How do you Chat when you play?

[mattcolville]

When you're playing your game of choice with FGII, how do you typically communicate? Is everyone in Skype or some equivalent? Or just text? Or some combination?

[bennis1980]

We've been using Teamspeak since the FGcon (thank you Dakadin for hosting the server)

Has been working great - the voice activation works a treat

[mattcolville]

We've been using Teamspeak since the FGcon (thank you Dakadin for hosting the server)

Has been working great - the voice activation works a treat

So all the players and the GM are talking all the time, just like at the table? No video, just voices?

Do you use text for anything?

[bennis1980]

Generally we don't use video - I'd need to get third monitor for that :D I don't find everyone is speaking at the same time and it actually works quite well.

I use either of the following:

Option 1: Use text for in-character speech and actions and important GM discriptions (prepared stuff). Voice for tactical sequence and general GMing. Voice would also be for general discussion or chat. (benefit is that all the important stuff is recorded in the chat log, downside is you need to type fast)

Option 2: Use voice for in-character speech and tactical sequence and GMing. Use Chat for out-of-char discussion and skit, plus any important preprepared discriptions. (Benefit is it makes for a game closer to a real table top (everyone's talking in character and having a laugh) but the downside is there's no log of PC-NPC interaction)

What way do you do it currently?

[Trenloe]

As a GM I use voice (the community TeamSpeak server - thanks +1 Dakadin!) virtually exactly as I would in a face-to-face game. Some players do OOC and some descriptive text in the chat window when we're playing - and whispers as well. I also put boxed text that I read out in the chat window.

If I need to have some one-on-one chats with a player I move into another subchannel on the TS server and chat with the player/s there.

[Callum]

We have everyone on Teamspeak together throughout the session. (We used to use Ventrilo, which worked well, too - but just make sure that someone other than the DM is hosting it.) We chat like we would around a table (I use voice-activation for my mic), but we use the text chat window in FG for all in-character talking and actions, as well as all my descriptive stuff as DM - this means these all appear in the log for the session. Rules questions and the suchlike are mostly handled through voice chat, but I'll usually call for rolls (init, saves, etc.) in the text chat window. We also use text chat for secret whispers.

[Leonal]

Skype with private messages through whisper or Skype text.

[spoofer]

Three different games each week, three different ways:

1. Skype and GII
2. Ventrilo and FGII
3. Google+ and Roll20

[mattcolville]

That's interesting. Does anyone play without voice? Just text chat?

I ask all this because when my friends and I played, the voice thing felt akward. And it seemed to be more natural to do everything via text. Which is weird because we all play every week in person.

[Tiqon]

We use Google hangout for everything. Works fine. This is a very relaxed game between friends who know each other well. When they use the text chat its mostly to taunt and tease me... I'm not sure I would be comfortable with speech, playing with strangers though... mostly because my English would be hard to understand ;).

[GunnarGreybeard]

I don't have any active campaigns running atm, but all the ones I have run to date have been text chat only.

[dr_venture]

I use only FG text chat for both of my campaigns. So far, it's worked pretty well... especially in the Old West game, where the indistinction of the voices of the participants adds a lot to the immersion in the environment. I can describe a NPC as speaking with a thick Irish accent and type his dialog with just a few little cliches, like calling the characters "lads" or a girl a "lass"... and the players read it more in character than I would ever be able to fake an Irish accent.

The downside is speed - it definitely slows down the game. We'll have to see if text is something that folks like long-term for the Greyhawk campaign... I think it has less value there, as people are less clear about what accent an Elf or Dwarf should have. Thus, I think they'd be less distracted if I don't make an attempt at it other than the most generalized sense.

[bennis1980]

Any of the text only games that I played (particularly during the FGcon) were very atmospheric, I found myself getting truely sucked into the story. My only complaint was sitting forward staring at the screen in silence for 3/4 hrs was physically uncomfortable and claustrophobic.

On the other hand, with the mostly voice games the ice was broken very quickly and by the end of the session my side was sore from laughing so hard. People didn't have a problem getting into character although they had to expose themselves to ridicule (oops, that's me I'm talking about)

[joshuha]

What I have found that works best is in-character chat and actions are done through FG and OOC chatter/metagame/DM questions are done through voice. This preserves the log for a nice read-through for future players as well as allows most people to get immersed behind their persona more. I find that most players find more comfort in the slight anonymity that text provides as they don't have to worry about doing silly voices or even playing a different sex character.

[spoofer]

What I have found that works best is in-character chat and actions are done through FG and OOC chatter/metagame/DM questions are gone through voice.

Wow! I would have never imagined that this is even possible. We do the exact opposite. The players kept getting sidetracked into long irrelevant discussions. I insisted that all of that be done through the chat window, and so now it is easy for me to ignore. When the jokes, etc., were done with voice, many players in the group had a tough time ignoring and kept getting sucked into responding, causing the game to really drag.

This shows that there really is the full combination of possibilities and that they all seem to work well, depending on the group, GM, etc.

[Tiqon]

What I have found that works best is in-character chat and actions are done through FG and OOC chatter/metagame/DM questions are gone through voice. This preserves the log for a nice read-through for future players as well as allows most people to get immersed behind their persona more. I find that most players find more comfort in the slight anonymity that text provides as they don't have to worry about doing silly voices or even playing a different sex character.

I actually thought about this after I wrote my initial reply to this post. I miss the log after each session when we just talk. So thats a very good idea actually. My players are also not very much into "in character" acting, so maybe this is a way for them to some actual roleplaying, if they just have to type it instead. We have one player who types very slow though, Ill have to talk with him about this.

Thanks for your post, that gave me kick to go further with that. :).

[Blahness98]

In the game that I am running, I am using all text. We do have a Skype session going for OOC chatter/ rules clarifications and links that cannot be viewed in FG. I have been in sessions doing mixtures like that and it works well.

The one thing I don't like about using voice exclusively is the one deep voiced guy that is playing the peppy female gnome and attempting to do the voice or not attempting to do the voice and you confuse him with someone else..

[Draeus]

We use personal Ts voice server, in game chat is for whispers and for spelling of names places etc.

everyone waits there turn and acts or describes their actions on Ts. Chat is also used for afks and brbs etc..

Generally everyone stays in character unless something funny happens then all is chaos for a bit while we have a moment to joke about it and get it out of the system and then back to the game.

I'm very lucky to have a couple of decent group of players :)