I did some checking based on the Vivox announcement. The source i used is here :
http://www.vivox.com/pdf/VivoxServiceIntegrationWhitePaper_100507.pdf.
I'm going to start this thread with the information provided by Vivox themselves, and after that try to discuss what this can do for STO.
First, let me start with what Vivox states it is: Vivox delivers superior quality IP voice services on a global scale for game and virtual world communities. Vivox helps build and maintain online communities by
enabling one-to-one and group sociability
Vivox Features
Vivox offers distinct modes of communication: Person-to-Person Communications Vivox provides the ability for two users to talk directly and privately on-demand from anywhere in the game world. Communication in this case may go directly from one users computer to the other users computer. If security concerns or firewall restrictions make peer-to-peer communication inappropriate or inadvisable, the voice traffic may be routed through media servers.
Group Chat
Players can talk in small or large groups through the use of voice chat sessions or channels. There are three types of group channels available with the Vivox solution:
Dynamic Channels
Dynamic channels are created programmatically, tied to game activities or on-demand by any player with appropriate credentials. Channels are typically created when the first user joins voice on that channel. Each channel is unique and may be linked to game data such as premium subscription, ingame micro-transactions, a party ID, social affiliation, player characteristics or another identifying element. Dynamic channels expire after a predefined period of non-use and may be subsequently recreated with the same name if desired.
Persistent Channels
Persistent channels are determined as part of the game design and remain operational until they are explicitly removed by the developer. Persistent channels can be restricted to a defined list of participants (see Access Control Lists below) or mapped to specific events, teams and/or geography. These channels are often mapped to game locales, guilds/teams, or other established player organizations that are fairly static.
Proximate Channels
Proximate channels enable voice communication among avatars in a common geographic space. In-game social gathering places can make voice chat available to any avatar within a pre-defined range, or proximity to a fixed object, that is controlled by the game. Simply walk up and talk to any player within earshot - in the room, seated at your table, or by other range definition. Proximate channels are particularly effective in pre-determined social spaces. For example: lobbies, inns or taverns.
Spatial Audio and Distance Attenuation
Spatial audio channels provide users with 3D audio where the position of others relative to the listener is reflected in the audio stream. Players to the right sound like they are on the right; those behind you sound as if a glance over your shoulder will locate them. Audio can also reflect a camera view at the developers discretion.
Spatial channels offer distance attenuated volume, so the further a player is from the speaking player the softer they will sound. The attenuated range can be adjusted for each channel in order to accommodate in-game player densities, geographic differences, physical barriers, etc. The feel of voice communication is designed and set by the developers to their vision.
Channel Size
Group size in a single channel is virtually unlimited and the voice stream is full duplex. Although it is somewhat impractical to join tens of thousands of players in a single un-moderated voice channel, the Vivox technology will accommodate such group sizes in a single channel. The technology readily supports large group sessions where a small group of presenters may address an audience of tens of thousands of listeners with robust moderator controls.
IN-GAME POSSIB
Comments
Open Microphone, Push-toTalk (PTT), Toggle
Multiple options are available for controlling the microphone. Users can choose to have an open microphone that transmits continually. Alternatively, Push-to-Talk (PTT) allows users to key bind to a mouse, keyboard or controller. A toggle option is also available where one press of the bind turns the microphone on and a second one turns it off.
Individual Volume Controls
Players can manually adjust the volume of any player, or multiple players in a channel to account for individual volume differences or background noise. Each participant may also selectively mute any other player on demand.
Moderator/Behavior Controls
Vivox provides a full set of moderator controls to enhance the users experience with command and control tools, hierarchy options and GM or CSR abilities. Any number of users in a group may have moderator rights. Moderator controls can also be delegated among group leaders. Controls include:
on the channel until he is un-muted by a moderator
cool-down period before the user may rejoin
prevent him from rejoining until he is un-banned by a moderator
Roster List
Vivox servers generate a real-time list of users in a voice channel that may be
represented in the game UI. The following information may be shown:
authorized moderator
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Vivox provides multiple layers of security for voice channels. Base security is centered on secure username/password combinations that are not known by the user. Connections to Vivox servers are only accepted from authorized domains and certain commands are restricted to the IP addresses of the game servers. There are additional checks and controls that are beyond the scope of this document.
