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EverQuest patch highlights: Station Voice and weightless coin
EverQuest players rejoice! You now have the ability to use Station Voice for your in-game communications, thereby saving you typing -- or your own Vent or TS server costs. Eventually, this will also include the ability to get in-game voice mail, allow players to receive external voice connections (like phone calls) and even offer voice synthesizing. This should help players change their voice for role-playing their characters. Best of all, Station Voice is completely free to current EverQuest players with accounts in good standing. Aside from that, all EQ players will be glad to know that SOE has removed the weights on EverQuest's coinage. No longer will you have to stop and run to the bank to change out all those pesky coins that like to pile up. This particular change may not seem like it would be all that large a thing to other MMO players. However, EQ players who have ever had their run speed decreased because they spent a little too long out playing and landed bags heavy with coin weight will understand why we're cheering for this particular (no pun intended) change. If you're curious what else changed in today's update, join us past the break for the full update notes!
Hands on: The Second Life SLim client is here
Linden Lab's unannounced SLim lightweight Second Life client is available now. We grabbed it out of the starting gate and took it for a bit of a spin for an hour or so. It looks a great deal like Linden Lab needed some new feature or API in the SLS-1.24 server deployment to support this. As a result, preparation of the SLim software for release prior to an announcement at this year's Virtual Worlds -2008 conference in Los Angeles must have been awfully rushed. We expected this to be the first purpose-designed client for Second Life to come out of Linden Lab since the original in 2002, but actually ... it isn't. The real story is rather more surprising. SLim is a Vivox product and it connects to Vivox servers. Connection with Second Life and its grid and servers is only very peripheral. How much involvement Linden Lab actually had with any of this is debatable. The short version: It does a lot less than you'd hope, and setup of the whole show is far clunkier than you'd like. On with the show... Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
Station Voice goes live today in EQ2 and SWG
Back in February, we reported on EverQuest II's announcement of built-in chat coming to the game. Today, Sony Online Entertainment officially announced that Station Voice has arrived not only in EQ2, but also in Star Wars Galaxies and is coming to EverQuest next month.What's included in the Vivox technology? Along with the usual controls you'd expect (moderation, private channels, etc.) you can set the levels of each person in group. Always good to have when dealing with the serial shouter that inevitably ends up in your group/raid. Other features are planned including the ability to mask your voice in different ways and to talk to your friends in-game without having the game loaded up yourself.More information can be found on the new Station Voice page.
Preview EQII's Game Update 47, Storm Break
The EQ2Players community site has a short preview of EverQuest II's next major patch, Game Update 47, the "Storm Break". As we already knew, GU47 is the patch that will finally bring Vivox voice integration to EQII. Here's the list of features that will be available straight away: Create your own password-protected custom channels Automatic channels for Guilds, Raids and Groups Group and Raid windows have speaking indicators Leaders can invite any other players into Guild, Group and Raid channels Moderator controls (kick, ban, mute, etc.) Logitech G15 keyboard integration Ability to individually mute and set volume per user that you can hear Troubleshooting tools to get you chatting instantly Other new feature coming in this update: a revamp of items for levels 1-59, a change that is sure to make alts and newcomers awfully pleased. A large amount of old-world items will automatically be improved, to be more in line with newer rewards. This includes items that you already own -- there's no need to go around collecting your gear for a second time. It also looks like Guild Housing will soon be in the game, judging by construction near Freeport and Qeynos. Storm Break still holds more surprises, and we're promised a second part to this preview later in the week.
