NPC voiceovers!

[weltall]

Lanarel: streamed to the client.... o.O Ummm from a seperate server?

Xillix: I'm not picking holes/complaining/trying to crush your soul/etc. I also appreciate all the work that everyone puts into Planeshift. I'm sorry you took my comments offensively.

no same server but there is a cap of 63kb per file so it's not extreme we use speex for the release file and a way lower frequency. the original version is kept as master for future use

[geloren]

Will there be a list wich can be used to check wich npc does not have a voiceover already? Sort of to-do list i mean. Just to make sure we are not sending harnquist voiceovers a hundred times. I did some, togheter with my girlfriend and i'm waiting for a confirmation. Really exciting!

greetz

[khoridor]

Just send Harnquist a hundred times. That's called a casting.
Pick a character, record, send files... simple.

[Kempeth]

I'd be interested in trying this but how do I know what NPC's aren't taken already? Or are you folks just collecting people with a good enough voice to choose from and then give out "assignments"?

[Mordraugion]

Just choose one and go for it, you can always go for one of the less well known if you dont want to copy

[Graham]

I truly hope you'll be able to switch this off!

I have a 2GB monthly cap, and one of the things I liked about PlaneShift was that it seems to not use too much bandwidth. Voice files are massive!

And by switch off, I mean if you switch them off, they won't be downloaded.

[Prolix]

[ there is a cap of 63kb per file so it's not extreme

Not much  of an overhead there, still might be nice to cache them locally. Then again for now it is just "hello" and "goodbye" so it appears if you never say those or their equivalents to the npcs you will never trigger the voice files anyway. By the time more gets added your situation may well have changed, Graham.

[weltall]

they are cached locally and the client must require the file this means you can disable file downloading by disabling voice output

[Spaz Munt]

Is there somewhere i can get a script for one of the characters?

[weltall]

unfortunately no

[Spaz Munt]

unfortunately no

Can anyone who has the updated version of PS send me a few lines to try?

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

How many people have already tried to give some voice files?

Go ahead and post if you already tried this and look forward to potentially being picked for use in the game.

[Giraut Mawhrin]

If I gave my voice to an NPC, I could never bring myself to talk to that NPC ever again. And I pity the fools who, when all NPC lines are implemented, will submit sound bites for Finara Plund, Remant Tovere, Aldaaren Phostle or any of the NPCs who can't stop yacking when you pass by them: they'll have to hide forever from an angry mob of players who just can't bear to hear "Another lovely day in Hydlaa" several times a day anymore.

[LigH]

I did it once... And I will do it again. I have at least 3 NPCs in planning so far.

But I really doubt that uploading hundreds of MB is necessary and useful, regarding the possible quality one could record at all. Even with an outlook on a distant future, I hope for a sane compromise. 32 bit float PCM is nonsense, I doubt anyone can provide a professional studio (room plus equipment).

[GlassZephyr]

Given the clamour for opening up more of the game content and the claims that this would greatly speed up development, I am a bit puzzled that bugs which exist in the code (which is open to all) aren't being leapt upon and fixed by the community at large. Wouldn't it be best for PS if the community focuses on helping us with these since they are a) ALREADY in open content b) the bugs most likely to be show-stoppers and c) the bugs most likely to be stomped out via a large pool of testing data from players?

I'm a bit puzzled that the educated population of the world isn''t donning lab coats and gloves to work with glassware and microscopes to cure cancer. I personally think it's the coolest thing ever and don't see any reasonable excuse why everyone wouldn't want to do this. the thing is, most people here don't have any idea how the hell to read the code (it's called "code" for a reason) and most people don't have any interest in any sort of coding or bug fixing. Sure, everyone would love for the bugs to be fixed, and for cancer to be cured. But not everyone works in cancer research, or has any interest in doing so. To work in cancer research or to work at coding and bug fixing you need an interest in learning everything about it, and then you need to spend the time to learn everything about it. Only then can you fix a bug. or research cancer, for my analogy. if you think about it, it's not puzzling at all that the bugs aren't being leaped upon. I could spend my life in a labcoat studying cells, but I don't care to know about coding and I wouldn't bother myself with the study or practice of it. don't expect car mechanics to research cancer. don't expect librarians to build bridges. a kindergarden teacher doesn't know how to transplant a lung.


on to my main point;
I'm in a similar boat with Graham, loading an audio file isn't something that I have any ability or interest to do. I'd like to request that this feature have an off switch such that the audio files are not loaded at all.
I admire your lofty goals, but please try to remember that no one with state-of-the-art equipment is going to spend much time on an open beta. Please keep the game playable.