Mumble
Why is it useful?
Mumble is mostly used in two situations: PvP and Classes. In PvP it is very useful because, for example, it is faster to call out a primary target than to type it, especially with PvP related lag. In classes it is great as well because we do not want our poor instructors getting Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from typing everything. In effect, it is just a lot easier and faster than typing.
Very quick guide
- Download Mumble v1.2.3 from http://mumble.sourceforge.net/ (preferred) or http://www.mumble.com/.
- Install and set it up (create your own certificate, etc)
- Start the client and Server>Connect>Add New...
- Servername: EVE University
- Address: mumble.eveuniversity.org
- Port: 64738 (Default)
- Username: <Your Forum Username, i.e: your character name>
- Connect.
- When prompted for your password, use your forum password!
- There is no six!
- You should automatically be dropped in the "Public Lounge" channel.
- Talk.
- Restart EVE client if you want the overlay to work.
- Use the Comm Check channel to check your microphone
(In step 1 You may need to download the Developer Snapshot to run the Certificate Wizard in step 2. You can not connect to the server without creating a Certificate.)
Warning: Using the iTunes application iMumble Pro from the AppStore will spam the text chat with advertisements. Please do not use this application.
Setting up Mumble
Audio Tuning Wizard
When you run Mumble the first time, an Audio Tuning Wizard is presented to you. If you skip or miss it on the first run you can retake the wizard by clicking Configure > Audio Wizard. It is recommended you go through it carefully, since setting up Mumble correctly will make your and everyone else's life much easier (going through the Audio Tuning Wizard properly will also normalise everyone's voices, such that everyone will sound the same volume regardless of how they have their microphone set up). However there are two things I would like to highlight:
Push-to-talk
When you reach a screen that looks like the one above select the top radio button, click on the box on the same line and press the key you you want to use as the push-to-talk key.This is your normal push-to-talk key; for certain Fleet roles you may need more than one (see the comments in the Fleet channels), but for general E-UNI activity one is sufficient.
Text-to-speech
When you reach a screen that looks like the one above I recommend you disable the text to speech notifications.
Connecting to the EVE University Server
Once Mumble is all set up and you have run through the Audio Tuning Wizard, you will want to connect to the EVE University server.
- Go to Server in the toolbar --> Connect.
- Click the Add New... button in the bottom right.
- Put anything you like in the Label box ("Eve University" seems sensible), the Address box needs to be mumble.eveuniversity.org and the Port needs to be left as default (64738).
- The Username box needs to be your exact E-UNI forum username, which also happens to be your exact character name.
- Click the Connect button.
- The server will reject your connection, and prompt you with a Wrong Password box. You need to use your forum password (i.e. the same password you chose when you registered for our forums) in the box, then click OK.
- You are now connected to the Mumble server, which will have moved you into the Public Lounge channel.
Microphone check
To check your microphone is working and to hear what you sound like to other people, you can use the Comm Check channel at the top of the channel list.
- Right-click the Comm Check channel and select Join to switch to it.
- Wait for your Echo to also join the channel.
- Depress your push-to-talk key.
- Talk.
- Release your push-to-talk key.
- 2 seconds after you release your PTT key, your Echo will repeat what you said back to you.
Notifications
In the Configure --> Settings screen you can find Advanced settings checkbox in the bottom left corner. With it checked you can access the Messages settings. From there you can disable popup and sound notifications about events you don't care about. By default Mumble makes a loud PING and gives you a notification popup for almost any event on the server - this gets annoying pretty fast.
Other interesting features
- Mouse-over anyone's name and their ingame portrait will pop up.
- Right-click on a channel and select Join Channel to move to that channel (double-clicking sometimes produces strange behaviour with nested channels).
- If the name of the channel that you are in is italicized, then your push-to-talk button, in addition to talking to the current channel, will also talk to everybody in every other channel that is also italicized. Italicized names denote linked channels (you can only see this if you are currently in a linked channel).