Test patch notes posted for Star Wars Galaxies Update 5
We've had a lot of lead-up to this GU and finally it looks like it's here. Yesterday the Test Center patch notes for Star Wars Galaxies Game Update 5 hit the official forums. From the inclusion of Vivox voice chat to heavy structural changes to the Beast Mastery expertise, you'll find all the information you need if you're planning to check out the content early. With the festivities surrounding the fifth anniversary, there's been some preview activity surrounding this patch already. To just run down the biggest changes: Vivox voice chat has been added to the game, with a number of new UI and supplemental elements. There's a new in-game web browser now as well, which can be accessed via the /browser command. The 60-month veteran reward is being added in, a one-person hoverchair vehicle. Beastmaster tweaks are mostly quality of life issues, with eggs now using their type name to identify them in inventory and the ability to stuff a beast added to the game. The process to craft all weapons has been updated, completely changing how Munitions Traders play. Cores are new crafted subcomponents used to select the level of the weapon the trader is crafting. These cores can be mounted into any 'shell', meaning the Munitions Trader can customize a weapon for a customer based on look and level both.
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EVE Online patches rolling out July 1
Some new changes in EVE Online will be deployed on Tuesday, July 1, Community Manager CCP Wrangler announced today. Empyrean Age patch 1.0.1 will reportedly bring fixes to EVE Voice and will also include the previous two optional patches. Further details on what Empyrean Age patch 1.0.1 will include are not currently available, but will be noted at EVE's Patch Notes site, with updated information highlighted in green text. The patch will add roughly 30 minutes to the regularly scheduled downtime, meaning Tranquility will be down from 11:00 to 12:30 GMT.EVE Online's website -- in its entirety, including the EVE API -- will also be down on July 1, from 12:00 to 16:00 GMT, as CCP Games upgrades its website database server. CCP Wrangler began a discussion thread on the patch at the EVE Information Portal.
Vivox's Monty Sharma talks about the coming months
Vivox has recently been picked up by SOE for use in EverQuest II, and in an interview with Ten Ton Hammer, one of the company's founders Monty Sharma discussed other deals that they have made and where we can expect to see their technology popping up next. Some of their bigger partners include Wizards of the Coast and NCsoft, and Sony will be using them for more of their games soon.The interview also covers the technology itself, and how features like voice-masking may evolve over the years. The possibility of customizing the voice "fonts" comes up, something that we think would be a double-edged sword -- there would be room for people to really get into character with their avatars, or, everyone could just run around talking like Tay Zonday from Chocolate Rain. Sharma encourages gamers to check out Vivox's official website to learn more about their progress in taking over the MMO world.
Testing begins on EverQuest II's new voice service
As we noted just a few days ago, Vivox integration will be coming to EverQuest 2 in the upcoming Game Update 47. Greg Spence, a designer on the EQ2 team, states on his personal blog that voice chat is already rolling out to the test servers. They don't expect GU 47 to hit the live side for almost a month, but they want to make sure this particular patch is tested as heavily as possible.Greg goes into some interesting commentary about what people are experiencing as they use voice in EverQuest 2. For example, SOE's engineers assumed people would know that the 'push button to talk' feature was remappable. Instead, users would continue to click with their mouse - a problem a simple tooltip hopefully fixes. The designer concludes with a Q&A between himself and a fictitious player, attempting to clarify any questions you might have about the patch. It's well worth looking into.
Vivox voice integration coming in EQ2 Game Update 47
EverQuest 2's Technical Director Joshua "Autenil" Kriegshauser has released some very interesting news via the official forums. The GDC announcement of Vivox and SOE's partnership appears to be reaching fruition, as in-game voice chat will be added to EQ2 with Game Update 47. The system's implementation appears to offer effortless discussion with groupmates, guildmates via private voice channels. Settings can be tweaked to allow non-guildies into guild voice chats for convenience, and will even allow for communication across EQ2 servers.There's an official thread for player feedback and questions already up and running. Kriegshauser has been in there since yesterday, clarifying elements of the UI, system, and integration. Some tidbits from that discussion include: Initially cross-game chat will not be possible, though that's likely to change as other SOE titles integrate the technology. At the moment there are not assignable permissions for guild ranks, though that may change. Players are restricted to only speaking in one channel at a time, though again that may change in the future. Private channels (requiring just a password to access) are still in the works, with hopes it will be available when the service launches. Logging a character out disconnects you from a chat, but you will still be in the voice channel while zoning. Voice masks (which Vivox calls 'fonts') are planned for future updates. Likewise, proximity-based free-for-all chat is a hoped-for addition down the road.
