This

week I was given the opportunity to do a hands-on

test of a new gaming application – href="http://www.say2play.com/">Say2Play.

Say2Play

is, as you would guess by the name, a voice

command application that allows you to speak commands rather than type

or click

them with the mouse. It

is a front end

application that has many preloaded templates, including one for each

version

of WoW. It is available for free download with a seven day trial

period. If you

elect to buy, it retails for 29.95. For the game performance crowd I am

happy

to report no noticeable slow down of the WoW client while this app was

loaded.





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The website is easy to navigate and mirrors the look of the app itself.

Easy download right on the main page. One thing I really liked about

the install and set up portion was the install wizard grabbed every

missing piece of software off the web for me, one click installs

rule. Once it was installed it was off to setup the

microphone and tune it to the application.









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style="border: 0px solid ; width: 550px; height: 395px;">The

quality of your microphone will have a huge bearing on your experience

with this program. If you have the means, I highly recommend getting

the best headset you can afford. With the proliferation of voice chat

apps such as href="www.ventrilo.com">Ventrilo

that most guilds employ, it is money well spent. We can tell when you

have a crappy mic; it sounds like you’re playing in a wind

tunnel. Ok, off the soap box and back to the review. Once

your microphone is calibrated, it’s time to launch the app

and get a feel for it.

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Scrollingthrough the apps you will find a huge number of titles available. Thelist really is impressive, even to the most jaded of gamers like me(The Fallout3 app is freaking incredible as well!).After selecting the WotLK app from the list you will enter the mainscreen.

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The grey icons along the bottom are your control buttons for navigating

the features. I like the integration of the World of Warcraft official

website as well as the consumer friendly purchase options along the

right side. On the very bottom is the display for which module is

loaded, if the mic is active or muted, and the last recognized voice

command. If you are having trouble in game with your commands

alt-tabbing to this screen should be your first step in diagnosing the

issue. A simple glance at the last command bar will tell you

what the software is hearing.







You can load and go with Say 2 Play and enjoy a ton of conveniences

right out of the gate. With commands already present for swapping

hotbars, targeting party and raid members, jumping, autorun, casting

any hot keyed spell on your hotbars and much much more.





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style="">To get the true power of this programhowever you need to customize it and tie it to your in gamemacros. Creating a new voice command has some learning curvebut if you have mastered macro making and key binding in the WoWclient, then it will be a short one

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With the sheer number of bindings available in WoW, especially with a

hotbar addon like Bartender, you can add a ton of new voice commands.

Pairing your key binds with macros can add a ton of

functionality. An example of this was found on the forums as

well as in an email I received from Say 2 Play’s community

manager







style="font-style: italic;">When you are typing in a

new key binding and you have more than one keyboard action you use a;

to separate the keys. Let’s say you have the spell Frost

Armor bound to the 5th slot on your 6th Hotbar.In order to execute that

spell you must stop what you're doing and type Shift+6 and 5 to execute

it and then Shift+1 to get back to your main Hotbar.







style="font-style: italic;">With Say2Play you don't

even touch the keyboard, you simply say Frost Armor.







style="font-style: italic;">You can use Say2Play to

run your prebuilt macros in your game or you can build your

multi-command macros with Say2Play by just separating each key with a;

in the Say2Play customization screen. (The example above would look

like this: Shift+6;5;Shift+1)







style="font-style: italic;">To setup this command

follow these instructions:







style="font-style: italic;">Open the appropriate game

template, Click the customization icon and then click the + to add a

new command. Type in Frost Armor, then tab over to the key binding side

and hold down Shift and hit 6, type a ; then a 5 then another ; and

finally hold down Shift and hit 1 then click away from the input

windows (You can't Tab or Esc out from here because it will think you

wanted to add that key as a command). Click the A to Save As a new

template (you can't overwrite the default) give your new template a

name and hit enter to save it. In the lower left hand corner it shows

the current loaded template; click on the drop down box to the right

and select the template you just built so it's now the loaded template



.



All in all, I found this program to be rock solid in its execution and

the interface is slick and easy to use. I have tested it in

PvE soloing, PvP and PvE raiding and have found uses for it in all

facets of the game. While I personally do not use it for anything super

critical in a raid situation such as actual spell casting, I have found

that it is a great tool for targeting, assisting and speeding up many

of the mundane things I do during a raid. In PvP it was pretty

remarkable in helping my overall speed in combat by allowing me to keep

my hands focused on movement and spell casting while I used the voice

application to speed my shape shifting and assist/targeting

functions. Perhaps if I played a DPS role in raiding it would

further expand its usefulness. The main drawback for me in Say 2 Play

is the speed of voice recognition compared to my perceived hand speed,

but this is no way a slight on this app. It has the fastest recognition

I have ever used and its failure rate was so miniscule I was completely

blown away.







Say 2 Play is a great tool to help enhance your gaming experience that

when used properly can feel like a third hand. Like all new additions

to an established routine it does take some getting used to and small

increases in its implementation make the transitions much

smoother.







After several sessions with this software it has become

almost second nature to me and I find myself adding more and more

commands to help me in all situations. It really is limited

only by your imagination. Kudos to the guys and gals at Say 2

Play for a great app.







While I don’t feel this software will be received well by all

levels of WoW gamers, I think those that are comfortable with advanced

key binds and incorporate macros already in their game play will find

it a great addition to their arsenals. Until next week , stay

safe and have fun in Azeroth!







[protip]Deleting the preset voice commands that you don’t use

will free up system resources and make it more concise as it

doesn’t have to listen for as many items[/protip]





