Guild Wars 2

Hey all!

So I hear a lot of guilds talking about having a “vent”.

What exactly is that?

ventrillo

Syn.3459:

ventrillo

Sorry but that doesn’t help. =P What is “Ventrillo”?

voice chat software

As Vardys said, Vent is a program for voice communication. Other popular options you will notice would be TS3 (TeamSpeak) or Mumble.

So… is it basically like Skype?

lookitsandrea.8531:

So… is it basically like Skype?

yes except a server hosts the connection and can support alot more users (as well as a push to talk option for the volume challenged environment.

Same basic idea but Skype is video and voice chat and Skype is usually used as a phone service or long distance phone service replacement. Ventrilo, Mumble, and Team Speak are specifically designed to be used with groups of people, usually gamers so that they can communicate with each other in game without having to stop and waste time typing stuff out.

lookitsandrea.8531:

So… is it basically like Skype?

These chat utilities are not skype! Skype requires a lot of computer processing resources and bandwidth to function. You do not want this while running a demanding on-line game at the same time. Plus skype is not that reliable, and has limited group chat unless you use the pro version.

These other utilities are free, voice-only and designed for on-line gaming, they run with much less resources. One person sets up remote server access and anyone who wants to voice chat installs a small client interface on their computer that logs onto this server. When you connect, you can chat with whoever is logged on the server.

I setup Mumble for the guild I am in, and like it. You can have up to 50 channels on a free server.

Yes it is like Skype. But where Skype is designed as a telephone tool that has use in gaming communications, Ventrillo and other systems (mumble and teamspeak) are designed for gaming communications. This means they require a lot less hardware resources and support push to talk.