More Info on Vivox Technology for MMOs

Ever seen those truckers use their Citizen Band Radio Service (CB) before? You’d hear them talk in weird languages and laugh all the time. They’d also give each other tips on where the heavy traffic locations are, so that the other truckers would be able to avoid them. Cool thing. Well, EVE Online, has something like that now, via-Vivox technology. It’s a technology that delivers high quality and real-time  in-game voice communication. Now, your character doesn’t have to die because your typing speed was too slow.

Although we reported that it’s already being used in EVE Online and Fallen Earth, we’d like to delve further into how it’s being used in the game. So far, almost all chat text-based channels have been overlaid with voice chat audio. Traditional chat functions like kick, ban, mute, un-mute are being voice implemented. One of the more creative gameplay applications so far is during fleet combats. Remember old Star Trek episodes where they needed to go on “radio silence” to not get noticed by the enemy? Yep, they do that here now. It’s a way so that the enemy doesn’t hear their plans.

Monty Sharma, Vivox’s VP of Product Management and Marketing, also mentioned that they’re planning to add voice font tools–it allows voice pitch and modulation. Therefore you should have the voice to match your avatar. Another thing they’d love to add is a player calling out from within the game from a virtual phone booth. The tentative date for voice font implementation will be around December, while the phone booth capability is still in the works.

How will this affect the overhead and how heavy will the patch be? It seems that there shouldn’t be any additional overhead to the game on any broadband connected PC, once the voice font tools have been implemented. The patch should weigh in about 2MB to the game file base. In short, it shouldn’t leave a dent to your gameplay and pockets. Wouldn’t it be nice if EVE Online users have their own CB-like Slang? Like the idea? Nodamene? Forty two!

Via MPOGD

Ever seen those truckers use their Citizen Band Radio Service (CB) before? You’d hear them talk in weird languages and laugh all the time. They’d also give each other tips on where the heavy traffic locations are, so that the other truckers would be able to avoid them. Cool thing. Well, EVE Online, has something like that now, via-Vivox technology. It’s a technology that delivers high quality and real-time  in-game voice communication. Now, your character doesn’t have to die because your typing speed was too slow.

Although we reported that it’s already being used in EVE Online and Fallen Earth, we’d like to delve further into how it’s being used in the game. So far, almost all chat text-based channels have been overlaid with voice chat audio. Traditional chat functions like kick, ban, mute, un-mute are being voice implemented. One of the more creative gameplay applications so far is during fleet combats. Remember old Star Trek episodes where they needed to go on “radio silence” to not get noticed by the enemy? Yep, they do that here now. It’s a way so that the enemy doesn’t hear their plans.

Monty Sharma, Vivox’s VP of Product Management and Marketing, also mentioned that they’re planning to add voice font tools–it allows voice pitch and modulation. Therefore you should have the voice to match your avatar. Another thing they’d love to add is a player calling out from within the game from a virtual phone booth. The tentative date for voice font implementation will be around December, while the phone booth capability is still in the works.

How will this affect the overhead and how heavy will the patch be? It seems that there shouldn’t be any additional overhead to the game on any broadband connected PC, once the voice font tools have been implemented. The patch should weigh in about 2MB to the game file base. In short, it shouldn’t leave a dent to your gameplay and pockets. Wouldn’t it be nice if EVE Online users have their own CB-like Slang? Like the idea? Nodamene? Forty two!

Via MPOGD