With BitWise 1.0.6.5, we began making BitWise easier to set up in terms of direct connections by incorporating "TCP Punching" technology that allows BitWise to make connections automatically through routers that support this technique. While it's not as widely supported as we had hoped, it will still make BitWise easier to use for a lot of people. Unfortunately, this technology doesn't do anything for UDP data, meaning that voice chat still requires manual configuration of routers and firewalls.
Last night, one of our testers "in the wild" had a voice chat with me , and we were each behind routers without any port forwarding. The voice chat "just worked" like it does with Skype, GoogleTalk or others--no router or firewall configuration required. Unlike the TCP Punching technique, UDP Punching is widely supported by many routers and firewalls, which we already know due to the ease of use with other voice applications. Unfortunately, backwards compatibility could not be maintained, so in order to use voice, both parties will need to be using the same version (either the old or new).
At this time, a TCP connection is still required in order to initiate and negotiate the voice chat. Future iterations may also be able to work even without a direct connection, but doing it this way first allows us to more fully evaluate compatibility and deploy this new technology more quickly. Of course, a TCP connection only requires being able to connect in one direction, so this will still make the voice chat a lot more accessible. Lastly, don't forget that the UPnP and TCP Punching are also there to make directly connecting easier for those with compatible systems and hardware.
It shouldn't take too long to integrate this new voice chat method now that the concept has been tested with some hard-coded parameters. If things go well, we may be able to release a test version as soon as next week. Stay tuned!