Blacky
January 26th, 2014, 14:45
This is a detailed tutorial on how to add ambient music & noises to your vocal roleplaying games on Teamspeak under Windows. It may seem somewhat complicated, it's not at all.
The main goal is to have two audio inputs, two Windows microphones if you will. One for your voice (your “real” physical microphone), and one for your music (usually a virtual one). Then double connect to Teamspeak using a voice identity & settings, and a music identity & settings. To do this under Windows, by far the simplest solution for most people is to use Virtual Audio Cable (or VAC). It's a small program that can create virtual connexions between audio inputs&outputs exactly the way you like. It's extremely powerful (and complex for complex usage), but for our use it's extremely simple. If you have a good audio card (probably mid to high-end dedicated audio card, forget any Realtek motherboarded chipset), with good drivers, VAC may not be necessary… in that case you'll need to read the full documentation of your audio card, and check it out yourself.
You can check out Virtual Audio Cable here, and start by using the trial version. As recommanded by the author, it ensure it will work on your system the way you want. If all is good, you can then buy the full version (yes it costs a few bucks, as all good things do).
For the record I'm using Teamspeak 3.0.13.1 (latest stable version at this time) here, but nothing should change much in the upcoming versions.
Step 1: installing Virtual Audio Cable
Just download and install it using default options. It's very fast and very easy, and should create by default a new (virtual) audio device in your Windows, called Line1.
Here's the defaut VAC control panel with this Line1:
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5942&d=1390745527
You can check your Windows Audio control panel, a new cable (or device) should appear as Line1. No need to select it, keep your own configuration as it is.
Optional but good: in the same Audio control panel, under the Communication tab, there's an option for Windows to adjust your global audio levels when VOIP is detected. I suggest the Do nothing option to avoid troubles and keep volume at your sole hands.
Step 2: Teamspeak new capture profile
Open Teamspeak, go to menu Settings then Options then Capture. This is where you define anything related to how Teamspeak capture your audio (hence the name) to send it to the server.
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5943&d=1390745553
There you have your usual Default profile, probably for your own voice microphone. Don't touch anything.
But do create a new profile (green + at the bottom), call it whatever you like but something you'll remember (I use VAC musique here). Then edit its details (options) to those settings:
Capture device: Line1 (that's the big deal right here, and why we needed VAC in the first place)
Continuous Transmission (we don't want Teamspeak trying to detect the music, just push it through all the time)
And nothing else (no echo reduction, and in the Advanced options nothing here too, this is clean audio files we're going to push through here not some badly recorded human voice).
Then OK to save this.
Step 3: Teamspeak new identity
In Teamspeak, go to menu Settings then Identities. Again a default identity is here with your own settings, don't touch it. Do create (Add+ on the top left) a new one with any name you'll remember (again I use VAC musique here in my screenshots).
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5944&d=1390745570
So give this new identity any name you'll like, and if you want under nickname choose one that will tell your player what this is (we all know players are so easily confused, poor little things).
Step 4: Teamspeak new bookmark
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5945&d=1390747396
In Teamspeak, go to menu Bookmarks then Manage Bookmarks. There you have all your favorite servers, with IP, password and such recorded. Now, you'll need to do this for any TS Server you'll which to double connect with your new music identity&settings (but TS make this is, a right click on any bookmark allows you to duplicate it, then you'll just have to change the IP & password and little things like that for your new server).
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5946&d=1390747414
I'm going to use the Fantasy Ground Euro community server as an example here. I'll duplicate it with right click, and then:
Label: add something meaningful so that you'll remember this bookmark is for audio ambience.
Keep the same address and password, obviously.
Identity: switch to your new VAC identity
Capture Profile: switch to your new VAC capture profile
Playback profile: none (otherwise you're going to have a double echo, since both your TS identity will playback things for you)
Hotkey Profile and Sound Pack: none (optional but recommanded, you don't want a hotkey affecting both your profile probably, but you can edit it as you see fit).
Then Apply to save the new bookmark.
