We have not had a major upgrade for a while, those of you who are unaware of what a major upgrade involves it means that once our server has been updated to the new version by our ventrilo hosting company you must download and install the latest client.
Dont worry this is usually an easy thing to do but can cause some confusion for some, think if it as a Novalogic update, you cant join the servers until you update to the latest version, the upcomming ventrilo update is the same.
We will help and guide you through the update process and keep you informed of when the update will be comming so you wont loose out on any Hardmaps VT time.
Many people have been asking if we are working on a new version of the Ventrilo software. Well, the answer is: Yes, and we started about two weeks after the release of the last major upgrade to version 2.3.0.
Ventrilo features are driven by feedback from the End User, our legally licensed hosting companies, and the staff and consultants of Flagship Industries. So much so that my to-do list grows faster then I can implement the requested features. This has been the case for the past two major upgrades and the next one is no exception.
Please be aware that due to the ever expanding to-do list and feature requests that it is very unlikely that we would ever stop development of the Ventrilo product line. But should that ever happen we would issue a public announcement. Don't hold your breath waiting to read that news post. ;)
The next major upgrade will actually come in two parts. The initial release, both Client and Server, and sometime later a Client side only update that will introduce a few more features that didn't make it in the initial release. We will be doing it this way only because these extra features need more work to be fully functional but we don't want to hold up the next upgrade on features that are secondary and client side only. As client side only they can be downloaded at a future time without needing an upgrade to the servers.
It has always been our policy to never set an official release date until we are sure we can meet it. To do so would only make us look foolish if we couldn't meet the date. Sometimes that is unavoidable and you should give the developers a break when it happens. But if they say, 3 months and then 3 months later they say we need another 3 months only to see it never materialize then you would have the right to be upset. As such we would rather avoid these kinds of false expectations when ever possible and prefer that people just be happy with the work once it is done.
I will say this: We are getting close. :)
I would also like to take a moment and apologize for the length of time it has taken us to get the next upgrade out the door. I personally would like to have major upgrades occur between 18 to 24 months. This major upgrade is taking a little longer because we had some challenges getting the 2.3 Mac OSX client out the door due to the learning curve of developing on OSX.
As a teaser you can check out the completely redesigned Binds Editor. Yes, the old one was a mess. What started off as two functions and an acceptable interface over the years turned into 11 functions and a pain to use. The Mac users will recognize this incarnation since it was patterned after the one we did for the 2.3 Mac client. Actually, we have made a few enhancements to it as well. This is just one of many new enhancements and features coming with the next upgrade. Honestly, it doesn't do justice to what is coming in the next release.
Sincerely,
Brian Knapp President Flagship Industries, Inc.
If you have any questions about this please feel free to ask, we will try and answer them for you.
Joined: Fri Dec 19 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 4651
A little look at what is to come in the new release.
Pre-release announcement for Ventrilo 3.0
On Wednesday, Nov 14th 2007, we will be releasing version 3.0 of the Ventrilo communications system. While the actual change log is still being worked on we can give you some clues here as to what you will be getting.
User Access Rights (UAR) Guest account and restrictions Per channel codecs User authorization channels Ranks User complaint reporting Private chat sessions
Oh, and the “Move User To” menu option has been resurrected from the dead. But we also have an auto scrolling drag-and-drop system so it might not get used much.
And this is just to name a few. The change log in DOC format is already 13 pages long so this little snippet really doesn’t do justice to how many new features have been added. So be sure to read the change log, found on the main download page, once 3.0 is available for download.
An official announcement will be posted on the main page of Ventrilo.com when everything is available.
Joined: Fri Dec 19 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 4651
The server will be updated to Version 3 tomorrow at some point, you will need to have version 3 to connect to the server after its updated.
Hardmaps will also be moving ventrilo server location to the UK soon, we will let you know more about this and what you will need to do once everything is setup.
Joined: Fri Dec 19 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 4651
Ventrilo v3 change log
Verison 3.0.0
General:
Added support for automatic scrolling when dragging a user or channel around.
Modified “Is window visible” test so that it doesn’t think the position is invalid if the window coordinates are negative. This is a valid value in multi monitor configurations if the primary screen is to the right of the secondary screen.
Added Error Message List window. Keeps a running log of errors and warning messages that the program is generating. Allows for more detailed explanations as well.
Server Editor: Added new option called “Show login name in remote status requests”. See Server Properties “Require remote status Show login name” option.
