teamspeak/mumble etc

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Zac
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teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by Zac »

kierra mentioned there might be a teamspeak server for bz ??

any help would be appreciated
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Cobra_Fast
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by Cobra_Fast »

I'm very interested in this topic, too, as I started discussion about it at http://my.bzflag.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16588.
I don't know if a mumble server for the entire BZFlag world would be appropriate or if seperate servers would be the correct solution, but there should definitely something be done.

Additionaly, as this is the GU section, I'd rather not talk of voice communication too loud as different admins feel different about it and you might end up banned for using some voice chat software that's not authorized by some inofficial drafted whitelist.
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TheRisingSun
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by TheRisingSun »

Ok I am officially hosting a server for teamspeak 3: 208.167.232.2: 9181 Password: bzflag
It has 10 slots for now and is easy to upgrade if we gain more ppl.
I find teamspeak is not an issue at all. And when playing an offis, disconnect if your lag is changing or the admins feel like it is necessary.
I tried on my pc and it had no impact what so ever. Even just talking in obs is fine.
join us, so far we have CCB, Zac, Foo, Surf, Kierra and myself in the list
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TheRisingSun
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by TheRisingSun »

Ok, I thought I should update a few things. First off, I was running TS3 while playing and 5 ppl connected and talking, there was no noticeable effect on the lag.
I did not receive complaints and could not find any spikes.
Secondly, there is a great overlay plug-in for those that want to see who is speaking while playing bzflag.
The link to the file is: http://ts3overlay.r-dev.de/#download
(It is for windows user only, which sucks)
The file is fully configurable in the plug-ins folder of TS3, if you want to alter the colors, while in game you can drag the window where ever you want it.
There is a automated download for your directx, if it does not work, manually update the directx sdk to the latest release, since the plug-in only works with July's 2010 release.
So download the file, update directx and restart the PC, then start TS3 and put a checkmark in the "overlay plugin" box in the "settings" - "plug-ins" tab
We gained a few more ppl and the list contains now: CCB, Zac, Foo, Surf, Kierra, TheRisingSun (aNiMaL_MoThEr), Red-der, Colormad (csg), D3ad Turtle, blinky, Constitution, aznable, Cobra_fast, Solarisis, Zelgadis, EbErt, pacman, sigonasr2, tz...more to come I hope, the server is working great so far.
I hope to increase activity with this as well, because it is so much more fun.

Join us today :D

Below are 2 images that show the overlay, I put it in the top left corner, showing with and without team stats.
CCB is currently talking (small yellow lettering) everybody else is invisible. All the coloring is configurable.
This is what I like. If you want post your settings :)

Image

In case you wonder about the tracks, it helps me on the "non-radar" maps :P
Just too lazy to turn it off, don't bother me, hehe

Image

Yes, my radarshot length is 80!
Last edited by TheRisingSun on Fri Nov 26, 2010 4:43 am, edited 5 times in total.
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TheRisingSun
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by TheRisingSun »

Issues known with the overlay:
1) While NOT using confined mousebox, you accidently click the overlay window and may mess up the gameplay.
*Fix use confined mousebox (I am not a dev and I could not find an option in the config to simply prohibit clicking the box in game)
2) When minimizing bzflag, then returning back to the game the overlay gets blurry and you can't make out names anymore.
*Fix restart BZflag

I am checked into these kinds of issues and was not very successful finding convenient solutions. If you figure something out, let us know.
The overlay is just an addition for the beginning, I am used to most ppl voice by now :D
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by Upsetter »

Well, do not get me wrong. I dont want to start a flamewar now. I guess the fun talking to each other instead of writing will be the same either with ts3 or mumble.
I've never tried teamspeak 3 so i dont know how it is. I used teamspeak 2 some years ago but when mumble seemed to be a serious alternative, we started to use it and stick with it now. Its just my personal oppinion: when there are 2 solutions which have almost the same features: I always choose the Open Source solution.

About the overlay: mumble has that also. Maybe they have the better solution there. It does not use an own window. It just fits seemlessly into the screen. You have highlited nicknames when someone speaks, you could also set an icon /avatar for yourself and you can choose if it shows nicknames only, avatars only and/or both on the overlay. Position can also be adjusted through a mumble setting.

