Too Real: Voice Chat Is A Mood Killer

News Reader · Post by **News Reader** » June 20th, 2007, 7:01

Too Real: Voice Chat Is A Mood Killer

Few like the sound of their own voice. And even fewer like the voices of their World of Warcraft buddies'. Sure, voice chat is nothing new to online, but has become more and more common in MMORPGs. With text chatting giving way to in-game voice chat, good old internet anonymity is being threatened in the virtual world. Writes Clive Thompson over at Wired.com:

Recently I logged into World of Warcraft and I wound up questing alongside a mage and two dwarf warriors. I was the lowest-level newbie in the group, and the mage was the de-facto leader. He coached me on the details of each new quest, took the point position in dangerous fights and suggested tactics. He seemed like your classic virtual-world group leader: Confident, bold and streetsmart.

But after a few hours he said he was getting tired of using text chat -- and asked me to switch over to Ventrilo, an app that lets gamers chat using microphones and voice. I downloaded Ventrilo, logged in, dialed him up and ...

... realized he was an 11-year-old boy, complete with squeaky, prepubescent vocal chords. When he laughed, his voice shot up abruptly into an octave range that induced headaches and probably killed any dogs within earshot. Oh, and he used "motherfucker" about four times a sentence, except when his mother came into his bedroom to check on him.

Worse yet, as one poster at the always heady Terra Nova points out, throw up a voice chat server and "the girls stop talking completely, the shy people shut up mostly and all that is left are the 12- to 18-year-old guys, and it becomes a locker room." Personally, I'm a text guy. Words, words are good. You? Brian Ashcraft

Bad Sounding Voices [Wired via Slashdot]

Category: Fps MMONG Online Gaming too real World of Warcraft Xbox Live
Publish Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 02:00:43 EDT
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Source: Kotaku

buzzmong · Post by **buzzmong** » June 20th, 2007, 8:52

Pffft, Voice on WOW?

The online gathering place of the majority of the worlds children, and you're expecting civil tones? Muppet.

He should try the TS/Vent servers for Eve gamers, that'll be a nice change for him.

Hehulk · Post by **Hehulk** » June 20th, 2007, 10:48

I remeber my first eve vent experience. Everyone was older than me, and I was 18 at the time. These days I take it for granted that half the people I talk to on a daily basis have a wife/kids/are aproaching middle age/are middle aged, and that I'm simply a young twit with too much to say .

5punk TS has exactly the same atmosphere

Mr. Johnson · Post by **Mr. Johnson** » June 20th, 2007, 11:47

i quite like listening to the 5punk sessions, but because i sound horrible myself (see: mouse) i don't like talking that much.

bomberesque · Post by **bomberesque** » June 20th, 2007, 11:51

Hehulk wrote:I remeber my first eve vent experience. Everyone was older than me, and I was 18 at the time. These days I take it for granted that half the people I talk to on a daily basis have a wife/kids/are aproaching middle age/are middle aged, and that I'm simply a young twit with too much to say .

5punk TS has exactly the same atmosphere

Just aswell you sound like you have a mouth full of

and

and none of us can understand a word you say then

/runs off giggling like the old man he is

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » June 20th, 2007, 11:51

Mr. Johnson wrote:i quite like listening to the 5punk sessions, but because i sound horrible myself (see: mouse) i don't like talking that much.

You really don't.

I think most people think their own voices sound shitty (apart from screaming 12 year olds)

Post by **fabyak** » June 20th, 2007, 12:14

I don't tend to talk much during games (generally, 5punkorp ops being an exception) but I used to love listening to the CoD chatter even when I didn't have the game

Mr. Johnson · Post by **Mr. Johnson** » June 20th, 2007, 12:14

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:
You really don't.

I think most people think their own voices sound shitty (apart from screaming 12 year olds)

in that case...

*dons imaginary headphone*

i may consider buying some nice proper headphones when i get back, even though i have a pretty nice soundsystem.

Woo Elephant Yeah · Post by **Woo Elephant Yeah** » June 20th, 2007, 12:21

I remember HeHulk's voice being compared to a room full of squabling monkeys or something a while back

I have a very classic Englishman accent, somewhat similar to Hugh Grant, and in no way do I sound like a pirate/farmer hybrid

Quite often I will pronounce something in my Bristolian accent and everyone else will laugh, or ask me what the hell it is I'm going on about.

In order to use voice chat, you have to be pretty confident (not overly) and just imagine your sat in a pub chatting to your mates, and forget the fact your with "real life" strangers.

