CCP introduces integrated voice software into EVE, creating a more immersive enviroment and adopting one of the communication systems that many guilds in many MMOs use today.

Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, CA - March 7, 2007 - CCP Games, the world's largest independent game developer, today announced the integration of voice communication into leading Sci-Fi Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG), EVE Online. Players will now be able to speak to each other for better coordination, negotiation, socializing and planning. The addition of voice adds a new dimension to the award-winning game used by over 160,000 active players.

EVE Voice gives players the ability to communicate with each other directly from within the game without the use of third party communication applications. This will enhance coordination of players during intense gameplay such as battles, improve inter-player negotiations, enrich planning and bring a new facet to social interaction, as it will now be an integrated part of the game.

"EVE Online is a deeply strategic, open-ended game in which thousands of players must cooperate and compete," said Magnus Bergsson, chief marketing officer at CCP Games. "We recently had a fleet battle with more than 1,000 players in one sector of the EVE universe. The amount of communication between those players in planning and executing these maneuvers is vast. Adding integrated voice will not just enhance gameplay by accelerating those plans and allowing players to react quickly as situations unfold in-game, but it will give combat pilots a strategic advantage."

"Being avid EVE players ourselves, providing voice to the EVE community is a tremendous experience for us," said Monty Sharma, vice president marketing at Vivox. "The level of play in EVE is incredibly sophisticated. Adding voice to a world of this caliber, so that it is accessible to the thousands of EVE players simply and easily, will augment the game in many ways. We know that EVE's players will make the most of these new features, and we're excited to watch the creative ways in which the players will use them to reach their goals."

EVE Voice features

EVE Voice is fully integrated into the EVE client software, eliminating the need for third party applications, which take up computer resources, require a dedicated voice server, and pose a security risk. Features of EVE Voice include:

- High quality - offers sound quality which is considerably higher than other IP-based communication applications

- Player to player direct chat - with talk indicator to show which player is speaking

- Group chat - allowing corporation, fleet, or alliance members to communicate one-to-many within a dedicated audio channel

- Sub-group chat - allowing smaller groups within a corporation, such as a squad or gang, to discuss specific topics among themselves

- Group leader talk - instantly mutes other players on the group's audio channel ensuring the leader's instructions can be heard clearly during crucial times, such as in the heat of battle

- Map integration - shows where players are when speaking, allowing better coordination of tactical assaults, reconnaissance or search and rescue missions

- Moderator controls - allows leaders to kick other players off the audio channel (in case of abuse, for instance), to mute them (so they can hear but not be heard), ban (prevent them from accessing the audio channel) and un-ban players

EVE Voice has been developed in partnership with Vivox, the leading provider of integrated voice services for online games, which will also operate the service. See also partnership announcement from May 10, 2006 for details.

EVE Voice will be available from late March 2007 as an optional feature for players at a price of $10 for unlimited usage for 12 months. Players can access the updated client software here: http://www.eve-online.com/download/ Players must use a compatible headset and microphone to take advantage of the call quality offered by EVE Voice.

- fully integrated into the client

that's the nice part, a standardized integrated system, where everyone can audibly talk to everyone else in the world. 

 Hopefully ALL mmogs will adopt this as THE standard way to communicate ingame, eliminating the aggravating text system altogether.  For hearing impaired players or those who listen to music while playing, make the text system optional.

I would add that you will only need one voice account period.

If you have multiple characters or even multiple EVE accounts, you will still only need to purchase the $10 per Year voice service once.

No word on group accounts yet, but the possibility of Corp or Alliance level accounts was briefly mentioned a few months ago.

One more thing:

Out of game support is planned but not yet implemented, so you do have to be logged into the game to have access to the voice service. But if I heard right, the Vivox process keeps running for a while after the game closes (read accidentally crashes or disconnects) so you can in contact with people in the game if you loss connection.

The feature list is quite complete. I like the voice indicators on the map/overlay and the moderator features are soooo needed, and the fact that very large groups can communicate is just amazing. Turbine may have been the first to intergrate voice over IP in DDO. But CCP really took it 10 levels higher. Competition is GOOD (tm). I hope other games like WoW, EQ2 and such adopt voice over IP. As it is essential to modern fast moving MMOs out there. I would PAY to have my entire raid group in moderated voice channel in games like EQ2.

Good job CCP on taking a good features and making it so useful that you will be at a disadvantage if you don't use it. I mean that as a compliment.

I'm looking forward to using it and glad CCP are innovating!  

Does this mean Eve Online's review rating deserves to go up?!     

This is just a canned game offering a solution for one game. Gamers play multiple games. When you are on the road for a business trip playing solitare and want to pop onto TS or Vent and say hello to your corp mates, you want a system that works.

When half your fleet leaves to go play WoW:TBC because it brougt them back to the game, what do you do? You make a WoW channel on your TS or Vent server and the group stays together.

