About
Elite Dangerous is a wonderful game that has suffered from some questionable omissions regarding atmosphere. NPC voice text is probably, the worst single element to the game. I've tried a few, real-time text2speech applications to only be disappointed by their level of function or audio quality.
So I finally decided that I would build something myself, but using pre-recorded voice responses. This started out as a personal project that I would use for myself. Not being a professional programmer, I didn't want the hassle that comes with the expectations of others. As it started to unfold, however, I realized that it would be selfish to keep this to myself.
This is just the beginning. I've tried to make this program, not just usable, but expandable. I've created the ability for the community to make their own voice packs and continue to expand the messages in the list. The app also has the ability to help you find those missing NPC messages by logging entries that pass the initial test for being a valid message, but can't find a message entry when it searches for it.
It's been a lot of work, I'm not going to lie. Especially creating the initial set of voice files, which at times, seemed like an insurmountable task as the message list had climbed to over 350+ entries. I'm proud of how the initial version turned out and I have ideas to make it even better.
FEATURES:
The default voice pack consists of six pre-recorded voices, four male and two female. Female voices are limited to mostly military and security forces.
There are over 400 audio messages that cover the most common NPC ship dialog in the game. Most of the NPC messages, outside of Powerplay messages, are covered by the default voice pack. Passenger Liner and similar messages are not included in the default voice pack, but do exist in other addon voice packs. The app now has a setting to allow those lines to be played if desired.
Voice volume can be adjusted and tested in the app before entering the game.
The voice list can be expanded by the use of custom voice packs. The downloads section hosts third party voice packs for the user to download. You can even make your own!!
Message Spam Avoidance System. The ED message system is a buggy mess. It sometimes spits out the same message two or three times within the same time stamp. The spam avoidance system filters out the duplicates and only issues the message audio once.
Message Queue System. When two valid messages come in quick succession, the second message is put into memory and played one second after the first message is finished.
Voice Tracking System. When an NPC speaks to you, the random voice selected for it is logged and tracked. This insures that the NPC keeps the same voice through out a game session.
Message Repeat Timer. This setting will allow you to determine how much time needs to pass before a message can be repeated. The time range is from ten seconds to two minutes. This only applies if no other message has been played between the repeating message.
Non-Repeating Random Voice Selection System. This system ensures, when possible, that when more than one NPC is in need of random voice selection, they don't receive the same voice. This ensures variety when only a few NPC's are in the area. When using an expanded third party voice pack, this may not always be possible.
Read Back System. The ED message system makes it difficult just to read the last entry and run a basic algorithm from it. Multiple, same time stamped, entries are routinely entered into the log. Sometimes a non message entry is written together with a message entry but placed last in the order. When no message is found on the last log line, the read back system checks the previous line to make sure a message wasn't stepped on.
The available voices can be expanded by creating new packs that mirror the naming convention of the default pack or you can expand the message listing by using the included known message ODS document and using the custom audio trigger list.
CMDR Roger Lee, aka Vandal.