Mumble 1.2.8

A voice over IP (VoIP) client which is used primarily by gamers for in game communication. It uses a client server achitecture which allows users to talk to one another using the same server. The administrative interface is quite simple and it also features high sound quality and low latency, which is what most users would prefer to have using a voice over IP application. The software is free, open source, and cross platform. 

What makes Mumble very useful for in game communication is its in game overlay, which shows show is talking and what linked channel they are in. Users can also upload avatars to represent themselves better making usage of the client just a bit more personalized. The overlay works with most games that use Direct3D 9 and 10, as well as OpenGL for Windows. 

In certain games, Mumble has a positional audio feature which modified the audio send from the client to reflect the person's in game position. This includes the direction and the distance of the person in the game. The client uses a link plugin interface to determine this information or already implemented technology with in the game. Therefore, only supported games will be able to use this feature. 

If you look around, you can find relatively cheap Mumble server hosting by various providers on the Internet. While the client is free, the usage of third party resources are not. You can choose to pay for dedicated hosting, or host your server locally. If you host your server locally, your computer will have to be running with the server client called "Murmur" in order to access your server.