I think that my fingers are bleeding, all this typing crap is killing my micro and I am getting fragged left and right.

Nothing can cripple a team, party or guild more than a lack of voice chat.  It's simple folks, if you aren't using voice chat you are working with a huge handicap.  Let us help you out.... Click to read more

Just to keep things simple for you, we are going to start off with Ventrilo.  It's free and it's pretty easy to setup.  You can check it out here at Ventrilo.com .

The first thing that you are going to need to do is download the software, get the server AND the client for your operating system, for simplicity we will assume that you are using windows.  Run the installs for both pieces of software, just click ok yes and next a bunch of times.  After that we are just about ready to rock and roll, just a few small things to configure.

1. Unless your computer is sitting on an outside IP (bad idea) you will most likely be sitting behind a router, and you are going to need to setup port forwarding.  The default port for Vent is 3784 you can change it using the ini file that is sitting in the start --> programs  --> VentSvr menu.
2. Change any of the server settings you would like in the Start --> Programs --> VentSvr menu under the edit INI file selection.
3. Startup your Vent Server in the same menu
4. Check your IP using IPChicken
5. Startup your Vent Client using the start menu

Here we go, the client setup stuff:

1) The server's hostname or IP address. The person running the server should have this information.

2) The server's port number. Ventrilo server's and client's default to port number 3784 but if the server admin has changed the port number then you will need to tell the Ventrilo client to use the same port number when connecting to the server.

3) The server's case sensitive password (if a password is required).

Once you have these three pieces of information you can begin setting up the Ventrilo client. If you need more detailed help regarding any portion of Ventrilo you should click on the "Help" buttons for details regarding the window you are currently looking at.

If you already have the program installed and are having problems with it you should read the F.A.Q.'s page of this web site for possible problems and suggested solutions. When all else fails then go the support forum and ask for any possible solutions.

Now, lets do a quick setup.

1) Start the ventrilo program. Click on the Start button, click on Programs and then click on Ventrilo. This will display another menu option called Ventrilo that will start the actual program.

2) Click on the "->" button that is next to the first pulldown window called "User Name". This will open a new window where you can create a logon name to be used when connecting to a server.

3) Click the "New" button. This will open a small window where you can enter your logon name. The name you enter is entirely up to you. It can be your real name or a nick name.

4) Click the "OK" button. You can come back to this window and click on the help button later on if you want more detailed information about what the other options mean and how to use them.

5) Now that we are back to the main window click on the "->" button that is next to the pulldown window called "Server". This will open a new window where you can enter the details about the server you would like to connect to.

6) Click the "New" button. This will open a small window where you can enter a name that will describe the new server definition. The name can be anything you want it to be like: "My server" or "Joe's server". When entering a server name you don't need the quotes around it. These server names will show up in the main Ventrilo window.

7) Click "OK".

8) Click on the "Hostname or IP" input box and enter the server hostname or IP address given to you by the person hosting the server.

9) Click on the "Port number" input box and enter the servers port number. The program will automatically display the default port number of 3784 but you can change this to what ever the server needs it to be.

10) Click on the "Password" input box and enter the servers password as defined by the server administrator.

11) Click "OK" to return to the Ventrilo main window.

12) Click "Connect" to establish a connection between you and the server you just defined.

13) You should also click on the Setup button and configure all of the different options that control Ventrilo. This is very important when it comes to controlling the microphone or input source. Once in the Setup dialog click on the "Help" button. Be sure to read what all of the options are and what they mean. This is very important for the Voice page.

That's all there is to it. You can always add more server definitions and create new logon names at any time.