Server name is always the first visible item in the list after connecting, if no default channel is defined locally or on your account.
Modified so that the first visible item in the main window doesn’t change when a person joins / leaves the server or if a person joins / leaves a channel above the one you are currently looking at.
A new login account now defaults to PTT mode and the Hotkey defaults to Left Control. Since most people use PTT anyway this made more sense.
Modified comment button to give the user two different fields, a text comment and a URL comment. If a URL comment is entered it causes the clients to display a U: in the braced comment field next to the user’s name. This is very beneficial for those users who feel the need to send URL’s and uncheck the “Send silently” option. Note: The URL comment does not show up in remote status requests nor is it pronounced via TTS.
Comments are auto restored after an automatic reconnect occurs.
An existing comment will be displayed in the comment editor window.
All (X) close window buttons are now properly handled. In the case of the Setup window clicking the (X) is the same thing as clicking the OK button.
Rcon window now uses a little bit of color to make the info easier to read.
User-2-user, cross channel, etc limits have been increased from 4 to a maximum of 16. Voice Targets should be used as a better solution and globally configurable. See below.
Modified all password entry fields to use Bullets instead of Asterisks.
Login names now support every character except those below Space and a few select characters. This will enable European names that use characters above the standard ASCII 127.
Fixed client crash if you start a drag operation and the source item moves from its last known location.
Fixed auto-restore from systray on disconnect not removing the systray icon.
TTS will now attempt to filter out URL’s.
Sound:
Modified sound system to remove 99% of clicks at the start and stop of a voice stream. Carry over from 2.3.2.Beta.3
Modified sound system to be less aggressive when detecting “wave headers coming in too fast”.
Changes made in Setup or any of the SFX windows are applied immediately after pressing the OK button to any current voice streams. No longer need to Check/Uncheck “Mute Sound”.
New and (and some existing) default sound event wave files have been updated and are more pleasing to the ear. Thanks to TJ Powell Publishing (www.tjpowell.com)
Added option in Binds editor to mute all inbound streams to your self while you are transmitting. Affects your local client only. (See Binds below)
Added option in Binds editor to mute anyone else that is transmitting while you are transmitting. Affects other clients who are receiving your voice stream. (See Binds below)
Modified the Speex codec to solve problems with certain people creating some obnoxious noises when they laughed or coughed into the Microphone. Carry over form 2.3.2.Beta.3. NOTE: You should set outbound amplifiers to 0 and use mixer/mux/line.
Added equalizer window for adjusting sound quality when transmitting.
Visual:
Modified most of the windows so that any inner control windows cover the entire width of the outer frame window. There are a few exceptions like the Error List window where text appears above the list so that computer novices are presented with info about how to use the window.
Connected users are sorted in each channel according to their type. Accounts then Guests then Phantoms.
Menu:
Reordered some of the menu items so that they break down according to User or general use with a separator between them. Makes the menus easier to understand.
Modified Popup menu to be more informative about things such as a window already being open or a mute state set by properly applying a check mark to the specific menu item.
Added “Move User To”. Back from the dead. Also modified to display only valid target channels depending on your access rights.
Moved User->Copy Comment to Miscellaneous menu. This way you can copy the comment of a user or a channel. Carry over from 2.3.2.Beta.3
Added Change State -> Accept Private Chat sessions
Added Integration -> iTunes Added Integration -> WinAmp Added Integration -> Windows Media Player
Added Server Admin -> Guest MOTD Added Server Admin -> Complaint List Added Server Admin -> Rank List Added Server Admin -> Kick All Guests
Removed Channel Admin -> Login / Logout. (See UAR) Modified Channel Admin -> Delete (Confirms that you really want to delete)
Added “Rent a server” to bottom of menu.
Record / Playback:
Fixed so that it doesn’t consume lots of time if an individual sample is very long.
The “Mute sound” on the main window will now mute sound being played back.
Logitech Game Panel:
Added support for Logitech Game Panel (aka the G15 keyboard). Carry over from 2.3.2.Beta.3
Modified the 4 th soft button to toggle the name of the person who sent the message on and off.
Modified the first three lines on page 1 to use two character abbreviations. Ch: Rv: and Ev: so as to have more display space.
Modified so that when a user stops transmitting their name will continue to be displayed on the “Rv:” line for a few more seconds but with a * added in front of their name.
