I went 'Voice is for Scrubs' -- mostly cuz I"ve always had a distaste for voice chat. But, I'll use Vent if its needed for running a champ with uR, and I've had no real issues with it. *shrug* Edit to add: Also, in case it has bearing on people's choices, Skype has been the vector to a number of security issues -- I personally avoid it like the plague unless I have no other choice.
^^ I did vote for Vent because of the availability of it being in the UO:R package download. It's a big clunky for those who aren't adept at interface set ups. I had to search around for a bit to find things and I haven't really messed with the options of it because there are just so many!
I used to live and die by Vent, but I actually think I might like TS3 better now. Both very close for me but I voted for TS. Skype is great if you don't have kids or back ground distractions and is by far the most clear and best used by competitive guilds.
For reference our 25 channel vent server costs us $72 a year. We can switch that to another type (teamspeak, mumble) without paying anything extra. Or we could provide two services, possibly 15 users each. If the players wanted to get together and do a donation campaign we could easily work multiple options into our budget. Note: All donations collected for the server are spent on advertising, web hosting, and services such as this.
A lot of people use Mumble because it is extremely cheap I believe. I tried it once and didn't like it at all, but that was probably 3 years ago. My gaming guild I used to play with switched from Vent to TS3 because TS3 was upgraded so much compared to the old one and it was cheaper over all for the amount of space we needed. We used to pay well over $300 a year on Ventrillo. We ran a lot of alliances and such and they would join our channels when we went to war. I love Ventrillo and used to hate TS, but TS3 typically being cheaper and not much of a difference I would prefer it.
They are all basically the same cost now and I haven't tested TS3 but recently used Mumble and the audio calibration and simplicity just wrecks Ventrilo. I'll have to give TS3 a check as well.
I went in for a Mumble server last week. It supports the same number of people that UOR's Ventrillo server does (25) and is located in Austin, TX. I'll open up the Mumble server for general use now and continue supporting it indefinitely. panda.mumbleboxes.com port 36179 no password. i invite everyone to give it a shot. (Client Download) i've used skype, vent and mumble recently and mumble is much more responsive and cleaner than either right now.
Mumble is clearly the best quality and options. Vent is the one used by most people , who become comfortable with it. Teamspeak is the red headed stepchild from back in the day, people still use it and TS3 isnt that bad.
Also have a Mumble server, previously just for guild use, reconfigured for the public. PM me to request a guild channel if you like or let me know of any host abuse situations so I can take care of it. Host: uor.mumbleserver.me Port: 36236
Raid Call. Uses less resources (and bandwidth even though the sound quality is better, compression?) than Mumble. I have used Mumble and Vent - Raid Call has better sound quality. We (KTT) have (on the weekends mostly) had twenty to thirty people in one channel at a time, only issue is people talking over one another. Even when people talk over each other you can still make out what their both saying ninety percent of the time. Interface is extremely easy to use.
Skype is great for small groups. These applications suit pre-built rooms with passwords (if you choose) that you can jump in between. Skype is a bloated piece of Microsoft trash.
I feel like I have to wash something sticky off my hands but I gotta like Blaise's post for calling Skype what it is.
imo the biggest problem with using skype for gaming is that someone has to host the call. this means that if their OS pukes itself, the whole chat goes away. it also means that if they experience lag the whole session is going to experience it. it's simply not the right tool.
