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Today's high speed games aren't so friendly to people who type. That's why a look at leading VOIP applications is essential.
Whether you prefer to bank right or "bunny hop", one hand on W-A-S-D (movement) and the other on the mouse/joystick leaves no hands at all for communication. Using a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) client improves strategy within the game, and adds an entirely new level to game play experience.
BASICS
VOIP: A term that encompasses voice communication and speech delivery via the Internet or a network. These systems use audio codecs that encode and decode transmissions, allowing audio to range from light and compressed to full-bodied high fidelity stereo. Businesses use this technology all the time through the use of certain phone and conferencing systems, but today we'll briefly cover its relation to PC games.
Audio quality will depend on the type of program used, the codecs which it uses, and the compression settings you enable.
Pretty straightforward.
BOTTOMS UP
TeamSpeak: A mainstay of 'core gamers, TS is the one I have the most experience with. Though my familiarity with it should preclude me from saying it's not the best, it doesn't. It's not the best. It's a very basic program as far as features. It has strong codecs, however, a little below par in comparison to some of the others. I found it a little confusing starting out, especially if VOIPs aren't routine to your game play. It has a strong pedigree and history, though now beginning to phase out with the advent of some of the newer generation programs. 3.5 stars out of 5. This one comes in at #3.
XFire: The learning curve here is almost zero. Runs smooth. Parallel to a text messenger on Windows: MSN, Yahoo, AIM. Point-and-click features, and graphically driven. I found XFire to be fully-loaded with game-to-voice chat elements. Since it thinks like a text messenger, you get a nice list of online/offline contacts. Once a contact is added, their profile updates to display the game they're currently playing. If you have the same game and it's multiplayer via Internet, you may jump right into the action. This allows better communication (either chat or voice) for short-notice clan battles, or instant matches. 4 stars out of 5. #2.
Ventrilo: Similar to TeamSpeak as far as how one navigates about. Channel oriented. Packaged lightly like TeamSpeak, and simple. I recommend this one because it's one of the most popular in the VOIP gaming genre. Not only a must-have if you're a gamer, but sometimes required before you join a clan or guild. It has one of the largest codec sets that concentrate on voice only, allowing the user to optimize and finetune settings at will. This is my current application for most games. Considered to be the standard. Comes in at #1 on the list. However, because of the learning curve, and some technical aspects, I wouldn't recommend it off-the-shelf. I had to Google the manual to use it effectively. Supreme in voice transfer. 4.5 stars out of 5.
NEXT TIME: If you've wondered how to tweak and modify the audio settings on Ventrilo, there is a quick and easy fix.
This comes in handy not only for the best transfer of audio via Internet, but also in connection with altering the audio on that guy who incomprehensibly mumbles during a raid (usually the squad leader, Oops!), or the guy who shrieks into his mic after stepping in front of a claymore (lower your voice!).
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Angel Sierra is the Digital Production Coordinator at Sauk Valley Newspapers. You can to write to him at asierra@svnmail.com. Find something interesting in the world of science and technology? Drop me a line. Your topic may be discussed in an upcoming blog!