OpenSimWorld is the directory of 3D Virtual Worlds based on OpenSimulator and connected through the HyperGrid. Learn More
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What to do if you missed out on vivox voice? Well. There is a free program for windows/linux/mac called mumble. It has 2 parts. a program that you run as a small server, and a program that you run as a client. Mumble currently supports over 30 games, including such games as call of duty with an overlay plugin. An overlay plugin is not yet developed for opensimulator, however... Here are the instructions to do that if you want a game overlay plugin for opensimulator. https://www.mumble.info/documentation/developer/positional...
BUT you don't have to do all that. You can just run the mumble server, then you and your friends can download the mumble client on their mac, linux box, or windows pc, and they can easily connect to your mumble server. Once everyone is on your mumble server they can type chat to each other, or talk voice to each other over their microphone. The game overlay part just adds additional features to the game, so that it appears your voice is coming from a specific location, rather than being ubiquitous. If you have any questions on how to set up your own private voice server, please msg me, and I will help you. :)
BUT you don't have to do all that. You can just run the mumble server, then you and your friends can download the mumble client on their mac, linux box, or windows pc, and they can easily connect to your mumble server. Once everyone is on your mumble server they can type chat to each other, or talk voice to each other over their microphone. The game overlay part just adds additional features to the game, so that it appears your voice is coming from a specific location, rather than being ubiquitous. If you have any questions on how to set up your own private voice server, please msg me, and I will help you. :)
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While this is good, It requires more than just the viewer for it to work for the end user. What advantage does Mumble have over Discord or Skype, other than the server is running on your machine? Does having the Mumble client installed automatically connect you to the Mumble server of the sim/parcel you are visiting? Or do you have to ask for access/get invited to the Mumble server everywhere you go?
I would be great to have a solution where voice is on by default and people can opt out rather than off by default and opt in.
I have a dyslexic friend and he finds reading and typing very difficult and not having voice here is very isolating for him. So he tends to just stick to Second Life.
I was looking into Free Switch as a Vivox alternative, but man it looks complicated to set up. I have read through the setup tutorial and there are many parts of the tutorial where not enough detail was provided so I got stuck and gave up.
Here is the Free Switch tutorial if someone would like to have a go at it.
https://wiki.osgrid.org/index.php/Freeswitch_HowTo2
I would love to have a better tutorial written so an idiot like me can understand it. A video would be very nice too.
I assume Free Switch is open source software? If so, then would it be possible for a clever person to package up everything required to run it into an easy to configure package designed to work with Opensim?
It needs to be made easier to use setup. It would be great if all you had to do was extract it to a folder on your server and run it? Obviously there would be some config.ini where you have to input your network stuff, but for me actually getting the program to run is the main hurdle.
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I would be great to have a solution where voice is on by default and people can opt out rather than off by default and opt in.
I have a dyslexic friend and he finds reading and typing very difficult and not having voice here is very isolating for him. So he tends to just stick to Second Life.
I was looking into Free Switch as a Vivox alternative, but man it looks complicated to set up. I have read through the setup tutorial and there are many parts of the tutorial where not enough detail was provided so I got stuck and gave up.
Here is the Free Switch tutorial if someone would like to have a go at it.
https://wiki.osgrid.org/index.php/Freeswitch_HowTo2
I would love to have a better tutorial written so an idiot like me can understand it. A video would be very nice too.
I assume Free Switch is open source software? If so, then would it be possible for a clever person to package up everything required to run it into an easy to configure package designed to work with Opensim?
It needs to be made easier to use setup. It would be great if all you had to do was extract it to a folder on your server and run it? Obviously there would be some config.ini where you have to input your network stuff, but for me actually getting the program to run is the main hurdle.
In terms of advantage, Mumble would offer enhanced privacy, over especially Skype, which will be eavesdropped on by those people in Richmond, (not sure about Discord, but it's probably safer to assume that the walls have ears there too) but neither of those are any worse than Vivox in that respect. Probably for most, the privacy issue is a somewhat moot point, but there are important use case scenarios where I'm sure Opensim is being ruled out due to the lack of a secure voice application.