In addition to these controls, Vivox provides tools to limit unauthorized access to channels:
Access Control Lists (ACLs)
Channels may be restricted to a defined list of player participants. The list can be generated by the server to minimize the chance of a client side exploit
.
Password Protected Channels
Channels can be restricted using a password that forces authentication prior to granting access.
ACLs are particularly useful when there is a small group or a relatively static group list. For larger groups, password protected channels offer efficient protection.
Voice Fonts
Vivox voice fonts allow users to alter the sound of their voice to match the unique characteristics of their avatar, or simply to disguise their identity. Vivox developed voice fonts to give developers a way to add quality voice alterations with appropriate characteristics to the player characters they design and for users to mask their identities with flair.
Voice fonts are generally designed to model avatars physiology. A tall, barrelchested avatar will produce a much different voice than a diminutive waif. The voice font processes the incoming voice on the client side and applies a series of filters based on the design physiology to produce an altered voice that is matched to the avatars physical attributes and/or to the surrounding environment. Environmental inputs can be integrated into the audio stream echo from a dungeon, static from a handheld communicator, wind off the ocean, or a harsh atmosphere that adds a husky whisper or gravely undertone.
Vivox has an inventory of pre-configured fonts in addition to creating custom designs in collaboration with the developer. Vivox has expended significant effort to enable natural, non-mechanical transforms that may be subtle or significant alterations to the natural voice stream.
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Vivox provides a web-based administration portal that allows your operational staff to directly monitor and manage users, channels, recorded data and view real time statistics.
Safety and Managing the User Experience
Managing acceptable social behavior is a necessary part of ensuring a safe and responsible online experience. Vivox provides multiple tools for developers to minimize the impact of griefers, manage anti-social behavior and address parental concerns as they may exist. Its generally accepted that game players of all ages use mobile phones, or any number of readily available desktop VoIP clients like Skype or Google Talk to facilitate voice conversation during game play. Vivox provides security tools that allow developers to employ safeguard best practices that ensure a safe and responsible environment for players of all ages. Weve established through customer experience that voice users are generally less likely to create behavioral petitions than IM users. This is attributable to the personal and rather public nature of voice versus the more anonymous nature of text communication. People are far more likely to type something offensive than to speak it. There are a number of tools that can be exposed to maximize the comfort and security of the community you serve, including:
Moderation:
Peer Moderation
The ability to individually mute any person in a group for yourself is a powerful feature and the ultimate stop for a verbal griefer.
Group Moderation
Party leaders, guild officers and other authorized users can mute individuals on demand. Group mute provides the ability to send the muted party a message notifying them that they have been muted. This gives the muted user a chance to cool down, adjust and apologize. They maintain listening ability while muted in the channel, but they are not heard. Moderators may also kick a user from a channel and they will be unable to rejoin for a minute. This is a more aggressive action, but it reinforces the message of acceptable behavior. For repeat offenders, a moderator can permanently ban a user from speaking in a channel until the ban is reversed.
Monitoring
Stealth Mode
Stealth mode enables an authorized GM to enter any channel and listen in without revealing their presence. This is useful in the case of real time intervention, or to monitor a user who has been previously flagged.
Parental Control and Reporting
One way to improve the comfort parents have with online games is to give them a window into what is happening with their children online. To aid in providing this process, Vivox can generate the following reports:
Call detail - with whom, when and how often do children speak
This gives parents/guardians the opportunity to talk to their kids about who they are talking with and establish rules on behavior. People that your child speak with more frequently are worth asking about who are they, what do you know about them?
Geo coded reports
This allows parents to monitor and control the geographic location of other voice chat participants, tied to IP address.
Recording
Client side recording allows users to record and store audio in any channel on demand. An audio buffer of chat occurring prior to the recording can be sent along with the recording to document goading behavior prior to the start of the recording. This way a GM can hear what was said in the minute before the complaint occurred.
Controls
White List
A user cant speak or hear another user unless they are on the users white list.
Black List
Managed by users, any users on a black list will not be heard in any channel.
Out of Band Key Passing
Outside the game, a player is required to pass a token to another player, or players parent, before voice chat is allowed. This would require that players know each other outside of the game in order to pass the token.
Quick Chat
For younger players, allowing them to listen but only allowing them to select from preset audio clips (e.g. need manna) into the channel.
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Vivox communication tools extend the game community interaction beyond the time that users are actually in world. Vivox offers a variety of tools that help blend the virtual and real world and extend the community.
