Syrinscape ProTip #08 - Using Syrinscape with Discord for Online Play

In the past year Discord became more and more popular in the gaming community as a viable alternative to Skype/TeamSpeak/Mumble/Ventrilo etc.

You basically can create your own server instances for free, in an area of your choosing, and then create topical text and voice channels inside your server.
Participants get invite links to a server’s channel (that can be revoked if needed) and whomever wants to join in doesn’t even have to register if they don’t want to or even install any program, since it runs in any modern browser without any plugins needed. (Chrome is preferred though)
Of course there is also the ability to register a Nickname and a native app for Windows/Mac/iOS/Android and soon Linux as well. The app is actually what I would recommend everyone to use since it’s more stable and lightweight than the browser version, but to each their own. :smile:

The setup with Syrinscape is pretty much identical to what you’d do in Skype, hence here the link to the Skype integration topic:

Syrinscape ProTip # 7 - Using Syrinscape with Skype for Online Play

(I personally would install the VoiceMeeter Banana version over the standard, since it offers more options and more “virtual cables” to mess around with. Also don’t get discouraged by the many options VoiceMeeter offers. It is easy to mix things up or push the wrong button. Trial and Error is common on your first setup, that’s normal. :smile: )

When you reach the part where Skype comes into play you’d do the following in Discord:

Go to your User Settings:

There you choose the Voice option:

You’ll have an Input Device and an Output Device where you’ll choose the same devices you’d use in the Skype setup.
(I renamed my VB.Audio Virtual Cable “Skype Input” so I recognize its purpose easier. :wink: )

You can setup your volumes accordingly to your needs.

All Voice Channels in Discord have a standard bitrate of 64kbps which is ok for just talking, but might not be enough for higher quality transmissions like Syrinscape sounds or background music.
You can change the bitrate in each channel manually though to up to 96kbps if you think it is required.

and

Drag the slider to your desired bitrate.
Keep in mind that higher bitrates might require every participant to have a reasonably fast internet connection.

Aside that Discord runs on either Voice-Activation or Push-To-Talk as opposed to Skype that has a permanent audio transmission. So the person running the game should make sure their Voice-Activation levels (also found in the Voice menu under the User Settings, below the Input/Output Devices) are rather low so they technically achieve permanent transmission.

Sometimes it might be that your server’s location is overloaded, which you’d indentify when suddenly the voice quality drops down to robo squirrel. Fret not, since you can switch server location on the fly while a voice session is running.

and

That’s basically it.

Happy Discording~

P.S.: What I forgot, you can assign each Voice Channel participant an individual volume level when you click on the username listed in the voice channel and drag the slider to your desire. That way a super loud one can be tuned down a bit or a bad, quiet mic can at least somewhat be compensated for.

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Awesome!

Thanks so much @The_Duke_In_Purple

Here is cake for you! :birthday:

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Yay cake! There’s always room for cake! X3

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Very timely! Was just about to send an email to the group sending us back to TeamSpeak.

Thanks!

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Yay!

(extra letters to get the character count up to 20 so I can still just say “Yay!”

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I’m trying to use this but finding that the audio quality for everyone listening is really, really low. The channel is set to 96kbps, and all the settings are right in VoiceMeter, its just really choppy and compressed. Has anyone else ever had this issue? I’d really like to use Syrinscape but I play exclusively online so this is kind of a non-starter if I can’t get it to work remotely.

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I’ve been using it a bunch in Discord with no real problems, but sometimes, when a server location is too busy, the overall voice quality drops to very choppy levels. Maybe try switching your Discord server to one of the other locations that are… more or less near your actual location.
Also, I assume your local upload speed is high enough to handle the voice channel and everything else right?

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96kbps should be almost good.

Let’s hope you’re not in Australia = SLOW UPLOAD SPEED!

I’m sitting at about 12Mbps upload speed. I’m guessing that’s enough to handle the audio at 96kbps.

Nope, Los Angeles. I’ll try it again and see if maybe the server connection was bad.

160 or 320kbps would be really nice… and take away any noise gating or compression? Are there even settings for that?

Not on Discord so far. They are working on Skype-like Video atm, maybe they’ll open it up more after that. ^^

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To get Syrinscape running on Discord and Fantasy Grounds without an open mic:

I made an ammendment to this guide and posted it http://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?31369-DOE-Sound-Extension&p=305059#post305059

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That’s great @Jiminimonka, thanks for sharing. :grin:

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Hey all of these images are broken, 403 error from dropbox. Help!

I’ve send @The_Duke_In_Purple and e-mail. We’ll get them fixed!

Yeah sorry about that! >_>
Starting February, Dropbox killed the “public folder” and so all links from that got reset.
I sent Ben the images and he’ll replace the links asap! <3
Thanks for giving us a poke!

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  • get’s out spanner

[damn you 20 character minimum]

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All fixed!

  • puts away spanner

Thanks @The_Duke_In_Purple

And thanks for the heads-up @jim_powers

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So I am running into the issue of people hearing themselves through my broadcast when they talk. Is this a known issue, or just something I’ve mucked up?

Doesn’t sound like it’d be something to do with Syrinscape, but definitely with the wiring setup.

@The_Duke_In_Purple able to help, maybe?