Request: Voice chat

[TonY]

Voice chat in W:A would be nice... it could be turned on & off from the ESC menu (for those on dial-up connections who don't want to overload their connection w/ voice messages).

Maybe you could have a microphone icon next to someone's name in the chat menu if they had voice chat enabled.

[bonz]

very nice idea!

of course it should be disabled by default.

[ShOwTiMe]

ya tony thats cool idea but does it need a fast connection?

[bonz]

does it need a fast connection?
compare it with 3rd party voice chat tools (for example teamspeek which i use):
http://www.goteamspeak.com/products.php?t=requirements
http://www.ventrilo.com/about.php
http://rogerwilco.gamespy.com/products/rw/index.html

i think the dsl & cable broadband connections of today should be able to handle 7 simultaneous users.
(maximum 6 players + 1 spectator in a worms game)

the above mentioned tools use various codecs for different compression quality, so it all depends.

edit:
the question is, is it worth the effort when there are enough 3rd party tools available?
i think there are more important issues (secure ranking, stable & bug free game).

[ShOwTiMe]

yeah bonz ur right but that would be a nice feature hmmm... but on the other side it could create more bugs!!!

[KRD]

Surely getting the rights for compression codecs and suchlikes would cost evil licesing money, though?

Other than that and the fact that it would take quite a while to implement and fine-tune the feature, I'd like it much better than having to create a TeamSpeak room for each game you play and possibly password it. Of course I need a new computer and the Sennheiser PC150 headset first, but that could be taken care of.

[bloopy]

Nice idea. :)

[bonz]

getting the rights for compression codecs and suchlikes would cost evil licesing money
i think ogg/vorbis (http://xiph.org/vorbis/) is suitable (http://vorbis.com/faq/#stream) for that endeavour and free of any license costs.

also, switching to ogg would kill two birds with one stone as it would allow custom speechbanks to be transferred over the network.

[Lex]

Though it is an interesting idea, there is very little need for it. There's all of what was mentioned (licensing, readily-available 3rd-party tools), plus the fact that Worms is a turn-based game. Most of the chatting one would want to do can be done on another player's turn, with typing.

[bonz]

licensing, readily-available 3rd-party tools
as i mentioned ogg/vorbis is license free & streamable.

with 3rd party tools you have to make sure everyone uses the same one,
you have to set up a server for each game
therefore you can't randomly play with anyone on wormnet without telling each player to to all the before mentioned stuff.
Most of the chatting one would want to do can be done on another player's turn, with typing.
not in teamgames where you get important help & tips during your turn.
(reading the chat messages requires you to stop playing and pull down the menu)

i played some axis&allies/ctf games where even the discrepancy in the lag between teamspeak and worms was crucial. (i heard the tips from deadcode too late because he saw the feedback of my moves too late)

[Run]

not in teamgames where you get important help & tips during your turn. (reading the chat messages requires you to stop playing and pull down the menu)

True but given that there are already ways to voicechat over worms using third party programs and that the feature would probably take an awful, awful lot of work to implement, it's very probably not worth the hassle.

Besides I read the chat window during jumps ;)

[bloopy]

Besides I read the chat window during jumps ;)
Me too. :p

[bonz]

awful, awful lot of work to implement
that's the one grave argument against it.
Besides I read the chat window during jumps
yes, but can you also reply during jumps? ;)

[KRD]

Hah, I used to type a lot while roping. Mostly when the rope wasn't attached, obviously. And not exactly art-gallery-worthy. But hey.

As far as OGG is concerned, I can see how it could make everything sound-related on WA easier, but again, it would take time to implement, not to mention someone would have to convert all the voices to the new format. For what it's worth, I'd help with that.

Personally I'm not so bothered, but I've recently seen people who consider voice chat cheating in a clan game. Implementing it would at the same time make it more accessible, but it would also mean that people not owning headsets are at a disadvantage a lot more often.

So I guess, just in case this does go through, making it optional is the way to go.

[bonz]

people who consider voice chat cheating in a clan game. Implementing it would at the same time make it more accessible, but it would also mean that people not owning headsets are at a disadvantage a lot more often.
what?
that must be stupid people.

having a 2x 8ghz cpu & 4x gf9900gt in your machine would also be cheating then, because your game is faster?
should we all go back to to our 200mhz machines & uninstall deadcode's patches because it's cheating?
what if 2 people sit in the same room?

very stupid indeed. :rolleyes:

[TriMat]

but it would also mean that people not owning headsets are at a disadvantage a lot more often.

Worst case is they just get to listen in. You don't need a headset and a mic for that, just headphones or speakers.

[KRD]

I mean in clan games where private voice chat should be an option. Since that's what bothered some people the most, speakers and headphones wouldn't help much.

Edit: Also Bonz, I wouldn't exactly call them stupid, just competitive. I can see how it could get to you in a clan game where only one of your opponents does the thinking and instantly tells their team mate what to do each turn. Elite and Team17 being the schemes where they could benefit most.

[bonz]

clan game [...] team mate
what is a clan full of teammates good for, if you can't act as a team while playing games?

[KRD]

The point Fox [I think] was making is that it would be all good if everyone had a headset. But as it is, he doesn't like the idea of buying hardware just to win a game or two more. I can imagine he considers being able to discuss tactics only while it's the opponent team's turn and being on your after your turn starts one of the qualities of playing clan games in the first place.

I'd personally agree with him in cases where one of the players does absolutely all the thinking and the other one just follows orders. Kind of ruins some of the fun.

"Acting as a team" can be done just as well with the keyboard, heh.

Like I said before somewhere, I'm not posting all this because it would bother me personally; just thinking of all the arguments against it so the debate continues.

[Deadcode]

I've played team games using TeamSpeak for voice chat, and believe me, it's heaps of fun. The reason I want to implement it in WA at some point is so the voice chat can be recorded in replays (and also to make it possible, and easy, to differentiate between private and public voice chatting; in TeamSpeak you cannot tell the difference).

[Evil Bunny]

now that does sound like a great idea dc :D

[bonz]

I want to implement it in WA
yay! :D

unreal tournament 2004 has, next to built-in voice chat, a text-to-speech feature too.

[ShOwTiMe]

damit Dc ur making a new game out of that W:A!!! great!!!

[Evil Bunny]

lol @ bonz, how u suggest that'd be done?

[KRD]

lol @ bonz, how u suggest that'd be done?

It would probably sound a lot like Fitter Happier by Radiohead. Spooooky.

When Dextah hosted his TeamSpeak server for all of WormNet, the idea itself brought a lot of people back to playing the game. Fun games with it were priceless and I can imagine how hilarious it would be to listen to the recordings of it during a replay. Goaty, come back to WA!

[goaty]

Request granted.

[Distrance]

Oh rly, and how is that

[SilPho]

I believe this explains it :)
Goaty, come back to WA!
Request granted.

[Syc0]

ROFL I remember you on TS Goaty!

Hi KRD :)

[h2oz7v]

In game voice chat would be good yes. In game X-Fire support would also be a good way to do this aswell

[franpa]

pic your microphone up and start TS and voila you can speak in-game.

this is a pointless thing that will only hinder progress on things that are worth it.