Originally posted 2016-01-12 17:00:20.
It’s not very often as a gamer that I get excited about software that isn’t a game, but I discovered something earlier today that has blow me away
Most of us are used to going on Vent or TS and chatting with our fellow gamers or guildies while we plough away for hours in Azeroth or ducked behind some barrels on Battlefield, but how much influence do these servers have on us and do we really care about what what voice server/software we use?
Well let me take some of your time to try and change your outlook on this very question.
So lets start from the top, what are our major voice server contenders? Well we have the usual suspects, Ventrilo, TeamSpeak and Mumble. All pretty straight forward, all have their own clients and all offer a fairly wide range of features for your administration needs. Having dabbled in all of these voice server offerings I am happy to admit that I hate, not dislike, but HATE mumble.
***Disclaimer- This is a view of my very own and does not represent G&G or any of its other members 🙂 ***
I find the interface clunky and the quality of the voice offered not particularly great, that being said, it is open source and the servers renting options start at a very modest 4p per slot.
Which leads me on to Ventrilo, which as far as I am concerned is the next in line in terms of quality but also has a terrible interface as shown below.
The website also hasn’t been updated in quite a long time, the FAQ still reads 2007 and the latest news reads 2014. Showing this kind of neglect will eventually lose users and I would imagine ultimately lead to its demise.
So TeamSpeak. The big boy. As far as I am concerned this is the top level of voice server software. Most gamers I play with would agree and I know this is by far the most widely used out there. It has an amazing feature set and the interface is much more pleasing to the eye than Mumble of Ventrilo. Even the server rental costs start at 9p per slot. This is what I have used for many years…. until now
What I stumbled upon today has changed the way I look at voice servers and hopefully it will for you too
Discord
I cannot even begin to write down the feature set so I have take a screenshot for you to ponder over
Best of all, it is free. 100% free, the mobile app is fantastic, the fact you can voice chat from a web browser with no software is amazing, the actual software for both Mac and PC is beautifully designed, I cannot stress enough how amazing this service being offered is.
Go and check it out at https://discordapp.com/
I would love to know what you all think. Would you switch? Comment or drop me a line on Twitter @onthelevelblog or @silvercha0s
Some of Discord’s claims are kinda questionable to me (FPS boost when Vent already takes minimal CPU?), but the overall package seems nice. If they can actually run the business successfully without charging for server slots, that would be a reason to switch by itself. The old dance of someone having to volunteer a server would be a nice thing to eliminate.
Minimal setup for PUGs with a browser client is also pretty excellent.