SOP: Using TeamSpeak with FFoW

[WhiskeySix]

Solid communications are central to the way we play at TacticalGamer. Since the initial release for PC will not include native VOIP support, we strongly encourage ALL players to use TeamSpeak for in-game voice communications! To facilitate this, we have developed a simple, easy to remember scheme for using TS while playing frontlines.

If you have never used TeamSpeak before, follow these 5 easy steps to get up and running. If you HAVE used teamspeak before and are familiar with it's operation, please SKIP TO THE NEXT POST for details on configuring TeamSpeak to work with Frontlines: Fuel of War.

Basic Teamspeak Setup Guide

Step 1 : Register a TacticalGamer forum account

• To join Tactical Gamer teamspeak you must register a forum account
• click here to register a froum account

Step 2 : Download teamspeak and set up a connection

• Download TeamSpeak here (523KB)
• click here to pick a TS password and connect to the TS server.

Step 3 : Set up a 'push to talk' key

• Click 'Settings' / 'Sound Input/Output Settings'

• Select 'Push to talk'
• Click button 'Set' and press your 'push to talk' key
• Mkae sure your push to talk key is different from any in game keys
• Select test codec 'Speex 25.9Kbit'
• Click 'Activate local test mode' to test your push to talk key

Step 4 : Disable sound notifications *optional*

• Click 'Settings' / 'Options'

• Select tab 'Sound Notification'
• Click 'Disable all sounds'
• Click 'Ok'
• You could choose to keep some sound notifications and mute others (mute by clearing the wave file)
• A popular setup is to just keep the sound notification for 'mute/unmute mic' and 'switched channel' so that you get feedback that those actions were successful

Step 5 : Install Teamspeak Overlay *optional*

• http://www.teamspeakoverlay.com/
• Is a free add on to teamspeak and shows the names of who's talking in-game
• It is in beta, but works fine on MOST systems.
• Can also show FPS counter, clock, and other things.

If Teamspeak doesn't work try these two things (fixes 80% of problems)

• Click 'Settings' / 'Options'

• Select tab 'Sound Devices'
• 2 variables to change, fix 80% of problems
• Change from direct sound to wave (or other way around) and test
• Change input device / output device and test
• Test in settings / Sound Input/Output Settings

Once you have TeamSpeak up and running, continue to the next post to configure it for use with Frontlines: Fuel of War!

[WhiskeySix]

Configuring for Frontlines: Fuel of War

The basic idea is simply to provide a means for voice-communications that mimics how it will eventually work in-game: There are separate Teamspeak channels for Western Coalition and Red Star Alliance, with each having sub-channels for each squad:

Once you're in a squad, you just need to get to the right channel. Players that form new squads (SL's) will move to a new, empty squad channel. When players join a squad their squad leader will tell them (in squad text-chat) which TS channel their squad is using.



How do I move myself to the right channel?

There are two ways to do this. The first, is to simply <ALT-TAB> out of the game and double-click the appropriate channel. The second way is to setup key-binds in teamspeak to move yourself around. To simplify things, the admin team has created a standard keybind-set that we can all use. It lets you easily move channels without leaving the game and also allows you to adjust "VOIP" sound. This keybind-set uses Scroll-lock in conjunction with other keys to do everything.

===========================================
ScrLck + WC = switch to WC channel
ScrLck + RS = switch to RSA channel
ScrLck + 1 = squad 1
ScrLck + 2 = squad 2
ScrLck + 3 = squad 3
ScrLck + 4 = squad 4
ScrLck + 5 = squad 5

ScrLck + ↑ = increase TS volume 10%
ScrLck + ↓ = decrease TS volume 10%
ScrLck + ← = toggle TS volume muting
ScrLck + → = toggle TS microphone muting

Squad Leader Specific:
ScrLck + L = Toggle Squad Leader status (toggle channel commander* status)
ScrLck + B = Push-to-Talk all Squad Leaders ("whisper" to a team's channel commanders*)
ScrLck + T = Push-to-Talk entire Team (only to be used between rounds or for contacting an admin)
===========================================

Note: This quick-reference is also in the TeamSpeak channel description in case you forget - but given the keys, you really have no excuse to forget

These are default keys, based on easy to remember commands. Once you have these settings imported, it's very easy to customize them to your liking. (For example, you might want to use <CTRL> instead of <ScrLck> for everything - or to match BF2, use 'V' instead of 'B' to talk to all Squad Leaders).





How to import these keybinds:

1) Download the keybind-set here: FFoW_keybinds_03.kbn

2) Edit your Key Settings:

That brings up this window - it may be mostly empty for you if you haven't played with TS much. (Shown here is what it looks like after you import the keybinds)

3) IMPORTANT: Importing will overwrite your current teamspeak key settings, so consider saving them if you've got something customized to your liking. To do this, just click "Export". This will let you easily switch between different key-bindings for different games if you so desire.

4) To import the settings you downloaded in step 1, click the secret button, and point it at the .KBN file.

* "Channel Commander" is just a designation that each person in TS can toggle on and off for themselves. It only serves to 'flag' yourself to receive special voice comms. By setting up a keybind, you can talk to everyone in your channel that has designated themselves a "Channel Commander". For frontlines, all SL's should designate themselves "channel commander" - this will allow a separate SL-to-SL VOIP channel for communicating things like your squad's current objective and if/when your squad needs help.

[WhiskeySix]

Friday - 22.Feb.08 - Updated with version 03 of keybind file.