- Click the small yellow |c| button on any channel (or any person) to see comments on that channel (or person). The |c| will go white once you've read it (and go yellow again if it changes). You can set your own comment by right-clicking on your own name.
- You will automatically be moved to the AFK & Idle channel if Mumble detects no activity on your computer for at least 4 hours. Everybody is automatically muted in that channel, so you can also move yourself there if you desire peace and quiet
- You can create your own channels for EVE purposes (in the On-Demand Channels section) or for any non-EVE gaming purposes (in the Non-EVE Gaming section) by right-clicking on the relevant section and choosing Add. These are temporary channels, you will have admin powers and once the last person leaves the channel will disappear.
Setting a Command Channel push-to-talk
Our fleet channels can be found in the Ivy League Navy part of the Mumble server, containing 10 separate fleet channels, from Alpha to Juliet. These fleet channels contain two sub-channels, the main fleet channel named (e.g.) Delta and a sub-channel named Command. As you probably already realised, if you are in a command position you should join the Command sub-channel, whilst normal fleet members should join the parent channel. You are in a command position when you are the FC, a scout or invited to the command channel by the FC. Being an SC/WC does not entitle you to join the command channel unless you are invited. It is at his discretion who to have on the command channel. The FC should invite those WC/SC that do perform tasks that require being on command channel (e.g. if the FC splits the fleet and have certain units perform tasks out of his range of influence).
The two channels are linked, which means the normal PTT talks to both. Therefore fleet members do not need any special PTT key, your normal PTT you set up during Mumble installation talks to everyone in the fleet. If you are in Command, you will need another PTT key that talks only to the current channel, in order to talk in Command. To set that up, go to Configure -> Settings -> Shortcuts, which will pop up a window that looks like this:
You should already see your existing push-to-talk key set up. It's a good idea to check the Suppress box on any shortcuts, as that will prevent other applications from recognising your key and performing unforseen tasks you had not expected (e.g. warp scrambling stargates).
- Click the Add button in the bottom left, which will bring up a new Unassigned shortcut in the window.
- Click the word Unassigned and select Whisper/Shout from the drop-down list.
- Click the word Empty next to it, which should cause a [...] button to appear next to that - click that [...] button to open a new Whisper Target window.
- Make that new Whisper Target window look like this (i.e. Shout to Channel box ticked at the top, and Current channel highlighted), and then click OK. The Shout to Linked channels and Shout to subchannels should be clear.
- Finally click the Shortcut column of your new shortcut and press the key you wish to use.
- You now have a Command chat key set up for fleet channels!
Note that it will only talk to Command chat if you yourself are also in Command. If you are in the general fleet channel it will talk to the general fleet ONLY, i.e. not Command. You can also use this key in any channels that are linked together (e.g. Public Lounge and Combat Lounge) - it will only talk to the current channel, and not the linked channels. Speaking of which...
Combat and Public Lounge
These two channels in Mumble are linked. The combat lounge is restricted to those people actually in EVE University; however the public lounge is open to anyone with an account on the EVE University forums - i.e. any EVE Online player in the whole galaxy can join our Mumble server.
This is important when it comes to communicating information about university fleets or war information. You normal push-to-talk will of course talk to both channels, and you should use that to chat in these two channels. However, the Combat Lounge section serves an important purpose, and that is announcing upcoming fleets (or other confidential fleet/war information).
Whilst in the Combat Lounge you can use your Command chat push-to-talk key to talk to only the Combat Lounge in order to announce upcoming fleets, or asking confidential questions concerning fleets or current wars. This should not be used for general chatting, and should only be used for fleet announcements or confidential war/fleet questions. Use of the command chat key in this case should be kept short and clear, as those in the Public Lounge are liable to talk over you.
Global Command
Normal fleet grunts, squad commanders, scouts, and, usually, wing commanders, will not need a Global Command key and can safely not bother setting one up. For fleet commanders it can be useful to co-ordinate movements between multiple fleets. It allows you to talk to every fleet Command channel on the Mumble server.
