[lovechiefs]

Has anyone thought about using TeamSpeak or Ventrillo for in game communication between clan members?

[the_logos]

We looked at building that kind of thing into Iron Realms games briefly, but rejected it as too exclusionary. I ended up feeling like if you're going to have a game feature that cordons off potentially necessary communication from a certain segment of user, you'd better be sure that segment of user is really small, and unfortunately, the segment of users that doesn't have headsets or is playing from an environment in which talking to a game is unacceptable (school, work, potentially home) is pretty large.

I actually also think that clan channel communication isn't the best use of voice. I think voice would be most useful in situations where quick communication that doesn't get lost in on-screen action is necessary, like a small raiding party or PK team. It does work in large raiding parties, but it takes more discipline on the part of the party members to shut up unless they have something valuable to say. Chat is easily ignored, but having someone yammering in your ear is hard to ignore.

--matt

[lovechiefs]

That would be where clan officers and clan admins would be in charge of keeping everyone straight