Some years ago there was the Whisper/Mumble combination that required the changing the code on the viewer so that Mumble would work, but that project didn't progress, probably due to a combination of lack of demand/lack of technical ability and availability of Vivox. More recently, since it's become known that 'free' access to Vivox is coming to an end there has been the EchoVoice project, which has basically come to nothing due to the funding required to get it anywhere near ready. The $60,000 cost is way beyond what Opensim will bear, though I'd guess on a per capita basis of Opensim users, it will only amount to a dollar or two each.
Going forward, I think that is the way we need to start thinking about the development needs of Opensim. We all get a lot from it being here, otherwise we wouldn't be here. The project seems to run on a shoestring, which is all very well, but if there were more money available, then not only would we see faster progress, but also new features, such as an integrated voice module, and maybe even all sorts of cool stuff that could take Opensim off in even more of a different direction to Second Life. Interesting discussion of the issues here: https://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2022/12/vivox-voice-repl...
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Some years ago there was the Whisper/Mumble combination that required the changing the code on the viewer so that Mumble would work, but that project didn't progress, probably due to a combination of lack of demand/lack of technical ability and availability of Vivox. More recently, since it's become known that 'free' access to Vivox is coming to an end there has been the EchoVoice project, which has basically come to nothing due to the funding required to get it anywhere near ready. The $60,000 cost is way beyond what Opensim will bear, though I'd guess on a per capita basis of Opensim users, it will only amount to a dollar or two each.
Going forward, I think that is the way we need to start thinking about the development needs of Opensim. We all get a lot from it being here, otherwise we wouldn't be here. The project seems to run on a shoestring, which is all very well, but if there were more money available, then not only would we see faster progress, but also new features, such as an integrated voice module, and maybe even all sorts of cool stuff that could take Opensim off in even more of a different direction to Second Life. Interesting discussion of the issues here: https://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2022/12/vivox-voice-repl...
Well we all know that nothing on the internet is secure or private. I expect the the owner of a Mumble server could be eavesdropping and be recording everything if they so desired. After all if the owner can listen to the voice chat, then they can record it. That goes for anyone participating in the chat too. If you really have to divulge sensitive information that you wouldn't want intercepted then here is really not the place for that.
I would just like the ability to talk to people in world without everyone having to run a 3rd party program along side the viewer. I'm not even bothered about 3d spacial audio, though that would be a bonus. The one feature that is important is to be able to mute people if they are annoying.
As for funding 60k for the project. I don't think many people would be willing to risk donating to it, not knowing if they will ever get the project delivered. I'm not a fan of the Kick Starter model. Would be more in the open source spirit to beg for donations on the download page of the finished product. Sure the gamble is on the developer, but I would much rather donate to something that I can use now than the promise that something might not get done.
Going back to Free Switch, I assume its an open source project. If that is the case and seeing as it has been proven possible to get it working in Opensim then wouldn't it be less work to take that as a starting point and streamline it to be more simple to setup for Opensim?
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I would just like the ability to talk to people in world without everyone having to run a 3rd party program along side the viewer. I'm not even bothered about 3d spacial audio, though that would be a bonus. The one feature that is important is to be able to mute people if they are annoying.
As for funding 60k for the project. I don't think many people would be willing to risk donating to it, not knowing if they will ever get the project delivered. I'm not a fan of the Kick Starter model. Would be more in the open source spirit to beg for donations on the download page of the finished product. Sure the gamble is on the developer, but I would much rather donate to something that I can use now than the promise that something might not get done.
Going back to Free Switch, I assume its an open source project. If that is the case and seeing as it has been proven possible to get it working in Opensim then wouldn't it be less work to take that as a starting point and streamline it to be more simple to setup for Opensim?
Allegedly Freeswitch can be got to work, but it's complicated and even then, there is no guarantee that it will work consistently, and still involves running a server (unless of course the grid runs its own Freeswitch server, which would be feasible on some girds, but not on others e.g. OSGrid, as all but the Plazas are run on widely distributed servers around the world, and would thus need to run their own instances. Hardly anyone uses it, as usually people struggle with it and fail.
As Opensim has precisely one person working on the core code, it's highly unlikely that anyone is going to invest the time developing a simple plugin so that it works with Opensim, and in any event, Freeswitch, being Third Party Software means that anyone who wants to use it is pretty much on their own. From what I can see, it's about as streamlined to install as it's ever going to get, and whislt is doable, with patience, there is a lot of tweaking to do, all without guarantee of success.