These systems do not bring anything to the game over Vent or TS, except for control for the game company. It is the same as using the guild websites over at the Sony Station. Pay, its fair or okay. DDon't pay and its shut off to you. Who here hasn't played a game and then looked up old friends to see if they are around, ask them how the game is, and come back in for a bit? Its part of the dynamic of MMO's.

Thumbs down on the features, because it is nothing new, just wrapped in a bad offering for gamers as consumers.

I really should watch my reply, and level set it.

I use TS. If you comment on this topic, be sure to tell us if you currently use a voice servers, such as TS or Vent, and who pays for it for your group. A few of the replies so far, its about voice is new to a game and replaces text.

Originally posted by Storpappa

This is just a canned game offering a solution for one game. Gamers play multiple games. When you are on the road for a business trip playing solitare and want to pop onto TS or Vent and say hello to your corp mates, you want a system that works.

When half your fleet leaves to go play WoW:TBC because it brougt them back to the game, what do you do? You make a WoW channel on your TS or Vent server and the group stays together.

These systems do not bring anything to the game over Vent or TS, except for control for the game company. It is the same as using the guild websites over at the Sony Station. Pay, its fair or okay. DDon't pay and its shut off to you. Who here hasn't played a game and then looked up old friends to see if they are around, ask them how the game is, and come back in for a bit? Its part of the dynamic of MMO's.

Thumbs down on the features, because it is nothing new, just wrapped in a bad offering for gamers as consumers.

Eve's new voice communication has the following features, which I think are new - TS or Vent does not have them, I think:

- Talk indicator to show which player is speaking

- Group leader talk - instantly mutes other players on the group's audio channel ensuring the leader's instructions can be heard clearly during crucial times, such as in the heat of battle

- Map integration - shows where players are when speaking, allowing better coordination of tactical assaults, reconnaissance or search and rescue missions

Also, I'm glad you're finding a use for TS and Vent I can learn from! Talking to your mates in Azeroth while you're mining in Eve / fighting BoB / fighting GoonSwarm sounds cool. 

It's all about more choice, which has to be a good thing.

Who is talking - Common ocurtesy "Hi, who said ?" learn peoples names, and really, how many strangers wonder into your channels every day?

Channel Commander -

Multiple key kinds

They both have features. TS and Vent are very feature rich applications.

There are no new features to this EVE offering except once you stop playing EVE and paying their fee, your mates will be shut out of the conversation. And to me, that is not a feature.

All well and good until the cluster goes down, mission lag etc.  At least with Ventrillo you can let them know you have CTD.

Given recent stability issues I fail to see how CCPs bandwidth problems will be solved by adding VOIP...

Originally posted by Seahorse

All well and good until the cluster goes down, mission lag etc.  At least with Ventrillo you can let them know you have CTD.

Given recent stability issues I fail to see how CCPs bandwidth problems will be solved by adding VOIP...

 

 

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Originally posted by Seahorse
All well and good until the cluster goes down, mission lag etc. At least with Ventrillo you can let them know you have CTD.

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Or you could read the comments in the thread.

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Out of game support is planned but not yet implemented, so you do have to be logged into the game to have access to the voice service. But if I heard right, the Vivox process keeps running for a while after the game closes (read accidentally crashes or disconnects) so you can in contact with people in the game if you loss connection.

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Originally posted by Seahorse
Given recent stability issues I fail to see how CCPs bandwidth problems will be solved by adding VOIP...

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Again, if you were actually up to date with the state of the game and CCP's plans with Vivox you would know that the game hasn't had stability issues for several months. And that the VoIP service doesn't even use CCP's servers but a set owned by a 3rd party company (Vivox) who's sole business is providing voice chat for online games. This is the same company that manages the VoIP for Second Life, the upcoming Fallen Earth, and other games. EVE's server bandwidth will not be affected by the service in the slightest, and has infact already been deployed to the main server Tranquility for limited public test.

What a joke..........$10 dollars for what? This is like the capital one add boys.......here come the vikings!

My thoughts on the issue: http://mmostrategyguides.com/eve_integrated_voice_eve_onlin.html

If your in a corporation/alliance that already uses TS/Vent, your might not see a reason to have Eve Online's in-house comms.

BUT... If you wanted to talk a stranger who has suddenly appeared, at the moment you'd have to use the keyboard in most cases.

If everyone used Eve Online's new comms system, no one would have to type messages. Obviously, you'd have to buy a microphone and pay the $10. The extra cost is a pain but it seems worth it for the ease of communicating in sudden unexpected circumstances (which seems to be the rule, rather than the exception).

The success of the new system will depend on the number of people who use it.

I hope we all use the new communication system because it will make Eve just that bit better and unique.

For that extra money I want audio effects like radio squak, background noise in dedspace and electronic combat, AI comm, Station comm, communication jamming eqipment, eavesdropping equipment, and other ingame functionality. Also I would have to have garentees that ISP packet shaving would be NO issue. And even then if this became a major requirement of the game, officially or not, I would have to consider if playing this game is now too expensive for the expirience.