- Go back into the Shortcuts settings window.
- Create a new Whisper/Shout shortcut.
- In the Whisper Target window, select Shout to Channel, and highlight the Ivy League Navy > Alpha > Command channel. Make sure all the other tickboxes are clear.
- Choose your desired Global Command shortcut.
- Repeat steps 2 to 4 nine more times, each time selecting a new Command channel (i.e. Bravo > Command, Charlie > Command, etc. up to Juliet > Command) and each time choosing the same shortcut. Eventually your Shortcuts window should look like this:
File:Command shortcuts.png - Do NOT test your new shortcut whilst there are fleets out.
Talking on Global Command should be prefaced with "Global Command, this is <name>..." and should only be used if really required. Don't use it for asking how the fleet is feeling today.
EWAR and other push-to-talk keys
Mumble allows you to set up many different keybinds (using the same process as explained above) for many different whisper types: to groups of channels, or specific channels, or to people who have a specific 'acess token' set up in their Mumble settings. If you regularly fly EWAR ships in E-UNI fleets, you may want to set up an EWAR token in this way, which is described in detail by Remric here.
You can also set up keybinds to talk to groups of people, or to single specific people regardless of what channel they are in (we call this one a 'push-to-stalk' key).
Overlay
Mumble provides a very handy and customizable overlay. To configure it go to Configure --> Settings --> Overlay option.
Mumble, being the awesome program that it is, shows in this window an example of what the overlay will look like on your current desktop, as well as instructions on how to alter it. One position that works very well is just to the right of the current location name, like the screenshot on the right. You could even put it above the current location, but then - for me at least - it's too small to see easily.
The default setting is for the Overlay to display the name of everyone currently in the channel. As you can imagine, this gets unwieldy very quickly. To change this, right-click on the small example overlay in the window, choose Filter >, and tick Only talking. Also untick Always show yourself, otherwise your name will constantly be displayed on the overlay.
The Edit... option on the right-click menu produces a detailed configuration screen where you can change pretty much anything you like about the overlay: colours, sizes, backgrounds, avatars, etc.
If your overlay is not showing up, it might be because you started Mumble whilst EVE was already running. If necessary simply restart EVE.
Overlay on Linux
To actually display the overlay over Eve in Linux after you've enabled it in Mumble's settings you need to have Mumble launched first and then run mumble-overlay in front of the wine command that you use to launch Eve. For example:
mumble-overlay wine explorer /desktop=Eve,1600x1200 "C:\Program Files\CCP\EVE\eve.exe"
If you use a WINEPREFIX, then you would insert it after the WINEPREFIX variable like so:
WINEPREFIX=/home/username/bin/wine/wine-eve/ mumble-overlay wine explorer /desktop=Eve,3200x1180 "C:\Program Files\CCP\EVE\eve.exe"
Overlay on Mac
** Only Works for Lion OSX and beyond **
There are few steps to enabling the overlay for MAC.
The new 1.2.3 has a working overlay.
Version 1.2.3
- After dragging the Mumble Icon out of the dmg which mounts after your download to your folder of choice;
- Right click the icon and choose "Show Package Contents" Navigate to the following folder:
Mumble.app/Contents/Resources/MumbleOverlay.pkg
- Launch the package and run the installer;
- Restart mumble or run the installer with mumble closed;
- Once installer has finished successfully, it is now time to open mumble to enable your overlay.
Activating Overlay
***IMPORTANT*** Eve Client Needs to be closed during this process.
- To Enable the overlay goto Preferences in Mumble and Click overlay top right button;
- Click the enable overlay checkbox on the top left corner of the window in the options section;
- Click Apply, Then Click OK.