From what you say, maybe Skype or Discord would be a better option for you as you aren't bothered about privacy, and aren't willing to fund an alternative. Discord certainly seems to be widely used by the gaming community.
It’s certainly possible that in the future we could have our own voice solution for Opensim, but it’s more likely to be Mumble based than it is Freeswitch simply because of the spatial element, which inworld is pretty much an expectation. It’s also more than likely that any such soution will have to be paid for, somehow.
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As Opensim has precisely one person working on the core code, it's highly unlikely that anyone is going to invest the time developing a simple plugin so that it works with Opensim, and in any event, Freeswitch, being Third Party Software means that anyone who wants to use it is pretty much on their own. From what I can see, it's about as streamlined to install as it's ever going to get, and whislt is doable, with patience, there is a lot of tweaking to do, all without guarantee of success.
From what you say, maybe Skype or Discord would be a better option for you as you aren't bothered about privacy, and aren't willing to fund an alternative. Discord certainly seems to be widely used by the gaming community.
It’s certainly possible that in the future we could have our own voice solution for Opensim, but it’s more likely to be Mumble based than it is Freeswitch simply because of the spatial element, which inworld is pretty much an expectation. It’s also more than likely that any such soution will have to be paid for, somehow.
I am clearly not an expert in this area and have no real idea what goes into making a workable solution.
I would be willing to pay a one time fee for a well documented easy to use solution if one was available, but I wouldn't throw money blindly at a project that might never materialize.
I only mention Free Switch as I have seen options to enable it in the open sim.ini files. I also assume that if you get free switch running the end user doesn't need any other software installed to be able to talk with others. I assume Free Switch latches onto the existing code that Vivox uses. I don't like the idea of having to have another program like Discord/Mumble/Skype in order to talk. I would much prefer to install something onto my server to get voice working and the user just connects to it seamlessly through the viewer.
Anyway whatever happens I hope its for the better.
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I would be willing to pay a one time fee for a well documented easy to use solution if one was available, but I wouldn't throw money blindly at a project that might never materialize.
I only mention Free Switch as I have seen options to enable it in the open sim.ini files. I also assume that if you get free switch running the end user doesn't need any other software installed to be able to talk with others. I assume Free Switch latches onto the existing code that Vivox uses. I don't like the idea of having to have another program like Discord/Mumble/Skype in order to talk. I would much prefer to install something onto my server to get voice working and the user just connects to it seamlessly through the viewer.
Anyway whatever happens I hope its for the better.
Unfortunately I believe that Freeswitch has to be installed and run as a service separately of the viewer, and the viewer then connected to the service. Sadly, open source and 'well documented' rarely go together.
Whichever way it goes, you are going to have to connect to a server somewhere to get a voice service, whether that's an external server, as would the case with Discord,Skype or Vivox, or a server you run yourself, such as would be the case with Mumble or Freeswitch.
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Whichever way it goes, you are going to have to connect to a server somewhere to get a voice service, whether that's an external server, as would the case with Discord,Skype or Vivox, or a server you run yourself, such as would be the case with Mumble or Freeswitch.
Yes I'm aware you need to run Free Switch separately from the viewer. What I'm saying is the average visitor to my region won't need to do a thing to have voice working if Free Switch is set up. They don't need to run another program like Mumble/Discord or whatever, and then have to manually connect to the server/chat room or service. They just teleport in and voice is working.
What would be nice is to have a detailed tutorial on how to set it up. The tutorial I found left out several things that a novice like me needs to know for it to work.
This is why I wondered if it was possible for some clever person to gather all the dependencies and pre configure the config files with sane defaults that work for Opensim and package it in a way that would be simple to run.
It would be simple if all you had to do was download and extract a zip file, edit a config file with your ports and host name, then run a file to start the service. Sadly its way more complicated than that, and I feel it could be improved upon quite easily.
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What would be nice is to have a detailed tutorial on how to set it up. The tutorial I found left out several things that a novice like me needs to know for it to work.
This is why I wondered if it was possible for some clever person to gather all the dependencies and pre configure the config files with sane defaults that work for Opensim and package it in a way that would be simple to run.
It would be simple if all you had to do was download and extract a zip file, edit a config file with your ports and host name, then run a file to start the service. Sadly its way more complicated than that, and I feel it could be improved upon quite easily.