The top 20 most influential people in the MMO industry
If you've ever searched the web for a comprehensive list of the biggest and the best in the MMO industry, Beckett Massive Online Gamer magazine has done it for you in a recent article entitled "Top 20 Influential People in Massively Multiplayer Video Games of 2007". The top half of this list should reveal no surprises for you, including such industry celebs as John Smedley, Scott Hartsman, Raph Koster and number one on the list: Rob Pardo. But the bottom half of the list may contain a few names you don't yet recognize. Interestingly enough, NCsoft makes an appearance four times on this list with James Phinney of ArenaNet, Richard Garriott and Starr Long of Destination Games and Jess LeBow of Carbine Studios.This list highlights the most talented people in the industry and how they've influenced the future of MMOs, as determined by Beckett. You can find more details on each of their stories in the printed issue itself (Issue #13 for July-August) which hit newsstands on May 28th.
Talkin' smack to kids in online games
Anyone who has ever listened to a teenager on Xbox Live knows how it goes. He's saying WHAT? Racist, homophobic, bigoted language ... and that's just in their handles. Given easy voice chat, conversation heads straight to the lowest common denominator. But unfortunately perhaps, it's not possible to censor voice chat as easily as it is to censor text in order to make the chat safe for children.That's a pretty difficult design problem. Given you have written a game for children where chatting is possible, is it even remotely possible to make sure conversation stays friendly and helpful? This very question is the subject of this week's Game Career Guide Design Challenge. Now, this would be a hard enough challenge for text alone, and luckily, that's all the challenge covers. With the growing pervasiveness of voice chat, though, even the best text-based filtering solution will fail utterly. SOE has promised to integrate Vivox voice chat technology in its future games, including its "M"-rated The Agency and its "G"-rated Free Realms. This is a challenge SOE will face at launch. How would you guarantee a safe environment for a child, one where they could not give away any personal information, where they wouldn't be exposed to hateful speech or threats, but where they could speak freely with the friends they know?David Craddock at our sister site, Big Download, reports about a group of kids who are monitoring chat and reporting unhealthy chat or just tasking the game publishers themselves to monitor chat. Club Penguin's developers claim two-thirds of their staff is devoted to monitoring chat and customer service. Kids will always find a way around restrictions, and the only real solution is for parents to closely monitor their kids when they are online in any capacity. No other system can possibly take their place.[Via Gamasutra]
Vivox signs voice technology deal with NCsoft
Gamasutra is reporting that Vivox and NCsoft have signed an agreement to offer voice communication services across the entire NC games library. NCsoft joins the likes of Multiverse, Sony Online Entertainment, CCP, and Wizards of the Coast in using the Vivox tech to connect players over IP. As with these other companies, Vivox will offer "voice fonts", voice mail, in-game transmissions to external phone and text services. There are no details as of yet whether this technology will be incorporated in any way to the NCLauncher the company uses to update its games. NCsoft, of course, is publisher responsible for MMO titles such as Lineage II, Guild Wars, Tabula Rasa, and City of Heroes.
Rogue Signal: The unwritten communication rules of EVE PvP
Perhaps more than any other MMO, EVE Online's gameplay relies very heavily on communication between players. I have recently returned to World of Warcraft and gotten a character into Outlands. 62 levels after coming back, it still grates on me a bit that very few people utilize voice chat for both PvE and PvP content. Sure, WoW's in-game voice codec is terrible, but it certainly beats having nothing. I have come to realize that players coming from the opposite perspective are sometimes surprised and occasionally uncomfortable with the mentality of EVE players when it comes to text and voice communication. This guide aims to instruct a new player in the ways of communication in EVE. Text communication is perhaps the easiest to grasp for a new player. The key difference between text chat in EVE and text chat in many other games is the sheer volume of available channels. By default, every player is in the channel for their local chat, their corporation, and their alliance (if applicable). In addition, there is an uncountable number of channels out there that you could be chatting in.