Comments and Integration messages will appear on the “Ev:” line and in the Events page.
If more then one copy of Ventrilo is running and both are using the Game Panel then both will be displayed simultaneously but their names will show up as Ventrilo-1, Ventrilo-2, etc.
Setup-Voice:
Modified control panel buttons to work properly on Vista. Note: These buttons still do not work properly on 64Bit XP, 64Bit Win2003 and 64Bit Vista. In these cases you will need to open the control panels manually.
Modified the Amplifier Outbound slider to pop a message once if a Mixer/Mux/Line is not selected. This is the cause of so many bad sounding people. Use the Line Volume first and the Outbound Amplifier as a last resort as the documentation says.
Modified the Hotkey to support multiple key combinations.
Setup-Events:
Redesigned for easier use and expansion. Added Private Chat Open event Added Private Chat Message event Added All Wave button Added All TTS button Added All Nothing button Added Play button and pre-programmed examples for TTS events.
Setup-Speech:
Added Speech filter Added Phonetic filter
Setup-Overlay:
This tab is new with version 3.0. It controls whether or not the hardware overlay system will be used and how it is configured. See Overlay below.
Server Properties:
Removed the following items. They have been moved to User Access Rights.
Max guest logins Auto kick after (X) minutes Auto ban for (X) minutes
Require remote status “Show login name”
User Access Rights (UAR):
This by far is the most advanced and far reaching feature of version 3.0. The following items are available in the new user editor. For more detailed explanations how these features work please click the help button from the User Editor window.
You can also visit the following page for more details about suggested configuration options. http://www.ventrilo.com/uar.php
There are now two types of users on a Ventrilo server. Accounts and Guests. Each account gets its own access rights. Guest accounts are automatically assigned the rights as defined for the (Guest) account in the user editor. This way you can still have an open server but be able to prevent non-account users from creating problems. You can also turn an open server into a protected server with a click of a button simply by locking the guest account. You can also provide a reason why an account is locked so that the guest accounts will know that it might be unlocked at a later time. When an account is locked the reason why is sent to anyone who tries to login with that account name which includes guest accounts.
Ventrilo uses what is called an Owner policy. An individual account can be assigned the “Add users” right which allows them to add new user account names to the server. Unless they also have the “Server Admin” right they will only be able to see and manipulate those accounts that they have created or Ownership has been assigned to them. This is beneficial when you have multiple organizations that share a common server. The owner can then add and remove privileges for individual accounts as they see fit.
Only a server admin can assign any of the “Admin tab” rights.
User Editor properties include the following:
Profiles:
Profiles allow you create custom configurations that you might want to assign to people on a regular basis. You can use the two pre-defined profiles (one for the average user and one for a low powered admin) or you can create your own and save them to a file so that they will show up in your Profiles menu the next time you add or edit a user account.
Info:
Login name Password Owner Rank Notes
Network:
Account is locked Reason locked In reserved list Receive broadcast streams Add phantoms Record Ignore inactivity timers Send complaints Receive complaints Duplicate IP’s Switch channels Default channel
Transmit:
Broadcast Broadcast to lobby Broadcast User-to-user Broadcast Cross Channel Send TTS binds Send Wave File binds Send Pages Set Phonetic Name Send Comments / Integration Generate Comment Sounds Event Sounds Conn / Disc, Join / Leave Mute Globally at Login Mute others while talking (PTT Advanced) Use Global Chat Initiate Private Chat User Equalizer – Outbound
Display:
See Guest Accounts (Caution) See non-Guest Accounts (Caution) See MOTD See server comment See channels See channel comments See user comments
User accounts are now assigned channel admin rights for specific channels. This eliminates the chance of a global channel admin password from being leaked.
Chan Auth:
User account can be assigned the right to enter specific channels that have been configured for “User Authorization” mode.
Channels:
Channel features have also been greatly enhanced. The following items have been removed or changed:
Channel Admin Check box in front of Channel password Phantom mode (Replaced by Allow Phantoms)
Restrict transmitting to USR file entries (Replaced by Disable Guest account transmitting)
Added the following items:
Allow Phantoms Allow Guest Accounts to Join Allow Voice Targets Allow Commanding Targets Exempt from Inactivity Timers Disable Guest Account Transmitting Protected Mode Channel specific codec (See below) Transmit Rank Level
Fixed the Max Clients bug if a value greater then 50 is specified.
