Voice server?

Most PotBS guilds seem to be setting up a teamspeak or ventrillo server. This includes a great many guilds who are listed as RP guilds. I have not seen any posts regarding an HC voice server, although it is quite possible I it is in forums as yet invisible to me. If so, my appologies.

Personally, I am quite happy to play without a voice server. I am not a trained voice actor, nor can I think up witty lines on the spur of the moment. I am much better when writing, and thus vastly prefer text chat for RP. And yes, I prefer to be IC whenever in-game (or as much as humanly possible).

Many people say voice is critical for group coordination in battle. However, that was NOT my experience sailing with two other women in the open beta one afternoon, doing PvE team fights. We were able to develop tactics and communicate fairly easily by text. Of course, all three of us were veteran MMO players - one even wanted to assign a "tank" role to one of our ships (a paradyme that didn't survive the first engagement, I'm happy to say). I am convinced that an experienced team who practice appropriate naval tactics can communicate very effectively without devoting themselves to lengthy text messages. Heck, age of sail commanders did it with signal flags!

On the other hand, when working with "pick up" groups, as might happen in port battles, longer explanations may be needed. Just keeping the ships in the same part of the ocean and hopefully concentrating fire, will require a LOT of talking. I can see the need for having voice in these circumstances, much as it pains me to admit it.

Has the society's leadership a position on all this yet?

This is a great idea!! 0.o

The official HC position regarding voice is ambivalent at this point. Some say we gotta have it, some say we should never use it, some say use it sometimes and not sometimes. I don't think there will be an official position for a while.

Myself, I think it's up to the group participants to decide at the time. I used to do a lot of PvP on LotRO. There were always both happening at once. Most had it, several didn't. The group leaders just used both. It worked pretty well and that was a PvP environment that was a lot faster paced than naval tactics in potbs.

So, I think to use voice or not to use voice will always be optional.

I'm just like you von Klein; I'm not a trained voice actor either, nor do I think up witty lines on the fly. And, I try to stay ic as much as possible when I'm playing.

Captain Jack McBain
Commodore
The Highland Confederacy

And in my case I'm on dialup so can't use voice even if I wanted to (which I don't particularly).

Bog

There are 2 other topics regarding this debate hidden somewhere within the forums; Jack summed them up well enough above.

[Speaking in general terms, not specific to HC]
I don't see PotBS being any differen't than other MMO's in that Loggin into Vent/TS is always an option and never forced (well you can't really go to someones home and force them if you don't know where they live). However for large group fights that take 20 ~ 40 players and tons of communication it just makes it easy on the person doing the coordinating if everyone is at least logged in and listening, in fact in many cases it's prefered that the majority listen only; to avoid channel chatter/clutter. I can see this scenario perhaps in the 25 vs. 25 port contentions (But only if they implement the Guild vs. Guild FLS hinted at some time back).

[End speaking in general terms]

As for the HC I am hoping for comms because there are some people in every guild that would like to talk to each other as opposed to write everything out. And since it's never forced on people to use it then I see no reason on denying those who want to use it. Simply having both options available seems fair and just to me. Some days I'll use it and other's I just won't be in the mood.

I especially like it when several channels are set up so that if only a couple of the guild members are teamed up to do some missions together and are tired of typing out everything they can get into a channel all to themselves and make the most of their time without trying to talk over other small groups doing the same.

Well said, Mr. Poppyseed Mcpoopyhead
I'm with you!

I too am ambivilant to voice coms. No amout of talk is going to make up for poor tactics or position. In the beta, I think Jack and I did a couple of battles with about 10 lines of text total. Mostly things like, "We take the guy on the right", "Tacking", "Don't sink him, I want to board".

Given that historically, battles were fought with minimal flag signals, I think that tactical indoctronation is more important than voice communication. I know in the beta, that I fared much better with a good knowledge of practical seamanship than my PvP opponets did. While it won't make up for ganking and poor instancing (like right in the middle of an indiaman convoy), I did allow me to win a 2 on 1 and escape from a couple of 5-6s on 1.