Multiverse partners with Vivox to bring voice to virtual world developers
Metaverse development company Multiverse has announced a partnership with Vivox, the voice service provider for virtual worlds and MMOs of many stripes. Being able to provide integrated voice chat, 3D positional audio, presence, speaking indicators, and management tools right out of the box will be a definite selling point for developers who are interested in using Multiverse's platform to create their virtual worlds.Vivox is keeping influential company -- other partners include Wizards of the Coast, IBM, metaverse developers Electric Sheep Company, and EVE Online's CCP Games. With strong strategic alliances like these, they're quickly rising to the top of voice provider solutions for the industry. Let's hope their grasp doesn't exceed their reach.[Via Business Wire]
New open source voice project
Ryan McDougall has announced the formation of a new Sourceforge project, called VoIP for Virtual Worlds. The long-term goal is to create an interoperable open-source standard for all virtual worlds. To help the project find its feet, the initial short-term goal is to create an open-source replacement for the existing Vivox component (SLvoice) that is used for voice in Second Life that can communicate with a SIP-based backend server. Developers who are interested in the effort can start with the project's new mailing list. We don't presently know if an open-source solution could be fully compatible with the existing voice system in Second Life as the existing system relies heavily on Vivox servers and backend software.
GDC08: SOE goes voice chat crazy
Sony Online Entertainment has announced the most comprehensive voice chat plan ever, according to a press release dropped at GDC today. They've teamed up with a company called Vivox to not only bring integrated voice chat into all of their games, but also some features that MMO players have never even dreamed of. Vivox says they'll be able to bring voicemail into games, join raid chats via landline or cell phone, and even use voice manipulation over the connection.Apparently the voice chat service will be also available just through Sony's Launcher, so you won't need to be in-game to use the applications. Gamers will have buddy lists, and games will all have volume controls and channel controls, but the other features they brag about apparently won't be available at launch-- while voice and guild chat channels will be available right away, the other features, like voicemail and "voice fonts," are only "anticipated" for later. Still, John Smedley, SOE President, is quoted in the release as being excited about bringing the two services together, so only time will tell how it will all work.Time, and our interviews, that is. Massively has a few correspondents on the floor at GDC right now, and we are planning to speak with both Vivox and SOE before the end of the week. Stay tuned for more on these services and just what they'll entail for players in-game.
Linden Lab polls on voice
Linden Lab wants to know your thoughts on voice. As Eric Rice/Spin Martin puts it "after it's installed and after months of community bitching. Awesome." Feel positive about Second Life voice? Negative? Ambivalent? Take the time to do the survey and let Linden Lab know - but you'll need Javascript enabled for qualtrics.com in order to make the survey work properly and store the results.
Benchmark Capital joins Vivox in 7.8 million USD deal
According to Wagner James Au at GigaOm, Benchmark Capital has joined the board of Vivox. We're not sure how much Benchmark Capital invested directly. The total was $7.8 million US dollars in Series B financing, some of which also came from Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital. The man behind the deal was Mitch Lasky, formerly with Eletronic Arts' mobile division, now general partner at Benchmark Capital.
Second Life stability problems continue into the new week
Linden Lab advises this-morning (and we're certainly seeing it reflected in the figures) that while they thought the issue had been resolved on Saturday evening, that it was not, and that the issues that plagued the Second Life grid over the weekend are still ongoing. Additionally, all voice services went dark at 2:06AM SLT (US Pacific).
Voice system glitches on Second Life grid
Linden Lab reports that "many" Second Life users are unable to join or create voice chat sessions. We're not sure what "many" means, exactly. The voice system doesn't actually operate as a part of the Second Life grid, per se, and the servers and software that make it go are all the domain of their voice partner Vivox. Naturally, many people at both ends are running around in a dignified state of panic as they attempt to diagnose the flaw. Voice is not widely used by Second Life users - however, those that do use it, rely on it heavily. [UPDATE: The official blog reports this as fixed at 9:19 am Second Life Time]