Private Chat:
This is a new feature for version 3.0. It’s like the global chat window but between two individuals only.
Also supports a Push-To-Talk button inside the window it self when held down will act just like a physical PTT button but using the GUI instead. The voice stream is sent only to the person the session is attached to and no one else, provided that Voice Activation is not used.
Also displays an XMIT and RECV when a voice stream is active.
NOTE: Not supported on Public version of the server.
Chat:
Modified to display clickable URL links.
Modified so that text auto wraps instead of using horizontal scroll bars.
Message length extended to 256 characters.
Added Timestamp option.
Displays color for system messages and user names. (Carryover from 2.3.2.Beta.3)
MOTD:
Modified to display clickable URL links.
Fixed bug in RTF messages.
Same applies to Guest MOTD.
Guest MOTD:
New for version 3.0. Similar to the MOTD but is sent only to guest accounts. Guest accounts do not see the regular MOTD.
Can not be turned off like regular MOTD.
Complaints:
This is a new feature for version 3.0. It allows you to send a complaint about another user currently logged into the server. User accounts who have been authorized to receive complaint messages can then review the complaints.
This feature was added for those occasions when technical solutions do not provide the best desired way for stopping bad behavior. See UAR.
If you are allowed to send complaints you can send a complaint about yourself requesting that an admin make changes to your account. Assuming that an admin with correct privileges will review your complaint.
Icons:
Version 3.0 introduces a more advanced communication system that provides better visual feedback as to what and where information is coming from. For example: In previous versions if a person was in different channel than you and they are transmitting to just their local channel you would still see his Speaker icon light up as Green.
Using the above scenario you will now see the speaker icon light up as Yellow meaning that he is transmitting but you are not an intended recipient of the stream.
There are several new icons that show why you are receiving the stream. They are:
A Green letter P indicating that it’s a private chat voice stream. A Green letter U indicating that it’s a User-2-User voice stream. A Green letter C indicating that it’s a Cross Channel voice stream. A Green letter G indicating that it’s a Voice Target voice stream.
New yellow channel + and – signs indicating that the channel is configured for “User Authorization” mode. See Channel below.
All of these icons can be overridden by the user. Click the help button from the main Ventrilo window for details on how to do that. Note: Mac client does not support this just yet.
Rank:
Version 3.0 introduces the concept of Ranks. A Rank can be created with the Rank List window via the Server Admin menu option.
Each rank is assigned an abbreviation, a long description and rank level. Each user account created in the User Editor (See UAR) can be assigned no rank or a rank from the rank list. The abbreviated value will appear before the users name in brackets (if so desired).
Rank levels are used to control whether or not a person is allowed to transmit while in a channel that has a Transmit Rank Level assigned to it. This way you can have auto-muted channels and anyone with the appropriate rank level will be automatically un-muted as soon as they enter the channel. The old way they had to be manually un-muted.
Binds:
Added Commanding sub-functions. Added Overlay sub-functions. Added support for multi key binds. (See below)
PTT Advanced: Added Voice Target option. PTT Advanced: Added Mute other users option. PTT Advanced: Added Mute inbound streams option.
Complete redesign of the Binds editor. Much cleaner and easier to use and understand.
Hotkey names are user friendly now.
Voice Targets:
Voice Targets are new with version 3.0. They allow an admin to create multiple groups with unique names and each group is assigned a list of account names that will receive voice streams. Some users in this group will be assigned the right to transmit to the named group while others will only be allowed to receive.
The advantage to Voice Targets is that all users in the group will receive the voice stream no matter what their current channel is.
There are two ways to use a Voice Target:
1) Define a PTT Key in the binds editor that when held will allow you to transmit a voice stream to one or more Voice Target groups.
2) Open the Voice Targets window. Select one or more of the target group names for which you have been given transmit rights too and press and hold the Push-to-talk button in the window.
Not supported in Public versions of the server.
Commanding Targets:
Commanding Targets are new with version 3.0. They allow an admin to create multiple groups with unique names and each group is assigned a list of account names that will receive commanding messages. Some users in this group will be assigned the right to transmit to the named group while others will only be allowed to receive.
When a commanding message is received the message will either be displayed in the Commanding Window and the Overlay (See below) if enabled. This way you can have pre-defined Binds that send out commands, or orders, to a group of people telling them it’s time to achieve a new objective. The message can also be run through the Text-to-speech engine for audible notification.
