Loading... Laryngitis

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Updated Tue, Oct 27, 2009 by Ethec

Welcome to the 1,195th edition of Loading...

Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news, coverage, and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

Voice chat has improved at a lightning pace over the past few years, yet the non-raiding, non-coop PvP MMO crowd still emphatically prefers the plain comforts of decades-old text chat. Raids and tactics aside, why can't we overcome our general chat laryngitis? Is the problem (as usual) everyone else, or are there a few things developers could do to support communication whether you prefer the chat box or the voice box? Our thoughts in Loading... Laryngitis.

The Pulse

You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is The Pulse?).

Here's today's top 5 Pulse results:

Biggest movers today:

LEGO Universe (UP 42 to #18)
Star Trek Online (UP 12 to #17)
Torchlight (UP 2 to #17)

Recent MMO Releases

8/25 - CrimeCraft (release date)
9/1 - Champions Online (release date)
9/9 - Dungeons & Dragons Online Unlimited (release date)
9/15 - Runes of Magic "The Elven Prophecy" (expansion)
9/22 - Fallen Earth (release date)
9/22 - Aion (release date)
10/8 - Cities XL (release date)

Upcoming Releases

11/3 - Dragon Age: Origins (release date)
12/1 - LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood (release date)
12/1 - EVE Online: Dominion (release date)
12/2 - DOFUS 2.0 (release date)
Early 2010 - APB

Loading... Daily

The many epic battles of our time: abundance vs. poverty, modern medicine vs. disease, human rights vs. brutality, statism vs. private industry, green thinking vs. pollution, dogs vs. cats, ninjas vs. robots, and voice chat vs. text chat. Despite much closer integration with online PC games in recent years due to the efforts of companies like Vivox (their latest project, Puggable, is a free way to make finding a WoW pick-up group a more vocal experience - quick plug - the player who organizes the biggest group gets 60 free days of play), most of us seem to be content with text chat most of the time, breaking out into little Ventrilo cells when we finally find a group of gamers we can live with. Despite clearer codecs, increased bandwidth, less weirdness over husky voices from female avatars, we haven't seen players go for voicechat in droves until the

Among PC gamers, opinions vary wildy, but I'd wager that the majority of us either 1) want to hear rather than read, but type rather than talk, or 2) use voice for friends, but text for strangers. Textophiles point out people are more likely to stifle an asshatted comment if they have to type it out, that the communication is more filtered. Also, they'll contend that voice complicates the social gaming experience. Online gaming has become so multi-national that thick accents can seriously impede voice communication. No adult likes to be told off by a swarthy, squeaky pre-pubescent even if the kid has a point, but that 13 year-old might know the map better than anyone else yet feel like they have to overstate his case to be heard.

The voice evangelistas contend that for most of mankind (myself excluded) talking is far more natural than typing, and that it's far quicker to talk rather than text chat. Of the two, voice chat is far more exclusive. Everyone has the tools to type, but voice requires either third-party software or close attention to channels, microphone sensitivity, push-to-talk settings, etc. Though the technology is mature, the hardware implementation on PCs often isn't. USB headsets are prone to system latency and choppiness, miniplug headsets rely heavily on precise hardware settings, and if you happen to game on a Mac, good luck finding a headset with a powered line-level input. It's not the best option either if you have a noisy gaming environment due to kids or pets, or maybe you just like to listen to the game or music or TV and hate wearing headphones for long periods of time.

And that's just among PC gamers. It's little wonder that console and PC gamers can't agree with each other when we can't even agree how to talk to each other. X360 voice chat has become the default mode of communication for a few of my console player friends from college. They won't pick up their cell phone when I call, but they'll chat away if I happen to catch them on Xbox Live. It's about all I use the X360 for these days; well, that and to check out the XBLA game du jour. And since I lack the gene that enables me to sit down and have a conversation without doing something else, so I'll sit there and mine in EVE while we talk over the crappy Xbox Live high-compression, dropout-prone codec. If you have the console, it's cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Rather than waiting for something like speech-to-text technology to improve before we can all communicate together using whatever medium we choose, I'd like to see MMOs adopt more of the automatic speech elements of FPSs - issuing audible commands with mouseclicks on the minimap, automatically reporting low health and status at certain thresholds along with flashing UI elements, taking out all the routine communication so that when a real voice does break in, you know it's significant.

Will voice ever fully take the place of text chat? Are voicechaters too grounded in Ventrilo and Teamspeak to make more integrated solutions viable in today's games? Share your thoughts in the Loading... forum.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our /OOC (Off Topic) Forum

Is our children learning?

With a delicate nod to our esteemed (*cough*) former president in his subject header, Ralsu created the thread which would become today's epic thread. The graph he posted, from GraphJam.com, clearly shows the biggest threat to America's youth, and it's not bad parenting or a poor education system, as you might suspect. It is, of course, video games (followed closely by the Internet).

Wedge your tongue firmly in your cheek and head over to have your say.

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Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread

"A lot of this has to do with Grand Theft Auto in recent years too, with all those stupid kids that stole vehicles, or shot at them. When asked why they did this they all responded that they learned to do it from playing GTA. Not having parents notice that there kid was severely screwed up and not telling them this was fake and you can't do that in the real world I blame them instead...not the game."

- Khalus
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Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell us!

4 new Ten Ton Hammer MMOG features today! 111 in October! 2,059 in 2009!

Today's New Features & Guides

EVE Online - Exploring the New Player Experience
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/75967

An enigma in a world where MMOGs are shifting towards easy accessibility, EVE Online has continued to grow despite its devilish learning curve. The days of being thrown completely into the deep end without a life vest are gone, but the game is still easily the most complex MMOG on the market today. Join Eric “Dalmarus” Campbell as he jumps into the darkness of space. Will he sink or swim? There’s only one way to find out.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising PC Review
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/75946

The medic is down and so is the rest of your squad. Do you risk getting shot to render assistance, or is the mission goal more important than a few lives? After all, if you get shot, who will go for help? These and many other decisions will be available to you as you enter the modern day warzone of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.
Aion Editorial - Leveling the Classes
http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/characterleveling

Getting to max level is the goal of an MMOG, right? If that's the case players have to consider whether to race to the finish line with a class they enjoy along the way or simply tolerate. Aion has many choices for leveling and eight classes to complete the process. Unlike some recent games, Aion has also introduced a significantly steeper leveling curve. Due to the leveling time, choosing a class because of its endgame role may not be in a player's best interest.
WoW - The Overpull - 10.27.09 - "Race Changing Still Broken"
http://tentonhammer.com/wow/newsletter/issue38

The Overpull is coming at you again this week with more WoW news, lore, and fun. This week we go over Blizzchat, The Guild, the WoW comic split, the PTR, and the history of Kel'thuzad. Come on and join us each week as we give you the scoop on WoW news and more.