Slightly ahead of the Guild's Council Meeting on Sunday, I would like to (re-)open the discussion about two possible programs we could use for Guild Raiding.
Some of You may think that a discussion this on this topic goes too far. When You have listened to Members discussing this topic in the recent past, you will have found out that some People wish to use Ventrilo because they have good experiences with it. I on the other hand want to rid the Guild of it because I only have good experiences with Skype and some Members have just heard about these two chatprograms without knowing what they're there for.
My Experience with Ventrilo are numerous and negative. One of the most negative aspects of the program i find the excrusiating mix up in voices over my headset: its very hard to distinguish difference in (tones of) voices, as the program doesnt allow it. And then there is the disturbance when more than one or two people speak at the same time! I also have a problem with Ventrilo using up a lot of my resources that I would otherwise spend on WoW itself. And last but not least, I cant see to get used to holding a key down to speak without it conflicting with my rotation or the quickness of my mind. Apart from all these aspects, getting to use a server, someone has to come up with the cost. Ventrilo servers are NOT for free.
Needless to say, all of the above described problems do not exist in Skype. This is always hands-free, has no disturbances whatsoever or doesnt flatten voices when they "look alike". Skype also uses only little of my slaptop's resources, so i will always be able to have my run well. Skype doesnt cost a thing. Not the program and not the conference call.
Before I "ban" the Ventrilo program, I would like to start some fair trials with both programs in different situations of WoW. Excluding Ventrilo from our gaming will not just be a matter I would force a decision upon, it would be a Guild Decision for the best program. I would like to ask all Ventrilo users to help install the correct versions with the other Members during the coming days, whereas I will be on stand-by to guide People through the Skype setup.
And Last but Not Least: Tell me what You think! Post, Post, Post!
Ary
I would also recommend Teamspeak v2. Ive used teamspeak alot back in my battlefield 2 days. Worked very well.
ReplyDeleteI am unfamiliar with Skype, except that I have observed it on clients computers where it has been installed with countless other programs, the entire bundle appearing to hog system resources.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest some considerations while coming to a decision on what to eventually choose.
Bandwidth: Just how much of your internet download allowance will the chat program take up. Generally speaking, the clearer the sound the beter the codec and usually an increase in data moved.
Simplex / Duplex: Teamspeak allows for you to talk and listen at the same time but, like a telephone, Ventrilo doesn't..
Interfacing with WoW: As far as I know, only the built in chat facility will indicate in game who is talking. I could be wrong here, but I feel this is an important consideration.
Quantity of Talkers: Just how mant people in a raid should be doing the talking?
One final note: My personal experiences with Guild Speach servers, either Vent or Teamspeak, is that the less mature members of the guild abuse use of it for general social chat. Though that wouldn't be a problem in Knights of Ni... Would it?
I have not used skype recently, but have been told it is functional but still needs to be set up to replicate out of the box vent functions. My personal preference is for an "always there" voice communications host so I do not have to stuff around for 15 minutes getting everybody to join a conference. Push to talk is mandatory. Without this you hear every slurp, burp, background noise, and reaction comment that comes into people's heads.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot raid on mute. You must be able to talk when required. You must have the ability to quickly toggle speach on and off depending on the need of the raid leader. Without push to talk people will talk at the wrong time and needless wipes or time wasting will happen, either because of confusion, inappropriate banter or plain wrong "reaction" calls by people who do not know better.
The only people who should be talking when a fight is being called or executed are those who have either been asked or those who are calling out an IMPORTANT event. For those that haven't got a lot of raid experience probably will not have learnt what these events look like.
Personally, I don't want to use a non dedicated voice system. Normally I don't care if you cannot work out how to set up a "push to talk" (ptt) binding that is usable without breaking your dps/healing/tanking rotation and effectiveness. It is doable in Skype but then you get back to the same problem you have with vent. I do care if you are in a raid I'm in and you can't do this as you will directly negatively affect not only my experience in the game but the other people in the raid.
Most of the issues listed above talk to personal experience. You cannot detect in vent when I am using sarcasm, irony, deadpan or just plain being tired. My use of English is based on my cultural background and social environment. Not being able to learn how to use a push to talk button is a handicap you will need to get over if you ever want to raid.
The same time making derogitory comments about other people's resources (I have just memory profiled skype and vent and gotten about the same) should be kept out of this. Again there is a "I don't have a problem so therefore it's you" tone to this. Feel free to conduct your experiment. Unless you come back with something better than subjective personal opinion it's really not worth the effort.
You cannot ban people using software that they need for interacting with others for raiding, inside and outside of the guild. A guild is not a democracy, but it sure as hell is not a dictactorship.
Wumper.
Hey Wump,
ReplyDeleteThe point wasnt "banning" members, but banning Ventrilo.
Hey Guys
ReplyDeleteI've used both Vent and Skype and don't mind either of them being used. I will say that I have had both positive and negative experiences with both. Some days vent will be great then the next it's a shambles, the same goes with Skype which we (myself and Kirette) use to talk to family overseas with.
I haven't delved too deep into either program though so all I can give is my opinion based on the experiences I have had with them.
I like Skype with it's always on so if you forget to press the button it doesn't matter, but I also like the PTT function with Vent so you know when someone is talking. The thing I do find frustrating though is sometimes I don't have the Vent screen visible to see who is speaking so would have to rely on my personal voice recognition software (my brain) which can suffer from a sudden BSOD...
Either way though I am happy with whichever path we decide to take. I wouldn't be saying much anyways...what's the point of being a rogue if you know where I am!! :D
Badril