What is TalkWorld?
TalkWorld is a 3D chat world made by Etchinghill Studios in 1996. It is a small town with a square, a tavern, a church, a cinema, a museum and more, and everyone you meet there is a real person.
The original servers went offline many years ago. We rebuilt the server from scratch so the original game works again, exactly as it was.
- Walk around the town and go into the buildings
- Chat with people near you, shout to everyone or whisper
- Talk out loud with a microphone
- Message boards, mail and themed chat rooms
- Make a private room for you and your friends
- Pick your look in the character editor
Who is online
Looking for servers...
Updates every 15 seconds. Join any room from the launcher.
How to play
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1
Download
Download TalkWorld.zip and unzip it anywhere, for example to your Desktop.
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2
Start
Open the folder and double-click Play TalkWorld.exe. If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway.
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3
Pick a room
Choose a room and click Join Room. Everyone starts in Main. Want your own? Click Create Room... and give it a name and an optional password.
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4
Log in
Click Login to play as a guest right away. To keep a name, click Register Name... in the launcher, then use Change... in the game to log in with it.
Controls
- Arrow keys
- Walk and turn. Hold Shift to run.
- Mouse
- Hold the left button over the 3D view to walk towards the pointer.
- Type, then Enter
- Talk to the people around you.
!hello- Shout to everyone in the room.
>name hi- Tell one person privately.
@waves- Emote: "Alice waves".
- Microphone icon
- Hold it down and speak, let go to send. Or turn on automatic recording in Options, Sound options.
*help- Every command, including
*who,*gotoand*room.
Your own room
A room is a separate copy of the whole town. People in other rooms can't see or hear you, so it is perfect for a group of friends.
- In the launcher: Create Room..., or pick a room and Join Room
- In the game:
*room create name password - Friends join with
*room join name password *room listshows every room,*room leavetakes you back to Main
The town
You arrive in the Town Square. From there:
- Town Hall and the Museum on the square
- The Tavern, where most people end up
- The Church to the west
- The Cinema to the south
- The Sport Centre and Science Centre to the east
Walk up to a door and keep walking to go inside. Type *goto to jump to themed chat rooms.
Safe and private
Your IP stays hidden
Other players never see your address. Text and voice both go through our server, never straight from player to player.
Encrypted connection
The launcher connects to our servers over a secure, encrypted connection, the same as a website.
No surprise updates
The 1996 auto-updater could replace files on your PC. Our servers never send it anything.
Original game files
The game is unchanged. We only add the launcher and DDrawCompat, an open-source fix that makes old DirectX games work on new Windows.
Help
Is it free?
Yes, completely. No ads, no account needed.
Windows says "Windows protected your PC"
That shows for any new program that isn't from a big publisher. Click More info, then Run anyway.
I can't connect
Check the Who is online box above to see if the server is up. If you use a VPN or proxy, turn it off: the server blocks them to keep banned players out.
My microphone doesn't work
On Windows open Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone and turn on Let desktop apps access your microphone. Then in the game hold the microphone icon while you speak.
Can I keep my name?
Yes. Register it in the launcher (Register Name...) or in the game with *register name password. Change your password with *password newpassword.
Does it work on Mac, Linux or my phone?
Linux: run wine "Play TalkWorld.exe". If the 3D view stays black, open winecfg and on the Libraries tab set ddraw to Native, Builtin. Mac and phones: the browser version is being built and will run in any modern browser.
Always start with Play TalkWorld.exe
Don't run talkworld.exe on its own. The launcher is what connects you to our servers safely.