There are two ways to send a Commanding Target message:
1) Define a PTT key in the binds editor that when pressed will send a pre-programmed command text message to one or more Commanding Targets.
2) Open the Commanding Targets window. Select one or more of the target group names for which you have been given transmit rights too, enter a text message and press the Send button in the window.
Not supported in Public versions of the server.
Connections:
Modified so that the connection to a server and initial display of user information is considerably faster, especially on large channel count servers.
Pressing the connect button is now asynchronous. If the connection is not established in a timely fashion the user can press the Disconnect button to cancel immediately.
The server will display a Question mark followed by a “MSG:” tag in the user list window as soon as you start the program. It will tell you the current state of the server selected even before you try connecting to it. It will also display an error message if there is a problem.
If the DNS Servers (Domain Name System) for your hosting company are currently off line, and you have previously connected to the selected server, the program will now ask if you would like to use the last known IP address.
Overlay:
Hardware Overlay is new with version 3.0. It is a mechanism that allows status information about the Ventrilo client to be displayed over the top of the standard screen. For example, if you are playing a game then an ordinary desktop program like Ventrilo can not display information on top of the game if it’s running in full-screen mode without disrupting the keyboard and mouse focus.
Hardware overlay uses a mechanism available in many video cards that allows an image to be displayed on the screen without the actual desktop or game image being modified. This technique also requires minimal CPU usage in order to present the data.
See the Overlay function in the Bindings editor to change the Overlay in real-time.
Status page: Connection, Ping, --XMIT--, who is transmitting, most recent events and latest Commanding Target message received.
Channel clients page: Shows all the clients that are currently in your channel.
Events page: Shows a running list of the most recent events.
Global Chat page: Shows a running list of the most recent global chat messages and who sent them.
Dynamic Private Chat pages: If a private chat window is opened then a corresponding private chat page is added to the overlay so that you can see any text the person on the other side is sending.
There are some caveats to this technique. You should visit the following link for the latest details about supported hardware and special considerations with particular games and operating systems.
This feature is new with version 3.0. It enables the Ventrilo client to interact with the following media players and to extract info about the song they are currently playing. This information is then sent to the other clients and shows up after your name in quotes.
The supported media players are:
iTunes WinAmp Window Media Player
Key combinations:
Version 3.0 introduces the concept of key combinations for binds. This includes the Hotkey in the Setup-Voice page and the Bindings editor.
Key combinations are very open ended. It can be any two keyboard keys, it can be two mouse buttons or two game controller buttons. But it can also be any combination from any device. Like a keyboard key and mouse button. A mouse button and game controller button, etc. There is no limit to the combinations.
Key combos are currently only supported when Direct Input is enabled.
Per Channel Codec:
Version 3.0 introduces per channel codecs. When the server has been configured to enable this feature a channel admin can select a specific codec for any given channel or they can use the server defined default.
This is useful if you have a preference for music streaming channels vs. regular voice communication. It can also help if you have modem users who just want to talk with other members but can’t handle the high bandwidth requirements of a 44Khz GSM codec.
Not supported on the Public version of the server.
Macintosh specific:
Most of the changes above apply to the Mac client as well. Here we list those changes unique to the Mac client.
Added support for Drag-n-drop of users and channels.
Fixed Move User menu when channel names start with a dash.
Modified to pop an error message when ever the client joins a non-Speex channel or if the default codec for the server is specified to be non-Speex. This way the Mac client can coexist on a server that has at least one Speex channel.
Help buttons are now fully supported. The help is taken from the Windows client and tweaked to fit the Mac since they are so similar. There are a few things that still need to be changed, but we’ll get those with the next minor client side upgrade.
Better support for Command-W
Fixed internal tracking mechanism of sound devices so that it is more tolerant of USB devices being added, removed and then plugged back in again. You may have to enter Setup at least once after installing 3.0.0 and manually select the desired sound input and output device, but after that they should remain intact.
Fixed the Line Input level being adjusted when default input device selected. When default it should never set the line level and only display the current setting when you enter Setup. But you can adjust it from there. The Line Input level should only be restored to a known value if a specific sound input device is selected.
Added support for F16 as a valid hotkey. F14 and F15 still do not register properly.
Periodic updates of the Mac client over the next few months will add support for the Record / Playback window, Integration (if possible), TTS Filtering options in Setup-Speech, Features in Setup-Misc, Overlay support (If possible), etc.
