This region takes its name from Mumble, the opensource communication app. For many virtual world residents, the ability to communicate through speech rather than just through writing is a vital part of their inworld experience. Among other advantages, it's more intimate, more discreet, easier than using a keyboard, and can eliminate misunderstandings. We all know that tone of voice can completely change the sense of a phrase, and a speaker has the advantage over a typist beacuse they can more readily convey their meaning.

Why does Opensim need new options for Voice? At time of writing, Opensim relies on a service called Vivox to make it possible to speak in Voice inworld. Vivox was also used by Second Life for many years, and thanks to this, many grids in Opensim were able to get the same service for free. In 2024 Second Life announced that it would be transitioning away from Vivox to a new solution to Voice. Because of this it seems likely that Opensim must develop some viable alternatives should Vivox decide to terminate the current service.

This is a complicated affair, with many possible solutions. Some grids have chosen to point their residents towards an external platform for chatting in voice such as Discord or Teamspeak, or a Mumble server. The work being done here on sim Mumble by Snowbody Cortes began as an exploration of the possibilities of using Mumble as more than just an external communicating device. You can learn more about Mumble development here and integration in the Bianconiglio tools for Opensim project on this page.

To make it easier to experiment with Voice, and to provide information and points of interest for visitors and potential adopters, the region is divided into five diverse parcels: Speak, Utter, Babble, Gab, and Converse.

To visit Mumble region use this address
Copy
or teleport with a Hop

Map of the region

Speak is a the central parcel and landing point on sim Mumble.

The arrival Belvedere has steps that give access to the other four parcels on the region, and also to the main piazza. Passing between the two interpretive buildings you will come to a space where you can dance, take a look at the freebie shops featuring Mumble related merch, and walk down to the beach overlooking the Safari Sea.

In January 2024 Mal Burn's guests on "Inworld Review" were Cyberglo Cyberstar and Snowbody Cortes. The topic of the show that week was Mumble as an alternative solution for communicating in Opensim. Cyberglo provded some useful information about his Mumble server. Snowbody Cortes gave the outline of four different ways in which Mumble could be of use to people in Opensim, from the simplest method - 'just download it and use it' to the most sophisticated ways in which it could be integrated into the virtual world to give the same immersive experience that Vivox voice has, with features like 3D spacial sound.

The presentation by Snowbody has been brought inworld in the form of a series of slides which you can see in the Mumble Explainer building. The posters spell out in terms anyone can understand the four options and the advantages and disadvantages of each one. This initial survey led Snowbody into a more indepth research into Mumble, to take a look at some of the other ongoing projects to provide Opensim with a viable substitute for Vivox, and naturally this involved also examining the pros and cons of the solution favored by Second Life, which is webRTC.

From here you can walk through to the other parts of the build, including Converse Castle, which will feature more heavily when the Bianconiglio project becomes available for testers and adopters.

Utter is in the southwest corner of sim Mumble. It has the feel of the countryside, in contrast with the eastern half of the region, and is divided from it by a wooded slope. The main feature of this parcel is the taverna surrounded by a garden. To the north of the house are formal flowerbeds, and to the south is a lawn with a dance floor.

The taverna has an Italian name: 'La Favella'. Italian is the language of grid owner Snowbody Cortes. In English favella can be translated as 'the faculty of speech' or 'the ability to speak' because being able to communicate our ideas and feelings is central to the spirit of the Opensim community, and to the Mumble / Bianconiglio project.

It's also a nod to the poet Dante Alighieri.

Translated into English:

Opera naturale ch’uom favella;
ma così o così, natura lascia
poi fare a voi secondo che v’abbella.
	

That mankind speaks, a work of Nature is,
but if in this or that way, Nature then
leaves you to do according to your pleasure.	
	

Divina Comedia: Paradiso Canto XXVI

Babble is the parcel on the southeast part of the sim. It is home to two main features. The most notable is the Bianconiglio building. This will house an explanation of the Bianconiglio tools. It's currently under construction, so please return soon to learn more about the project, for now there are just a few posters on the wall to look at.

To the east of the Bianconiglio building the land rises briefly before sloping into the Safari Sea, If you explore this area, you will discover there is a cave that you can enter via the estuary and exit via a small opening in the upper right side of the cavern. The purpose of this cave will be revealed in coming months, when the Bianconiglio project becomes available to the public.

Like Utter, this part of the region has a countryside feel to it, with circus tents and animesh figures. Much of the mesh here is the work of two talented creators of Opensim, Ange Menges and Kimm Starr, with some retexturing to fit the look of the build.

The circus is a mix of animal cages and tents, with a grungy vintage look to the ensemble. Watch out for the wandering NPC tiger, he is not house trained; nor are the elephants for that matter.

At present this part of the build is simply decorative, but as with Babble, in future months there will be added aural features to the parcel for anyone testing the voice part of the Bianconiglio project.