And that's it for the “complicated” part. Now when you connect for your gaming night, you just have to connect twice, once with your default TS profile and a second time with your ambient music profile.
The big advantages of that method: no echo or weird sound bugs, anyone can idependently adjust the volume of your voice and your ambient music separately on his own without asking for you to adjust volume, if necessary a player can mute your music.
Step 5: using a music player to push sounds
Now that's nice you have a new compadre in your TS channel for ambient music & noises, but it doesn't do much. You need a software, an audio or music player for example, to push sounds through it. That's easy, any decent software will do. The only requirement is that this software needs to have some kind of Audio Output Device setting. Meaning, you need to be able to tell the software to use Line1 as its audio output and not your physical headset (or speakers if you're a barbarian).
A lot of them do. I believe several mixing softwares, several dedicated ambient and athmosphere audio for RPG do it. Forget Windows Media Player (what are you doing using this anyway?!), but VLC does it, Media Player Classic does it, Foobar does it, etc. No your web browser doesn't.
Myself being lazy and still haven't explored the dedicated multi-tracks ambient rpg softwares uses, I use Foobar. It has the big disadvantage of not being libre and open sourced. But it's good, it's free. And it has the very great advantages of being portable, meaning you can install it several times in different locations and launch it several times. I use this to push two tracks for my players: one is music, one is ambient sounds (like night forests sounds, rain, wind, etc.) And it doesn't screw around with my own MPC&VLC audio player I use for everything else. But there's a lot of ways of doing that better.
So all you have to do in your audio player, is to select Line1 as his Audio Output Device (exact name can change from software to software). Now play something in it, you won't here anything. But connect your two identities to a TS server, and now you will here it (as will anyone who is connected to your TS channel).
Of course, the audio quality won't be great, this is Teamspeak we're speaking about (could be worse, could be Skype). And you'll lose stereo. And anyways you're probably using MP3s, which aren't great in the first place. Still, I do strongly suggest using a TS channel with the Opus codec used, especially the Opus Voice with decent quality settings. It should be quite enough for a rpg gaming night, whereas voices are more important than HiFi music.
The main goal is to have two audio inputs, two Windows microphones if you will. One for your voice (your “real” physical microphone), and one for your music (usually a virtual one). Then double connect to Teamspeak using a voice identity & settings, and a music identity & settings. To do this under Windows, by far the simplest solution for most people is to use Virtual Audio Cable (or VAC). It's a small program that can create virtual connexions between audio inputs&outputs exactly the way you like. It's extremely powerful (and complex for complex usage), but for our use it's extremely simple. If you have a good audio card (probably mid to high-end dedicated audio card, forget any Realtek motherboarded chipset), with good drivers, VAC may not be necessary… in that case you'll need to read the full documentation of your audio card, and check it out yourself.
You can check out Virtual Audio Cable here, and start by using the trial version. As recommanded by the author, it ensure it will work on your system the way you want. If all is good, you can then buy the full version (yes it costs a few bucks, as all good things do).
For the record I'm using Teamspeak 3.0.13.1 (latest stable version at this time) here, but nothing should change much in the upcoming versions.
Step 1: installing Virtual Audio Cable
Just download and install it using default options. It's very fast and very easy, and should create by default a new (virtual) audio device in your Windows, called Line1.
Here's the defaut VAC control panel with this Line1:
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5942&d=1390745527
You can check your Windows Audio control panel, a new cable (or device) should appear as Line1. No need to select it, keep your own configuration as it is.
Optional but good: in the same Audio control panel, under the Communication tab, there's an option for Windows to adjust your global audio levels when VOIP is detected. I suggest the Do nothing option to avoid troubles and keep volume at your sole hands.
Step 2: Teamspeak new capture profile
Open Teamspeak, go to menu Settings then Options then Capture. This is where you define anything related to how Teamspeak capture your audio (hence the name) to send it to the server.
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5943&d=1390745553
There you have your usual Default profile, probably for your own voice microphone. Don't touch anything.