What’s coming in client side updates:
Over the coming months we will be adding features that are client side only and making them available on a semi-regular basis. These are features that were not ready for the 3.0.0 release but are not crucial to the core features listed above. The following are just a few of the things to come.
Updated documentation. Made it easier to read as well as understand. This includes reworking the whole mess regarding the working directory and where wave files for binds should be placed.
Corrected window positioning when program starts on multi-monitor systems.
New Special Effects (SFX) for all sounds including inbound voice streams.
Numerous SFX configuration windows. One for each type.
Now supports DirectSound for Output. This will also help compatibility with older sound cards and driver issues in addition to supporting the SFX features.
Now supports a default DirectSound input device, in addition to a default output device.
New user accounts now default DirectSound for Input to enabled and to the default sound input device.
Added XP Theme support. Can be enabled / disabled via Setup-Global.
Channels are now displayed in bold while users are in normal text.
New dash icons to show when a channel has been expanded. One for password protected channels and one for normal channels.
All icons including those in the new toolbar can be overridden via external icon files in the working directory. See help button from main window for details.
New toolbar uses an animated button while waiting to auto-reconnect.
Right clicking anywhere in the window will now activate the popup menu. However, some options are context sensitive and will only be available when clicking on a user name, channel name or the server name.
Left clicking anywhere in an unused portion of the window will allow the window to be repositioned.
Removed the Move User option from the bottom of the popup menu.
Added Drag and Drop support to the user window. Server admins can now move any user to any channel via DnD. Channel admins can now move any user that is currently in a channel for which they have admin rights to any other channel that they also have admin rights to. This also includes moving them out to the lobby.
Server / Channel admins can drag a user into a password protected channel so that they can transmit and receive data but without giving the user the channel password. If they leave the channel or disconnect the temporary authentication is revoked.
New Drag and Drop interface can be used to reorder parallel channels when the “Channel Ordering” option in the Server Properties window is set to manual mode.
Moved the key forwarding and Synchronous check boxes from the main window to Setup-Misc since they have extremely limited value.
Realigned Mute Sound and Mute Microphone to be the only two check boxes at the bottom of the window giving it more usable real-estate space.
New dedicated RCon window for server admins. Admins no longer need type /rcon into chat window.
Fixed a bug in the DirectInput implementation.
Numerous performance enhancements.
Repositioned some items on the Setup-Voice page to make it easier to read.
Added system sound control panel launch buttons to Setup-Voice.
MOTD window now has a check box to prevent displaying the MOTD if it hasn’t changed.
All bind fail messages are reported in a single popup message rather then one at a time.
Modified connection editor to validate IP address and / or hostname to prevent novices from entering bad information.
Modified user editor to automatically set focus to the Phonetic field after creating or cloning a user name.
Modified the binds editor to automatically set focus to the Bind Key field after creating or cloning a bind name.
Added persistent per-user name preferences. These settings will be automatically restored when the specified user connects to the server or if they are already connected to the server when you connect. These include per user Mute and Special Effects (SFX).
Added Setup-Misc option to override window colors.
Added Setup-Misc option to control when a user comment is played depending on channel or not at all.
Added menu option to switch back and forth from button mode to toolbar mode.
Added menu option to turn the title bar on and off.
Added menu option to turn sizing border on and off.
Added menu option to turn extended mode on and off.
Added menu option to turn user display window grid lines on and off.
Added menu option to open a Windows Explorer window that displays the applications working directory.
New built-in server browser.
New built-in sound recording and playback system.
Changed control placement of main window to optimize real-estate space.
Special Effects (SFX). Per user, per channel, per server or global via Setup-Voice.
Ability to add and remove phantom users to any number of channels so that you can listen in on one channel while in another. Phantoms are persistent on a per server basis.
Server admins now have more control over the server via the Server Properties option. This information is persistent on the server and will be restored after a server restart.
New channel option: Enable / Disable / Restrict phantoms on a per channel basis.
New channel option: Max clients to control the maximum number of users in a channel on a per channel basis.
Reworked the binds editor to be a little more user friendly. It will be completely redesigned in the version 2.3.1 client.
Added “WorkDir” button when selecting wave files to open Windows Explorer window to aid in installing wave files for binding.
Bind editor now defaults the “Function” to PTT Advanced mode.