Without the help and funding of Berk/5punkers setting up the TeamSpeak server, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed my time here at 5punk as much as I have. For me, the voice chat goes hand in hand with my online gaming, but I appreciate we are lucky here at 5punk, as public voice chat is a very different thing indeed

bomberesque · Post by **bomberesque** » June 20th, 2007, 12:29

It's true

I've not used the voice servers for any other game than eve, but fleet ops (even small gang stuff) would be completely hopeless if our only mode of coms was a chat window. Mostly teh chat window is relegated to sweary emotes in an effort to keep voice comms clear these days...

I must try Beef sometime, I tried the Demo and it was OK but didn't sell me completely, I imagine M.player with voice it would be much better

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » June 20th, 2007, 12:30

Woo Elephant Yeah wrote:I remember HeHulk's voice being compared to a room full of squabling monkeys or something a while back

I suspect that was probably due to shitty TS setup/line noise

Woo Elephant Yeah wrote:In order to use voice chat, you have to be pretty <strike>confident</strike> drunk (not overly) and just imagine you're sat in a pub chatting to your mates, and forget the fact you're with "real life" strangers.

Fix'd.

Seriously, I think if you're not confident with TS, the best thing to do is have a few to drink and talk as much as you feel like (I suspect most people here weren't confident with TS way back when, but now we've all known each other for a fair while, it just becomes natural)

Woo Elephant Yeah wrote:Without the help and funding of Berk/5punkers setting up the TeamSpeak server, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed my time here at 5punk as much as I have. For me, the voice chat goes hand in hand with my online gaming, but I appreciate we are lucky here at 5punk, as public voice chat is a very different thing indeed

That's the great thing about 5punk, we keep ourselves pretty self contained when we need to, so everyone can have fun, not feel overly self conscious and avoid (mostly) the screaming children, who never seem to last long anyway

(

)

buzzmong · Post by **buzzmong** » June 20th, 2007, 12:33

bomberesque wrote:It's true

I've not used the voice servers for any other game than eve, but fleet ops (even small gang stuff) would be completely hopeless if our only mode of coms was a chat window. Mostly teh chat window is relegated to sweary emotes in an effort to keep voice comms clear these days...

I must try Beef sometime, I tried the Demo and it was OK but didn't sell me completely, I imagine M.player with voice it would be much better

TS with Beef / CS is amusing, if mainly for the swearing at chicken/berk when they snipe, or the pure exasperation when slinger goes on a rampage in a tank.

Hehulk · Post by **Hehulk** » June 20th, 2007, 14:11

buzzmong wrote:TS with Beef / CS is amusing, if mainly for the swearing at chicken/berk when they snipe, or the pure exasperation when slinger goes on a rampage in a tank.

Very much that

See two weeks ago, with chicken being about the only person to kill me all night, and he did it lots

Post by **Dog Pants** » June 20th, 2007, 17:48

The fact that I feel a bit disadvantaged playing a game with 5punkers and not being on TS, and the fact that I turn off all in-game voice stuff says a lot. I like talking to 5punkers, you guys make the games twice as good. I hate talking to randoms, because there are always dickheads.

As for getting in on 5punky TS, it's probably worth people just listening in until they feel comfortable enough to join in the pisstaking. It is daunting getting on our TS server because we all seem to know each other quite well, but I think hearing each other on TS has a lot to do with how well we know each other. Plus, even if you don't have a mic at least you can laugh at the squeals of rage and random jokes and insults.

bomberesque · Post by **bomberesque** » June 20th, 2007, 20:37

Dog Pants wrote: hate talking to randoms, because there are always dickheads.

/me remembers teh mahoosive Prax vent server during the ZXIC seige and some of teh complete cocks that were spouting there.

/runs back to teh eve forums

Hehulk · Post by **Hehulk** » June 20th, 2007, 21:15

bomberesque wrote:/me remembers teh mahoosive Prax vent server during the ZXIC seige and some of teh complete cocks that were spouting there.

And that was just the CEO

Chickenz · Post by **Chickenz** » June 20th, 2007, 21:42

Dog Pants wrote:Plus, even if you don't have a mic at least you can laugh at the squeals of rage and random jokes and insults.

WERD to ProfHawkings mum

buzzmong · Post by **buzzmong** » June 20th, 2007, 21:49

M4niachicken wrote:
WERD to ProfHawkings mum

Nickface · Post by **Nickface** » June 21st, 2007, 0:48

I usually just say random words until a sentence forms.

amblin · Post by **amblin** » June 21st, 2007, 8:22