The Vivox Community Connector is a custom-branded, standalone, out-of game communications client that
enables users to communicate with one another via presence, voice and IM. Depending on developer needs, this client can access in-game chat channels or function solely out of game. Users can see buddy presence, sync the list with their in-game address book and have IM or live voice chat sessions with others directly.
Recording and Monitoring
Vivox provides APIs that allow audio channels to be monitored and recorded on demand with server side recording. Recording is an effective deterrent and means of enforcing terms of service or acceptable use policies. Recording can be activated on demand by an administrator or triggered programmatically when necessary. Developers can add proactive monitoring to randomly record channels and automatically append the recording to a complaint, if one is filed. The goal is to catch the start of the conversation before things become heated. Users may also be automatically recorded each time they join an audio channel in cases where they have been involved in past harassment complaints. Recordings are only accessible by administrators and may be automatically deleted based on customer needs.
Client Side Recording
The Vivox SDK supports client side recording, allowing players to record everyone who speaks in a channel. The recording can be either single track, where everyone is in a single audio file, or multi-track, which creates a separate file for each speaker - great for podcasts or machinima.
In addition to capturing a recording, a TIVO-style loop is exposed. The loop provides a buffer that creates and stores the previous minute (or more depending on how it is set up) of conversation for playback. A user can use a slider to jog back in the conversation and return to the live channel on demand. The playback of audio can be accelerated by removing silence and playing back at a faster rate. This allows
the user to catch up to the ongoing conversation and is effective for GMs to review conversation in case of a complaint.
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It's hard to tell where it ends and your ideas begin...
DISCLAIMER: NONE OF THE INFORMATION BELOW HAS YET BEEN CONFIRMED OR DENIED BY CRYPTIC - THIS IS ONLY MY INTERPETATION BASED ON WHAT I HAVE FOUND AND WHAT I FEEL ARE REASONABLE ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON CRYPTIC'S PAST BEHAVIOR!
Will my Subscription increase?
Odds are - NO there will be no change to the subscription fees for 2 reasons:
- Vivox Audio Ads provide you with the opportunity to monetize all users who take advantage of your Voice integration. Audio Ads are quick clips that are strategically placed so that game play is not interrupted. Best of all you control the frequency that the ads are played! - this means we may have to listen to commercials about other Atari games from time to time of c-store special offers!
- Vivox Virtual Goods complement your Voice integration, are flexible enough to fit into your virtual marketplace and can be sold to your users based largely on your terms. Virtual Goods are "decorative" and "functional," can be mixed and matched and include: voice fonts, dial-an-avatar, dial-a-group and voicemail. - this means that we may be able to purchase/rent a custom channel through the c-store. the channel (in theory) could work like the xp and skill point boosts - 4 hr, 8hr, weekend, 1 week, 1 month. you will then either receive a password for your channel in-game, or it could be done in the background though use of a token.
How will this be setup\integrated in game?
While no official statement has been made, it would be reasonable to assume the following setup:
channels setup by quadrant, with smaller channels for sector and maybe instance..
as an example, to chat with players on DS9, you would go to the beta ursae quadrant, select the Bajor sector, then select Ds9. Alternately, for non-private/fleet chat, it may switch automatically...
What will this mean to STOKed or Subspace Radio?
the client has built-in community features, it is entirely possible that through an agreement with Cryptic, subspace radio can receive their own channel for broadcasting, Likewise for pod-casts such as stoked, and best of all this will allow their communities to become more involved in the show itself. Much like radio, this opens up the ability for "call-in" style questions and in-game shout-outs. There truly is a lot of possibility for this.
Also, consider a date time where a broadcast is made online for eveyone to join a specific channel fo hear directly from the devs in a live "ask cryptic" session? Not good enough? How about a dev event much like City of Heroes Rikti invasion, or the End of Beta Event?
What do you think is the biggest problem with this?
Right now, despite all the promise that STO holds, there is still TOO LITTLE for players to do. right now, other than the weekly series, helping new players, or just grinding, there is no compelling event or reason to spend more than a few hours at a time in this game. finish this week's episode - play something else until the next episode comes out, or just alt-switch. we need more out of this mmo. Until then, this will remain a mediocre mmo with great potential.
my ideas begin in the FAQ section. At present, there were only 2 major questions/thoughts i had, but figured this may help generate interest and discussion on the topic.
you actually posted before i was finished....