New PTT Adavanced transmit style “To current channel”. This way you can assign multiple keys to transmit to the current channel in addition to the one in Setup-Voice. Useful for games like BattleField where hand position changes depending on play mode.
PTT Advanced now has helper button when transmit style is set to channel(s) or user mode that will let you select the channel(s) or users(s) you wish to transmit to.
PTT Advanced now supports comma separated multiple targets when transmitting to channels or users.
Binds editor: Switch channels: Now has button for selecting the channel when connected to the server.
New bind function: Recording start.
New bind function: Recording stop.
New bind function: Recording playback
Multiple comma separated targets can now be specified in the binds editor when using Cross Channel or U2U functions.
Modified binds editor to display the currently selected bind from the main window, if one is selected. Conversely, if you click OK in the binds editor the bind you were working on will become the active bind in the main window.
WebLinks now properly support spaces.
Added new –c command line switch to support spawning the program from another program that would tell Ventrilo what to connect too.
Format = ventrilo.exe –chostname:port:password
Pressing Enter in the user list window will now perform the same action as double clicking.
New state character: “S” for special effects. Applies to users, channels and server.
New state character: “P” denoting the user is a phantom of a real user.
Modified Setup-Network so that network buffers can not be set any higher then 4.
Modified banlist editors (channel and server) so that subnet is displayed in 255.255.255.0 form instead of trying to remember how the “bits” field works.
Channel admin passwords are now persistent and restored when you reconnect to the server.
Now supports the Speex codec at sample rates of 8Khz, 16Khz and 32Khz with 10 quality settings per sample rate. Note: Higher quality settings will consume more CPU time for the person transmitting but will have minimal effect on the receivers. This is really only an issue if the transmitting machine is old and slow.
New Logo and Icons. Big thank you to Sandy :)
Modified to prevent someone using User-2-user transmitting if the target user is in a password protected channel but the source user has not authenticated with that channel yet.
Modified so that sub-channel transmitting will transmit to password protected channels if the source user has authenticated with the channel.
If the client detects that it is being run for the first time after installation it will ask the user if they would like to read the online tutorial.
Surround sound feature will also support running your game sounds to the front speakers (if you only have two speakers) and your voice communication to the rear speakers (which you might have a set of headphones plugged in to). Or vice versa depending on your speaker/headphone configuration and game support.
Server Properties:
The following items can now be edited by a server administrator via the client program. All options are persistent and will be restored if the server is restarted.
Server comment.
Control of duplicate IP’s from clients.
Reserved slots.
Chat filter – Global to the server (old style) or per channel filtering.
Channel ordering – Alphabetically sorted (old style) or manual ordering.
Default channel when client connects.
Always display MOTD. Overrides client side option.
Restrict phantoms to USR file. Takes precedence over per channel option.
Spam filters for chat, user comment, wave, TTS and channel switching.
Bind filters for Wave and TTS.
User inactivity timeout.
User inactivity action – Move to specific channel or kick from server.
Remote statusing returns: Server comment, channel names and comments, user names and comments.
Special Effects:
Special effects are broken down according to Voice Streams, Wave file binds and TTS binds independently of each other. Voice streams can also be broken down on the following per object basis in the following order of precedence.
#1 Per user #2 Per channel #3 Per server #4 Setup-Voice
There are three different types of special effects: Sound, directional and Surround.
All 3 share the frequency and volume options
Sound and Surround share sound effects such as reverb, chorus, etc.
Completely removed the [Status] section of INI file. Remote statusing is on by default now.
Remote statusing will now return channel comments. See updated PHP scripts for examples on how to process them.
Now supports the Speex codec definition.
Automatically generates the ventrilo_srv.prop file that contains all persistent server properties.
Many, many internal changes to support new client side features.
Removed the following items from the servers INI files [Server] section as they are now controlled remotely by the client via the Server Properties window.
The Public Windows server is now packaged as an installation program instead of a zip file. It will also create several helper start menu entries to make configuration easier and for installing / uninstalling it as a service.
Status program:
Fixed minor bug in the status program that will make it more reliable.
Updated the Ventrilo PHP scripts to support channel comments and the new phantom flags.
Joined: Fri Dec 19 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 4651
Copy and paste is a wonderful thing LOL
Happy reading, it all comes down to you guys doing exactly the same thing as before and us poor admins spending ages reading and figuring out what all the new stuff does LOL
On the plus side you are all GUESTS so you will have to be really nice to an admin (after we figure it out) to get that removed.