But do create a new profile (green + at the bottom), call it whatever you like but something you'll remember (I use VAC musique here). Then edit its details (options) to those settings:
Capture device: Line1 (that's the big deal right here, and why we needed VAC in the first place)
Continuous Transmission (we don't want Teamspeak trying to detect the music, just push it through all the time)
And nothing else (no echo reduction, and in the Advanced options nothing here too, this is clean audio files we're going to push through here not some badly recorded human voice).
Then OK to save this.
Step 3: Teamspeak new identity
In Teamspeak, go to menu Settings then Identities. Again a default identity is here with your own settings, don't touch it. Do create (Add+ on the top left) a new one with any name you'll remember (again I use VAC musique here in my screenshots).
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5944&d=1390745570
So give this new identity any name you'll like, and if you want under nickname choose one that will tell your player what this is (we all know players are so easily confused, poor little things).
Step 4: Teamspeak new bookmark
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5945&d=1390747396
In Teamspeak, go to menu Bookmarks then Manage Bookmarks. There you have all your favorite servers, with IP, password and such recorded. Now, you'll need to do this for any TS Server you'll which to double connect with your new music identity&settings (but TS make this is, a right click on any bookmark allows you to duplicate it, then you'll just have to change the IP & password and little things like that for your new server).
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5946&d=1390747414
I'm going to use the Fantasy Ground Euro community server as an example here. I'll duplicate it with right click, and then:
Label: add something meaningful so that you'll remember this bookmark is for audio ambience.
Keep the same address and password, obviously.
Identity: switch to your new VAC identity
Capture Profile: switch to your new VAC capture profile
Playback profile: none (otherwise you're going to have a double echo, since both your TS identity will playback things for you)
Hotkey Profile and Sound Pack: none (optional but recommanded, you don't want a hotkey affecting both your profile probably, but you can edit it as you see fit).
Then Apply to save the new bookmark.
And that's it for the “complicated” part. Now when you connect for your gaming night, you just have to connect twice, once with your default TS profile and a second time with your ambient music profile.
The big advantages of that method: no echo or weird sound bugs, anyone can idependently adjust the volume of your voice and your ambient music separately on his own without asking for you to adjust volume, if necessary a player can mute your music.
Step 5: using a music player to push sounds
Now that's nice you have a new compadre in your TS channel for ambient music & noises, but it doesn't do much. You need a software, an audio or music player for example, to push sounds through it. That's easy, any decent software will do. The only requirement is that this software needs to have some kind of Audio Output Device setting. Meaning, you need to be able to tell the software to use Line1 as its audio output and not your physical headset (or speakers if you're a barbarian).
A lot of them do. I believe several mixing softwares, several dedicated ambient and athmosphere audio for RPG do it. Forget Windows Media Player (what are you doing using this anyway?!), but VLC does it, Media Player Classic does it, Foobar does it, etc. No your web browser doesn't.
Myself being lazy and still haven't explored the dedicated multi-tracks ambient rpg softwares uses, I use Foobar. It has the big disadvantage of not being libre and open sourced. But it's good, it's free. And it has the very great advantages of being portable, meaning you can install it several times in different locations and launch it several times. I use this to push two tracks for my players: one is music, one is ambient sounds (like night forests sounds, rain, wind, etc.) And it doesn't screw around with my own MPC&VLC audio player I use for everything else. But there's a lot of ways of doing that better.
So all you have to do in your audio player, is to select Line1 as his Audio Output Device (exact name can change from software to software). Now play something in it, you won't here anything. But connect your two identities to a TS server, and now you will here it (as will anyone who is connected to your TS channel).
Of course, the audio quality won't be great, this is Teamspeak we're speaking about (could be worse, could be Skype). And you'll lose stereo. And anyways you're probably using MP3s, which aren't great in the first place. Still, I do strongly suggest using a TS channel with the Opus codec used, especially the Opus Voice with decent quality settings. It should be quite enough for a rpg gaming night, whereas voices are more important than HiFi music.