Configuring Overlay
- With Mumble client open first, Launch Eve as normal;
- Command+Enter to put Eve into a being out of Full Screen if you have your client setup to start as such
- You will see the overlay in your Eve Client once it starts
- Goto Preference in Mumble, then Overlay again and in the lower section under the Layout tab, using the screen display below drag and size the overlay position to a point on a screen that you feel comfortable with. The red spot moves the anchor of the overlay. You can change the size of the name displayed using mouse scroll wheel.
- Right Click on black overlay menu, under Filter check [Only Talking], and uncheck [Always show yourself];
- Click Apply; Click Ok;
- Leaving Mumble open in the background you can now go back to your Eve client and type Command+Enter;
- Your overlay is not setup and you are ready to go!
Be sure to start Mumble first before Eve Client from here on out.
You may wish to Edit the way your Overlay looks, you can do so by going to Preference > Overlay > Right Click on Layout overlay menu > Click Edit. You can move things around and resize to best suite your needs.
Troubleshooting
The Mumble FAQ on the Mumble homepage - http://mumble.sourceforge.net/FAQ - has a lot of useful information, and also has a section on Common Problems and Resolutions which may be helpful.
I can login to other servers but not the UNI server!
The Mumble download comes with a "backwards-compatible" version. That program won't work with our server. Use the up-to-date version. Also, if you change your forum password, you have to go to http://forum.eveuniversity.org/update to fix that.
I can't enter a channel I should be able to!
For example, you are in E-UNI but you are unable to access the fleet channels.
Using the in-game browser, click this link: http://forum.eveuniversity.org/update. Then disconnect from Mumble and reconnect. You should now be able to access the relevant channels.
A referral was returned from the server.
"A referral was returned from the server." error while starting Mumble on Windows Check your system time. Windows certificate check will fail if your clock is some years ahead/behind.
For Windows XP: Install the latest Root Certificate update through Windows Update (it's an optional update) to fix this problem.
For Windows Vista/7: Right-click the Mumble executable, select "Properties", select the "Digital Signature" tab, click "Details" and click "Install certificate".
Installing https://www.startssl.com/certs/ca-bundle.crt to the "Trusted Root Certification Authorities" cert store should also work.
If you compiled Mumble yourself either sign the binary or disable signing.
If you are on windows 7 and this doesn't help you, try this out. Press Start, type MMC and press enter go to File and select Add/Remove Snap-ins in available snap-ins select Certificates and press ADD. you get three options, I personally went with "My User Account"
with that done exit the Snap in management window and double click on the Certificate Icon, then double click on the "Trusted Root Certification Authorities" Right click on the Certificate icon that appears and highlight "all tasks" then click on the Import button.
The import wizard will then ask for the filename of the certificate you want imported. First Save As: https://www.startssl.com/certs/ca-bundle.cr in whatever folder you want then link it to the import tool. follow the wizard's instructions and "Voila" you now should be able to use Mumble
Fallback to EVE Voice, should Mumble go down
Not required, just recommended.
Sometimes Mumble goes down, and sometimes the Uni is at war (when anyone undocked should be capable of at least listening in Mumble), or you might be in the middle of a fleet op in null-sec. To prepare for the eventuality that they happen at once, it would make sense to prepare by enabling EVE voice chat in the game settings if you haven't already, and setting up a push to talk button and your mic if you're likely to be commanding in a fleet (this isn't in the WSOP, it's just good preparation). EVE Voice is not a bad tool. It works quite well nowadays and is much better than no audio at all.
How to join EVE Voice:
- 1. Hit esc and go to the "audio and chat" tab.
- 2. Click "eve voice enabled".
- 3. Adjust push-to-talk button setting as appropriate (middle mouse button is default).
- 4. Adjust volume to 3 to prevent damaging unistas ears, and then adjust again after asking for a mic check, if needed.
- 5. Back in game, right click the chat tab you wish to enable EVE Voice with.
- 6. Click "join audio".
You will see a volume box on your portrait showing that you have joined correctly. once you have, do as 4 says and ask for a mic check. a volume of 3 will prevent blowing our ears and also give you room to raise it one tick at a time for perfect audio.