To see how it looks like: here is a screenshot.
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by red-der »

Maybe someone can offer a mumble server (its called murmur), so people can check out what they like more?
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by zaphod »

try the "old" mumur-server for testing we used during the BZWC:

to get mumble
then note the information you need to get connected the 1st time:

server= (optional: whatever you want)
host=92.243.5.208
port=42042
username= (explains itself)
then click -> OK
when you get asked, the serverpassword is:
WinTheCup

on the root (entry) level you cannot speak! so zap yourself into a channel by double-clicking on it.
(a good thing is to do at the 1st connection: Menu -> Configure -> Audio Wizard
to set up mumble for your audio-configuration.)
thats it!
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TheRisingSun
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by TheRisingSun »

Thanks for the screeny Ups! :D

Ups said: "About the overlay: mumble has that also. Maybe they have the better solution there...."
...and I must say, TS3 is lacking there. The overlays you can get for it are either not working or full with bugs, not sure if they are working for mac or linux.
Why TS3 does not have an overlay implemented in it to begin with....I will never know.
The overlay in mumble does not seem to work for mac, at least ccb could not get it to work....so back to the drawing board :P
I mean you get used to the voices real fast, lots of ppl and more new participants will make it difficult (esp. for users with only one PC/Laptop), but not impossible.
I did check whether or not mumble is the way to go and also checked into offering the services for it (servers).
But I am not impressed with mumble at all.
It is rather ugly and I could not figure out easily, how to set a server password and the only advantage is the overlay.
The server admin can't even talk...doh...confusing admin controls
Ergo, I find everything else BUT the overlay compared to TS3 is poor, but that is only my opinion after using teamspeak for almost a decade.
They have improved a lot, esp in managing the channels and lag/speak quality and so I will stick with it.

I mean so far, the TS3 features and appearance is great, it is extremely reliable and I could not spot any lag issues yet (after using it for a week).
There are way more servers offered for TS than mumble and you can set the quality in TS for each channel and the program manages the speeds automatically.
TS is easier to use and connect and the bookmarks make more sense, rather than the server window in mumble.

But anyhow, if you guys wanne check out mumble for yourselves, go ahead.

Like Upsetter said, this is not a war about what is better, TS or Mumble, just sharing my experience, since I spent some time with both of the programs.
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by ts »

TheRisingSun wrote:The overlay in mumble does not seem to work for mac, at least ccb could not get it to work....so back to the drawing board :P
It does work but you have to use dyld to insert the library.

I highly prefer mumble.
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by Upsetter »

Just a side note to linux users.

It could be, depending on your linux distribution, that the mumble overlay does not work when just starting mumble. It might be, that you, after starting mumble, have to start bzflag with a different command then just typing "bzflag".

It seems the library for the overlay support needs to be preloaded. So open up a terminal and type:

Code: Select all

mumble-overlay bzflag
This should start bzflag with the needed librarys.
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by FiringSquad »

I use mumble on the mac without any problems.

I first launch Mumble and join the desired channel, then I use the following AppleScript to launch BZFlag with the mumble-overlay:

Code: Select all

local MyBZPath
local MyBZPath_POSIX
local MyMumblePath_POSIX
local BZExePath
set MyMumblePath_POSIX to (POSIX path of (path to application "Mumble") as string)
tell application "Finder" to set MyBZPath to (application file id "org.BZFlag") as string
set BZAlias to (MyBZPath as alias)
set MyBZPath_POSIX to POSIX path of BZAlias
set MumbleOverlayPath to MyMumblePath_POSIX & "Contents/Overlay/mumble-overlay"
set BZExePath to MyBZPath_POSIX & "Contents/MacOS/bzflag"
tell application "Terminal"
    do script (MumbleOverlayPath & " " & BZExePath)
end tell
actually, the Applescript I use is slightly different as (application file id "org.BZFlag") will return the latest version, which in my case is the latest development version I downloaded. If you have the same issue, then just hardcode the posix path into the applescript.

Essentially the script gets the paths to the Mumble and BZFlag applications and then runs a terminal command to launch the mumble overlay over BZFlag.
If you want, you could just run the unix command directly for your setup.
In my case, the command would be:

Code: Select all

/Applications/Mumble.app/Contents/Overlay/mumble-overlay /Applications/Games/BZFlag-2.0.10.app/Contents/MacOS/bzflag
but your paths will most likely be different.
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TheRisingSun
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Re: teamspeak/mumble etc

Post by TheRisingSun »

Thanks you guys, really appreciate the input on the mumble overlay issue!
TS and FS you are the best :D
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