8-27-13 LackeyCCG's New skype integration

[Trevor]

In the new version of lackey today there is skype integration.
Prior to today, people occasionally used voice chat programs while using lackey. I have to say, voice chatting makes for a much better play experience. But people often didn't use voice chat programs because against most people, you'd always need to start off a game with "Do you voice chat? What program do you use? What's your contact info?" And because of that constant hassle, a lot of people didn't bother when they just wanted a quick game.

I think I've made an improvement by removing those questions. First, I've made one program the default choice for voice chatting. I chose skype for a number of reasons. It's free. You don't need servers like ventrillo or mumble. You can do multi-person conference chats, or even video chats if you choose. You can even call phone numbers (though I believe Skype charges for that ability). Skype is supported on a wide variety of platforms, and it is I believe the most popular voice chat system there is.

I have answered those other 2 questions (do you voice chat, and what's your contact info), in one fell swoop. All you need to do to configure your Lackey to be skype ready is to enter your skype user name in the Player Profile section of the preferences. If you put something there, you are automatically flagged as someone who uses skype to voice chat. And people will be able to prompt you to voice chat when you are connected to the server or a game.

In the server, you can click on a person's name in the player list, and you can start voice chatting with them.
In a game, you can left-click the phone icon next to a person's name and voice chat with them, or you can right-click to open a voice conference with everyone in the game if your game has more than 2 players. (In the miscellaneous section of the preferences, there is the option to include spectators in this or not. By default, spectators are NOT invited.) With multi-person conferences, if a new person comes, just close your old chat, and right-click the button again and start a new voice chat with all people.

Note that all your skype preferences are still in effect. If you ban someone with skype from contacting you, they can't contact you.

If a player doesn't have a skype user name set, they can still start voice conversations with people who do. (But they still need to have Skype and a skype account.)

On the server, there is a new column in the game list showing who has a game with voice chat supported. If you are looking for a game with voice chat support, this will help you pick which game to join.

Regarding the interface, I am considering a few options and I welcome feedback. I am not sure if, for people who don't have a skype name entered, if I should show the voice chat button disabled for them (gray), or if I should just have it be invisible. The good thing about having it invisible for someone like that is it cleans up the interface a bit. But the good thing about showing it gray and disabled is that it alerts people of the new feature and explicitly shows that this person does not have voice chat enabled. I figured I'd have it show disabled for now, at least while people get introduced to the new feature.

A quick note: Make sure you have the 3 new image files:
LackeyCCG/images/interface/button-voice-default-mouseover.png
LackeyCCG/images/interface/button-voice-default.png
LackeyCCG/images/interface/button-voice-inactive.png
They are included in the download of lackey (http://lackeyccg.com/downloads.html).

[jaiphen95]

I can't tell you how much I love this; thanks Trevor.
My playgroup and I are always skyping or finding people to add to our calls.  It's just a more open atmosphere.

[Trevor]

That's great to hear, amanda.