindowsLive(voice/IM) * terrible design

Impulse (IM) * not so user friendly

and then we got tons of IMs like MSN, ICQ(AIM), JabberIM, YahooIM and ofcourse IRC :)

but in the end my opinion about solving problem 'how put players together' lays in this post

http://forums.bistudio.com/showpost.php?p=1267255&postcount=35

such lobby can contain everything IM like messaging and friends, IRC like chat, VOIP, server list and browser, favorites, addon/maps/mods/missions downloader etc.

Thanks to all for the info. This is one of the issues facing PC gaming in general, that a lot of gamers don't want to deal with, but is an important part of gaming. Figuring out which software to use for comms.

"One standard to rule them all"

Too many choices, and too many people using different software. It's really a pain in the butt compared to consoles.

Thanks again, I am off on my quest to find the holy grail.

[Dwarden 1125]

solution is simple

technically all You need is :

Spring lobby (opensource)

combined with VOIP

Mumble(client) + Mamutu(server) (again both opensource)

combined with

STEAMworks or IMPULSEreactor (free of charge for developers, reason i include it is master server for game server list)

to create lobby system running prior the game

and you got all You need (except offline IM message system like ICQ/MSN)

now you dont need to bother to develop any ingame UI for the server listing system and so on ...

Edited April 12, 2009 by Dwarden

[PhilippRauch 0]

Ah, and VON! Its already inside the game, works nicely in the meantime, good fun especially with directspeech ...

[Commando84 0]

Team speak and ventrilo work good, I've even used the msn built in one sometime a couple of years ago :D

[Baff1 0]

In my opinion, Ventrilo is fun and has the best sound quality of all I've tried.

Teamspeak is the most compatable and easiest to learn how to use.

I have both installed, but use Teamspeak by default.

Explaining to other people how to use it is hard enough already without having to use more complex software.

[Leopardi 0]

Teamspeak 3 will outperform ventrilo in everything, even sound quality. It will have the possibility to use 3D positioning of voices in-game.

[PhilippRauch 0]

Well mumble has that 3d positioning already, but the game and the client app needs an plugin/interface for that... TS3 shouldnt be much different!

A few games are already 'plugged in' ... i just remember WoW is one of them, unfortunately its not arma... :)

...use ArmA inbuild VON for a start!

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

Since there are varieties used, you have a "mix" available also,

http://www.gotfrag.com/portal/forums/thread/391167/

Contains:

- Ventrilo 2.1

- Ventrilo 2.2

- Ventrilo 2.3

- Ventrilo 3.0.1

- Teamspeak 2

- Mumble 1.1.4

***Added Ventrilo 3.0.1 ***

[Leopardi 0]

Well mumble has that 3d positioning already, but the game and the client app needs an plugin/interface for that... TS3 shouldnt be much different!

A few games are already 'plugged in' ... i just remember WoW is one of them, unfortunately its not arma... :)

...use ArmA inbuild VON for a start!

Mumble 3D sucks, it doesn't work at all with X-Fi CMSS-3D.

[Dwarden 1125]

Mumble 3D sucks, it doesn't work at all with X-Fi CMSS-3D.

in that case there are 2 possible reasons:

the coder of the 3D plugin / positional audio code isn't supporting X-fi enough

Creative Labs not opened some of the needed specs ...

no idea if CMSS is part of the linux opensource driver ...

[bravo 6 0]

the only "bad" thing that i think about Team Speak is that the sound is very cristal.

Per example: In youtube coop videos you can ear players talk to each other in a cristal way.. it makes the communication so unrealistic.

Now i ask: is there any software or a way to simulate communications in ArmA as a real radio communication would sound?

[Alex72 1]

Like phillip said: There is voice comms (VOIP) inside ArmA itself. You dont "have to" choose anything at all. ;) Just load up ArmA and talk to everyone.

It is capable of switching channels like ALL, GROUP, SIDE and DIRECT. The DIRECT is a special one. It will simulate the volume of your speech like in real life. If you stand close to others you will hear them and they hear you. When you walk away from them, you will hear them lesser and lesser as you gain distance between you and them. Quite cool.

Other than the VOIP i would say what the rest said: Teamspeak, Ventrillo or mumble/murmur. Its not a bad thing to have choices is it? It lets you find a favourite. But start out by testing the ArmA in-game VOIP.

Alex

[Baff1 0]

the only "bad" thing that i think about Team Speak is that the sound is very cristal.

Per example: In youtube coop videos you can ear players talk to each other in a cristal way.. it makes the communication so unrealistic.

Now i ask: is there any software or a way to simulate communications in ArmA as a real radio communication would sound?

You could try Roger Wilco, it's a 56k bandwidth version of the same thing. It has lower quality.

[kavoven 4]

A few games are already 'plugged in' ... i just remember WoW is one of them, unfortunately its not arma... :)

I remember no one using the WoW standart voice chat... I never figuered really out how it works, neither did I met anyone :D

[Leopardi 0]

the only "bad" thing that i think about Team Speak is that the sound is very cristal.

Per example: In youtube coop videos you can ear players talk to each other in a cristal way.. it makes the communication so unrealistic.

Now i ask: is there any software or a way to simulate communications in ArmA as a real radio communication would sound?

Creative X-Fi cards have to possibility to do that. You can make it so that game audio comes through the mic, like if you're in a chopper they will hear the chopper in the background.

[PhilippRauch 0]

If you like some nice comms effect, build something with two PMR, works too ... ;) in the audiopath of your mic and headset thats what i mean...

[bravo 6 0]

Creative X-Fi cards have to possibility to do that. You can make it so that game audio comes through the mic, like if you're in a chopper they will hear the chopper in the background.

what if i don't have those sound cards, atm i have an inboard one. Can't i simulate a more realistic sound with an specific software?

edit:

If you like some nice comms effect, build something with two PMR, works too ... ;) in the audiopath of your mic and headset thats what i mean...

I don't know what you mean with PMR. Can you elaborate please?